Zahra Fielding’s Muslim friend told her that the hijab wasn’t oppressive, but liberating, and as one thing led to another, Fielding ultimately converted to Islam. This lengthy article details her journey, and is clearly intended to be a heartwarming, inspiring tale of uplift.
Just a couple of questions: when is ABC Radio National planning to publish a lengthy puff piece about a woman who discovered that what feminists told her about Christianity being oppressive was false, and converted to Christianity?
And when is ABC Radio National’s piece scheduled on the many women who have been brutalized or even killed for refusing to wear the hijab?
Finally, another friend of Zahra a few years ago began dating a “Muslim Afghan gentleman.” He turned out to be “very controlling of her, very oppressive.” Now, “as soon as travel restrictions lift,” Zahra is “moving to Malaysia to get married.”
What could possibly go wrong?
“When Zahra downloaded a game with ‘sexist’ ads, she didn’t expect to find friendship or discover Islam,” by Siobhan Hegarty, ABC Radio National, May 23, 2020:
When Zahra Fielding downloaded an Ottoman-inspired phone game, she didn’t expect it would introduce her to new friends, let alone Islam.
In fact, the game caught her attention because of its suggestive nature.
“When I first downloaded the game, it was out of curiosity, coming across on Facebook ads — and really, intensely wrong ads,” she recalls.
“I’m like, ‘Surely there can’t be a game like this that would do that or talk about women in that way.'”
The app in question, Game of Sultans, is an empire simulation role-playing game. Players strive to become — and remain — the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, so much of the game is about forging alliances and fighting rivals.
Gamers are also encouraged to assemble their harem, choose wives and consorts, and foster heirs. But Zahra says the game isn’t as sexist as its publicity suggests.
Once she started playing, she joined a team with female players from Australia and Asia.
“The game came at such an important time in my life, perhaps. I was really lonely and feeling lost,” she recalls.
“Like, not happy in my career, not happy in my personal life … I’d been single for a very long time.
“And I just met like a wonderful group of people from different countries that I never would have an opportunity to connect with here.”…
As Zahra became closer with her Muslim friend, she broached the topic of religion. At the time Zahra was atheist, and her perspective on Islam had been clouded by an experience in the past.
“My only prior exposure to Islam was [that] a few years ago, one of my best friends started dating a Muslim Afghan gentleman,” she recalls.
“He was, at the time, saying he was practising, but now knowing more about the faith, I see he wasn’t really. He was very controlling of her, very oppressive.”
For Zahra, the experience of her friend — who had started wearing the hijab — and negative portrayals of Islam in the media made her feel wary about women covering for faith.
“I thought that the hijab was a sign of oppression, but I’d never really had an opportunity to talk to anyone about it,” she says.
“So I asked Kim and … I just was blown away with how wrong I was.
“When a woman covers it becomes about people getting to know her for who she is, not the way she looks.
“I really felt very aligned with that because, in my upbringing, I’d always been judged on my physical appearance.”…
Just as Zahra formed an unexpected international friendship with Kim on a mobile phone game, she’s now met her fiance online, too….
A “halal relationship” is one that’s permissible under Islamic law. Generally the couple’s families must meet early on, to ensure the relationship isn’t hidden.
In Zahra’s case, geographical distance didn’t stop this ritual. She and her fiancé introduced their mums via video chat and, she says, “the rest has been history”.
As soon as travel restrictions lift, she’s moving to Malaysia to get married….