"We understand that the imagery might be upsetting for some Muslims".To attempt to separate the two is impossible. The Hijab symbolizes devotion to the Islamic faith that is clear. Which, in fact does make this post religious and to pretend as though it does not is foolish and dishonest. Muslim women practice Islam Islam is a religion. This directly implies that they are Muslim Women. Let us break this response down, line by line: As the conversations in the comments are no longer about recognizing 2SLGBTQ+ identity, we have turned off comments to avoid any further impacts on the community."Īs one can see, this response makes a poor attempt to gaslight individuals into believing that nothing about the post was meant to be religious and that they 'understand' that the imagery may be upsetting to 'some' muslims. Therefore, this post will continue to be live on our channels. We understand that the imagery might be upsetting for some Muslims, but we also acknowledge the Queer Muslim community often does not get represented. "This post was not religious or theological in content and was internally vetted by our cross-campus EDID group which has Muslim representation. Yet, Western University goes on to disregard their input and instead turns the comment section off, stating: The Muslim community has voiced their concerns on the matter (Many of which were Women who wear the Hijab). What is portrayed is extremely disrespectful, insensitive and completely imperceptive to the Muslim community at large. It should also be made clear that if you are not Muslim, you have no right to tell us what we can and cannot find offensive. Such is the case with the use of the Hijab in the Western University IG post. As this often happens at the expense/sacrifice of the religious element in question. This does not mean that the Muslim community should allow any or all elements of its religion to be used to propagate any notion one deems worthy. The post can be found here: IG post (Note they have now turned off comments, more on this later)įirstly, it should be made clear that this is not an attack on the LGBT+ community, and the existence of queer Muslims is acknowledged. This petition will speak as to why it is problematic and requires immediate removal. On Tuesday, May 17th, 2022, The official University of Western Instagram page made a post that depicted two women in Hijab engaging in a sexual act.