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Muslim Characteristics and the Purpose of the Hijab

Anonymous said: hi! i’m writing a story where the main character is a muslim teen girl, and it’s not like the /main/ focus of the story but since i’m not muslim myself i was wondering if you had any pointers on how to show that as a part of her life (beyond the hijab, which is something she chooses only to wear at home?) without being too blatant/forced or oppositely non-evident? thank you!

Hi there! Islam is a deeply intricate religion that is woven into a muslim’s everyday life, and there are definitely easy ways to sneak in indicators of a person’s religion. For example, muslims only eat meat that has been cut the halal way- your character could ask about that at a restaurant, or forgo the meat just to be safe. Muslims also pray five times a day (with the exception of the days some people are on their periods), so you could show her waking up at sunrise to pray Fajr. Honestly, there are a million and one ways to portray a muslim girl.

Also, while I might not know the complete context of your character’s situation, the purpose of a hijab is to shield a person from the gaze of male strangers. Homes are places where girls let their hair down and relax. A muslim only wearing a hijab at home contradicts the very importance of a hijab and could be really offensive to some readers. There are many muslim girls who don’t wear a hijab, so I suggest maybe going with that. There are also muslim girls who wear the hijab in certain areas (read: around traditional family members) to preserve social standing, but aren’t actually committed to the hijab.

I suggest you do more research on Islam if you want to convey your character realistically.

-Yasmin

I’d just like to add that I see quite a few writers taking the non-hijaabi route in order to avoid repercussions of possibly negative representation. I’d just like to stress that, if you feel that offering this representation is important, and you feel that you can do the research and continue to ask the questions to make it as good as you can, you should strive to do it.

Of course, we need non-hijaabi representation, but I do not think that should be the only option offered if a writer is nervous about approaching the hijaab.

Besides that note, I agree with Yasmin’s eloquent answer and the fact that a girl only wearing the hijaab at home is rather unusual and offensive. Good luck!

-Kaye

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