"Religion as a Scapegoat"

I am not immune from using religion as a scapegoat, but I know now that if I hadn’t shown up to school in a hijab that day — or any other day, for that matter — the outcome would have probably been the same. Things do look so much more attainable on the side where the Lululemon leggings and crop tops are, where you can find your reflection in romantic comedies, and where it is possible to keep religion and politics out of it because your religion and politics are not wrapped around your head. Wearing a turban is almost like crossing over. It is unsettling that a reshifting of the same cloth on the same body can be so radical.

It strikes me one day that perhaps my transformation is a regression. Why else am I willing to overlook the real problem — that even liberal Americans tend to approve of Muslims on a case-by-case basis, tend to like their Muslims as non-Muslim as possible, tend to think themselves entitled to this choosiness? Why else does my compromise with God come so easy?

Romaissaa Benzizoune was down on prom. As a hijab-wearing Muslim, she blamed her religious state for her dream's date preferring a pretty white girl than her. She donned a turban instead of her headscarf, now no longer wearing an obvious object of her religion. In her disappointment, she decided not to go to prom.

But she realized that it wasn't her religion's fault that she couldn't find her niche. Even if she wasn't a hair-covering Muslim, her crush would have ignored her. She was placing the blame on her faith, instead of acknowledging the prejudice of those around her.

Partly because of peer pressure, I end up going to prom. I am without the heartthrob and with a hijab, but I make it. I remember the dance floor most clearly. Sometimes my classmates pull me into their dance circles; sometimes I allow it and sometimes I don’t. I am wearing a baby-pink dress from J.C. Penney and a matching full-sleeved undershirt because nothing is modest enough on its own. Standing almost straight in my too-tight heels, I am fully covered and fully there.

Jews (depending on denomination) can be less conspicuous, yet if faced by racial discrimination, there are those who will focus on how their lifestyle is getting in their way, as opposed to the intolerance of others. 

B'H, we are not burdened by oppressive anti-Semitic laws. We can even sue if not hired because of our religion. This is the golden age to be a practicing Jew. Let's rejoice in it.