Hey everybody! I haven't written in my blog in such a long time! But don't worry, I haven't stopped writing. I've been taking Eng 101 and Eng 223. The latter is a creative writing class, and I must say it is much more challenging than I imagined. We have to write short stories(5-15 pgs.)which is really fun. The not so fun part is getting all the criticism from the teacher and the other classmates. Even though I must say, I have grown to appreciate the constructive criticism.
Anyways, the reason I brought this up is because my stories have always had Muslim characters. I purposely did this just to show that Muslims are humans that experience life with all its ups and downs just like everyone else. However, some of the responses I've received from my classmates are disparaging. In one story, the husband was not supportive of his wife, and I got a comment saying that was indicative of the Muslim "culture" (ignorant of the fact Muslims come from a vast number of cultures). So my next story had a really supportive husband, and I was told that was "unrealistic because Muslim women are not respected by their husbands." The student went on to admit that all she knew about Muslims was from the negative media reports, and in those reports "Muslim women have to bow down to their husbands."
I must say, I have never heard that particular thing said about Muslim women, but it is often implied in the media that Muslim women are "living in the shadows" of their male counterparts. So I'm left at a crossroad- How can I relate the American-Muslim experience to people who are so brainwashed about Islam, that they won't even entertain the thought of Muslims being "normal" people? I have some ideas... I'll keep you updated!
Judge Not!
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