Your experience of Islamophobia??

Nichole

Junior Member
Asalaamu Alaikum

I assume some of my brothers and sisters might have some slightly amusing stories of first-hand Islamophobia. Here are 3 that I can think of offhand:

My husband and I were driving to the masjid next the the University here and a SUV pulled up next to us with 3 or 4 drunk guys inside. They looked at me a couple of times and then one screamed out at me that he hates Jews. LOL! He thought I was Jewish (hijab???!!!!) My first thought was his poor parents are wasting money on a useless college education and my second thought was if he ever watched the news he must be so confused if they show fighting in Filistine. lol

My second example: My husband and I went to a store and when I got up to the counter the lady leans across the counter and talks v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and is almost yelling. I guess I look like I'm from Jordan/Filistine/Syria so I look Arab but I'm a white convert. It was hilarious!!!

Lastly, I had a women in a grocery store ask me if the hijab is pinned to my head. My husband was so offended but I tried to explain that we should feel bad for her for being ignorant.

:lol:
 

ivonne

Junior Member
Well, I have had a few more or less funny expieriences
one of them was that two old ladies were very scared because I was wearing a scarf and the owner of a mobile phone as soon as they saw I have had a mobile one of them said to the other look she has a mobile and they were running away. Lol, that was sort of funny. Less funny was that a woman int the street told her I would say 5 years old son " Do you see that women with the scarf? This sort of women are bi......" that made me speechless but well what can you do?
:SMILY309:
 

xSharingan01x

TraVeLer
Well, I have had a few more or less funny expieriences
one of them was that two old ladies were very scared because I was wearing a scarf and the owner of a mobile phone as soon as they saw I have had a mobile one of them said to the other look she has a mobile and they were running away. Lol, that was sort of funny. Less funny was that a woman int the street told her I would say 5 years old son " Do you see that women with the scarf? This sort of women are bi......" that made me speechless but well what can you do?
:SMILY309:

:salam2:
That made me laugh. I'm not your referring to your experience, but the foolishness of these people. May Allah help them.

I personally did not experience anything significance until recently. My friends and I came from Masjid directly after Isha and we decided to hang out at the Starbucks I used to work at. One of my friend had a Moroccan Jilyba, not sure what it is called (you know the one with the hoodie in the back). I had a CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations) T-shirt on which had master card type of joke in the back. It said something along the line of "..... going to the airport and getting stopped by the TSA (transportation security agency) asking 'where is Usama?" PRICELESS!"
These group of guys, got in their car while they drove past us, one of them threw their drink at me.
It wasn't too bad, I was surprised by the reaction of non-Muslims that were present in the lobby. Almost all of them stood up in anger and one of them even wanted to chase after the car.

:wasalam:
 

cmelbouzaidi

Junior Member
:salam2: well, i haven't had much experience of islamophobia with the bulk of my life as a muslim so far having been in the states. I got a rude comment shortly after 9/11 from a former colleague who asked if when they found the terrorists and shot them with bullets dipped in pig fat, if they would believe they would be going to hell. I was left dumbfounded with such ignorance! The first time i came to paris where i live now was in the 80s. My correspondent was half french and half algerian. Unfortunately she had no relationship with her algerian dad. Her french grandma was anti arab and anti muslim and used to point at muslims in the market and say bad things about them out of pure ignorance. Funny to think six years later, i became muslim and married a man from the arab race and the islamic religion that she so despised!
 

island muslim

Junior Member
Salaam Alaiykum,

To those who are oppressed in the lands kufr, i would like to quote the following from quran.

"Verily! As for those whom the angels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves (as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigration was obligatory for them), they (angels) say (to them): "In what (condition) were you?" They reply: "We were weak and oppressed on earth." They (angels) say: "Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?" Such men will find their abode in Hell - What an evil destination! "[Surah 4, Verse 97]

Except the weak ones among men, women and children who cannot devise a plan, nor are they able to direct their way. [Surah 4, Verse 98]

For these there is hope that Allah will forgive them, and Allah is Ever Oft Pardoning, Oft-Forgiving. [Surah 4, Verse 99]

He who emigrates (from his home) in the Cause of Allah, will find on earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by. And whosoever leaves his home as an emigrant unto Allah and His Messenger, and death overtakes him, his reward is then surely incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is Ever Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Surah 4, Verse 100]
 

Zaynab123

Subhana Allah!
Asalamu alaykum
this isn't so funny but its crazy to see how much hatered we muslims face in our everyday life.
ok, so far i haven't faced anything like that but this muslim boy that is in the same class as me faces lots of problems. it was a cuople of weeks ago. we were in the class and he talks alot. his name is Usama so there is this one girl that they always mass with each other. everytime she gets mad at him she calls him "Taliban". and one day he was absent and somebody mentioned his name and she said "ooh you're talking about Taliban boy" and the teacher said ok don't say that again 'couse i can't help laughing and that's gonna get me in trouble. i was shocked.:eek: i can't beleive and old man such as him only cares about getting in to trouble.
 

justcelebre

Junior Member
Salam,

I have loads of unfunny islamophobia stories actually but I do have a few which really makes me wonder what non-muslims REALLY know about our religion.

Like a friend asked me if I might be bald underneath my Hijab? Or that if I use my Hijab all the time even when I bathe..? Or that I even bathe at all? hahaha.. I get string of weird questions and it shows how ignorant people can be.
 
:salam2:I have quite a few experience. I was walking by the harbour in boston. One woman passed by me and said F.....G Terrorist B...H .
It happens that i am the only hijabin in my family. One day i was walking in front and my sister and my mom were walking behind me. My sister heard a lady comment to her husband. Is she crazy it is so hot and she is wearing that. ( I wish i could tell her that hell fire will be worse).
Once a lady asked me why i wore a hijab? She wanted to know if i was feeling cold and it was to retain heat.
 

amaal30

Junior Member
Salam,

I have loads of unfunny islamophobia stories actually but I do have a few which really makes me wonder what non-muslims REALLY know about our religion.

Like a friend asked me if I might be bald underneath my Hijab? Or that if I use my Hijab all the time even when I bathe..? Or that I even bathe at all? hahaha.. I get string of weird questions and it shows how ignorant people can be.


oh yeah i get that all the time!!! another one that they say is do you wear that at home too? Does your father know how long your hair is? and then when they wanna act "muslim-y" they say things like "ahmedinjad" lol or do that arabic yellin' lol...other than that i don't remember anything else. Ofcourse we always get those looks and whispers but other than that the questions are okay if not funny, but at the same time i can correct them then and there so they don't go around and ask many more muslim people those questions
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Salaam,

We all have our stories. We know that our experiences only make us stronger. We scare others. We scare them because we do not give up. We are a happy people. We believe. We are grateful and yes, we have a sense of humor.
 

palestine

Servant of Allah
well i haven't faced many that are severe but have faced many that are not so severe. although to me they seemed severe. from 2nd grade - about 5th grade i was teased by many and i usually never had friends. not might i remind you that the other muslim girls did because they were told to wear pants and they obeyed just so they can "fit in". but i refused and so i was the only muslim i knew in that school who was an outcast. i was spat on at one point for wearing the hijab, i was called spaghetti eyes(this one was funny, because my eyes are big and the one who said this really had small long slanted eyes. so she was more spaghetti eyes than me. lol) anyways last summer a middle aged dude followed me to the store and out again mocking me all the way. he was name calling Allah and i turned around and named called him while in the store. so it was handled because the manager came and talked to him and all the customers stopped to watch him. ooh it was embarrassing for him and yay for me i won. lol. for the record, i do want to be mocked, so that i can make fools out of them and show them how ignorant they are and to get a chance to do da'wah. lol. but alhamdulillah what me and other muslims face is not compared and cannot be compared to what the sahabah went through. ours is minor, i don't know why we are so impatient and complaining. it's an opportunity to make da'wah whether they like it or not.
 

butterflymuslima

Junior Member
Just happened today!

I haven't been covering my hair long and I'm sad to say I wear a scarf tied to one side with a high neck shirt most places. If I wear the Amira hijab I'm scared to go out by myself where I live (Southern US). A lady I've known for years very quietly asked me today, "what's up with the scarf...I'm mean it's beautiful and all, but you don't have cancer or anything do you." Oh, my! I feel like maybe this is my wake up call and I need to wear my full hijab all the time, but there are so many mean ignorant people out there and I'm usually alone with my small children. Any advice!?
 

palestine

Servant of Allah
I haven't been covering my hair long and I'm sad to say I wear a scarf tied to one side with a high neck shirt most places. If I wear the Amira hijab I'm scared to go out by myself where I live (Southern US). A lady I've known for years very quietly asked me today, "what's up with the scarf...I'm mean it's beautiful and all, but you don't have cancer or anything do you." Oh, my! I feel like maybe this is my wake up call and I need to wear my full hijab all the time, but there are so many mean ignorant people out there and I'm usually alone with my small children. Any advice!?

ukhti we will never not face racism. people who have children, who are alone also go through this. may i remind you that there are many who go through worse things then you and me. ukhti in order to become strong muslims, we have to be willing to be strangers. whether you cover or not they will still most likely hate you if you're muslim. my suggestion is start covering up. you will only face what Allah plans for you to face. if the whole nation were to come and harm you they wouldn't be able to do so if Allah has not willed it. sister hijab is not an issue to be taken lightly. you are a muslim, distinguish yourself from the disbelievers and start wearing the hijab. wear it proudly without fear. make dua to Allah as much as possible. if it's possible move to the north. especially minnesota i would suggest. if you can't move start wearing it. they do it in texas, they do it in arizona and i'm sure that whatever you face was planned by Allah already. and if you die or are hurt for the sake of Allah there is nothing better than that. but i want you to reflect on this question: "is it better to die serving your lord, or is it better to die while fearing people"? now i know the question seems simple and the answer too. but deeply reflect and try to serve your lord at your utmost. asalamu alaykum wrwb.
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Salaam,

I live in West Virginia. They get used to us. Somehow everyone here knows my sons because they are with me. There was a thread on TTI about wearing colorful hijabs. Dig it up..treat yourself to a variety of scarfs and hijabs. Look at some of the websites to see the different wraps. Besides, it is getting colder and it makes sense to keep your neck and ears warm. Just do it. The rest is easy.
 

palestine

Servant of Allah
Salaam,

I live in West Virginia. They get used to us. Somehow everyone here knows my sons because they are with me. There was a thread on TTI about wearing colorful hijabs. Dig it up..treat yourself to a variety of scarfs and hijabs. Look at some of the websites to see the different wraps. Besides, it is getting colder and it makes sense to keep your neck and ears warm. Just do it. The rest is easy.

i think she should wear normal scarfes that still have color and style but are appropriate according to islamic guidelines. colors that are too bright wouldnt' be right for hijab.
 

palestine

Servant of Allah
Guidelines for hijab:
7 Conditions For a Woman's Dress






A Hijab is a word that indicated the following conditions :

1. Clothing must cover the entire body, only the hands and face may remain visible (According to some Fiqh Schools) .

2. The material must not be so thin that one can see through it.

3. The clothing must hang loose so that the shape / form of the body is not apparent.

4. The female clothing must not resemble the man's clothing.

5. The design of the clothing must not resemble the clothing of the non believing women.

6. The design must not consist of bold designs which attract attention.

7. Clothing should not be worn for the sole purpose of gaining reputation or increasing one's status in society.

The reason for this strictness is so that the woman is protected from the lustful gaze of men. She should not attract attention to herself in any way. It is permissible for a man to catch the eye of a woman , however it is haram (unlawful) for a man to look twice as this encourages lustful thoughts.

Islam protects the woman, it is for this reason that Allah gave these laws. In today's society womankind is being exploited, female sexuality is being openly used in advertising, mainly to attract the desires of men and therefore sell the product. Is the woman really free in today's society ? The answer is obviously no, the constant bombardment by the media as to how the ideal woman should look and dress testifies to this.

Islam liberated woman over 1400 years ago. Is it better to dress according to man or God ?

Allah has stated in the Quran that women must guard their modesty.

" Say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty ; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof. " [Quran : 24.31]

" Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty ; that will make for greater purity for them, and God is well aquatinted with all they do. " [Quran : 24.30]

" And O ye believers turn ye all together toward God, so that ye may attain bliss. " [Quran : 24.31]

Author : Naseer Ahmad
 

nyerekareem

abdur-rahman
:salam2:

for the most part i haven't experienced any islamophobia. i think it's because people really can't tell what my ethnicity is. some think i'm black or arab, hispanic or pakistani or indian. they just aren't sure. however, whenever i wear a kufi, people definitely give me the evil eye. when i do wear a kufi, there are times when i fear for my safety. that's why i have so much respect for the hijabis and niqabis out there. not afraid or ashamed of being muslimahs.
:wasalam:
 

nori suja'i

Junior Member
One none muslim old man near my block ever spit infront of me while i walking opposite him, the 2nd time he did (the following day) i just did as what he did. the 3rd time i accidently met him, he didnt spit anymore but walked straight.
 
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