Dear Mommy, Thank you making a Muslim and not homophobic
You are super religious and all. And I am somewhat. The problem with religious people is that we are conditioned to think in a certain way. Like our religion condemns homosexuality, so it’s natural for most of us to look-down upon people who don’t fit into our definition of things. But you always taught me not to judge anyone basis the way they choose to live their lives, I never realised the importance of this until now.
Other day, I was short-listing profiles for copywriter’s position at work when I found a profile of this guy who maintains a blog about being unapologetically-gay. I loved the blogs, the language and the expressions, and asked the talent hunt manager to schedule an interview. Without hesitation she said, “ but he is gay” Perplexed, I looked at her and asked “excuse me?”
She said, “But he is gay, do you think he will be a good fit in our organization?”
I told her rather sternly, “I think he is good copywriter, he will be a good fit in our organization, his sexuality doesn’t concern me, could you please fix up an interview”
Reluctantly, she said, “ok let me fix up a call”
I have gone through moments in life when I have wondered, “what will I do if I am in that position? Will I reject someone because of their sexuality, religion, or choices they make in life? I wondered, if I would differentiate between people because they Shia, or trans, or black — Or will I just see them for who their as person or their skills(in professional context)
This is not a brag worthy incident, neither it is the first time I am meeting someone who isn’t like me. This conversation happened in matter of minutes. The reaction came naturally to be “ I don’t care about his sexuality, or anything, I care about his skills”.
In the hindsight, it made me so proud of my upbringing. Thank you for teaching me to not hate or discriminate between people basis their caste, class, religion or sexuality. One can be very true to one’s religion and not judge others. That’s what you taught me.
Sincerely,
Your Daughter who just discovered she is not homophobic, yay!