Hijabi Cosplayers

Cosplay is the art of costume playing, dressing up in a costume and making a statement. One trend that has hit the internet is the concept of Muslim women who wear hijab and dress up in costumes. It’s a way of weaving their religious beliefs into their ideals of dressup.

This article from Buzzfeed.com:

shows how hijab-wearing women can creatively incorporate their hijabs into their costumes. It’s a way of partaking in the fun of popular culture while maintaining their religious identity. An interesting note is that not one of these women is posing as Jasmine, the Middle Eastern princess from Disney’s Aladdin.

Another example of Muslim women participating in costume play is found in microblogging site Tumblr, where an account “Hijabi Cosplay”, has pictures of hijab-wearing Muslim women from across the world posting pictures of their ‘dress-up’ days.

Sandra Cañas discusses orientalism and the idea that hijab-wearing women are considered ‘third-world’ women and are to be portrayed as “traditionalist, religious and submissive, in contradistinction to their western sisters who are regarded as modern, liberated and thus capable of liberating their allegedly oppressed sisters.” (Cañas, 2).

Scholar and Imam Dr. Ahmad Kutty states “a Muslim woman is required to cover all her body except her face and hands, according to the majority of scholars belonging to all schools. Covering the head, however, is not at all a disputed issue among them— they all agree that this is a necessary part of Hijab.”

More on this can be found at

In essence, these women participating in costume play are still abiding by their religion. They are covered. However, another aspect of hijab is also the concept of modesty. As Dr. Kutty states, “the purpose of hijab (i.e. by this I mean modest Islamic attire prescribed for women) is to help preserve the dignity and honor of women so that they are not treated as if they were objects.” (http://askthescholar.com/question-details.aspx?qstID=14420)

It is arguable that posing for costume play while wearing hijab is not in harmony with the idea of being modest. This woman has posted a picture of her dressed as Maleficent:

Although she remains covered, one may argue that she does not look modest. She looks appealing and attractive. Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon are radical feminists who believe that pornography directly impacts views on all women, particularly those involved. They believe this objectification is a reflection of male dominance. They state that male dominance and female victims are directly linked to pornography. While the above picture is certainly not pornography, it is arguable that her red lips and makeup sexualize her, which in turn is the opposite of what hijab is supposed to do.

Marvel’s Sana Amanat discusses social identity and representation. She speaks of the intersection of personal and group identity. Although these women partaking in costume play are individuals who seemingly enjoy dressing up, they are also representing Muslim women by wearing hijab. Amanat’s TedX Talk explains how she was able to identify with superheroes growing up and how costumes and role-play helped her to define and identify who she was.

Hijab is a method of modesty that is mandatory for all Muslim men and women. While costume play can be fun and light-hearted, there is a fine line between maintaining modesty and sexualizing yourself by partaking in costume-play. So long as you still remain covered as per the Islamic definition of hijab, costume play is a great example of the intersection of religion and popular culture.