I just recently became interested in hijabs, I've always found them beautiful and exuding such class, and have been thinking of wearing one. For the most part, I dress relatively modestly in that I won't wear crop tops or shorts, but where I live that is common. The most I will wear is tight fitting jeans or shirts but nothing short or low cut. My main concern is offending someone. Would my wearing a hijab be considered rude or disrespectful because I am not Muslim? Would it be rude to wear it inconsistently? Thank you in advance.

Thank you for reaching out! You might be surprised to learn that we get asked this question a lot. God prescribed hijab and modest dress for Muslims just as He did the Jews and Christians before us. As I'm sure you know, Christians used to cover their hair, but the practice has long been abandoned. This is in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:5, which says, "Every woman who prays... with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved."  This is further evidenced in every picture of Mother Mary (peace and blessings be upon her) where her hair is covered. Historically speaking, the traditional head covering was slowly replaced by bonnet and hats, widespread during the 19th century Victorian era and into the 20th century. Women donned these elaborate headpieces without realizing there was originally a spiritual component behind the practice. Similarly, until about 1960, western women wore hats when in church, but the meaning was lost. Today, some Christian women still cover their heads in church and some of them (particularly older women) cover their heads all the time.

Muslims do not own the head covering - it is a mandate that pre-dates Islam. By the same token, Islam was revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for all of mankind, not for any one person or type of people. If any Muslim is offended by you wearing hijab it is due to their own error and not rooted in Islam. Our goal at Haute Hijab is to promote modesty (in dress and actions) not only to Muslims but to everyone. There is absolutely no harm or disrespect in you wearing a head covering. If you wear the head scarf inconsistently, that is your choice! Hopefully you get to a point where going out without the head scarf feels unnatural and you continue to wear it all the time. Of course, however you choose to wear the hijab is between you and God.We encourage you to read this blog post about Amanda, an American who is not Muslim and wears hijab full time. I think you'll draw some much needed inspiration from it.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help or if you have any other questions at all. I pray that God makes things easy for you and I also encourage you to pray to God! Ask Him to help you in this decision, He will pave a way for you and make things easy on you so long as you put all your trust in Him.

All the best,