What I found interesting about "It's Not an Oxymoron: The Search for an Arab Feminism" by Susan Mauddi Darraj was the fantastic points made about the undeniable ignorance of Western society on the Arab culture and the Islamic religion, and how extremely spot on it was about the treatment of Arab Americans. The author touched on many issues facing Arab Americans, particularly women, some of these being horrendous racism after 9/11 affecting Muslim individuals, or anybody of Arab, or Middle Eastern descent, or basically anyone that "looked" Muslim. This idea of "looking" Muslim always fascinated me as many Americans seem to believe that they can pinpoint someone who practices the religion Islam simply by how they look. This brings up the topic of blatant and ignorant racism that people that simply look a certain background face constantly, but more importantly the extremely ignorant matter of fact that people can not seem to distinguish between culture, and religion. People often times say things such as "The Arabic culture," "The Arabic religion," "The Muslim culture," "The Islamic culture," and many more blatantly incorrect terms that fuse together a certain culture, and language (as Arabic is a language not a culture) with a certain religion. The author also touched on this when she mentioned that because she was Arab, many people instantly assumed she was Muslim but she was in fact an Arab Christian. It is this ignorant view that if you're Muslim you must be Arab and if you're Arab, you have to be Muslim that broadcasts the ignorance of today's society. People do not realize that although Islam is the prominent religion in the Middle East, and Northern African Arab countries, Islam is also a prominent religion in many parts of Asia, different parts of Africa. and across the world, however people still associate Islam with only one culture, as well as a certain "Muslim look."As mentioned before this concept of "looking Muslim," always baffled me. No one would ever say that there is such a thing as "looking Christian," however individuals with any form of a long beard, a darker complexion, and even wearing a turban which is a custom of a completely different religion of Sikhism, are constantly targeted and harrassed, being called Muslim terrorists because they look a certain way. I for one find this overt ignorance horrific and dangerous.
Another point that Darraj mentions in "It's Not an Oxymoron: The Search for an Arab Feminism" that I related to in an instant was the absolute need for women of Western cultures to "save" Muslim women who choose to veil themselves in honor to their religion and their God. Western women consider this an act of "feminism" which contradicts the sole meaning of the word entirely. Seeing women who practice their religion in wearing the Hijab as oppressed and voiceless is honestly nothing more than an absolute joke, and calling it an act of feminism is nothing more than a nonsensical attempt to cover up extremely close-minded and ethnocentric beliefs by pretending that they want to help these women. Feminism is defined as the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men, but what many Western women seem to forget is that feminism applies to women of all cultures, religions, and races. Why is it that in choosing to veil oneself, one automatically loses the right to call themselves a feminist? It seems as though feminism has lost all meaning to the word as it no longer focuses on equal rights for all women but instead introduces a sort of hierarchy between women. As if the hierarchy between men and women wasn't enough, now women of Western cultures are using feminism as a poor excuse to justify their close-minded and racist ideals of not being able to accept someone unless they are exactly like them. Women are so focused on "saving" these poor oppressed souls, that they completely dismiss the religious aspect of wearing the Hijab and the strength that it gives to these women to know that they can cover their bodies and let their beauty shine through from their souls. When did the way someone dresses become a means for feminism? I was led to believe that it was exactly this, men thinking they were entitled in telling women what they should, which was why we needed feminism.
On that topic of Americans pinpointing who practices Islam just by appearance. I thought the technique that Darraj used to shock her audience was a well-executed one. That assumption that all women who wear veils and only show their eyes areMuslim doesn't just come about without some outside influence. The media is main outlet for information for millions of citizens. Terrifying, isn't it? The media has this power to portray any single person or group of people in whatever way they please. These misinformative methods could be used to promote propaganda and spark debate on what measures should be taken when it comes to terrorism, consumerism, the market, retaliation, and war. As Darraj mentioned, the media also puts out some contradictory depictions of Arab women. In movies like Aladdin you have over-sexualized Arab women who are made to look like belly dancers and prostitutes. While this is a director's right to do so it can have adverse effects on a population, especially seeing as Aladdin is a movie targetted for kids. That image becomes implanted in a child's mind from a young age. It grows with them, influencing their ideas, decisions, and beliefs. And as opposed to Aladdin, you have more mainstream forms of media such as televised news reports focusing on the negative side of Arab culture, flooding TVs with news of extremists attacking others and making them represent the group as a whole. The media has that power to tell you who's the enemy and who is the great protector. How many times has FOX News made an attempt to portray the US as a terrorist nation because of their many drone strikes, bombings, and assaults and other regions?
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