A friend of mine asked me, “So, are there many women wearing hijab in the Netherlands?”
When you hear about the Netherlands, people’s initial thought is that there are not many Muslims in this country. It is a country which hates Islam, one that allowed Geert Wilders – one of its politicians – to produce the movie “Fitnah”. However, in reality even before I left Holland 7 years ago, there were many Muslims. In the major cities, finding Halal meat, foods and groceries were not hard to find. Many halal meat butchery or Islamitisch slagerij can be found in several districts.
The majority of the Muslim population comprise of Turkish and Moroccan descent. Adding to the population is a growing number of Dutch Muallaf (Reverts) add to the growing Muslim population in the Netherlands. Even the right hand person of G. Wilders, Arnoud van Doorn has turned to be a muallaf this year, 2013. He was like his fellow was a hardcore opponent of Islam, until Allah bestowed him with hidayah and he became a brother in Islam.
So, to answer my friend’s curiosities, I said that, “Even before I left 7 years ago, hijab was already everywhere. Yet the model is, amazingly, still the same as I remembered it.”
It’s very different to Muslim fashion in Saudi, where in the past 7 years, I saw the transformation from all black abaya to colorful abaya. Of course, the usual suspect colors are brown, dark blue and dark purple. But still I have seen people sporting grey pink abaya at the mall.
And in Indonesia, masya Allaah. The Muslimah’s there are very fashionable. No wonder, Indonesia was considered as the kiblah for Muslima fashion. And I can’t help to think that was maybe one of the thing that attracts many Muslimah to wear hijab. Hopefully, they do it for Allah and not for fashion purpose only. But at least for the young ones, it will be a learning time to wear hijab with their girlfriends.
Despite the basic fashion I saw here, I have to be thankful, that most people are still treating me the same even though I have worn hijab. I even got some help in choosing food, thanks to the Islamic identity that I proudly wear. And, the nice thing is I received more do’a from other Muslimah in a form of salaam greetings, sometimes when we meet on the street or any public places. And this has never happened before back when I was a Muslima not wearing hijab. I pray that this make myself more istiqomah in wearing hijab in the Muslim minority country of Netherlands.
