Veiled Praise

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I hope Bill Clintons bug didn’t pass on to al-gore. But read on, what can I say we Americans are the best.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/opinion/23abdrabboh.html?
Cambridge, Mass.

I CONSIDER my appearance quite unremarkable. I’m 5 feet 8 inches, 150 pounds, fresh-faced and comfortably trendy - hardly, in my view, a look that should draw stares. Still, the Muslim headscarf, or hijab, that I wear makes me feel as if I am under a microscope.

I try to go to the gym just about every morning. Because I work out with my scarf on, people stare - just as they do on the streets of Cambridge.

The other day, though, I felt more self-conscious than usual. Every television in the gym highlighted some aspect of America’s conflict with the Muslim world: the war in Iraq, allegations that American soldiers had desecrated the Koran, prisoner abuse at Guantánamo Bay, President Bush urging support of the Patriot Act. The stares just intensified my alienation as an Arab Muslim in what is supposed to be my country. I was not sure if the blood rushing to my head was caused by the elliptical trainer or by the news coverage.

Frustrated and angry, I moved to another part of the gym. I got on a treadmill and started running as hard as I could. As sweat dripped down my face, I reached for my towel, accidentally dropping my keys in the process. It was a small thing, I know, but as they slid down the rolling belt and fell to the carpet, my faith in the United States seemed to fall with them. I did not care to pick them up. I wanted to keep running.

Suddenly a man, out of breath, but still smiling and friendly, tapped me on my shoulder and said, “Ma’am, here are your keys.” It was Al Gore, former vice president of the United States. Mr. Gore had gotten off his machine behind me, picked up my keys, handed them to me and then resumed his workout.

It was nothing more than a kind gesture, but at that moment Mr. Gore’s act represented all that I yearned for - acceptance and acknowledgment.

There in front of me, he stood for a part of America that has not made itself well known to 10 million Arab and Muslim-Americans, many of whom are becoming increasingly withdrawn and reclusive because of the everyday hostility they feel.

It is up to us as Americans to change how the rest of the world views us by changing how we view some of our own citizens. Mr. Gore’s act reminded me that rather than running away on my treadmill, I needed to keep my feet on the soil in this country. I left the gym with a renewed sense of spirit, reassured that I belong to America and that America belongs to me.

Fatina Abdrabboh is a student at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

A comment on the bold above:
Thats why I always wink at the hijabans in the subway, just so they dont feel left out.

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Re: Veiled Praise

They will feel even more left out when you wink at them. Instead of accepting them for who they are and respecting them for that, you redicule them in a way.

Bravo to Gore for acting the way he did, not many would do that.

I wonder however, how much of it has to do with her being a woman. If a bearded man had the same thing happen would Gore stop his excercise to help him ? :P

Back to studying...

*The actor, your parents resemble*
*The actor, your parents resemble*
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^^ Gore himself sports a beard dude.

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how many ppl can go into a gym an not recognise the former vice president right next to you? an amazing feat in itself i think.

but yeah nice story. Its interesting how alot of the barriers are uneccessarily put up ourselves mentally.

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Re: Veiled Praise

My wife and I were discussing this story this morning. What a piece of schitty writing veiled with stupid sentiments of victimhood. She is a friggin American, at Harvard no less. I should speak to the folks there....maybe she should be kicked out.

Want to see her go to the gym in Arabia and see if the man next to her on the treadmill picks up her keys or kicks her in the face for being in the same room.

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Re: Veiled Praise

In an atmosphere of general alienation and systematic targetting against one particular group, to feel victimised is natural. I suggest you try on hijab and walk in public for a day, then see how it affects your behaviour an thoughts.

on second thoughts, try wearing an indian shirt in a pakistani street (in america), an you'll get the general idea.

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^ pakistani street in America? :hehe:

Don’t lecture me on gender issues and cultural nuances Mooliyan, I do more about those issues before 9 am than you have done in your entire life. Now go learn about grid pattered topography of NYC and where this Paki street is. :smash: NEXT!!!

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well i guess they only have that over here then. i was thinking of your safety, but feel free to try any street in pak. now that shud be fun. :-D

k then do let us know what u do before 9am. am interested.

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Brooklyn?

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My safety? Why the hell would I want to go to a sihthole where the term Paki has a derogatory connotation? I also don’t want to go to sihtholes like subsaharan africa. It is the same as bradford and ilk.

check your PM and get your Paki check book out and donate some money to a good cause which is all about gender issues and cultural nuances.

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I read it this morning and the first thought that came to my mind was that Al-Gore was trying to pick up a college student, that sob. What a idiot. Look at your age. I am so happy he is not our president.

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LOL..righ tmadhanee, furthermore she became so enamored because of his beard, she slipped off the stationary bike. ;)

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because sihtholes are the places you work on, before 9am? :confused:

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This still befuddles me. It should come as no suprise that wearing hijab in the US distinguishes one. Its' a positive expression, one of faith, but one that makes a statement. Now there are others out there who choose to make statements. People who have facial piercings, obnoxious tatoos, or they dress as badly as Verizon. ;)

Now these people are not making a religious statement, but I have heard very little whining about Goth descrimination or Skinhead neurosis. Most others who choose to outwardly advertise their persona, do it with a sense of bravado and pride. Certainly a hijab is not just a statement about who you are, but what you believe. So the confidence should be even more easily found.

What the author does not come out and say is that when there is someone who stares just a little too long, she is left wondering if the onlooker assumes she is guilty. Guilty of some crime, some plot, or assisting someone whose anti-social behavior will taint Islam. The author virtually demands that all the Gora explore our inner Al Gore. What if we all really are Al Gore? That is, casual, accepting, relaxed and personable. What if this latent guilt is really largely projected? My guess is that the number of truely negative incidents is a fraction of a percent, but the hijabian falsely assumes that everyone has some negative presumption.

The only answer is to turn each encounter into an education. When you catch someone staring, have a response ready. Say, "Are you interested in my Hijab?". Start a conversation about it, and use the opportunity to converse about Islam. Much like Verizon, I frequently smile or give a little wave to a woman wearing an hijab. Most of the time I get a smile back, nervous or embarrassed. Then generally the woman skitters away like a scared mouse. In the last two years I have had this happen at least 30 times. I understand the role of the woman is different in Islam and in cultures that are predominantly Islamic. But you all need to seize opportunities to have good encounters with people besides Al Gore.

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You have such disregard for Paki/muslim causes..tsk tsk.. :frowning:

nain....
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thats not what i meant. you help out the underdog no?

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OG, I feel differently about that. I think as an after result of terrorist attacks, it has made some muslims very insecure living in places like Boston (more than NYC) and they are often a little too conscious about how they look or behave. I haven’t peed in a subway plateform since 9/11 that I might be arrested for public urination and booked on some terrorism charge. The Hijab debate is only temporary and is a speck of sand in terms of what this country has to offer to its diverse citizenry. No one will know 50 years from now who Al Gore was, but everyone will remember how far we have come together.

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Thats the first upside I have heard to 9/11. :rolleyes:

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Ma Mooli - I believe I mentioned before that I underwent a couple of treatments for cancer (stomach and uterine, 2 different times) and for a period of about 2 1/2 years total went with a scarf on my head, simply because I hated the wigs (too ichy). Aside from a harmless qestion here and there, nothing was said and no attention was given because of it.

I think now with the divided feelings that most Muslims seem to have about the war and their feelings about America that the feeling of being watched and judged is more a psychological reaction though than a hard reality. My husband who definitely appreciates the opportunities that he has here and has settled, also feels like he has to be doubly cautious because of the current administrations policies. He also stopped talking about anything remotely having to do with anything related to Muslims, Muslim countris, and Islam in general on phones (cell and land).

As much as I tell him he has protected rights here, he doesn't believe me.

EDIT: and, of course, because I type so darn slow, madhanee brought this up in a round about way.

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Boy am I popular today or what? I just love myself.