There are a lot of things hanging on being from the Middle East. An Arab from the Middle East. A Muslim Arab from the Middle East. Not that it matters either way, once the veil is on, the personality is out, individuality is gone, and my voice is dismissed as that of the poor oppressed who needs to be saved.
There is a lot of understanding in the world, I've learned, and people will surprise. But they mostly do it on an individual level. People will be nice, they will be understanding, and they may even have that moment of "Huh" when they realize that I'm educated, that I'm not necessarily looking for a domineering husband, and that this thing "on my head" is a choice (and a lot more than a thing on my head alone, but more on that later).
And I'll repeat: there are a lot of understanding people, and a lot of people who do not have a flat, unforgiving view of the veiled woman, but it's difficult to escape the dominant narrative, and even I have the knee-jerk reaction of "ugh, a hijabi" sometimes. But then I come back to reality and realize that I'm one of those "ughs".
There's also a very particular "type" of hijabi that's seen, and a very particular narrative of the hijabi that's highlighted, and it's all a big mess. And these images, or stereotypes for lack of a better word, are very much tied to the person looking and the culture they come from. I've found myself battling my own demons as it were, and they come from different influences. They are Arab, Lebanese particularly, and Western, and they make come from Muslims and non-Muslims. Because of this complexity and because I have a lot of emotion regarding this topic, there will be several installment.
The modern society that the hijabi lives in around here has several views of her, making her severely oppressed and misunderstood. A combination of ultra-religious, selectively religious, traditional-but-thinking-it's-religious, cultural, and, now added to the blend, "Western".
These overlap and merge at times, but they generally work into creating several perspectives on the hijabi, even opinions that sometimes convince her.
This first representation is quite shocking, because it's so neutral a representation, so white and present, that I've realized that not a lot of people see it. Plus, it shapes a lot of the other representations. And those who do see it, come under the "blind spot" of the rest of the world, so their opinions are mostly ignored. The people who understand the hijab and see the hijabi in real life, and in a realistic way.
Among the many prejudices, stereotypes, and patriarchal tidbits that hover over us, at least in this part of the world, is the image of the hijabi in traditionally-set Arab (or just Middle-Eastern?) culture. Many people who have interacted with us have come to understand that we are not, in fact, hiding our brainless globes under a piece of cloth. Others, however, stand behind this remarkably invisible but extraordinarily thick veil of their own. Men and women who live in the semi-material, semi-Islamic state of the modern Middle East seem to be the most stereotypical of all. And more stereotypical than them, even, is the religious, the traditionally religious, and just about everyone else who identifies as Muslim.
The hijabi is, first, a backwards, uneducated, bedraggled thing. I have been told, by a Muslim Lebanese, that she had thought all hijabis disheveled, uneducated slobs (who, obviously, wait at home for Mr. Right, the domineering solid block they so admire). And it's not uncommon. I was raised in the middle class Muslim part of Beirut, Muslim and even leaning toward more religious than not. And I have known many hijabis in my lifetime. But for a very long time, my first reaction at seeing someone veiled, was that she is probably uneducated and backwards. And it's very typically cultural. One explanation I've managed is that because Islam was at some point separated from reality, not allowed to move forward with it as people stuck to tradition and accepted modes and rules, while the world passed them by, the hijabi, as a person and an image, got stuck in the past too. Because they physically manifest something people associate with the past (and it's their own fault). So people who wanted to move forward, shed the veil not because it was not adaptable to modern life, but because it was a symbol of an unmovable past.
A wonderful representation of this sort of prejudice is the modern tendency practiced by, many of which are run by Muslims: and that is refusing to hire veiled women. This is shocking to me, and infuriating, because it assumes that hijabis are drab and stupid. And people who argue about "presentation" and "acceptability," come on, look around you. I work in an American institution, and as far as I can see, they don't care if I put a live animal on my body as long as I do my job, do it well, and respect everyone.
And that is what's missing. Respect. Hijabis are dismissed as inferior, stupid, and unworthy in a lot of sectors of this society because they choose to follow their religion. And their religion does not call for them to kill the people around them or spit on them; it tells them what to do with themselves, and they, whether from conviction or because they are forced is not the issue here as it is not within the employer's jurisdiction, choose to dress modestly. They are educated, civilized, devoted... basically human. Some are rude, some are gorgeous, some have five piercings underneath their veil. Who cares. Do they look presentable? Do they show up on time?
Hijabis are prevented, in this sector of prejudice, from being anything more than a representation of a flasely conceived past, which is tied to backwardness and lack of civilization. They are dismissed and shunned because they choose to abide by something that, apparently, some people see as backwards. But the thing is that these people are actually looking towards the past, seeing their religion as something of the past, and seeing it as it was before, not as it is now. The basic principles of Islam are the same, but people are people, and they move forward with time. Some people, however, seem to be stuck in the past, and in this case, the unforgiving, unwilling to look at reality, are not the hijabis, but the people who refuse to see them as they are: just people living in a modern world. They view the hijab as backwards and then apply a label on people. The view itself is wrong and it is tied to what they know of tradition, rather than to what they can see of reality. Extremism is, here, dear readers, for once, linked to the anti-religious, unrelenting culture.
There is a lot of understanding in the world, I've learned, and people will surprise. But they mostly do it on an individual level. People will be nice, they will be understanding, and they may even have that moment of "Huh" when they realize that I'm educated, that I'm not necessarily looking for a domineering husband, and that this thing "on my head" is a choice (and a lot more than a thing on my head alone, but more on that later).
And I'll repeat: there are a lot of understanding people, and a lot of people who do not have a flat, unforgiving view of the veiled woman, but it's difficult to escape the dominant narrative, and even I have the knee-jerk reaction of "ugh, a hijabi" sometimes. But then I come back to reality and realize that I'm one of those "ughs".
There's also a very particular "type" of hijabi that's seen, and a very particular narrative of the hijabi that's highlighted, and it's all a big mess. And these images, or stereotypes for lack of a better word, are very much tied to the person looking and the culture they come from. I've found myself battling my own demons as it were, and they come from different influences. They are Arab, Lebanese particularly, and Western, and they make come from Muslims and non-Muslims. Because of this complexity and because I have a lot of emotion regarding this topic, there will be several installment.
The modern society that the hijabi lives in around here has several views of her, making her severely oppressed and misunderstood. A combination of ultra-religious, selectively religious, traditional-but-thinking-it's-religious, cultural, and, now added to the blend, "Western".
These overlap and merge at times, but they generally work into creating several perspectives on the hijabi, even opinions that sometimes convince her.
This first representation is quite shocking, because it's so neutral a representation, so white and present, that I've realized that not a lot of people see it. Plus, it shapes a lot of the other representations. And those who do see it, come under the "blind spot" of the rest of the world, so their opinions are mostly ignored. The people who understand the hijab and see the hijabi in real life, and in a realistic way.
Among the many prejudices, stereotypes, and patriarchal tidbits that hover over us, at least in this part of the world, is the image of the hijabi in traditionally-set Arab (or just Middle-Eastern?) culture. Many people who have interacted with us have come to understand that we are not, in fact, hiding our brainless globes under a piece of cloth. Others, however, stand behind this remarkably invisible but extraordinarily thick veil of their own. Men and women who live in the semi-material, semi-Islamic state of the modern Middle East seem to be the most stereotypical of all. And more stereotypical than them, even, is the religious, the traditionally religious, and just about everyone else who identifies as Muslim.
The hijabi is, first, a backwards, uneducated, bedraggled thing. I have been told, by a Muslim Lebanese, that she had thought all hijabis disheveled, uneducated slobs (who, obviously, wait at home for Mr. Right, the domineering solid block they so admire). And it's not uncommon. I was raised in the middle class Muslim part of Beirut, Muslim and even leaning toward more religious than not. And I have known many hijabis in my lifetime. But for a very long time, my first reaction at seeing someone veiled, was that she is probably uneducated and backwards. And it's very typically cultural. One explanation I've managed is that because Islam was at some point separated from reality, not allowed to move forward with it as people stuck to tradition and accepted modes and rules, while the world passed them by, the hijabi, as a person and an image, got stuck in the past too. Because they physically manifest something people associate with the past (and it's their own fault). So people who wanted to move forward, shed the veil not because it was not adaptable to modern life, but because it was a symbol of an unmovable past.
A wonderful representation of this sort of prejudice is the modern tendency practiced by, many of which are run by Muslims: and that is refusing to hire veiled women. This is shocking to me, and infuriating, because it assumes that hijabis are drab and stupid. And people who argue about "presentation" and "acceptability," come on, look around you. I work in an American institution, and as far as I can see, they don't care if I put a live animal on my body as long as I do my job, do it well, and respect everyone.
And that is what's missing. Respect. Hijabis are dismissed as inferior, stupid, and unworthy in a lot of sectors of this society because they choose to follow their religion. And their religion does not call for them to kill the people around them or spit on them; it tells them what to do with themselves, and they, whether from conviction or because they are forced is not the issue here as it is not within the employer's jurisdiction, choose to dress modestly. They are educated, civilized, devoted... basically human. Some are rude, some are gorgeous, some have five piercings underneath their veil. Who cares. Do they look presentable? Do they show up on time?
Hijabis are prevented, in this sector of prejudice, from being anything more than a representation of a flasely conceived past, which is tied to backwardness and lack of civilization. They are dismissed and shunned because they choose to abide by something that, apparently, some people see as backwards. But the thing is that these people are actually looking towards the past, seeing their religion as something of the past, and seeing it as it was before, not as it is now. The basic principles of Islam are the same, but people are people, and they move forward with time. Some people, however, seem to be stuck in the past, and in this case, the unforgiving, unwilling to look at reality, are not the hijabis, but the people who refuse to see them as they are: just people living in a modern world. They view the hijab as backwards and then apply a label on people. The view itself is wrong and it is tied to what they know of tradition, rather than to what they can see of reality. Extremism is, here, dear readers, for once, linked to the anti-religious, unrelenting culture.
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