A Muslim girl’s text to her father went viral, and for good reason…
A Muslim girl’s text to her father went viral, and for good reason…
A Muslim girl’s text to her father went viral, and for good reason…
Lamyaa, a 17 Muslim girl from Pennsylvania, who proudly wears the hijab, is used to being harassed about her Muslim faith (like most American Muslims these days).
On April 14th, she Tweeted an incredibly offensive text message that she had received. It read:
“Stop defending Islam [expletive] shut up you couldn’t take that scarf off or your dad would beat your [expletive].”
The text made Lamyaa decide to actually text her dad and tell him that she wanted to take off her hijab. She tweeted the exchange (which has now received over 140,000 retweets):
Her father’s response is what went viral:
“I have gotten many heartwarming messages of people showing me support, but also of people wanting to learn more about Islam or wanting to be a part of it,” Lamyaa says. “I felt like I could help in a way, and it was very humbling.”
“People believe that Islam is misogynistic, hateful, or violent, and I think that stems from their inability to differentiate culture and religion… Islam is a religion and, like all religions, it is what you bring to it.”
Her viral Tweet has shown the online world that the hijab is a symbol of empowerment as opposed to one of oppression.
“I wear my hijab because it is sacred to me,” Lamyaa says. “It displays my connection to my faith and God. When I have the hijab on, I act kinder and I am more aware of what I say and do. This is because not only am I representing myself, but I am representing a faith much bigger than me.”
You can see her tweet here:
https://twitter.com/lxmyaa/status/853047555764232192
