Remember that ongoing battle between Sikh employees and the NY Metropolitan Transport Authority [see 1,2 ]? Basically the MTA wanted Sikhs to wear a logo on their turban identifying them as MTA employees so that no passenger would think the train/bus was being highjacked. Anyways, I thought of that story when I saw this on the DNSI blog:
IKEA’s new Edmonton branch contacted TheHijabShop.com to design and produce a ‘hijab’ - a Muslim headscarf - that would fit in with their current uniform.
When IKEA first approached TheHijabShop.com, their excited team was impressed that an internationally-acclaimed company like IKEA was making so much effort to accommodate Muslims in its workforce.
The challenge for the team was to create a hijab that had the IKEA branding; that was easy to put on without the need for pins - so avoiding any health and safety hazards; and that was something employees would feel comfortable wearing in a working environment, whether in the showroom or in the warehouse. It also had to be compact, without excess material flowing around, and meanwhile sticking to Islamic requirements. [Link]
Obviously I don’t see any similarity between the motivations of the NY MTA and that of IKEA. I mean nobody could be worried about terrorism at IKEA…right? No, I just think this is a clever marketing ploy. IKEA has stores in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E. I wonder if the hijabs will be for employess worldwide or only in those countries. Are there other companies that make personalized “religious clothing” for their employees that anyone knows about? I bet you Abercrummy & Fitch will design some stylish hijabs for their employees next season. Not.
