my mother's hijab

On the drive to the airport our conversation turned to hijab...

it was triggered by a news report about a seller of hijab in jordan who said that those who wear it for fashion are too picky, they apperently want colors he does not have.

she was told by someone in miami that there are girls here too that wear it for fashion.
I said that there IS a difference between those who wear it because their older sisters were wearing it and those older sisters who decided to put it on for some reason. for some of the younger ones, its just another thing they grew up wearing, and the more fashion concious they get, the more fashionable the hijab gets. for some of the older ones its based on a search for identity and belonging, or a choice for modesty, or both.

I said we grow up here without a connection to a historical tradition of modest dress or hair covering, and those among us who desire to be as modest as God wants us to are left to read the original sources for our selves and figure out how to dress appropriately.

It just so happened that this vacuum was filled by revivalist arabs from the middle east who wore their head coverings in a particular way and called it the "hijab" or the "kufi". Not the "dupata" or the "topee".

The idea of covering the head as a traditional form of modesty goes all the way back to the Prophet. My mother mentioned that in Badaun, even to this day the men do not leave the house unless there is something on the head. Covering the head is a method of showing of respect and humbleness.

For the Women its a slightly different issue. My mother mentioned that modest loose fitting dress is what is most important, and it is what she made my sisters wear, and she would give them a scarf to place around the neck as an extra form of modesty.

She mentioned that when she came to america she did not wear the hijab. But she always had a dupatta as a extra piece of garment thrown over the bossom for modesty. And could be used to cover the hair when it was time to pray, or at times when it was important to humble oneself and show respect to the recitation of God's Word.

She said that it was an arab girl who first showed her the "hijab". she needed a place to stay during a break in university, and while living with us, she mentioned to my mother the places in the Quran where modest dress is mentioned, and how important it is for muslims in America to dress accordingly. My mother agreed. My mother said her father had always asked her to dress modestly. She even made a loose coat for herself for whever she would go out to university and along with the coat would be a dupata. But the dupata styles changed over time to the point that it was very hard for her to use. The dupata became more of a fashion statement.

My mother said that in the past, it wasn't like the dupatta was not fashionable, it was. There was a form of seclusion of women in society that allowed them to be very fashionable when they were among themselves and with their family in the "zenana", and they would go out in public with a "burqa" garment that could provide the necessary form of modesy as they went from zenana to zenana. Even the rickshas were covered to allow them to travel in seclusion. (the reasons and meaning of the seclusion of women to this extent is another topic). And, to this day, my grandmother wears a loose black burqa robe over her stylish dress when she goes outside. (wearing the burqa does not mean she wears a "niqab" to cover her face. my grandmother does not veil her face.)

Over time the notions of social modesty changed and the secluded zenana and concealing burqa became a thing of the past (or the "backward" as its critics might suggest) For people like my mother it made things challenging. She grew up in a family that valued traditional forms of modesty. For people like her, the fashions became too modern for her to follow. And in America, she had to resist the peer pressure of discarding the dupata entirely. She had to figure out how to be both, fashionable and modest. gone were the days of not worrying about modesty in fashion because they had a secluded zenana or burqa or loose long coat to wear outside. She even had to give up on dupata fashions and just wear an older style dupata or a nice scarf thrown over her shoulders.

it didn't help that my younger brother and sister would throw it off or remove it easily while they were in her arms. And when my sister and I got involved in muslim youth activities in the early 90's, my mother reconnected with the head covering called hijab she was shown many years earlier and how it was worn so confortably and stayed in place regardless of the kid in her arms... and so she started wearing it. and was emboldened when her own daughters started wearing it.

if i was on the Hialeah city council...

Among the issues that affect the prosperity of any city is the ability of that city to retain its citizenry, its businesses, and its industries. Its the citizens who live and work there that provide the taxes necessary for its survival. And its the citizens who give the city a reason to be.

So there are two categories of things that must be analyzed.
1- what can keep the citizens from leaving, and
2- what can drive them away

What can keep residents put can be simply stated as happiness.
What can keep businesses put can be simply stated as profitability.
What can keep industries put can be simply stated as a workforce.
the opposite of these can drive them away.
all of these are inter-related.

Now lets look at some major causes of unhappiness for citizen of my city:
-some high cost of living expenses like housing, food, & transportation
-low wages
-high property taxes
-lack of recreational and entertainment opportunities

the wages they earn are directly related to the issue of profitability of businesses.
the wages they earn are also directly related to them seeking to be a part of the local workforce.

It might be hard for a city government to control the prices of homes on the market, or the cost of milk on the grocery shelves, or gas at the pump. But, aside from these cost of living issues, there is much our city government can do to help local business stay profitable leading to higher wages, and help local industries find a trained workforce. And, for sure our city government can reduce property taxes and provide clean parks and recreation facilities.

Here's my idea:
How about we encourage local residents to work locally. It will reduce their transportation costs for sure. The encouragement can come in the form of an annual reward. A citizen can fill out a form with proof of residence and proof of employment and choose a reward that works best form them. One example of a reward that will also helps a local business includes a one-year free basic membership to a local gym. another is a discount on your property taxes if you own your property. another discount on property taxes can be given to those who live in the property they own. another can be given if the own a residential and a commercial or industrial property. another can be given if they own a residential property and own a local business.

Yes, these discounts may reduce the amount of money available for the city government...
So.. it does mean that the city would have to reduce some of its fat, become a little leaner. lets concentrate on the basics: sanitation, water&sewer, streets, police and firefighters. lets streamline the bureaucracy.

Our city is pretty much built out, and our goal is to keep the businesses and residents from leaving, so lets encourage them to make renovations and improvements on existing property. lets cut the requirements to upgrade an existing property to a minimum. just structural and safety related issues and design assistance when they run into problems with plan reviewers and inspectors.

We have a branch of the community college so lets encourage our local business to recruit a local workforce and give them incentives like waiving certain fees and free advertising on the city website or free banners on park fences if they do. And we can arrange for local students to get free tutoring through volunteers at the college or high schools. Or help the students at the community college get internships with our local businesses.

There is no shortage of ideas on how retain people and get them to spend in our city. And the above ideas will bring in people and business from outside of the city. So, while there may be a short term loss in revenue it will be offset with long term gains due to higher property values and more businesses and residents paying for permits to expand and grow.

Another problem our city faced in the 80s was the phenominom of "white flight". Over the past couple of decades our city has taken on a latin flavor and a brown skin tone that comes from genetics and not tanning. Well, there are very few whites to flee now. But I do not underestimate the power of America to assimilate its inhabitants. And in the process making itself culturally much richer. This will happen in our city too, if the current residents stay here. The children growing up cities and in our schools are bi-lingual, and while their parents or grandperents might not know english, they do. As long as these people do not move away, we will see a return to the use of english in most interactions over the next 20 years. If we keep our property taxes low and show the residents that there is no reason to leave. then the assimilation will continue. But if there is a constant turn around, with those who are able to move on, leaving to other cities rahter then expanding their roots here, and we have a city of mosty new immigrants, then not only is there no assimilation, but there is no growth. I think new immigrants benefit in a community where they have to interact with local residents who have an established local culture. And it is a good thing for us that our established local culture is no longer based on white nuclear families, we are much more dynamic now.