The Connection Between The Hijab & Infertility

On last night’s episode of All-American Muslim, we spent some time with Samira, who is struggling to conceive a child. She visited her imam — the leader of her mosque — to talk about IVF, but he had bad news, saying that if she used her husband’s sperm, it would be okay, but using some other man’s sperm to get pregnant was forbidden by God. (Samira and her husband both have fertility issues.) Samira decided that in order to be blessed with a child, she needed to try and please God — by wearing a hijab, which she hasn’t worn since 9/11. She stopped wearing a headscarf after 9/11, she says, because “there are still people who view Muslims and view Islam as something that’s scary.” Samira still worries about going on vacation or being “in the middle of nowhere,” and having people “freak out” because she is wearing a hijab.

There was an interesting discussion by some of the other cast members regarding the hijab; Nader Aoude argued that a Muslim woman who covers her head “is empowered.” He explained: “She controls what the man can and cannot see. And as men we think sometimes not with our upper head.” The uncovered ladies on the couch argued that how they follow Islam is between them and God.

Later in the show, when Samira went to visit her family, and they saw her wearing the scarf, they were all very excited, kissing her and saying, “congratulations.”