**3. The hijab as an invitation**

substance, while to receive something is to receive a part of someone's spiritual essence' [3]. The process of gifting and counter-gifting involves not mere economic exchange but rather 'a pattern of spiritual bonds between things which are to some extent parts of persons' [3]. As the spiritual presence of the person who originally gave the gift resides within and lingers around it, then the gift received is owned by the receiver, 'but the ownership is of a particular kind', for the gift retains strong traces of the personal charisma of the person who first offered it. For Mauss, this shows that the gift is a complex of different properties which modern, Western thought usually separates from each other: it is simultaneously both 'property and a possession, a pledge and a loan, an object sold and an object bought', among

In other words, a received gift is not a mere object; it is a powerful reminder of someone else, and most likely of the social group that stands behind them too. Wearing such an object, then, is a potent and embodied reminder of the desires of the donor and of the group to which s/he belongs. To wear a gift garment is to acquiesce, at least to some degree, in the intentions of the donor and their social group. By wearing such a garment, I start to resemble, to some degree, the image that the donor and their group have of me, or the image which they want

Any object can potentially take on the special qualities of a gift; it just must be given to a recipient in the spirit of gift exchange. As Mauss puts the point, 'everything is stuff to be given away and repaid … [thus becoming] a perpetual interchange of what we may call spiritual matter' [3]. So deeply can objects be invested with special significance by both donors and receivers, that for those in a gift-giving chain these objects can come to seem to have 'a virtue of their own which [itself seems to] cause … them to be given and [in turn] compels the making of counter-gifts' [3]. In essence, once objects become gifts, those 'things have personality', [3] and are felt to have a special sort of resonance and charisma. They possess both the traces of the personality of the individual donor, and of the group to which s/he belongs. For example, a Bible given by a grandmother to a grand-daughter resonates with the personality not only of the esteemed elderly relative but also, because it is an explicitly religious object of the Christian church, community and belief system to which the grandmother belongs and subscribes. The Bible-gift seeks to pull the child into the ambit of the religious community of

We can note here that some authors have pointed to the especially strong bonds between women, whether as relatives or as friends, that can be created through gift-giving processes [14]. We can add that certain objects will be defined by particular groups as being especially worthy of being given as gifts. Weiner's extension and critique of Mauss's original formulations notes that hand-made objects, especially those made by donors themselves, operate as particularly powerful gifts, as they very deeply embed the personality of the maker-donor into the material fabric of the object. Objects that are not made by donors, but which are framed by donors as having been very carefully selected and sought out by them for the

Objects that a given community regards as especially spiritual are also likely to operate as particularly potent gifts. An object already defined as somehow spiritually *special* is particularly

which the more senior woman feels herself to be part and representative of.

recipient, can also take on strong traces of the donor's personality [15].

other things [3].

160 Socialization - A Multidimensional Perspective

me to have.

Aisha2 , a Finnish woman in her mid-20s, converted to Islam at the age of 18. Having grown up in a small Finnish town, she now lives in Helsinki, the capital city, and studies at a university. Soon after her conversion, she arranged her marriage to an Arab man through her religious community, and they now have one child. Aisha's views and dress choices – a full-length khimar3 and previously also the niqab4 – reflect a conservative interpretation of Islam, and she regularly visits a mosque that some other Finns consider 'Salafi-influenced'. Aisha is very articulate and critical of what she considers the cultural and commercial objectification of the female body in Finland and in 'the West' more generally.

<sup>2</sup> All names of the interviewees have been changed.

<sup>3</sup> Khimar refers to a head-covering, initially worn by both women and men. By the 1980s, khimar had come to mean 'a headcover that covers the hair and extends low to the forehead, comes under the chin to conceal the neck, and falls down over the chest and back'. [17] Khimars come in different lengths: below the hips, down to the knees, and full-length with sleeves.

<sup>4</sup> Niqab is an Arabic face-veil, 'a free-flowing piece of black cloth of various lengths that covers the lower part of the face'. [18] It typically leaves the eyes visible, although there are niqabs that can be used to cover the eyes as well. More recently, niqabs have been available in a variety of colours.

Aisha told the interviewer how she, after reading the Qur'an and believing it to be 'the truth', learned more about the practicalities of Islam. Through an internet discussion forum, she made the acquaintance of a Somali Muslim woman of her own age, and learned more about everyday life as a Muslim.

interviewer visited his wife. Nura wears the long khimar and the niqab, and believes that others should do so too. While she stressed that the wearing of the hijab should be everyone's own personal choice, she also stated that she is 'advising' her younger sister to conform to more conservative dress styles, which the sister apparently resists. This kind of pressure was fairly common in this community, and was not considered to be in any sort of conflict with the

The Hijab as Gift: Mechanisms of Community Socialisation in the Muslim Diaspora

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In this regard, garment gifts may also serve the purpose of encouraging the wearing of a certain kind of hijab, and thus fostering the 'right' kind of representation of the religious and ethnic community. Such gifts are given under specific conditions, and usually follow the receiver's desire to change her dress (and the giver's desire to support her decision), rather

*Just this summer I gave up a scarf I've worn for many, many years. It was very dear to me… But… in my opinion it was useless to leave it in the closet; I got a migraine and I couldn't [wear it]. Someone else wanted to start [wearing] the [khimar], which is a great thing if another Muslim wants to cover herself* 

Thus, giving away a garment to which she had an emotional bond was justified for Nura for two reasons: her inability to wear it (negative reason), and the other woman's need for it (positive reason – it encourages a deeper level of Islamic observance). Here, she practices a certain level of sacrifice, which is discussed in more detail below. The gift signified her encouragement and acceptance of the other woman's choice to 'cover more', as well as materially making that more possible and more likely. Such gifts are not simply about linkages between individuals, but are also about the expressing, forging and maintaining of networks within the ethnic/religious community [3]. The gift works as an invitation for a particular woman to be included in a particular group of veiling women, which in turn pulls her into the orbit of the religious norms of the broader community to which that particular group

Miriam, a Finnish woman in her late 20s, had a very different conversion story. She also dresses very differently from Aisha, preferring long skirts, long-sleeved tops and a small scarf that covers her hair but not her neck. Converted 2 years prior to the time of the interview, she had no connection to any local Muslim communities, and her only Muslim contacts were her Arab husband and his family, who live abroad. Miriam has one child, and is practically a single mother in her husband's absence. She tells the history of her scarf-wearing as follows:

*In Finland, I've worn this kind of a scarf [a small scarf covering most of the hair and the ears but not the neck] since the spring… It was actually because in 2010 we visited Jordan and I wore there for the first time the full scarf and the family saw me wearing it… Then [my husband's] brother came to visit [Finland]… and when I heard he's coming and thought that they've seen me with the scarf and I kind of can't appear with them without the scarf so I started wearing this… I couldn't imagine myself any* 

requirement that wearing the hijab be 'freely chosen'.

*more. I was very glad [and] I gave it to her.*

**4. The hijab as connection-maker**

*more without a scarf in front of the family.*

subscribes.

than as a general encouragement for veiling. As Nura explained,

*I visited her a couple of times and she showed me how to pray and gave me a scarf and then an abaya. … So, I actually started to wear them and pray before I had said Shahada [the declaration of belief].*

As Muslim women are required to veil when praying, such garment gifts have a practical value for the new convert when she learns to pray and to integrate her new religion into her daily life routines. The gift serves the purpose of encouraging her to veil and operates as a welcome to the community.

Such gifts are often easily given and considered neither too personal nor too valuable to accept. They are typically bought cheaply from sources outside Finland, and as commodities operate in the cheaper end of globalised fashion systems. However, as Mauss reminds us, a gift is normally given and received under obligation, and in the process of gift-giving, it turns from mere commodity into something more spiritual and socially meaningful. In this case, the scarf and the abaya can be seen as a covert attempt to convert someone (or at least to encourage their conversion), and one of the gift's purposes is to bind the receiver, if not to the gift-giving individual per se, then to the Muslim community as a whole through a sense of gratitude and obligation to return the favour. New converts who are on the receiving side are expected to contribute back to the community, which the original donor represents, later on. Rather than creating a bond between two individuals, the gift therefore aims to create a bond between an individual and the community, imposing certain expectations with regard to appearance and behaviour onto the potential convert woman.

There has been a significant shift in Somali interpretations of Islam as the Somali diaspora has spread across the world. While many of the older generation are Sufist, many of the younger generation are influenced by trends of the global Islamic revival, and particularly those actively marketed by Saudi Arabia [19]. Many young Somalis are also involved in Da'wah ('calling to Islam'). This is a form of missionary work, which targets both non-Muslims and also Muslims deemed to be not the 'right' kind of believers and religious practitioners. Popular among various Arab populations and, in the US especially, black converts to Islam, Da'wah work is sometimes associated with conservative (or even radical) views of Islam. In Aisha's case, the presumed intention of the original donor bore fruit: Aisha is now a moral leader with conservative religious views, and lectures to other young Finnish converts to Islam. She has been successfully socialised into a religious community, and the original garment gifts she received some years ago played an important role in this regard.

The following story exemplifies the nuances within the Finnish Somali community with regards to interpretations of Islam. Nura is a Somali Muslim woman in her mid-20s. She arrived in Finland as a teenager and is married to a Somali man from her own clan. The marriage was arranged by their families, and both spouses share Salafi-influenced views of their religion. The interviewer was passed leaflets to that effect from the husband when visiting their home, but never actually met him in person as he firmly stayed in his room when the female interviewer visited his wife. Nura wears the long khimar and the niqab, and believes that others should do so too. While she stressed that the wearing of the hijab should be everyone's own personal choice, she also stated that she is 'advising' her younger sister to conform to more conservative dress styles, which the sister apparently resists. This kind of pressure was fairly common in this community, and was not considered to be in any sort of conflict with the requirement that wearing the hijab be 'freely chosen'.

In this regard, garment gifts may also serve the purpose of encouraging the wearing of a certain kind of hijab, and thus fostering the 'right' kind of representation of the religious and ethnic community. Such gifts are given under specific conditions, and usually follow the receiver's desire to change her dress (and the giver's desire to support her decision), rather than as a general encouragement for veiling. As Nura explained,

*Just this summer I gave up a scarf I've worn for many, many years. It was very dear to me… But… in my opinion it was useless to leave it in the closet; I got a migraine and I couldn't [wear it]. Someone else wanted to start [wearing] the [khimar], which is a great thing if another Muslim wants to cover herself more. I was very glad [and] I gave it to her.*

Thus, giving away a garment to which she had an emotional bond was justified for Nura for two reasons: her inability to wear it (negative reason), and the other woman's need for it (positive reason – it encourages a deeper level of Islamic observance). Here, she practices a certain level of sacrifice, which is discussed in more detail below. The gift signified her encouragement and acceptance of the other woman's choice to 'cover more', as well as materially making that more possible and more likely. Such gifts are not simply about linkages between individuals, but are also about the expressing, forging and maintaining of networks within the ethnic/religious community [3]. The gift works as an invitation for a particular woman to be included in a particular group of veiling women, which in turn pulls her into the orbit of the religious norms of the broader community to which that particular group subscribes.
