i struggle
with
the scarf;
but I know its significance
and value.
often i will concoct
a style that looks
modern/urban
or just throw on
a hat.
and i have seen hijab wearing women
regard me
as of I am a khafir*,
but i let them eat that
misnomer
silently.
many communities
police themselves
but “religious police”
are
another matter.
in America
the tables are turned:
i recently applied for
a job
teaching online
the potential employers
insisted i send a picture
for the “onboarding” process.
shortly i heard back from them
that the position
had been filled.
(of course it could
have just been
my flawless brown skin
as well
that elicited that feedback)
but thats another matter
actually, I wore my simplest
scarfed look for that sitting.
so i usually opt
for the basic head-coverings
i am not unduly holy,
but i do try to keep the mark
realizing that there is
after all, a reckoning…
one time
in my Northern California days
i was at some kind of meeting
in the Santa Cruz area
and I walked up to
one of the speakers
and he looked at me and said:
“Your halo is looking good”.
very matter-of-factly.
Instinctively,
i reached up and touched my head
and he said, not your head, but your halo.
and i’ve had times where children
have stared at me in awe
as if angels were dancing around me.
(some little ones can see those things)
so i proceed
with my thesis,
‘Is a nimbus not enough?’
should we have to mourn
an Iranian sister
who lost her earthly life
because she was not wearing hijab?
should her supposed “re-education”
gone wrong
be our source
of sorrow.
will her
martyr-light
in paradise
light the way,
wipe out ignorance
and nonconstructive norms.
dear reader, I ask:
is the nimbus
not enough?
Linda Tauhid
©9/21/22
“Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent.”
Holy Quran, Chapter (66) sūrat l-taḥrīm (The Prohibition) Verse 8 (excerpt)
Update: https://youtu.be/RgwkcMCCR4w
Linda Tauhid 