Jessey Eagan, a married Christian mother of two, has decided to wear a hijab for Lent in an attempt to remind herself \u201cwhat it feels like to be an outsider\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee, we lived in Amman, Jordan about 7 years ago where we ended up teaching at an Islamic school,\u201d she told BuzzFeed News. \u201cWhile we were there we met many Muslims and built great personal friendships with them. And living in a culture where I stuck out like a sore thumb, I personally know what it can feel like to be an outsider, and I wanted to remind myself of that, so that I can better love all people, no matter what they look like.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her blog, the children\u2019s director at her church in Peoria, Illinois, wrote about a Muslim friend\u2019s response to her idea to wear a hijab, and how it spurred her on:
\n Before I fully explain my reasoning, let me tell you how I came to the decision. I told my husband my idea and he encouraged me to do it, but I decided that I needed to ask a local Muslim friend her thoughts on it. She wears hijab for many reasons, I\u2019m sure, but one is identification with her Muslim community. I wanted to make sure that I would not be disrespecting or offending the Muslim community, so I asked her opinion. Her response was this,
\n \u201cYou are a very thoughtful person full of great ideas … I don\u2019t see a reason why people get offended by a very thoughtful, nice, and peaceful act. Our role is teach and educate all people and I\u2019m 100% in support of this idea … My hijab drawer is yours come and pick what u like. If u don\u2019t have time I can bring them to u, just let me know what colors.\u201d
\nHow great is that? I met her at the Islamic school this morning to pick up the scarves and she helped me put on my first hijab for the Lenten season.
\n\u201cJesus said to love our neighbors, strangers, and enemies. I think this is something that is not often taken seriously by many Christians,\u201d she told BuzzFeed News. \u201cWe are so influenced by the media, that we allow fear to take over, and forget to love. Fear is the opposite of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
One thing Eagan says she hopes to do next is use make-up to \u201cdarken\u201d her complexion and \u201cgo out into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friend told me that white Muslims and brown Muslims have different experiences, as do black Muslims, within the Islamic community as well as in the community at large,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is all about helping my people, specifically white Christians, learn how to see difference, embrace it, and engage with it. That\u2019s what hospitality does. It welcomes people who were once outsiders into a community with love and the desire to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to see what my friends\u2019 public lives are like, how they experience my community differently from me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is likely, I think, that my friends would tell me many positive things and avoid speaking negatively, either about their experience or why they wear the hijab,\u201d Eagan added. \u201cI also wouldn\u2019t get to understand my own prejudices towards people, which has come out at least twice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eagan said she expected people \u201cwearing cammo or driving big trucks\u201d to threaten her, but that she\u2019s been \u201cproven wrong each time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She described one interaction she had with a friend in her local area: \u201cYesterday at church a woman, whom I have known for quite a long time, came up to me and said, \u2018Jessey, I wanted to let you know that I have been reading your blog and I am so proud of you and what you are doing. Before reading your blog, I never would have even made eye contact with someone wearing hijab. But I was at an event the other day where I saw a Muslim woman and I did make eye contact with her\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow great is that? Such a small gesture for her to make, and at the same time it was a huge step for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
Original title is: A Christian Woman Is Wearing A Hijab For Lent To See What It\u2019s Like To Be An \u201cOutsider\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jessey Eagan, a married Christian mother of two, has decided to wear a hijab for Lent in an attempt to remind herself \u201cwhat it feels like to be an outsider\u201d. \u201cSee, we lived in Amman, Jordan about 7 years ago where we ended up teaching at an Islamic school,\u201d she told BuzzFeed News. \u201cWhile we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3639,43,3640,3641,759,2210,17,1252,3557,3638,235],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}