05
May
2008
27 Comments
"Not my Islam" shirt
More than a year ago, Lalith and I created a “Not My Islam” shirt. I got it for my family and friends. Recently my sister took some great photos of her wearing it (and yes I made her do it). I thought I’d plug them in here to inspire and encourage others to get it too so we can keep spreading this message along… indeed, this (terrorism represented by photo) is not our Islam, even if it happens in our name as Muslims!
So without further ado…
You can buy this shirt here.
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Great shirt!
Beautiful lady, expressive message
I feel hurt for those nice individuals like your sister for how misinterpreted they are due to the wave of terrorism. Good job dear:)
Nice! I mean the T-shirt of course.
with all due respect to the message, what is the picture of? because if its someone with a couple of guns, that doesn’t make them a terrorist. and it really doesn’t make them an islamic terrorist.
so just as a suggestion, i think it would make more sense to have a picture of something people claimed was done for islam or because of it, or someone who claims to be acting for islam or because of islamic reasons.
because i guess you’re two things. one, you don’t accept the doctrine of violence and terror being propagated by some islamists. but also that not all muslims are violent terrorists, right?
and if you’re saying people should not generalise, and assume that all muslims are terrorists, then you too should not generalise and put a picture which might not be a terrorist… which goes back to the initial. what’s the picture of?
Kali, the picture is quite clear and I did not expect to find myself explaining it to anyone due to it being pretty obvious. The guy has a Quran in his hand, and a machine gun in the other – yes that makes him a Muslim terrorist, and yes that makes him someone who commits violence in the name of Islam.
Doesn’t really make sense. The guy is obviously a Muslim terrorist and I don’t see any reason why someone should doubt that, he doesn’t exactly have a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He had identified himself as a “mujahid” – but not really, this is an example of an extreme perverse use of this word where you kill innocent people in the name of Allah, which is unacceptable, and a violent practice that has really butchered Quranic diction.
Esra’a, you’re proving over and over again that it will be up to women to bring about the change that will point in the direction of peace.
Or to put it another way; If women had balls, they’d be made of tungsten steel.
Nice shirt but I don’t think I’d have the courage to wear such a shirt in the U.S. lol
Danial
That is a starting point, we need to stick together to Pool the courage we need to have a Voice 
You have the courage to say that.
elinor, I see religion as a private matter. Wearing this shirt makes me look like I am advertising my faith openly.
No need to show the world that I am Muslim. Doesn’t make me less proud of being one.
Danial, then you obviously don’t get what message the shirt is trying to convey – it’s hardly advertising our faith. It’s just showing the world that this is not what many people think our faith is all about.
All the time people complain that not enough Muslims show their condemnation of terrorism – this is one of the ways of doing so, and if you don’t like it that’s fine, no one is putting a gun to your head asking you to wear it. But not everyone is going to condemn terrorism in the name of Islam via blogs, so condemning it in a more “in your face” fashion does make sense to me. It’s the same message through a different medium and frankly, I think there’s nothing wrong with that.
The shirt doesn’t say “I’m a Muslim,” it’s a message against terrorism in the name of Islam. Some people want to express their message through things like this; just let them, k?
Danial,
I know what you mean, you are not a person who identifies himself with the faith, perhaps you stress more on nationality, humanism oer other things identifying a person. But this shirt shows that many people, normal people who are not affiliated with any terrist organizations, being hurt by being classified as backers of these terrorists, merely because they are inehrently muslims. There are one billion muslims in the world and they do not back these terrorists, in fact many think that terrosim defiles their values.
Well said Elinor. Thanks for getting it.
You are welcome dear Esra’a
. Extemism can only affect people in a limited period of time. People essentially tend to lean toward life and better life, terrorims is unnatural, it is a malady and it will be treated, later on we will have the wisdom of preventing the uprise of such behaviors.
Terrorist wearing funny t-shirt to corrupt the minds of the innocent people of Christendom with a false message. This must be stopped!!!
PS: This photo must be photoshoped because, we all know that Mooslims wear ninja outfit 24/7.
Hmm, would be interesting to make a series of shirts, Not My Christianity, Not My Judaism, etc.
Mimi, there’s a “Not My Judaism” shirt and a “Not in My Name” shirt as well at http://www.cafepress.com/mey
Can I get one with a shrub trimmed to look like the President and saying, “Not my Bush?”
You can get one, Elephant, but it’s not a garden variety type of bush.
“Danial, then you obviously don’t get what message the shirt is trying to convey – it’s hardly advertising our faith. It’s just showing the world that this is not what many people think our faith is all about.”
Well, I’m sorry I’m not naive enough to assume a shirt will change perceptions of ours. Actions speak louder than words or a mere t-shirt.
That’s because they don’t give two shits about what normal Muslims think, because it’s easy to hate all of us than to realize that not all support this. Try living as a Muslim in a Western country Esra’a and then talk. No offense but you live in a country where you are the majority. It’s quite different when you’re a minority in a Western country.
Well I have the right to express my opinion, do I not? No need to get hostile here just because someone happens to have a different view of this than you do. If you like it, that’s your perogative, but don’t assume you can get hostile towards me because of it.
You want an “in your face” fashion? Here’s a better idea for others: being a law-abiding citizen and expressing your condemnations, not to mention holding anti-terror protests will do more than merely wearing a t-shirt. Hell, your efforts on this site do more than the t-shirt would.
I suppose Catholics should start wearing anti-pedophilia t-shirts to distance themselves from the actions of the priests by that logic.
I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it per se. I just feel that it would do nothing, but that’s just my take on it.
Don’t be so naive, it draws attention to the fact that the one wearing the shirt IS a Muslim, so frankly, it is in a way drawing attention in that fashion.
As you said earlier, I’m not putting a gun to their heads by forcing them NOT to wear it. They can wear it, it doesn’t bother me as much, just don’t be so naive to assume it can provoke change when they are already stuck in that mindset of anti-Muslim bigotry. If they get their views from pigs like Brigitte Gabriel or Phyllis Chesler, then it’s a lost battle by then.
I can see your point, but I disagree. As I mentioned earlier, should Catholics wear an anti-pedophilia shirt to express their disgust at Catholic priests’ actions?
It’s pretty annoying that you’re making such a big deal out of a shirt, especially since you’re bringing up points that people already refuted. If it’s just a “mere shirt” like you said, then save your rants for something actually worth it.
No one called this shirt a form of “activism,” so it makes no sense that your argument is that “it doesn’t make a difference.” We’re not numbskulls, we can see the obvious without you pointing it out.
We never said this shirt is going to solve the world’s problems. The whole concept behind a shirt like this is that it’s a way for us (not you) to express an opinion, just like a blog entry. Like I said, no one put a gun to your head and asked you to wear it. It’s just a more creative way to express an opinion that some people share.
And your Catholicism example is hardly a valid one. No one blames the world’s ills on that religion, and no one commonly refers to it as a faith of “terrorism,” so spare us.
Why is she not wearing Hijab? You wear a shirt about Islam and do not wear Hijab? How paradoxical!
I am not sure whether or not the shallow comment above mine is supposed to be sarcastic or not. If it isn’t, then I pity your mentality. There’s much more to Islam and to being a good Muslim than wearing a hijab on your head, so spare us.
Zakariah,
Unlike how you think, there are different degrees of observance. It is not as your government tried to tell you, that if a woman is therw without a scarf on her head, then the religion is dismissed altogether. This approach is more a controlling behavior those guys have adopted to make sure they will keep the power their seized in the name of radical religon, believe me, there are many of them who don’t believe in it and they want it for others, the ones whose kids do not wear the Hijab and perhaps their sons booze, but that’s ok, it is bad when it happens next door… I suggest that the ones who are very much worried about the degree of observance should learn to be less a hypocrite, because that is the most disgusting side affect dwelling with the radicals.
That is a powerful shirt, it makes me smile.
Dang man! Ur sis’s effing hawt~!!