Its not about islam itself, its about how islam is used in a certain country. You call it propaganda but lets not forget that this "problematic books" of khalid hosseiny are the reason people in all around the world are getting to know about the invisible pain and suffering of the people in afghanistan.
I don't know what made you think that what Rashid said or did can represent Islam! And the quotation of Rashid u r talking about is not anything that can represent Islam in anyway. Rashid was just trying to comfort Mariam and trying to normalize that this is what all married couples do and all married couples did from time immemorial, prophet SW. And his wives did it too, it's nothing to be ashamed of. So that Mariam get used to her married life. The writer just depicted sort of reality what a girl like Mariam faces. Readers r not gonna judge Islam by Rashid's character. Rather they will judge Islam by character like Mullah Faizullah.
اصلا الزواج دة ما بين زوج زوجة...لكن دلوقتي نحنا نتشوف الترند دة يتوزع في العالم بيديا مثل سرطان...يا رب....اغفر ذنوبنا.... مش فقط زواج الرومانتكية...كمان زواج و انفصلت....يا الله نرجع تاني إلى عصر جاهلية فعلا.... على فكرة أنا اسيويه...و اقدرش اسوف اسلوب دة هنا في ميديا حقي😢
Khaled Hosseini has openly promoted his son embracing qawm-lut. He cannot be considered a true Muslim if he is willing to bend the knee to whatever the Western liberal supremacists declare permissible.
As an iraqi i to this day get so surprised when i see foreign women, i hope u felt safe here . Came across your channel through your vid uploaded on Eid ^^
Such a good video Allahumma batik! It's refreshing to have a conversation about this. One suggestion though is if you can include vocals only/background nasheeds instead of music in your videos. I don't know your personal stance on it but I feel it'd be more inclusive to the muslim community. Looking forward to your articles/videos <33
I really appreciate this video. While I still like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns for their writing style and still see them as good fiction I was always uncomfortable with aspects of the book that portrayed the entirety of Afghani society as unjust. The biggest evidence of this is Mariam in A Thousand Splendid Suns who is the most innocent and blameless character in the novel objectively - morally upright and always hard-done by in life - and yet she ends up with the most horrible end. Ultimately we as muslims have a slew of negative media from the non-muslim perspective but even the market of generally successful Muslim/ex-Muslim writers (the status of these people is often ambigious and I think purposefully so) end up portaying largely Muslim societies as corrupt, hypocritical and dangerous. Another good example of this is From a Crooked Rib by Nuruddin Farah. While it is probably true that in any given society, muslim included, there will be issues of corruption and miscarriages of justice, but what is the probability that these are the only stories we have to tell? That is why it comes across as deliberate propaganda at worst and feeding into it at best.
I’m so happy someone is talking about this. I’ve been talking about this with my friends, as I’ve noticed in my younger friends have a very romanticized version of marriage because of what is posted on social media. And I realized how afraid they are if they end up not finding someone at such a young age. And as someone who’s in their later 20s I can see how this skews their perception of me, and I almost feel like they pity me. I hate this trend of showing of Muslims showing their relationship and showing only the staged or the good parts of their marriage. This is ruining the mindset of so many people
I 100% agree. I'm also in my 20s and every conversation I have involves marriage. It's truly getting exhausting. Much love to you and wishing you the best.
Alsalam Alikum, Sara, I'm interested in what you have to offer, but there are some notes: First, I advise you to look in make-up again. Finally, don't put photos for women. Their awrahs are apparent. I hope I made a difference with this comment🫣. Take care 👋🏻.
For Laurie, that's not new at all, I've been following her family for years on youtube, simply with 3 sisters that do youtube, there's a chance of 3 times the content 😂
I'm not muslim but this video came in my recommended and I'm glad I clicked! I've read your posts on medium alongside this and I find your takes on how social media is influencing how people practice Islam so interesting. Your content covers issues I feel are universal but comes from a perspective I hadn't considered before. A unique and insightful video eassy, thank you for sharing and taking the time to make this!
I genuinely missed you Sara, when I watched your last video I couldn’t stop but think I wish we were friends and talk about it (and more ofc) for hours❤ thank you for speaking your mind, there’s a lot of us who love it
Omigoodness I'm going to cry. Thank you for watching and for the sweet comment. Awwwww may Allah swt bless you with friends even better than myself where you speak about these topics for hours. Much loveeee <3333
I think the surge has been due to people looking for guidance and inspiration in their relationships. Plus, it's a way to celebrate cultural and religious values.
Not even surprised to see a believer of Islam doesn’t want to accept the realities of middle eastern issues believers of the religion face. Shoving it under the carpet isn’t going to help.
I'm currently reading A thousand splendid suns right now, and couldn't shove off the weird "islamic" ideologies that were pusehd forward to me. The book seems overall a beautifully heartbreaking interpretation of a CULTURE (not islam), Mariam feels trapped having to serve rasheed and obey all of his orders. Its honestly terrifying to know that these are infact examples of real life accounts of what happens in many marriages, not only specifically islamic ones. What truly was disheartening for me was the way islam was portrayed in the book overall. Mariam doesn't seem to understand the true teachings of islam due to the fact that she isn't educated enough, and so she believes rasheed and everything he forces her to do. I'm not sure whether or not i should continue reading it, the storyline is great, the messages in it aren't
My biggest gripe with this book is that it felt like it was all trauma porn and little plot. I greatly despise the casual tone in which rape and abuse against girls is depicted. I'm always skeptical of how male authors use these devices against female characters. Also, yes thank you for pointing out the weird propaganda. I was so frusturated reading certain parts because of that. And lack of distinction between real Islam and stereotypical cultural beliefs had me ready to put the bookndown all together lol
Mashallah sister What I don’t like in the book is that Khalid Hosseini put the scene where hassan gets assaulted by Asef after the kite flying tournament
We are not supposed to believe Rasheed in what he says about the prophet and we can clearly see that he has no idea what he's talking about. He literally calls Karl Marx "Karl marxist". I read both of these instances as dramatic irony
thats true, I think Hosseini is trying to portray Rasheed as an abusive uneducated misogynistic basic afghan man. and trust me I have seen and met afghan men just like him, they exist
Id say his portrayal is pretty accurate. The radical fundamentalist portrays 'normal' muslim pretty well. The only difference is a the extreme which they'd go, eg: normal muslims that despises kafirs, and a more extreme one that believes the same thing, but actually took the action to persecute them. Of course, if you bring in non-religious muslims into the story, it'd tell a different story of a more peaceful bunch. Overall, good portrayal id say 👍
Hello! 💓 I believe it's definitely okay to try and fast as a non-muslim as long as you have the intention to do so!! You can even do it by yourself too with or without Muslim friends!! Just ensure that you follow the rules that come with fasting in Islam like suhoor, making sure you know what time you'll break your fast, what should be avoided during fasting etc and you're basically all set!) You can actually search a ton of videos of non muslims trying to fast for the first time in RU-vid or socials so hopefully that'll give you the inspiration to try it out yourself!! For first timers, it may be a bit of a struggle to go through but regardless, there's so much good in doing it & I hope you enjoy all there is to fasting!! ✨☺️💚
Hello! 💓 I believe it's definitely okay to try and fast as a non-muslim as long as you have the intention to do so!! You can even do it by yourself too with or without Muslim friends!! Just ensure that you follow the rules that come with fasting in Islam like suhoor, making sure you know what time you'll break your fast, what should be avoided during fasting etc and you're basically all set!) You can actually search a ton of videos of non muslims trying to fast for the first time in RU-vid or socials so hopefully that'll give you the inspiration to try it out yourself!! For first timers, it may be a bit of a struggle to go through but regardless, there's so much good in doing it & I hope you enjoy all there is to fasting!! ✨☺️💚
While I agree with some of your points, the quote you mentioned ('Maybe there will be hope when Bush's bombs stop falling') is missing an essential bit of context within the narrative. Firstly, a few sentences earlier, Lalia pushes back against this view when she argues with Tariq, saying 'Not so bad? People dying? Women, children, old people? Homes destroyed again? Not so bad?', establishing Hosseini's view that Bush's actions are neither proportional nor justifiable. This line acknowledges that US imperialism is not successful in its assumed goal of 'liberation' and was vastly detrimental to the Afghan people. Furthermore, directly after the quote you referenced, Laila argues that she cannot bring herself to agree with the view that 'maybe there will be hope when Bush's bomb's stop falling', even if she was unduly harsh to Tariq during their argument. The paragraph proceeds 'But she cannot bring herself to say it, not when what happened to Babi and Mammy is happening to someone now in Afghanistan, not when some unsuspecting girl or boy back home has just been orphaned by a rocket as she was. Laila cannot bring herself to say it. It’s hard to rejoice. It seems hypocritical, perverse.' Hosseini acknowledges that the view that US imperialism is a ‘liberating’ force is, in fact, 'perverse'. I do not believe that, considering your quote's surrounding context, Hosseini is in any way justifying Bush's military action. If anything, I believe he agrees with your perspective, and my own, by emphasizing the cost of this violence. However, I broadly agree with your comments on islamophobia, although I am unsure if this was an outwardly malicious point from Hosseini. As a non-Muslim, I am aware of my blind spots in this regard, but I feel the mention of the prophet was meant to be a criticism of fundamentalism. Hosseini may have been trying to present how Islamic fundamentalism distorts the teachings of the Qur'an to suit their societal beliefs. Rasheed and his relationship with the women in the novel have always appeared to me as a microcosm for wider Afghan fundamentalism seen in the provinces outside of Kabul, which further affirms that this was not meant as a generalized Islamophobic attack. However, I see your point that taken outside of a more nuanced space, maybe into the mind of western readers with already preconceived islamophobia, that this could be damaging. Maybe, as a secular Muslim, Hosseini did not consider that this is how the line could be interpreted by non-Muslims. As you mentioned, Islam is also presented in a beautiful way within the novel. As a child, Mariam's lessons with Mullah Faizullah about the Qur'an are her sanctuary, inspiring her to seek further education. Later in the novel, she describes the prayers he taught her as her only possession in the world, a precious gift she gives to her proxy-granddaughter, Aziza. This leds me to believe that the novel is more nuanced than you present it as. I am aware this is an overwhelmingly large comment, and I could go on longer, but I feel I have rambled enough. This is a book I really love; it is a beautiful love letter to Afghan culture as well as its women. Hosseini’s work humanizes these women in a way that has been absent in most western media since 9/11. He treats them not as victims, but powerful, individualized characters, conveying the power of female friendships and motherhood. For this reason, this novel is fundamental in presenting the suffering of a voiceless group that needs an advocate now more than ever.
I do need to look into his presentation of Pakistan, though. I vaguely remember his presentation of the refugee camps and prisons as being largely negative, but I can see your point about omitting Pakistani involvement in the war being problematic.
Hi. I'm from Poland and I've had quite different emotions while reading this book. I've noticed many positive connections to Islam, which was difficult to comprehend to me, for the main characters didn't connect the religion in their brains with their horrible husband, and they were still praying and reading "Coran" after all they have been through. I've read three books settled in Afghanistan, including this one. The other two are "Zoya's story: an Afghan woman's battle for freedom" by Zoya, John Follain and Rita Cristofari and "The Bookseller of Kabul" by Åsne Seierstad. Could you please write some titles of the books you recommend?
Please stop taking partners with Allah be visiting the shrine! It's unforgivable sin! “I testify there is none worthy of worship but Allah.” This statement combines negation and affirmation. It denies the right of anything in creation to be worshipped, and it affirms that right for the Creator Allah.
Assalamu alaikum sister, this is haram it is good to show respect to the Prophet's companions, however, commemorating and turning their grave sites into places of worship is shirk. Ali (ra) would dislike and feel angered if he knew how Muslims are worshipping and assigning divinity to him - which is only for Allah (swt). May Allah guide you to the true path of Islam.
Assalamu Alaykum. I am a brother and I wanted to add that avoid social media like the plague during Ramadan. It just feels haram to be on your phone all time tbh. I’m not saying that using your phone is haram, but like our screen time is literally being collected for data, our community needs to be smarter.
