Discrimination in the Muslim Community
Many women described examples of times when they felt left out of the Muslim community or criticized by members of the community. This was concerning for the Latinas who converted to Islam yet attended mosques where they were the only person of their race. Additionally, women that do not cover described their frustration with others in the community that expected them to cover, or criticized them for having an improper covering, despite the fact that they were in the mosque to focus on their own spirituality.
Zohra
Zohra
- "I do remember being in a mosque when I was really young and my scarf didn’t cover my hair because it was too long and when I tied it I thought I tied it well but it was still showing and after someone came up to me and told me “hey, your hair’s not covered, you need to cover your hair” and my mom said “don’t worry about that” my mom was very, always, she wanted me to like my religion and wanted me to just interpret it in my own way and not feel the need to hate it just because someone might be a little more hostile towards different scenarios. So she definitely brushed it off and didn’t like the fact that the lady came up to me but said that it’s the thought that counts and God still knows I was praying, God knows that so it’s not like a big deal."
- "So for me, personally, I have my son who's about to be 21 years old he has, he's a person with disabilities, so for me, having him get bigger, when I would go to Masjids that did have the separation, I would have some differences with people who were like “you can't have your son here”, and I'm like- “have common sense- he's special- what do you want me to do?- I'm a single mother- you want me to ask just any random person to watch my son for me to make you feel better?”- like for that reason I also was kind of like away- wherever I go I bring my son- but here I don't have to worry about it, for me, it's a big blessing for me-- something that during my dark times I would pray for, like Oh God, first that was an excuse for why I'm not around but once I came here it’s like oh, that worry no longer exists, because I no longer have to ask someone to watch my son for me while I pray, I can watch my son praying in front of- which is something I never had- I didn't have before. So that part is really emotional for me because it makes a big difference in my life to bring my son in this journey with me instead of leaving him behind at a babysitters for example."
- "Maybe in the beginning, when I first took my shahada, it was on a Tuesday night, and Friday came and I was so excited to go to jummah prayer- our Friday prayer- and I was nervous and scared to go to my first thing, and I ended up going to a Masjid close to me and I remember walking in and I remember I was excited, nervous, and I said Saalam Alaikum to them and they just turned around and they didn't answer me, they just looked at me up and down, and I felt so odd and and weird, I felt like an outcast. What was different about me and them is they were Pakistani and they could tell that I'm not, so I think that's the only time I felt a sense of like, bad, I guess, you know, trying to fit in somewhere and I don't belong but after that I started meeting more Latino-American-Muslims so I was okay, it didn't affect me."
- "It was really stupid. I was at a summer program and there was another Muslim guy and we were just talking about Islam. He was kind of like judging me in a way for not covering, but it was just so stupid."
- "But there have definitely been comments, like sometimes from other girls growing up in the mosque they would say like, “Oh, I started wearing the Hijab,” and it’s just kind of like an unsaid thing that they expect me to also. But definitely from my family in Indonesia. Like I visited two summers ago and it’s always like, “Do you not wear the Hijab because you live in America?” Like it’s something I’m supposed to do, but because I live in America and other people don’t that America is stopping me from wearing it."
- "It’s kind of difficult to put into words, but I can remember a few comments by hijabi sisters that made me feel like my experience of Islam was not as important or meaningful as theirs. These moments were tricky because I do see Islam as a very important part of my life."