Sports Illustrated features Muslim model in Hijab

[Liquid Plejades]

So I wanted to have a discussion about this.

Doesn't this go against what Islam is about and stands for? I hope no one thinks I started this thread to shit on this model or the religion. I am truly curious and want to learn. Like, are Muslims supposed to flip through pages of swimsuit clad models until they get to the Muslim model who is covered up? And isn't the main point of a hijab = modesty, therefore posing for millions goes against the entire point of it?

I was reading the reacions to to to to this online and as expected people are divided. And I'm mainly referencing other Muslims here. Some are ecstatic and see this as a historic moment for Muslim women. While others, such as an Iranian human rights activist is not happy about it because it glorifies and gives more power to the oppression of Muslim women being.forced to cover their bodies because men say so.

Would love to hear some of your thoughts about it era

Article ;

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/h...ated-hijab-burkini-style-scli-intl/index.html

 

[Olaf]

I've never been a fan of covering up because of religion, but to me that image is empowering. How could that image give more power to oppression of women? I see it as the opposite.

 

[Sloth Guevara]

I have no issue with marginalized groups being seen.

 

[Liquid Plejades]

I've never been a fan of covering up because of religion, but to me that image is empowering. How could that image give more power to oppression of women? I see it as the opposite.

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Someone on Twitter was arguing that in a lot of places you won't be able to wear hijabs and burkas that are so fashionable and colorful, and women are mainly forced to wear black ones

 

[Trey]

She is gorgeous.

 

[Kinggroin]

No idea what to think. This is too complex an issue for me to dissect properly.

I don't know why I posted in here.

 

[Forkball]

You're either for halal honeys or haram hussies pick a side.

 

[Martylepiaf]

Telling women they can't wear something isn't better than telling them they have to wear something.

 

[Deleted member 1589]

As a Muslim man

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Think it's rather tasteful.

 

[game-biz]

This is ultimately a good thing. At the very least many Muslim women/girls here will see that other Muslim women can appreciate their body and not be ashamed of it and still be Muslim.

 

[Psamtik]

She's super hot, which I think is the only real criterion for inclusion in the Swimsuit Issue.

There's a long history of pushing at the intersection of modesty and sexuality. Think Catholic schoolgirl uniforms, or (for lack of a better term) "sexy nuns" - the idea that being covered makes you more desirable, precisely because you're not supposed to be.

 

[TheGhost]

Is the hijab the full body suit or just from the neck up? Always assumed it just covered top of head and neck/shoulders?

 

[16bits]

UK here, so im not too familiar with this publication.

What sport are they doing?

 

[game-biz]

UK here, so im not too familiar with this publication.

What sport are they doing?

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the sport is called wearing swimsuits and looking damn good.

 

[SteveWinwood]

UK here, so im not too familiar with this publication.

What sport are they doing?

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wearing swimsuits is a sport

 

[patientzero]

In focusing on the hijab as solely a religious garment with all the implications of belief and also using that as a way to deny the person their religious beliefs is to make a huge mistake - you conflate cultural and religious practice while also assuming a person cannot be complex enough to hew to either while still breaking orthodoxy.

This happens way too much here and a lot of other places. Most Christians don't follow the Bible very well, most Jews (in the US) are so culturally but do not follow orthodoxy, etc. I grew up at a catholic school; you know how many people around me actually did everything the Catholic Church demands? Zero.

But I get the sense that if this was a catholic woman being seen eating meat on Friday during Lent no one would care and talk about how she was violating the religion and they also wouldn't tell her she couldn't do that.

 

[Green]

In focusing on the hijab as solely a religious garment with all the implications of belief and also using that as a way to deny the person their religious beliefs is to make a huge mistake - you conflate cultural and religious practice while also assuming a person cannot be complex enough to hew to either while still breaking orthodoxy.

This happens way too much here and a lot of other places. Most Christians don't follow the Bible very well, most Jews (in the US) are so culturally but do not follow orthodoxy, etc. I grew up at a catholic school; you know how many people around me actually did everything the Catholic Church demands? Zero.

But I get the sense that if this was a catholic woman being seen eating meat on Friday during Lent no one would care and talk about how she was violating the religion and they also wouldn't tell her she couldn't do that.

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John 8:7.

 

[Budi]

Good for her! If she herself feels comfortable, then go for it. Shouldn't matter what any fanatics might think. Though of course if she feels forced to wear that much rather than a bikini, that of course sucks. She should be allowed to display her body however she pleases for this shoot.

 

[BlackFyre]

I see this as a step.

 

[patientzero]

John 8:7.

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To give a really true example of what I wrote, I had to actually look it up! I may have been raised so some extent in Catholicism but I sure as hell don't follow it, but at the same time when I'm at a Mass for a wedding or funeral I still perform all the rituals.

 

[JealousKenny]

I'm glad for her and people who support this movement but on a personal level it doesn't interest me. I don't look in swimsuit magazines to see women that aren't almost naked.

 

[Deleted member 8860]

I don't see what I'm supposed to be outraged about.

 

[Jag]

The SI Swimsuit issue is solely intended for people to get aroused by scantily clad women in sexual poses. If the intent of the hijab is to do the opposite, then I don't get why they did this.

I don't have an issue with it at all, but I kind of agree with the OP. I don't want to see a sexy nun in her habit laying on the beach either.

 

[jph139]

The hijab as a somewhat secularized mark of culture and faith doesn't seem strange to me. You can be a Christian porn star - it requires a lot of picking and choosing what tenants of your faith you want to stick to, but you can make it work. And I won't roll my eyes at you wearing a cross necklace if you do.

The idea that anyone in the world follows their religious doctrine to the letter is goofy. Everyone has their own interpretation of how it all works.

 

[Deleted member 2625]

I think it's good that SI decided to show this, but yeah from what I know of the actual religious attachments to that garb, it is totally logically inconsistent. But whatever, most religious people cherry pick the stuff they want to believe and disregard the context.

 

[HamSandwich]

Oh boy, who's tweeting that they're boycotting SI now

 

[Kinthey]

It's like a F1 Race but everyone drives below the speed limit.

Like not that I really care but just seems like an odd call

 

[gozu]

I was raised muslim and Islam says to dress modestly. As far as I understand it, the idea is to limit temptation to have extra marital sex and possibly adultery and its societal ills. Asking you to dress modestly is mostly harmless on its head, but some idiots then go on to believe that women who do NOT dress modestly* from their perspective are "asking for it". This is a real problem that happens today.

Most muslim men will wear swim shorts and go swim topless, will cut their hair and/or beards neatly and wear nice clothes if they can. The difference between how muslim and non-muslim men dress is basically non-existent.

Why, then, must there be a difference in the dress code of muslim and non-muslim women? The middle east is hot. People wear short clothes for a reason when it's hot and when they're at the beach. If you want skin protection you can use sunscreen and umbrellas.

And this is why I have never supported "muslim dress code". I think people should wear what is comfortable for the weather and anything that encourages them to do otherwise is bad.

With that said she looks great and I'm glad she was featured.

*nobody ever thinks that men who do not dress modestly are asking for it, unsurprisingly.

 

[HighResTomato]

Fucking hell, that "Muslim" has a name.

Halima Aden. She sure looks oppressed. /s

 

[issa]

In a perfect world with perfect Muslims yes, hijabis are not supposed to dress to attract. But in the end no one is perfect and humans like to be pretty. This also helps hijabis feel accepted and encourages them.

In the end of the day it's up to the individual woman. I'm just a man what would I know.

Someone on Twitter was arguing that in a lot of places you won't be able to wear hijabs and burkas that are so fashionable and colorful, and women are mainly forced to wear black ones

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If they meant Saudi then that's old news, at least in the major cities women don't always wear hijab anymore.

Is the hijab the full body suit or just from the neck up? Always assumed it just covered top of head and neck/shoulders?

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Hijab is about dressing modestly in front of men. For some that means just covering the hair regardless of anything else, for others it means covering even the silhouette of a body.

 

[thewienke]

On one hand, I'm glad that she is expressing her beliefs via her dress in a society that allows women to have the choice to do so.

On the other hand, there are many societies where they do not have the choice and are forced to wear such garments.

 

[Alice]

I honestly think it's tasteless. It's empowering only on the surface, in the end, it leads to normalizing a method of oppressing women and their right to be whoever they want to be.

 

[Radeo]

I think it's really strange to put it in SI considering the type of people buying the mag

It's probably safe to assume she is wearing it out of choice, but as other people have said that is definitely not the case for a lot of women.

As for the shoot itself, she's a beautiful woman and the dresses are really pretty. Just kind of a touchy topic and a weird publication to show it in

 

[Siggy-P]

It's like a F1 Race but everyone drives below the speed limit.

Like not that I really care but just seems like an odd call

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Yeah.

LikeI get it's supposed to be empowering and all, but being real Sports Illustrated bikini spreadsheets are meant to be softcore porn material.

 

[Deleted member 38573]

Fucking hell, that "Muslim" has a name.

Halima Aden. She sure looks oppressed. /s

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what do you mean? i don't really get how these pics tell you anything about her struggles to get to where she is

 

[Rare Opiums]

I hope Western media stops pandering to Muslim by putting hijab as their headline. I understand that for many Muslim women, hijab is important part of their identity, but if the West wants more progressive Islam then they should also empower millions of Muslim women who choose to not wear hijab. Hijab is no longer a symbol of oppression. In many Muslim countries, women who do not wear hijab actually feeling shamed socially.

 

[Deleted member 18514]

I think it looks ridiculous, like something out of the 1920s or whatever. It does highlight how silly these kind of photoshoots are when you are not on a skimpy bathingsuit.

But I'm all for the extra color as it will probably lead to relaxation of the entire concept in the future. Give ladies a chance to show off and the full body clothing will go eventually, IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

cool, another thread of white non-muslims men thinking they know better than the women themselves what value they should promote
this forum really needed another one of those

 

[Menx64]

most people are only religious when they need it. They forget their faith a bit to watch porn all the time.

 

[Carolina Reaper]

She's a lovely woman wearing an ugly bathing suit. But if it makes her feel empowered, then my opinion of it means fuck-all.

 

[Aurongel]

I love their intent but that is some weak ass portrait photography.

cool, another thread of white non-muslims men thinking they know better than the women themselves what value they should promote
this forum really needed another one of those

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Please elaborate...

 

[metalgear89]

Islamaphobes triggered.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

Guys, she's not doing it for anybody's titillation.

She's doing it to say "I'm Muslim, I'm a woman, I choose to wear the hijab. Women like me exist, deal with it."

 

[Fisty]

Cant believe SI Swimsuit editions are still a thing. Trying to "diversify" their models doesnt really mean much when it's completely removed from the point of the publication to begin with, imo

 

[Deleted member 3815]

Doesn't this go against what Islam is about and stands for?

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No, the Qu'ran in fact does not say anything about Hijab and wearing one does not automatically mean one is a better Muslim than does who don't wear one.

Plus it's the women choice to whether they wear one or not and anyone forcing women to wear them or take them off is not a true Muslim.

 

[Deleted member 5127]

I hope Western media stops pandering to Muslim by putting hijab as their headline. I understand that for many Muslim women, hijab is important part of their identity, but if the West wants more progressive Islam then they should also empower millions of Muslim women who choose to not wear hijab. Hijab is no longer a symbol of oppression. In many Muslim countries, women who do not wear hijab actually feeling shamed socially.

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It really does seem like the West is focussing more on women that claim hijab empowers them, than on the women who have been oppressed by it, it's really odd.

 

[cwmartin]

I honestly think it's tasteless. It's empowering only on the surface, in the end, it leads to normalizing a method of oppressing women and their right to be whoever they want to be.

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What if she wants to be a woman who wears it?

 

[Unaha-Closp]

If I'm perusing a magazine with the intention of seeing skin and legs and stomachs of attractive women in swimwear I'm going to be a smidge miffed if when I open it and see fully clothed attractive women in it. I'd feel a sense of being hoodwinked. As for the woman in OP - she looks great. She can wear what she likes I care not. I'd be wary of buying that mag in future. Any other considerations are above my pay grade.

 

[plagiarize]

I honestly think it's tasteless. It's empowering only on the surface, in the end, it leads to normalizing a method of oppressing women and their right to be whoever they want to be.

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Most Muslim women in the west who cover their hair do so because they want to, as an expression of their religion or just because they want to dress modestly.

Its no different to a man wearing a yamaka in that regard. This isn't to be confused with societies that force women to wear burkas.

 

[Slappy White]

Good for her. I can't help but feel there will be a large segment of people upset about this and that makes me happy.