PROVO — A group of BYU students is spreading love and showing solidarity for those of other religions.
For the past three Wednesdays, student Sondra Sasser and 11 fellow students started wearing traditional hijabs to show support for Utah's Muslim community. Most of the students are majoring in Middle Eastern studies, so they are very familiar with the culture.
While often understood as a symbol of modesty and privacy, the hijab is much more for those Muslim women who choose to wear it, according to Yonat Shimron with the Religion News Service. She said, “It says they view it alternately as a sign of religious devotion, discipline, freedom from Western expectations, or simply a way to be in a continuous state of prayer.