Sara Hussein was born to Muslim Palestinian parents in Venezuela, but she moved to the Virgin Islands shortly thereafter.
But that is changing, she said, with more VI women choosing to cover their heads, arms and legs.
Aqueelah Cave, whose husband Khaleel is the imam of the only mosque in the territory, estimates that as many as 20 VI women now wear the hijab.
Some people believe the garment is a symbol of Muslim oppression of women, but that is not correct, Mr. Cave explained.
“The hijab is a symbol of modesty,” the imam said, adding, “Many people actually think it’s only for women, but the concept of hijab also applies to men.”
The Quran, Islam’s holy book, urges males and females alike to dress modestly, he explained.
Controversy
Recently, the hijab has been at the centre of global controversy after several beach cities in France banned the burkini, a full body swimsuit that includes a head covering.
“They way people look at us has changed,” French student Halima Djalab Bouguerra told The New York Times. “Tongues have loosened. No one is afraid of telling a Muslim to ‘go back home’ anymore.”
The VI, however, isn’t so hostile, said Ms. Hussein, who started wearing the veil in her 20s to set an example for her two daughters.
“I didn’t know then what I know now about the hijab,” said the teacher.
At first, she recalled, covering up in public wasn’t easy.
“I was worried about what my friends would say,” she said. “I had some insecurity at first. The first time, it was a weird feeling. I had doubts. I wanted to take it off, but I had the support of my family.”
Ms. Cave agreed that VI residents are very tolerant of women in hijabs, and she has noticed that the garment is a lot more popular than when she arrived here in 2010.
Adjusting to the VI felt a bit awkward, but she soon settled in and felt comfortable enough to go to the beach with her head covered.
“I felt a bit conscious of myself,” she said. “But I never got any negativity from the community.”
Jameelah Paul recounted a similar experience. The Peebles Hospital pharmacy technician began wearing the hijab in 2010, several years after converting to Islam here in the VI.
Today, Ms. Paul always makes an effort to match her hijab with her outfit, and to tie it in different styles. But she wasn’t always so confident,
“I was scared as to how people would look at me,” Ms. Paul said, adding that compliments boosted her confidence. “Most of them said I was beautiful and that they preferred me with my hair covered. I would have still continued anyways: I just set out to please Allah.”
Bad experience
Though the VI is tolerant in general, bad experiences are not unheard of. Last month, Omar Tarabay took to Facebook to complain of harassment he said his wife and daughter faced while shopping at Rite Way Supermarket.
Other residents were quick to sympathise with the Tarabays while condemning the alleged harasser.
“This is not indicative of our culture: Unfortunately, those who sprinkle our community with their racist rants make the most noise,” Karia Christopher wrote on Facebook. “We are #Onebvi and I speak for most when I say sorry that your family had that horrible experience.”
Rite Way also quickly apologised for the incident and promised to have “further discussions” with the Tarabays.
Ms. Cave and other Muslim women said such hateful comments are extremely uncommon in the VI.
“Most people from here won’t behave in that way: People knew that had to be a foreigner who had to have come here with his mentality from away,” she said of the supermarket incident. “The Muslims living here, it’s our responsibility to reach out to more people and show them who we really are as Muslims, and the beauty of Islam.”
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