In light of racial profiling and the backward steps this country has taken since the September 11th tragedy, and as a Muslim American, I am all for positive light towards Middle Easterns, South Asians, or Muslims in general. However, I draw a line at pleasing the general media and contradicting my own personal beliefs and culture.
Buzzfeed recently released a video "I'm a Muslim and I..." Now, seeing it shared multiple times on Facebook, I decided to give it some attention, and I was all for it with the positive vibes of all the normal things that Muslims do. After all, someone's religious beliefs doesn't make them abnormal. I was pretty excited actually and ready to hit the share button all, "Look at Buzzfeed dispelling stereotypes!" AND then, this young lady comes onto the screen and said, "I'm a Muslim and I date. Even if my parents don't like it." It may have been subtle to some, because sure, there are plenty of modern people of faith who do practice dating BUT that is a huge cultural boundary.
In Islamic practices, women and men are strictly forbidden from dating. It is sinful for relationships to occur prior to marriage, and it is done so to avoid what modern day culture attaches to the norm of dating -- physical affection and sex. While everyone's beliefs about following that rule may be different, to represent yourself on media and say that is conforming to societal wants and modern day culture to "show yourself as normal"...which isn't necessary.
Buzzfeed, you had the right intention. Don't get me wrong on that. But what this girl did hurts the faith. It is disrespectful to the religion, and even a video meant to show a group of people in the right perspective is not worth that.
There are multiple ways the video could have shown how great Muslims are. The contributions they have made to the world over the years, their fashion taste, etc. What the girl said didn't help anyone; it made people feel sad. It made people feel angry. It made people feel embarrassed.
Even if we focus just on the second part of her words where she mentions her parents not responding well to her dating, what is the purpose? To show that you disobey your parents and go against what they like? Then it isn't just about religion. Its about publicly displaying you want to be rebellious and don't care about what your parents want for you.
In the end, the message is to say that while Buzzfeed, you did a great job coming forward to show that a group that is racially discriminated is just like everyone else, you made a mistake in disrespecting its beliefs too. If that girl had not been in that video, it would have been wonderful. Hey, even I would have shared it. But it isn't fair to the practicing Muslims out there whose beliefs are being disrespected by a video and one woman's 10 seconds of fame.
