How do you deal with people who are prejudiced against you ??

Question

How do you feel when people make false judgements because of what you wear..and their ignorance of your religon??

I am a muslim women who wears hijab....and I am tired of people saying these things...

1) I am forced to wear the hijab, and I am oppressed so that I must take it off....I choose to wear the hijab (My parents actually do not want me to wear it). I do so because I want to follow my religion..and like to be modest..

2) You can't wear hijab..because 'When in Rome'....I was born in the west...and I think I should have the same rights as everyone else...like the Catholic Nun to wear her habit...Aren't these countries meant to be democratic and free. Isn't practising your religion a basic human right???

3)By wearing the hijab..it offends me!...HOW??? Do I give you physical pain!.. My hijab hurts no one..I am, not stopping you from dressing how you like..I am not forcing you to become a Muslim?? You can only be offended if you are prejudiced

How can these people claim to be tolerant and enlightened..if they can not tolerate me, I am a nice, peace loving, respectful of all religions, and races, person..who works and pays her taxes..and has never broke the law...

Should I just stay in my house so that none of you "civilised" people has to tolerate me?????


How should I cope when people are prejudiced against me..because no matter what I say..to explain to them..they donot listen!!

How do you feel when people constantly are prejudiced against you for you religion and do not ..judge you as a person???


What should I do????

Answer 1

These people are ignorant.Ignorance is basically fear of what we are not accused to in our every day life. Wear your hijab,and know that Allah is smiling at you for SHOWING your faith. Pity those who would act like this.Pray for them. Be merciful,even as Allah is merciful. By the way,I am a 44 year old ordained minister and not a Muslim,but I see complete truth in the Qur'an and respect it's message.Maybe more should read it and try to understand.

Answer 2

Wearing the hijab doesn't offend me, however as a symbol of a religion that oppresses women worldwide it is pretty offensive full stop.

I don't agree that practising a religion is a basic human right, I find all attempts to push religion into other people's view offensive.

Your religion does not require you to wear the hijab, certain extremist interpretations of Islam believe this but the majority of Muslims do not follow this interpretation.

I believe we are all equal in the eyes of god and that god loves us all equally, however I also know that many use god as an excuse for inflicting pain and misery on others.

I have no prejudices against people except those that wish to do harm to others by forcing their viewpoint on others.

Britain is the only secular state in the world, if you wish to practice your religion please feel free to do so, but don't try and force others to do so. And don't hide behind religion to justify wearing a symbol of repression that your religion does not require you to wear.

Answer 3

You can't with a lot of people. But you can try by throwing the question back in their face. When they see how ridiculous the question seems when the ball is in their court, they'll usually back off.

1.) Are you prohibited from wearing the Hijab?

2.) Would you wear one if you went to Mecca?

3.) Your lack of a Hijab offends me!

I gotta admit though, that I'm prejudiced. If I'm in a store, I'll go to the checkout line with the woman wearing the Hijab. I know the cashier won't be a gum-popping, eye-averting, cell-phone-yacking 17-year-old.

Answer 4

The only thing you can do is to carry on doing what your doing and not bow down to pressure... people are prejudiced simply out of a lack of education and understanding about other cultures and religeons... basically if they don't do it then it must be wrong.

Stand up for your rights, hold your head up high and remember there are a few of us in the world that admire people like you that take a stand and do what you like.

I was born a muslim into a mixed race family, dad from Pakistan, mum, white british... I don't practice the muslim faith, never really had, except refraining from eating pork while growing up. My parents taught me to believe in God, have goodness in my heart and to try and be a decent human being, be kind to every living creature, embrace other nationalities, cultures and religeons and to embrace diversity and not belittle it.

Hopefully they did a good job and this will be something passed down to my son and unborn daughter.

Go for it girl.... if you want to wear a hat made out of bananas, then I'll be behind you on that too! Don't let anyone else tell you different.

Answer 5

1. If they will not listen to you, do not bother trying to explain. "There are none so deaf as those who will not hear..."

2. Believe and know that if you are in America, you have a right to be yourself. There are people who are indeed influenced by their own and their parents' ignorance, as well as the news media. Unfortunately, the news media are very guilty of portraying Muslims as insurgents. People need to realize that these insurgents are only less than 3% of Muslims. The news media is trained to focus on the stuff that will fit into a 2 minute time slot, and it has to be bad news in order to get the best ratings.

3. People wear clothes that are offensive to some, or sometimes many, but they are still allowed to wear them.

Answer 6

ignore them...

However, I do think they have every reason to be prejudiced against you. Seems like you will be different from them because of your religion. Come to think of it this way, let's you are not wearing a hijab, and you are wearing a burka which only shows your eyes and you are taking a picture of driver license and they request you to show your face, and you said you can't because of religion. Do you think they have every reason to be prejudged about you!??

It is basically the level of how people prejudge you.

Personally, I think Hijab should not be worn. But again, it is your religion, I won't say anything about it. I am just wondering how you can tolerate hot weather!

by the way, your avatar shows you hair!!!

Answer 7

Just ignore them and when someone actually asks you about it, then speak about it honestly and say that it is a part of your culture and who you are. There are always going to be someone who prejudges you in life, it all depends on how you react to it. Getting upset about it all the time gives that other person the power to hurt you. Just accept that there will be some people who will never understand how you feel about your hijab and live your life the way you want to live it.

Answer 8

Ignorance it what makes people talk like that. Do not worry about them. If someone wants to learn you can talk with them about it, but don't waste your breath with someone who is just being ignorant. Remember that Al Queda is giving Muslims a bad reputation. This spills over to all Muslims even though it should not. And never forget that there are tolerant people out there also.

Answer 9

I for one, cannot abide predjudice for predjudice's sake.

As long as you are as you say, law abiding and a good person, who cares what you wear? I assume that you are willing to show your face at customs on entering or leaving the country or for ID purposes.

Ultimately it is just an expression of your faith and it is down to you to decide what is right, as a gay pagan ginger haired overweight guy, i know a thing or two about predjudice and the simple fact is that it only exists if you feed it.

Just be the best person you can be and don't isolate yourself, educate people just by being around them, being friendly and being open, don't segregate yourself and feed people's fears, the only way to end predjudice is to ensure that people have nothing to fear, it is human nature to fear what we do not understand, so help them to understand. I respect that you are willing to face predjudice for your beliefs, now do your bit to ensure that others don't have to.

Answer 10

It's the same as when I was in Saudi as a white westerner. I had people beeping their car horns at me shaking their fists, I was chased one day by a load of youths, people wouldn't even sit in the same row of chairs as me at the airport even though we sat 20 feet apart at either end.

It goes both ways sometimes.

On the other hand though, I met some really nice, caring people there who were very hospitable, polite and made me feel welcome. Some people's attitudes suck.

How did I deal with prejudice over there? The good old English two-fingered salute - simple as that, job done.
Just show them an "I don't care" attitude, hold your head high, puff your chest out and get on with it.