The Hijab Hysteria: A Soldier's View

By Mohammed Omar Masry

Baghdad, Iraq -- At this very moment leaders in Europe are debating the menace of the hijab. This article of clothing worn by many Muslim women has been deemed as the sign of fundamentalist Islam intent on destroying European civilization. That elderly grandmother hobbling down the Champs-Elysées with a simple white scarf on is a threat to the sovereignty of France, and her niece several hundred miles to the east is a threat to the nation of Turkey.

This type of paranoia is best countered with ridicule. If for instance the Turkish government wants to ban the hijab in state institutions such as universities because it sees it as a threat to the Turkish Republic then display your loyalty to your faith and your nation by taking that Turkish flag and wearing it as a hijab. If the Parisian school system hopes to ban you from wearing a headcovering in the name of equality and liberty while at the same time publicly funding a Catholic high school, then show up at your school with a Nuns with Guns shirt.

Nothing helps encourage fundamentalism and support for extremists more than when governments suppress free speech or religious expression. In fact, in too many predominantly Muslim nations, the only place where any semblance of free speech is allowed is at a mosque.

Whether it is running an underground resistance to the Taliban in Afghanistan or seeking to build a modern Islamic identity in Malaysia, Muslim women are at the forefront of progressive change. Pushing them to the fringe by labeling those who choose to wear hijab as extremists is an insult not only to self-proclaimed Western values, but a blow to the forces of moderation. Some of the most strident and vocal reformists in countries like Iran are devout Muslim women passionately and intelligently arguing that the current regime has betrayed Islamic principles of social justice. These women are striving to work toward Muslim societies that will make this world a better one for our children. Women like Merve Kavakci, forced out of her seat in the Turkish Parliament for wearing a hijab, face death threats without fear and struggle for inclusion by raising their voices, not advocating violence.

If the European Union seeks to serve as a model of civic society and cooperation, then it must engage its Muslim population, male and female, in an attempt to find understanding, tolerance, and moderation. Attempting to disenfranchise one of the fastest growing practiced faiths in Europe will not only weaken the accomplishments of the European Union, but dampen the admiration for it held by many in the Middle East and Muslim world.

I serve as a soldier in the US Army. I am also a Muslim. I am not only treated with respect for my faith, but I meet other Muslims that are also surprised by how well they are treated. That includes not only the Sergeant at Fort Bragg that wears a hijab while in uniform (brown in color to match camouflage tones), but a Muslim captain who belongs to the Ahmadiyyah sect who in his home country might be treated as a heretic by fellow citizens. In my civilian life, I see American Muslim women that choose to wear the hijab by choice sometimes, and ironically, to the disapproval of their families. In my experience, Muslim American student groups run by women are often more organized and more successful at encouraging members to engage in intelligent and thoughtful discussions.

If nations want to battle extremism they need to arm their “fanatical moderate Muslims,” not with weapons, but by upholding their own stated values of tolerance. It may not be as “sexy” as a cruise missile, but it does our common humanity a whole lot more good.

Mohammed Omar Masry is a 24-year-old Sergeant in the Army Reserves currently in Baghdad, Iraq assigned to a Civil Affairs unit engaged in reconstruction work. A native of California, his mother was born in Mecca, Saudia Arabia and his father was born in Nigeria to a Lebanese father and Armenian mother. His weblog can be seen here