Blogger Indonesia of the Week (89): Mulia Nurhasan
Posted on January 30, 2009
As far as Muslim women is concerned, there’s nothing more controversial than a piece of cloth called headscarf or veil. Popularly known here in Indonesia as jilbab[1]. The simplicity of jilbab or head scarf doesn’t make the effects simpler. In reality, jilbab pros and cons that comes around it as though represents a symbolism of opposing thought and attitude between practicing and non-practicing Muslim as a whole.
And thus, contentious opinions that surrounds it which comes beyond gender zone– from male and male corner –become a matter of continuing heated discourse. Among some non-Muslims, especially in the West, jilbab is considered as a symbol of many bad things: women oppression by men typical in a developing and patriarchal society; backwardness, outdated, old fashioned on the part of the Muslim women themselves, you name it. There’s a case in Indonesia, where a woman named Sandrina Malakiano a presenter in Metro TV–Indonesia’s CNN–has been fired from her jobs after she convert to Islam and decided to wear jilbab.
For so long, all heated and lengthy debates are mosly voiced by men or by Muslim women who never wore or decided not to wear it any more. Heard-scarf Muslim women barely engage in such debate themselves. It’s refreshing therefore, that such voices on behalf of those who wear jilbab start to be heard in the blogsophere. Muslim women with Western education such as Mulia Nurhasan [2] and others start sharing their own experience and the raison d’etre behind their decision to wear jilbab or headscarf. In one of her post she writes:
Graduated from University, I worked in Tanggerang for few months before I moved to Germany for the rest of the year. In Germany I lived in a very small village where everybody knows everybody (though they don’t always talk to each other-it’s Germany-not so much different from Norway). It was my first time living abroad and I kept my headscarf with me. I realized that in this totally different culture village, I don’t necessarily need my headscarf to protect my dignity. People here don’t care about what I was wearing. They perhaps noticed me about my extra fabric on my head, but never really say anything.
I could take off my head scarf if I wanted to, as it was irrelevant to wear it for the reason of protecting my dignity as a woman anymore. But there I learned, that I used it because it identifies me as a Muslim and it reflects my believe, my faith. From then, I choose to wear it because I manifest my faith in this way.
On her headscarf experience during her stay in Europe:
It’s funny but, honestly I am a least conscious person when it comes to physical appearance. I don’t look at my self in front of the mirror all the time. It’s people who see me wearing head scarf. Unless people ask me about my head scarf, I rarely feel different. I don’t think people treat me differently. Is it because it’s Norway? Or because I am not sensitive? I don’t know. But many people said that Tromso is a very tolerant city. I think it’s true. But overall, i feel the same just like every body else here.
When people ask me why am i wearing it, I must confess that i am not always answering it well. Sometimes i simply say “My religion told me to. It’s dogmatic. I need dogma to live my life” hehehe
. This is the kind of answer I sometimes give to people whom i think would debate my answer, and when i am just too lazy to debate, this would be a good escape answer. Sorry.
On her wish that headscarf is not a big deal and should be dealt with accordingly:
I learn that people manifest believe in different ways. And because I put head scarf on my head, doesn’t mean I have managed well to headscarf-ed my heart. I have met many Muslimah who are not wearing head scarf but have such wonderful heart. I think it’s very unfair to judge people from what they are wearing. You may, for example think one person has peculiar style from their fashion.
…the head scarf is just part of my manifest to my faith, my connection, my way of communication with my God. It has becoming more spiritual tool rather than religious ritual symbol. Head scarf is just one part of me among many other things that makes me the way i am.
Mulya also asked her Muslim friends to share their experience with jilbab they are wearing and opinions about it which can be found here. There’re some interesting article, especially the one written by Amalia Sanusi, another young Muslim woman who’d been in Australia and among one of the early Blogger Indonesia of the Weeks. It gains appreciation from her Dutch reader named Colson who happens to be an agnostic:
I’m afraid I’m not in the best position to comment – old, male, agnost. And yet I try.
That’s because I want to let you know I think this is a very sympathetic post. And for sure it helps me understand the decision of Muslim women to wear a veil. At least of one Muslima.
As you may expect “understanding” does not mean I share all of your arguments. But I do agree with your call for mutual respect.
===
Note:
[1] Jilbab is popular termn in Indonesia, hijab is in Middle East, purdah in South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh), kerudung in Malaysia and Brunei. Headscarf or veil in the West.
[2] As her blog URL is no longer active, I remove all links directed to it.
Related posts:
Filed Under Blogger of Week Tags: heardscarf, hijab, jilbab, purdah
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nice to meet you…selamat ,congratulation
Congrats for Mulia
Congrats! You totally deserve it.
Salam ACTION!
Mas Fatih,
thank you very much.. it’s an old post. i even didnt know you still visit my blog
.
i take this as ur support to campaign better image of head scarf. you are correct; we, jilbaber, rarely involve in the debates. the arguments sometimes beyond our mind; amazingly narrow minded, unemphatic and religiously, culturally insensitive. oftentimes, hurtful (sorry for the long list of emotional expression
).
but i know for sure, many of my jilbaber fellas choose not to jump in to such debate because they are smart enough in using their time for better activities.
people like you, not just escalate the image of religious people, but also educating society to be more open minded to the variety of faiths and life choices; be it liberalism, traditionalism or in between.
to other commentators,
thank you very much too. highly appreciated
and if there is any of you who are also jilbaber blogger, i kindly ask to post your own experience and share the link.
insyaAllah bermanfaat.
#you’re welcome. i’m just glad to know that you’re not quitting
btw, your comment automatically get moderated. i dont know why. usually only a comment with a link that gets moderated. or may be you share a IP with someone who gets moderated here
nice post
wowwwww… huge congrats to Mulia! u deserve it! actually Mr fatih should write this long time ago hehehe
now that I’ve moved to Europe, I saw more jilbabers here than in Australia. And probably because of that… ppl just never treat me differently… or they never look at me in a weird way (because they encounter us every single day). hmm maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I do feel that way
i just say, congratulation and high appreciation of you,i hope you are consisten and can be inspirational to other muslimah.
Congratulation to Mulia Nurhasan
salam kenal! semoga kang Fatih berkenan berkunjung dan meninggalkan jejak di blog-ku yang jelek….
Wonderful story
A very interesting post. Hopefully people reading it will have a better idea on jilbab.
Kapan Ya saya terpilih jadi Blogger Indonesia this Week
Selamat ya buat Mbak Mulia
semoga menjadi inpirasi dan buat blogger yang lain untuk tampil di Blogger Indonesia of the week
You deserve it sis..
Keren…bisa masuk Blogger of the week. Selamat ya
Selamat
Saya kapan ya…….?
(Mimpi kali ye)
Kapan blogku bisa direview di sini ya
iya neee..kapan yaa blogku bisa direview disini!
Terus gunakan jilbab sesuai keyakinan, jilbab tidak kuno dan bukan keterbelakangan. Pakai jilbab justru memberikan aura positif bagi orang-orang yg konsisten mengenakannya
wow..congrats… mudah-mudahan selalu dalam Lindungan ALLAH swt…
GOD BLESS US..
CMIW..
Mul, Congrat!
I’m proud of u…
Good luck yach…
Love u, my dearest sis..
congrats! for new baby.
actually mr. jack told me several days back, but i think he’s joking me cos he said his name is ahmad adsense, ha…ha…ha….
omedetou gozaimasu…
wah kapan yach aku dapat hehehe
)
Wah selamat kepada mbak Mulia Nurhasan, semoga penobatan sebagai Blogger of The Week ini menjadi pemacu semangat ngeblog.
wow.. selamet ya…………..
Just say congratulation for you…
Interesting topic
Dengan memakai jilbab,saya rasa seorang muslimah nampak lebih anggun
selamat buat mbak mulia nurhasan
You did the great Job, wearing Jilbab is very tough for Muslimah nowadays, anyway, Keep in faith
kayaknya kabar gembira neh, selamat aja (kurang ngerti bahasa inggris)
Selamat ya untuk yang menjadi blogger of the week. Hebat Oiiii…
would that if the jilbab was not only used as mask. at this time that many will be wearing jilbab but virginity is less good.hehe…..
nice post
keep istiqomah for your faithfull
kep hamasah….
congratulation Mulia…
I hope there’s a lot of moslema with head scarf will be proud of them self for being moslem..
Congratulation for Mulia Nurhasan
Congrats to you..anyway Mas Fatih..How to get your review
# read it here -> http://fatihsyuhud.com/top-blogger-indonesia-of-week/
Congratulation for ms Mulia Nurhasan. I hope more women in indonesia (especiallly women moslem) become like ms Mulia….
i think jilbab is one of many rules that we should obey anytime anywhere,cause religion is personal thing between human and God. so about the rules in religion becomes personal too.. but, my opinion it’s just a little opinion from a man who still struggle in learning his religion.
selamat buat mbak Mulia Nurhasan
Selamat….selamat…..selamat….maju terus blogger Indonesia
cold girl….
Selamat, maju terus mbak…
Interview Request
Hello Dear and Respected,
I hope you are fine and carrying on the great work you have been doing for the Internet surfers. I am Ghazala Khan from The Pakistani Spectator (TPS), We at TPS throw a candid look on everything happening in and for Pakistan in the world. We are trying to contribute our humble share in the webosphere. Our aim is to foster peace, progress and harmony with passion.
We at TPS are carrying out a new series of interviews with the notable passionate bloggers, writers, and webmasters. In that regard, we would like to interview you, if you don’t mind. Please send us your approval for your interview at my email address “ghazala.khi at gmail.com”, so that I could send you the Interview questions. We would be extremely grateful.
regards.
Ghazala Khan
The Pakistani Spectator
http://www.pakspectator.com
Selamat ya…..semoga sukses terus, dan menginspirasi kami utk mengikutinya
selamat ya dah jadi favorit..
It’s a time to wear jilbab, don’t worry !
Mas salam kenal, aku barusan buat Asmaul Husna on line, kalo berkenan mohon dapat di add di linknya http://muslim-indonesia.com silahkan dilihat … semoga materi yang baik ini dapat disebarluaskan
Luar Biasa!
Ini benar-benar sosok Blogger Indonesia yang Paling TOP! di dunia blogger nusantara…sudah sangat mendunia tulisan karyanya. Anda benar-benar nge-TOP banget di dunia maya ini…
Salut dan Selamat! Mas Fatih Syuhud. Anda bisa membuat “orang bule” ngiri lho…hehehe…
Salam Sukses Penuh Berkah dari Surabaya,
Wuryanano
Motivational Blog – Support Your Success
Entrepreneur Campus – Support Your Future
We Agree with You mas Fatih….
highly appreciated for mas fatih to write this post. great!
nice …its very nice and help me to my information about in indonesian
thanks sobat 
“It’s funny but, honestly I am a least conscious person when it comes to physical appearance. I don’t look at my self in front of the mirror all the time.”
great line…
respect the choice that has choosen by woman, what ever it was.
Two thumbs up for Mulia!
Though Germany people don’t care about what you are wearing, but in some western countries they look down the jilbaber. In UK schools headscraft is allowed but they were banning girls from wearing Niqab. Niqab is quite different from purdah. Niqab covers not only the head but also the face.
well done. A woman blogger this time
Always keep up the good work, mate!
Congratz to Mulia Nurhasan, Succes for you sis
that’s a really muslim !
salam kenal mas,mohon bimbingannya dalam dunia perblog-an.
Selamat deh buat yang menang..
Semoga istiqomah dan selalu mendapatkan petunjuk dari Allah SWT. Selamat dan sukses selalu ya Mbak..
wow, great…i hope another muslimah can take this moment to change their tinking into the best way. Look at me
good boss, kalo emang muslim harusnya kam pake jilbab, bukan pake tang top ato top pen! hidup jilbab, keep going miss love people wearing jilbab, smoga ‘ntar ane dpt Nyonya yg berjobal & soleha jg ya! doa in boss
Muslimat seharusnya memang begitu sesuai dengan tuntunan agama, selamat buat mulia.
Kalau memakai jilbab kelihatannya rapi, sopan, dan sangat anggun. Lebih2 bagi neng Mulia ini. Sukses selalu.
Mulia is a beautiful one
Wah…., Kalau foto Mulia Nurhasan yang di pajang ukurannye lebih gede lagi, puas tuh memandangnya. Ada nggak Mas Fatih yang gedean lagi???
ternyata lapangan perjuangan itu luas. Barakallah dan tetap istiqamah.
Waw…slamet deh tuk mrs mulia nurhasan yg tlah jd blogger of the week!
Bos fatih review lg dong blog2 laine,tiap minggu dong biar rame!
Ok boss
congrats for mulia
I respect to here..
Sangat muslimah banget, dan saya suka sekali kalau ngeliat perempuan berjilbab, bagaimana sob yang lain???
Apalagi kalo photonya si Mbak Mulia ini sedikit lebih close up lagi, wah pasti lebih jelas dan lebih mantap bro….
Good posting as usual.
Mulia bgt sesuai dgn namanya.
COngrat…ya..
sukses selalu…
kalo lihat situsnya sih gak ada yg special. tapi keistimewannya hanya sering di update & rajin promosi
i am from Philippines… but i wanna congratulate you. good job.. keep up the good work.
salam kenal bu Mulia…
congrat..
how to be like that??
congrat..congrat…
assalamu’alaikum. mau lihat sejarah islam indonesia? syiar-i.blogspot.com
Assalammualaikum wr wb,
congratulation for you lucky blogger and i will wait new blogger become like you.
plz add my link at your blog, kang Fatih.
your link was added at my blog from long time ago.
Aslaam-O-Alaikum, Congratulations on superb blogging.
I wish you to make more blogs like this… wish you good luck for your success.
OK mantab si Ibu ini
thanks postingnya ya mas
nice post and buiteful womn
Lanjutan artikel serial kedua ttg Mulia Nurhasan di tunggu Mas….
Iyya Mas…, di tunggu serial kedua ttg Mulia Nurhasan hehe…
Wah selamat ya. Kapan ya aku jadi the best blogger?
asiiik bgt..
selamaaat buat mbak mulia…
salam dari kota gudeg…
What a nice post!
good idea..thanks
maju terus wanita indonesia
hehehehe….punya blog isinya cuma copy sana – copy nih…….
Woman have a talent like that…ehmmm….
Congrat….ya mbak!
aku datengin aja deh ke TKP
kerenn.. keren..
LUAR BIASA
-Wearing jilbab is a must for muslimah (muslim women )
-It is a good article.
-Best regard
Hope that women near you wear jilbab if not yet, tel them now
wasalamualaikum
there no limit to be the best in blogging… congratulate sister!
kapan jadi blog of the week ya
Woman too can master this field… keep working!
Hi guys, nice to meet you,I’m not Indonesion.I appreciate that there’s female bloggers there, congratulation Mulia,I melt by the asian magic.
hi,this is a good thinking of indonesia’s women who are creative and very active…
can’t open mulia nurhasan net.any explanation?
Salam ziarah.I’m Malaysian.Nice blog.
touching story
it’s nice blog of the week.
To me, jilbab should show a woman’s personal preference. In other words, she ought to wear it just because she wants to. Some moslem women (especially those that I know) are wearing jilbab as a “mask” here, a “mask” to look pious, religiously knowledgeable. The most ridiculous example is my sister, she’s wearing jilbab only when attending school, simply because her school requires all female students to wear jilbab. After going home, jilbab is no longer on her head and she’s hanging around freely with her bare head and short hair. It looks silly to make moslem woman wear jilbab when they don’t really want to wear it.
But my sister -another sister (I’ve got 3 sisters altogether, and this is the eldest one) is another case. She started wearing jilbab as she graduated from high school, and it was because she learned some books and was told some advice by her peers, which led to the decision to wear veil.
Slam kenal buat mbak Mulia Nurhasan… dan selamat hari raya idul fitri 1430 H.. maaf lahir batin n sukses selalu
it’s nice blog thanks
selamat buat mulia…
Thanks for your blog ! you’re right!
Nice blog, thx
Salam Mas Fatih dan kawan kawaan blogger,
Terimakasih atas dukungan nya. Saya mohon maaf blog saya sudah pindah ke http://nurhasannet.wordpress.com/
biasa, cari yang gratisan lagi. hehehe.
Once again i say thank you to all of the commentators for the encouraging words. and above is my new address.
wassalam,
mulia
#Congrats for the new home. I do believe blogging in a free-services blog is better, more everlast than blogging in self-hosted blog. except if you’re blogging for money.
Thank you very much for this blog
wah cantik juga tuh….