"Rihanna, Lady Gaga and what's really behind the burqa swag" 

Amina D. Thaher

7th October 2014 

As a muslim teenager living in a islamic dominated country,  my opinion on this particular article might be viewed as biased or narrowminded. But dont be too quick to judge, because you wouldnt want anyone doing that to you either , if you were to reveal your opinion on a personal matter.

Basically this article discusses how the "Burqa" is being altered into a trend by the mentioned celebrities that are, as mentioned, clearly not familiar with the Burqa, its concept and spiritual connection to Islam. 

Right at the first paragraph you already crossed a bunch of moralic limits which reflects your pathetic attempt at entertaining the reader, while stripping an essential factor in a tradition off its value.

Here, take a look at it. 

"Ladies! Wondering what to wear tonight that will turn heads and get all the boys excited? May I suggest a sexed-up burqa or perhaps a naughty niqab? While harem pants are v last season, veils are terribly in vogue. Not only do they add an exotic edge, but black is extremely mu-slimming." 

Did you honestly have to say that? To me that looks like an attempt at degrading a religion of modesty and self respect into the norms of society. You probably think youre doing muslim women a favour by "including" us into your ideas of a perfect society. Well guess what, chosing to dress differently , i think its clear we dont necessarily want to be part of that.

Rihanna as a person is very well known to be "open" , and i mean very open.

So the fact that she actually wore something in one of her pictures on instagram is a huge accomplishment, disregarding any personal views. But posing seductively in front of a sacred place? People like her, who chose to present themself as they are shouldnt even be allowed into a mosque or near one. What a shame. A mosque is meant for mental and physical purification , for being humble and submitting yourself to god, or any spiritual feelings you feel the need to share in that mosque. Its a place of private beliefs and a supposedly closed community. Its our right to express our religion freely and have limits, so her posing in front of it, with the hijab, just to get some attention at being "exotic" is just laughable.

The same goes for madonna who has the impression of the niqab (which conceals everything exept the eyes) to be sexually alluring. No , its actually there for modesty and to remind onesself to stay humble and realize our equality in society. Not to make men wonder whats under it. Its definitely a cultural thing, not religious . These days the hijab, niqab and burka are being used as ways to entertain, seem interesting and "enlighten" others who dont know as much about our very valued religion. The hijab itself is the one part required and fully connected to religion, in order to identify onesself as a muslim and to keep reminding yourself about it. The burqa and niqab are both involved with cultural traditions that are not required but still have history and value to others. Either way it is offensive for women who try their best to represent their religion and then have some random celebrities who dont know the half of it, put it on and convey a completely different message to the community. They have more power through their fame, and you writing a supportive article about it onyl makes it worse. 

Please try to respect other beliefs and traditions that mean a lot to the affected people and try to convey a message of peace and respect, rather than completely taking it out of its concept. 
However offensive this may sound, it is the plain truth and can not be negotiated in any way. Not only are you making up a new meaning for  the burqa, you are degrading it as yet just another fashion  piece for the entertainment of others.