This is only a fraction of the issues the world is facing. This is not to say that Muslim’s are only facing hardship, I am simply trying to raise awareness about these specific countries. This post doesn’t cover all of it. Our brothers and sisters in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Albania, Kurdistan and so many more are still suffering. ⁣These are beautiful countries that are masked by war and famine.

All I hope from each of you is that you learn something new each day. If you’re reading this right now it is likely you come from a place of privilege. Use that privilege to educate yourself and stay informed on the issues this world is facing today. ⁣

⁣

what is happening in the MUSLIM WORLD

Palestine

Since 1947, Palestinians have been forced to flee from their homes, has their land ripped from them and their children murdered by Israel. The country has been removed from all maps.

https://donate.islamicreliefcanade.org/

Lebanon

After years in an economic crisis, an explosion in Lebanon has killed over 100 and injured thousands, also destroying parts of Beirut. Over 250,00 people are left homeless.

donate through the lebanese red cross https://www.supportIrc.app/donate/

Uyghur Muslims

Since 2018, China has been performing an ethnic cleansing, ripping Uyghurs from their homes and trying to brainwash them, forcing them to drink and eat pork and harvesting organs. This is the second largest genocide happening right now.

Yemen

The war in Yemen has left 16,000 dead and over 13 MILLION on the brink of starvation. The country is suffering from the largest humanitarian crisis. They are fighting an epidemic (Cholera), pandemic (Covid-19), a famine and a war.

https://donate.islamicreliefcanada.org/

Kashmir

For years, India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir, and although Kashmir wants to be independent, India still has control over it and India has detained innocent Kashmirs for just over a year, stopping them from seeing their families. They are under military lockdown.

Bangladesh

Nearly a quarter of Bangladesh is underwater according to NASA satellites, with hundreds of thousands displaced due to heavy rains/monsoons. Three out of five people in country are facing severe economic and health vulnerabilities. Bangladesh's ready-made garment sector accounts for 80% of the country's total export earnings, and has experienced a huge hit since the pandemic.

Indian Muslims

India's Muslim community have been subjected to discrimination, attacks and assault by right-wing Hindu nationalists. Since 1950 roughly 10,000 Muslims have been killed due to Modi promoting islamophobia, it's still going on.

Rohingya

Rohingya Muslims were ethnically cleansed, murdered, raped and on August 2017, a crackdown by Myanmar on the Rohingya Muslims meant that hundreds of thousands had to flee their homes, and since then they haven't been settled.

Afghanistan

Due to over 40 years of war, there are 2 million refugees and a lot of the country is in disrepair. Millions don't have access to healthcare, education, and everyday needs.

If u wanna know the difference between culture appropriation vs appreciation? Literally just look at what Angelina Jolie is doing —

Her visit to Pakistan? Everyone remember that?

Oh yeah, and she got a RIDICULOUSLY painful traditional tattoo from Thailand, done by monks like how it’s meant to be done.

And remember when she ate bugs in Cambodia while explaining that when Cambodians were starved of food, they relied on insects?

THIS is cultural appreciation

She isn’t doing it because she feels it’s fashionable, she is doing it because she really has a deep respect of diffrent cultures and their costumes.

She does research on what the traditions mean, where they come from and how to perform the properly.

My mum has six brothers. They all live in Pakistan- as does the rest of her family. I went there recently after ten years and saw them all. For the first time in my life, I believe I’ve seen true and undeniable love. All of my uncles are deeply in love with their wives, masha’Allah.

But one of my uncles in particular stood out to me. He is quiet and has a simple life; he lives in a modest home and has six children- four of whom are under the age of seven. They have goats and chickens in their courtyard, and there is constant hubbub. It took me time to realise his commitment to his wife because he is quiet and modest in that too. Slowly I realised that he never ever eats a meal without his wife. He will wait and wait and allow his food to become cold as she runs around and fusses over their children. His eldest daughter, Safiya, will often ask him to eat anyway but he refuses until his wife can eat with him because a meal is not enjoyable without her. He smiles and says ‘I’ve not eaten a roti without her for sixteen years and I don’t intend to start today’. Safiya rolls her eyes and brings her mum over then takes over whatever task her mum was doing.. but it’s evident that she has no problem doing this. The relationship her parents have is something she is very proud of and I know this because of how often she fondly spoke of it.

One night, she made me some chai over a small fire and we chatted until the early morning. She told me about her parents and how much her father values her mother. She was glowing with admiration and pride, and I couldn’t help but feel the same. Every morning before taking the children to school, he tells her mother she is as beautiful as a sparrow and every day she blushes and ushers him away- ‘jao!’ She says as she giggles. Their life is not easy though and Safiya explained to me that her mother can become silent and slow for days, unable to muster much joy. People talk about her in the village she says, but her father focuses only on his wife. In those times, he will ask his eldest children to look after the younger ones while he spends time alone with her. The two of them leave on his motorcycle, her arms wrapped tightly around him and her head resting gently on his shoulder. And then they come back and she slowly recovers.

Safiya told me many things; that she’d never ever heard her father raise his voice to her mother. That every Eid her father takes her shopping to pick a gift for her mother. That he agonises over it like it’s the first gift he’s ever gotten her. That her mother will call her husband at work every day at his lunch time, just to ensure he’d eaten. The list went on. She had a look of still contentment on her face the whole time she spoke of them. My heart surged and in my head I begged Allah to preserve and protect their love.

You know, I once read that the best thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother. But it was so significant to see the impact first hand. My cousins will know what kind of love they deserve after seeing it in their parents. It does not have to be loud and showy. It doesn’t need to be littered with big gestures.. it can be as tender and as simple as wanting to eat every possible meal together.

“A new trend has emerged in the [Western] fashion world. Or so they say. Fashion bloggers, stylists, and prominent members of the fashion industry are all talking about the ‘dress over pants’ trend, which Pakistanis have been sporting for as long as we can remember.”

I saw this Kendall Jenner tweet awhile ago on the internet and I remember thinking, “Hey that’s what us Pakistani and other South Asian women wear all the time; we’ve been wearing these for years. What’s so special about this?” and then I remembered that if you’re white, everything suddenly becomes sooooo chic and stylish!!! And when the rest of us wear it, we’re insulted or stereotyped, get nasty looks, racist remarks etc etc. I mean, I’ve seen a lot of other celebs in the West wearing clothes like this too and of course they all get praised by the media and fashion bloggers for starting some new and creative trends, but the rest of us get crap for wearing our original cultural clothes.

This dress is pretty common in Pakistan, and other South Asian countries. Pakistani women rock this look pretty well:

Why do they take our fashions and create some bland and boring version of them?

Here’s another article with historical and modern examples of South Asian (Pakistani and Indian) fashion of which these gorees stole, i mean….were “inspired” by lmao

http://www.comingoffaith.com/style/fashion/you-can-call-it-dress-over-pants-we-just-call-it-the-shalwar-kameez/

- Farah

Pakistanis and Indians do it so much better. Wtf is “dress over pants”

Bangladeshis, too!

There’s also the áo dài, which is the traditional Vietnamese dress.

I’ve never worn one, but they’re sold nearly everywhere in any Vietnamese community you’d encounter, especially where I live. “Dress over pants”, lmao

I was not familiar with the áo dài, those are gorgeous