Muslim Disprivilege
Long time no see my dear blog, I have missed the formality you brought, and so I am back. I was never away yes, but I was not as present as I promised I would be and I have truly missed you.
This is another one of those blogposts that I had originally intended to be a vlog but I have only six more days until I travel up to Chicago and start the new chapter of my life that is college, and we both know videos take longer to create than pieces of prose. So here we are.
I first scribbled the idea for this post, at two in the morning a few weeks ago, as "Write about: white privilege is having nuanced stories." However, once I sat down to actually write about it, I realized that two in the morning me was not in a condition to speak about nuance when she narrowed down such a complex topic to something as structured and systematic as white privilege. So this is not a post about white privilege. It was never meant to be. This is a post about Muslim disprivilege.
Let's start with nuance. Muslim disprivilege in its root is not having nuanced stories whether they be individual or collective. We are neither allowed to nor can afford to have complex and multi-layered narratives. Muslims in the post 9/11 world exist as an ambiguous and ominous block of beings that have a flat image in society's eye. Muslims are in the media all the time, but always in the same roles and the same stories. Outside of a violent and dangerous image, we practically don't exist and are only there to incite fear and exude signs of being a threat.
There are certain perceptions about what Muslims are in society's mind and thus anything that goes against what people expect is on the one hand always expected, but on the other hand is surprising and has the potential to set all 1.7 billion Muslims back.
Despite the huge "block of beings" image we have, all Muslims are individuals with individual stories and backgrounds, who live all over the world. Especially in places where Muslims are in the minority, but are integrated into bigger communities, the untold but ever present expectation is that they don't fit the image people have in their minds of Muslims. When the media presents all Muslims as potential terrorists, obviously the expectation from someone whose neighbor is a Muslim would be that fingers crossed my neighbor is not one of those Muslims. So, the constant expectation is to be perfect and flawless and show no signs of anything negative to confirm people's fears about you. Be a good student, belong to a progressive family, and participate in things like community volunteering and gardening to look as harmless as possible.
But see, that's the thing. The pressure is that we have to prove everyone wrong and every Muslim individually has to uphold that standard. We aren't allowed to be human and make mistakes. Muslim disprivilege is to be stripped away from the second chances all other people get when they have issues. Not only do we have to be devoid of all problems humans could possibly have, we also have to make sure that other Muslims are living up to these expectations and disproving people's prejudices about us. This creates so many problems because now we have Muslims who are struggling with their personal image, their collective image, and the responsibility they are made to think they have on behalf of all other Muslims. I am not responsible for only myself, but for all the other 1,699,999,999 Muslims on the planet. Both for their mistakes and their image. My actions reflect them as do theirs mine, and occasionally we are expected to apologize for each other. As a result of our inner community policing, we also further problems that we already have in our local groups.
Muslim disprivilege is having everything I do being associated with my religion. While for myself, religion is a way of life, and it does factor into many decisions I make, I am not programmed into doing this. I choose to do it consciously. The assumption that it must be my religion endorses this notion that I blindly follow my religion and have no free will. For example, during my last months of high school, the majority of senior class was getting ready for prom. One of my teachers asked if I were going to go and I replied that I wasn't. The teacher's immediate reaction was to look at me with mock understanding and pity and ask me if it was because of my religion. And I replied that no, it wasn't because of my religion. While there are things in my religion that would suggest me to not attend an event like prom, the choice to take these into consideration is mine. There are Muslims who go to prom, and there are Muslims who don't. Now, while I am not averse to the prom scene itself, I felt more comfortable with a smaller party and thus attended a dance that one of our local community centers threw for us. Of course, the complications never end. There is the assumption that we create these kind of events to prove ourselves and subtly scream "Muslims can have fun too!!! You see???" The funny thing is that I have witnessed a similar teacher-student interaction where a non-Muslim student replied in the negative about going to prom and the teacher tried to convince the student and explain how fun prom was and how it was a once in a lifetime event and that students shouldn't miss out on it.
Muslim disprivilege is always being extra careful with what I do and what I say and thinking ten steps ahead all the time. In a way, where God would show me mercy and forgive my personal mistakes, society decides to strike me with its wrath and alienate me. For example, I make sure to never make any jokes that can be considered threats even in the lightest sense. "I would kill for a cold glass of lemonade right now." You won't hear that out of my mouth. And the inner policing? Also a part of my life. Making sure my family doesn't make similar jokes or indicate any sign of negativity or dysfunction. My brother isn't allowed to have toy guns or play any violent games because we don't want these themes in his life. Now – this is layered. We don't want these themes in his life anyway, but we have to be extra careful about it because he's bound to be shamed about his toy guns not only because people disapprove of toy guns, but also because he is a Muslim kid and thus genetically prone to terrorism (duh). This is also the reason that it disturbs me when people who are not Muslim and who are so removed from the general experiences of Muslim people try to emulate Muslim people for their online pranks or try to create Muslim people in their shows and in their novels. This is the reason every time someone comes out with a social experiment (!!!) and makes a bunch of non-Muslim girls wear hijab and go out so they can compare their experiences to when they aren't wearing hijab, I get extremely annoyed. Not only are these people posing as something they are not, but every little action they take while they are in their little hijab getups adds to the pool of things that can be generalized for all Muslims. Oh and the fact that they ignore to actually ask real Muslim women about their experiences is the cherry on top. Why take the easy way out and interview hijabis to amplify their voice in the media when you can hire actors and arrange friends to act like they are Muslim so you can conduct a pseudo-experiment?
Talking about Muslim voice and representation in the media, where is it? When in the beginning I said we can't afford nuances, this is what I mean. We aren't in a state where whatever representation we get is representation and thus ultimately positive. Our position and image is already precarious, we really aren't looking for stale and poorly constructed Muslim characters and storylines in media. I run a tumblr blog where I get questions along the lines of "Can you tell me a little about Muslim culture? I want to have a POC character in the novel I am writing. Thanks!" And this is not for me only. My Muslim blogger friends also receive these kind of questions and honestly these messages are pathetic and sad and uninformed.
You want to learn about "Muslim culture?" How about you first learn what a Muslim is? And then move on the distinction between culture and religion? And then maybe the generalization that you made about how all Muslims are POC (which is an even more layered topic for later discussion)? Oh and don't forget to learn more about doing research and using the vast resources that are readily available to you through the internet when writing a novel. Thank you.
There are people out there who think a few paragraphs from a random Muslim blogger they see on the Internet will teach them enough about "Muslim culture" so they can go on to create a novel with a Muslim character, pass off in some diversity litmus test, and then smile at the representation starved minorities while mouthing "you're welcome."
We aren't at a place where we can discuss issues in our communities with the outside world without backlash and judgement and multiplied bigotry. Obviously, we are trying to address them within ourselves, but if we tried to give depth to our own general Muslim narrative in the outside world, it would be perceived as if a disease caught a disease and now it's double the trouble, double the danger. And again, without doubt, some problems can be solved simultaneously, like preventing rape through changing society's mental attitude towards women, all the while being careful and attentive with rape cases and victims and offering them resources for healing and therapy. But this is Muslim disprivilege and that means we can't get that kind of complexity when we need to solve our problems.
We need to first humanize Muslims and integrate them into the society that is presented in the media. We need them out of the terrorist and oppressed molds and counter the decades long image with good Muslims. Good and trustworthy and loyal and hard-working. Practicing their faith, going about their daily, harmless lives, and not planning to bomb major American cities. And after we have a solid foundation that presents Muslims as mainly good people ( 7% vs. 93%), we can add more layers to the Muslim image in the world's eye. For example, Muslims have problematic families too. Muslims have issues with cultural patriarchy and racism too. Muslims can be lazy and drink alcohol and not be extremely pious too. Because Muslims are 1.7 billion people and they are all bound to be different and individualistic. Muslims are a part of the human species, and as humans are, not infallible. Whoa. Shocking concept I know.
So that's Muslim disprivilege. Overcompensating is a basic part of your life and you are always trying to make sure your intentions are well aligned and you aren't just putting up a nice and wholesome facade when you are in fact a hollow and purposeless shell. Fun lifestyle, don't you think?
Lots of ponderings,
Belle
This is another one of those blogposts that I had originally intended to be a vlog but I have only six more days until I travel up to Chicago and start the new chapter of my life that is college, and we both know videos take longer to create than pieces of prose. So here we are.
I first scribbled the idea for this post, at two in the morning a few weeks ago, as "Write about: white privilege is having nuanced stories." However, once I sat down to actually write about it, I realized that two in the morning me was not in a condition to speak about nuance when she narrowed down such a complex topic to something as structured and systematic as white privilege. So this is not a post about white privilege. It was never meant to be. This is a post about Muslim disprivilege.
Let's start with nuance. Muslim disprivilege in its root is not having nuanced stories whether they be individual or collective. We are neither allowed to nor can afford to have complex and multi-layered narratives. Muslims in the post 9/11 world exist as an ambiguous and ominous block of beings that have a flat image in society's eye. Muslims are in the media all the time, but always in the same roles and the same stories. Outside of a violent and dangerous image, we practically don't exist and are only there to incite fear and exude signs of being a threat.
There are certain perceptions about what Muslims are in society's mind and thus anything that goes against what people expect is on the one hand always expected, but on the other hand is surprising and has the potential to set all 1.7 billion Muslims back.
Despite the huge "block of beings" image we have, all Muslims are individuals with individual stories and backgrounds, who live all over the world. Especially in places where Muslims are in the minority, but are integrated into bigger communities, the untold but ever present expectation is that they don't fit the image people have in their minds of Muslims. When the media presents all Muslims as potential terrorists, obviously the expectation from someone whose neighbor is a Muslim would be that fingers crossed my neighbor is not one of those Muslims. So, the constant expectation is to be perfect and flawless and show no signs of anything negative to confirm people's fears about you. Be a good student, belong to a progressive family, and participate in things like community volunteering and gardening to look as harmless as possible.
But see, that's the thing. The pressure is that we have to prove everyone wrong and every Muslim individually has to uphold that standard. We aren't allowed to be human and make mistakes. Muslim disprivilege is to be stripped away from the second chances all other people get when they have issues. Not only do we have to be devoid of all problems humans could possibly have, we also have to make sure that other Muslims are living up to these expectations and disproving people's prejudices about us. This creates so many problems because now we have Muslims who are struggling with their personal image, their collective image, and the responsibility they are made to think they have on behalf of all other Muslims. I am not responsible for only myself, but for all the other 1,699,999,999 Muslims on the planet. Both for their mistakes and their image. My actions reflect them as do theirs mine, and occasionally we are expected to apologize for each other. As a result of our inner community policing, we also further problems that we already have in our local groups.
Muslim disprivilege is having everything I do being associated with my religion. While for myself, religion is a way of life, and it does factor into many decisions I make, I am not programmed into doing this. I choose to do it consciously. The assumption that it must be my religion endorses this notion that I blindly follow my religion and have no free will. For example, during my last months of high school, the majority of senior class was getting ready for prom. One of my teachers asked if I were going to go and I replied that I wasn't. The teacher's immediate reaction was to look at me with mock understanding and pity and ask me if it was because of my religion. And I replied that no, it wasn't because of my religion. While there are things in my religion that would suggest me to not attend an event like prom, the choice to take these into consideration is mine. There are Muslims who go to prom, and there are Muslims who don't. Now, while I am not averse to the prom scene itself, I felt more comfortable with a smaller party and thus attended a dance that one of our local community centers threw for us. Of course, the complications never end. There is the assumption that we create these kind of events to prove ourselves and subtly scream "Muslims can have fun too!!! You see???" The funny thing is that I have witnessed a similar teacher-student interaction where a non-Muslim student replied in the negative about going to prom and the teacher tried to convince the student and explain how fun prom was and how it was a once in a lifetime event and that students shouldn't miss out on it.
Muslim disprivilege is always being extra careful with what I do and what I say and thinking ten steps ahead all the time. In a way, where God would show me mercy and forgive my personal mistakes, society decides to strike me with its wrath and alienate me. For example, I make sure to never make any jokes that can be considered threats even in the lightest sense. "I would kill for a cold glass of lemonade right now." You won't hear that out of my mouth. And the inner policing? Also a part of my life. Making sure my family doesn't make similar jokes or indicate any sign of negativity or dysfunction. My brother isn't allowed to have toy guns or play any violent games because we don't want these themes in his life. Now – this is layered. We don't want these themes in his life anyway, but we have to be extra careful about it because he's bound to be shamed about his toy guns not only because people disapprove of toy guns, but also because he is a Muslim kid and thus genetically prone to terrorism (duh). This is also the reason that it disturbs me when people who are not Muslim and who are so removed from the general experiences of Muslim people try to emulate Muslim people for their online pranks or try to create Muslim people in their shows and in their novels. This is the reason every time someone comes out with a social experiment (!!!) and makes a bunch of non-Muslim girls wear hijab and go out so they can compare their experiences to when they aren't wearing hijab, I get extremely annoyed. Not only are these people posing as something they are not, but every little action they take while they are in their little hijab getups adds to the pool of things that can be generalized for all Muslims. Oh and the fact that they ignore to actually ask real Muslim women about their experiences is the cherry on top. Why take the easy way out and interview hijabis to amplify their voice in the media when you can hire actors and arrange friends to act like they are Muslim so you can conduct a pseudo-experiment?
Talking about Muslim voice and representation in the media, where is it? When in the beginning I said we can't afford nuances, this is what I mean. We aren't in a state where whatever representation we get is representation and thus ultimately positive. Our position and image is already precarious, we really aren't looking for stale and poorly constructed Muslim characters and storylines in media. I run a tumblr blog where I get questions along the lines of "Can you tell me a little about Muslim culture? I want to have a POC character in the novel I am writing. Thanks!" And this is not for me only. My Muslim blogger friends also receive these kind of questions and honestly these messages are pathetic and sad and uninformed.
You want to learn about "Muslim culture?" How about you first learn what a Muslim is? And then move on the distinction between culture and religion? And then maybe the generalization that you made about how all Muslims are POC (which is an even more layered topic for later discussion)? Oh and don't forget to learn more about doing research and using the vast resources that are readily available to you through the internet when writing a novel. Thank you.
There are people out there who think a few paragraphs from a random Muslim blogger they see on the Internet will teach them enough about "Muslim culture" so they can go on to create a novel with a Muslim character, pass off in some diversity litmus test, and then smile at the representation starved minorities while mouthing "you're welcome."
We aren't at a place where we can discuss issues in our communities with the outside world without backlash and judgement and multiplied bigotry. Obviously, we are trying to address them within ourselves, but if we tried to give depth to our own general Muslim narrative in the outside world, it would be perceived as if a disease caught a disease and now it's double the trouble, double the danger. And again, without doubt, some problems can be solved simultaneously, like preventing rape through changing society's mental attitude towards women, all the while being careful and attentive with rape cases and victims and offering them resources for healing and therapy. But this is Muslim disprivilege and that means we can't get that kind of complexity when we need to solve our problems.
We need to first humanize Muslims and integrate them into the society that is presented in the media. We need them out of the terrorist and oppressed molds and counter the decades long image with good Muslims. Good and trustworthy and loyal and hard-working. Practicing their faith, going about their daily, harmless lives, and not planning to bomb major American cities. And after we have a solid foundation that presents Muslims as mainly good people ( 7% vs. 93%), we can add more layers to the Muslim image in the world's eye. For example, Muslims have problematic families too. Muslims have issues with cultural patriarchy and racism too. Muslims can be lazy and drink alcohol and not be extremely pious too. Because Muslims are 1.7 billion people and they are all bound to be different and individualistic. Muslims are a part of the human species, and as humans are, not infallible. Whoa. Shocking concept I know.
So that's Muslim disprivilege. Overcompensating is a basic part of your life and you are always trying to make sure your intentions are well aligned and you aren't just putting up a nice and wholesome facade when you are in fact a hollow and purposeless shell. Fun lifestyle, don't you think?
Lots of ponderings,
Belle