Should she take off her hijab because of the harassment that she is faced with after the London bombings?
Question

                Following the bombings on July 7th, many Muslim women in Britain were faced with harassment which may lead to killing by extremists in some cases. Is it permissible for a Muslim woman living there in those circumstances to take off her hijab so as to avoid possible harassment?.
Praise be to Allah.
    Before issuing a general fatwa in such cases it is essential 
    to have a complete picture of the situation and find out whether or not it 
    has reached the degree of necessity which would make it permissible to do a 
    haraam deed on which there is consensus that it is haraam. 

    It seems that it has not reached this stage, rather these are 
    the actions of a few fools and extremists, and it is not a general trend in 
    that country. Rather as some of them have said, it is just a few instances 
    of provocation and harassment which can be dealt with without such a serious 
    compromise. Based on that, the Muslims have to ask for their rights to 
    protection, and they should not be blamed for the actions of others, or 
    compromise on practising their religion which is the source of their pride 
    and distinction.  

    We must remember that hijab is an obligation that Allaah has 
    enjoined on the Muslim woman, which is proven in the Qur’aan and the saheeh 
    Sunnah, and the ummah is agreed upon it despite the differences in their 
    madhhabs and schools of thought. No madhhab has deviated from this view, and 
    no faqeeh has gone against it, and this is what the practice of the ummah 
    has been throughout the centuries. Allaah says (interpretation of the 
    meaning): 

    “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the 
    women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies 
    (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the 
    way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable 
    women) so as not tobe 
    annoyed. And Allaah is Ever Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
    [al-Ahzaab 33:59] 

    “and to draw their veils all over Juyoobihinna (i.e. their 
    bodies, faces, necks and bosoms) and not to reveal their adornment”

    [al-Noor 24:31]

    It is the duty of every Muslim to adhere to the obligations 
    of his religion, and to strive to please his Lord and obey His commands, and 
    no one should force him by any means to give that up. 

    You would be surprised to see people who advocate freedom and 
    the protection of human rights taking away the freedom of others because of 
    some actions that they had nothing to do with. 

    With regard to a Muslim woman taking off her hijab because of 
    her being faced with harassment, we may sum up this issue in the following 
    points: 

    ·It is not permissible for a 
    Muslim woman to stay in a land where she cannot practise her faith openly. 
    Based on that, every Muslim woman who lives there and is not able to 
    practise her faith openly must migrate to a land where she can practice her 
    faith openly with complete freedom.

    ·If she is not able to migrate, 
    then the Muslim woman in such  circumstances should stay home, especially if 
    she has a guardian who can look after her and meet her needs, and she should 
    not go out except in cases of necessity, for fear of the fitnah (turmoil) to 
    which she may be exposed.

    ·It is not necessary for her to 
    go out to work and study if there is someone who can support her and she can 
    delay her study until the next semester or take a leave of absence from 
    work, until things calm down, because this harassment only happens in the 
    days following an incident, then it soon calms down and things go back to 
    normal.

    ·But if she goes out for some 
    necessary reason and she is afraid that she may face harassment, then she 
    should look at what kind of harassment it is. If it is something that can be 
    put up with, such as swearing or insults, or just hostile looks from some 
    people, this does not mean that it becomes permissible for her to take off 
    her hijab, because one can put up with this kind of harassment. It is false 
    to say to a woman: give up your hijab because of some words that you hear on 
    the street; rather she should be patient and put up with it. This comes 
    under the heading of testing the faith of the believing woman. Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning):

    “Do people think that they will be left alone because they 
    say: “We believe,” and will not be tested.

    3. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And 
    Allaah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and 
    will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, 
    (although Allaah knows all that before putting them to test)”

    [al-‘Ankaboot 29:2-3]

    So she should put up with any harassment or mockery that 
    comes for the sake of Allaah, and keep in mind what Allaah has promised of 
    reward to the one who adheres to His religion, as the Prophet  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ahead of you there is a time of 
    patience when the one who adheres to Islam will have the reward of fifty 
    martyrs among you.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani from Ibn Mas’ood and classed as 
    saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’.

    ·Another means of warding off 
    harassment is not to go out alone, but only in the company of her guardian 
    (wali) or as part of a group, so that the foolish will not harass her when 
    she is alone.

    ·If she is going to be faced 
    with unbearable harassment, such as being beaten or killed or having her 
    honour tarnished, and she has to go out for some necessary reason, then in 
    this case it is permissible for her to reduce her hijab to a lesser kind, 
    such as covering the head and neck only. She may give up only as much of her 
    hijab as will protect her from being exposed to harm, because necessity 
    should not be exaggerated. Or she may cover herself without the kind of 
    hijab that people are used to, so that the Muslim woman will not appear as a 
    target for harassment in the eyes of those people. Among the winter clothing 
    etc of non-Muslim women there are garments which cover all or most of the 
    parts that are required to be covered by sharee’ah.

    ·If her hijab is taken from her 
    by force, then she is being put to trial and she will be rewarded, but she 
    must go back to her proper dress when the problem comes to an end.

    Such a fatwa must be issued with caution and in a gradual 
    fashion, according to the situation, so that it will not lead to a loss of 
    Islamic identity in societies that are not conservative.