The Muslim Community’s Global and Local Fight for Religious Freedom
Muslim women around the world have increasingly protested against mandates surrounding their choice to wear a hijab, or head covering.
Perhaps most notably, in Iran, women are fighting a strict law which forces them to cover their hair in public, risking execution. This year’s uprising began after a 22-year-old woman named Masha Amini died in police custody after being arrested for not conforming to the country’s strict dress rules. Young women are at the forefront of these protests, publicly cutting their hair and pulling off their hijabs to fight for change.
But these protests are not necessarily meant to condemn the hijab; the call for change is not anti-hijab, but rather pro-religious freedom.
In France, Muslim women are protesting the exact opposite issue; the French government will not allow women to wear head coverings. In view of the global rise of protests related to the hijab, the core issue being advocated for is choice.
These wide-ranging protests are happening mostly outside of the United States, but the U.S. has also confronted domestic issues of religious freedom and wearing the hijab, some of which are connected to Islamophobia.
Rutgers University is home to many Muslim students, and many hijabis. There are roughly 5,000 Muslim students at Rutgers, accounting for just over 10% of the school’s population. New Jersey is far from immune from anti-Muslim action. In fact, according to the ACLU, New Jersey is within the top 5 states for anti-Mosque attacks in the country.
Two Mosques near Rutgers were attacked last month. A truck displaying images of terror attacks drove in circles through the parking lot of the Muslim Center of Middlesex County and the New Brunswick Islamic Center. Both mosques were a part of a larger group of four in Middlesex County where similar incidents occurred.
In a press release, Selardin Maksut, executive director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, New Jersey (CAIR-NJ), said that these blatant anti-Muslim attacks are not acceptable, and were linked to the rise is anti-Islamic hate following the attacks on September 11, 2001.
“They mirror the tactics used against American Muslims in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks and could lead to an uptick in anti-Muslim incidents as we’ve seen over the past two decades,” Maksut said.
CAIR-NJ also called upon local and federal officials to investigate the incident. Those responsible have not been identified.
Since the attack, Governor Phil Murphy has vowed he will not stand for such behavior.
“We will not stand for any intimidation of your right to worship,” said Murphy. “And we will, whether it’s (through) the hard edge of law enforcement or using my bully pulpit or social media or, importantly, where I choose to stand and speak.”
Governor Murphy has not since made any specific commitments to ending anti-Mosque or anti-Muslim attacks.
These attacks are not isolated incidents; a New Jersey teacher last year allegedly pulled a hijab off of a student’s head. That same month, another New Jersey teacher told a Muslim student that they “don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
The freedom of choice and the freedom of religion for Muslim Americans is not as guaranteed as Americans may like to believe, even in New Jersey. While New Jersey may not be experiencing widespread protests like those in France and Iran, Islamophobia is still jarringly present.
