My two cents on RM’s situation:
First for foremost, I would like to clarify that I am not telling anyone on how to live their lives. I am not here to debate my religion or tell you how to practice yours, this is just an insight for non-muslims (and non-practicing muslims) from my perspective as a practicing Muslim woman.
I am not gonna name users, but I know there are quite a few people who dislike Islam and have been very openly Islamophobic. If you guys are reading this, please read with an open-mind. Hopefully this can be a new perspective than what you’re used to seeing on Twitter and by uninformed people for individuals that are interested in this situation from a Muslim viewpoint.
This is gonna be a long read, so buckle up.
As usual, people are disregarding Muslims or using this opportunity to hate on RM. Which is genuinely very disappointing.
First of all, people need to realize that RM liking that song does not equate to him being an Islamophobe. That does not mean to say that his choice in “promoting” the song by sharing it can not hurt people. Personally, I do not blame RM as I doubt he had any ill intentions when sharing this song. Furthermore, I’m not going to discuss RM much further in this thread, and rather just explain why people are upset with this song.
I’m going to start off by saying that Twitter (or ‘X’) is not a good place to gauge reactions or absorb information from. It’s overall a very toxic place. Real concerns are often used for trolling, or taken and used for cancel culture purposes.
Non-muslims say that Muslims have gotten sensitive and, frankly speaking, you’d be correct to assume that. We have gotten sensitive, but I’d say this is a natural response to seeing how our religion, sacred texts, beliefs, and people are always under intense scrutiny and tight ropes around the globe. I’m sure that Ocean Frank did not mean any harm when speaking of Islam in “Bad religion,” and I can understand that he meant it metaphorically, however, regardless of the context it is still very disrespectful. I am not sitting here to discuss others sins as sinner myself, but in Islam, listening to music is borderline haram [forbidden] (it’s a debated topic because some scholars believe that it distracts you from the purpose of life and God, thus, considered to be haram and some say as long as it does not have a bad language or an inappropriate message - it’s alright), but one thing is for sure and not up for debate is the utilization and integration of Islam and it’s sacred terminologies in music. Regardless of the context, you must not use them for entertainment purposes. We, as muslims can not even wear a necklace with God’s name on it and enter the bathroom for some context in regards to the severity of disrespect. It’s an insult to our way of life and religion. “Allah Akbar” is a very sacred phrase, often repeated multiple times throughout the day by Muslims, especially during the 5 daily prayers. To say that phrase, which I get was meant to be a metaphor, is not going to be viewed positively by most Muslims after them being ostracized and harmed for it.
While on this topic, Ocean Frank did remove and change the lyrics entirely in the end, showcasing his awareness and respect to the situation. In the end, the song did not lose the meaning he was aiming for, he just found an alternate method to convey it.
As for the few Muslims who may be reading this and are using this opportunity to unleash their hatred against RM or Ocean Frank, you guys need to do better and pick up the Quran again. I understand being upset, but that in no way allows us as Muslims to insult, degrade, or hurt anyone under any circumstance. We have the concept of Husn Al dhan, to give the benefit of doubt to others and refrain from judgment. Your feelings are valid, but to showcase them in such a vile and hateful manner is in opposition of Islamic teachings.
All in all, I would like to stress that I am in no way or form telling people how to live their life. This is not me telling guys to follow our way of life, you are not expected to. For you is your religion, for me is my religion. You do not have to agree with the lifestyles of muslims, but I ask that you respect the people who feel upset with this situation and our beliefs. If you can not do this, then the most you can do is refrain from engaging with our religion.
If you have any questions or want a healthy conversation in regards to Islam, my DM’s are always open. I will try my best to answer if I have time.
