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![]() The above memes certainly violate the expectation that pop culture and Islam don’t or shouldn’t mix together. To reiterate the theory, for a situation to be humorous, it must be benign and violate expectations. The benign violation theory may explain why it feels so uncanny. Is it okay to draw a hijab over a Disney princess? On either side something just doesn’t seem right. You can pretend Leo DiCaprio is Muslim, but can you really forget his performance in The Wolf of Wall Street? If you’re not very religious or non-Muslim, it all just seems like a perverse appropriation of pop culture to fit the Islamic ideal. If you’re more of a conservative Muslim you might find offense to associating Islam with these otherwise problematic references. If you stand on any side of that demographic, they might feel very strange to you. These two worlds might be at odds with each other, but they can just make it work.īut does it work? The audience for these memes is a cross-section of people who care about being good Muslims but also appreciate pop culture. With just a tweak in Photoshop, they can convert the entire cast of Furious 7 or edit Aladdin and Jasmine’s loving relationship into a halal one. More conservative Muslims who believe in the traditional Islamic way of life tend to avoid the influences of western culture, but those in touch with Western culture have the creativity to imagine how both can work together in harmony. They change the world to suit themselves. They are literate in both the language and expectations of their religion and the famous people and characters that surround them. ![]() These could only have been created by Muslims who have been deeply immersed in Western culture and still hold strong to their faith. ![]()
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