World Hijab Day (01/02)

February 1 is World Hijab Day, a – holiday that is gaining popularity in many countries around the world. The main category of people celebrating it – are representatives of Islam, although there are many interested in this seemingly unusual holiday among representatives of other religious denominations.

Hijab – is one of the attributes of women's clothing in the Muslim world, which has become more common on the streets of European countries, Russia and other countries, where secular culture is sometimes very distant, or does not come into contact at all with traditional, including religious, ideas about how and what a woman should wear. And religious values in these countries are predominantly Christian.

In such a situation, the appearance of a woman in a hijab in society often meets with mixed reactions. Some people take this calmly, others are surprised. For some people, the appearance of a woman wearing a hijab in a public place, at work or at an educational institution causes hostility, misunderstanding, and sometimes protest.

In many ways, such public disputes are due to intensified migration processes, when the number of representatives of Muslim culture in European countries began to grow rapidly, which caused a subconscious feeling of anxiety among the indigenous residents. This feeling, in turn, was awakened by the fact that migrants became more than just new citizens or residents of Christian countries. They, being bearers of a different culture, closely related to the religious ideas and values of Islam, continued to live in the new world, without changing their values, orders and customs, somewhat alien to the inhabitants of the Christian world.

The founders and activists of the Day are trying to convey the ideas of tolerance and mutual respect between representatives of different cultures and religions to people (Photo: ArturVerkhovetskyy, licensed by depositphotos.com)

These contradictions have worsened with the growth of international terrorism and the number of acts of its violent manifestation, since people from the Arab world have become the predominant representatives of terrorist organizations. It is more difficult for Europe to find a way for the harmonious coexistence of representatives of the Christian and Muslim world than, for example, Russia, where relations between representatives of different nationalities and religions have developed and built over centuries.

If in modern society the world of adults is still able to treat the open manifestation of culture, including those closely related to religious ideas more or less adequately, then among children and adolescents this can result in a conflict situation.

It was precisely a similar fate, full of misunderstanding and ridicule, of a young native of the Republic of Bangladesh, Nazma Khan, who, by the will of fate, became an American schoolgirl and then a student, that pushed an already adult woman to the idea of establishing World Hijab Day. When organizing the holiday, Nazma Khan aimed to convey to the whole world the fact that wearing a hijab is not a sign of belonging to some terrorist organization or sect, and is not aimed at social protest against the traditional culture of Christian states. Wearing the hijab, says Nazma Khan, emphasizes a woman's right to follow traditional culture without being ridiculed or attacked by those who do not wear it, especially in a society that proclaims itself a champion of humanistic principles.

Nazma Khan began to put her ideas into practice by creating a website where she talked about the history of the hijab, its purpose and role in the Muslim world, showed wearing options and various styles of the hijab. Here, on the pages of the site, visitors could share their thoughts, as well as worries about meeting misunderstandings in society, and receive moral support.

From the point of view of Muslims, the hijab – is a sign of a woman’s purity (Photo: Odua Images, licensed by Shutterstock.com)

Nazma Khan's initiative, born in 2013, has become widespread, including thanks to the Internet. Today, Hijab Day is celebrated in many Muslim countries, as well as Muslim republics of Russia, public organizations of Muslims from different countries, as well as in Muslim families in different parts of the world. It is worth noting that in Iran, July 12 is generally celebrated as an official holiday: Hijab and Chastity Day.

Actually, hijab translated from Arabic literally means cover, veil. According to the strict canons of Islam, a woman must cover her entire body with clothing. The face, wrists and feet remain open. However, in modern terms, the hijab is more often called a large scarf, which covers the head and shoulders. From the point of view of Muslims, the hijab – is a sign of the purity of a woman who does not want to flaunt her beauty, hiding it from the eyes of strangers.

Just two years after the activists’ first experience of holding events as part of World Hijab Day, when women on the streets and in shopping centers are invited to try to wear a hijab or simply stoles are distributed to women who want to feel like a Muslim, the number of participants in such events has exceeded 10 million people, and the events themselves took place in more than 100 countries around the world.

The founders and activists of World Hijab Day are trying to convey the ideas of tolerance and mutual respect between representatives of different cultures and religions to people. They not only hand out scarves and provide an opportunity for any woman to try on a hijab, but also organize tea parties and even lectures on the history and role of the headscarf in the life of a Muslim woman.



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