telophase: (Default)
telophase ([personal profile] telophase) wrote2010-10-24 08:56 pm

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When we were in London, we saw a large number of women wearing headscarves. Our hotel was near a Middle Eastern area, but even so, there were a large number, moreso than any trip I've taken to London previously. I even saw, over the course of the journey, eleven women wearing burqa.* I'd be interested in knowing the rate of increase in the Islamic population of London since 2003, the last time I was there.

(And you know, not a single one of them tried to blow me up!)

Two of the women I saw wearing headscarves on Oxford Street one night were young, perhaps even in their teens, had beautifully decorated scarves and, judging by the shapes underneath, elaborate, high hairstyles. Somehow the effect was, I suspect, not exactly what the originators of the headscarf rule had in mind. XD


(ETA: Via [personal profile] rydra_wong over on DW, the blog of the blog of UK hijabi designer Hana Tajima-Simpson. And, man, I am too darm short and round to wear that kimono-wrap maxi dress she's wearing in several photos, or I'd be whipping out the credit card right now...)


* For any wag who asks "How could you tell they were different women?" the answer is: different styles of burqa, different handbags, and accompanied by different families, when they weren't alone.
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)

[personal profile] rydra_wong 2010-10-25 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
Two of the women I saw wearing headscarves on Oxford Street one night were young, perhaps even in their teens

Only two? Whenever I'm in Oxford Street during the day, I always see hijabi in their teens and twenties who are seriously styling. It seems like a big fashionista area.

Somehow the effect was, I suspect, not exactly what the originators of the headscarf rule had in mind. XD

Well, the headscarf rule (as a debatable and debated theological interpretation of various Quranic verses) says basically that you should cover everything except your face and your hands. It says nothing about not making an excellent fashion statement with what you're wearing. *g*

ETA: Example, coincidentally discovered this morning:

StyleCovered, the blog of UK hijabi designer Hana Tajima-Simpson.
Edited 2010-10-25 09:08 (UTC)

[identity profile] gmdreia.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
Not surprised. My understanding is that some of the women who wear burqa and hijab... dress to the nines under there, high heels and all.

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 01:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I remember reading, years and years ago, a book about Saudi Arabia that at one point talked about how many women who covered up in public were serious fashionistas who dropped thousands of dollars on designer clothing.

[identity profile] wyrdness.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 07:20 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure about the population density in the entirety of London, but I do know my student accommodation was in a largely Islamic area.

I'll never forget the three young men in suits who sheepishly sidled up to me one evening when I was on my way home from uni, mumbled something so shyly and quietly that I couldn't make out a word, handed me a leaflet and quickly walked off. They still rank as one of the nicest "religious people" encounters I've ever had.

Oh, and every day I had to walk through not insignificant crowds on one particular street (I think there must have been some kind of prayer area nearby Actually there are several mosques fairly close, so they must have all been coming back from there since they'd all be gone if I got up an extra half hour late) and they never once tried to blow me up either! Even though sometimes I did used to stare at them in their whiter than white clothing, I still don't know how they got them so pristine, I wish I could get my whites looking so fantastic. :(
Edited 2010-10-25 07:27 (UTC)

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
They still rank as one of the nicest "religious people" encounters I've ever had.

Hee!

[identity profile] arcly.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
You always get a lot of incredibly fancy ladies in burkas shopping around there, and have done since I was a tot. (They fascinated me, wafting out of limos in clouds of expensive scent.) There was a big influx of super-wealthy Middle Eastern folk here during the oil crisis in the 70s, who bought up a lot of property in the West End, and their relatives often visit in summer to escape the heat, so fancy burka ladies are a common sight. I think there are actually less of them than there used to be, though, since 9/11 (Times article: http://bit.ly/aK9ARh). Rich Russians are far more common now. I was sat on a bus the other day near Bond Street and almost everyone on it was speaking Russian.

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Interesting - we only saw one group that I think might have been speaking Russian or something from that area. The language we most often heard besides English was German, giving us the impression that the entire country had come over for a vacation. :)

[identity profile] tammylee.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
People wear headscarves all the time here.

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2010-10-25 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, but you're in Canananadia!

[identity profile] lady-ganesh.livejournal.com 2010-10-28 12:58 am (UTC)(link)
I assume someone's already directed you to Pictures of Muslims Wearing Things, (http://muslimswearingthings.tumblr.com/) but there's some serious fashion going on there we'll ignore the Ed Hardy.
Edited 2010-10-28 00:58 (UTC)