Christian Headcovering Testimony

taken from "I want to be a Shaker please!"
by Kristie

. . . I reflected on my own desires the past couple of years. man, how I wished I could live in a “Christian community”! I guess I thought it could solve all my issues, make life so much easier…then I would dismiss the thought. I also reflected on the many ladies that I have encountered in the online groups that practice modesty or headcovering (or both lol). So many want to move out…away from it all, to purify themselves and their families. I, myself, would love nothing more than to pick up and move out into the country, away from everybody. But what about the “world”? What about modern “churches”? Do we Christians, need to move away? (Now if there are extenuating circumstances where you NEED to move do to safety, drugs, or whatever that’s a little different) Where are the “lights” for those who are lost?

When God moved me to modesty and headcovering, He made it clear (after much searching on my part) that I was to do it where ever I was at. Meaning, that even if I was the ONLY person in my church, I was to continue on in obedience. When we left [----], it was for several reasons (not for me to discuss on here). We did go through a searching time. And God provided almost exactly 1 year after we left there! [----] is a good little church, far from perfect, but a great family. They have accepted me where I am, no matter how funny LOL I may look! I believe that through my obedience, God will speak to people. Not that I am anything special, but I know how much seeing people obey God in whatever He tells them, really influenced me! When we buy our first home, it will be where God calls us, even if its right smack in the middle of the city.

See also Kristie's story: "how I came to be more modest and headcover".

Be encouraged!

Modesty and Meanings

Anyone interested in the whole "fashion "versus" modesty" area of life will appreciate this well written and thoughtful article:

Muslimah Media Watch: Looking at Muslim women in the media and in pop culture: IslamOnline's Modesty Chic

It is a good thing that modest and chaste clothing is "in fashion" - does it mean that because it is fashionable that it is no longer modest? What IS the definition of modest, anyway?

I'm not sure these questions can be answered simply, but those of us who think about things like this, need backup in looking at the issues from a number of different sides. To be able to ground our own thinking, as well as to be able to present to others a little better the "why" and "what" of our behaviors and beliefs.

Head covering, as well as modest body covering, (and all forms of unspoken communication that go on all the time, whether we like it or not), will always be noticed - there's just no getting around it. And since it will be noticed anyway, then it had better not be messy or ugly, because that will detract from the "message" of the unspoken words of how and why we dress the way we do. Consider dressing like "Umar the tent maker's daughter" (or, pick your cultural background's illustration here, such as "wearing your immigrant mother's clothing, including the size"): What message does this send out to the world about what you believe to be the truth? Does what you wear (including what you put on your head) truly reflect your attitude - which we all hold to be more important than what we put on?

What to Wear

"What I wear and how I wear the headcovering", posted by "Country Mom" at blogspot, explains - not the why, but - the "what" of her decision to cover her head as a Christian, in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11. She shows pictures of how she ties up her bandana, as well as photos of friends who also cover. (automatic radio begins playing at this page - the player is posted at the bottom of the page, if you wish to click the stop button).

Also, please check the Christian headcovering blogs (linked in my sidebar at the right) for "Free to Cover" and "Light and Good Order", who often post their own examples of how they choose to cover, using scarves, turbans, snoods and all manner of home-made or -styled coverings. :) Just scroll through their past postings.

Be encouraged!

News from All Over

United Kingdom:

"The hijab goes high-fashion", in the Guardian.co.uk, including internal links to hijabi websites in the UK.

"School and religious symbol cases ", in the BBC.co.uk, listing various storied about head coverings and other religious symbols and the difficulties with them in public and private schools in the UK.

An editorial comment on religious symbol cases can be found in "Huge case over small item bodes ill for further battles", in the TimesOnline.co.uk.

(Photo taken off of Flikr.com, by blackrainbowmodel - please click this link to see it full sized and read her notes. I saw this in someone's ID photo on blogspot - it definitely catches your attention, eh?)

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey's Constitutional Court has rejected a proposed ban on the country's Islamic-rooted ruling party -- the Justice and Development Party, or AKP -- for alleged anti-secularist activities, the leader of the court said Wednesday.
...

Secularists were outraged at the AKP's recent attempt to lift bans on headscarves at public universities. The move failed after the Constitutional Court overturned the amendment in June.

Headcoverings were banned in the early 1980s by Turkey's universities because they were seen as political symbols and conflicted with the nation's secular governing system.

The government accuses its critics of using the courts to try to deny the AKP its legitimate victory from last year's elections. AKP says it is promoting democracy and pursuing goals that would bring Turkey into the European Union.

...

Although it is a predominantly Muslim nation, it has taken the trappings of religion out of public life, in accordance with the policies of Kemal Ataturk, the revered founder of the modern Turkish republic.

AKP is not the first political party that Turkey's courts have tried to close. More than 20 political parties have been banned by Turkey's judicial system in recent decades.

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DOHA, Qatar, (The Peninsula), By Raynald Rivera -- Ghutra, the traditional headscarf worn by Qatari and other Arab men, has been nowadays in great demand not only among Qataris but also among residents and tourists.

"Asians and westerners, all from different parts of the world buy the ghutra," said Mohammad, a storekeeper at Souq Waqif.

One of the chief uses of the ghutra is to protect the head from the heat of the sun. "It's summertime, so many people buy it to guard their head from the scorching heat," he added.

Ghutra is a square fabric, folded into a triangle and worn on the head by Qatari men and other Arabs. It is held in place with an agal - a cord made of wool or camel hair. Usually it is either red and white checkered cotton or plain white made of fine cotton. It is a matter of personal taste as to which one a man sports, though the plain white, being a lighter fabric, is more popular during summer.

(story continues at title link above) (photo: Ghutras on display at a store in Souq Waqif. (Raynald Rivera))

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Norway (Aftenposten.no/english) -- Two sisters who emigrated from northern Iraq to Norway as children and have studied costume and fashion design are launching their own line of head-coverings, geared to Muslim women in Scandinavia.

"We started using the hijab three years ago, and it was very difficult to find any that fit into daily life in a western country," Nafeesah Badrkhan told Oslo newspaper Aften.

She and her sister Susan, both educated in fashion and costume design, started making their own. "We kept getting questions from other girls and women about where we had bought them," Badrkhan added.

The two soon realized there was a market for western-style head coverings, and their entrepreneurial instincts led to creation of an entire hijab collection. They plan to launch an online boutique this fall.

The two sisters have designed their western-oriented "hijab" for outdoor life (note the sun visor on Susan's at left), casual and formal use. (PHOTO: ANNE-STINE JOHNSBRÅTEN) More of this story at the title linked above.

Remembering Head Coverings

Such a sweet little read, remembering the head coverings of our lifetime. Fashions do come and go, but this headcovering mystery remains.

Please read the short essay: "Remembering Head Coverings in my Childhood", by FreeToCover at blogspot.

Footnotes on Veiling

"Hijab Alternative"
by Scarf Ace - struggling with dressing modestly in the West, with examples and pictures

Instead of posting only on my inner faith and purpose struggles with hijab, I'm InshaaAllah going to also post about the joy and difficulty of finding clothes that actually cover while "expressing myself."

"Mahrem - Footnotes on Veiling"

The current art project ‘Mahrem – Footnotes on Veiling’ at Berlin Tanas Gallery explores the concepts such as hidden and revealed, visible and invisible, public and private around the on-going contemporary discussions on the veil, the show tries to unfold several differing viewpoints related to Islamic covering and its public perceptions through the works of ten artists.

"Silence Me!"
very interesting article on The Hijab Debate in My Sweet Surrender...A Muslimah's Day to Day, at blogspot


"Pune bans scarves while driving to check terrorism"
The Times of India

A ban on covering faces by women while driving motorbikes has irked several women's organisations in the city.

Satyapal Singh, who took charge of the City Police Commissioner last week has disapproved women covering their faces while driving.

The contention of Singh is that terrorists can take advantage of the practice to disguise themselves.

Many college girls and office-going women here cover their faces from head to chin to protect themselves from heat and dust while riding bikes.

"Scarf It Up!"
The Times of India

Scarved revamped. The younger generation is taking some new lessons in scarf tying.

The gypsy look is in. Says designer Payal Jain, “There is so much that one can do with scarves. Come autumn, we’ll be seeing women ambling down high streets in scarves. Choose the one which goes with your personality. That’ll also reflect in the kind of person you are.”

Studying Christian Headcovering

I didn't have time to put together a good article to go with the entries I came across the past couple of days, but you might want to check out these articles:

"Headcovering?"
by Kr.An.Ke Mommy of livejournal
includes a link to another study website on the subject of headcovering

"On the Veiling of Virgins"
Fathers of the Church > On the Veiling of Virgins, by Tertullian, in NewAdvent.org
Text Translated by the Rev. S. Thelwall

Turn we next to the examination of the reasons themselves which lead the apostle to teach that the female ought to be veiled, (to see) whether the self-same (reasons) apply to virgins likewise; so that hence also the community of the name between virgins and not-virgins may be established, while the self-same causes which necessitate the veil are found to exist in each case. [sample of translation from chapter 7]

"THE HEAD-COVERING, part 1"

Although no-one will hold a gun to your head if you refuse the head-covering, one thing is sure to happen: the continued refusal of the veiling will accomplish a few things in your life that you DON'T want to happen, if you are a serious Christian.

Help for Hair Loss - Businesses

Two stories came in today, both about mothers and daughters who have started businesses to provide help and head covering for victims of hair loss due to cancer and other problems. I am so impressed with them - here are the links to the stories, which include more information on the shops and boutiques themselves.


It's survival, then action for Sheila Surber
July 27, 2008 06:00:00 AM
By Donna Vavala
News Herald Writer
PANAMA CITY

Terry Barner / The News Herald

Breast cancer survivor Sheila Surber shows a camisole at her Panama City store, There's No Place Like Hope Mastectomy & Cancer Care Boutique, worn by woman going through breast cancer treatments.

Shop owner takes cancer patients under her wig
07/26/2008
By Kathleen E. Carey
Delco Times

"There's locks to love about Lovely You, a wig boutique which specializes in products for women undergoing chemotherapy. Store owner Debbie Price, left, and her daughter Chelsey Price are dedicated to helping cancer patients restore their self-image"

Various Recent News and Notes

Dress Somali

I noticed that this blog is sometimes hit by search engines looking for "Somali fashion" or something similar. Coming across this sweet blog entry called "How to dress like a Somali..." by Palmers on Mission, who help immigrants and refugees from difficult places. She posted pictures. :)

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Dress Muslim Male

OK, I admit it. I'm tired of hearing the tired old complaint that says that women have to dress modestly and men don't. Usually said about those very conservative Muslim women and men. Well, men DO have to dress modestly too. And they do. A recent article in Business 24-7.ae, called "Tailors see brisk sale of custom-made kanduras," illustrates this. The caption for the photo above reads: Demand for the traditional Arab male dress, kanduras, have remained high in the UAE. (AFP)

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Wear a Hat

Janel Messenger of "Pearls" at blogspot tried having a "Hat Fair", in which women who love hats are to post about it and link to her blog. One cute response was: "Sensibility Hat Fair, by "the Primrose Way". One thing she wrote: "Yes indeedy, those wonderful accessories that have been in decline since the beehive hairdo buzzed by. It's a shame that after centuries of never being seen out of doors without a chapeau, that they disappeared so quickly." I also found an interesting blog because of this too - "Jill's World of Research, Reaction, and Millenary," a blogger who really likes her hats. I found a quote on the page, with the photo above: "Intelligent, beautiful women all wear hats - It's a known fact!"

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Book Review: "Light through the veil"

From The Telegraph of Calcutta, India:

"40 days and 1001 nights: One woman’s dance through life in the Islamic world (Jaico, Rs 295) by Tamalyn Dallal talks about a journey that may have been inspired by an Arabic proverb. “To understand a people”, the saying goes, “you must live among them for 40 days.” The author, enthused with this bit of ancient wisdom, travels across five points in the Islamic world — Indonesia, Egypt, Zanzibar, Jordan and Xinjiang, a Mulsim-dominated, autonomous region in China. Dallal is no tourist, though: she embarks on the trip to learn the truth about Islamic culture, and ends up making many other wonderful discoveries. In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, she stumbles on to one of the last surviving matriarchal cultures, while in Jordan, she delves into a traditional world, carefully hidden under a plush, modern exterior. Crucially, the journey also helps Dallal shed her apprehension about the Islamic world being intrinsically violent and intolerant. Dallal uses a lucid prose, free of the burden of politics or ideology which makes her work enjoyable. The dull images accompanying the text could have been improved upon."

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Removing the Veil

An interview article with two women from Sweden who took the veil, and years later made the choice to quit wearing the veil. Trying to present some more of the various points of view on the headcoverings of the world. In this case, the wearing of the scarf seems to have been more political, or even rebellious, than modest. "They Removed the Veil", in Eurozine.com. A secular European publication.

It started as an act of radicalism. Anne Sofie Roald and Pernilla Ouis adopted the headscarf back in the 1980s at the same time as political Islam began to grow. Now they are part of a global trend towards secularisation in which more and more women are shedding their headscarves and veils.