At work today, one of my young female staffers caught a glimpse of the top I'm wearing under a big black hoodie. "Ooooh, Miss Angelica! Y'all can wear stuff like that?!" Yes, we can. We're Muslim but we are still women.
That led to a discussion about femininity, Muslim women's dress, what constitutes sexiness, and why you don't have to dress up for men to feel good. All of the women (4 total) I was talking to are non-Muslim. One of them said "Islam is way different than I thought it was!"
Sometimes dawah looks like street imams shouting Quranic verses. Sometimes its brothers in turbans going from masjid to masjid. And sometimes dawah starts with a black mesh leotard and a middle-aged mom who has time to answer questions from an inquisitive group of women.
When folks malign me for talking about sex or living my life out loud, I don't pay them no mind. My dawah comes from living as a Muslim woman and never taking shortcuts with my deen or my life. And that resonates with people, especially women. I won't stop insha Allah.
