An Open Letter to Zarah Perry

To the Blogger who Broke our (actually, her own), Internet.

So you have no idea who I am… but please allow me, as one of the countless people who unfollowed you on Every. Single. Platform… to share something with you.

Oh, fun fact for the day – I am a Born Again CHRISTIAN.

Anyhoo, lets get started shall we 🙂

I’ve been following you, and reading your blog for quite some time now. I’m not going to bash every single one of your posts, just because this one was HORRIFIC. But, lets talk about that HORRIFIC one for a minute.

So I saw the link to your ‘Hunger Games’ post on Facebook. A friend of mine had posted it, with the caption ‘speechless! Sit on your salaah mat and not on the internet judging people’. I read your post a first time… and had to read it again, just to make sure that my head wasn’t playing crazy tricks on me, and that a blogger who is followed by thousands of people just slapped ALL of her readers in the face.

Zarah, after I had taken in all that you had said, I felt so sad. For you. You say that you are not here to judge anyone, and that everyone is judging you… but honey… you just threw an entire community under the bus.

Community is a crazy thing. Kinda like a love hate relationship, where we always striving to latch on to the love, and down play the hate. Not vice versa. People reach out to you, because they CARE, for YOU. Let me just say that again. They CARE for YOU. Your neighbours bringing you burnt pancakes… they brought you something to share with you. Is it really that hard to eat a burnt pancake, and be grateful. Is this month not about fasting, so that you can be mindful of those who have NOTHING to eat?

Community is embracing those around you. It is Not judging everyone, but rather attempting to understand them. We most definitely do not live in a perfect community. The city we share is full of every kind of bad in the world. But it also has every kind of good.

You see the very things that you are bashing these Muslim people for… Christian people do too. Hindu people do it too. PEOPLE do it. Human beings all sin. No sin is greater than the other. If we bashed each other every time someone sinned, our world would be as bitter as your post.

Your post left me with the sour taste in my mouth. You have an issue with every aspect of your very own culture and religion. And over all you just seem lost. Lost with your identity. Lost with your faith. Lost with your lack of respect for other human beings. Lost with your selfishness. Lost with your superficial life. Lost with your imaginary celebrity status.

Delusional. Rude. Disrespectful. CONTRADICTORY. Four words that ring true to your post.

I mean, you are speaking about traditions and hypocrisy, and out of nowhere, you throw in ‘Oh and if you are reading this, never ever ask me on a date – I am 1, taken and 2 despite your fickle wooing attempts and acknowledgement of my 10 tinder dates for a social experiment, I don’t date clowns’.

WOW. Where did that come from? How do these topics correlate?? I have this sad feeling, that you are misinterpreting guys/men BEING NICE to you, as trying to get with you (using your neighbour scenario as my foundation for that assumption). Delusional

‘And my social feeds are filled with who’s wearing what for Eid’. Really?? You have a fashion blog. You post what you wear daily. Are us mere mortals not allowed to share in social media? What makes your daily #OOTD so much more valued than someone else’s? It doesn’t. As I’m sitting here writing this, I can’t help but get upset all over again. This kind of reminds me of mean girls. You are a mean girl, and your blog is your burn book. Is it then such a shocker that people don’t like you, judge you, and look at you like they saw Casper. Come on Zarah, we are not in high school. Rude

‘High -five to you for trying to either please mum and dad this month, cleanse, lose weight, do it because your friends are doing it or do it for the right reasons’. Again… WOW!!!!!! Disrespectful

Your disclaimer? Flat out CONTRADICTORY.

After all is said and done, the one I feel most sad for is your mother. You know how you just painted everyone with the same brush? People are going to do that to your family. And that is horrible. I think you completely misinterpreted your mothers message to you. She asked you to add to your disclaimer that you do not implicate her or your family.

Parents who are present in our lives, supportive and encouraging (as your mother is), are such beautiful gifts from God. If there was anything I would want to leave you with, it is Grace.

People saw it fit to be gracious toward you, not because you deserve it. In fact, they have shown you Grace, despite what you deserve. Because who are we to decide what the next person deserves. The thing about trying to walk the straight and narrow, is that we fail miserably daily. Don’t you think that you could Be the Change to each one of these ‘problems’ you have complained about? You have (had), so many readers, imagine how much change you could have brought through with an encouraging word, instead of a rant of this nature.

You are beautiful. Do not taint that with an ugly heart.

Show some Compassion.

Love a Little.

Be Kind.

Have Grace for Others.

Stop with the all the Shade Throwing.

And lastly, as much as you say that you have chosen your own path, and make your own decisions… Accept that other people too, are doing the very same thing.

“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.”
― Henry David Thoreau

With Love.

Ruth xx