Students at the College came together to demystify the myths surrounding the Islamic hijab. (Photo courtesy of Cameron Dering)

The hijab, defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the traditional covering for the hair and neck that is worn by Muslim women,” has been a topic of controversy among Western feminists, political figures and media outlets for many years. Last Monday, Muslim women and men at the College joined forces to battle common misconceptions on campus, such as how the veil is viewed as a mechanism of oppression, forced on women by the males of the religion to subjugate and de-womanize them by some in Western cultures.

The Hijab-a-thon, the first in a series of events for Islamic Awareness Week, gave non-Muslim students the chance to experience the hijab for a day. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., members of the Islamic Society manned a table in the Brower Student Center, providing the hijab to any woman willing to try it.

At 7 p.m., those who took part in the event gathered in the Spiritual Center to discuss their experiences and dispute the myths associated with the hijab.

Half of the female students arrived at the forum still wearing their hijab, while the other half had since taken it off. Once there, Muslim students Sarah Cassim, a freshman biology major who wears the hijab, and Sana BenNacef, a junior history secondary education major who does not wear the hijab, led the discussion.

The first myth they tackled was that Muslim women are forced to wear the hijab, either after they get their first period or when they get married, as part of the religion, as some audience members believed.

“It’s not forced. It’s not meant to be forced,” Cassim said. “You do it for your own sake when you want to be closer to God.”

Though some believe that Muslim fathers or husbands force their daughters and wives to wear the hijab, when BenNacef approached her parents because she was considering wearing the hijab, her father encouraged her to do research and take her time with this important, life-changing decision. BenNacef and Cassim expressed that this is often the case: Fathers don’t rush their daughters into wearing the hijab and will even keep them from doing so if they don’t think they’re ready.

Guest speaker Christine Morsy, mother of junior international studies major and Islamic Society member Adam Morsy, shared her own inspirational story about being raised Roman Catholic but converting to Islam after 10 years of marriage and her decision to wear the hijab two years later.

She said that putting on the hijab “has to be for the right reason; it has to be for yourself.” When Morsy chose to wear the hijab two years after she converted, it was entirely her own decision. “It was not my husband’s making,” she said.

Next, Cassim and BenNacef discussed the myth that Islam, and the hijab specifically, degrades women.

“Western feminists call it an oppressive veil, but that’s not the point; the purpose is to keep women protected,” BenNacef said.

Rather than feeling oppressed, “a lot of women find it liberating,” Cassim said. “Instead of degrading her, it builds her up.”

Cassim has found the hijab to be liberating from her own experiences. “I think the hijab helped me resist peer pressure more,” she said. She figures, “if I can face people wearing this, I can face anything. (The hijab) helped me be more comfortable with myself and my own identity.”

In Islam, Cassim said, “there is so much honor, so much respect given to a woman.” For example, childbirth is not considered a curse or punishment in Islam as it is in Christianity, but instead it is seen as the strength of a woman.

“The mother is often seen elevated from your father,” Cassim said. “She is in fact the most celebrated person.” In fact, in Islam if your mother prays for you, the prayers hold more weight with God than prayers from anyone else.

“Unfortunately,” BenNacef said, “it’s really skewed by the media.”

Freshman journalism major Francesar Georges gained new insight from taking part in the Hijab-a-thon.

“Walking around, I noticed that some people I would see, they would look at me as if they wanted to say something but never opened their mouth,” she said. “I didn’t feel bad about it, but I was like ‘Wow, it makes no sense for them to look away.’” Overall, Georges said, “It was an eye-opening experience.”

Freshman early childhood education major Karen Martinez, who also participated in the Hijab-a-thon, agreed. “It gave me an appreciation for Muslim women,” she said.

Sumer Mohamed is a sophomore biology major who practices Islam but has not chosen to wear the hijab.

“I’m afraid what people will think and if they’ll treat me differently,” she said. When Mohamed approached her mother about this anxiety, her mother told her it proved that she wasn’t ready to start wearing the hijab. Her mother told Mohamed that when she is ready she will know because she will have a strong spiritual connection with God and will no longer care about what other people think.

“The main thing for me right now is to battle that insecurity, and then eventually I’ll start wearing (the hijab),” Mohamed said. “I think it’s beautiful.”

Cassim added that “the point (of the hijab) is also for women to realize to respect themselves.”

“It protects me from the oncoming woosh of ‘you have to be thin, you have to be thin, you have to be thin’ in America,” Cassim said. “I realize I am worth it as a person.”

Cassim and BenNacef stressed the fact that true Islam is very different from cultural practices, which differ greatly from America to Egypt to the Middle East and everywhere in between.

“The religion is 100 percent part of me, but the culture is not,” Morsy explained.

“When you see something strange or different, people aren’t going to ask about it, which perpetuates the misunderstanding of Islam,” BenNacef said.

“Before people jump to conclusions, before people start judging, you have to think,” Cassim said. “Don’t be spoon-fed, that’s not why you have a brain, you have a brain to question.”

BenNacef said she actually really appreciates it when people ask her questions because she would rather give them factual information about Islam than have them continue living with false notions.

“Encourage your friends, Muslim or not Muslim, to open that dialogue,” she said.

Cassim agreed, saying, “I think when you start to question these things and start to be more tolerant or more understanding, the world will be a better place.”