"By lifting the proverbial veil on an often misunderstood sign of Islam, Sadaf Syed has offered a glimpse into the lives of women who
don't feel weighed down by their Muslim identity but rather empowered by it. iCOVER offers an important perspective from Muslim women
who are owning their identities at a time when it's easier to cover them up."
Kiran Khalid, Producer/Reporter, CNN New York
"Sadaf Syed takes the mystique off the hijab and the women who cover. Sadaf's photography breaks down stereotypes and whatever
preconceived notions we still have about Muslim women and sends them surfing. This is the new feminism!"
Ann Filmer, Illinois, Director of "Unveiled", 16th Street Theater
"American-Muslims constitute one of the most strategically important Muslim minorities in history. iCOVER takes interpretative control
of the way this vital community defines itself to the world today. In this elegant book, Sadaf Syed's masterly photographic eye and
astute observations move us beyond prevailing stereotypes and capture American-Muslim women in real life as they see themselves and
would like to be seen by others."
Dr. Umar F. Abd-Allah, The Nawawi Foundation
"Photographer Sadaf Syed captures thought-provoking and powerful images of Muslim women going about their day-to-day lives in ways many
have never witnessed. It is the simplicity of these vital experiences combined with her innate artistic sense that allows us to understand
that we are all more alike than different."
Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, Lawyer, Journalist, and Author of
My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me
"I just wanted to let you know I purchased a copy of your book at the ISNA bazaar. For the longest time I had been contemplating wearing hijab- when I came back home to PA from D.C. Sunday night, I sat down and paged through your book. I was really moved by all the stories I read. The next morning as I got ready for work, I kept thinking of your book and then decided that that would be the day, inshallah I would start wearing hijab. So yesterday, July 6, marked my first "official" day of wearing hijab- inshallah, it'll be far from my last."
Thank you! And may Allah bless you!
Nadia
Pennsylvania, USA
"On the campus where I work, I welcome the sight of women, especially those who are young, clad in hijab. They are excellently comported, and stand in absolute contrast to the many more ‘Western’ women who show up on campus generously displaying their flesh and tattoos. These devoutly attired Muslim women display an un-compromised sense of self-esteem and self-worth, or in contemporary political terms, they display unabashed empowerment.
We Jewish men are commanded, in the Book of Numbers, to wear ‘fringes’ on the four corners of our garments, termed ‘tsitsit’, in order to be reminded to observe all of G-d’s commandments.
The appearance of ‘hijabed’ women, I feel, serves the same purpose, not only for the women in such attire, but for all who see them. ‘Lower your gaze and guard your modesty’ is the message conveyed to all by these religiously devout and assertive women, and in the region of America where I live and work, given the hostility accorded to Islam, one can add the moniker ‘courageous’."
-Schvach
a fan, USA
