Islam is the world’s second largest religion, but the faith ― and the women who choose to show their dedication to it with their hijabs ― are increasingly misunderstood by Western communities. In Minnesota, just 1 percent of residents are Muslim. The community, which includes many Somali refugees, exists alongside a majority white Christian population, but Muslims still face hateful and misinformed rhetoric. “Though not all Muslim women wear headscarves, a lot of American Muslim women, who are wearing the headscarf are choosing to do that out of a point of identity and out of expression of their own freedom,” Salbi said. Salbi heard from several Minnesota Muslim women about the misperception of the hijab and why they choose to wear the headscarf in spite of it.

Source: Huffington Post November 15, 2016 17:03 UTC