Is it offensive for a non-Muslim to wear an abaya?

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Anirtwodke

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Hello. I am not a Muslim and I live in the United States. I have always dressed modestly and I recently tried on my friends abaya and fell in love. It is comfortable, modest, the fabric is breathable. I asked her if it would be offense if I were to buy a few of my own to wear. In no way would my intentions be to mock Muslims or anything like that. I just absolutely love the abayas that I have seen and would really like to wear a few during the summer. However, I respect that a lot of those items of clothing stem from religious views and I want to make sure that it will not be offensive before I do it... Thank you.
 
Anirtwodke said:
Hello. I am not a Muslim and I live in the United States. I have always dressed modestly and I recently tried on my friends abaya and fell in love. It is comfortable, modest, the fabric is breathable. I asked her if it would be offense if I were to buy a few of my own to wear. In no way would my intentions be to mock Muslims or anything like that. I just absolutely love the abayas that I have seen and would really like to wear a few during the summer. However, I respect that a lot of those items of clothing stem from religious views and I want to make sure that it will not be offensive before I do it... Thank you.
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Not at all. The whole purpose of the abaya is to preserve and protect one's modesty as a woman - those are exactly the reasons I started wearing the abaya as well. Actually, dressing modestly (including the hijab) are not exclusive to Islam, it is also prescribed in Christianity and Judaism as well.

So, no one would find it offensive - in fact you might find yourself getting quite a positive response from Muslims. :)
 
If you were to cover, it would not be insulting to Muslims. To the contrary, many Muslims would automatically assume that you were Muslim. Please realize that by wearing hijab, you will be perceived by Muslim and non-Muslim alike to be a Muslim woman. So be ready for some curiosity from fellow non-Muslims. Perhaps wearing the hijab will give you a unique perspective and an opportunity to empathize with Muslim women that would not be available to you if you did not choose this step.
And Allah alone gives success. And Allah knows best.

I could not have said it better:

http://islamqa.org/hanafi/seekersguidance-hanafi/85489 (Took it from this website)

 
As sister noraina wrote, the purpose of abaya is to protect woman´s modesty for us. If you use it because of other reasons (you like it, it´s comfortable) it´s complitely your own matter and doesn´t mock anyone.
 

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