Islamic attire in a secular society

Re “Hidden in plain sight,” Opinion, Oct. 25

Zaiba Malik claims the veil is an attraction and not a distraction. I lived in London from 1994 to 1999 and saw hijabcovered women stroll (behind their men) with no more attention paid them than any other member of that city’s multicultural society.

If the veil now attracts attention, it may have something to do with the indiscriminate and brutal murders of travelers on London’s Underground last year by those associated with the Muslim religion.

Malik said she will shake the “gloved hands” of these women for “enduring the staring, the swearing” on the streets of London and nothing about the difficulty of enduring the idea that their body parts are “shameful.” Now there’s a clever distraction.

MARYANN GRAU

South Pasadena

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It’s an interesting experiment, wearing full Islamic attire in a secular, cosmopolitan city like London. Why not complete the study by walking the streets of Mecca or Medina without head covering, wearing a low-cut blouse and a short shirt?

Oh, you better bring someone along to bail you out of jail.

ROBERT DALTON

Los Angeles

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I find it disappointing that your paper would publish even more reasons to feed the world’s paranoia that Muslim women who choose to wear a headdress are different and strange.

Malik’s experience is not surprising, and perhaps our time is better spent in understanding how similar we all are rather than how different.

KAVITA PATEL

Santa Monica