Hijab should not be used to exemplify diversity

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Feb 7, 2021 at 01:39

Dear Dr Pipes, these days many government agencies and private companies are attempting to show how diversity-conscious they have become. In their advertisements these agencies do not fail to include Hijab adorned women to highlight their diversty. I recently watched a diversity-ad showing a Hijab-clad woman and some Japanese people eating Ramen noodles. Even if I grant that diversity is a big virtue to exhibit, I contend that Hijab is not a good symbol to emphasize diversity.

There are huge differences, for example, between the worlds that supports Hijab and the world that consumes Ramen. Ramen comes with some noodles, HAS a lot of broth, and is pretty secular. On the other hand Hijab is a representative of subjugation of women. The proponents of Hijab are also proponents of covering women from top to bottom in all sorts of weathers. They also do not oppose polygamy. They belong to an expansionist philophy that openly celebrates its growing size and highest growth rate. It also wants to convert us all to its way of thinking. All in all while most other examples of diversity are celebratory and in good taste, hijab can leaves a bad taste in many of our minds due to what it represents.

Like good citizens of world, we are obligated to treat even those people well who care nothing for our culture and routinely dismiss our ways of worship. But we should not feel obligated to use their subjugatory symbols to emphasize those very values that they routinely destroy in their own cultures and societies.

I think Islamic politics and hypocrisy should be opposed consistently, politely, and repeatedly. Hence this letter.

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