In Rochester, a school celebrating World Hijab Day invites students to learn about Muslim culture. WXXI's Veronica Volk reports:
At the back of the cafeteria at the World of Inquiry School in Rochester, tables are covered in colorful, patterned scarves, and teachers and students are wearing them. They're celebrating World Hijab Day.
Kelly LaLonde is an English as a Second Language Teacher at the school. She says the response to the event has been overwhelmingly positive.
"We had a hundred and fifty scarves that were donated from the community and they were gone 20 minutes into breakfast."
It's not just about wearing the garment, it's about giving students who don't wear hijab a chance to ask questions.
Mahreen George, also an ESL teacher at the World of Inquiry, says kids can have a lot of different questions.
"A lot of the younger kids are curious about things like, Are you hot? or, How do you tie it? How do you feel wearing it?"
George says throughout the day, she's also heard bigger questions about wearing hijab, and Muslim culture.
"What's wonderful about this event is, it’s older students that are answering the questions for younger students. The kids have sort of taken charge of the event themselves and there's so much learning through doing."
Which is something the World of Inquiry School prides itself on, but this educational forum wasn't dreamed up by the faculty.
It started with a letter, written by 16-year-old Eman Muthana to the school's principal. In the letter, Muthana writes, in part:
I am a Muslim girl and I wear hijab. Sometimes my friends and I face lots of difficulties wearing it because many people misunderstand the purpose of it. Sometime when people see us wearing hijab, people start defining us before even they know who we are.
"I was on YouTube and I saw this idea all over," says Muthana, "so I wanted to have it here, because I see all the teachers supporting me, I have really good friends that respect my culture and my religion, so this would be the best place to do it."
Muthana is originally from Yemen, and has been at the school for three months. She says she's proud to have inspired this event.
"Sometimes I feel like people don't realize our culture, like we are actually not seen, but it feels so good that people are trying to learn about my culture."
Students and parents in the cafeteria were excited to take part, but the decision to celebrate World Hijab Day drew some criticism from outside the school.
City School District spokesman Chip Partner says they got some calls and complaints from outside the district about the event, and a social media conversation about the school's activities provoked some anti-Islamic comments from people in and out of Rochester.
Seventeen-year-old Irving Roche says he saw some of those comments.
"I really found it shocking, because I didn't know people felt so strongly about this, and so negatively. I think this is a great thing, and this is what our school is about: including people, celebrating and encouraging diversity in our community."
Roche, and other boys at the school, wore carnations in support of Hijab Day.
Muthana says she was shocked by the negative response.
"For me, as an immigrant, who came to look for peace, I would never do something bad for a country that opened its door for me."
Muthana says, for her, wearing hijab is a huge responsibility, because she becomes a representative of her country, culture, and religion. But she says she's up for it, and someday, she says she wants to help educate and empower Muslim women around the world.
