(no subject)

[telophase]

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 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.

Comments

[wyrdness.livejournal.com]

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. :(

[telophase.livejournal.com]

They still rank as one of the nicest "religious people" encounters I've ever had.

Hee!