Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone! Insh'Allah you're all well and in the best of health and the highest of iman. I came across this article on Muslim women participating in athletics, specifically competing in the Olympics. Read it HERE.
The article brought up a very interesting topic...veiled athletes vs. non-veiled athletes. I personally think that it's a shame, though it's not very surprising, that people/the media are so focused on what women are wearing and their physical appearance rather than their athletic accomplishments. I find it sad that clerics in Algeria called Hassiba Boulmerka "anti-Islam", and that she received death threats simply because she chose to compete in a traditional track suit (yes, it's not exactly good hijab for a woman...or even a MAN for that matter, to wear track shorts...but sheesh, that doesn't automatically mean that she's not Muslim, or that she's AGAINST Islam, subhan'Allah...although I myself wear large headscarves and abayas, I'm so sick and tired of people making assumptions like this about sisters who chose not to cover *rant*). I also find it sad that the American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad probably gets far more questions about wearing the hijab than she does about her training regimen, etc.
On another note...I'm thrilled that at each Olympics there are increasing numbers of veiled Muslimah athletes...I really think they should serve as an inspiration for all of us Muslimahs to be active and take care of the bodies that Allah(swt) gave us. There is a lot of cultural (notice I said CULTURAL, not religious) pressure for Muslim women not to participate in sports or an active lifestyle as it's not "modest" for us to do so. This kind of attitude only hurts Muslim women, because it severely limits us with what we can do in order to keep our bodies healthy. I personally do not see why there is any reason why a veiled Muslimah cannot participate in sports while still maintaining her modesty. What do you think?
The article brought up a very interesting topic...veiled athletes vs. non-veiled athletes. I personally think that it's a shame, though it's not very surprising, that people/the media are so focused on what women are wearing and their physical appearance rather than their athletic accomplishments. I find it sad that clerics in Algeria called Hassiba Boulmerka "anti-Islam", and that she received death threats simply because she chose to compete in a traditional track suit (yes, it's not exactly good hijab for a woman...or even a MAN for that matter, to wear track shorts...but sheesh, that doesn't automatically mean that she's not Muslim, or that she's AGAINST Islam, subhan'Allah...although I myself wear large headscarves and abayas, I'm so sick and tired of people making assumptions like this about sisters who chose not to cover *rant*). I also find it sad that the American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad probably gets far more questions about wearing the hijab than she does about her training regimen, etc.
On another note...I'm thrilled that at each Olympics there are increasing numbers of veiled Muslimah athletes...I really think they should serve as an inspiration for all of us Muslimahs to be active and take care of the bodies that Allah(swt) gave us. There is a lot of cultural (notice I said CULTURAL, not religious) pressure for Muslim women not to participate in sports or an active lifestyle as it's not "modest" for us to do so. This kind of attitude only hurts Muslim women, because it severely limits us with what we can do in order to keep our bodies healthy. I personally do not see why there is any reason why a veiled Muslimah cannot participate in sports while still maintaining her modesty. What do you think?
So here it goes...I shall begin my posts on Moroccan marriages by covering traditional Moroccan bridal wear, or "negafa". I would also like to request that people please not repost these pictures, jazak Allah khair in advance!
During the wedding ceremony, a Moroccan bride will change her dress multiple times. For instance, at the wedding of my husband's cousin R, she changed her outfit a whopping TEN TIMES (yikes! That's a lot of stuff to get in and out of! Luckily the bride has two women to attend to her and help her get dressed/make sure she always looks pretty for pictures and videos...and that Moroccan weddings tend to last 8 to 10 hours!)
Bridal wear usually includes a takchita (a traditional Moroccan dress for women, worn for parties and special occasions, it consists of an inner dress, as well as an outer, often transparent dress, and can be worn with or without a belt) or a caftan that is heavily embellished and embroidered, a long veil that is draped on top of the head, and a lot of jewelry (including a clip for the belt, necklaces, earings, a tiara, and clips to hold the veil in place). Brides that choose to keep covered (i.e. hijab) at their weddings will also have elaborately wrapped head scarves (however, I've found that a lot of women do not wear the hijab at their wedding for whatever reason). The negafa is often rented for the day, as buying all the fabric to tailor the takchitas and caftans and to look for matching jewelry would take quite a bit of time and a LOT of money. However, there are some brides out there that choose to do that. 
These photos are just some examples of Moroccan negafa worn by my husband's cousin R, aunt L, and myself (my female in-laws planned such a sweet surprise for me, may Allah(swt) bless them...they had me dressed up in negafa after aunt L's ceremony (she was in on this too! May Allah(swt) bless her immensely for her generosity!) because I didn't really get to have a traditional wedding ceremony of my own (I didn't really want one...too much attention...I was sobbing like crazy because I was so touched that they did this for me)...I had no idea that they were planning this, they kept it a secret up until the very last minute because my MIL knew very well that if I knew what they were planning I would have very politely refused...she just told me that I was going to wear negafa so that I could take pictures for my family (she had to plead with me for me to agree to do even that lol mash'Allah)...little did I know that I was going to be brought downstairs into the wedding with a room full of women!) So anyways, yeah, that's the long story about how I ended up in negafa even though I didn't have a traditional wedding ceremony (I'm in the red if you haven't already guessed...) These aren't in any way meant to be taken as exhaustive examples...they're only just a few. If you'd like to see more, I suggest googling "negafa" images. I hope you all enjoyed this post!