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🧵 Quick Thread! 🧵 Orientalism, Islamophobia, and 'inshallah' -- how language translation today both reflects, and continues to transmit, the anti-Muslim stereotypes inherent to Western imperial logic and colonial domination in the so-called Middle East. 1/12

How casual or formal the occasion is, how religious (in a strictly doctrinal / more literal sense that is, not necessarily more observant in general). “Ahlan” is another greeting that’s more like “marhaba” this way, too — in terms of ecumenical use (vs “salaam”) 3/3

That said, the line between which greetings to use is pretty blurry in everyday use — you’re way more likely to hear a Muslim say “salaam” to non-Muslims than a non-Muslim to say “salaam” to a non-Muslim. Depends on a lot of factors, like how mixed a Muslim group / society is, 2/3

Marhaba is more like an ecumenical “welcome,” while “salaam” (shortened version of ‘peace be upon you,’ recommended in the Hadith as good Muslim etiquette) is (in some Muslim groups / cultures) mainly just used for other Muslims. 1/3

I love this so so so much 💚💚💚 bless you and your family (which of course includes her)

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

Yay to people willing to explain stuff! I admit I saw this conversation and rolled my eyes instead of even considering writing a similar thread from my own experience. Trying to learn from this generosity of spirit.

I owe you the apology, not the reverse!

That’s so freaking kind of you, and it means the world to me - I deeply believe this stuff matters and it’s always really cool to hear someone finds it worth reading 💚

Oh crap, I’m sorry - I misinterpreted the sentiment; forgive me!

I’m in complete agreement about that as an issue, but I don’t think it’s a waste of time or a purity competition to debunk the idea I address here — particularly given that the community who uses the phrase warmly *welcomes* outsiders using it as a show of solidarity.

LMAAAAAAAO PERFECTION

I’m not trying to outdo anyone here, lol. I’m just passionate about how foreign languages acquisition and use is a very good way to cultivate empathy and solidarity, and think it should be encouraged instead of treated as off limitsz

Hahahaha sorry my bad, I thought that was hilarious though and anyway I was just about to add “I promise Scott I did not start the White People Inshallah Discourse”

Yes Scott I am aware lmao thank you for Islamsplaining Islam and Muslims to me (also a favorite point of mine to make in intro to mena / Islam 101 🤣)

Okay so b/c this popped up (and I love doing Nerd Deep Dives Into The Weeds) — for an overview of why it’s actually problematic and (likely unintentional, but still) racist to argue that white people using “inshallah” is cultural appropriation bsky.app/profile/msen...

Increasingly seems like the case to me, too!

Excellent thread. Thank you!

My pleasure! There’s a reason I miss teaching Arabic and Middle East / Islamic Studies so much - it’s incredible how relevant this stuff is and how influential those histories continue to be in ways we’re often unaware of!

For those interested, I dashed off a quick extended thread about Orientalism, Islamophobia, and the lasting influence of Western colonialism in the Middle East on language translation: bsky.app/profile/msen...