Removing visible religious dress would end a Muslim woman’s abuse

Evidence

As a revert, I know that if I chose not to be identifiably Muslim, the abuse would disappear immediately. I reverted to Islam three years ago when I was 40 years old, and within a week I started wearing the hijab and abaya. Prior to wearing the hijab and abaya, I experienced no problems at all. If I were to take off my hijab, and just wear my jeans and t-shirt that I had underneath my abaya, no one would take any notice. I would be as invisible as any other woman on the street. — Irene Zempi and Imran Awan, Islamophobia, 139

Categorization

• SHARE: A single convert’s before-and-after account is the cleanest natural experiment on whether Islamophobia targets identity or appearance — exactly the kind of detail for someone working on religious visibility and street harassment.