ABSTRACT
I want to begin this exploration with a quotation, or rather a collage of quotations made up of statements by three American Muslim college women in response to my inquiry about what wearing the hijab means to them: “I don’t believe the Qur’an requires hijab,” said one, “I believe it’s a choice not an obligation. I wear it for the same reason that one of my Jewish friends wears a yarmulke: as a way of openly identifying with a group that people have prejudices about and as a way of saying yes we’re here and we have the right to be here and to be treated equally.” Another, also stating that she didn’t believe the Qur’an required it, said she wore it just because she liked to and then added, “When people stare at me when I am on the T, I find myself thinking that, if there’s just one woman out there who begins to wonder when she looks at me why she dresses the way she does and begins to notice the sexism of our society-if I’ve raised just one person’s consciousness, that’s good enough for me.” A third said: “I started wearing it after I returned from a visit to my relatives in Palestine. I don’t believe the Qur’an requires it-for me, wearing it is a way of affirming my community and identity, a way of saying that even as I enjoy the comforts we take for granted here and that people in Palestine totally lack, I will not forget the struggle for justice.”
