The Woodbridge NOVA Community College MSA (Muslim Student Association) continues to inspire their campus peers and instructors to engage in activities sponsored by the MSA.During the week of March 23, 2009, they sponsored an “Islam Awareness Week”. The scheduled events included a display of famous Muslim Americans as well as Islamic Art with a discussion on Islamic Art. The MSA sponsored a calligraphy lesson and hosted an open house at the local mosque.
One other activity was an opportunity they presented to their campus to have the non-Muslim staff and students wear hijab for three days. Several took on that challenge and attended a dinner on campus on March 26th that gave them a forum to discuss their hijab wearing experiences.
The attendees of the event numbered about 50. When the audience was asked how many of the attendees were wearing hijab for the challenge, eleven hands were raised. Not all the participants were there. In all, there were 32 students and 4 professors who signed up to wear a hijab for 3 days.
English professor, Ms. Diaz, tried both a hijab and hijab with niqab. She indicated that the hijab did not stir up too much controversy, although people gave her a few curious looks, but the niqab was a different story, “while wearing the niqab I was walking on campus and a colleague walked by. I smiled at him, but obviously he could not tell… I guess I thought I was smiling at him. When I made eye contact, he looked away quickly. It was not until I was talking with someone else and he recognized my voice that he turned around and smiled at me and said, ‘I thought that was you.’ The niqab got lots of stares and those looks like, ‘Do you speak English?’”
Jodi, a student from Jamaica stated, “I got a lot of salaams, but I did not know how to respond. People seemed surprised when I did not respond, but after explaining to them what I was doing, they were really understanding and happy.”
Rachel, a girl whose ethnic heritage comes from Galacia, a country in Eastern Europe that no longer exists, commented, “People asked me, ‘Why are you wearing a hijab, you’re Jewish?’ So I told them, ‘Not all Jews hate Muslims and not all Muslims hate Jews’. I guess it is kind of ironic, because I also work in a church.”
Ashley, who is part French and part Philippino, commented, “I noticed that there wasn’t as much eye contact with people. People would look away quickly if we made eye contact rather than looking at me and returning a smile.”
The speaker at the event asked, “Did you notice any difference in how guys treated you when you were wearing hijab?” Adalid, a beautiful young Dominican woman, responded, “I know exactly what she is talking about…Guys are really different. Usually you get guys yelling ‘Woo hoo!”. They are more respectful [with hijab wearers].”
As the dinner was served and everyone sat down to eat, the Catholic professor who had been wearing niqab at the beginning of the event, pulled it down and crossed herself before eating and Rachel, the Jewish girl, made a dua in Hebrew before eating. She went on to say, “When I was in Israel, our group visited an Imam at a mosque and he talked about how we have so many commonalities. I think it is politics that is ruining the situation.”
The speaker at the event was Aisha Prime. She explained to the audience, which was made up of about as many non-Muslims as Muslims, that the hijab “identifies me as a God fearing Muslim Woman…. Women who wear hijab allow people to look at them without any distractions. She removes barriers to interaction… Women are beautiful and we all want to touch beautiful things. We have to help men with this. We have to remind them ‘Hold on! You don’t own the keys to this garden. You will respect me for my mind and for the content of my character.”
To end the evening there was a spin the wheel Islamic trivia game. It was interesting to note that none of the non-Muslims could answer even the simplest question about Islam except for one. The one question they knew was that Islam is a monotheistic religion. Prizes were given out and the atmosphere was light, jovial and a bit competitive.
The food was bountiful and delicious and several students who were not part of the event but happened to come to the student cafeteria, were invited to partake and made welcome. It was joyful to see the hospitality of the MSA hosts to people in general and it called to mind the hospitality of the Ansars. Once again, this small group of Muslims students, in this obscure, small community college campus, strives to make dawa within their reach and did it with a call to excellence: a gracious reminder to all of us.
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