Pharrell - Happy British Muslims!

">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVDIXqILqSM]

From The Guardian:

From Jerusalem to Jamaica, feelgood video homages to Happy by Pharrell Williams have spread like a fit of giggles on social media – and now British Muslims have their own version.The Happy British Muslims video was put together by a group of young British Muslims called the Honesty Policy, with a very simple aim: to spread positivity and a bit of empowerment along the way.

What do you make of it all?

A video humanising Muslims?

Or a trojan Horse trying to ruin Muslims by suggesting they change their ways?

Ah that's a beautiful video! Makes you happy when you see it. Dance 4

Yea I'm familar with this Big British Muslim Community. They are indeed very cool to hang out with. 

Don't you think its assimilation gone too far?

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Do you?

 

You wrote:
Don't you think its assimilation gone too far?

 

Honestly? No Pardon

In fact it seems good to me. Why do you think so by the way?

The video is trying to humanise Muslims by trying to show them to be "normal" in ways that many Muslims will not identify themselves with.

A comment on the Guardian article from an islamophobe hit the nail on the head: in many of the cases depicted, there are various mainstream groups of Muslims that would consider the behaviour in the video to be unislamic.

Many muslims do not consider music to be allowed, let along dancing to a track, no matter how ... decently done.

Which Muslims does the video represent?

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

The biggest issue is that it aims to represent British Muslims as whole whilst many Muslims consider the things displayed in the video to be going against Islamic teaching. I think they're trying to make out we're all normal but it's silly to go against our own teachings and morals to make that point. It's a bit pathetic really, looks like appeasement. Why do we need to show we're happy people anyway? As someone joked when are Brits known to be happy? Blum 3  I don't think it was right, however there are bigger issues to deal with within our ummah. Saying that, I think this has come about because of more "liberal" views and ways of practicing Islam and that is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

I think the cameo by Abdal Hakim Murad was brilliant.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

You wrote:
I think the cameo by Abdal Hakim Murad was brilliant.

lol 

There's a statement apparently by him stating his view on the whole thing.

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

Right. Wheres the dislike button? The more and more I have been reading about this video and watching scholarly responses, the more and more I have begun to dislike it. 

 

When I saw this video for the first time, honestly I liked it. Seeing happy faces of Muslims made me feel good. But eventually I started noticing stuff people were talking about, like the way they were dancing and clothing. I don't know, I think we should just leave this matter, put an end? 

.....Because I'm happy

 

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

MashaAllah!

But there's a question about decency again. Men should keep their ankles uncovered and knees covered. Here the Muslim player has done the opposite.

The way that video made so many controvercies, I wonder why this picture did not.

Those criticisms are pretty sad. So be sad if you like. The muslims in the video are great, they represent themselves even if you don't love it. It isn't as if anyone mistakes them for the taleban if that's what you're worried about. There are muslims stricter than you, some so strict, or so strongly sectarian, you just don't listen to them, so how come any of you get to dictate what is acceptable for other people?

  • It can never be satisfied, the mind, never. -- Wallace Stevens

It's not what is acceptable for other people but representing Islam in the wrong way. We're told to be people of the middle path and that includes not going to the other extreme of beign too lax. Of course if people want to then that's their own progotative however when someone represents Islam they should think about whether it actually reflects its teachings well.

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

But they aren't representing Islam, they are just Muslims who prefer to speak for themselves.

  • It can never be satisfied, the mind, never. -- Wallace Stevens

They represented Islam and Muslims as a whole whether they intended to or not. I believe it was to show Muslims can be all smiles too but it wasn't done in the best of ways and if some Muslims don't want to be represented by that then fair enough. 

I think though discussing the video makes it sound like a bigger deal than it is. 

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

If a trusted scholar thought it suitable to be present in the video, I think that atleast people should be amenable to its existence.

The video does try to portray a different side of muslims as a community (as also hinted by the title), but we need other sides shown.

Otherwise we get the news "another school has been raided by OFSTED to stop muslim extremists spreading conservative values" and people wont question what the headline means.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

You wrote:
If a trusted scholar thought it suitable to be present in the video, I think that atleast people should be amenable to its existence.

The video does try to portray a different side of muslims as a community (as also hinted by the title), but we need other sides shown.

Otherwise we get the news "another school has been raided by OFSTED to stop muslim extremists spreading conservative values" and people wont question what the headline means.

Quote fom his statement about it:

Quote:
There is much in the video that I would personally take issue with, as the kind of conservative who values the hadith, so quintessentially Muslim, that insists that ‘everyumma has a particular quality, and the quality of my umma is modesty.’ (Ibn Majah) Gravamen and public restraint are surely part of the charm of Islam. In an age of unrestraint, we need to consider carefully the ways in which our traditions of modesty, for both genders, might be used as instruments by which a sad humanity can be called back to the truth. Modesty should not obstruct da’wa, but should facilitate it.

...

I have no tie myself to this video, not having known the song or even heard of the singer before the final version appeared, or played any role in its editing. I did not know what it was! I appeared to be ‘happy’ in my own way, not in the way of the others, however that may be judged. My own sense in the arguments over instrumental music of various kinds is that the never-ending debate can be shortcircuited quite simply by remembering that the human voice is the most beautiful of instruments, and that by cultivating its correct harmonies we can produce genuinely spiritual sounds that are superior to anything that an instrument could generate. I have tried to do this with some Western folk harmonies, as in the second song here:

Taken from 

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

interesting - thanks for that.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

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