My day in a hijab
Westerners could learn a lot from the humble hijab.
Just hours before I was being draped in a maroon pashmina, I was standing in a gym fretting about the looks my Kmart leggings were getting from Lululemonclad fitness bunnies.
Whether it’s a jab at Donald Trump’s hair or a swipe at hormone-stricken Olympic athletes, we are well-versed in judging people based on appearances.
As hijab-wearer Jannat Khan puts it, the point of the head covering is to take the focus off a person’s outward appearance and focus on the stuff that actually matters – the substance.
‘‘When you wear a hijab you cover up your hair and your chest and that’s usually the first point women go to when they want to emphasise their beauty.
‘‘Once you cover up those areas, the only way people can judge you is really by your personality. It’s forcing people to look past that physical barrier and judge you on a one-to-one basis, not as an object in the street.’’
It upsets Khan that a woman was made to take her burkini off on a beach in France this week.
She emphasised that wearing hijabs and burkinis was a choice, not a sign of oppression. Yet one French official labelled burkinis as ‘‘an allegiance to terrorist move-ments’’.
As part of Islam Awareness Week, Kilbirnie Mosque - or Wellington Masjid - is holding an open day today with the theme: dialogue and peaceful co-existence.
Anyone can turn up to try a henna demonstrations, take photos of themselves in Muslim attire from around the world, write their name in Arabic calligraphy and tour the mosque.
The word Islam comes from the word salam, which means peace.
‘‘When you see two Muslims, they will say ‘as-salamu ¿alaykum’, which is ‘peace upon you’ or ‘peace on to you’, and that person will respond ‘wa’alaykumu s-salam’ - same to you,’’ Mohamed Sultan Eusoff said.
‘‘The concept of Islam is largely peace and tranquility upon humanity. I mean, for all of us to call this place our home, we need to have a peaceful co-existence.’’
Of the seven Muslims that greeted us, six had completed their hajj, or journey to Mecca.
The story of hajj starts with Abraham, the same one from The Bible, who was ordered by God to leave his son and wife in the desert at Mecca.
When the abandoned pair tried to find water, a well sprung up under the feet of Ishmael, and it is believed he and Abraham later built a shrine - the kaaba - at the site.
Muslims believe an angel brought him the black stone, which sits at the centre. That is what Muslims face when they pray.
The journey to hajj represents shedding of worldly possessions and should be done once in a lifetime,
"For all of us to call this place home, we need to have a peaceful coexistence." Mohamed Sultan Eusoff
Eusoff said.
Gratitude and forgiveness are the key reasons Muslims pray five times a day, Eusoff said.
Research by psychologists in the United States has found making a point of the former improves happiness and makes people feel more optimistic.
The prayers are important, but Eusoff said it’s not the end of the world if you sleep in. ‘‘We are all human, we all miss a prayer. In the morning, sometimes we are not feeling well.’’
Those who are sick or travelling are exempt.
Another member of the mosque, Jamil Khan, cannot stress enough that the radical actions going on across the globe are being done by people who have simply warped Islam into an excuse for acts of terror.
‘‘There’s no place for violence in Islam.’’
Shortly after the World Trade Center attacks in New York on September 11, 2001, taggers hit the outside of the Kilbirnie Mosque.
Ground-level windows have also been smashed in the past, but Eusoff said these acts happened only every few years.
‘‘The fact that my family and I are here speaks volumes, speaks a lot about New Zealand.’’
Kilbirnie Mosque’s open day is being held today from 10am to 3pm at 7-11 Queens Drive, Kilbirnie.