Glamjabis in Paris – religion and haute couture in hypersecular France

Last updated on: August 19, 2013 at 4:54 pm by Hind Makki

Glamjabis in Paris – religion and haute couture in hypersecular France 2013-08-19T16:54:50-06:00 Hind Makki

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Earlier this summer, riots broke out in suburban Paris, sparked by a police check on a Muslim couple. The woman was wearing niqab, which is illegal in France, and the confrontation between the police officers and the couple escalated violently. Unsurprisingly, the government supported the police officers; Interior Minister Manuel Valls said,”Police did their job perfectly. The law banning full-face veils is a law in the interests of women and against those values having nothing to do with our traditions and values. It must be enforced everywhere.” France’s Socialist government is contributing to the marginalization of it’s own Muslim citizens.

In recent years, hypersecular France – which has the largest number of Muslim citizens in Europe – has developed and implemented counter-terrorism laws that seem to be designed to curtail the religious expressions of French Muslims. Girls are still banned from wearing hijab in schools, face veils are completely banned in public, communities wishing to build or expand mosques run into bureaucratic red tape from local government, police surveillance of immigrant neighborhoods is a matter of course, and even the availability of halal meat became a political lightening rod during last year’s national elections.

The Socialist government’s counter-terrorism tactics, the never-ending identity and integration debate, and the constant presence of the far right in electoral politics, in the form of the National Front and it’s charismatic leader Marine Le Pen, are happening during a time when France is experiencing a worrying trend: physical attacks against Muslims, their mosques and institutions have risen between 35%-50% so far in 2013. Earlier this month, an air force sergeant, with alleged ties to the far right, was arrested on his military base and placed under investigation for allegedly attempting to commit a terrorist attack against a mosque in Lyon. Islamophobia undoubtedly is on the rise France.

So imagine my surprise last week when I saw a post on Facebook by the couture hijab site, SixteenR, sharing a picture of their ad in the French fashion magazine Glamour. The accompanying text asks if hijab is “glam or not.” It continues on, mentioning that young, social media-savvy Muslim hipsters do not think that being hijabis is counter to being fashionable. Indeed, the rise of “glamjabis” and their popular social media sites, shows that – at least for tens of thousands of young Muslim women – hijab couture is a way of life. Bright colors and patterns and innovative wrap styles complete the look for fashion-forward glamjabis.

And France, of course, is the land of high fashion. Civil rights activists will take on the legality of the French government’s anti-hijab and counter-terrorism measures in the courtroom, anti-racism activists will take on the National Front through grassroots electoral campaigns, and endless media debates about integration will loop on television. While fashion-forward Muslim women will continue to sell and buy stunning new designs, smashing stereotypes of the drab, oppressed Muslim woman who needs the armed forces of the state to protect her from her own identity.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 4, 2013

On Side Entrances and the Adab of Clicktivism

Next Post

August 27, 2013 Building Bridges:Telling the American Muslim Story

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #BlackLivesMatter #MyMosqueMyStory #ZoulSoul American Hijabi in Europe Black History Month Ertugrul Hindtrospectives Linksies Mawlid Pop Culture Trans Atlantic Relations Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2018 December 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 August 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group believes in "soul sleep" after death?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Orthodox Methodists Baptists Seventh-day Adventists