Malaysian celebrity Neelofa shared about difficulties she faced when she first started wearing a hijab on an episode of #BerseoranganBersama Instagram Live session with Ustaz Ebit Liew. The actress-entrepreneur spoke about her first trip to New York where she went alone and how foreigners responded to her modest outfit. It was during a period when Muslims were going through a tough time.
The former MeleTOP MC shared that five years ago when she was in New York, there was a disturbance about a terrorist attack at a nearby mosque. Neelofa (also known as Lofa) was afraid of what people thought of her, a girl in her headscarf. Although it was nerve-wracking, she told herself that Allah will protect her and if she got attacked, she will accept it. Surprisingly, non-Muslims praised her outfit and were open-minded about it. They did not regard hijabs as a symbol of fashion.
Ironically, some Malaysian labels did not allow her to wear their clothes when she started wearing the hijab. Neelofa shared that the labels did not represent those who wear hijabs. So those who wear hijabs cannot wear the labels’ clothes. The 31-year-old then decided to use her platform to promote the beauty of Islam by putting girls who cover their ‘aurat’ (modesty) on the international stage.
She shared with the Muslim preacher that she wants to go to events where the spotlight is on her as the only hijabi and appear in magazines that never feature models in hijabs. The actress said that she wants to show everyone that Muslims are capable of being on par with non-Muslims. She revealed that she never told this to others before and since they are discussing this topic, she is opening up. She then asked to be prayed for.
Here is the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAcm_Dl2epA&feature=emb_title
Born as Noor Neelofa Binti Mohd Noor on 10 February 1989, Neelofa is a Malaysian actress, TV presenter, commercial model and entrepreneur. She has performed in several films, TV series and programmes. In 2017, she was named Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. /TISG