Muslims in America

International Students
1

<p>I am a Muslim Indonesian and I’m really looking forward to college in the US.
I am a girl and I wear the headscarf (or whatever they call it in English).
Will it matter when I enter the US?
This is the only thing that bothers me now. A lot of my friends tell me distressing things about this. Some of my seniors who have already gone to college in the US have had to take their headscarfs off. I do not plan on doing the same.</p>

<p>What risks am i taking?
Will it affect my education in college? Will I get discriminated by the faculty or peers?</p>

<p>I would really appreciate your replies.</p>

2

<p>It shouldn’t matter at all, provided you apply to decently liberal colleges (rural or religiously affiliated schools may be a tougher crowd, but then again, I can’t really speak to that). I’ve attended two colleges in the US, one west and one east coast, and we had/have an active MSA (Muslim Student Association) on both. None of my female friends with hijab have experienced any problems, and especially at more diverse schools, few people will even bat an eyebrow.</p>

<p>To be fair, however, college is a pretty sheltered environment - I’ve no doubt there is a lot of apprehension, xenophobia and misinformed attitudes to be dealt with both within and beyond any given college (and college town). I’ve just never seen it be that open or frequent.</p>

3

<p>There are lots of Muslims in the U.S. and you will find a head scarf is not an issue, especially if you go to a large university in a large city.</p>

4

<p>i’m not sure about this because i’m not in a US college yet (still waiting for april 1st!) but a lot of LAC seem to embrace diversity. maybe you could include it somewhere in your essay or something? i know a girl at smith college [my first choice:)] from the middle east who wears a headscarve and she doesnt face any problems. but still, i would say, you have to take it with a pinch of salt. some of them can be quite rude/condescending.</p>

5

<p>“Some of my seniors who have already gone to college in the US have had to take their headscarfs off.”</p>

<p>I’m curious about this: Where did this happen? It’s against the law here to force someone to take a headscarf off-or a yamulkah or a turban or whatever other religious symbol you choose to wear. Were they really ‘forced’ or was ‘standing out’ by dressing differently simply uncomfortable?</p>

6

<p>No, there’s no law enforcement.
I was just wondering how bad it was for her to make her take it off.
Oh, she’s in Houston, by the way.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies. I feel a little better now. :)</p>

<p>Oh, one more thing, will it affect my chances of getting a good job afterwards?</p>

7

<p>the south is full of rednecks so maybe thats why she had to take it off…so if you think its going to be a problem you should go to the northeast or the west coast…still though there are no gurantees</p>