Is it okay to refuse to wear a hijab when attending a Muslim event?

Question

Gramps,

I’ve been seeing many non-Muslim women refusing to wear a Hijab when attending non-religious but Muslim sponsored events/meetings. Could refusing to wear the Hijab be considered the same as Daniel from the Old Testament’s refusal to follow another religion’s practices since it is a religious requirement?  Thanks!

Aleeah

Answer

Aleeah,

No, the two circumstances really aren’t as similar as you might think.

When Daniel refused to partake of foods forbidden by the Law of Moses, he was standing up for his beliefs (Daniel 1:8).  His religious beliefs forbade him from eating those foods offered to him.  To partake would have been a violation of the Law of Moses.

The hijab is a type of head scarf.  Is there any Christian belief that says wearing such is immoral or against the Law of God?  I’m not aware of any.  Movie stars such as Doris Day and Sophia Loren made such scarves en vogue ages ago.  And plenty of Christian women followed suit.  There would be nothing wrong with wearing such.

So, do you see a difference between refusing to do something that is forbidden by one’s religious views vs. refusing to satisfy someone else’s (non-prohibited) requirements when you go visit them?  The first is standing up for your beliefs.  The second is being rude or at least somewhat disrespectful.  Can you imagine if someone who had been informed that Mormons don’t serve alcohol or tobacco at their social gatherings would choose to bring their own bottle of beer or cigarettes to an LDS function?  That would just be rude.  We’d much rather they simply opted not to come to such a gathering.  Then we’d all be happy.

I’ll also comment on current events.  Recently Mme. Marine Le Pen (Candidate for President of France) and Nazi Paikidze (US Chess Champion — yes that’s her name, not a label) have both refused to wear the hijab for their visits to Muslim countries.  In conjunction with this, they have opted to cancel their trips.  On the one hand, we need to recognize that their motivations are socio-political, not religious.  On the other hand, the fact that they’ve chosen to cancel their trips is the appropriate and more polite way to handle it as opposed to arriving and then raising a tizzy fit about having to wear it.  That’s just rude.

Gramps