The Burka- A Security Threat?

I was watching a weekend morning talk show and they were discussing if Australia might follow suit in banning the Burka. The main reasons were that the women were being opressed and that the burka posed a significant security threat.

There was a lady on the panel who seriously believed that burkas were a threat to national security because "you don't know what they could be hiding in there!" She went on to say that she has never seen a woman being truly happy while wearing the garment, since they have been forced by men to cover their faces. Young girls were also brainwashed into thinking that they have to cover up their faces and body.

1) So, that's why they scan my hijab at the airport! They're afraid that the round object at the back of my head could be something else (B-O-M-B) besides my hair tied up in a bun! But then again, I've seen girls with bun-less hijab heads also get scanned so maybe we have wires running under our hijab?

2) You've never seen a woman wearing burka happy because you can't see her smiling duh!

3) What about girls being brainwashed into thinking that showing off their bodies was the only way to be popular or socially accepted? There are not only half naked girls on TV anymore, they're COMPLETELY naked.

And Pauline Hanson doesn't want to sell her house to a muslim. *shocker!! lol, why would any muslim want to enrich her with a few million dollars anyways? I say, rich muslims everywhere, don't waste your money.

Walking to Uni was like walking through a jungle. The underpass was flooded so I took a risk and ran across the highway. I held my abaya up by about an inch so that the branches won't tear a hole in my abaya, oblivious to the fact that anyone would even care that I was wearing jeans inside.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone jumped next to me and said, "Does Nadia wear jeans?!"

lol, there are a lot of misconceptions about hijab, abayas and what muslim women can and cannot wear. For example, I'm pretty sure she thinks I wear the hijab to sleep & shower. It must totally blow her mind that I actually don't wear the hijab 24/7.

Anyways, everyone in tutorial was complaining about cars and windows and leaks when my tutor piped up with "Perth is not prepared for any disaster. We will not survive a terrorist attack", causing some people to look my way. Great, just wonderful.

You know what though? Sometimes I feel like I've been stereotyped so many times that I actually victimize myself? Like maybe those people weren't looking at me in an accusatory way but I just felt it because it is what I have come to expect. I feel discriminated, even when in actuality, it may not have been the case.


Have you ever felt that way?

Theme Parks

a few of the crazy rides
that's us, at the bottom of the tower after the crazy drop

gorgeous goldfish, and there were different varieties, some looked really creepy.

Ocean Park was AWESOME like crazy wild rides but the day we went, it was too windy so they closed the cable car rides, the hot air balloon and the biggest roller coaster. But we took all the other rides. At the end of the day, we were wet, cold and shivering, tired from all the walking but extremely pleased.




Hong Kong Disneyland was fun but the queues were not. Parents came up with the brilliant strategy of letting their kids push through the crowds and then they got to cut the line because their kids were at the front of the queue. I didn't mind at first but after awhile it got really annoying.

Hong Kong in pictures and a few words.

@ Hong Kong International Airport

@ Indian restaurant near Islamic Centre. Chicken biryani.

@ Islamic centre. It was a Sunday, and full of Indonesian domestic workers. Tip: make sure you have wudhu beforehand because queuing for the washroom will take you ages.

One of the stops during our half day city tour. Tour guide tried to convince us there was nothing wrong with touching the God of Fortune statue for some luck as well as walking on a bridge that extended your life by 3 years each time you crossed it. My brothers and I just went around taking pictures of the scenery.

@ Hotel Lobby. Room was clean but a little tight. Housekeeping was amazing :)

@ brothers' room. no idea why they took a picture AFTER they messed things up..sheesh, boys :D

@ ferry terminal. Christmas lights were still up, amazing view but this picture doesn't do it any justice.

@ entrance of shopping mall, be prepared to walk alot in malls. they are HUGE.

@ pedestrian crossing, too many people.

nobody says 'excuse me' so be prepared to push or be pushed :b

@ another shopping mall.

ok, to be continued tmr because i am sleepy :)

Assalam alaykum everyone

Assalam alaykum

I turned 22 a couple of days ago and now I am back home with my family.

I'd like to give a shout out to Skye from Muslimah In Aus for giving me a pleasant surprise by mailing me a whole package full of DVDs with Islamic lectures, nashids and Quran recitations. Thank you Sis!

I haven't been commenting on blogs so I am sorry for that. Just to reply to some comments...

@ Saafir: You're right. Consistent work is needed for success. It's very difficult to succeed if we skip classes all year long and try to make up for it in one week.

@ Almas: You're welcome, hope it helped you in some ways.

@ Malekat: Miss you too, checked your blog for updates regularly!


I keep thinking about my results and how it could possibly have been the last time I'm going to be attending University. But, I tried my best and I never worked harder. I just need to stop worrying and leave it to Allah, for He knows best.

I could be anywhere but I'll still be waiting for Firo.

flying while muslim

En route to Singapore, on SIA...

Malay muslim flight attendant: Ma'am, can I offer you anything to drink? Coffee, tea, coke, orange juice or white wine?

Me: ?!! apple juice please.

It was Ramadhan, 230am and I had a sticker on the top of my seat, clearly indicating that I requested a Halal meal, as if the hijab is not enough proof that I am muslim. It's sad that the words just robotically escaped from her mouth and she did not stop just before offering me wine.

Of course she is just doing her job and she served me with a smile.

Maybe in her mind, she was contemplating whether she should ask about the wine seeing as to how she has served wine to other muslim passengers before.

On the flight from Dubai to Istanbul, there was an arab couple sitting just infront of us. Husband was in full thobe gear and wife was clad in niqab, baby in tow. Husband drank and drank and drank those alcoholic beverages. Yes, I stared because I had never seen anything like it. I poked my father and he told me not to stare :b

Scanning the Hijab

At Singapore's Changi Airport, their security checks are so tight that after they scan your carry on luggage and make you walk through the metal detector, they stop you and wave their magic wand around your hijab, looking for little elves that may be hiding inside.

I have been through this numerous times and I wish they would go about doing it in a more discreet manner. Once, the security official shouted to her partner to quickly get the magic wand [I have no idea what it's real name really is] to scan my HEAD. On another occasion, I was pulled back after being cleared because I needed to have my scarf scanned.

I do not wear any sort of hair accessory that makes my head look disproportionate so no one ever suspects that I am hiding anything inside. Unfortunately, these officers are just doing their jobs listening to some higher power who thinks its necessary to scan people's heads.

Question: Wouldn't the metal detector detect if there was something metal under my hijab anyways? Also, what does the magic wand actually scan for?


Actually, come to think of it, I remember on my way for Umrah, at an airport ( I don't recall which), all the ladies were brought into a small room where a female security officer made us flip our hijabs over our heads and she made sure that there was nothing inside.