In the United States, there is a lot of confusion about the Burqa/Burka and the idea of the hijab. Plus, no one even knows what the Burkini is and what it can do for skin cancer.
Have you seen Nigella Lawson's photos of her wearing the Burkin/Burqini to save herself from sunburn? In the United States, Americans are becoming bombarded with mixed messages about Muslim Americans. As friendships are formed between Americans and Muslim Americans, the barriers between "us" and "them" become blurred as it always does between genuine people. However, many Americans feel awkward about their questions concerning the way that some Muslim women dress.
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It is perfectly acceptable to feel awkward about questioning a Muslim woman about these things because it is actually taboo and rude to do so in Muslim culture. Plus, any good American knows that individual choice and religious choice should be respected without harassing that person with your questions.
As an Arab American with Muslim and non-Muslim family members, I have a way of explaining each side to each other where both parties are satisfied. The following is based upon my opinions that were formed through my multi-cultural experiences in the United States and the Middle East with Muslim and Non Muslim communities from around the world.
What are the Proper Words For the Muslim Outfits?
When a woman is wearing Islamic dress, this is called hijab (pronounced: "Hid-Job"). Hijab or modesty is also something that Muslim men must uphold. When a Muslim woman is wearing a head scarf; that is called hijab. When a woman is wearing a full covering of the hair, face, and body; that is called a burka or a burqa. Other Muslim styles of hijab include the long jacket (mantae or mantoo), and the burkini (Muslim bathing suit).
Why Wearing the Burka is Practical Against Sunburn
With all of the negative images of Muslim people in the media and the talk around the 9-11 Ground Zero Mosque; clarification and curiosity need to be addressed. First of all, in order to understand the mindset of wearing something like the burka, you need to take history into consideration.
At first, when I was in Yemen (south of Saudi Arabia) as an Arabic Language student, I did not wear the burka or hijab. However, I quickly changed my mind because I was constantly in need of a way to cover my skin and protect it from the sun. I also needed some way to have ventilation and cooling shade against the 120 degree days. When I traveled to another part of the Middle East, I found the same living conditions and a need to wear the hijab or burka. As we all know, Islam began in the Middle East and the ideas about the hijab also formed in the Arab world.
Now imagine a time before sunscreen was invented. It is easy to think about the Anthropological origins of where a tradition like wearing hijab began when you consider the practical nature of that type of clothing. In the Middle East, it's hard to find a man wearing pants. Like women, men wear a similar style of flowing clothing in the Middle East. As Islam spread around the world from Arabia, this style of dress followed.
How the Hijab Went From Sunscreen to Muslim Requisite
At some point, modesty was assigned as a value to the hijab or burka. When I asked my Middle Eastern family why some Muslim women wear the hijab and others do not, my family indicated that this was not a Islamic absolute for women. You can be a Muslim woman and not wear hijab or the burqa. In some cases, this is reflected in certain ethnic groups. They simply never had a history of being Muslim and wearing hijab or the burka.
What About Being Forced To Wear the Burqa or Hijab?
Other Muslims interpret the hijab as an absolute for Muslim women. In Christianity or Judaism, we are familiar with fundamentalism versus reform or conservative facets of the faith. Just like Christians have Methodist, Baptist, and Seventh Day Adventists, Muslims also have varying ideas about what the best way to follow the Koran is.
We take a lot of actions in the United States to ensure that a woman is not hurt or raped no matter what she looks like or what she is wearing. It's the same in Muslim countries whether or not women wear the hijab or burqa. The only exceptions to having a choice to wear hijab or not are limited to three countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. Only Saudi Arabia is part of the Arab world.
In those three countries, forcing women to wear the hijab or burka is more about politics than what the Muslims in those countries think and feel is the right way to follow Islam. Certain ethnic groups in Iran, for example, are very vocal about NOT wearing hijab and still being a good Muslim.
Can Muslim Women NOT Wear the Burqa or Hijab?
As an Arab American, I am often explaining one side to the other. When it comes to Muslims asking me questions about Americans and modesty, I tell them that Americans believe in the idea of "Mental Hijab". In Islam, women get the message across that they don't want to be intertwined with sexuality in public by wearing certain kinds of clothing like the burka or hijab.
In other primarily Muslim countries, women do NOT wear hijab and no one thinks they are immodest. It varies from country to country. For example, Americans use words to let others know that their sexual comments are not welcome. We use our thoughts to think of ways to show our feelings to a coworker without being accused of sexual harassment. The burqa and the hijab are just one more tool that Muslim women have of saying "I'm not interested."
The Burkini May Be Something We Can All Agree On
I was raised in the Southern United States and have not worn the hijab in the United States. For most of my childhood, I did not interact with other Muslims or Arabs. I did not go to a mosque until I was in college. These are common experiences for those of us who were born in the 1970's to Arab parents. Maybe for this reason, we're often the best people to explain how big differences are really not that big of a deal between American and Muslim culture.
However, as more Americans deal with skin damage and skin cancer, I am finding an old reminder about the hijab creeping into my mind. After all, most likely the hijab was originally used as a way to avoid skin damage and sunburn. So when I saw an advertisement for a piece of clothing called the Burkini, I knew that we were on to something that we can all agree on.
Instead of having a bathing suit that exposes our quickly burning skin, imagine a bathing suit that reduces your need to use sunscreen almost completely! The Burkini was invented for Muslim women to cover up with and maintain their ideas about modesty. However, I feel that it might be the best skin cancer preventing bathing suit of all times.
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