Hijab: The 'Flag of Islam'

Posted by Dinah Lord

Veil may be your culture but it's not mine.

Long time readers of Dinah Lord know that Dinah has long inveighed against the hijab as the middle finger of Muslim culture and a political symbol of radical Islam. Imagine her dismay at finding this article, A return to tradition in the Detroit Free Press trumpeting the increase in the number of hijabettes in the Motor City.

Return to tradition? More like a return to the dark ages, if you ask me.

The article profiles a 19 yr Muslima who opted to take the veil and who then convinced her mother to start wearing one, too.

The two are part of the growing number of Muslim women in Michigan choosing to wear the head scarves, known as hijab, with many donning them at increasingly younger ages. The upswing is driven by increased attendance at local mosques and Islamic schools, where clerics often describe hijab as the flag of Islam. And the local trend mirrors an increased use of hijab among women in the Middle East and Europe, where Islamic beliefs in Muslim communities have intensified.

The article goes on to assert how this magnificent act of Muslim piety often comes with a price:

Some "look at us, smirk, stick out their tongues or shout out the window, 'Why do you have that on?' " said Arrwa Mogalli, 29, of Dearborn, who has worn hijab since she was 11. "You have nuns totally covered ... and no one questions it. But when a Muslim does it, we're from outer space."

Putting aside the fact that few nuns wear a traditional habit these days, let's examine the price that Christians pay for being a Christian in Islamic countries, shall we? (and this is by no means a complete list.)

Indonesia: In the eastern islands of this largest Muslim nation in the world, white-uniformed militiamen of Laskar Jihad are forcibly converting Christians to Islam.
This campaign has so far cost the lives of 5,000 to 6,000 people.

Bangladesh: Small radical groups supporting Osama bin Laden have bombed or burned down churches.

Pakistan: Christians depend on the protection of the government as several Muslim leaders have issued fatwas (religious decrees) to kill two Pakistani Christians for every Afghan Muslim who dies in the Anglo-American air raids.

Saudi-Arabia: In the last two months, 15 Christian expatriates have been jailed for worshiping in private homes, and three have been tortured.

Sudan: Some 2 million people, chiefly Christians, have been killed in a civil war fought by the radical Islamic regime in the north of the country against non-Arab population in the south.

Somalia: Anybody found out to be a Christian will quickly be beheaded by Muslim vigilantes.

Nigeria: In 12 states, versions of Shari'a law, the Islamic penal code, have been imposed. After the imposition of Islamic law, riots ensued killing 5,000 in the city of Kaduna alone

Egypt: The government discriminates against Christianity by financing the construction of mosques, while denying permits for the reconstruction of Christian sanctuaries.

But back to Detroit and the disturbing trend of those American Muslims who dishonor this country by swearing allegiance to (and wearing) the flag of Islam:

Flip through Fordson High School yearbooks and you'll see a marked change. In 1990, only seven seniors at the Dearborn school wore hijab in their class photos. That's less than 5% of the female students in the senior class of a public school with a student body that's at least 85% of Arab descent. In the class of 2006, 78 are wearing hijab -- 40% of the women in the class.

And then there's this from the infamous Pew poll:

A generation ago, hijabis, or those who wear hijab, were a distinct minority among Muslims in metro Detroit. But a national survey found that 43% of Muslim women in the United States usually wear hijab or head coverings in public, with an additional 8% wearing them sometimes. The poll of 1,050 Muslim Americans was done by the Pew Research Center from January to April and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The reporter goes on to tell us why. They're getting them young and warping their minds with their cultish gobbledy gook.
The increase in hijab use comes as local mosques are offering more programs aimed at youth. There are lectures and gatherings aimed at American-raised Muslims every weekend. Jawad, the 19-year-old from Dearborn, made her decision to wear hijab after attending a youth retreat with the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.