BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • Trending

Meet the woman in the American flag hijab

  • Published
    18 November 2015
Share page
About sharing
Fox News Twitter screenshotImage source, Twitter
ByBBC Trending
What's popular and why

Amid rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the US following the Paris attacks, one woman made a public display of both her faith and her patriotism by donning a stars-and-stripes hijab on Fox News.

Saba Ahmed, the founder of the Republican Muslim Coalition, appeared on Megyn Kelly's news programme to defend Muslim Americans' right to worship and their constitutional right to free religion. She chose to exemplify her point by wearing a United States flag hijab.

"It was a last minute decision to wear it," Ahmed told BBC Trending. Ahmed originally planned to wear a purple headscarf, but was talked into the bolder hijab by the behind-the-scenes staff at Fox.

"The ladies dressing me said it was beautiful. I considered covering it with the purple scarf, but they said if you're going to make a statement, just go with it."

line

Follow BBC Trending on Facebook

Join the conversation on this and other stories here, external.

line

During the programme she faced off against a spokesperson for Donald Trump, who said that mosques in the US should be closed to prevent terrorism.

"The message we were trying to portray was that we are Americans, we are Muslims, we are Republicans. We need to be accommodated and accepted," says Ahmed.

Ahmed's choice of clothing caused a stir on social media.

Some praised her patriotism, external, writing "An American flag hijab is the most American thing I've ever seen."

Another wrote, external, "The woman who wore an American flag as a hijab on Fox News wins all the awards."

Others found it problematic, external, "Good grief. American soldiers died for that flag. It's not a freaking hijab."

However, others took the opportunity to point out how frequently the US flag is worn as a display of patriotism.

"If y'all allow American women to wear American flag bikinis/panties then a Muslim American woman wearing American flag hijab is a non-issue," said one Tweet. , external

The negative responses have not shaken Ahmed. Hate mail "just comes with the territory," she says. "A lot of people are ignorant about Islam, so lots of people on Twitter were upset."

Blog by Olivia Lace-Evans

Next story: Thousands declare 'Je Suis Chien' after dog killed in Paris raid

Tweet showing dog with French flagImage source, M@NU/TWITTER
Image caption,

Many shared pictures of their own dogs to express sympathy

The death of police dog Diesel in a police raid in the Paris suburbs on Wednesday has inspired its own hashtag. But the tag's creator says he started it "to be a little bit funny."READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • King and Trump hail UK-US special relationship in state banquet speech

    • Published
      57 minutes ago
  • Watch: Pomp and protests on day one of Trump state visit

    • Published
      1 hour ago
  • Israeli tanks push into major Gaza City residential area

    • Published
      4 hours ago

More to explore

  • 'Trump and circumstance' and 'Maddie suspect freed'

    A composite image of the front pages of Metro and the Daily Mirror. "Trump and circumstance" reads the headline of the former and "Maddie suspect freed" reads the latter.
  • Is the UK-France migrants returns deal workable?

    A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to the Border Force compound in Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on 9 September. The people getting off the boat are wearing life jackets.
  • Melania’s hat, a yellow dress and Kate’s golden gown - standout state visit looks

    Melania Trump and Donald Trump
  • Donald Trump's second UK state visit: Here's what we know

    King Charles and US President Donald Trump travel in a covered carriage during a procession at Windsor Castle on 17 September, on the first day of his second state visit to the UK.
  • The frantic race to save Gaza’s historic treasures from Israeli bombs

    Boy sitting in rubble of historic site in Gaza
  • Read the text messages between Charlie Kirk accused and roommate

    A charging document that shows the alleged text exchange between the suspect and his roomate
  • Politicians get rich while we suffer - so I helped bring down our government in 48 hours

    Tanuja Pandey holding a paper showing an anti-corruption slogan during the Gen-Z protests in Nepal
  • Fake flea treatment almost killed my cat - here's how to keep it safe

    Smokey, a grey and black long-haired cat, lies on the vet's table looking despondent
  • US officers tied us up and pointed guns at us, South Korean engineers tell BBC

    Repatriated South Korean workers detained in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a Georgia factory queue to board buses at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, 12 September 2025.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Jimmy Kimmel taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments

  2. 2

    King and Trump hail UK-US special relationship in state banquet speech

  3. 3

    Melania’s hat, a yellow dress and Kate’s golden gown - standout state visit looks

  4. 4

    Major Scottish gangland figures arrested in Dubai

  5. 5

    Three officers killed in Pennsylvania shooting, with two others critical

  6. 6

    US to invest £150bn in UK, promising thousands of jobs

  7. 7

    'Trump and circumstance' and 'Maddie suspect freed'

  8. 8

    In pictures: Trump and Melania meet royals at Windsor

  9. 9

    I have no relationship with Trump, Brazil's President Lula tells BBC

  10. 10

    Fed Reserve cuts interest rates but cautions over stalling job market

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Stacey and Joe welcome you back to Pickle Cottage

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Stacey & Joe
  • What's the future of home parcel delivery?

    • Attribution
      Sounds
  • The state of the UK-US special relationship examined

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Trump and Starmer
  • A couple's search for the Croydon cat killer

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Illuminated: The Cat Killer Detectives
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.