ORANGE COUNTY – Wednesday, February 1, was a special day for the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, welcoming 400 people, mostly non-Muslims, who came to express love and support for their Muslim brothers and sisters.
“Who here is non-Muslim?” asked Rida Hamida, 38-year-old Muslim organizer of Orange County’s first World Hijab Day event, which she called #IStandWithHijabis.
With most of attendants indicating they are not Muslims, Hamida, who wore a pink hijab said, “This is the spirit of solidarity. We thank you, sisters and brothers.”
On February 1, millions Muslim and non-Muslim women wearing a traditional Islamic hijab mark the fifth anniversary of World Hijab Day.
The World Hijab Day, held for the fifth consecutive year, is the brain child of a New York resident, Nazma Khan, who came up with the idea as a means to foster religious tolerance and understanding.
Hamida, the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman to work in public office in Orange County, had expected about 150 people to show up after an estimated 300 registered for the event. Instead, more than 450 people attended.
The event comes on the heels of reports of increased hate crimes against Muslims nationwide and a Trump administration travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.
The president of the Arab American Chamber of California, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and the Islamic Society of Orange County, said the event aimed at bringing solidarity with the Muslim community.
Attendants shared a halal dinner and stories during a panel discussion about the hijab.
“Like all faiths, Islam is not a monolith. I have Muslim friends who wear and don’t wear hijab for a variety of reasons,” Molly Veera, a 37-year-old Muslim activist from Palos Verdes who converted to Islam 16 years ago, said.
“The beauty of being a Muslim in America is that there is separation of church and state. My religious decisions are between me and God, as Islam intended it to be. America allows me the opportunity to be a Muslim in the fullest sense because of the freedom that I am allowed in this country.”