Comments on: Review: iHijab

By: iHijabi

iHijabi — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:10:50 +0000

I was about to find this app offensive when I first started reading and then you said the thing about cowboy hats and kimono’s, maybe we need to stop taking things so seriously and so personally. The description of the app didn’t say anything offensive or racist, the description would probably have been the same for any other cultural outfit. However the thumbnails of the guy in hijab making faces is pushing it a bit.

By: Children’s Decorative Hijabs | Product Muslim

Children’s Decorative Hijabs | Product Muslim — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 08:43:49 +0000

[...] was personally surprised hearing some of the responses from the iHijab article and so I’m excited to hear what everyone thinks of [...]

By: tareq

tareq — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:29:27 +0000

I just checked with the app developer and it seems they’ve taken down the app. Sorry, I don’t think it’s available for download any longer.

By: hiiiii

hiiiii — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:33:58 +0000

where i could find this application .. need it

By: tareq

tareq — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:14:57 +0000

Hmm.. that’s an interesting observation Mike. You’re right, it’s off the Appstore and the developers don’t even mention the application on their homepage (http://www.fishbonedevelopment.com/) anymore.

I’ll contact the developers to find out more. Thanks for the share!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:36:54 +0000

Shame that this app has been removed from the Apple Store.

By: Aatif

Aatif — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:15:58 +0000

I guess this can be elaborated by the majorly perceived notion of Islam being culturally identified with Arabic/Desi culture, hence all backdrops related to Islam carry a middle eastern/Desi vibe. So this is also a reflection on what people ignorantly think of the middle east, not necessarily just Muslims, however is reflected upon Muslims given my previous point. So I would ask how you feel about stereotypes of Muslim being stereotypically culturally identified as Arabs/Desi? I think that may be the root cause of your concern with the backdrop and the ignorance behind it. A pretty large concept to think about, but I’d be interested to see how the global face of Islam looks like in 100+ years when people are more exposed, primarily through developing communication methods, to Muslims in diverse societies around the world.

So to answer your question: yes the backdrops do bother me a bit me with their ignorance, but I kinda understand.

By: tareq

tareq — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:30:06 +0000

I see your point Aatif.

What concerns me the most are the stereotypes that this application furthers. Even with the silly male facial expressions removed, the backdrops with camels and the pyramids are still there. The vast majority of Muslims, and of people who wear hijab, don’t even live near a desert. I fear that backdrops like those, when used with peoples photos could continue an idea that Muslim women are not from North-American societies and are hard to relate to. I honestly wouldn’t have any problems with the application if it had just used normal, everyday backdrops.

What do you think? Do the backdrops not bother you?

By: tareq

tareq — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:20:32 +0000

I had never thought that iHijab could actually be useful.

If lets say, there was an application that allowed you to ‘try’ on different hijabs with different outfits, do you think sisters would actually use it? Do you think setting up the different outfits would be difficult (i.e different shirts, colors, patterns)?

By: Aatif

Aatif — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:36:54 +0000

While I completely understand where you are coming from, working in international development myself with special regards to public awareness, I would not feel comfortable ridiculing these conversations and throwing them out the door. This conversation is for a specific demographic based on engaging a diverse society. There are many different comfort levels within society, and some feel more comfortable sharing thoughts in forums they are familiar with, and hopefully they can learn more through interaction and go from there. This is usually more appropriate in social scenarios rather than jumping in the deep end, at the risk of being overwhelmed and burning out. As you mentioned, casual jokes and conversations with friends can serve a great purpose. We need to train ourselves to deal with various scenarios we will experience in the greater public sphere. Your concerns are definitely valid, but you should also look at the road map to get to your goals that you mentioned ie. “alleviating situations of dearth, poverty and injustice”. While these conversations don’t directly impact these outcome areas, they do play a role in inviting people to small conversations preparing them to lead into the greater conversations you alluded to, once they feel they can.

As far as I can tell in this thread, people are quite fond of iHijab for the same reasons you mentioned. It’s alright to have a laugh and to smile is a charity, hence it is our duty not to be stingy with it

Best of luck in your, and our (community), pursuit to alleviating situations of death, poverty and injustice.

p.s. I appreciate your narrative on “anger.” Very nice & productive way to put it. Stay angry and keep on keepin on!

Peace