#but islam is so integral to her that she just knows this is where she needs to put her faith

[afraidofchange]

Anyway I haven't really talked about it in depth, and this is not a fully researched headcanon (which I'll do eventually or at least, add sources to this one), but I think Ana's relationship with her faith is complex, and I believe she does not fully follow all aspects, but rather, chooses tenets to follow that she believes in.

So first and foremost, Islam is the dominant religion in Egypt - 90.3% of the population - and as such, not only was Ana raised as a Muslim, but the faith is also very much culturally integrated. However, as mentioned in the (old) lore and my own personal headcanon, the Amari family is a multigenerational military family, and Ana in her youth actively chose to be secular about her faith.

(also, we can infer given the iconography of Ancient Egyptian gods in Ana and Fareeha's designs, that perhaps, in the game world, some of it is still used - especially since Ana says "the Eye of Horus watches over you", but I believe 'Horus' might've been her callsign in the military. That, or Blizz really just said 'Oh, Egyptian characters? Let's use Ancient Egyptian motifs for them!')

Anyway, Ana chose to get a tattoo which is considered haram under Islamic law, and in her young skins in the game, she does not partake in wearing a hijab. So in my view, I believe she is secular and would still participate in holidays and such, but would not actively go to prayer services or other religious events. Her focus was in the military, and then of course, onto Overwatch internationally.

I also think in her relationship with Sam - who we know was a public servant, likely a diplomat - that she had probably suggested raising Fareeha in a secular way. And of course, just before or during their separation, Fareeha was spending time with her father in Canada, spending a lot of her early teen years in a totally different cultural upbringing than home in Cairo.

Religion was not much on her mind - not a lot was, besides Overwatch and her career. However, after nearly losing her life and struggling with temporary amnesia because of the trauma, she spent a lot of time trying to remember who she was, what parts of her core identity were there under the surface. When her memory returned, and Ana was putting herself back together again, she found comfort in her upbringing and a belief in God that was always there, despite not actively taking part in organized religion. In her travels as a 'dead woman', she began to practice some parts of Islam again, like choosing to wear the hijab, taking part in services in different places of the world where no one would recognize her (and where she would keep herself hidden, out of view).

While she is not strictly adherent to all laws and tenets as a Muslim, it is an active part of who she is today, and a core piece of Ana's inner identity after her near death experience. Faith keeps her grounded to the world.

#ANA AMARI: HEADCANON #[ i know the use of hijab in her design choice is likely also to fit in with the keeping herself hidden from the public ] #[ but i like to explore complexities to religion ] #[ and the poetic bit about having your world view literally shattered with the death of your cybernetic eye (and nearly you ) #really speaks to me. She was knocked off her proverbial pedestal and changed ] #[ a dead woman walking; saving people but not taking the lives of others ] #[ anyway it's past my bedtime GOODNIGHT ]

[saffronapplemanga]

Tenmaku no Jadoogar: A Witch’s Life in Mongol - 天幕のジャードゥーガル

HISTORICAL, DRAMA

Tenmaku no Jadoogar: A Witch’s Life in Mongol by Tomato Soup

(2 volumes, ongoing)

JP only. The first 5 chapters are up for free in JP here.

Links to my other manga posts here

Hi, Fatimah here to talk more about the story of Fatima >:)

Definitely check out my post for volume one because I worked really hard on that and there's lots of cool info there and I don't want to repeat myself here.

This post will be broken up into: Brief Volume Two Summary - My Thoughts - Let's Talk Religion (Again) - The "Middle East" Is Actually a Colonizer Term

Let's go!

Brief Volume Two Summary

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME TWO***

*

*

*

8 years have passed since Fatima was taken by the Mongols. She has been unable to retrieve the book that was stolen even though she's had it in her hands over and over. Ögedei has been crowned the new Khan after the death of Ghengis Khan. Sorghaghtani has asked Fatima to go spy on Chagatai. While trying to get her to infiltrate, she ends up at Töregene's tent instead where Fatima is accused of stealing her "Jada Stone".

We learn about Töregene's back story and her forced integration into the Mongol Empire, losing those she loved, and her marriage to Ögedei. Töregene and Fatima bond over their shared trauma and hate towards their captures. They start working together on upending the empire.

And work together they are! Looks like they're gonna raise hell in the empire.

Töregene attends a meeting she normally skips, and there Ögedei Khan proposes that the nomadic Mongols build a city. Everyone is against the idea as they were expecting to discuss the invasion of the eastern country, Kin (also known as the Jin State). Ögedei says that he wants to use this new city for manufacturing, to gather craftsmen from around the world, and as a center for trade. They then discuss their war plans for the siege on the Jin State.

Töregene shares all the information she's learned at the meeting with Fatima, and they discuss potential weaknesses in the Mongol Empire that could cause its downfall.

*

*

*

***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUME TWO***

My Thoughts

I'm excited to see what Fatima and Töregene do and what their dynamic is going to be like.

I do wish that some info was incorporated a little more subtly. I'm not a fan of info being dumped for the sake of the reader. Author Tomato Soup clearly has put a lot of care into researching for this series, so I just wish they took that extra step to weave the information in more naturally.

They put a lot of care into the visual language, such as the shape of text bubbles (right pic), so seeing charts like this (left pic) feels visually inconsistent.

Let's Talk Religion (Again)

Once again, I want to put the disclaimer that I am NOT a scholar, this is just what I know and my understanding so please don’t quote me. I probably have to gloss over and simplify a lot because there’s… too much.

At the beginning of the volume, there is mention of Islamic meat slaughtering practices (halal meat) compared to the customs of the Mongols.

I think halal is a word a lot of people have heard, especially in recent years, but what does it even mean?

Halal is anything that is permissible in Islam. Haram is anything NOT permissible in Islam, or sins. There are also things that are makrooh (strongly discouraged but not a sin) and mustahab (recommended but not obligatory) and so on.

How does that translate to food?

Halal foods are foods that are permissible for Muslims to consume. Most things are okay for consumption, so it's easier to list what isn't allowed/haram. You might be familiar with the fact that Muslims do not drink alcohol or eat pork. There's a reason for all this, but I'll get to that later. Some other things that are haram to consume are the following:

Carnivorous/predatory animals (Pigs are omnivores, so they technically fall into this category as well. Only herbivores are permissible to consume.)

Animals that died from disease.

Incests, reptiles, and "pests" (such as mice/rats).

These next points are debated depending on what scholar you follow:

Some Muslims only eat fish that have scales, while some believe pretty much any seafood that doesn't fall into the previous categories is fair game (I call this The Great Muslim Seafood Debate loll).

Some Muslims believe you should not eat "beasts of burden" such as horses/mules.

Exceptions to these rules are if you are in a situation where you are left with no other choice but a haram food option, then you will not be guilty of sin for consuming. God never wants to place unreasonable burden on his creation. One of the most important things in Islam is intention, and God can see what's in your heart.

Okay, so you have something that clears these rules. But! That doesn't automatically make it halal. When it comes to consuming animals, the slaughtering of the animal has to be done in a specific way. Let's break it down:

Land animals -

When slaughtering a land animal, it must be done in a specific way so that it becomes halal meat:

The animal must be well-fed and given water before slaughter.

They must be soothed and calm. You cannot slaughter if the animal is fearful and agitated.

Other animals must not witness the slaughter as it can frighten them.

The slaughter must be performed using a very sharp knife to cut the throat. Doing this will cause the animal to immediately lose consciousness and thus will not feel pain. It must be done as quickly, painlessly, and humanly as possible.

Do not allow the animal to see the knife as it can frighten them.

The slaughter must be performed by a Muslim. They must recite a prayer before cutting the throat and do so while facing Mecca.

The blood must be drained from the animal's body after the neck is cut as disease/toxins/etc. can live in the blood. This makes the meat cleaner and more sanitary.

You cannot stun an animal before slaughter (such as hitting it on the head or zapping it with electricity).

In cases where you are hunting, you can use arrows, guns, or hunting birds when hunting an animal that cannot easily be caught for traditional methods of slaughter.

Hunting is only allowed with the intention of hunting for food, not sport.

You must say a prayer when shooting.

If the animal does not die immediately during the hunt, you should slaughter them as quickly and painlessly as possible and not unnecessarily prolong any suffering.

"There's a reason for cutting the neck and slaughtering this way, you know..."

I still don't like the way this info is visually presented. I feel like it could have been done more naturally instead of breaking the immersion to explain things to the reader. But the info is correct!

Animals of the sea -

The animal must die outside of the water (for example, using "blast fishing" or "fish bombing" is prohibited — it's horrible for the environment and does not discriminate on what fish are killed. Even animals like dolphins and turtles can get caught in the blast and die. Coral reefs and such can end up damaged as well. Also, according to Wikipedia "For every ten fish killed, only one or two float to the surface, due to damage caused to their otherwise buoyant internal air bladders. The rest sink to the bottom." This causes a lot of waste. Using this method, you also wouldn't know if a fish was dead from disease and already floating around or if it was from the blast.)

They should not be descaled/skinned while still alive (this is the same for land animals).

I know this might seem like a long and tedious list, but there is a reason for these halal food guidelines. The purpose is to not cause any unnecessary pain to animals, be as humane as possible, and not consume anything that would be bad for your health. Health is of the utmost importance in Islam. I think we can all agree that alcohol is not great for you. There are studies being done about the effects of consuming carnivorous animal meat, pork, and so on not being the greatest for you either, etc. Again I want to reiterate, I'm not judging anyone. You do you, I literally don't care. I'm not saying you're wrong and terrible for consuming these things.

But yeah, I think that's everything for relevant religious stuff that came up in this volume.

I'd like to use the setting of the series as a springboard to discuss something I never see anyone talk about — and I think we should.

The "Middle East" Is Actually a Colonizer Term

Before you roll your eyes at me, just hear me out.

A while back, Drew Mackie, the guy behind Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games where I work as a translator/consultant, sent me an email with some questions for a post he was working on. Long story short, he wasn't sure how to refer to these Nintendo characters who looked stereotypically "Middle Eastern".

Big sigh... I am TIRED of seeing character designs like this... Check out Drew's post here! He writes lots of cool articles that are super interesting!

Luckily for him, this was VERY MUCH my lane. Please entertain my oncoming rant about the term "Middle East" guys. I swear I have a point to make.

When Drew sent me the picture of these Nintendo characters, I groaned. When I sent my brother the picture, he got real ticked off.

I don't know where it started exactly, but everyone just decided that this is what the "Middle-Eastern-look" is. To me, it just looks like Disney's Aladdin — in which what I mean is that this is what Westerners decided the whole region between the far East and far West looks like and everyone was like, "Yeah sure, okay." This look that is so prevalent looks like some bizarre mash-up of West Asia, South Asia, and North Africa to me. That's quite a range of regions to group together...

I always found it weird that this was the "Middle-Eastern-look" since it looked nothing like Kuwaiti traditional wear to me (or any other traditional clothing I'm familiar with tbh). And yet, it's like everyone was telling me, "Yes, this is what you wear. This is what you look like."

Some actual Kuwaiti traditional clothing. You can see a lot of influence from other regions due to trade. The headdresses remind me of the ones you see in Tenmaku no Jadoogar! I believe Turkey has something similar as well! And idk about you guys, but it doesn't look like the aforementioned "Middle-Eastern-look". That is some unholy mishmash of "brown culture" from the perspective of those outside of said culture.

Bottom right pic is what ship builders and pearl divers wore. My grandpa was a pearl diver! The fabric tied around their waist that's different colors and patterns is called a wizar. Dishdasha (the men's robe) can come in various colors. White is worn in the summer and darker colors in the winter. The red qitra (the fabric on the head) is also for winter as it's thicker and warmer than the white one. You can mix and match, especially between seasons to suit you depending on the weather. The black and gold overcoat is a bisht and it's to dress up the dishdasha, usually for special occasions.

Honestly, I almost never use the term "Middle East" myself for a few reasons (and now that I think about it, most of my family and friends don't really either. Maybe that's just me and the people around me idk. I know some people from the region do use it but I'm talking about the people I personally know). Like, what does the term even mean? I mean, it's not a continent, but everyone seems to act like it's the eighth continent. I get that continents are usually further broken up into regions to help be more specific about similar groups since continents are, well, huge and cover a lot.

The problem is, the "Middle East" is wayyyy too big and broad, and it covers areas that often don't have as much in common as many would believe, and it spans multiple continents (Are there similarities? Yeah of course, but like...). It feels like they said, "All you guys talk Arabic so we'll group you. Oh, and throw Iran and Turkey in there because same thing, right?" But then what about Libya or Morroco, which are North African Arab countries? By some definitions, they're not considered to be in the Middle East even though they "fit" but Egypt, another North African Arab country is? I could go on, but idk it all seems very arbitrary.

Yes, these regions did have a lot of trade going on with the Silk Road so you'll see common things shared across various countries along this trade route, but many people have just mushed them together and decided it's all the same.

Which Middle East is the Middle East-est Middle East?

Where did the term come from? -

The term "Middle East" may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office. However, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to "designate the area between Arabia and India".

Which reads to me like, because some colonizers said so.

There's also a term that's kinda worse I recently learned about called the "Greater Middle East" which Wikipedia describes as:

The Greater Middle East is a political term, introduced in March 2004 in a paper by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a part of the U.S. administration's preparatory work for the Group of Eight summit of June 2004, denoting a vaguely defined region called the "Arab world" together with Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Turkey, and several other neighboring countries that have cultural ties.

I recommend reading the rest of the paragraph on Wikipedia for yourself. It comes off as incredibly nope. It's gross.

But even this description says, "denoting a vaguely defined region" which is what I mean when I say it's arbitrary. I feel like it's too often used as a blanket term with negative connotations.

Personally, if I'm talking about Arab countries, I say "Arab" but it also depends on what I'm talking about. If it's a shared Arab thing, then Arab is fine, but if it's a cultural thing that's unique to Sham Arabs for example, I don't use it as broadly. Arab countries vary A LOT. Many assume they're all the same, but truth be told, Arabs get culture shock from each other and have a lot that's different — including neighboring nations. Sometimes we don't even understand each other because of how different dialects can be across different regions.

Obviously, I don't expect everyone to know all this, but I think the way we divide up the region and how we refer to it could get a makeover.

The world seems to be okay with dividing up, for example, Europe into smaller sub-regions that make some kind of sense — like Northern Europe, Western Europe, etc. But we don't commonly do that for the "Middle East" —  nothing that makes any kind of sense. "Middle East" because it's halfway to East Asia in relation to the West? Because the colonizers said so?

Personally, I generally refer to myself as West Asian and I always check "Asian" on forms, even when they try to convince me Arabs are apparently white as if that makes sense (meanwhile my dad is perceived as being mixed race/black in America and he's not even close to being the darkest on his side of the family. While I am pale, no one would perceive me as white). Like I mentioned in my volume one post, I'm not only Kuwaiti Arab. I'm also Irani which is Persian and NOT Arab, plus some Turkish ancestry (also NOT Arab). Allllll of those countries are in West Asia. West Asia is already a term! Why don't we use it?????? We should all know why by now if you've gotten this far in the post.

Map of West Asia, which is already a thing. An actual geographical term. Wow. Too many people don't realize these countries are indeed in Asia. Crazy how Asia isn't just Japan, China, and Korea, huh.

I'm sure there are "Middle Easterners" who don't care, and I'm not here to tell those people how they should identify. That's up to them. DO NOT tell people how they should identify because that is deeply personal, and who the hell are you to tell them who they are?

But for the rest of you, consider adopting less colonizer vocabulary maybe? A lot of my family and friends find the term to have racist connotations since it's almost always used in a not-so-great context and it's from the view of the West. We HAVE other terms that we can use! Time to brush up on our geography and unlearn some nonsense kids.

I'm done. Thanks for coming to my TED talk❤️

✨And once again✨

I await your email publishers, my resume is ready… [email protected]

🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿🪬🧿

—————————–

If there’s any Japanese-only manga you want me to check out, let me know! No promises, I’ll only read what I’m interested in, but I’ll take suggestions into consideration. Preferably, shorter manga or newer manga with a few volumes out since I like to take breaks from longer series I’m reading :)

#tenmaku no jadoogar #a witch's life in mongol #manga #manga recs #manga recommendations #shoujosei #josei manga #manga discussion #kono manga ga sugoi #漫画 #おすすめ #天幕のジャードゥーガル

[readwithem]

I'm in the longest rut of my life. Got my degree, a new job and i became a K-pop stan, so my brain couldn't keep up, and reading went down my priorities list.

One thing about me is that even if i was in a reading rut, i still find joy in browsing bookshops and buying books, knowing full well that I'm probably not going to read them. They just sit there pretty looking waiting for me to pick them up. One of them was this one. It was short and easy to read but it took a while to go through. 238 pages in 4 months.

Mona is the second of my tbr Arab Muslim writers, after Nawal Saadawi, and i'm on the look out for more.

Women's rights is a serious issue in the MENA countries. Patriarchal values are heavily implemented and internalised in both genders, and religious zeal does not help at all.

I feel like this kind of books is a great discussion starter. A safer way than social media where outrage is usually the first reaction to any idea about social issues.

Mona speaks a lot about discussion and speech in this book, which is evident since change comes from discussions and debates. In MENA social context, however, it's extremely hard to strike up a conversation about feminism and patriarchy. Islam and patriarchy are intertwined, the latter uses the former in its favor for anchoring its values in people's psyche.

And so, if a banal patriarchal idea gets criticized, it would be considered blasphemy. I remember expressing a slight reticence to a friend's perception of menstrual blood as filth. She replied with an aggressive tone: "In religion, there is no such thing as cool or uncool". I don't think she's ever verified where she gets her religious beliefs from. Holy scripts have been interpreted in a lot of ways since their conception and this complexity of interpretation gives people confidence in their religious views without actually reconsidering their actual value and meaning.

This zeal also comes from fear. My friend here thinks that questioning rules means questioning faith, which is not true. We don't mean questioning God, his Prophet (saws), or the Quran here, but questioning men.

How did i get here? I haven't intended to talk about religion. It's a complex subject and a personal one. But it is an integral part of how MENA societies deal with women and women's rights and how it is extremely hard to discuss them with zealous people who think that defending women leads to defying God.

In this book, Mona doesn't talk about her faith. She rather describes her relationship with the hijab, feminism, sexuality, the men around her, the women around her, and how society uses religion against her and against Arab women, in general.

She gives some statistics about SA, child marriages, FGM (female genital mutilation), and domestic violence. She talks about the double standards, the brutality, and the discrimination women face in the Arab world. All in the name of religion.

Some reviewers say it's 'shocking'. It wasn't to me. it's probably because I'm more familiar with the matter, but nothing she related was news to me. I feel like all women have experienced some kind of discrimination, in various forms, either at home or outside.

It is 'brave', for sure. Not a lot of women talk freely about their issues, in fear of ostracization from society and fear for their lives. That's why i rejoice whenever women's rights issues are brought up in any shape or form. As long as it's talked about.

My favorite parts of the book are when Mona shed some light on the male psyche explaining how these issues came in the first place, but these parts were very few and sparse. I guess the psyche behind misogyny and hatred towards women is the same whether it's east or west. I'll have to look it up. Feminist books are plenty, afterall.

#book review #booklr #bookstagram #must read #books #freedom #feminist #feminism #anti feminism #arab world #middle east #theology #conservatism #liberalism #mona eltahawy #headscarves #sexuality #racism #social justice #north africa

[ear-worthy]

Uncovering Roots: Recounting Overlooked Historical Tales Of Pain & Suffering

This review is the first in a series of reviews, recommendations, and essays about Indie podcasters -- their craft, their challenges, and the critical role they play in podcasting. These entrepreneurs display skills as disparate as hosting, sound production, graphic design, scriptwriting, interviewing, marketing genius, and financial watchdog. They are the heart and soul of podcasting. 

 Uncovering Roots is an independently produced (Indie) podcast that is a moving and powerful new show that gives a voice to lesser-known people whose stories need to be heard. The creator, producer, and host is Maxim Saakyan. He is Armenian, Spanish, and Russian, a complicated blend, to say the least.  Saakyan was born in Italy, moved to London when he was young and studied Math for both his bachelor's and master's.  His education led him quite organically to a data analyst job, but he craved doing creative things.

Why did Saakyan start a podcast, and why this podcast? 

"I'm a strong believer that creative outputs are the best ways to teach people about certain topics," says Maxim. "Whether that's about history, culture or current affairs, audio is also such an intimate way of talking to people, most of the time, you're literally in their ears speaking to them. Maxim continues: "We seem to be living in a world where one-minute videos are the goal, but despite that, there is a rise in popularity with podcasts which can be 30 to even 60 minutes long"

The first three episodes of Uncovering Roots are about the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and beyond by the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey). In those two years, over 1.2 million Armenians were sent on death marches to the Syrian Desert. In addition, about 200,000 Armenian women and children were forcibly converted to Islam and integrated into Muslim households. 

Due to its strategic geographic significance, Armenia has suffered countless invaders and invasions throughout history. For example, from 1513 to 1737, Armenia was controlled by different conquerors 14 times. Saakyan begins by telling the story of Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora Mardiganian, who is the subject of the strong opening episode, pieced together with interviews from people who knew her. Resilient doesn’t come close to describing the woman who suffered torture and brutality before she eventually escaped to New York.

Saakyan comments on these episodes: "This three-part series of the podcast is very important to me. As an Armenian, the amount of people who don't know about the genocide really hurts me. Then we look at Aurora's story, and it's just so unbelievably shocking. It's so unbelievable that so many people didn't actually think she existed. Like she was a fictional character that was made up to represent the pain Armenians went through. But she was real. She not only went through the genocide, but she went through Hollywood exploitation as well. This story isn't just about teaching people about the genocide, it's about honoring her story."

Make no mistake about it. Saakyan's storytelling and narrative prowess are so good that these episodes rival the emotional punch of Holocaust horror tales. What's more amazing about the emotional core of this podcast is Saakyan's admission that, "I virtually had zero story-telling podcast experience, no sound design experience, no mic experience. This was an entire learning curve for me. From fact checking to interviewing. I think one of the hardest things was the sound design element, I never appreciated how crucial it is."

Despite Saakyan's protestations of inexperience, Uncovering Roots is an audio masterpiece for several reasons. First, his storytelling is so commanding that it can grab listeners by their ears. His voice radiates the kind of emotional intensity that can blanket listeners with the darkness of the human psyche. Second, the sound production is sonically eloquent and pervasive in its haunting nature. "For the first episode, I worked with the talented Olivia Melkonain on music," Saakyan notes. "We used a music library to try and find Armenian sounds. After learning a lot from her, I implemented a similar sound design to episodes two and three. The Armenian sounds, from Oud's to Duduk's, were a really important part of the series."

Third, Saakyan created this podcast with a sharp eye for the smallest detail. For example, his mother designed the podcast's graphics, and, while it was very much a solo-project, he solicited help from Olivia Melkonian and Al Shaibani."

What are the future tales planned for Uncovering Roots? Saakyan answers: "In mid 2024, we're hoping to have the first official season up and running where we tell stories from the SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) region and indigenous people from across the globe."

I highly recommend Uncovering Roots. This podcast resonates with the agony of an entire race, and creator / host Saakyan inserts us into the life and eyes of an Armenian girl, Aurora Mardiganian. 

In effect, Uncovering Roots is the ultimate true-crime podcast, because it's true about the disputed Armenian Genocide, and it's a crime how these people suffered so much during World War 1.

#podcast #podcasting #genocide #history

[megfloresprotectionsquad]

This clip was literally made for the Dani haters. They’re having the time of their lives with it.

lmao its because they dont realize that if they were in Dani's place they also would struggle with learning how to fit in with a completely different culture than the dominant one you grew up in. amira's values and norms, while definitely strongly Spanish like Dani's about things, are heavily influenced by Islam, unlike Dani. She's been born and raised with Islam and adores her religion.

Dani on the otherhand was raised in Spanish (teen) culture where partying, drinking, and relationships between people are usually physically affectionate. Now, Dani obviously understands relationships are more than physical affection by how he talks and gives heart eyes to Amira all the time, but learning new norms that are the opposite of the ones you think are normal is hard. It's really hard. Dani's in a decently good place because he obviously respects and is intrigued by Islam and is a generally accepting person, like with Cris.

I dislike that people are nitpicking his choice of words. "Normal" is correct. To him, his values and norms are what the dominant society taught him. But a better way to describe what he means further is that it's what's "accepted and familiar".

Islam and the values and norms taught by it are not accepted and familiar to Dani like they are for Amira. He is allowed to find them confusing and conflicting with the ones he has been taught. As long as he begins to understand this new culture and starts to internalize it, then the shift to integration will begin (theres extra steps but i won't bore you with the details of the DMIS).

it just reminds me there's young people in the tag who don't know these things and really think it's easy to completely integrate yourself within an entirely new culture in a manner of weeks. It's not that easy and Dani's reactions that we've seen the entire season so far show it.

#skam españa #ask #anon

[cauldronofthefantasia]

Let’s Meet Me! Again - Reintroducing Myself (Director’s Cut) - the Hickory Witch

Hey, everyone. This is the Fantasia. Last time you saw me, I made a relatively short introduction because I wasn’t really sure what to say or how much to reveal about myself, but I thought I’d go into some more depth here and let the tags tell the story of what type of magick you’ll be reading with me and learning from me the next time we clear the air, stir the cauldron, and get to weaving that old black magick. 

You can find me on tiktok @the_fantasia, and I hope you do cause, honestly, I’ve started making some weird content I really like and I wanna replace the dopamine hit I got from the stuff I didn’t make anymore with something that makes me happy instead of just making my brain’s chemicals go brrt.

My name isn’t really the Fantasia, obviously. I’m a practitioner of several years who is a self-contained coven as I am a system witch in a gestalt rather than one working towards integration who works with my system in unity. I live in the Bible Belt, and if you went looking for me, you’d probably notice that I live a relatively normal life that is made up of working towards my ambitions, taking care of my friends, and tending to my closed tradition that I was the last Priestess of now that more people have started to join us and I’ve resurrected it from death.

I’ve worked for over a year towards that goal, and the weight of the ancestors’ burdens lifting off of my shoulders when they realized I had finally figured out that my closed tradition could include people of every race, and religion, just unified together led me to decide to start sharing my magick and myself online more in a more realistic way. This has led me to Tumblr, and that’s how we met. So, it’s nice to meet you, and it’s good to remember that wishing someone meets interesting people upon them isn’t always bad. Some of us are pretty cool :P 

I grew up in a spiritual evangelist religion that seemed to practice some sort of folk magick where we channeled spirits, and did group prayers together to achieve miracles with whatever it was we were doing, but if you told them that they probably wouldn’t like it very much. Also it was a cult, which would have been fine (mostly /s the only cult I’m vibing with rn is this one I made where we worship medieval illuminated manuscripts :D) except for the part where the Big Enemy was people like me, and if you notice the pride colors in the tags, might be people like you, too.

I also am an heir hoodoo, from my ancestors and the knowledge in my blood, my alter Michael has a Jewish soul and am a staunch Jewish, Romani, Palestinian, LGBTQ+ (and a part of that community), Muslim, etc, ally and consider myself to be a genuine leftist who is just stuck in a world that constantly makes me disappointed in our kind. My alter Michael is white and realllly gay. My alter Maria is black like me and mostly mute because she’s our heart, and she communicates through emotion. Lilu is an entity we invited into our body, and that’s also his nickname, cause His name from the Gilgamesh Cycle doesn’t really translate well; so if you go looking you’ll find a class of Mesopotamian demons. He’s not one, and He predates those written texts and Mesopotamian culture by quiiiite a bit. Then there’s a fifth mystery bestie we invited into our body, who I’m just starting to get to know as a part of us. I’m also traditionally trained in Western esoterica, have various exposures to French, North African, Arabian, and other forms of occultism and religious belief, have been guided onto my path by a follower of Kali (@mxkanteven on tiktok who is a trans woman and someone I am proud to call my friend), one of the greatest kabbalists and teachers alive at the moment (and an expert in Judaism, her MA’s degree in Jewish Studies has helped quiiiiite a bit in elevating his status. He also uses an E pronoun. His name is Joshua Maria Garcia, and his @ on tiktok is @joshuamariagarcia), and many, many others. 

These others are in fact including a number of Gods and entities from all over the world - including more than a few Yokai and several Djinn, interestingly (I don’t turn down entities that are attracted to me because they know my friends, ya’know? Just like I don’t turn down Djinn if my Jewish past life, and soul, who learned all the stuff they did about the time Islam started developing from Rabbinic Judaism attracts them and seems to be influencing by magick by teaching me about servitors, and Djinn, and geomancy, etc) - because I’m a spirit medium that believes in co-existing with the spirit world because... why would I want to deal with the consequences of banishing a spirit that lives in their house if all they do is move my pencils around sometimes because Blackwings are made of California incense-cedar and they like them? Do I really wanna make a spirit homeless and then have to wonder why I develop an irrational fear of spirits? To be clear, though, I am not Jewish, nor do I “practice” or know Kabbalah, nor am I a Jewish folk practitioner. To practice Kabbalah without being Jewish is the same as being a Catholic Priest without ever being Catholic. Kabbalah and Judaism are the same. And, curiously, all of that has been assumed before. I don’t do it. In fact, I have not read a single book about any of those things. I just... I dunno. Soul influence is weird, and I think my alter, Michael, wants to convert. So, we’re gonna have to convert, too, but Michael will be the one doing the Jewish stuff. That’s the funny thing about being a system witch whose alters each have their own soul and different past lives. Besides, Michael is a much more experienced practitioner than I am even though I like to think I’m pretty good (and he likes to think I’m pretty reckless), so we’re just having fun learning from him and the world and spirits and people around us. Anyway, see ya around. Signing off, this has been the Fantasia. Entry Definition: Let’s Clear the Air - a phrase I coined to describe the moment when you ring the bell, clap, let incense fill the air, and more as part of the opening and closing of a ceremony, a reading, and other witchy things. 

#medieval #illuminated manuscript #cult #spiritual #folk magick #folk magic #the fantasia #did #did system #system witch #disassociative identity disorder #kabbalah #ww2 #world war 2 #hoodoo #1945 #coin #coin collecting #herbalism #raegent #rootwork #energy work #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqiia+ #she/they #they/them #gay #queer #witchy things

[diariesofthehermit]

The Ecology of Black Liberation

It is hard to be Black. It is harder still when you choose not to numb yourself to the world but to take it all in. The pain that exists within this body is already acute, yet the pain that exists within the world-body is still magnitudes greater. As tempting as it may be, however, it is best not to be numb. Pain is a warning, a signal for danger, and those who do not feel pain cannot sense the arrival of hurt and of death before it is too late. Therefore I have no choice; I must feel. And as I am not separate from the world, I must feel Her pain too; Her aches are my aches, Her hurt is my hurt and our death is one. 

What do we suppose liberation to be? Liberation from poverty, from misogyny, from homophobia or racism? What good is it to be liberated into a dead world, one that does not support life of any class, gender, sexuality or race? I suspect that for many, liberation is equivalent to equality, a levelling of the political/social/economic playing field within our society. As I get older, however, I become more and more sympathetic to the view that Malcolm X espoused in his Nation of Islam days: the “world” of western civilization is fucked, and there’s no hope for anyone integrating into it, equally or not. To be “liberated” is to liberate yourself from a doomed society and to build your own. My attraction to this mindset, however, is tempered by the growing twenty-first century truth that there is no longer any place left to build: if indeed our current global, capitalist civilization has not covered every inch of the world itself then its shadow surely does. Fate, now, is collective; the destiny of all life is forever intertwined. 

If you’ll forgive the apparent digression, I need now to talk about trees. Trees are, after all, essential to Black liberation (as are all ‘things’ essential to life); to put it another way, the fates of Black people are tied directly to the fates of trees. To do violence to them is, in a very real way, to do violence to me, my family and my community. To think otherwise is to operate under the basic misconception that Nature and people are somehow independent, separate entities. 

I recently read an academic study titled “Deforestation and World Population Sustainability: a Quantitative Analysis.” It emphasized, first, the importance of trees to the earth’s life and civilizations: they prove indispensable to our existence through the production of oxygen and the cleansing of the atmosphere, maintenance of the soil, regulation of our water cycle and, a key factor given our contemporary crisis, the regulation of our planet’s climate by keeping its carbon in them instead of in our atmosphere, where it would accelerate the already lethal pace of planetary warming. “Trees and forests are our best atmosphere cleaners” the authors wrote, “and, due to the key role that they play in the terrestrial ecosystem, it is highly unlikely to imagine the survival of many species, including ours, on the Earth without them. In this sense, the debate on climate change will be almost obsolete in case of a global deforestation of the planet.” Obsolete, note, because we’d all be among the dying or dead.

The authors of the study then used multiple variables, such as the world human population, the amount of earth covered by forest, the growth rate of the human species, the rate at which we extract resources from the environment, the projected rate of technological improvement in resource extraction, the renewability of those resources and those resources carrying capacity to calculate the survivability our current society. They gave us twenty to forty years before “catastrophic collapse” spelled the end of human civilization and perhaps of the human species itself, with an “optimistic” 10% chance of human society continuing if we can begin in earnest to expand our civilization into the solar system and harvest its resources. 

We all know, however, that if the wealthiest and most industrialized nations began to expand their societies into space, that Black people are going to have a hell of a hard time getting there. Of course, it’s hard to accurately predict the future. Any model of the times to come that depends on future human behavior or expected rates of technical progress is inherently fallible. We may very well survive much longer than that. There is also the alternative, however: considering that we are not only harming our forests, but the soil, the oceans, our atmosphere and indeed the entire biosphere itself, perhaps their calculations of civilization’s end times are not too far off. Perhaps they’ll come sooner. Who knows? The future itself is an unknown. Yet, what we can perhaps say with certainty is that the possibility for total extinction, or at the very least the extinction of human civilization, is now very real. We are not discussing an end of a civilization, or of a society, but of human society itself. Forever. It is an existential threat that the “wretched of the earth”, the poor and the marginalized, cannot afford to ignore. We do not, after all, deserve this fate. We did not bring the world to this point. But do Black revolutionaries have time to discuss it? Is it not best to leave such things to those who have the privilege to worry about the global environment and not whether a police officer will kill them at a traffic stop, or after barging into their home in the middle of the night based on bad intel? I would argue that, in regards to this threat and any other, white people can and will not save us. Have you seen the news on climate change? White people cannot save themselves- they cannot even agree amongst themselves if the threat exists. 

Yet the global working classes (even those who carry the label of “white”), the marginalized and the colonized, do not have the privilege of these debates. Wealth will not insulate us from the worst. We have seen Katrina, and how its effects upon communities were proportionate to their wealth and racial make-up, and we should understand that Katrina is just the first sign of what's to come. Already, the air we breathe, the food we consume and the water we drink have a detrimental relationship with the life-spans of the urban poor; the very earth is weaponized against us. For the moment She has only fired warning shots and her real rage is barely apparent. It is, however, on the horizon. Who will feel it worst, I wonder? 

The authors of the study offer us some hope aside from Star-Trek like voyages into space. According to them, we live in an “economical” society, which tends to value the welfare of a few privileged components over that of the entire system. Extrapolating a bit, it is indeed clear that not only do we see “humanity” as somehow separable from nature, but that the wealthy and powerful in particular have conceptualized themselves as a group apart from the rest of us, well, peasants as well. What is needed, according to the study’s authors, is a transformation into a society that values the whole as much as the parts and that works for the sake of the all instead of the few. Such a society does not make false dichotomies between people and nature, or between the proletariat and the nation, or even between nations themselves. We are all integrated into a single system in which each part supports the existence of all the others, and to understand one person in their fullness is to, by necessity, see the whole. 

I am for, and will always be for, the existence and welfare of the Black community. I would just like to point out that without a healthy planet there are no communities, Black or white, and that Black liberation without planetary liberation is nonexistent. We live and die with our mother; we live and die, in fact, with trees. Which is a wonder, because I’m willing to bet that most of the diaspora in industrialized nations, living our lives so characterized by atomization and isolation, walk by them every day without a second thought. Your true body, though, does not end with your body. I challenge you: the next time you walk down a park, a block or a city street, notice the trees. They are you. One being, one fate. 

Link to quoted study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63657-6.pdf

#liberation #revolution #black #black culture #environment #BLM #racism #socialism #capitalism #nature #trees #climate change #global warming #deforestation #ecology

[holdmyhopeinyourhands]

Thank you for your response.

Why do you think she didn't do any research on it, and if she didn't do that wouldnt that also go for the other cultures and religions she utilised as well, right? But the outcry is mostly about the Arabic and Islamic elements.

I guess she just wanted to show how diverse her clothes are? But most people seem only to be upset about Islamic part? Isn't that hypocritical? And it's not like she is a white chick dressing up as an Native American, appropriating applies to the dominant ethnicity/culture/religion not to another minorities.

Maybe her intention was to show that Islam is part of mainstream and that it belongs to her, like LGBTQ+, Christianity and other Arabic elements? Cuz it was all mixed together.

I've seen responses that criticise her for using it in a show that is all about sexual expression, sexual freedom, considering that so many Islamic countries repress sexual expression, especially women's sexuality and are very homophobic and transphobic, so mixing these things seems offensive to people, like she was downplaying this part. I personally disagree cause gay Muslim obviously exist and muslim who like to express their sexuality. You know what i mean? It's not one monolith, it's a diverse group of people.

I get what you mean and thanks again for your response but unfortunately I still don't see how she is islamophobic.

There is a lot to address and talk about here and I really appreciate how much thought you have put into this luv. But you gotta give me some time to come back and address this. It's kinda late here and I would hate to answer you in a halfassed way and just confuse you more.

But also just for your last point. I don't think she is islamophobic. I think her actions are. There is a difference. At least to me. People constantly like to jump the gun and call someone something when maybe it's done out of ignorance rather than malicious intent.

Now, if someone can't acknowledge their action as problamatic and double down on what they did, then I can say that they are racist or islamophobic etc.

Anyways, I also think (ugh here I go again actually answering the ask even though I said I couldn't right now. I'm hopeless). Anyways, I think people are more outraged as a muslim community because of the constant abuse we're facing right now.

Ok, here is an example.

You know when you have that stereotypical gay character on tv? And everyone is pissed about it because "wtf why can't the representation of gay characters be more diverse?"

And then someone jumps in and says well, there is stereotypical white characters there too or stereotypical cis cheerleaders etc etc.

But they are missing the entire point. Because for white men and women (cis, straight) they already have so many different forms of representation. Characters from all walks of life etc so when you portray one character as stereotypical (white kid + school shooting) it doesn't represent their entire image. It doesn't paint them over with one single brush.

While for that stereotypical gay character. Gay people might only have very few chance at representation so for all their representation to be one dimensional, stereotype, it's damaging.

So, what I'm trying to say here with this wackass, maybe confusing example is that Muslim people have already faced so much abuse here. Been portrayed as if all they know is oppression, that they are backward, uneducated, uncivilized people, so to then have your religion (that you were being hated for) taken by someone else, twisted and used for a show. And to then see that person be applauded for it..... it's basically a slap in the face.

The west hate islam so long as it's ours. But love to twist and use it whenever they want cultural or religious points.

Rihanna knows shit all about Islam (looked it up so I'm not spouting bullshit here) and one cannot show respect or appreciate anything if you don't know where it comes from. Like I can't in good conciousness go and integrate a Native American prayer in a musical I'm making for example, without knowing anything about what it means and what it stands for. Just thinking about doing that makes me sick inside.

And as for lack of outcry for other religions. I didn't feel comfortable arguing on their case. Even though I also feel that appropriating their religions is also wrong and should not be happening. I guess what makes this slightly different for me is that Islam is consistantly painted in such a negative light in western media. Rarely do you see us portrayed as normal human beings. While Christianity and Hinduism don't often suffer from the same negative rhetoric. Does that make sense?

So it pissed me off that I can be hated for my religion but if Rihanna uses the same words that I would have been hated for, to sell her shit, she'll be applauded for it. Like how is that right?

I wish we could reach a place in the world were we can all comfortably use and show appreciation for one another's religion and cultures, but so long as the people who originally practice something are hating for doing so, I don't think it's fair on those same people not to have the right to be pissed seeing someone misrepresent and misuse their heritage/culture/religion and see those people doing that be applauded for it.

And you're right in when you say muslim countries are highly homophobic, transphobic etc. Even racism is rampant in certain Arabic countries. And God, it's depressing and frightening to see how minority group struggle and fear for their lives their. It's messed up and cruel and evil and it needs to be addressed and aknlowdged so that things can change and people can move forward. So that one day it wouldn't be unthinkable for minorities to live happily and proud in their countries of origin.

But that's a discussion for another day because that whole situation is multilayered and I have so much to say about it, it would take me forever to express it.

What I'm currently talking about is the west. And their responsibilities to their minority groups. Because yeah, here muslims are the minority. Here they are the once suffering abuse and crualty and I find it highly inappropriate for Rihanna to go about using Islam in a way that both shows her ignorance but also shows how little she cares about educating herself on whatever she chose to appropriate. At the end of the day, she did it because it was different and fun or whatever. But religion or islam in this instant isn't something muslim people in the west can just use and then put aside whenever they want like she did. So while you have every right to support her and not see her as someone who did something wrong. I also think we as a muslim community here in the west also have right to be just tired of it all. Hating us for being muslims in one breath and then using the same religion for aesthetic or artistic purposes in another. It's infuriating.

I'll come back to this in the morning or after I get off work becuase I'm not sure if I said everything I needed to say, but yeah. This is my thought on it.

(Slightly off topic because this always surprises people and I want to share it)

Also fun fact the three biggest muslim countries aren't even Arabic. So it's bizarre to hear people think that islam is centered around arabic people and only they are being offended. Like I don't speak Arabic, there are white majority muslim countries out there as well like..... kinda funny how American media has managed to convince everyone that brown people = muslim. When there are so many muslim countries out there that are either black, Asian or white

#racism #rihanna #ask #anon #hope this makes sense anon dear

[things2mustdo]

In order for a nation to survive, two critical emotions must be controlled. Contrary to popular belief, these emotions are not fear and greed—although these are very important to control, as well. Rather, it’s masculine aggression and feminine vanity that must be controlled…and we are doing a terrible job at this.

Unfortunately, over the past 70 years, we’ve seen sex roles and gender dynamics completely turned on their heads. Rather than men and women working together to create better relationships, more functional families, and more powerful countries, we’ve been pit against one another by toxic ideologies and ruthless demagogues.

It is not enough to simply know what is happening, however—we must know precisely how it’s happening, step by step, and more importantly, WHY it’s happening. In this article, I will explore why our society has gone so downhill so fast, and potential solutions we can integrate to remedy it (if we can save it, at all).

The Two Forces

As I said previously, there are two very delicate forces which must constantly be counter-balancing one another, and anytime they grow unbalanced, there will be chaos. These two forces are, of course, masculine aggression and feminine vanity. Too much masculine aggression, and a country becomes war-torn, unable to run itself or stay stable long enough to produce any sort of civilization (think the Middle East).

Too much feminine vanity, however, and the opposite occurs. Men become reclusive, because women become far too difficult to deal with. This is why we’ve seen the rise of the sigma male over the past 20 years—men who refuse to attach themselves to any sort of social hierarchy. They’re not alpha, beta, or omega. They just do as they do, without adhering to any sort of social group or workplace hierarchy.

As feminine vanity grows excessive, female hypergamy is given reign to run loose. Rather than men and women developing healthy relationships with one another, women become so conceited that they refuse to “settle” for anyone less than an alpha male Chad Thundercock, and thus we have a surplus of angry, bitter women who hit the wall at 30 and end up childless and alone.

It’s so obvious that it should go without saying, that we are currently in a serious imbalance. For far too long, masculine aggression has been hampered and stomped down by our effeminate school system, our brainwashing devices (aka TV’s), and our mass media control system. All the while, these things have encouraged women to do as they please, without any consequences or thought of their actions on a larger, societal scale.

Restoring the Balance

Balance will be restored, one way or another. There are only two ways for this imbalance to possibly be restored, and most men here will acknowledge, at least implicitly, that this is the case:

Men in OTHER COUNTRIES restore the balance (by coming here en masse)

Men in THIS COUNTRY restore the balance (by not being pussies)

Those are the only two options. There is no third option, where women somehow magically stop giving men 500,000 shit tests a day and step down to become good, faithful girlfriends, wives, and mothers. This will not happen. When a society reaches this critical imbalance, only one of two things can happen.

Of course, we all know what the elites (oy vey!) are pushing for. They want to bring millions of aggressive, young, fighting-age men to this country, to supposedly help combat “population decline.” We all know that this is complete horse shit, and that their true motive is to destroy America.

Even so, with the full force of the elites raining down upon us, there is hope. Over the past two years, we’ve seen more masculine energy emerge and come to the front of our socio-political battlegrounds than arguably any other time in history. For the first time in the past 70 years, men are reclaiming their manhood.

Let me reiterate that this is the only option. There is no magical world where everything just works out great, where we have millions of violent, aggressive 20-something-year-old men come into this country, and we retain our values as an Anglo-Saxon country. No. This will not happen. We either get our acts together, collectively, as men, or we watch our nation burn.

The Path Forward (2018-2020)

The next two years are of critical importance. We have collectively, successfully memed the most brutally alpha and pro-American president into office arguably since Ronald Reagan. This is not an opportunity that we can afford to squander—we must all begin proactively restoring the balance of masculinity in this country, from the top down, otherwise our nation will perish to globalists and their dumb, but useful allies.

There will be resistance, as there is whenever masculinity tries to assert itself. Pay no attention to this resistance. Simply follow the advice which the manosphere advocates for:

Create an income independent of a massive, bureaucratic, globalist corporation

Increase your testosterone levels (start by avoiding foods that kill testosterone)

Lift weights, and become physically able to stand up for yourself

Proactively participate in the upcoming midterms, and the Presidential Election of 2020

Do everything you can to red pill those who are ready (emphasis on them being ready)

If we, collectively, as a group of thousands of like-minded men all across the nation can successfully pull this off, we will see a resurgence of economic, political, and social growth which will have been unprecedented.

If we do not pull it off however, and our nation succumbs to the manipulations of the elite, a far more grim and sinister future will play out.

The Alternative

If we do not successfully reclaim the balance of masculine aggression and feminine vanity in this country, all will be lost, and we will be forced to either live through hell, or leave our homelands. Here’s what to expect over the next decade or so, if a social justice warrior is elected President in 2020, and we lose the culture wars:

Increasing surveillance over the internet

More thought crime policies instituted into law

The figurative castration of men all across the country

Eventual race wars, or religious wars, spurred on primarily by Islamic migrants

This is non-negotiable. If we lose the culture wars to SJW’s over the next several years, we will begin to see lobbying to shut down any and all manosphere websites dedicated to spreading the truth. We have already seen PayPal, YouTube, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Google begin to censor people like Roosh, Alex Jones, Donald Trump, and other conservative/red pilled speakers. We cannot afford to stand this any longer.

If we lose these mediums to the globalists, they will easily gain the support of the public to institute thought crime policies into our legal system. You have a book by Bronze Age Pervert, that Amazon can track from your order history? NAZI SCUM! You’re going to prison. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t actually hurt anyone in any way shape or form, because you had an opinion that the globalists dislike.

As this begins to happen, men will self-imprison all over the nation. Some will fight, of course, and maybe win (if we’re lucky). Others will leave and attempt to gain citizenship in more male-friendly countries such as Denmark, Austria, and Poland. The rest will be forced to hang their heads in perpetual shame.

Eventually, as the population of third world migrants explodes, and tribalism is exacerbated by the polarizing media, we will begin to see rampant terrorist attacks, which are already happening in Germany, The UK, and other nations around the cucked European Union. Inevitably, this will end in a civil war.

It’s Our Choice

I have presented to you the only two choices that we have, and to me, the decision is quite simple. We can either sit around passively, and squabble amongst ourselves over stupid theories and philosophies, or we can take action to better ourselves and improve the stance of our nation.

The choice is clear to me. We either succumb to globalist propaganda, see the death of masculinity in the West, and see freedom of speech die as it is destined to do, or we fight back and create a better future. Some may say this is melodramatic. I would say that a mere cursory glance at history will prove otherwise.

Read Next: Cultural Collapse Theory: The 7 Steps That Lead To A Complete Culture Decline

It was Joe’s first date with Mary. He asked her what she wanted in life and she replied, “I want to establish my career. That’s the most important thing to me right now.” Undeterred that she had no need for a man in her life, Joe entertained her with enough funny stories and cocky statements that she soon allowed him to lightly pet her forearm.

At the end of the date, he locked arms with her on the walk to the subway station, when two Middle Eastern men on scooter patrol accosted them and said they were forbidden to touch. “This is Sharia zone,” they said in heavily accented English, in front of a Halal butcher shop. Joe and Mary felt bad that they offended the two men, because they were trained in school to respect all religions but that of their ancestors. One of the first things they learned was that their white skin gave them extra privilege in life which must be consciously restrained at all times. Even if they happened to disagree with the two men, they could not verbally object because of anti-hate laws that would put them in jail for religious discrimination. They unlocked arms and maintained a distance of three feet from each other.

Unfortunately for Joe, Mary did not want to go out with him again, but seven years later he did receive a message from her on Facebook saying hello. She became vice president of a company, but could not find a man equal to her station since women now made 25% more than men on average. Joe had long left the country and moved to Thailand, where he married a young Thai girl and had three children. He had no plans on returning to his country, America.

If cultural collapse occurs in the way I will now describe, the above scenario will be the rule within a few decades. The Western world is being colonized in reverse, not by weapons or hard power, but through a combination of progressivism and low reproductive rates. These two factors will lead to a complete cultural collapse of many Western nations within the next 200 years. This theory will show the most likely mechanism that it will proceed in America, Canada, UK, Scandinavia, and Western Europe.

What Is A Cultural Collapse?

Cultural collapse is the decline, decay, or disappearance of a native population’s rituals, habits, interpersonal communication, relationships, art, and language. It coincides with a relative decline of population compared to outside groups. National identity and group identification will be lost while revisionist history will be applied to demonize or find fault with the native population. Cultural collapse is not to be confused with economic or state collapse. A nation that suffers from a cultural collapse can still be economically productive and have a working government.

First I will share a brief summary of the cultural collapse progression before explaining them in more detail. Then I will discuss where I see many countries along its path.

The Cultural Collapse Progression

1. Removal of religious narrative from people’s lives, replaced by a treadmill of scientific and technological “progress.”

2. Elimination of traditional sex roles through feminism, gender equality, political correctness, cultural Marxism, and socialism.

3. Delay or abstainment of family formation by women to pursue careerist lifestyles while men wait in confused limbo.

4. Decreasing birth rate among native population.

5. Government enactment of open immigration policies to prevent economic collapse.

6. Immigrant refusal to fully acclimate, forcing host culture to adopt external rituals and beliefs while being out-reproduced.

7. Natives becoming marginalized in their own country.

1. Removal of religious narrative

Religion has been a powerful restraint for millennia in preventing humans from pursuing their base desires and narcissistic tendencies so that they satisfy a god. Family formation is the central unit of most religions, possibly because children increase membership at zero marginal cost to the church (i.e. they don’t need to be recruited).

Religion may promote scientific ignorance, but it facilitates reproduction by giving people a narrative that places family near the center of their existence.[1] [2] [3] After the Enlightenment, the rapid advance of science and its logical but nihilistic explanations into the universe have removed the religious narrative and replaced it with an empty narrative of scientific progress, knowledge, and technology, which act as a restraint and hindrance to family formation, allowing people to pursue individual goals of wealth accumulation or hedonistic pleasure seeking.[4] As of now, there has not been a single non-religious population that has been able to reproduce above the death rate.[5]

Even though many people today claim to believe in god, they may not step inside a church but once or twice a year for special holidays. Religion went from being a lifestyle, a manual for living, to something that is thought about in passing.

2. Elimination of traditional sex roles

Once religion no longer plays a role in people’s lives, the stage is set to fracture male-female bonding. It is collectively attacked by several ideologies stemming from the beliefs of Cultural Marxist theory, which serve to accomplish one common end: destruction of the family unit so that citizens are dependent on the state. They achieve this goal through the marginalization of men and their role in society under the banner of “equality.”[6] With feminism pushed to the forefront of this umbrella movement, the drive for equality ends up being a power grab by women.[7] This attack is performed on a range of fronts:

medicating boys from a young age with ADHD drugs to eradicate displays of masculinity[8]

shaming of men for having direct sexual interest in attractive and fertile women

criminalization of normal male behavior by redefining some instances of consensual sex as rape[9]

imprisonment of unemployed fathers for non-payment of child support, rendering them destitute and unable to be a part of their children’s lives[10]

taxation of men at higher rates for redistribution to women[11] [12]

promotion of single mother and homosexual lifestyles over that of the nuclear family[13] [14]

The end result is that men, confused about their identify and averse to state punishment from sexual harassment, “date rape,” and divorce proceedings, make a rational decision to wait on the sidelines.[15] Women, still not happy with the increased power given to them, continue their assault on men by instructing them to “man up” into what has become an unfair deal—marriage. The elevation of women above men is allowed by corporations, which adopt “girl power” marketing to expand their consumer base and increase profits.[16] [17] Governments also allow it because it increases their tax revenue. Because there is money to be made with women working and becoming consumers, there is no effort by the elite to halt this development.

3. Women begin to place career above family

At the same time men are emasculated as mere “sperm donors,” women are encouraged to adopt the career goals, mannerisms, and competitive lifestyles of men, inevitably causing them to delay marriage, often into an age where they can no longer find suitable husbands who have more resources than themselves. [18] [19] [20] [21] The average woman will find it exceedingly difficult to balance career and family, and since she has no concern of getting “fired” from her family, who she may see as a hindrance to her career goals, she will devote an increasing proportion of time into her job.

Female income, in aggregate, will soon match or exceed that of men.[22] [23] [24] A key reason that women historically got married was to be economically provided for, but this reason will no longer persist and women will feel less pressure or motivation to marry. The burgeoning spinster population will simply be a money-making opportunity for corporations to market to an increasing population of lonely women. Cat and small dog sales will rise.

Women succumb to their primal sexual and materialistic urges to live the “Sex and the City” lifestyle full of fine dining, casual sex, technological bliss, and general gluttony without learning traditional household skills or feminine qualities that would make them attractive wives.[25] [26] Men adapt to careerist women in a rational way by doing the following:

to sate their natural sexual desires, men allow their income to lower since economic stability no longer provides a draw to women in their prime[27]

they mimic “alpha male” social behavior to get laid with women who, without having an urgent need for a man’s monetary resources to survive, can choose men based on confidence, aesthetics, and general entertainment value[28]

they withdraw into a world of video games and the internet, satisfying their own base desires for play and simulated hunting[29] [30]

Careerist women who decide to marry will do so in a hurried rush around 30 because they fear growing old alone, but since they are well past their fertility peak[31], they may find it difficult to reproduce. In the event of successful reproduction at such a later age, fewer children can be born before biological infertility, limiting family size compared to the historical past.

4. Birth rates decrease among native population

The stage is now set for the death rate to outstrip the birth rate. This creates a demographic cliff where there is a growing population of non-working elderly relative to able-bodied younger workers. Two problems result:

Not enough tax revenue is supplied by the working population in order to provide for the elderly’s medical and social retirement needs.[32] Borrowing can only temporarily maintain these entitlements.

Decrease of economic activity since more people are dying than buying.[33]

No modern nation has figured out how to substantially raise birth rates among native populations. The most successful effort has been done in France, but that has still kept the birth rate among French-born women just under the replacement rate (2.08 vs 2.1).[34] The easiest and fastest way to solve this double-edged problem is to promote mass immigration of non-elderly individuals who will work, spend, and procreate at rates greater than natives.[35]

A replenishing supply of births are necessary to create taxpayers, workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers in order to maintain the nation’s economic development.[36] While many claim that the planet is suffering from “overpopulation,” an economic collapse is inevitable for those countries who do not increase their population at steady rates.

5. Large influx of immigration

An aging population without youthful refilling will cause a scarcity of labor, increasing that labor’s price. Corporate elites will now lobby governments for immigration reform to relieve this upward pressure on wages.[37] [38] At the same time, the modern mantra of sustained GDP growth puts pressure on politicians for dissemination of favorable economic growth data to aid in their re-elections. The simplest way to increase GDP without innovation or development of industry is to expand the population. Both corporate and political elites now have their goals in alignment where the easiest solution becomes immigration.[39] [40]

While politicians hem and haw about designing permanent immigration policies, immigrants continue to settle within the nation.[41] The national birth rate problem is essentially solved overnight, as it’s much easier to drain third-world nations of its starry-eyed population with enticements of living in the first-world than it is to encourage the native women to reproduce. (Lateral immigration from one first-world nation to another is so relatively insignificant that the niche term ‘expatriation’ has been developed to describe it). Native women will show a stubborn resistance at any suggestion they should create families, much preferring a relatively responsibility-free lifestyle of sexual variety, casual internet dating via mobile apps, consumer excess, and comfortable high-paying jobs in air conditioned offices.[42] [43]

Immigrants will almost always come from societies that are more religious and, in the case of Islam with regard to European immigration, far more scientifically primitive and rigid in its customs.[44]

6. Sanitization of host culture coincides with increase in immigrant power

While many adult immigrants will feel gracious at the opportunity to live in a more prosperous nation, others will soon feel resentment that they are forced to work menial jobs in a country that is far more expensive than their own.[45] [46] [47] [48] [49] The majority of them remain in lower economic classes, living in poor “immigrant communities” where they can speak their own language, find their own homeland foods, and follow their own customs or religion.

Instead of breaking out of their foreigner communities, immigrants seek to expand it by organizing. They form local groups and civic organizations to teach natives better ways to understand and serve immigrant populations. They will be eager to publicize cases where immigrants have been insulted by insensitive natives or treated unfairly by police authorities in the case of petty crime.[50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] School curriculums may be changed to promote diversity or multiculturalism, at great expense to the native culture.[56] Concessions will be made not to offend immigrants.[57] A continual stream of outrages will be found and this will feed the power of the organizations and create a state within a state where native elites become fearful of applying laws to immigrants.[58]

7. Destruction of native culture

This step has not yet happened in any first-world nation, so I will predict it based on logically extending known events I have already described.

Local elites will give lip service to immigrant groups for votes but will be slow to give them real state or economic power. Citizenship rules may even be tightened to prevent immigrants from being elected. The elites will be mostly insulated from the cultural crises in their isolated communities, private schools, and social clubs, where they can continue to incubate their own sub-culture without outside influence. At the same time, they will make speeches and enact polices to force native citizens to accept multiculturalism and blind immigration. Anti-hate and anti-discrimination laws will be more vigorously enforced than other more serious crimes. Police will monitor social networking to identify those who make statements against protected classes.

Cultural decline begins in earnest when the natives feel shame or guilt for who they are, their history, their way of life, and where their ancestors came from. They will let immigrant groups criticize their customs without protest, or they simply embrace immigrant customs instead with religious conversion and interethnic marriages. Nationalistic pride will be condemned as a “far-right” phenomenon and popular nationalistic politicians will be compared to Hitler. Natives learn the art of self-censorship, limiting the range of their speech and expressions, and soon only the elderly can speak the truths of the cultural decline while a younger multiculturalist within earshot attributes such frankness to senility or racist nostalgia.

With the already entrenched environment of political correctness (see stage 2), the local culture becomes a sort of “world” culture that can be declared tolerant and progressive as long as there is a lack of criticism against immigrants, multiculturalism, and their combined influence. All cultural identity will eventually be lost, and to be “American” or “British,” for example, will no longer have modern meaning from a sociological perspective. Native traditions will be eradicated and a cultural mixing will take place where citizens from one world nation will be nearly identical in behavior, thought, and consumer tastes to citizens of another. Once a collapse occurs, it cannot be reversed. The nation’s cultural heritage will be forever lost.

I want to now take a brief look at six different countries and see where they are along the cultural collapse progression…

Russia

This is an interesting case because, up to recently, we saw very low birth rates not due to progressive ideals but from a rough transition to capitalism in the 1990’s and a high male mortality from alcoholism.[59] [60] To help sustain its population, Russia is readily accepting immigrants from Central Asian regions, treating them like second-class citizens and refusing to make any accommodations away from the ethnic Russian way of life. Even police authorities turn a blind eye when local skinhead groups attack immigrants.[61] In addition, Russia has also shown no tolerance to homosexual or progressive groups,[62] stunting their negative effects upon the culture. The birth rate has risen in recent years to levels seen in Western Europe but it’s still not above the death rate. Russia will see a population collapse before a cultural one.

Likelihood of 50-year cultural collapse: Very low

Brazil

We’re seeing rapid movement through stages 2 and 3, where progressive ideology based on the American model is becoming adopted and a large poor population ensure progressive politicians will continue to remain in power with promises of economic redistribution.[63] [64] [65] Within 15 years we should see a sharp drop in birth rates and a relaxation of immigration laws.

Likelihood of 50-year cultural collapse: Moderate

America

Some could argue that America is currently experiencing a cultural collapse. It always had a fragile culture because of its immigrant foundings, but immigrants of the past (including my own parents) rapidly acclimated into the host culture to create a sense of national pride around an ethic of hard work and shared democratic values. This is being eroded as a fem-centric culture rises in its place, with its focus on trends, celebrities, homosexuality, multiculturalism, and male-bashing. Natives have become pleasure seekers with little inclination to reproduction during their years of peak fertility.[66]

Likelihood of 50-year cultural collapse: Very high

England

While America always had high amounts of immigration, and therefore a system of integration, England is newer to the game. In the past 20 years, they have massively ramped up their immigration efforts.[67] A visit to London will confirm that the native British are slowly becoming minorities, with their iconic red telephone booths left undisturbed purely for tourist photo opportunities. Approximately 5% of the English population is now Muslim.[68] Instead of acclimatizing, they are achieving early success in creating zones with Sharia law.[69] The English elite, in response, is jailing natives under stringent anti-race laws.[70] England had a highly successful immigration story with Polish immigrants who eagerly acclimated to English culture, but have opened the doors to other peoples who don’t want to integrate.[71]

Likelihood of 50-year cultural collapse: Very high

Sweden

Sweden is experiencing a similar immigration situation to England, but they possess a higher amount of self-shame and white guilt. Instead of allowing immigrants who could work in the Swedish economy, they are encouraging migration of asylum seekers who have been made destitute by war. These immigrants enter Sweden and immediately receive social benefits. In effect, Sweden is welcoming the least economically productive people in the world.[72] The immigrants will produce little or no economic benefit, and may even worsen Sweden’s economy. Immigrants are turning some parts of Sweden, such as the Rosengard area of Malmo, into a ghetto.[73]

Likelihood of 50-year cultural collapse: Very high

Poland

From my one and half years of living in Poland, I have seen a moderate level of progressive ideological creep, careerism among women, hedonism, and idolation of Western values, particularly out of England, where a large percentage of the Polish population have emigrated for work. Younger Poles may not act much different from their Western counterparts in their party lifestyle behavior, but there nonetheless remains a tenuous maintenance of traditional sex roles. Women of fertile age are pursuing relationships over one-night stands, but careerism is causing them to stall family formation. This puts a downward pressure on birth rates, which stems from significant numbers of fertile young women emigrating to countries like the UK and USA, along with continued economic uncertainties faced from transitioning to capitalism[74]. As Europe’s “least multicultural” nation, Poland has long been hesitant to accept immigrants, but this has recently changed and they are encouraging migrants.[75]  To its credit, it is seeking first-world entrepreneurs instead of low skilled laborers or asylum seekers. Its cultural fate will be an interesting development in the years to come, but the prognosis will be more negative as long as its young people are eager to leave the homeland.

Likelihood of 50-year cultural collapse: Possible

Poland and Russia show the limitations of Cultural Collapse Theory in that it best applies to first-world nations with highly developed economies. They have low birth rates but not through the mechanism I described, though if they adopt a more Western ideological track like Brazil, I expect to see the same outcome that is befalling England or Sweden.

There can be many paths to cultural destruction, and those nations with the most similarities will gravitate towards the same path, just like how Eastern European nations are suffering low birth rates because of mass emigration due to being introduced into the European Union.

How To Stop Cultural Collapse

Maintaining native birth rates while preventing the elite from allowing immigrant labor is the most effective means at preventing cultural collapse. Since multiculturalism is an experiment with no proven efficacy, a culture can only be maintained by a relatively homogenous group who identify with each other. When that homogeneity breaks down and one citizen looks to the next and does not see a person with the same values as himself, the culture falls in dis-repair as native citizens begin to lose a shared means of communication and identity. Once the percentage of the immigrant population crosses a certain threshold (perhaps 15%), the decline will pick up in pace and cultural breakdown will be readily apparent to all observers.

Current policies to solve low birth rates through immigration is a short-term fix with dire long-term consequences. In effect, it’s a Trojan-horse prescription of irreversible cultural destruction. A state must prevent itself from entering the position where mass immigration is considered a solution by blocking progressive ideologies from taking hold. One way this can be done is through the promotion of a state-sponsored religion which encourages the nuclear family instead of single motherhood and homosexuality. However, introducing religion as a mainstay of citizen life in the post-enlightenment era may be impossible.

We must consider that the scientific era is an evolutionary maladaptive feature of humanity that natural selection will accordingly punish (i.e. those who are anti-religious and pro-science will simply breed less). It must also be considered that with religion in permanent decline, cultural collapse may be a certainty that eventually occurs in all developed nations. Religion, it may turn out, was evolutionary beneficial to the human race.

Another possible solution is to foster a patriarchal society where men serve as strong providers. If you encourage the development of successful men who possess indispensable skills and therefore resources that are lacked by females, there will be women below their station who want to marry and procreate with them, but if strong women are produced instead, marriage and procreation is unlikely to take place at levels above the death rate.

A gap between the sexes should always exist in the favor of men if procreation is to occur at high rates, or else you’ll have something similar to the situation in America where urban professional women cannot find “good men” to begin a family with (i.e., men who are significantly more financially successful than them). They instead remain single and barren, only used occasionally by cads for exciting casual sex.

One issue that I purposefully ignored is the effect of technology and consumerism on lowering birth rates. How much influence does video games, internet, and smartphones contribute to a birth decline? How much of an effect does Western-style consumerism have in delaying marriage? I suspect they have more of an amplification effect than being an outright cause. If a country is proceeding through the cultural collapse model, technology will simply hurry the collapse, but giving internet access to a traditionally religious group of people may not cause them to flip overnight. Research will have to be done in these areas to say for sure.

Conclusion

The first iteration of any theory is sure to create as many questions as answers, but I hope that by proposing this model, it becomes more clear why some cultures seem so quick to degrade while others display a sort of immunity. Some countries may be too far down the wrong path to be saved, but I hope the information presented gives concerned readers ideas on protecting their own culture by allowing them to connect how progressive ideologies that may seem innocent or benign on the surface can eventually lead to an outright collapse of their nation’s culture.

[simplelittlebrowngirljae]

What being a black student at a PWI taught me

I grew up in working class family. My father was in the military and my mother was a civil servant. Neither had went to college, but they did have job training. My sister was a first generation college student of our immediate household, although I had an aunt who had her PhD and her daughter had gone to college and had her Master’s and was officer in the Air Force, we didn’t speak much about college in my family until it was time for my sister to graduate. I went along on college tours, financial aid nights and many other things associated with getting ready for the college experience. It was very exciting to see what this was all about because this was not anything we had ever experienced. My mother became ultra-educated and an advocate for my sister and wanted to get the most for our dollar and the best experience possible for my sister’s college years. My sister ultimately landed on attending Norfolk State University, and urban Historically Black College and University or HBCU for short. She also received a prestigious scholarship. When the time came, we dropped her off the short 30 minute drive and wished her well. She came home virtually every weekend or we went over there to attend events and football games and I got to see what it was like to be in college too. And I learned what things I wanted in a school and started to think about if I even wanted to attend college.

College was a foreign concept because many of my peers came from these legacies of college graduates from specific schools and that is all the spoke about, even when I was in middle school. They pretty much already knew where they were going because their parents graduated from a specific school, and their grandparents graduated from there and their great grandparents graduated as well. I was not so lucky and had to do so much research about degree programs and campuses and what I actually wanted in a school because well, college just didn’t run in my family like that. While yes my sister went to college, and I had an aunt and a cousin who attended school, we just didn’t openly discuss life after high school except that you had 3 options: get a job, go to school or join the military. I knew I couldn’t join the military because I was flat footed and had asthma so it was get a job or go to school. If I wanted any type of future, I was told going to school was the path I should take. So I started exploring colleges and then I took the SAT’s and ACT’s and school brochures started flooding my mailbox. I started making a list of schools I wanted to see because of what they offered. I attended local alumni events of schools to chat with past students and get a feel if that school could be for me.

The summer before my senior year I took a road trip to visit several schools in South Carolina and North Carolina. I loved them but then my mom broke my heart and told me if I go too far away from home I wouldn’t be able to come home like I want. So I started to factor distance into my choices. As my senior year began, I started looking at schools close to home and there was one school in particular that was just AMAZING and I fell in love with. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was just different. It was in an urban setting and just yelled ‘’Hello Opportunities”. I went to the campus many times, worked hard and applied. I received acceptance letters from so many schools and waited anxiously for my decision from VCU. The day it came I was beyond elated I almost hit the roof! I was ready to start this next chapter of my life.

Now, I applied to a variety of schools, to include HBCUs and PWIs or Predominantly White Institutions. I didn’t even think about if a school was an HBCU or a PWI. I just applied based on how their programs ranked. I wanted a good education. And honestly when counselors were working with us, that did not even come up and my counselor was black and graduated from an HBCU. So why does it matter? I will tell you why. In this day in age, it is almost as if you are judged about your blackness by where you went to college or the things you did while in college. HBCUs do provide a very unique experience and are the pillar of the black community, I will say that. There is a magic and wonder that is unparalleled, especially at their sporting events and homecomings. I will say I did not have that where I attended college. And HBCUs were there when White schools would not allow us to attend. I respect them. However, it was not for me. I visited several and did not feel at home. When I walked on VCU’s campus I felt at home. And that is why I chose to attend. But because I chose to attend a PWI does not mean I do not support HBCUs. I 100% do. And because I did not attend an HBCU does not mean I am any less of a black person. I am still very black, please remember that. I have been made fun of and criticized for my choices, or told I am not really black because I went to a PWI and didn’t pledge as well ( meaning join a black sorority during my time there. That is not true either. Newsflash: you can attend a PWI and be black and not join a sorority or fraternity and maintain your blackness. My choice to attend was to grow myself and learn things and well, all of that happened. Let me share what I learned during my 4 years there:

 1. I can hold a diverse conversation- While at VCU, I came across some unique individuals. And for that reason I have had to adapt and adjust my conversations and ways of talking to many situations. I am grateful to have been in an environment that allowed to experience such because it has made me more aware of the population I am engaging with and tune into sensitive to topics of conversation, in addition forcing me listen to understand and not just respond.

 2. I am very cultured – VCU is one the most diverse schools in the world. We actually have a campus in Qatar! We have so many countries represented it is just overwhelming! I remember checking into my dorm and seeing people from India, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Laos, Israel, Nigeria, Puerto Rico among other countries and it just blew my mind. Where I am from, we had some diversity, but nothing as rich as this! With so many diverse cultures I learned about different traditions, their food and other great things. Around campus we had food from these different cultures as well. I remember tasting Indian food for the first time, and then Thai and then Venezuelan. It was like “whooooaaa… what have I been missing my whole life?!?!”

 3. I know how to network- now, not saying I would not learn this at an HBCU but I had many an opportunity to attend so many events at the State Capital and with other officials which has made me learn to network and engage with others. These opportunities have been unparalleled and I am beyond grateful to have attended this institution and to have had mentors who worked hard to present these opportunities to us students.

 4. I have refined my public speaking skills- this is self-explanatory. I had to give umpteenth presentations and take God knows how many classes on public speaking, but I am thankful for the rigorous curriculum that was provided to me that made me refine these skills. With my public speaking skills also came great research skills so I am grateful for that as well.

 5. I learned about topics I would have never imagined to include veganism, Islam, Celiac’s disease, and various holidays- this is pretty self-explanatory. Being around so much diversity and around many unique persons allowed me to learn about many different things. So many things I had not been exposed to and I was beyond thankful to have been in an environment to learn, experience and understand.

 6. I met my best friend who is from a totally different county and culture than myself- my best friend is form Sudan and is Muslim. She has taught me so much it’s unreal. Like I learned about different foods, about Africa, about Islam, the Quran, and not just learned about these things but have developed a strong respect from African culture and Islamic culture. She is one of the best things to happen to me and I swear I learn so many things from her every day…yes you read that correctly, I learn something new daily from her.

 7. I was presented with many opportunities to travel and participate in conferences and events- many of my professors belonged to many organizations and would speak at many conferences, they would have spaces available to take us to conferences with them and we would get credit for it! So I was able to travel to several conferences and meet amazing people and learn about various career paths and how to integrate what we were learning into the real world. All of that was invaluable.

 8. I learned it is okay to ask for help – this was a big one. I found myself in many a situation where things were not going as planned and I was epically failing. And my pride would not let me ask for help. But then things got so bad to where I had no choice. The crazy thing is, I should have asked for help sooner because I would have been better off. Like, those who were providing the help were more than kind and more than gracious and wanted to help. So the moral of the situation, don’t let your pride stand in the way of you getting what you need.

 9. I learned that therapy is great and not a bad thing- in Black culture, therapy is shunned. And we often suffer in silence. I was very stressed out one semester and it came out as anger. So I went to the Student Counseling Center and go help. It was the best thing I ever did. At VCU, they publicize and encourage students to use counseling services. It is a beautiful thing. Never feel ashamed of needing therapy. It is there to help you, not harm you.

 10. I learned a lot about poverty and its effect on communities and America- VCU is an urban campus. The downfall of that is that there is a large homeless population that roams around the campus. Many of these persons have mental illness, and in a few of my courses we learned about whey people are homeless and how the resources for those with mental illness are almost nonexistent once they are discharged from inpatient care. We also learned how community mental health is a joke as well and many families often disown their family members who have mental illness because it becomes too much. We also learned that there are some homeless people who are actually not homeless and who have a lot of money and who just sit on the corner asking for money for fun. It was quite interesting to learn about such. On the flip side of all that we learned about the ‘working poor’ which are folks who may be working and barely providing for themselves but they live in substandard housing but cannot afford much else. We learned about the implications of such on public health and it taught me so much and guided my whole career essentially. Because of where VCU is located we actually got hands on service learning in such topics and it made our education worthwhile.

 11. I learned about drugs, alcohol, their distribution and economic impact in society – so many men would hang out on campus during the day trying to pick up women. And the sad part is, many were drug dealers and these young innocent girls did not know. After a while one would pick up on such, however we wouldn’t engage them to the point of a relationship. I would say I would engage theme enough to learn about drugs, and how they system worked and that was enough. Ladies, just know everything that glitters isn’t gold and you should respect yourself enough to walk away from situations. Know better, do better.

 12. I learned that self-care is imperative – we all take on so many things and it can get overwhelming. I learned in my 4 years it is essential to take breaks and set boundaries in order to protect your peace. People may get mad but you cannot pour from an empty bucket.

 13. I learned it is okay to not have it all figured out- college is supposed to be the best time of your life. However, as you get closer to graduation things get a bit scary. And there are some people who expect you to have it figured out. Well guess what, it is okay to not have it figured out. VCU had a great internship program and Career Services department. And it was mandatory for me to have a 700 hours of an internship to graduate and go to the Career Center 3 times before I graduated. I learned that it was okay not to have a concrete plan during these times. I learned that sometimes the plan you had will change direction because of circumstances. And that made me feel great.

14. I learned to hold my own- because there were so many races and cultures, I had to hold my own. I had to ensure my voice was heard among the other while still portraying a positive image. I broke stereotypes and learned to outshine others. I learned to be loud without saying a word. Sometimes I was the only black female in a class but I learned to be comfortable with that and how to contribute in my own way. I learned from my professors who looked like me and who didnt look like me and it made me a stronger woman...it molded me to be the woman I am today.

 15. I became comfortable in my own skin- this is the biggest lesson I learned. I have always been judged for how I look and how I talk. I have been called white girl, told I talk white criticized for how I dress among many other things. But being in this unique setting at VCU taught me it was okay to be me. There was nothing wrong with how I dressed or spoke or the music I listened to or any of that. I am fearfully and wonderfully made and all of these things make me who I am. I am no blacker because of my likes and dislikes or how I talk or because of my hobbies. And that alone is worth gold.

 Now, am I saying that I could have only learned these lessons at a PWI? No. But I know that my experiences at my school made me who I am and even made me more comfortable in being a black female in today’s world. I feel more prepared to handle certain situations because of my situations which caused me to learn certain things. My experience was amazing. Now, if giving advice to a young black student trying to choose I would tell them this: explore your options, do your research, pick the school that feels most comfortable to you. It can be an HBCU or a PWI. But don’t ever think that going to a PWI makes you less black. You are black regardless of your choice.

#awareness #hbcu #pwi #educated #melaninated #blackgirlmagic #melaninmagic

[floa12]

A rant about representation

I recently saw a post on Marvel's Hero Project and I think it's incredible how Marvel (and Disney) have been integrating representation into a lot of their Disney+ content. Marvel's Hero Project is really cool because each episode focuses on a member of the youth that is a real life hero and stands up for really great causes. They've got kids fighting for lgtbq+ rights and kids advocating for disabilities and the homeless, but one thing they don't have is a Muslim kid. Now that isn't to say that in later episodes they won't have one, but as a Muslim and full time hijabi (a Muslim woman who covers her hair with a headscarf and wears modest clothes that covers most of her body) it's getting increasingly frustrating for all these TV shows and movies to get applauded for representation when I rarely, if ever, see any positive Muslim representation. Now I'm mostly gonna be touching on representation of Hijabi woman because I feel that is the most prominent and most easily recognizable image of a Muslim person to the general media.

First, I want to talk about a couple examples of representation that have really got me going (bad and good). I'm gonna start with Halo from Young Justice, mostly because I did a post about how much I appreciated her and am low key regretting it. Obviously they fucked that up and I can't put into words how disappointing it was to see her character lose sight of being Muslim (not that they made it very important to begin with) but I mean I guess I was blind sighted by the fact that she was a hijabi when really that was the only give away that she was Muslim at all. On the other side of the spectrum we have Kamala Khan, who is everyone's go to Muslim representation. I myself am a fan of Ms.Marvel but I can't help but find fault with her representation. I don't want to take away the fact that she's a Pakistani American practicing Muslim but I do want to point out that the fact that she's Muslim isn't really super vital to her story plots. It's a lot about her inhuman abilities and genes. This is a small detail to have a problem with, especially considering people are reading her comics to see a superhero in action and not the domestic day to day problems of a Muslim girl. Really I guess my biggest issue with her is that she doesn't wear a headscarf. I know this is something I'm sure will bug a lot of people that I'm picking on, because after all any representation is better than no representation, but it's the fact that being Muslim is something that she is known for and yet she doesn't fit the image of a Muslim woman in a way that most people would recognize. I'm not invalidating any of my non hijabi sisters, I'm just saying it's a lot easier to recognize a Muslim in a crowd if they're wearing a hijab, so to have a character that is Muslim and not have her look like someone anyone person would immediately recognize as Muslim is a little :/. Both these characters also to wildy different degrees help check off the representation box without having a lot of evidence to support it. (Please don't misunderstand this as hate for Kamala, I love her and am super proud of her as a character, I just think there should be more characters and done better.)

Getting away from animated/cartoon characters I want to talk about Ramy, a sitcom on Hulu, and Amira on Druck, part of Skam. Ramy is this sitcom on Hulu that revolves around a young Muslim Egyptian man and the struggles he encounters while trying to reconnect with his faith of Islam. I love this show and encourage people to check it out because it's created by Ramy Youssef who also stars in it. It's a wonderful show that is super relatable for young Muslim people who struggle with being part of American society and practicing their faith, also it's fucking funny. The show also has serious episodes about his sister and mother and how much a double standard can exist in some Muslim households. I know a lot of conservative Muslims who would HATE this show because it constantly shows Ramy sinning. But I love this show because it's relatable and real and in the end Ramy tries his best (more or less) to be a good Muslim. It shows you the inside of some Muslim practices like Ramadan that a lot of people might be ignorant about. Now before I talk about Amira I just want to say I'm not the most informed on Druck or Skam and the only things I really know for sure is that they do a lot in the way of positive representation. I just wanted to touch on Amira really quick because from what I've seen of her I'm in love. Just from a purely aesthetic point of view the way she fucking wraps her scarves and wears her clothes in the MOST fashionable ways while staying modest and covering her body is a breathe of fresh air (also I'm super jelly). Her arc also shows her struggle with falling for someone who isn't as strong in their beliefs as she is and how that strengthens instead of weakens her. She stays true to being a Muslim and learns how to integrate that aspect of herself into her social life. Imane from Skam is also a great example as well because she is not a full time hijabi and they show how much being Muslim means to her and how much she identifies as such and makes sure people know. It's also a great side to see because it shows her interested in dating a non Muslim and how she naviagtes that and it's lovely. I really love seeing these characters because they show me that despite there being so little representation for Muslims some people are coming around and they're proof that we're getting there...really fucking slowly.

This summer I was fortunate enough to intern at Cartoon Network in Atlanta and I got to attend an event that hosted one of the PR members involved with Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Something he really wanted to hear about from the young audience (all highschoolers) was things that they loved about Cartoon Network but also things they could improve on. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people complained that CN lost the subtle edgy humour that was brought by their early 2000s shows, but what really stuck out to me is when a close friend of mine stood up and told him that while Cartoon Network was doing a great job on representation, they were far from perfect because full representation wasn't accomplished until every kid who tuned in could see a version of themselves on TV. I think it's amazing that we have shows that include LGBT couples like in Steven Universe and I love ALL the forms of representation we get in Craig of the Creek, but everytime I see them pump out a new show I get dissapointed to see the lack of Muslim characters. Now that isn't to say I don't get excited everytime I watch We Bare Bears or Craig of the Creek and I see a hijabi in the background, but obviously that is far from real representation. Of course I'm not criticizing CN only (they just are farther ahead than Disney and other channel's in my opinion), I'm waiting for Netflix to release a show where I get to see a hijabi woman who practices Islam and is proud of her religion and I can't help but wonder when seeing a practicing Muslim on TV will be trendy and cool and mainstream. Anyways this got long and I guess I'm just sad that representation of any group of minorities isn't where I hoped it would be in 2020.

tldr: the Muslim representation that we get is far from enough and in a lot of cases can hardly qualify as completely accurate representation and I'm tired of it.

edit: I forgot about Imane from Skam!!

#muslims #hijabis #representation #cartoon Network #halo #Druck #druck amira #young justice halo #ramy youssef #ramy #kamala khan #marvel #disney #hero project #disney+ #dc #muslim #islam #post #minorities

[creepingsharia]

How a Pakistani/Islamic Lobby took over Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign sabotaging his aspirations

It’s not by chance that many young Muslim politicians across America have emerged from the Bernie Sanders circuit. It’s by design. They have hijacked Bernie Sanders infrastructure, funding and ground game to win elections, knowing he won’t be around very long.

Excerpted from: “How a Pakistani/Islamic Lobby took over Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign sabotaging his aspirations”

...

While foreign policy is always Bernie's Achilles Heel, it had minimal impact in 2016 as he was focusing his domestic policies as the center of his movement.

However, there was an interesting dynamic of Arab Muslims from Michigan and Minnesota showing interest in Bernie Sanders partly because of his views on Israel-Palestine and endorsement of Keith Ellison. Qatar's state-owned media Al Jazeera did its part warning Muslims to not vote for Hillary and openly endorsing Bernie Sanders as a choice for Muslims.

After the failed campaign in 2016, the planning stages for making progressive movement permanent one and Bernie's 2020 presidential bid has begun.

Sometime in 2017, Bernie Sanders and his associates made a grave mistake of miscalculating this phenomenon as a way to consolidate all Muslim American voters to support him. This comes at a time, Saudi Wahhabi funding in the United States is in full swing and Islamic lobby is now a well-oiled machine ready for prime-time waiting for the right opportunity to seize political power in the United States. A record number of Muslim Americans ran for office in 2018 enjoying endorsement and support from Bernie Sanders, "Our Revolution" and "Justice Democrats".

With the success of 2018 midterms especially with Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib elections, the underlying sentiment that Muslim voter consolidation would help Bernie Sanders campaign gets validated. Decisions were made, campaign staffing has begun and ground-level organization is underway. The only problem is Michigan and Minnesota has highest concentration Arab Muslims and this trend would not necessarily hold true across United States. This decision later would result into shenanigans that further contributed to loss of millions of Indian American and Jewish American votes who traditionally vote democrats.

As if it's match made in heaven, Pakistan was already in full swing in hiring lobby firms in order get more influence in American politics especially with FATF decision to place Pakistan in "grey-list" with irrefutable evidence that Pakistan is harboring terrorists as a weapon against India and countering growing influence of India within the United States. Bernie Sanders campaign is the perfect vehicle to achieve its goals. Enter 2020 Bernie's Presidential campaign manager - Faiz Shakir.

The curious case of Faiz Shakir:

Jeff Weaver, 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign manager did a phenomenal job of closing 60 points with Hillary Clinton. That's a great feat considering Bernie Sanders, an unknown independent senator from Vermont with virtually no name recognition. Jeff is a close friend of Bernie Sanders for decades who is also ideologically similar to Bernie Sanders.

However, Faiz Shakir was appointed as campaign manager in February 2019 to lead 2020 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. This came as surprise as Faiz Shakir was part of the same establishment Bernie has been fighting all his life. Faiz started his career as a junior staffer for John Kerry presidential campaign in 2004. In 2005 he started working for the Center for American Progress for over a decade which is an establishment organization led by Neera Tanden. In addition to that, he was a close associate of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Faiz was also ardent supporter and part of Hillary Clinton campaign in both 2008 and 2016 primaries. So how this establishment insider has become 2020 Bernie Sanders campaign manager? A dishonest alliance between Progressive movement and Islamic/Pakistani lobby trying to achieve it's foreign policy goals.

Faiz Shakir's goal was to build to an Islamic campaign according to his own Wikileaks email. Bernie Sanders campaign was the perfect opportunity for allowing him to do so. This was further documented in another Wikileaks email below.

Faiz Shakir, a first-generation Pakistani American is a Muslim-advocate in the United States. He mostly gets positive press because he was part of establishment think-tanks like Center for American Progress and his media called ThinkProgress. He is often seen as an inspiring figure by the left referring to him as a "civil rights advocate" as he is National Political Director for ACLU. Ironically he got the job through a recommendation from John Podesta but not by merits, according to leaked Wikileaks email below.

Ironically Faiz Shakir's wife Sarah Miller is part of network of Pierre Omidyar, former eBay billionaire, media mogul, who deserves his own article. In short, he likes Neo Nazis and loves conflicts around the world.

He was also seen mocking Bernie Sanders for his ideology like -

"yeah, my favorite part is how he connects is to "billionaire families" in the Arab world. Always goes back to the billionaires. Hilarious. It sounds a bit too much like "our war in Syria and Iraq is ultimately a battle to reshape Islam". We'd lose that one. But I like the direction he's going. Maybe you could one-up him with: "ISIS is trying to behead Islam" (kidding, don't do that)"

So how was Bernie Sanders taken for a ride and fooled into hiring Faiz Shakir? The answer lies

in as much as Bernie Sanders is against lobby-ism, he was part of the game where he failed to realize lobby-ism exists in the progressive spectrum as well. Pakistan Intelligence agency secretly funnels millions of dollars to political leaders indirectly, like the shocking incident in 2018 where Federal agents took prominent Pakistani American into custody over proven illegal funneled lobbies over Kashmir policy.

Regarding Faiz Shakir's history, In 2002 he earned a bachelor’s degree in government at Harvard University, where he was a member of the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS). In 2000, Shakir served as a co-chair for HIS’s Islamic Awareness Week events, one of which was a fundraiser for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), a group that acted as the fundraising arm for Hamas in the United States. HLF was later shut down by the feds, and its leaders were found guilty of sending money to Hamas, which has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of States.

Shakir co-authored the “Fear Inc.” report, which implicitly claimed that Islamophobia was the product of a Jewish conspiracy, and wrote positively about the Tunisian Islamist Al-Nahda Party and its genocidal head, Sheikh Rashid Ghannouchi, who has engaged in blatant anti-Semitism and has said, “There are no civilians in Israel. The population—males, females, and children—are the army reserve soldiers, and thus can be killed.”

Fatal Downward spiral of Bernie's campaign:

Linda Sarsour's surrogate appointment:

The red flag of controversial Sharia Law proponent Linda Sarsour surely made several progressives scratch their heads, but her comments like "waging jihad against the United States" never raised eyebrows in Bernie's Campaign. In 2011 she famously mocked Islamic female genital mutilation victim - Ayaan Hirsi Ali that "She’s asking 4 an a$$ whippin’. I wish I could take their vaginas away- they don’t deserve to be women". She is a strong proponent and open advocate of Sharia law. She is so controversial that even women's march cut ties with her due to her anti-semite/radical Islam views and close ties with the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Matt Duss's foreign-policy advisor appointment:

Matt Duss like Faiz Shakir comes from the family of Center for American Progress and ThinkProgress, it is widely believed that Faiz Shakir is the reason why he was pulled into Bernie Sanders campaign.

Matt Duss is everything opposite to what Bernie Sanders stands for, he is a strong proponent for RussiaGate, a debunked theory democrats failed to materialize. Matt Duss is the reason Bernie Sanders engages in out of place narrative that Russia hacked 2016 elections which ironically used against him now. He scripted Bernie Sanders foreign policy from Venezuela to Russia.

Bernie Sanders abrupt affiliation and appearances with "Islamic Society of North America" (ISNA):

Founded by Muslim student organizations tightly linked to Muslim brotherhood in 1963, Bernie Sanders began supporting these conventions starting from 2017 and even attended for a speech in 2019.

But Karnabro, you are just being an islamophobe, what's wrong with attending Islamic convention? A normie reader might ask.

I have no problem with Islamic conventions, but Bernie Sanders being champion of LGBT rights giving validation to the organization who banned LGBT groups as recently as in 2017 on the grounds of "religious and private event" is what I have problem with. He also took the opportunity to share his second-hand ill-advised opinion on India-Pakistan Kashmir issue, sharing the stage with Pakistan's PM Imran Khan. Faiz Shakir used his connections to make the coalition of Pakistan's PM Imran Khan and Bernie Sanders happen, especially in the sensitive Kashmir Issue. Ironically the issue where Kashmir was integrated into India protecting LGBT rights and minorities by removing autonomous existing sharia law rules.

Bernie's abrupt change in foreign policy outlook regarding India and Kashmir:

Bernie Sanders. who never spoke about India-Pakistan's Kashmir issue in his entire career in started putting out narratives about how Kashmir is should be freed from India failing to understand the complex history of the issue that originated in 1947. His comments consistently criticized India's decision to integrate Kashmir under Indian law from status-quo Sharia law. This is an uncharted territory where a US presidential candidate interfering with a sovereign democratic country's internal issues which are India's, especially when they are based on flawed and misguided arguments. The final nail in the coffin for any Indian-American support happened just before Super Tuesday where Bernie Sanders weighed in violent Delhi riots which were orchestrated by Indian Muslims, where the riots led to the majority of casualties who are Indian Hindus. The grave mistake committed by Bernie Sanders is that he tweeted this below. Ironically the article he tagged doesn't mention that it's "anti-Muslim mob violence" as the fact is that it's anti-Hindu mob violence where the majority of Hindus were killed including an Indian Federal intelligence officer who was stabbed 200 times.

There is a reason why historically presidential candidates don't indulge in polarizing foreign policy, especially in the areas where they are not knowledgeable. There is a reason why Obama had bromance with Modi in 2015. Modi is a popular leader who Indian establishment/media hates, but ultimately loved majority of Indians because of his progressive policies.

Read more about Modi.

Bernie Campaign's Collusion with Pakistani establishment and government:

Bernie Sanders who indulged in Russiagate in the past, found himself to be in similar position except, the collusion is now between Bernie's campaign and Pakistan.

Bernie Sanders and Pakistan's PM Imran Khan shared the same stage in 2019 ISNA convention sharing identical views on India's internal issues like Kashmir.

During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Houston, Bernie Sanders personally took some time off in order to write an oped about India in Houston Chronicle, a stunt which surprised many as Bernie choose to write an oped regarding Indian Foreign Policy instead of opeds that explain his policies to American voters. This is a blunder in a presidential campaign in modern history, as Bernie who was favorite to win Texas managed to lose the primary to Joe Biden. Considering Modi's event in Houston attracted 50000 audience, probably the best way to lose hundreds of thousands of Indian American votes in order to appease a foreign government, Pakistan. Thanks to Faiz Shakir, Bernie's campaign manager getting the priorities straight.

Following is one of thousands of pro Bernie banners that one can find in Pakistan, promoted by Pakistan's government. One can understand why cash strapped Pakistani government choosing to spend on behalf of Bernie Sanders campaign in Islamabad, Pakistan. Once again, thanks to Faiz Shakir.

Bernie Sanders campaign's coordinated attack on Tulsi Gabbard:

Tulsi Gabbard was an early supporter of Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. It came as surprise to Indian Americans as Bernie surrogates started coordinated attacks against beloved Tulsi Gabbard which are inherently Hinduphobic and false smears. This religious bigotry expressed by Bernie surrogates towards Tulsi Gabbard probably would not go well with millions of Indian Americans who support her.

Out of place anti-Indian and pro-Pakistani shenanigans within Bernie's campaign:

After the launch of Bernie's presidential campaign, there was a weird trend of campaign insiders courting fringe elements like Sameera Khan, a well known Pakistani propagandist who idolizes Stalin, Pakistan and China's fascist policies. Ironically she is popular among Bernie supporters even though she is anti-Bernie when it comes to Pakistan-China nexus.

Mehdi Hasan who was against Bernie till 2019, suddenly becomes Bernie Sanders fan. He is a great individual with some amazing views.

Ro Khanna validating a hinduphobic Khalistani troll - Pieter Friedrich. Learn more about the rising 2020 Khalistani movement here.

Ro Khanna's weird pro-Pakistan signaling by joining Congressional Pakistan Caucus even though he is not Pakistani.

Pramila Jayapal abrupt attempt to hijack a US official meeting with Indian diplomat where she was not invited regarding the issue of Kashmir.

Appointment of Khalistani terrorism sympathizer Arjun Sethi as a campaign surrogate. Learn more about Khalistani terrorist movement.

Conclusion:

While Bernie Sanders and his close associates lack the critical thinking about avoiding getting taken over by Pakistani/Islamic lobby, it is unfortunate for millions of progressives that progressive movement is dead as they know it.

#Elections #Islam #Muslim #Sharia #Jihad #Immigration #Legal #Politics #News #Media

[miraculousmidnightreviews]

The Last Girl Review

The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State

By Nadia Murad

5/5 stars

While some progress has been made in the fight against ISIS, as argued by Nadia Murad in The Last Girl, the problems in Iraq cannot be clearly divided along a line that is determined to label every Muslim as a terrorist. In fact, Murad approaches the controversial topic from a new outlook: the rise of the Islamic State and its supporters has been years in the making, ever since American intervention took down Saddam Hussein and his Baathist institutions. She also explains the situation in Iraq as a religious persecution as ISIS targeted members of religious minorities living in the nation, including Murad herself. In her book, Murad not only argues for the dismantling of the Islamic State but also the humanization and protection of the innocent people who still remain under ISIS control. Her powerful memoir deserves more attention as it is a necessary read in order to fully understand the inner workings of Iraq’s many religious sects as well as a different and relevant, non-western feminist perspective of women living in the Middle East. Through her narrative style, Murad effectively persuades her audience of the need for religious acceptance of the Yazidi people and on a larger scale, the prosecution of the Islamic State for genocide.

Split into three parts, the memoir begins with a historical account of Iraq that explains the rise of ISIS. Starting with Saddam Hussein’s control over the nation and its eventual liberation by Americans in the early 2000s, Murad paints a historical backdrop that informs the reader of decades of political unrest and recurring violence, interwoven with anecdotes from her childhood and the days leading up to the ISIS capture of her village, Kocho. From the tension between political parties, like the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to the growing separation between Yazidis and their Sunni Arab neighbors, one is lead to believe that it was only a matter of time before the temporary bubble of peace that Murad had lived in her entire life popped.

The second section of the memoir begins with the corralling of Murad and her village into the public school. That day, six of her brothers along with the rest of the male residents of Kocho were killed. Murad and the women and children were taken to a secondary location, where she and her young female relatives were separated from Murad’s mother. Murad would later find out that every elderly woman from Kocho, including her mother, was executed and buried in an unmarked grave. Meanwhile, Murad and the young women were sold into slavery, forced to become “sabaya” or sex slaves for ISIS soldiers and high-ranking officers.

After a failed attempt, Murad managed to escape for a second time and find a sympathetic Sunni Arab family that would hide her from ISIS. From this home, she contacted one of her brothers, who was outside the country at the time and able to smuggle her into Kurdistan controlled territory. While her brother worked to help their female relatives and other women escape enslavement, Murad became an activist against ISIS and human trafficking, later speaking in front of the United Nations and winning the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

An integral part of The Last Girl as well as Murad herself is the Yazidi religion, which should be protected and accepted across the world, as Murad argues. “Yazidis believe that before God made man, he created seven divine beings, often called angels, who were manifestations of himself,” according to Murad (27). One of these angels, Tawusi Melek (or the Peacock Angel), is the main being to which Yazidis pray and center their practices and celebrations around. However, many Muslim Iraqis consider Yazidis “devil worshippers,” scorning them and their practices for “reasons that have no real roots” in the stories of Yazidis (Murad 28). As a result of this hatred, “outside powers had tried to destroy [Yazidis] seventy-three times” before the genocide of Murad’s people in 2014 (Murad 6). It is this hatred and derision, Murad argues, that led ISIS to target Yazidis in their terrorist campaign. As a religious minority in Iraq, Yazidis relied on the relationship that they had with Sunni Arabs for protection. But as many Sunni Arabs turned to the Islamic State, Yazidis were left vulnerable to the whims of ISIS. As Murad conveys, the acceptance of the Yazidi religion, and religious tolerance on a broader scale, would further prevent the violence and persecution that often follows minorities.

In order to accept and protect Yazidis, one must first become educated on their religious practices and culture. Murad asserts that “Yazidism should be taught in schools from across Iraq to the United States, so that people understood the value of preserving an ancient religion and protecting the people who follow it” (300). In a broader sense, people who are better informed about Yazidism and its history as a persecuted community would be able to better help the Yazidis still under ISIS rule, especially the women forced into sexual slavery. The Last Girl is a moving story and a major contribution to understanding the role of transnational feminisms. It is important to note that while many Yazidi practices and the general attitudes in Iraq reinforce gender inequality, Murad is not arguing for a complete cultural upheaval of these practices and attitudes; she is pushing for what may seem like a small step to western feminists, but freeing the large Yazidi population of women still kept in sexual slavery is what is needed for the feminism that Murad practices, for the betterment of Yazidis, and for a longer path towards female empowerment in the Middle East.

Although Murad advocates for the prevention of Yazidi persecution through religious tolerance, she also wants justice for the crimes committed against her and her people. Murad argues that the Islamic State, “from the leaders down to the citizens who supported their atrocities,” should be put on an international trial for the genocide of the Yazidi people and other war crimes (300). Not only has ISIS executed the majority of Murad’s village, including her mother and brothers, but it has also committed horrific acts of cruelty and continues to do so today in the form of rape and other torture. Murad states that when she fantasizes about putting ISIS on trial, she sees her first rapist, Hajij Salman, captured alive, and as she further describes: “I want to visit him in jail [...] And I want him to look at me and remember what he did to me and understand that this is why he will never be free again” (177). For Murad, holding ISIS responsible for its crimes against humanity is not just for Yazidi justice, it’s personal, and reasonably so. No one should have to go through such unimaginable torture, especially without any form of justice.

In the epilogue of The Last Girl, Mura writes that “the UN finally recognized what ISIS did to Yazidis as a genocide” (304). But without a trial, justice does not exist for Murad and her people. Recognition is not enough. And the longer the UN waits to prosecute the Islamic State, more evidence of its crimes will continue to disappear. But for Murad, the time for waiting is over. Her memoir is not only a testament to her survival and her love for her people but also her unwillingness to let ISIS go unpunished. The Last Girl is evidence, Murad’s written evidence, of the Islamic State’s atrocities. As a survivor, this book is her way of holding ISIS accountable for its crimes. It is an act of defiance that will continue to be a relevant and necessary read for the public until ISIS is formally punished.

Murad’s memoir perfectly conveys her intentions through an effectively enticing narrative that urges the reader to better empathize with the struggles of the Yazidi people and understand the importance of prosecuting the Islamic State on a grand scale. Although this is not a revolutionary take on feminism, it is a compelling story that portrays a nation racked with terrorism in a new light. While Murad’s memoir educates as well as connects western readers to the plight of her people, it also highlights a path to resolving conflict in Iraq from the perspective of those who know the region and its culture best. In order to help her people, Murad argues that one must first understand her history and culture. While the punishment of ISIS is imperative, it is not enough to employ airstrikes on suspected terrorist headquarters. Organizations, like the Islamic State, will only continue to reform as violence, religious persecution of minority groups, and the poor treatment of women persists.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this review! Check out my other reviews here!

Credit: Murad, Nadia. The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State. New York: Tim Duggan Books, 2017.

#book review #book #books #the last girl #nadia murad #yazidi #islam #inclusive feminism #feminsim #book reviews #book review blog #review #bookreviews #2019 reads #2020 review #book reccs #miraculousmidnightreviews #book reccomendation #reading #book photography

[skamfrance]

Imane’s disappearing hijab

Warning: this is going to be a loooong post.

Some of you have been wondering why Imane is often seen without her hijab in Skam France. As many of you have pointed out, a hijab is something women who choose to wear it always have on in public spaces. To French viewers, the answer is obvious: Imane simply isn’t allowed to wear her hijab when she’s at school. If she came to school wearing it, she’d be asked to remove it. If she refused, she’d be sent home.

What you have to understand first is the French notion of laïcité, which is sometimes translated as “secularism”. It is a principle stated in the very beginning of the French Constitution (”France is a [...] secular Republic”. It is the principle of separation of State and religion, the State cannot recognise any religion above the others. You wouldn’t hear a French politician end a speech with a “God bless France” or anything like that.

Public schools in France are extremely secular. I was in public school my whole life, and I remember one time I visited a Catholic private school, and I was sat in class for two hours staring (and I mean staring) at the crucifix above the blackboard as if it had offended me - to me, it just didn’t belong in a school (and I was raised Catholic). Teachers aren’t supposed to know about their students’ religion and vice versa. Kids talk about religion between themselves, of course, but never really in detail (in my experience). The idea is that if people don’t know your religion, they can’t discriminate against you because of it.

The hijab issue started in september 1989, when three female students (aged ~13) were banned from their middle school for wearing the hijab. The school principal stated that the goal of the school was to limit the exteriorization of any particular religion, and urged the parents of the girls to respect the principle of “laïcité” in the school (which had a majority of Muslim students, btw). This was very controversial at the time, and it is still controversial now. Following this, there were a series of similar cases, some girls who didn’t usually wear the hijab came to school wearing them as a form of protest. The three girls were able to return to school when they agreed to take their hijabs off, but after about a month they started wearing them again and were banned from class. At the time, those who sided with the principal argued that if you lived in France, you had to conform with French traditions and principles (and follow “laïcité”). A lot of people also viewed (and still view) the hijab as a symbol of female oppression. Those who defended the girls didn’t argue with laïcité, but said that it was wrong to ban the girls from school, because that meant excluding them because of their religion. Petitions were signed, columns were written, everyone was talking about it.    

The government had to do something, so they asked the Conseil d’Etat (which is an instiution that advises the government on passing new bills) for their opinion in november 1989. The CE said that the “islamic veil, in a public school, was compatible with laïcité”, and that you could only expel or ban a student if they were a direct threat to the school or if they disturbed the activities of the school. So the Ministry of Education told teachers that it was their responsability to accept girls wearing the hijab or not, that it varied from one case to another. Of course that didn’t stop anything, students were still being banned. High school kids started protesting against the new policy, and several of them ended up being expelled from school. Between 1994 and 2003, about 100 girls were expelled from middle and high schools for wearing the hijab.

That’s where the law comes in. In 2003, the government organized a Commission (The Stasi Commission) on the subject. After about six months, they came to the conclusion that France had to establish “strict rules” so that people could live together in a multicultural society. So on March 15, 2004, the law was adopted. It states that all ostentatious signs of religion are banned from schools: that includes “the islamic veil, whatever name is given to it”, the kippa and large crosses (which no one wears anyway). Discreet signs are allowed (small chains with crosses, religious medals, star of David pendants, etc.). The law applies to both students and faculty members. It does not apply at the university level. In march 2012, Luc Chatel, the Minister of Education, allowed schools to ban veiled women from accompanying students on field trips (usually a few parents can come with their kid’s class on field trips). His successor, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said that parents should only be excluded if they were being disruptive, but that mothers couldn’t be banned simply for wearing the hijab. 

All public employees are banned from showing religious affiliation on the job (so no hijab for them either). In the private sector, a company can put restrictions on the hijab “if it goes against it’s image or commercial interest” (link is in French, sorry). Since 2010, full face veils have been banned from all public spaces, not because they are a religious sign, but because it is forbidden to cover your face in public, for security reasons. The penalty for wearing such a veil is a 150 euro fine. During the summer of 2016, there was another ridiculous debate on the burkini (swimming gear that covers the whole body), women were being banned from beaches for being too covered up. People argued that they were showing they belonged to another community, and that’s unacceptable for many French people.

Conclusion: the reason for banning the hijab is that France is obsessed with “integration” (if you come to France, you do as the French do). There is a desire for conformity that is omnipresent in French society in that everyone should adhere to a certain set of values, and laïcité is at the top of them. Religious affiliation is seen by some as slightly anti-French - are you first and foremost Christian? Jewish? Muslim? Or are you French? For some people, these are mutually exclusive. But of course, Catholicism is the “tradtitional” French religion, so while it’s still perceived a bit negatively to be too religious even for Catholic people, they don’t have to deal with the same discrimination as Jewish or Muslim people do. 

Don’t hesitate to ask if you have further questions!

#skamfr #skam france #imane bakhellal #hijab in france

[julaibib]

(This is the question about telling a story with marriage as topic) You can tell me any story, as long marriage/love is the topic. I can’t many of them in Islam, so that’s why I wanted you to maybe tell some. It can be between anyone! A prophet and their wife, a sahaba and theirs or someone else from Islam. Maybe an odd thing to ask someone to do, but I think people should learn more about marriage and relationships from the best of us, instead of media and celebrities.

Fatima was a woman of eighteen and full of energy and passion with a personality that matched her father more than anyone else. This did not go unnoticed and many men started to come forward to ask her hand in marriage. First came Abu Bakr, and he was kindly refused by the Prophet ﷺ. Then came Umar, who was also kindly refused by the Prophet ﷺ. Umar went to Ali and suggested that he ask for Fatima’s (RA) hand. Ali was very much in love with her. However, Ali did not think that the Prophet ﷺ would accept his proposal, as he was very poor, especially when he saw that the proposals of two Companions were rejected. Umar reminded him of his family relationship with the Prophet ﷺ and his position in Islam and Ali became convinced that he might have a shot.All Ali’s confidence melted away though when he finally got to the Prophet’s ﷺ house. He came inside, sat down and said nothing. “What is the matter, son of Abu Talib?” said the Prophet ﷺ. Ali was still too nervous to speak. The Prophet ﷺ asked again, “What is your mind, son of Abu Talib?” Again Ali said nothing. “You have come to ask for Fatima’s (RA) had in marriage, am I right?” Ali nodded. The Prophet ﷺ broke into a great smile and went and asked Fatima her opinion. When she approved, he told Ali that they accept his proposal. He then asked him if he had any dowry for her. Ali replied that he did not. “What about your shield?” asked the Prophet ﷺ? “It is worth barely more than 400 Dirhams,” said Ali. “I accept it as a dowry,” replied the Prophet ﷺ.And so Ali sold his shield for 400 Dirhams and with the dowry the Prophet ﷺtold Bilal to buy some perfume for Fatima (RA) and he told Um Salama to buy her some new dresses. On the day of their wedding, their zaffa included all the Companians- Anas Ibn Malik, Abu Bakr, Umar, Talhah, Zubair and other Ansar and migrant friends. The food was dates that were offered to the guests. The wedding zaffa took them from Madinah to the outskirts of the city where Ali had found a home, as he couldn’t afford a place in the city.

Their house was a humble small room. It had a bed, a pillow filled with date leaves, a plate, a glass, a leather water bag, and a grinding stone for grinding flour. On their wedding night, the Prophet ﷺ told Ali and Fatima to wait for him in their new house. After Isha prayer, the Prophet ﷺ went to their house and asked for some water, which he used to make wudu, supplication, and said, “ Oh Allah bless them and bless their offspring.” He addressed Ali as his brother and asked him to place his hand on Fatima’s (RA) head and repeat some duaas. He then placed Ali’s hand on Fatima’s hand and advised them how to honor each other as husband and wife. “Ali do not get angry, and if you do, sit down. Remember Allah’s power over His servants and His tolerance of their sins. If you are advised to fear Allah, abandon your anger and go back to your deliberateness.” After he had given them all the advice he was walking out the door when he turned and said to them that they should pray two rakkahs.So began the married life of Ali and Fatima (RA).

Fatima (RA) and Ali were very devoted to Islam and integrated Islamic principles in their daily lives. One day, they were breaking their fast, when there was a knock on the door. Ali asked who it was and the person replied “a poor, hungry man”. Ali and Fatima (RA) gave him all of their food and broke their fast with only bread and water. The next day, they were breaking their fast when there was another knock on the door. This time it was “an orphan who is homeless and starving.” Again Ali and Fatima (RA) gave him all their food and broke their fast with bread and water. On the third day, at the knock on the door there was “a captive.” Once again Ali and Fatima (RA) at only bread and water as they gave all their food to the man. It was said that these three people were all angel Jibreel who was sent to test the patience of Ali and Fatima (RA). It was also said that Jibreel told Prophet Mohammed ﷺ about this and informed him that Ali and Fatima (RA) will have a carriage of silver in Paradise. Some scholars believe that it was this incident that caused the revelation of this verse:{And they give food, in spite of their love for it [or the love of Him] to the needy, the orphan, and the captive [saying], ‘We feed you seeking Allah’s countenance only. We wish for no reward or thanks from you.} –Holy Quran, 76: 8-9

The story of Umm Sulaym and Abu Talhah

Among the great Muslim women who are known for their strength of character, lofty aspirations and far-sightedness in their choice of a husband is Umm Sulaym bint Milhan, who was one of the first Ansar women to embrace Islam.

She was married to Malik ibn Nadar, and bore him a son, Anas. When she embraced Islam, her husband Malik was angry with her, and left her, but she persisted in her Islam. Shortly afterwards, she heard the news of his death, and she was still in the flower of her youth. She bore it all with the hope of reward, for the sake of Allah (SWT), and devoted herself to taking care of her ten-year-old son Anas. She took him to the Prophet (PBUH), so that he could serve him (and learn from him).

One of the best young men of Madinah, one of the best-looking, richest and strongest, came to seek her hand in marriage. This was Abu Talhah – before he became Muslim. Many of the young women of Yathrib liked him because of his wealth, strength and youthful good looks, and he thought that Umm Sulaym would joyfully rush to accept his offer. But to his astonishment, she told him, “O Abu Talhah, do you not know that your god whom you worship is just a tree that grew in the ground and was carved into shape by the slave of Banu so-and-so.” He said, “Of course.” She said, “Do you not feel ashamed to prostrate yourself to a piece of wood that grew in the ground and was carved by the slave of Banu so-and-so?” Abu Talhah was stubborn, and hinted to her of an expensive dowry and luxurious lifestyle, but she persisted in her point of view, and told him frankly: “O Abu Talhah, a man like you could not be turned away, but you are a disbelieving man, and I am a Muslim woman. It is not permitted for me to marry you, but if you were to embrace Islam, that would be my dowry (mahr), and I would ask you for nothing more.” [Reported by al-Nisa’i with a sahih isnad, 6/114, Kitab al-nikah, bab al-tazwij ‘ala’l-Islam.]

He returned the following day to try to tempt her with a larger dowry and more generous gift, but she stood firm, and her persistance and maturity only enhanced her beauty in his eyes. She said to him, “O Abu Talhah, do you not know that your god whom you worship was carved by the carpenter slave of so-and-so? If you were to set it alight, it would burn.” Her words came as a shock to Abu Talhah, and he asked himself, Does the Lord burn? Then he uttered the words: “Ashhadu an la ilaha ill-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul-Allah.”

Then Umm Sulaym said to her son Anas, with joy flooding her entire being, “O Anas, marry me to Abu Talhah.” So Anas brought witnesses and the marriage was solemnized.

Abu Talhah was so happy that he was determined to put all his wealth at Umm Sulaym’s disposal, but hers was the attitude of the selfless, proud, sincere believing woman. She told him, “O Abu Talhah, I married you for the sake of Allah (SWT), and I will not take any other dowry.” She knew that when Abu Talhah embraced Islam, she did not only win herself a worthy husband, but she also earned a reward from Allah (SWT) that was better than owning red camels (the most highly-prized kind) in this world, as she had heard the Prophet (PBUH) say:“If Allah (SWT) were to guide one person to Islam through you, it is better for you than owning red camels.”[Fath al-Bari, 7/476, Kitab al-maghazi, bab ghazwat Khaybar.]

Such great Muslim women are examples worthy of emulation, from whom Muslim women may learn purity of faith, strength of character, soundness of belief and wisdom in choosing a husband.

Source Chapter 4: Ideal Muslimah Book

[therapy101]

Hi! I was just wondering if you (or your followers) have experience with Muslim clients. I’m Muslim, I’m seeing a therapist who is really great overall, but I have no idea how to approach or explain Islam to her. For me, my faith is a necessary part in healing. I’d like her to help me use it during session (which in general, I don’t know how that would work). It also doesn’t help she doesn’t seem to like religion. Any sort of insight you have on this half ramble half q would be appreciated

hi anon, it’s a great question! 

it’s definitely true that some therapists are more comfortable than others with incorporating religion into therapy. it’s not because religion isn’t supposed to be a part of therapy- it absolutely should be, if it’s important to you -I think it’s usually because therapists are taught to be impartial and not preaching (pun not intended!) one set of religious or political beliefs or another, and so sometimes therapists default to not discussing it at all. 

but it can absolutely be incorporated into your therapy. usually I ask clients broadly about religion while asking whether they have any cultural, spiritual, or other beliefs or values that are important to them that they want me to know about or would like to be incorporated into treatment. it’s helpful for me when religious clients are specific about what aspects of their religion is important to them, because different Muslims (or Christians or Jews or whatever other religious group members) can value different elements of their faith. Most often, religious clients I have (Muslim and otherwise) tend to talk about their connection with their religious community and engagement in religious practices, so we’ll build those things into our therapy. So for example, if the client is isolating a lot and that’s contributing to their depression, we might set a goal to attend one religious service a week, where for another client, it might be a social activity related to a hobby, or meeting a friend for dinner. Sometimes religious clients will identify specific values associated with that faith- like: charity or service, honesty or integrity, peace, forgiveness, etc. So then we can create or connect treatment goals and activities to those values. 

I hope this helps!

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