Media Search: American Muslim Hijab-wearing Teen for CNN.com
[UPDATE: Please email me your full name, age, age when you started wearing a hijab, city/town and state, phone number, and other interesting family details or personal stories, inshaAllah, God willing.] Please contact me as soon as possible if you are a mom of a Muslim teenager living in America who wears a hijab, you are a Muslim teen wearing a hijab in America, or if you know of a teen ready to share her experiences. I’m trying to help a colleague at Turner.com (A Times Warner Company) find a teen willing to she her [ "our" 
] perspective of why a Muslim American teenager would dress modestly and cover her hair while living here in America. According to his resources,
Outsiders may see the hijab (head covering worn by Muslim women) as a symbol of female oppression. Why, they may wonder, would a young woman in the U.S. embrace oppression by wearing a hijab?”
Rather than hesitate and not allow your daughter (or sons, if the opportunity arises) to talk to the media, I’d like to share my thougths on the issue:
We should embrace the opportunity to share our faith proudly, clarify misinformation openly, and strengthen our relationships with those willing to hear and spread the truth of and for the sake of Allah (May He be Glorified).
This is the breathe in which American Muslim Mom was launched. And, I pray that Allah (May He be Glorified) will bless us, as we all strengthen the eman (faith) of our children through our own confidence and pride in practicing our deen (way of life/religion), while at the same time teaching others (non-Muslims) in the process. Ameen.
I tried for years to keep my little darlings away from the media to keep my personal life separate from my professional life, while protecting their privacy at the same time. But, that ended when I started working for an Islamic insitution, and our girls had their opportunity to speak to the media themselves.
Then, when a colleague contacted me regarding featuring my daughter and her award-winning invention for Muslims by herself, we jumped at the opportunity. They did not contact me because it was an Islamic invention, but because her invention already had a prototype and for her inspiring young age.
We thank Allah (May He be Glorified) continuously that her unique invention continues to gain this kind of exposure, and that she was/is able to articulate the practice of Islam so well in many arenas predominantly to non-Muslims. Simply by inventing and designing her useful and necessary Muslim on the Go, Portable Prayer Pack, she’s able to make dawaa (introductions and/or the spreading of Islam), mashaAllah (Allah has willed).
Subhanallah, Glory be to Allah, the innocence, confidence and pride that shines from our young children is absolutely beautiful as well. While adults work so hard to handle media through professional training, as I did when I worked for the government–I quickly learned that if we just teach our children to talk with pride, honesty and confidence, Allah (May He be Glorified) will always be with them and their words will come more naturally and purely then we can ever train them for. Read these two articles and see how our, then, 7 and 8 year-old daughters answered the reporters’ questions.
Please contact me with the above details as soon as possible, the reporter has been searching for a teen Muslimah since last Thursday, July 16, 2009.
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Category: Family
Mediacurves.com conducted a study that might interest you on the perceptions of Muslim women who wear hijab. Half the respondents viewed a woman wearing a shall and half viewed the same woman without it. Many differences were found between how people perceived the two pictures and the results can be seen here: http://www.mediacurves.com/Culture/J6652/
Thanks,
Ben
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Thanks Ben for sharing is enlightening and very sad research results. InshaAllah (God willing) American Muslim Mom is dispel many, if not all those perceptions–especially about education, finances, personality, etc. I can’t believe this data has been around since 2008. Should I contact Vince directly for more information, or can you be my contact person?
My biggest question would have been, “Do you personally know any Muslims?” Or, an open-ended question asking how do you base your answers regarding the woman with a shawl/head cover/hijab? Media? Reading fiction novels? Reading non-fiction books? Personal friendship? Acquaintance? And, ask for details.
I honestly believe, ANYone who know me personally and professionally would share a totally different view, MashaAllah (God willed).
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very interesting post MashAllah.
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Ponn Sabra Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Jazaka Allahu Khayrun. InshaAllah, stick around so you don’t miss out future opportunities, inshaAllah.
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A recent follow-up study among 1,431 Americans about their perceptions of woman wearing a traditional Muslim shawl, or hijab. The results revealed many positive changes in the respondent’s views with regard to the photo of a woman wearing a hijab. The woman with a shawl was viewed as more friendly, beautiful, and less strict, compared to an identical study that was run in January 2008. Respondents were also more welcoming of the idea of the woman depicted living in their neighborhood than in 2008.
More in depth results can be seen at:
http://www.mediacurves.com/Culture/J7614-MuslimHijab/Index.cfm
Thanks,
Ben
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I truly appreciate this post. I’ve been seeking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve created my day! Thank you once more..
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Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any recommendations for rookie blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.
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I’m using a little issue I cant subscribe your feed, I’m using google reader fyi.
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