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Photo: "We the People" series by Shepard Fairey













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+ Tehran Streetstyle book turns 1! / giveaway







(1/25): This piece has been re-published on Mondoweiss + The Muslim Registry: what we know & where to go for Muslims & allys

: To be honest with you, I was having trouble putting this piece into words just because I haven't been able to sit with my thoughts since the inauguration. Everything seems to have hit me at once and I'm still working through processing the madness.So please bear with me through this mess of jumbled thoughts.From all the photos these past few days filling our social media feeds of white people with red hats and white women with pink beanies with ears (p.s. don't forget), people holding signs of cheetos, and enough pro-Hillary slogans to make this Muslim woman of color uncomfortable, there was one particularly striking image that was consistently shared and re-shared and praised by the "left."The American-flag-clad Hijabi woman illustrated in the trademark style of of Obama's "hope" poster is not short of striking.But maybe not for the right reasons.As this is a fashion blog of sorts, let's dissect this #ootd.Never forget that, that symbols are infinitely meaningful, and that harm can occur through both.While the women's march was making history, the new administration was already repeating it.Did you even know that Trump has already administered drone strikes? Of course not.You were not supposed to know.You are only supposed to hold our silent faces wrapped in the cloth that has suffocated our voices.Anyway, it's more peaceful that way, isn't it?Next time you are thinking about sharing this image, wheat-pasting it on an old wall, saving it as your desktop background, or waving it above your head and pledging your solidarity:Actually, a woman didn't make this image at all. It was created by a white man: Shepard Fairey, artist & founder of the clothing brand OBEY, created this image from a photograph taken by Muslim-American photographer Ridwan Adhami. Were we unable to uplift the work of Muslim women instead? Are our images only able to be consumed when they are white-washed and sanitized?2. Know that the hijab--for *me* at least--represents a rejection of materialism, of capitalism, of euro-centric beauty standards (among other significance) andwhose homes and families have been destroyed and drone-striked by the very person/former president whose campaign images this one seeks to replicate.-- and that you cannot hold this flag in one hand and tweet #NoDAPL with the other.Especially given the violent history of the birth of this country--and all others like it--on the backs of Black slaves (many of whom were Muslim) and indigenous genocide. Trump's presidency is the logical outcome of the racist systems and institutions of white supremacy that this country was built on and this flag represents.But also, know that one does not need to be American to deserve respect, humanity, dignity, equality, rights, and freedom from hate and bigotry. An over-emphasis on being American as a prerequisite of deserving respect is harmful for immigrants and refugees. Especially under the new administration that already has plans of "extreme vetting" to prove American-ness. This is only pushing their agenda further. Also, see number 5.I understand the good intentions, but my liberation will not come from framing my body with a flag that has flown every time my people have fallen.And I hope yours will not either.