Star Trek fan and historian Blair Imani has given a cosplay tribute to Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge — the character played by LeVar Burton on Star Trek: The Next Generation , but what made her different was the hijab that she covered her head with in line with her Muslim faith.
Imani shared a picture of the final result with Burton’s blind Enterprise-D engineer on Twitter, and she says it was noticed. Despite the storm of negative comments she received on the social media over the costume, which she donned at the San Diego Comic-Con 2019, some appreciated the move, hailing “diversity” in the Star Fleet’s ranks.
Burton even referred to it as “the best cosplay of Geordi, EVER”. Imani shared with Today that she had also received a thumbs-up from fellow Next Generation stars Wil Wheaton and Brent Spiner, lauding her extravagant outfit.
However, many called the costume inventor out, arguing that the hijab is counter to the Star Trek canon, sparking a debate about religious agnosticism and scepticism, as well as about Starfleet dress codes.
A few appear to have pointed to the obvious fact that Burton’s character is actually male in the film: