A reporter dons the Islamic hijaab

October 1, 2001 7:49 PM

A reporter dons the Islamic hijaab and writes about the reactions she receives. I'm ashamed to admit that I probably would have been one of the people who pretended she was invisible...
posted by raymondc (3 comments total)

"...when a young man shoved me in front of a moving vehicle."

Are you serious? WTF? I guess Seattle isn't so cool after all.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 8:07 PM on October 1, 2001

My favourite: There were cute moments -- like when a boy wearing a "Wassup!" T-shirt on a bus leaned over and asked "Who is this Allah guy anyway?"
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:13 PM on October 1, 2001

That was an excellent article.

But I have to wonder how much of the looking half-a-block down thing was just her noticing the way people in big cities react. In the metropoli (all two of them) I`ve lived in, people regularly look through them.

As far as people questioning her English or expecting her to speak quietly or poorly, I would expect that she would have gotten similar treatment if she were wearing a kimono or a sari or a dashiki (anything that`s not the standard pants, shirts, shorts and skirts that Americans tend to wear).
posted by chiheisen at 11:18 PM on October 1, 2001