Here is a thread on the predictable pattern of attacks against Muslim women by other Muslims on here that I see almost weekly, and that I encountered this weekend.

I blocked the person I refer to because, at best, they are not worth engaging any more than I attempted.

1/

I have no clue what this original tweet was citing, which invites confusion

I *do* know that the non-white Muslim converts in my life have been struggling with a 2nd Ramadan in quarantine

In this tweet I see a passive-aggression & dismissiveness denying white privilege

2/

I replied, as politely and firmly as I could muster.

But boy oh boy the responses that I was flooded with by his followers…cliché but sad--I've screenshotted what I can still find. It follows a template

3/

First, of course, plenty of comments about my appearance, specifically my headscarf.
(I encourage people, as always, to not look at me)

4/

Second, comments about my profession and competence
(haters mad)

5/

as always, people upset at putting pronouns in bio--which I don’t get,

Yall are really into defining gender roles and identities, and yet when they are listed for everyone’s ease, folks get apoplectic?

6/

Some of the people suddenly interacting with me almost exclusively tweet about sports. But when this person decided to single me out he activated his followers to spam me at the exact time I was trying to focus on ibadah

Alhamdulilah, tweets can be muted & phones silenced

7/

It strikes me that the most bombastic insults were from young, Muslim men, many with videogame avis. An impressionable bunch, they take cues from who they see online. If they see a Muslim account with a lot of followers speak disparagingly of a topic or a person, they follow

8/

I knew to not continue engaging, hoping this person would turn to teachers, not me, to work out their issues, their frustrations, or whatever ails them, since the people they interact with on here only gas them up and affirm their views

9/

The response? absolute defensiveness.

Now, I’m a litigator. My job is to spot where people are disingenuous.

And this man thinks I’m going to draft him an email of my thinking, like that’s not the day job that I get paid to do.

He wants my expert labor for free? yea no

10/

I come across this often—people don’t want to think about how their comments and speech bolster a bigger system. From my assessment, 2 Black Muslim men + 2 Muslim women pushed back on his original comments, to no avail

see @HypnagogicStryx
https://twitter.com/HypnagogicStryx/status/1385962916088713218

11/

The point lost on this person was that his interactions, his jokes, his followers uphold a community dynamic that makes it acceptable to make light of racism & denigrate women. You can do racist things, without knowing, and it is your responsibility, as a Muslim, to reflect

12/

Moreover, in choosing to quote tweet me, he knew he would sic more of his followers after me to spam me with misogynistic insults, a punishment for questioning him

I spent post-sehri time blocking a number of accounts

13/

Here I’ll reference the work @DarakshanRaja spearheads on gendered Islamophobia—these reactions espouse some of the ways our community has internalized disregard and disrespect of Muslim women: https://www.justiceformuslims.org/partnership-to-end-gendered-islamophobia

14/

Many of the comments came from Muslim men with vlogging platforms & thousands of followers. It appears that this person is part of a broader ecosystem of Muslim accounts that choose to espouse hateful, racist and sexist comments as the main part of their brand.

15/

The *irony* is this person made a post-hoc clarification, “When people develop their religious identities, they draw lines around what they consider to be ‘real Muslims’”

...is this person is utterly oblivious to the religious gatekeeping Muslim women experience?

16/

Some bristled at the verses I cited for 2:12 ”They are the mischief makers, but they do not realize it.”

Yes, this verse refers to specific + awful wrongdoers
And the verse can be read broadly, a warning to all of us to not be these mischief makers (esp not during Ramadan)

17/

Though this person writes, I wonder if this person reflects on if they add value, or create harm with their words.

Just bc someone has built themselves a platform, doesn’t make them worth listening to

Frankly, this has negatively affected how I see @yaqeeninstitute

18/

In sum, there is an ecosystem of Muslims tearing down Muslim women, Black Muslims (esp Black Muslim women), minority-sect Muslims & queer Muslims

I hope we can be more thoughtful about who we listen to, what dynamics we amplify, and how we speak

19/

Allah calls upon us to be a people that reflect upon his signs & upon our acts

I am grateful to work with people who truly care and do work with and for our Muslim converts thru @believerBailOut & be taught by leaders like @Palunquita

https://twitter.com/Nabihah/status/1385769576768671745

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