Indonesian
fashion designer, Fenny Mustafa, took Muslimah fashion designs a few
steps further in her suite designed with hoofed shoes and stockings, and
outrageous outfits and hair coverings that looked literally over the
top. While,
perhaps fashion enthusiasts may appreciate Mustafa’s work, many would
probably not slip into the outfit and walk around balancing the head
gear – the fact that it may attract so much more attention and defy the
purpose of hijab, would be a secondary reason.
Taking
it closer to home, and to the heart of Islam, Malaysian Muslimah
revert, Noorshin Ng, writes about modesty in the “Beauty of Covering
Up.” As someone who is active in da’wah work, Ng found that when she
embraced Islam many years back, she was surrounded by tight tops and
short shorts or skirts. New Muslims then only had the choice of more
“traditional” Muslim clothes that were very cultural in nature and not
very versatile. As
a revert, Ng was open to blurring the cultural lines of what it means
to be a Muslim woman and how the apparel of a Muslimah can take on
different forms. Through her book, she shares ideas on how to be
flexible when dressing up as a Muslimah to suit the time and palace.
“It
is good to blur cultural lines as I believe it will create better
acceptance of our gradual change to complete cover up. And it is good
da’wah to our not yet Muslim family. Surely we also want them to enter
Jannah.”
She
adds,“My book is to help make our sisters understand the beauty of
covering up. To know it is an honour and a protection from Allah SWT.
Being consciously covered by choice brings us very much closer to Allah
SWT. It makes us want to please Him and do everything possible to
obtain His good pleasure and rewards.”
In
Malaysia, Muslims mostly comprise of Malays, while there are a handful
of Chinese and Indians who revert to Islam on an annual basis. Being a
Chinese revert herself, Ng acknowledges that a change in a revert’s
dress code can come across as a drastic shock for her non-Muslim family.
She goes on to encourage finding a middle path in dressing, without
compromising the basic principles to cover according to Islamic law.
“They
(reverts) can wear loose trousers, tops and lovely light capes and
shawls, jackets. The choice is endless; we should emphasize on beauty
and modesty in Islam and we should let others know we have not changed
except we have learnt to appreciate and respect modesty. In the past,
women of different nations dressed modestly too. Islam protects us and
gives us a road map to follow.” she advises.
Ng
even tailors Islamic clothing for Muslim women, under the brand name,
Mariamah, and is in the midst of working on a full fashion line. While
the Qur’an and Sunnah place a great deal of emphasis on modesty for
both men and women, and honor women to the point that they laid out the
requirement of the female dress code, details such as intrinsic design,
fabric, color and allusions to cultures, remain open and flexible (as
long as they do not contradict the requirements already set forth in the
Qur’an and Hadith). With the booming fashion industry in this region, there are various pros and cons for the Muslimah shopper.
Sources: http://www.onislam.net/english/culture-and-entertainment/fine-arts/466915-redesigning-muslimah-apparel-the-muslimah-way.html
No comments:
Post a Comment