CRITICAL THINKING
Fair Game? By: Shaista Khurshid, Calgary Alberta
O
ur environment and upbringing are build-
ing blocks of our personalities. Whatever we think or believe is rooted in our background. We pick up subconscious clues from around us. These end up forming our embedded behaviours and thoughts. Then, our education, faith, family and our experiences make up our mindset. An example of how these influences translate into our mindset is our attitudes towards people with darker skin color.
Like patriarchy, the value or superiority associated with fair skin has been rooted into our psyche for at least a century, maybe more. Interestingly, when we think of fair skin, we also associate it with righteousness, virtue and sincerity. This obsession with skin color is not new. As Muslims, we are ordained to believe and treat everyone as our equals, brother and sister. For us, superiority does not lie in color, race, education or any worldly thing; it lies in Taqwa and righteousness. How did we go from nurturing Taqwa in (Continued on page 48)
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