Muslim headscarves go fashionable

On one of the holiest nights of Ramadan, Marwa Atik chose a crowded Southern California mosque to debut her latest creation.

It was just after midnight when the 20-year-old walked into the Islamic Center of Irvine, Calif., dressed in a long, flowing burgundy robe, her head wrapped in a charcoal chiffon hijab, trimmed decoratively with gold zippers.

After the group prayers, sermon and Koran recitation, a woman approached Atik, gesturing to the scarf. “OK, I want one,” she said excitedly. “How can I get it?”

Atik has taken the scarf worn by Muslim women and turned it into a canvas for her fashion sensibilities, the ideas inspired by designs from Forever 21 and H&M as well as haute couture runways and the pages of Vogue and Elle.

Marwa Atik (right) with friend Nora Diab.

Showing it at a mosque was her way of gauging sentiment to scarves that go beyond the limited fashion realm they have thus far inhabited – floral and geometric prints or lace and beaded embellishment.

“I knew that I wanted to do a zipper scarf, because I knew that zippers were in style,” Atik said later, her head wrapped this day in a sea-foam hijab, echoing the color of her light green eyes.

The hijab has long been a palette of sorts for changing styles and designs and shops across the Middle East are replete with colors and shapes that can vary from region to region.

Some women from the Persian Gulf wear their hair in a bouffant with the scarf wrapped around it like a crown. Syrians are known for cotton pull-on scarves, the hijab equivalent of a cotton T-shirt. And in Egypt veiled brides visit hijab stylists who create intricate designs and bouquets of color atop the bride’s head.

But Atik’s experiments with the hijab – meant as a symbol of modesty – are created with an eye toward being even more adventuresome and risky.

To some, the trend heralds the emergence of Westernized Muslim women, who embrace both their religion and a bit of rebellion.

But to others in the Muslim community, what Atik is doing flies in the face of the headscarf’s purpose. When the scarf is as on-trend as a couture gown, some wonder whether it has lost its sense of the demure.

GONE TOO FAR?
Eiman Sidky, who teaches religious classes at King Fahd mosque in Culver City, Calif., is among those who say attempts to beautify the scarf have gone too far.

In countries like Egypt, where Sidky spends part of the year, sheikhs complain that women walk down the street adorned as if they were peacocks.

“In the end they do so much with hijab, I don’t think this is the hijab the way God wants it; the turquoise with the yellow with the green,” she said.

The conflict is part of a greater, ongoing debate among Muslims of what practices are too conservative and what is too liberal.

At a time when Muslims hear stories like that of two women who have sued Abercrombie & Fitch for refusing to hire them because of the hijab and the Orange County, Calif., woman who filed a federal complaint against Disneyland for not being allowed to wear her headscarf on the job, the message is re-inforced that the hijab is still regarded with suspicion.

‘COMES DOWN TO INTERPRETATION’
For women like Atik, an Orange Coast College student who works part time at Urban Outfitters, fashion-forward hijabs are not only an attempt to fill a void, but to make the scarves less foreign and more friendly to non-Muslims.

The religious parameters for how to wear the hijab – that the entire body must be covered except for the hands and face – are broad enough to include those who wear black, flowing abayas to those who pair a head scarf with skinny jeans.

“We’ve gotten maybe just a few people saying, ‘Oh, this is defeating the purpose,’” said Tasneem Sabri, Atik’s older sister and business partner. “It really comes down to interpretation.”

The criticism means little to Atik, a petite young woman who favors skinny jeans, embellished cardigans and knee-high boots.

Atik sees the fashion industry’s experimentation with the hijab as staid and lackluster. She wants to make the scarves even edgier – with fringe, pleats, peacock feathers, animal prints.

The scarves have a certain unfinished look to them – with frayed edges and visible stitching. Atik, whose parents are from Syria, sews many of them herself though she recently hired a seamstress to help fill orders placed through the Vela web site. The hijabs, which are not available in stores, range in price from $15 for basic designs to $60 for high fashion ones, pricier than many scarves on the market.

Alaa Ellaboudy, who runs the blog hijabulous (“A hijabi’s guide to staying fabulous”), is familiar with the scolding that can come from wearing hijab in a non-traditional way.

The Rancho Cucamonga resident wears her scarf tied behind her neck and has a penchant for dramatic eye makeup and bright clothes.

“Everyone has their opinion, ‘Oh no that’s haram (forbidden) you can’t do that,’” said Ellaboudy. “But for me, it’s always about finding that balance and still looking good.”

By RAJA ABDULRAHIM, LOS ANGELES TIMES