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4 Feb, 2015

Growing up under Western coverage of Islam | The Jakarta Post

by Asyifa Putri

About five years ago, my life was altered utterly when my father decided to move to the US, along with my family. Although different, everything was structured and simpler than back home in Jakarta.

However, I was still a minority with attached stereotypes.

The fact that I’m a Muslim is what might have caused problems if my classmates had known, which they didn’t.

This opinion was formed because of what I gathered from the media and personal encounters. It came to the point where I was reluctant to show any sign of my “Muslim-ness”.

I don’t like how my religion is being portrayed in the media but I also don’t feel I have enough knowledge to refute the stereotypes already formed long before I was even there.

Read the rest: Growing up under Western coverage of Islam | The Jakarta Post.