#islam representation

[riymeep]

With representation becoming more inclusive and welcoming, I’m happy to say I’ve seen more people create Muslim characters they don’t include harmful stereotypes.

However, I have noticed a trend where someone makes Muslim characters just for the sake of saying they have a Muslim character. I’ve made a post like this about Muslim teen characters before, but I’ve been noticing this happening more with Muslim characters in general.

They rarely explore their religious identities and how strongly they associate with it. A lot of the time it’s clearly just an excuse for them to put a hijab on a character. Nothing wrong with that if you just want to draw them, but if you’re gonna make stories with those characters, please make an actual effort into understanding Islam.

So many times, I’ve seen Muslim characters who say once or twice “I’m a Muslim” or wear a hijab. And that’s it. Of course, their personality should be more than just “The Muslim”. Me and all the Muslims I know are so much more than just that and have personalities. But being Muslim is still a huge part of our identities. Even for the less religious ones, then being Muslim has defined a lot of their lives and shaped them into who they are. So it makes me really upset to see a Muslim character and see nothing done with that part of their identity.

Finding information on Muslims and Islam is pretty simple, since you really only have to look it up, although you do have to be careful as many sources are inaccurate and some people have different interpretations of Quran. I’ll try to list some tips from others:

Hey I saw your tips for drawing muslims but do you have any for writing them? hello hello, thanks for the ask! WRITING MUSLIM CHARACTERS

except im a muslim, born and raised dont mix it up with arab characters, yes a muslim can be arab and muslim but theres a difference. the l

Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your

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I was gonna include more, but one that is fully accurate is hard to find, so make sure to double check most sources you find. For example, I found a source that looked really good, but when it said that stuff like feminism goes against Islam, I realized it wasn’t as great as I thought, and is another example of some Muslims mixing culture and religion together.

Feminism is of course, the belief that men and women should be treated fairly, which is okay in Islam and actually promoted. Yes, many cultures with Islam are sexist, but as a religious woman, I can tell you that the cultures and religion are quite different.

But yes, even if you do not agree with everything Islam stands for, then I still ask that you incorporate Islam into your Muslim characters.

[thatssonano]

So I watched Elite so y’all don’t have to.

Hi. Welcome to my random rant about muslim representation because I’m muslim so why not. Before I start, for all of those who don’t know me, I like to thrive on positivity, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, I just want to give my opinion, because, as a muslim, I feel like I am allowed to have one. 

Let’s begin then. Okay so, they made Nadia take her hijab off, they made her kiss and sleep with Guzman, not once but twice. They made her drink. And to be honest, I was so pissed I stopped watching the show at least five times. But I kept going, because, I mean, even if I don’t agree with something, I have to fully understand it to say I don’t like it. 

It really seemed obvious to me that this show and this character were written by white people. Because I felt like they defined Islam as a set of rules instead of faith. Faith, which is fully based on emotions and soul. So to them, a muslim couldn’t drink, have sex, date... because the religion said so. But it was never a discussion about all the reasons why we’re not supposed to do them. About why we pray and why we put God first. And I mean, I can’t expect them to do that, but one can dream. 

And I know some muslims drink, I know some have sex, I know some take their hijabs off.

I’ve had different talks this week about this show. One friend said that the reasons why some take off their hijab is more complicated than that. I’ve had friends who took it off too, and I know, it’s more complicated than wanting to fit in. You should just talk to them.

I told my sister about the show, a beautiful hijabi who has to face discrimination everyday as we live in France, a hijabi who cannot be seen as smart (she’s way smarter than me though lol). And do you know what she said? She said “yeah, well that happens, some girls and boys do that.”

And yeah some do that. But to me, it’s the old same trope that I’ve seen a billion times. And I am just hungry for positive, healthy representation. I want a normalization of young muslim women, who laugh, who cry, who love God and pray. I want to see a girl who struggles, not with her faith, not with her parents, but with what she wants. I want to see myself on TV, I want to know that my niece, my little cousins will be able to see themselves on TV. I want to hear them say “look! she’s a muslim! and a doctor! and an actress! and a fireman!” I want that for them. 

I am not mad at the actress, I mean it’s her job, she’s supposed to do it. I’m not mad at the writers, they just don’t know. Having talked about islam with a white man, who’s a very nice (and cute but that’s not the point) colleague of mine, I realized that if you don’t go through what minorities go through on a daily basis, then you don’t get it. You can’t. And I know my troubles as a muslim woman in France, but I don’t know the troubles of gays, trans, Native Americans, sikhs, blacks, asians... So please, to finish this, I want us to remember to be kind with each other. Everyone you know is having a battle you know nothing about. 

Also, I’m very glad that Iman Meskini and Tua Elfawwal started to pave the way for feminine and muslim representation on media. Let’s keep going. Yo guys, if you’re willing to join me, I’d be glad to write a scenario about that. I act too, I never mentioned that here. Anyways, goodnight guys, lots of love. 

[maybe-a-wizard]

is that pony wearing a hijab?

[riymeep]

As happy as I am to have any Muslim representation that doesn’t portray us as violent or terrorists, I kinda wish I got to see more Muslims in the media that actually believed in and followed Islam. Especially when it comes to teenage Muslim. I rarely see any Muslims my age in shows or movies or books, much less ones that actual believe in the religion.

I would just really like to see more Muslims, especially younger ones, that believe in Islam. It would make me feel more represented than I do when I see Muslims with characters that aren’t influenced by Islam at all