Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan's powerful poem isn't about humanizing Muslims.
Manzoor-Khan, who also runs a blog site on the intersections of religion, politics and gender called “The Brown Hijabi,” argued that Muslim lives shouldn’t be valued only for being relatable or recognizable.
“I refuse to be respectable,” she said.
The media tends to combat bias by highlighting extraordinary Muslims ― world-class athletes, television stars, good samaritans and inspiring activists. But Manzoor-Khan pointed out that Muslims are often dehumanized by the very efforts supposedly intended to prove their humanity.
“Instead, love us when we are lazy. Love us when we are poor,” she challenged. “Love us high as kites, unemployed, joy riding, time wasting, failing at school, love us filthy. Without the right color passports, without the right sounding English.”
