Hijablogging: Just another global trend taking the blogosphere by storm. All around the world, women who opt to wear hijab (the Islamic head covering) are also opting to blog about their experiences, as well as veiled fashion, lifestyle, experience, and the political and religious issues surrounding it.
The Hijablog is leading the movement. Based in Norway, the woman behind the blog writes about everything from political issues (such as the recent debate surrounding hijab-clad women joining the Norwegian police force) to Islamic wedding fashion in Malaysia. In one recent post, the blogger profiled Indonesian designer of Islamic fashion Itang Yunasz:
Itang Yunasz is a designer that used to create revealing gowns but then dissappeared for some years, to return with a comeback collection designed for veiled women. His designs were featured on the latest Islamic Fashion Festival.
Muslima Maria is a Canadian blog which greets readers with the sentence: “Welcome to my hijab journey…” From her most recent post, it's clear that the decision to wear hijab, which she made nearly eight months ago, has indeed been a journey. She writes:
I don't know if this is the case for all women, but i think I discovered the core issue for why hijab is hard for most women – myself included. When you put on hijab you have no where to hide. You can't hide what you feel about yourself, all the things you dislike about yourself, all the character you feel you lack because you spend 25 years building a life revolved around beauty rather than building your character. You feel ugly, even though every woman I have seen looks better in hijab, your own feelings about your body, your face, your self esteem is laid bare before you. this is the challange a woman has when she decides to take on hijab. She has the challange of living in the world and not hiding behind her looks, her make up her hair, her clothes. There is nothing to distract the world from her character, from the words she says, the thoughts she expresses….and that is what is truely scary. It is scary to go from a world where you bat your eyes, toss your hair, and flash a smile and gain automatic acceptance, to a world where people are actually paying attention to what you say and how you say it. Its easy to hide all the things you think bad about yourself behind fashion, make up, jewlery, and hair styling. when you were hijab, you have to face yourself, your low self esteem, your poor body image, your feelings about your lack of character or how you think you are not interesting now that you don't use sexuality to attract attention. When you wear hijab you face your own demons inside – thats the hardest part.
New Jersey (U.S.) blogger Is There Food On My Niqaab? ponders the concept of hijab salons in this recent post:
I'm telling you, pretty soon you'll see HIJAB SALONS everywhere. A sister can go and have a hijab stylist come and wrap their hijab for them if they have a wedding or aqeeqah to go to, if they aren't practiced in tying a hijab in a fancy manner. Heck, you'll probably be able to go there and rent a hijab with a perfectly matching hijab pin! You can wear it out and then return it to the salon where it will be thoroughly washed and waiting for the next customer.
Sisters will sit in the back, waiting… flipping through magazines with hijab styles, doggy earing pages that they may consider for their look. They'll bring their outfit in a separate bag to have the hijab, underscarf, and pin properly matched with it. The hijab stylist will examine their facial structure and complexion and then go to work, forming huge ruffles, buns, and arrangements with the hijab, tying and draping it in every way possible. Maybe they'll need special hijab spray to make it stay in place and not flop! Perhaps there will also be a beautician as well to help with makeup and they'll offer a niqaab for you to wear out since you'd be dolled up.
I can see it now… hmm…
By the way, if ANY of you jack my idea and open up a hijab salon I WILL come after you for 50% … at least! Hmph!
HijabiStyle is a blog which captures the myriad styles of hijab, as well as a variety of different women's perspectives on wearing it. This video was recently posted on the blog:
In addition to the three mentioned above, there are a number of other hijab-clad bloggers: Hijab Style, Hijabee, and Hijabi Couture are only a sampling of the others.
18 comments
Excellent posting! Thanks for introducing me to this. I just did an abbreviated version of your posting:
http://www.thomascrampton.com/malaysia/blogging-trend-islamic-headscarf-blogs/
Sorry, but hijab is a manifestation of modesty and submission to Allah; it’s not a fashion. The women at the top of the Hijablog have some fabric on their heads, but it’s not hijab. We don’t wear hijab with make-up, and we don’t wear it in red with feathers. What would be the point of that? I’m sorry that this article is giving people the wrong idea about hijab, and even more sorry that these misconceptions are coming from women who are supposed to be advocating hijab.
I’m a muslimah myself who wears hijab Alhumdulillah and i don’t understand u’r comment about the girl’s hijab not being hijab. And she’s not wearing make-up, nor is she wearing it in red with feathers. Her hair and bosom are covered as they should be…perhaps not in the colours of your choice, but she’s dressed modestly to the best of her ability. I think it takes lots of guts to speak out like that, and she was excellent in communicating the reasons and the purpose of hijab that many girls choose to wear today.
Asma,
I think the above commenter was referring to the images at the very top header of Hijablog, not the young woman who spoke in the YouTube video.
-Jillian
I love your veil
What’s all this tale about the veil?
Fred and Gail shout and hail
Straw as hero
For his hail of fire on Aïsha’s attire.
Did Straw want Aïsha to show
Herself from head to toe?
Let Gail wear a mini-skirt
For her flirt.
And let Aïsha wear on her face
Or on her hair
Whatever piece
That would bring her peaceVis-à-vis God and vis-à-vis Man.
Oh, man!
Why d’you wish her to disclose
Her beautiful eyes and nice nose
Or her lips or her hips
If that belongs to her?
Come on, Sir!
That body you want her to show
Is a diamond dearer than the glow
Of the face of Marilyn Monroe!