Is wearing abayas cultural appropriation if you are not Arab?

Imagine how boring the world would be if we were only allowed to do things according to our own cultures.

I've never heard an Arab be offended at non-Arabs wearing abayas.

Abayas are perfect for hijab and cover the body way better than a salwar kameez would. You're not pretending to be Arab, you're just wearing a long dress that effortlessly maintains hijab. Not a big deal.

People throw around the term 'cultural appropriation' so easily these days.

As salaam Alaykum! Abaya is an Islamic garment it does not belong to just Arabs :) I pray for your new friend may Allah guide us all

I’ve been hearing this stance a lot lately when it comes to anti-Arabitization if that’s even a word. This annoys me. Wearing an abaya almost guarantees the full coverage that is necessary for sisters to face the public. I wear hijab daily and I don’t feel quite modest wearing baggy pants and it’s not common in American culture to easily stumble upon a tunic. It’d be more of a hassle to build a wardrobe around so many different pieces to avoid “appropriating” the abaya. Honestly, I feel like your Moroccan friend saw someone else’s crap argument on why the abaya should only be worn by people of a certain region and regurgitated from the source. So silly imo

I'm Moroccan, and Abayas are not part of our culture :) Our traditional clothes are Jelaba and caftans, and that's what hijabis wear in Morocco if they don't want to wear western clothings. Abayas are from the arab Gulf.

Every arab AND muslim country has its own traditional modest garments. Most of us who were raised muslims have ancestors who dressed modestly and wore the hijab/niqad correctly without ever wearing an abaya. They wore traditional clothes from their own culture. Even reverts can find that their ancestors wore beautiful and modest clothes that could be worn with a hijab.

In my opinion, the growing trend of wearing abayas comes down to 2 things; Abayas are simple, one colour and easy to mass produce plus anyone with a talent for sewing can make their own abayas from simple fabric. Mass producing traditional North African, Levantine, or South Asian clothing would be a lot trickier as they come in various colours and design and have many intricate details, marketing simple long black garments like abayas is easy, almost everyone like dark colours and they are modest so they do the trick, what's not to like? :) but the second reason they are popular is because a lot of people tie religion with arab culture, If black abayas originated from Bangladesh, Bosnia or Malaysia, would you have all these pseudo Islamic preachers online acting as if muslim women can never truly be modest unless they are wearing an abaya? No. Wearing abayas is not cultural appropriation, nor is it part of your friend's culture. Your friend could practice what she preaches and start dressing in Moroccan Jelabas. They are long, cute and fully cover the body :)

I see abaya like a robe which is used as an outer garment for modesty. It’s for practicality just like for men the jelabaya is for their practicality so they can feel comfortable and while also dressed appropriately and ready for prayer. I don’t think abaya is a cultural garment and different Arabs have their own cultural dress (which is usually worn in the home). It’s not the same for every Arab country. In North Africa, they wear kaftans generally but the designs differ for each region. Because not the African culture and even language will change for each region. The different types of jewellery are also part of the cultural dress.

In North Africa, especially some areas, the « cultural » dress is more from amazigh culture rather than Arab culture. It’s also mixed with French influence and some areas Spanish influence.

Some scholars say abaya/jilbab is necessary for Islamic dress. Some say we can’t even wear different colours. For me, I don’t think hijab is 100% necessary. I wear loose pants, tunics, loose flowing shirts, long skirts, etc. Which I think can be equally as modest as an abaya. But I still find abaya more comfortable and practical.

Your friend sounds very westernised lol.

I don’t think that most people would be offended by you wearing an abaya if you want to.

I feel like the thing about cultural appropriation is that there has to be a sense of mockery or misuse to it. Like, if you wear a Native American headdress to a festival because you think it looks cool, that is appropriation, because they can have incredibly significance in those cultures. If you wore an abaya for p*rnography or as part of some sort of joke or mockery, imo that would be cultural appropriation. But if you’re wearing it because it’s beautiful and modest, that’s different. I honestly partially agree with your family that some Muslim rhetoric right now tries to say that the Arab way is the only way to be modest or practice Islam and I think that’s wrong. The Ansari early Muslims still dressed like the Ansaris. Salwar kameez is still valid hijab. If you wanted to wear an 18th century robe a la francaise that may still also be hijab! I think your friend is kind of making herself the victim here for something that actually is about empowering her and her traditions over other Muslim cultures

As a Moroccan… Abayas aren’t even in our culture 😭 don’t pay her any mind at ALL we are all one Ummah

what a ridiculous way of thinking 😭morrocans arent even arab to begin with, and it’s been proven that jilbab and abaya is the correct way to observe hijab/modesty. islam will always overrule culture and she needs to stop thinking herself superior over non arab people who wear abaya out of obedience to Allah, even if it’s just for a “trend” it’s better than dressing immodestly.

Idk I’m not Moroccan but live in Morocco married to a Moroccan if it makes you feel any better I’m fairly certain most Moroccan would be confused by her opinion given how valued cultural exchange is here if your being respectful of the concept behind the abaya I can’t understand why someone would be offended

As an Arab woman I promise we don’t get mad when we see other women wearing the abaya and sheila. Feel free.

Girl, I'm a latina convert that lives in Saudi Arabia and wears an abaya every single day of every design and colour, never have I been confronted about wearing one by a single local, the most I get is a lady asking where I got my abaya and how much it was lol.

I am southeast asian. We’re not arabs but we wear abayas a lot too. In Malay, abayas are called jubah. I slip on a simple one over my home clothes when I’m just popping to the shops. We have extremely fancy abayas too for occasions like weddings and Eid. We also wear whatever clothes that is modest.

I gifted my non-muslim friends abayas too.

Nope, abayas are also part of south Asian culture from what I know

Is this a joke?

Abayas are from the Gulf, not Morocco…

No

No it’s not. But please be mindful that is not the only correct garment and it’s not more correct than any other type of modest clothes. A lot of non Arabs and converts have this view that they have to wear an abaya to be modest, which isn’t true. An abaya is one cultures interpretation of modesty

No. It's practical and comfy. Tell your friend that the abaya is from the Gulf area but it is a widespread garment.

Gatekeeping clothing has never made sense to me. As long as your intention isn't to make fun of or insult another culture, I see no issue. A lot of cultures have different spins on the same concepts of clothing so it's kind of dumb to fully claim and gatekeep it anyway.