Layla Idman Hussein - this post is about her.
She is 17. I met her on twitter when I was following Harry Fear and his broadcasts about the Israel/Palestine conflict last year (he was giving live updates from Palestine).
At the time I knew little of her but she stood out to me. Here I was an old, white, raised Christian guy in the US and she was a Muslim girl in the UK from Holland (iirc). I thought she was much older, not just from her posts but I guess they use the term college over yonder for high school.
All these months later, as I have followed her on twitter, I have learned a lot. Keep in mind, as I said, I grew up in a totally different world.
She is very much an avg teen on the one hand but so different than those I know here.
Examples:
recent tweets:
1.4 million people in Mali are dependent on food aid to survive. Please keep them in your prayers. #Mali
(re-tweet) Ramadan comes once a year. So make the most of it. Forgive & let go of grudges. Always have a clean heart.
I'm one of those people who'll take their pillow and sleep outside if they spot a spider in their room.
They're totally objectifying him on this cover. Like, they put out his best picture. And the story completely contradicts the pic.
This - which she recently uploaded (her speaking):
How Is Africa Portrayed to Western Society?
https://soundcloud.com/idmanhussein
And many more (the above are most recent)
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Point being: Back when I was younger I heard a lot about the Soviets (as I have noted in other posts) but learned a ton by playing chess with some folks from there after they came here. I learned mostly that they were not so different than we were. I was less afraid of them and fear of nuclear war once I got they were not all out to get us and were pretty much just like the rest of us (and lord knows between the red scare and other things few wanted us to see how connected we really were).
Those on the RW (and sometimes others, myself included) portray Muslims in a particular light. Folks tend to judge the many based on the few and use those few to prop up their hate/ideology/etc.
Yet the many are much like us. Same hopes. Same dreams. Same needs. We are kept in line by those who want to promote hate and fear of some enemy (and they are helped along by some who fit into their agenda). Once it was the Soviets. Then it was Muslims. Now, along with them it is each of us that we are told to fear and are led to believe are potential terrorists.
A big thanks to Layla for letting me follow her on twitter and getting insight into the life of someone so removed from what folks around my part call normal. Hopefully, someday, some folks on the right will actually follow online, talk to, and get to know the people they so fear and hate and learn that they are not the boogeyman. But I doubt it....
And be nice, I am sending her this link 
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