Guest post by Mysha Arathapor
As a devout Muslim woman living in a Western country you have probably faced a lot of discrimination and ridicule for following your religious convictions. Those that are outside of the Islamic faith do not always understand what it means to live by the rules of your religion, and so they cannot see the benefits and freedoms that come with living a modest lifestyle. Take courage and know that, even though following through on your convictions can be hard, the unseen rewards make the decision worthwhile, and when asked about your decision to live modestly keep these three things in mind.
Lifestyle Choice
First, bear in mind that modesty is not just about the way that you dress, but a total lifestyle choice that affects the things that you do, the way that you do them and why. Modesty begins in the heart and spreads from there throughout the body and becomes evident to others through the ways that you interact with them, as well as the way that you dress. Modesty encourages honor and respect among people and takes inter-personal relationships to a new level. At the root though, you are choosing to be modest because you wish to show your place before Allah. In the scheme of the universe you are but a very small part, and modesty is one way to show that you understand your place in the universe.
Respect
What many people do not see, and what some will never believe is that living a modest lifestyle is something that you can do to build respect for yourself and help you demand respect from those around you. Modesty in dress and action shows that you are a valuable human being and should be treated as such, not as only an object of desire and sexual attraction. Most Muslim women find that their hijabs help to increase their self-confidence and help them to be taken more seriously. The hijab sends a message that the woman inside must be dealt with based on her intelligence and wit, not the way that she looks.
Helping Others In The Faith
Western dress is designed to show as much of the woman’s body as possible in an attempt to make the woman look “sexy” or to arouse the men around her. These latter of these two ideas runs contrary to what Islam says about helping others in the faith. Both men and women are responsible for their own modesty, but they are also responsible to help members of the opposite sex stay pure in heart and mind as well. Following the rules of modesty in Islamic dress will help you ensure that the men around you are not being led into impure sexual thoughts and that you are not tempting them. Overall this mutual responsibility can be used to create a society that is even stronger and more dignified than before.
It is hard to be a Muslim woman in a Western country, but keep the precepts of Islamic modesty are still important. With the right clothing choices it is easy for you to fulfill your religious obligations and still look good at the same time.
I am Mysha Arathapor and I provided this bit of encouragement for Muslim women who wish to stay modest in Western countries. To find the Islamic clothing to keep their modesty, I would recommend www.artizara.com as the destination of choice for traditional Muslim garments in modern fashion styles.
