Hello!
I am a follower of your blog and was wondering, hoping that you could do a post about young women who convert to Islam and those who are Muslim but do not wear the hijab. I myself, am simply fascinated with Islam. I am currently reading and studying the religion and hope to convert sometime soon. However, I am not only conflicted with my family's opinions, (though I fully understand that it is to declare submission to God.), I feel that I worry too much about not fitting in or being too tempted to live the lifestyle I am so accustomed to. I apologize, I do not mean to bother you or solicit. I really enjoy your posts. I think that it would be amazing if you could do posts on the above topics and/ or understand if you will not.
OK.. well being a convert.. i KNOW what this step is like. wearing hijab is a big step for any muslim who has not worn it before. some people wear it after many thinking sessions. i myself wore it a few weeks after i became muslim as i thought that that was what i needed to do. the decision came from my head and not my heart. i lasted a week.
months later it came all of a sudden from my heart. long story short - i kept it on since then.
i think you shouldnt force yourself into it, after all there is no compulsion in religion... even for yourself. just take your time and ease yourself into it. start by just playing around with it, playing with different styles in your bedroom. try wearing it for 30 minutes in public once a week. get used to it if you can. one day, insha'Allah you will want to put it on and never take it off. also what i think is more important than covering your hair, is to start covering your body in a modest way. that way you can dress more conservatively and have hijab at least on your body and build your way up to covering your hair. after all, the female body is more sexually attractive than hair.
and dont worry about your family. i dont think i have met any person (especially from a non-muslim background) who has had a 100% smooth sail into hijabdom. you will most probably face difficulties with them about it. for me personally... i received A LOT OF SHIT from my family and still do from one brother and one sister of mine. i cant speak for everyone else, but for me i was pretty strong and just wore it anyway and took the brunt of their jokes and nasty comments, usually arguing back.
i knew i was doing something good for myself and with that in mind i didnt really care about how they felt. in saying that though i have a pretty strong personality and am very stubborn about something when i have set my mind on it. i know that helped me alot in my own personal hijab start out, but for you, since i dont know your personality, all i can say is to take your time with it and be as strong as you can be and dont let anyone's nasty comments or opinion get you down.
i also experienced people in my university class sniggering behind my back, sometimes not even in a discreet way. some of these people making fun of me were supposed to be my friends. at first i was upset, embarrassed, shy and really wanting to take my hijab off, but then thought "stuff it... this is who i am now. i dont care what they think"... and i honestly didnt.
also about your question regarding fitting in and your old lifestyle - you will face challenges and obstacles because of this, but you will also experience many fantastic experiences along the way. to change your life into an islamic one will take some time. once again dont push it.. just let your new life unfold naturally and easily. dont force yourself into something that you are not comfortable with yet. just try things out, test things for yourself and find your own way. dont worry about fitting in. none of us 'fit in' because we are all so different - different backgrounds, different cultures, different life experiences. you will be accepted as a muslim and thats the main thing.. dont worry about fitting in to a particular group. just keep the good things from your non-muslim lifestyle and try to get rid of or avoid the bad things in it. you dont have to completely change your life... just say yes to the good and no to the bad.
And.... GOOD LUCK!!!
What do my readers think of this? any advice you could give this possibly new sister?
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