Free hijabs handed out in Oshkosh on World Hijab Day to increase awareness of Islamic faith

OSHKOSH -- Those with a number of organizations in the Fox Valley came together Wednesday, February 1st to celebrate the Muslim faith.

It was all a part of "World Hijab Day," which began five years ago in the United States.

Free hijabs were handed out in an effort to spread information about the Islamic faith and the traditional headscarf.

World Hijab Day

Students from UW-Oshkosh said the event opened their eyes to the culture.

Event organizers said it's important to clear up misconceptions about the faith.

"There is fear on both sides, some people fear what they don't know, and some people fear for people seeing them as what they are not. We need to balance that out and harmonize," Mamadou Coulibaly, president of the Fox Valley Islamic Society said.

World Hijab Day

Organizers said the event was planned weeks before President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily restricting travel from certain Muslim-majority countries.