JAPANESE clothing brand Uniqlo has sparked fury among Muslims who are offended by its maiden stand-alone hijab collection for the Malaysian market dubbed “Uniqlo Hijab” which is slated for roll-out in Malaysia come Aug 17 failing the modesty test.
They feel that “Uniqlo Turban” will be a more appropriate label given hijab is meant to protect a woman’s aurat (entire body except face and hand) in which the new headgear only covers the hair but leaves the wearer’s neck and chest partially visible.
Condemnation of the purported “half hijab” is so widespread on the Threads social media platform with the more pious lot even reaching out to JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) to investigate what is deemed as branding deception.
Ironically, the critics are both shocked and saddened that the stylist behind “Uniqlo Hijab” campaign is renowned (Malaysian) Muslim fashion and hijab stylist Farah Dinana.
Whatever the case is, one netizen correctly pointed out that Farah should not be singled out as “styling decisions are usually made within a bigger creative process”.
“There’re definitely a brand/agency brief, direction and approvals from multiple stakeholders. At the end of the day, she was doing her job based on the direction given to her,” she opined.
“We can criticise the campaign but I don’t think it’s fair to single out the stylist based on her being a Muslim woman and especially without knowing the full context.”
Men join the fray
Interestingly, men made up a large proportion of the critics whether for clickbait or out of sincerity that every Muslim must care for each other.
“This is not a hijab. This is a piece of cloth on the head,” fumed one Mohammed Ali (mohammed_tareq90) in a short yet elegant post which has fetched 11K likes, 352 comments, 1.2K reposts and 251 shares at the time of writing. “Nudity clothing. This hijab is not Sharia-compliant.
Berating that the Uniqlo Hijab line is “haram”, the male fashionista went on to lecture that “hijab must perfectly cover the aurat which is not limited to only the head (hair)”.
One self-proclaimed ex-staff of Uniqlo Midvalley Megamall came forward to represent his brethren in conveying a protest to the fashion retailer’s headquarters.
“We as Muslims strongly condemn the misuse of words to promote something that can mislead women, especially Muslims, and at the same time can damage their faith. Please take note.”
Another guy Threader accused Uniqlo of intending “to normalise turbans” with the typical derogatory à la-Malaysia label of “a kafir (infidel) company wants to liberalise Muslims”.
He added: “I don’t care what Uniqlo is selling but when they try to use the word ‘hijab’, they’ve already touched on the sensitivity of the (Malaysian) Muslim community.”
Another male critic schooled Uniqlo that “if you want to enter the Malaysian market, you must understand the acceptance of Malaysian society”.
“As an international company, their ‘hijab’ reference is not based on Malaysian society but on fashion standards and global,” he justified.
However, the Malaysian standard is such that hijab must cover the head, neck and chest. Henceforth, to enter the Malaysian market they must adjust the hijab according to Malaysian market standards.
Like Mitsubishi, they changed the marque ‘Pajero’ to ‘Montero’ in Spain because in the Spanish market, Pajero carries a negative meaning.
Long story made short, one seemingly liberal female Muslim just could not fathom “why are there so many men condemning the Uniqlo Hijab when they’re not required to cover their head”.
“They’re selling a piece of fabric … You can follow any style you want. Whether to cover the neck or not, everyone’s hijab journey is different, hence one need not condemn too much,” she aptly put it.
“The important thing is the first step to cover up has already been made. Try wearing a beanie all day without removing it and see how it feels.” – Aug 6, 2026
