Advice for Women Contemplating Wearing Hijab | Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi
Channel: Muslim Community Center - MCC East Bay
Date: 28/04/2023

Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi gives spiritual insights on World Hijab Day about celebrating and being proud to wear the Hijab (Islamic veil). Watch the complete talk: https://youtube.com/live/aQARM5e6uP8

- More Ustadha Hosai: http://mcceastbay.org/hosai
- More Womanhood Defined Retreat: http://mcceastbay.org/womanhood
- More sessions for Muslimahs: http://mcceastbay.org/women

This talk was delivered at the Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California February 19, 2022.

MCC is proud to support #WorldHijabDay in February to stand against bigotry, discrimination and prejudice faced by Muslim girls and women worldwide in hijab. This is a global campaign to promote religious tolerance, cultural understanding, and international solidarity.

There’s more to Haya (modesty) than the Hijab. To understand hijab as an act of worship, it is first crucial to consider other common acts of worship and see the correlation between them. 

Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi is the co-founder of MH4M (http://mentalhealth4muslims.com), a site dedicated to providing mental health related content tailored for the Muslim community. She has served the American-Muslim community for over 20 years as a spiritual advisor, mental health advocate, writer/editor, mediator, interfaith organizer, and public speaker, covering a variety of topics including women's issues, marriage/family, youth/teen issues, education, self development, interfaith bridge building, spirituality, etc. She currently offers monthly self-development and spiritual wellness classes with MCC East Bay Masjid and she offers regular educational workshops for students and teachers at local Islamic schools. She also offers periodic talks throughout California and nationally for the Muslim community at large on a variety of topics. In her spare time she enjoys reading, writing, blogging via social media, doing arts and crafts, visiting gourmet coffee shops, and exploring the countless beautiful beaches and state parks throughout California where she lives with her husband and two sons.

In its 10th year, World Hijab Day Organization has continued to dismantle bigotry, prejudice and discrimination against Muslim women through awareness, education and empowerment. By taking part in this event and every bit of support means more victories for our sisters who are unfairly targeted and harassed for their choice of wearing hijab globally. World Hijab Day is a global campaign to promote religious tolerance, cultural understanding, and international solidarity.

“To my surprise, the veil was strangely liberating, an unapologetic form of self-expression.” – [Joe Galvez, Catholic, Philippines]

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
At a young age, Nazma Khan immigrated to New York City from Bangladesh. Not knowing the culture or the language, Nazma found herself the only one wearing the hijab (headscarf) in middle school, where she was constantly bullied. This constant discrimination followed her throughout high school and college. After 9/11, her situation got even worse. Now, she was being chased down the street and labeled a ‘terrorist’ for being visibly a Muslim. She realized that many women in hijab in different parts of the world were encountering similar discrimination. She wanted to do something to address the stereotypes and improve circumstances. Therefore, she invited women from all ethnic backgrounds to wear the hijab for a day to foster religious tolerance and cultural understanding. She called this global event ‘World Hijab Day.’ This event is commemorated in over 150 countries every February 1st. Learn more at http://worldhijabday.org and at https://youtu.be/oxUjXZc0Br8 and https://youtu.be/KQh_oZe8ECo

#WorldHijabDay #DressedNotOpressed #Hijabista

For many Westerners, the hijab is the ultimate sign of women’s oppression. With this event, we argue that modest clothing represents far more than social control or religious orthodoxy.

More than just a veil, this is pious fashion that, from head to toe, engages with a range of aesthetic values related to moral authority, consumption and selfhood.

She defines modesty in Islamic dress as an ever-changing social practice among Muslimahs who, much like non-Muslimahs, choose from range of available clothing items and accessories in order to create styles they think will look both appropriate and attractive..