Writing POC 101

Black Muslim Characters - @SagalBagal

Black Muslims exist! Black Muslims are not widely represented in writing so I'd like to see some change.

Black Muslims (me included) can face racism AND islamophobia throughout their lifetime.

Here are some questions you shouldn't ask a Black Muslim.

1- Do you sing gospel/go to church?

Dude, I don't. Muslims (whether they are Shia or Sunni) go to masjids or mosques to pray.

Disclaimer-(I'm Sunni so I'll be talking about my experiences)

We pray 5 times a day, the first prayer is Fajr. You pray when the sun rises. I admit I don't usually pray Fajr, because I have school and all, but you wake up early, do wudu (cleansing your body with water before prayer) and pray.

The second prayer is Duhr. You pray around the noon time. Again, I don't usually pray Duhr because I'm at school at this time.

Then you pray Asr. Asr is around the afternoon time.

Then you pray Maghrib. It is the evening prayer and I make sure to pray Maghrib everyday.

The last prayer is Isha which comes late at night, but not in the a.m.

2- Why don't/do you wear a hijab?

Not all Muslim women wear hijab. I personally don't, so people act surprised when I tell them I'm Muslim. It's like people don't expect a black woman to wear a hijab, it's not that rare, ok?

There are lots of black people who are Muslim. Maybe be a little more open minded. When writing a Black Muslim character, keep in mind that not all black people are from Africa. They could be from Jamaica, or Haiti, or Dominican Republic.

3- How does it work?

Anybody can be Muslim. One time I had a guy ask me how I could be black and Muslim. I remember when I was young my friends ask me If I was African or Muslim. I told them I was both. They thought I was "half African half Muslim". You can't be half Muslim. You can be half of a race, but not half of a religion.

So that's it.