The recent “hijab for a day” event on campus was the subject of much debate.  Students were invited to wear a Hijab, traditional Muslim head covering for a few hours on April 29.  Should students be allowed to do this?  Is the school promoting a religion?  Is this disrespectful to Islamic culture?

The answers are yes, no and maybe respectively.   Coming from a  non-Islamic background, defending the ability to wear a hijab for a day is an easy decision.  Religious liberty and the freedom to express and practice it should be striven for in this country.  The government should not interfere with the practice of a religion unless said individuals are breaking the law.  This would obviously put a lot of stress on what the law is composed of, but that would be diverging from the original intent of this article.  If it is the intent to worship Allah by wearing a Hijab, then so be it.

Considering the event was entirely a student raised, organized and lead event, San Diego Mesa College has no connection to the event.

If the idea behind the event was to communicate how it feels to be judged as a part of Islamic culture, then wearing a hijab for a day is an effective step in an ongoing learning process.

Wearing a hijab is a good thing because it is a small way in which people may understand the judgment passed on followers of Islam.  It is a cultural experience that is intended to humanize people and their beliefs.

If a Muslim wears a headscarf to please Allah in accordance with their beliefs, then our culture has no right to shame said person for making such a choice.  In the same way, if a Muslim woman wears a headscarf to underscore the importance and beauty of her mind instead of her body then it would be hypocritical to judge such a culture on its conservative dress style while adhering to a vastly different set of cultural values.

Lastly, the hijab is a symbol of faith, not a symbol for terrorism as some would claim.  Unfortunately, some find it easy to link any symbol of Islam to terrorist groups like ISIS.  Extremist groups like ISIS do not by any means share the same views of their faith with the majority of Muslims in the world.  The culture associated with Islam is deep and rich and the hijab is a small part of it.  Perhaps wearing a hijab may help a non-Muslim see a different view of the culture and religion that they did not see before.