Oh, society. How I wail for thee...

[Zinnia-Hen]

The following text in italics is not mine; I'm simply passing on an important message of acceptance.

I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

My name is Ela. I am seventeen years old. I am not Muslim, but my friend told me about her friend being discriminated against for wearing a hijab. So I decided to see the discrimination firsthand to get a better understanding of what Muslim women go through.

My friend and I pinned scarves around our heads, and then we went to the mall. Normally, vendors try to get us to buy things and ask us to sample a snack. Clerks usually ask us if we need help, tell us about sales, and smile at us. Not today. People, including vendors, clerks, and other shoppers, wouldn’t look at us. They didn’t talk to us. They acted like we didn’t exist. They didn’t want to be caught staring at us, so they didn’t look at all.

And then, in one store, a girl (who looked about four years old) asked her mom if my friend and I were terrorists. She wasn’t trying to be mean or anything. I don’t even think she could have grasped the idea of prejudice. However, her mother’s response is one I can never forgive or forget. The mother hushed her child, glared at me, and then took her daughter by the hand and led her out of the store.

All that because I put a scarf on my head. Just like that, a mother taught her little girl that being Muslim was evil. It didn’t matter that I was a nice person. All that mattered was that I looked different. That little girl may grow up and teach her children the same thing.

This experiment gave me a huge wakeup call. It lasted for only a few hours, so I can’t even begin to imagine how much prejudice Muslim girls go through every day. It reminded me of something that many people know but rarely remember: the women in hijabs are people, just like all those women out there who aren’t Muslim.

People of Tumblr, please help me spread this message. Treat Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Taoists, etc., exactly the way you want to be treated, regardless of what they’re wearing or not wearing, no exceptions. Reblog this. Tell your friends. I don’t know that the world will ever totally wipe out prejudice, but we can try, one blog at a time.

Reblogged from: http://imperfectwriting.tumblr.com/post/33933007179/i-went-to-the-mall-and-a-little-girl-called-me-a

Such a shame people, even the littlest of kids, will judge others for how they choose to believe in a religion.

 

[Y N dottes]

its definitly worth trying...

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

...'It' being?

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Sad.

 

[Y N dottes]

@ zinnia-hen

oh, sorry....stopping prejudice is what i meant.

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

@ zinnia-hen

oh, sorry....stopping prejudice is what i meant.

Naw, it's fine. That's what I was thinking.

I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page.

 

[KristyHall]

I had a good friend who is Muslim. She was a friend of the family for a while and has always been an intelligent outspoken woman. She wears the Hijab, has raised four children with the choice to follow Islam or not and if so, how they choose to follow Islam. When 9/11 happened, my friend who I will call Jenny to protect her identity, started having a hard time at work, She is a nurse practitioner and worked at a local hospital. Her coworkers remain kind. They knew her. But patients began to refuse to see her.

Her children started getting harassed at school, even her daughters who did not wear the Hijab, were taunted and bullied. Her husband is an engineering professor. Officials began to sit in on his classes. He found this so insulting, he would start each class by introducing the federal officials and explain they are there to make sure he wasn't a terrorist, which would embarrass these people. Eventually they stopped coming.

One day she went into a jewlery store in the mall, preparing o spend thousands on gifts, and no one would help her. Some would not even talk to her, and one clerk followed her around the store like she would steal something.


Finally they had had enough and they moved. They still had some problems but it was easier in a bigger city. Jenny often expressed how she missed her hometown in north Alabama. You see she is white, born and raised in the US,and converted to Islam as a teenager. When 9/11 happened she wept. She cried for days.

We haven't spoken in a year. After years of staying in touch when my friend moved away, we finally lost touch. I miss chatting with her and learning about her religion. Islam, like all religions, has many interpretations, many branches and styles. Some are stricter than others, some are extreme, some are secular and look at their faith as something more abstract like a moral guideline. It is also in the same spiritual family as Judaism and Christianity, Mormonism, Jehovah witnesses, and so on. All follow the god of Abraham and all have roots in the same old texts, even though some now dramatically differ in beliefs and practices.

 

[theoldchick]

I have a brother-in-law who has a striking resemblance to the most wanted man in the world. Living in a small town with small minded people has made his life difficult. He works in radio broadcasting so his face is never seen His voice, however is well-known. People are stunned when they see him in person. And when he goes on a flight he is guaranteed to have a private pat down. People have refused to serve him in restaurants.

As an experiment, he died his hair blonde, and how he is treated is totally different. People. They are amazing.

 

[oldrooster]

I had a good friend who is Muslim. She was a friend of the family for a while and has always been an intelligent outspoken woman. She wears the Hijab, has raised four children with the choice to follow Islam or not and if so, how they choose to follow Islam. When 9/11 happened, my friend who I will call Jenny to protect her identity, started having a hard time at work, She is a nurse practitioner and worked at a local hospital. Her coworkers remain kind. They knew her. But patients began to refuse to see her.

Her children started getting harassed at school, even her daughters who did not wear the Hijab, were taunted and bullied. Her husband is an engineering professor. Officials began to sit in on his classes. He found this so insulting, he would start each class by introducing the federal officials and explain they are there to make sure he wasn't a terrorist, which would embarrass these people. Eventually they stopped coming.

One day she went into a jewlery store in the mall, preparing o spend thousands on gifts, and no one would help her. Some would not even talk to her, and one clerk followed her around the store like she would steal something.


Finally they had had enough and they moved. They still had some problems but it was easier in a bigger city. Jenny often expressed how she missed her hometown in north Alabama. You see she is white, born and raised in the US,and converted to Islam as a teenager. When 9/11 happened she wept. She cried for days.

We haven't spoken in a year. After years of staying in touch when my friend moved away, we finally lost touch. I miss chatting with her and learning about her religion. Islam, like all religions, has many interpretations, many branches and styles. Some are stricter than others, some are extreme, some are secular and look at their faith as something more abstract like a moral guideline. It is also in the same spiritual family as Judaism and Christianity, Mormonism, Jehovah witnesses, and so on. All follow the god of Abraham and all have roots in the same old texts, even though some now dramatically differ in beliefs and practices.

Sorry but it's my understanding Muslims worship a different God, that makes the followers of Islam neither good nor bad just a totally different religion than the other posted above. Even if I am the one mistaken Judaism is waiting for the Messiah to come, the other three say he has come but have a different view on the bible (which contain the Jewish Tarrah as the beginning of it) But Islam believes Jesus is not the messiah and the bible and the Tarrah are both not the writings of God.

 

[galanie]

Muslims worship the same God as all the other religions "of the Book" - their "Messiah" is just someone different from that of Christianity. Christianity worships their Messiah as God though. So looked at that way, I suppose one might get the idea that others worship a different God. But it's not. It's still the same one. They just don't have a human face on theirs.