Blair Imani weighs in on hijab debate as she dons ‘best ever’ Star Trek cosplay

Blair Imani has hit back at those who criticised her for wearing a hijab as part of her Star Trek cosplay.

The Muslim Activist, who is a devoted fan of the sci-fi franchise, shared her ode to the Star Trek: The Next Generation character Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) at the San Diego Comic Con 2019, whilst also wearing a hijab to reflect her Muslim faith.

But she received a hefty amount of criticism from fans who claimed that the hijab conflicted with Star Trek canon.

So Blair took to social media to explain herself.

‘Some people didn’t like my hijab being added to a Star Fleet uniform,’ she said on Twitter.

‘Luckily true fans of @StarTrek know that diversity is key to Roddenberry’s vision.’

She also said that ‘only three people’ came up to her to disapprove of her costume because of her gender (Geordi La Forge is a male character in the Star Trek universe), whilst others were more concerned about the hijab.

However, the majority of fan responses were much more positive, with many praising the creativity in Blair’s cosplay.

The costume has even attracted the attention of LeVar Burton himself, who dubbed it ‘the best cosplay of Geordi, EVER.’

Blair also told Today.com that she has been a big fan of the show ‘for a long time’, and wanted to pay homage to LeVar’s character, by putting her own spin on the costume that would incorporate her Muslim heritage.

‘I wanted to do an interpretation of a Star Trek design that included me and my culture,’ she revealed.

‘It all came together really amazingly.

‘I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to pay homage to him [LeVar] and how to really thank him.

‘But beyond that, I’ve been a big fan of Star Trek for a long time. Just the messages of diversity really speak to me and I think to a lot of other folks.’

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Source: metro.co.uk