I stumbled on this YouTube clip about 'Hijaab Fashion'. That got me thinking, about the modern day evolution (or perhaps 'devolution') of the Hijaab. Similar to Western fashion, it seems Hijaab has become something that is dynamic. Abaayas' are getting tighter, hijaabs smaller and ever the more eccentric. I am sure where we have all had instances where we had affirmed, 'that is not a Hijaab' (or perhaps we were the guilty party )
There are Hijaab 'fads', that one must keep up with. Most likely, styles from the Middle East that Western Muslimah's endeavor to emulate. These days, one must wear a under-scarf, an over-scarf and an extra scarf you use to tie some irrelevant flower. Consequently, it begets the question from even fellow Muslims, given all those layers, "aren't you hot in that?" Furthermore, there are the camel humps, the bow-tied hijaabs (like am I present or something?) and many other anomalies.Thus, there is a demand for Hijaab tutorials. Observing such phenomena I guess it is safe to say, gone are the days where we only used a single pin and wraped our hijaabs in less than 30 seconds.
When Islam spread to many different nations around the globe, one thing it did not do was seek to Arabize the communities but rather to Islamize them. I guess, Muslimah's in the West, have developed their own distinct culture. My question is, can you still be fashionable and still be modest or are they mutually exclusive? What are you thoughts?
When the Arabian peninsula accepted Islam, Hijab looked Arab.
When Islam came to Malaysia, Hijaabs looked Malaysian.
When Islam came to Pakistan, Hijaab looked Pakistani.
When Islam came to Africa, Hijaab looked African.
When Islam came to China, Hijaab looked Chinese.
