On Wednesday, July 21, with a flurry of excitement to catch up on the latest department store flyers, I ran to the front door to read the The NOW.
I stopped in my tracks, instantly taken aback by the image on the front cover: In the background there was what looked like a tank; in the foreground there was what looked like a woman from the Muslim world wearing a long black gown and scarf, and setting the scene, what looked like screens reminding me of the kind of lattice work found in Muslim architecture.
My first thought: What is this? Where is it happening? And why is this picture in The NOW? I felt my heart racing and my blood flowing faster, afraid that yet again I was seeing an off-putting representation of Muslims and the Muslim world.
To make sure my personal biases were not informing my view, I showed the image to my parents and randomly to local shop keepers and people on the street. They too, initially suggested war and images of war, specifically from Afghanistan, Palestine and India.
Ismailimail 