Arguments for the Hijab in Canada

Arguments for the Hijab in Canada

The discussion about whether Muslim women living in Canada should wear hijab has been a controversial issue for quite a long time. Dressing code of individuals is critical as it acts as a means of communication to the public. Muslim women in Canada believe that wearing Hijab is their right as it preserves their identity. The Muslim women in Canada argue that they wear Hijab because it is a commandment by their religion that women should cover their hair. On the other side, Canadians in other religions persuade Muslim women to stop wearing Hijab on their heads. The means of communication used in the controversial issue about hijab between the Muslim community and the non-Muslim Canadians is very essential in the whole debate.

Different means of communication have been used in the arguments for hijab in Canada ranging from face to face communication to use of social media. The number of Muslim Canadians have increased in recent years, which has been attributed to the immigration policy of the Country (Selby, 2016). However, with the increase in the number of Muslims, there is still a misunderstanding in public on whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear hijab (Pio, 2018). Public awareness about the issue of the hijab has increased because the issue brings cultural diversity in the country. Non-Muslims are always in the conversation with the Muslims members trying to persuade them to stop wearing the hijab on their heads. Headlines have been everywhere including on the national television and social media platforms campaigning against the controversial hijab in Canada. However, in all the different means of communication currently being used in the argument about hijab in Canada, social media and face to face communication have been found to be more effective in the persuasion process.

In the current era, social media has become an important tool in shaping people’s way of living (Rahmath, 2016). Cultural differences have been discussed and effectively solved through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Muslim groups in Canada have their Twitter and Facebook accounts where they can freely express their views and experiences on their religious practices. Non-Muslim members also have the chance to interact with the Muslims in the social media and give their views about Muslim practices. The arguments about the hijab in Canada involves the Muslims and the non-Muslims members. Non-Muslims members are in constant persuasion process with the Muslims women to persuade them to stop wearing hijab on their heads. Muslim organizations are also involved in this social media conversation where they answer the public on the importance of hijab in Muslims women. In social media posters, non-Muslim individuals posts on their twitter accounts arguing that Canada is a free country and therefore the Muslim women should stop the slavery of wearing hijab on their heads. Also, other religious groups post on their Twitter accounts arguing that the act of students from the Muslim affiliation wearing hijab has an adverse effect on their academic progress. Also, social media posters from non-Muslim members argue that female students wearing hijab attract the attention of other students, which affects their learning in class.

Muslim members and organization such as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women Association have responded to the claims by the non-Muslims members about hijab in the same social media accounts (Funk, 2017). In a Facebook post for World Hijab Day 2018, several Muslim members posted that they wear hijab on their heads as a symbol of their heritage.  Also, Muslim organizations have expressed on their social media accounts that they wear hijab because it is a commandment for their religion and therefore failure to wear hijab will make them to lose their identity. Also, some individual social media posts claim that Muslim women wear hijab as a way of reducing public comments about their physical appearance. Social media has been very useful in the argument about hijab in Canada because most of the people involved in the conversation have access to social media means (Rossetto, 2015). Also, social media has been an effective means of communication on the hijab arguments because the two parties being involved in the argument bring their ideas together even if the involved people are physically separated from one another. However, the use of social media in the hijab arguments has led to racism where some people have taken advantage of abusing other people’s religion, which is unethical and ineffective way of communication.

In conclusion, the conversation between the non-Muslim members and the Muslim members through social media has not come into a concrete conclusion. The non-Muslim members argue that Muslim women should not wear the hijab because they are Canadians and wearing hijab creates racism and separation among the public members. On the other side, posts by Muslim women on social media argue that wearing hijab is a way of preserving their identity as Muslim members. Therefore, because of the different opinions, a decision has still not been arrived about the controversial hijab wearing in Canada.

References

Funk, C. (2017). Hashtagging Islam:# JeSuisHijabi, social media, and religious/secular     identities in the lives of Muslims in Winnipeg and St. John’s, Canada (Doctoral         dissertation, Memorial University of Newfoundland).

Pio, E. (2018). 22. Muslim women at work. Research Handbook of Diversity and Careers, 357.,   E. (2018). 22. Muslim women at work. Research Handbook of Diversity and Careers,       357.

Rahmath, S., Chambers, L., & Wakewich, P. (2016, September). Asserting citizenship: Muslim     women’s experiences with the hijab in Canada. In Women’s Studies International       Forum (Vol. 58, pp. 34-40). Pergamon.

Rossetto, K. R., Lannutti, P. J., & Strauman, E. C. (2015). Death on Facebook: Examining the     roles of social media communication for the bereaved. Journal of Social and Personal      Relationships, 32(7), 974-994.

Selby, J. A. (2016). “Muslimness” and multiplicity in qualitative research and in government         reports in Canada. Critical Research on Religion, 4(1), 72-89.