In the highly demanding work environment of New York City, where dress is a key for success, some successful young Muslim women venture into the workplace without sacrificing their hijab headscarf.

In the middle of a walk in Central Park on a sunny day, she sits on a hard seat for a short break making sure that her hair is properly covered, while a jogger passes by in her shorts and t-shirt.  Four years ago, Kimberly Joseph, a recent Hunter College graduate, could dress like the jogger.  But having converted to Islam, she decided to comply with Islamic dress standards.

Joseph says her boss and coworkers at Starbucks, where she has been working for seven years, haven’t treated her differently when she first put on her headscarf, but they couldn’t hide their curiosity about the sudden change in her appearance. Yet, customers’ reactions varied. “One day, a customer sent a written complaint saying, ‘I saw a partner (a Starbucks waitress) wearing a headscarf two days in a row!’”

While this one customer thought that what he saw was worth reporting, others tend to associate a woman wearing a  headscarf with terrorism even if she is a blue-eyed white American.   “I was walking down Lexington Avenue on a nice spring day, and heard a woman saying ‘f. terrorist,’ ” said Joseph. “I heard it after I passed her already.”

Although such incidents may occur, reactions are not always spoken.  “I can see it in their eyes.  People don’t wrap around the idea that an American is a Muslim at the same time, but it’s part of my freedom of being an American.”

Hijab is an Arabic noun meaning “cover.”   In Western countries as well as Arabic-speaking countries it refers to women’s modest clothing that covers the hair and entire body.  Although hijab is a religious obligation, not all Muslim women comply with it.  Those who wear it are not restricted from pursuing higher education or professional careers. While some may be faced with less tolerance, many others enjoy a wider degree of acceptance and freedom.

The number of the Muslim population in the United States is debatable, as the US Census Bureau is prohibited from collecting data on religious affiliation.  However, estimates by various institutions show that the population has been growing.  “Faith Communities Today,” a 2001 study coordinated by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research in Connecticut indicates that the US has 1,209 mosques and two-million American Muslims associated with a mosque, 30 percent of whom are converts to the faith.

Regina Richter converted three years ago.  To the 26-year-old education researcher and graduate student, hijab is not merely an expression of faith; it’s rather a responsibility.  “Hijab has had an incredibly powerful effect on my life.  It’s a very real reminder of how I should act.  I am also acutely aware that it means every one of my actions has the potential to be perceived by others as a ‘Muslim thing.’  If I’m rude, it no longer just reflects poorly on me; it reflects poorly on women in hijab, on Muslim women, even on Muslims in general.  That in itself is a powerful attitude-check.”

Richter started wearing hijab last year.  She says the supportive reaction of her boss and coworkers eased her tension on her first day with a headscarf.  “I was nervous.   Would my coworkers understand? Would my supervisors?  I arrived early, before our supervisors arrived. I felt the need to explain, almost as if I needed to apologize.”

To the faithful, hijab is an obligation, but to others, it’s a national dress as it is in Saudi Arabia, where women must wear long black garments and cover their faces.  In the West as well as in more open Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Morocco, and Syria, hijab has become a stylish fashion. There, hijabed women wrap headscarves in different fashionable styles, and wear loose Western attire, standing at a middle point between religious limits and fashion allure.

“As a woman in general, I’m concerned with the way I look,” says Noor Bilbeisi, a 27-year-old Arab-American New Jersey pediatric dentist. “When I shop, I look first for something that is loose and long and adheres to Islamic dress code and secondly I look for something that is nice and fashionable and reflects my personality. And I think it is very possible to have both.”   But, some women tend to favor one side at the cost of the other.  “Some Muslim women completely disregard fashion and that alienates them from the rest of society. At the same time, other Muslim women compromise their Islamic values in the name of fashion and “fitting in” and if that’s what it would cost, then it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“Wearing hijab doesn’t make me less human,” says Nazia Ahmed, a research scientist at a large New Jersey pharmaceutical company. “I still pride myself on dressing well and looking nice. I make a conscious effort to wear stylish clothing with well-coordinated, matching hijabs. I try to ensure that my clothing is within the limits of Islam and is still modest and covering without sacrificing style and fashion.”

Islamic dress code has assumed greater significance recently.  It has raised debates in non-Muslim countries with large Muslim population as well as some secular Muslim societies, such as Turkey.  The most striking anti-hijab action was France’s ban on overt religious symbols in public schools.  The legislation, effective in September 2004, raised questions about human rights to religious freedom in secular democratic countries.

Muslim women in the United States, especially in cosmopolitan cities like New York, enjoy a higher ceiling of freedom.  Under Specific Protections, the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy requires city agencies to provide accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of employees including those “related to dress and appearance.”  Yet, the public tension toward Islamic fundamentalism promoted by the media along with stereotypes about hijab as a sign of submissiveness and oppression have complicated the situation for hijabi women, especially those of Arab origins following September 11.

“The media portrayal of Muslim women adds fuel to the fire, and subsequently to people’s stereotypes,” says Ahmed.  “It is these negative images and associations that make American Muslim women’s role in the public sphere all that much more critical, to dispel these biases.”

Arab-American women in particular suffered from bias and serious backlash following the tragic events not only in the workplace, but on the streets, schools, and public transportation.  A survey by the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee Research Institute reports over 700 violent incidents targeting members of the community or those perceived as Arabs or Muslims, and over 800 cases of employment discrimination against Arab Americans.  Concerned about their personal safety, many women had either to take off their hijab or stay home most of the time.  “Many women stayed home after 9/11.  Many of them were afraid to even go shopping.  Our center had volunteers to escort them to go shopping,” says Maha Atieh, health program manager at the Arab-American Family Support Center. “I remember a mother and her daughter were harassed in the train.  They were cursing them and were trying to pull the hijab off their heads. We also had cases of women who were fired, and others who were denied jobs. They were told they weren’t qualified.  Some of them knew they were qualified, but they were wearing headscarves.”

The American Community Survey prepared by the US Census Bureau in 2005 estimates the city’s Arab population at 85,821.  This is 1.1 percent of the entire city  population, a 14 percent increase since 2000, at a time when the Federal government is cracking down on immigration from Arab countries. The small community is visible in Manhattan and vast areas of Staten Island, but the southeastern corner of Brooklyn as well as the eastern part of Queens remain areas of the highest concentration.

Atieh says things seem to have calmed down now not only because the larger environment in the city seems more tolerant. But questions persist. Arab-American women, especially immigrants, usually tend not to report such cases.  “They don’t have enough courage to report discrimination incidents. Although the Center has a legal department, women who were discriminated against after 9/11, did not go there seeking legal help, they rather were seeking advice on how to avoid discrimination or protect themselves.”

Employers may not explicitly comment on the job applicant’s attire, but may cite different reasons for rejection.  “They will be afraid to lose their clients if they hire a woman in hijab.  But this shouldn’t be the case in the States, where people enjoy freedom of religion.”  Therefore, these women are more likely to work within the community.

“I feel that as American Muslim women, we are just as much a part of society as all other women, We are just another subset of the population, looking to succeed and provide for ourselves and our families with successful careers.  Others may not accept our expression of faith…The reality is that America is a country founded on my personal freedoms, so in a sense, we are a shining examples of the freedom of expression and religion that the American people pride themselves on,” says Ahmed.

“I think there will be some obstacles, but I think there are lots of opportunities as well.” says Safia Hussain, a 27-year-old attorney at a corporate law firm.  “A hijab-wearing Muslim woman adds a lot of diversity to a workplace and also a lot of people who are opposed to the widespread prejudice against Muslims would probably support a Muslim woman. But I think Muslim women will always have to deal with the same gender discrimination that all women face.”

These young women leave their houses everyday realizing that both tolerance and bias are out there, but they also realize their role as good citizens, who enjoy freedom of expression while adding their own flavor to the melting pot.

“I think in the professional field we have an edge because we are very open-minded and are hard working. I think that even though there is bias against us, we are in a much better position than we might think,” says Bilbeisi.

For Joseph, entering the world of veil has inspired her to pursue her dream profession as a writer.  She’s currently busy writing two books, her memoir and an anthology on convert Muslim women.  “I want to create a change in the way the world views Muslim women through my American voice,” says Joseph as she gets up to resume her walk.