I Use My Beard to Open My Eyes, Can You Open Yours for a Second Please? Oh, You Don't Have a Beard!
The boston Tragedy is, in itself, a tragedy. But what's worse is the response of the people there towards this certain arabic guy who happened to be there. He was accused of being associated with the terrorists. Only because he's a Muslim. Though all of these accusations have been cleared and declared false, it rings an alarm that has been ringing for a long time. Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but the world seems to think so.
But we shouldn't be the ones to point out to the world why it's wrong. Facts and proofs aside, aren't we doing the same thing?
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The hipsters love the beard, does that mean they're terrorists too?[/caption]
While I sit with my headphones on and my sunglasses wearing a flashy tee and shorts, the police men are least bothered about stopping my car. But when my beard clad elder brother is driving the car, wearing shalwar qameez, the police men don't hesitate for a second to think the worst and stop the car. Apart from this, my elder brother was once the only person to be taken off a public transport at a police check point. And I was standing with him(I don't sport a beard or turn my iPod off). And he's an engineering student at a well reputed university, my brother. And this doesn't happen at all when he's wearing his pants or university uniform.
Apart from these incidents, we need to stop and think about how we go about with this "Islami-type-banda" image. How many times I've heard aunties say k they wil never let their sons keep beards "zamana buhat bura hai" which can be translated as "i look down upon people with beards because they are so terrorist, what will the people say?" DO you stop and think twice about your maid and what she will think about it before buying a 6000 rupees Sana Safinaz ka jora? People mock and joke about people with beards. There's a certain derogatory attitude we hold about people inclined towards religion. Preaching openly is considered embarrassing and socially awkward, wearing shalwar qameez is so paindoo, not having a beard is the fad and do we even care if a person offers prayers or not? But hey, at least they attended that Atif Aslam concert and that makes them so cool!
If we are going to be the ones to judge our "brothers and sisters" then why be shocked if our people get special treatment at the international airports, aren't our eyes doing the same already? It is not the few people or terrorists who have created this image of "Musalmaniat", it's us, the people, who are actually responsible for ruining our own image. Call it the Hollywood Affect, but we have let it get to us. I mean, isn't it the same land where non-Muslims converted to Islam only because the Muslims were too good. Seeing how things are now, it seems too good, to be true.
But we shouldn't be the ones to point out to the world why it's wrong. Facts and proofs aside, aren't we doing the same thing?
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="504"]
The hipsters love the beard, does that mean they're terrorists too?[/caption]While I sit with my headphones on and my sunglasses wearing a flashy tee and shorts, the police men are least bothered about stopping my car. But when my beard clad elder brother is driving the car, wearing shalwar qameez, the police men don't hesitate for a second to think the worst and stop the car. Apart from this, my elder brother was once the only person to be taken off a public transport at a police check point. And I was standing with him(I don't sport a beard or turn my iPod off). And he's an engineering student at a well reputed university, my brother. And this doesn't happen at all when he's wearing his pants or university uniform.
Apart from these incidents, we need to stop and think about how we go about with this "Islami-type-banda" image. How many times I've heard aunties say k they wil never let their sons keep beards "zamana buhat bura hai" which can be translated as "i look down upon people with beards because they are so terrorist, what will the people say?" DO you stop and think twice about your maid and what she will think about it before buying a 6000 rupees Sana Safinaz ka jora? People mock and joke about people with beards. There's a certain derogatory attitude we hold about people inclined towards religion. Preaching openly is considered embarrassing and socially awkward, wearing shalwar qameez is so paindoo, not having a beard is the fad and do we even care if a person offers prayers or not? But hey, at least they attended that Atif Aslam concert and that makes them so cool!
If we are going to be the ones to judge our "brothers and sisters" then why be shocked if our people get special treatment at the international airports, aren't our eyes doing the same already? It is not the few people or terrorists who have created this image of "Musalmaniat", it's us, the people, who are actually responsible for ruining our own image. Call it the Hollywood Affect, but we have let it get to us. I mean, isn't it the same land where non-Muslims converted to Islam only because the Muslims were too good. Seeing how things are now, it seems too good, to be true.