{"id":348,"date":"2016-03-18T23:20:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T23:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/?p=348"},"modified":"2016-03-18T23:39:22","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T23:39:22","slug":"a-muslim-womans-personal-battle-against-islamophobia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/2016\/03\/18\/a-muslim-womans-personal-battle-against-islamophobia\/","title":{"rendered":"A Muslim Woman&#8217;s Personal Battle Against Islamophobia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"background-color: transparent; display: block; max-width: 700px;\" title=\"audioBoom player\" src=\"\/\/embeds.audioboom.com\/boos\/4321690-a-muslim-woman-s-personal-battle-against-islamophobia\/embed\/v4?eid=AQAAAMJW7Faa8UEA\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Standing in front of her vanity\u2019s mirror, Mirvette Judeh quickly wraps her scarf around her head. She secures it in place by tucking it into her neckline, forgoing the pins which she fears might rip the delicate fabric.<\/p>\n<p>For all of last year, this has been Mirvette\u2019s daily routine.<\/p>\n<p>At age 38, Mirvette decided to wear the headscarf, also known as the hijab, after she noticed an alarming spike in anti-Muslim incidents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt started as a thirty-day challenge,\u201d Mirvette said, sitting on the couch in her bedroom in Buena Park, Los Angeles. \u201cI put it on with the mission of being that person that\u2019s going to take away those misconceptions and those false images that have been assigned to my religion.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;The hijab is bigger than me. It represents an entire religion.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Recently, Muslims have been more frequently portrayed in a negative light, due to the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. In addition, the anti-Muslim rhetoric used by the Republican candidates during the presidential election primaries has led to increased Islamophobia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wore [the hijab] to stand up for Islam, to stand up for all the [hijab-wearing women] out there, and to stand up for America and what we\u2019re about,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_283\" style=\"width: 2458px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-283\" class=\"wp-image-283 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image4-e1458321104622.jpg\" alt=\"Mirvette Judeh, a Los Angeles resident, puts on her headscarf, also known as a hijab. She started wearing the hijab on April 3, 2015, in solidarity with other Muslim women.\" width=\"2448\" height=\"3264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image4-e1458321104622.jpg 2448w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image4-e1458321104622-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image4-e1458321104622-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image4-e1458321104622-1240x1653.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image4-e1458321104622-508x677.jpg 508w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-283\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirvette Judeh, a Los Angeles resident, puts on her headscarf, also known as a hijab. She started wearing the hijab on April 3, 2015, in solidarity with other Muslim women.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mirvette, a real estate agent and a delegate for the Democratic Caucus, often tends to be in the public eye. So, she had her doubts before she wore the hijab, and even after she started wearing it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a struggle,\u201d she said, recalling the feeling of being out in public the first time she put on the hijab. \u201cIn the beginning, it almost felt like every time I went outside, that I was like going through an obstacle course, or like I was walking on broken glass,\u201d she confessed.<\/p>\n<p>As a Muslim, Mirvette views herself as a representative of Islam.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI just feel like I have to be perfect because I\u2019m wearing the hijab. Not because Islam dictates me to be perfect, because society will judge my entire religion for something I didn\u2019t do right.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Mirvette noted the gender disparity when it comes to how others perceive Islam, due to the obvious identifier that is the hijab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor us, women, there\u2019s no escaping it. You put it out there, people know you\u2019re Muslim. And who the heck likes to be called a terrorist?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>American raised and Palestinian by heritage, Mirvette has encouraged her three children to appreciate both their Arab and American heritages.<\/p>\n<p>Rakan, 9, Ayah, 7, pray together in their living room while their three-year-old sister, Selma, watches. Mirvette also watches them, helping them recite the Quran verses correctly.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_281\" style=\"width: 3274px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-281\" class=\"wp-image-281 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2.jpg\" alt=\"Mirvette has encouraged her children to appreciate both their American and Arab cultures. They pray together five times a day and speak fluent Arabic. \" width=\"3264\" height=\"2448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2.jpg 3264w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2-1240x930.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2016\/03\/image2-508x381.jpg 508w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 3264px) 100vw, 3264px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-281\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirvette has encouraged her children to appreciate both their American and Arab cultures. They pray together five times a day and speak fluent Arabic.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>On a recent trip to her local market, other shoppers stared at Mirvette as she walked down the aisles picking up grocery items.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at the stares,\u201d she said. \u201cIt almost feels like I\u2019m a foreign object or like an alien or something, like I\u2019m invading the market,\u201d she added, sounding shaken.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just feel awkward, you know? Just awkward. Like I\u2019m out of place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the negativity with her experience with the hijab, Mirvette is proud of her decision, and continues to stand by it. \u201cI can\u2019t believe I made it a year. I\u2019m going to make it a year!\u201d she said, excitedly. \u201cI\u2019m shocked! And hopefully, it\u2019ll be a lifetime. Hopefully I\u2019ll never take it off.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Standing in front of her vanity\u2019s mirror, Mirvette Judeh quickly wraps her scarf around her head. She secures it in place by tucking it into her neckline, forgoing the pins which she fears might rip the delicate fabric. For all of last year, this has been Mirvette\u2019s daily routine. At age 38, Mirvette decided to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"featured_media":366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,2,10,11],"tags":[39,66,47,65,41,40],"coauthors":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2016.nextgenradio.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}