Amidst the chaos of the world, I

looked up to the sky and witnessed

a flock of birds carelessly soaring.

To them it was just another day. The

outbreak of a virus, cancellation

of classes, disruption of routine

meant nothing to the birds as

they remained unfazed. The birds

didn’t have to worry about grocery

store stocks running low, or the

possibility of losing their jobs. They

found their versions of toilet paper

and hand sanitizer in nature. They

didn’’t worry about how the virus

would hinder their ability to have

financial security. The birds placed

their trust in nature and continued

to live in unison with it. The only

structure they followed was that of

the Earth, and their routine relied

on the conditions of nature.

I admired the birds’ autonomy.

It showed me that a reliance on

systems had stripped me from my

ability to live confidently with

nature. I depended so heavily on

manmade structures like school

and work to feel fulfilled. I was so

out of touch with nature that when

something natural like a virus

prevented
certain
institutions

from functioning, I too, felt unable

to function. I felt that if I was

not going to school everyday and

working from morning to night

that I would not feel satisfied. I

felt that success was quantified by

the amount of work I produced for

those systems and anything that

stopped me from producing was a

problem.

My feelings are foreign to birds

as the only structure they subscribe

to is nature. They eat from nature,

find
shelter
in
nature,
work

with nature, and live as nature.

Though structure and routine

are necessary for human life, I

still wish people depended more

on nature and less on structure. I

wish manmade systems were more

prepared for the wild capacities of

nature. I wish that people could

live
independently;
live
more

like birds. Birds are aware of the

structures around them, yet they

do not depend on nor are they

controlled by them. Some have

even taken the liberty of building

nests on stores, houses, and power

lines.

Humans
have
developed

far more than birds and have

surpassed other species in every

way possible, yet in the wake

of something as natural as a

virus, we are subject to complete

destruction. All our developments

and structures were shaken by

nature and if the coronavirus has

proven anything to me, it is that

in the face of nature, man does not

stand a chance. With the future

dependent on the course of the

virus, the Earth will remain in

control and there is no manmade

structure, object, or system that

can withstand its strength.

This
pandemic,
though

unfortunate and chaotic, has shown

its value. People are learning to

live while connected with nature.

Enabled to be productive, people

are prioritizing their physical and

mental wellness. Worried for the

health of the elderly, people are

caring for and connecting more

with their parents and neighbors.

Encouragement of self-isolation

has led people to travel within

their
own
minds,
meditating

and contemplating their lives.

These times are uncomfortable

and stressful, yet humans have

managed to thrive. We will come

out of this situation, stronger and

wiser, leading a life more like the

birds.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, March 23, 2020 — 3

Heads Up

NOOR MOUGHNI

MiC Columnist

REINHOLD MÖLLER /Wikimedia Commons

Two storks build a nest atop a monastery chimney.

View an accompanying video at
MichiganDaily.com

For years, Cosmopolitan has been

the biggest female-focused millennial

brand in the world, influencing and

shaping the lifestyles of women.

Cosmopolitan’s captivation of society

essentially created this idea of a

“Cosmo Girl,” a bold, independent,

fashion forward woman — an idea

which consequently inflicts harm

on society, because we can’t all be a

cosmo girl.

Meet Amani Badran, a trailblazer

for
Arab
and
Muslim
women,

Dearborn native, Ross MBA, an

engineer at DTE and someone who

lives in a cosmo world but is not

exactly a cosmo girl. Badran is bold,

independent and fashion forward,

just like a cosmo girl. Her boldness,

independence and style choices are

not a result of the Western standards

that Cosmopolitan champions, but

rather what she likes to call “a happy

medium” between her Muslim and

American
heritages,
which
she

describes as “not exclusive.”

This happy medium is nonexistent

in Western brands, and causes many

Muslim girls to feel displaced, less

beautiful and discouraged; Badran

was one of those girls growing up, and

now wants to create a brand and space

where Muslim girls are able to feel

beautiful, inspired and empowered.

Badran is currently in the works of

creating an online magazine where

Muslim women are able to share their

stories and interests on topics ranging

from
fashion,
family,
fun/travel,

finance/career and food/fitness.

“Every Muslim girl is unique in her

own way—each of us coming together

in this platform like a perfectly,

imperfect mosaic,” Badran said.

Badran’s
personal
experiences

led her to want to create this space.

Growing up, Badran loved reading

lifestyle
magazines,
and
had
a

goal of becoming editor in chief of

Cosmopolitan, despite its complete

disregard
for
her
identity.
She

internalized what Western media

propels is beauty and decided her

hijab strays too much from the set

precedent. However now, Badran is

unapologetically
comfortable
and

proud of her identity, and realizes the

unnecessary struggle she endured

getting there.

“I wish I had embraced my hijab

for what it was—unique and different,

and a symbol of strength, rather than

trying to morph it into something that

others would understand,” Badran

said. “I wish I had a platform, a space,

where I saw the beauty of being a

Muslim girl, where I saw how to style

my dress in a way that aligned with

my values, where I saw more Muslim

women succeeding in education and

career.”

For Muslim girls like myself, this

brand representation is much needed

and long over due. It is time for us to

make seeing people that look like

ourselves and lead similar lives a

normal occurrence, instead of an

anomaly. More importantly, it is time

for us to have a platform to showcase

our art, our writing, our voices and our

accomplishments in an authentic way

with no adaptations made or questions

asked. It is time that we make sure

the next generation of Muslim girls

do not have to grow up looking at

Western norms and thinking this is

what could be, and instead, embrace

their identity. Soon it will become

necessary that we as a society reinvent

our understanding of what it means to

be and to look American. We will no

longer have room for exclusivity.

Not A Muslim Girl’s Cosmoplitan

MAYA KADOUH

MiC Columnist

Muslim Disney Princesses

Dearborn Youth Theater’s Production of Frozen Jr. and the Importance of Representation

HIBA DAGHER

MiC Columnist

In Reel Bad Arabs, Jack Shaheen

explored the portrayals of Arab and

Muslim characters in film. After

analyzing a thousand different films

from 1896 to 2000, he found that 12

films had positive depictions of Arabs

and Muslims, 52 neutral, and 936

negative. And representations of Arabs

and Muslims haven’t gotten better in

the past twenty years. There may be

crumbs of decent representation since,

but Shaheen’s work is still relevant.

Nestled in Dearborn, Michigan, a

town with the largest concentrations

of Arabs and Arab Americans outside

of the Middle East, the Dearborn Youth

Theater program, is trying to change

all of that. Director Rashid Beydoun,

musical director Vanessa El-Zein and

assistant director Lisa Cronin work to

encourage and include students of all

backgrounds in their productions.

In January, I attended the Dearborn

Youth Theater’s production of Frozen

Jr. Sitting there, in the thousand-

and-some-change seat auditorium, I

was fixated as a cast of more than 60

students performed the classic Disney

story. Coming in, I didn’t expect to fall

in love with the show as much as I did

— like many older siblings and cousins,

I fell victim to constant reruns of “Let

It Go” for a good four years after the

movie was released in 2012. My love for

the show didn’t come from the music

or the dancing but from the cast. For

the first time in forever (get it!) Anna

and Elsa were played by two incredible

Muslim, Arab American actresses.

It was then that the story took on

a completely different meaning for

me. I loved seeing such strong female

characters played by Arab, Muslim

women. It created a reality and

possibilities that I had only dreamt of.

Dearborn High School junior Nadia

Gellani, who played Elsa, and Fordson

High School senior Jenna Kobeissi,

played their respective characters

as funny, angry, ditzy, free-spirited,

temperamental, reserved, silly, hurt,

excitable, optimistic, awkward, calm,

regal and most importantly — normal.

It’s rare for Arab, Muslim American

women, and especially Arab, Muslim

American women who wear the hijab,

to be portrayed like this.

Even now I find it kind of silly

with how much I resonated with this

show. Like, it’s Frozen, of all things.

But as someone who has loved the

theatre — pretty much for as long as

I can remember — it was jarring to

actually see two Muslim teenage girls

perform on such an enormous stage.

Throughout High School, I watched

as the other (and conveniently non-

majority PoC) high schools in the

district performed Into the Woods and

Little Shop of Horrors and be afforded

with opportunities to attend state-wide

theater conferences, while my group of

friends performed Shakespeare in the

French classroom because it was the

cheapest, and therefore only, thing we

could do (which, by the way, no hate

at all to Shakespeare, I was the one

pushing us to do all his plays in the first

place). I was never able to “see” myself

on stage — which is probably why

seeing this show meant so much to me.

“The best part,” Gellani told me

after the show, “is when the kids come

up to you and they’re like ‘Hi Anna’, ‘Hi

Elsa’ that’s really special.” Speaking to

the Gellani and Kobeissi, they really

asserted how comfortable they felt

working on this production, and it

was unlike any other productions

that they’d ever worked on — even in

Dearborn. Kobeissi said working with

Rashid was “the first time that I’ve

ever felt included, where things like

where my parents came from or my

religion didn’t matter.”

Anna and Elsa weren’t the only

stars of the show. Hans was played in

the Glacial cast by Edsel Ford senior

Jameel Baksh and in the Arctic Cast

by Edsel Ford sophomore Amen

Salha. And both actors have been

with Rashid since his very first shows

at Stout Middle School: Jameel with

Schoolhouse Rock, and Amen with

Hairspray. When asking both of them

about what it was like working on a

show with Baydoun, Amen had this to

say: “You feel pushed. Rashid pushes

us to our limit, and he knows that we

can give even more than we think can.”

Jameel similarly had this to say: “We

learn so much about acting, I think it

shows — I’ve never taken a dancing

class, I’ve never taken a singing class,

I’ve never taken an acting class, all of

my experience comes from Baydoun

and after 4-5 years of doing it I can tap

into these wells of experience.”

It’s not only representation that’s

important, though.It’s the space where

representation is created. And director

Rashid Baydoun has dedicated his

life to creating brave, generative and

most importantly, inclusive spaces that

allow for folks from all backgrounds to

participate. A show is composed of so

many people working behind scenes,

and it’s their support — the costume

designers that designed the modest

yet faithful transformation dress for

Elsa’s “Let It Go” number, the “drama

mamas” that helped along the way,

the backstage crew, composed of Arab

and Muslim students — that make the

show.

“Casting should be inclusive of all

people,” Baydon said. “Period. Don’t

tell me you can’t do something. ‘I can’t’

is not in my vocabulary.”

It’s easy to be consumed by all the

negativity that surrounds our lives.

It’s even easier for the nicer things

about the world around us — the

people striving to make real change,

the innovators and artists constantly

at work, the communities that band

together — to fall through the cracks,

but that doesn’t mean they don’t

exist. The Dearborn Youth Theater

company, as small or inconsequential

it may be in the grand scheme of the

universe, is a perfect example.