🌙 What It Feels Like to Live Between “Good Muslim” and “Bad Muslim” Labels

Every time there is a tragedy somewhere in the world, I feel a tightness in my chest.

Not just because of the pain of innocent lives lost — but because, as a Muslim, I know what comes next.

Fingers.

Questions.

Suspicion.

Explanations.

Suddenly, I am expected to prove that I belong to the category of “good Muslims,” not the “bad” ones.

It’s a strange burden to live with — to constantly reassure the world that your faith is peaceful, your heart is humane, your loyalties are clear.

But why does this burden exist at all?

🕌 The Labels Were Never Ours — They Were Created for Us

Mahmood Mamdani, in his book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, says something powerful:

these labels did not come from within the Muslim community.

They were created by political forces outside us.

They were created to divide the world into:

Muslims who support certain political agendas (the “good”)

and Muslims who challenge or resist those agendas (the “bad”)

It has nothing to do with religion.

Nothing to do with our daily lives, prayers, kindness, struggles, or aspirations.

It’s about power — not faith.

🕊 Islam Is Not the Source of Violence — Politics Is

When I look at history, I see what Mamdani explains so well:

Most conflicts labelled “Islamic” today were actually shaped by:

colonial borders forced on people

dictators supported by foreign powers

proxy wars during the Cold War

intelligence agencies funding militias

and decades of political interference

Violence didn’t grow from mosques.

It grew from political games played far away from ordinary Muslims.

Yet somehow, it is Islam that gets blamed, and common Muslims like me who pay the emotional price.

💭 The Quiet Life of a “Common Muslim”

What is my life like?

I go to work.

I worry about my family.

I try to stay honest.

I look for peace.

I pray in my own way.

I try to be a good human being — like anyone else.

But when news breaks, I am pushed into a global debate I never chose to enter.

People ask me:

“Why don’t Muslims condemn terrorism?”

“Why is your community silent?”

“Where are moderate Muslims?”

The truth is:

We condemn violence more loudly than anyone because we suffer from it more than anyone.

But our voices don’t get media coverage.

Only our fears and our vulnerabilities do.

🌏 The Burden of Constant Explanation

This is the heaviest weight of all: to be seen not as an individual, but as a representative of 1.8 billion people.

I didn’t create global conflicts.

I didn’t fund militias.

I didn’t draw borders on other people’s lands.

I didn’t send drones or armies or money.

But I am the one expected to answer for it.

Mamdani says the world must stop blaming Islam for problems created by politics.

I agree — because until that happens, ordinary Muslims will keep living under a shadow they never deserved.

🤝 What I Really Want the World to Know

I want people to know that:

Muslims are not divided into “good” and “bad.”

We are not characters in someone else’s security narrative.

We are not walking ideologies — we are human beings.

We laugh, cry, worry, hope, dream — just like everyone.

Most of all, we want to be treated with dignity, not suspicion.

✨ A Hope for Better Understanding

If the world stops judging Muslims through political labels, maybe it will finally see us for who we are:

ordinary people trying to live decent lives.

People of faith, yes —

but also people of reason, compassion, and complexity.

People who want peace, not conflict.

And people who want to belong without constantly proving their innocence.