A few days back I came across a video wherein a maulvi aka shaykh and religious sholar in English was apologizing for a dance video of his that got leaked. That guy was just dancing in that video, doing nothing else and enjoying himself. I don't know whether he leaked it or someone else did, but it did go viral and as it did, people started calling him shameless. I really don't get why this is a big deal maybe because he is a religious scholar and is not supposed to dance. But why? He was just enjoying himself. He wasn't doing anything shameless at all.
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Yeah, if he preaches that one should not dance, but is doing the same himself, that's not right because if he is making things miserable for others, I don't think it is right for him to engage in the same activities. Also, if he does not practice what he preaches, people won't follow him. However, if that is not the case and he is not a rigid person who wishes to know and learn about his religion and enjoy as well, then what's the harm?
After his dance video got leaked, he published another one where he apologized for doing that heinous crime and was remorseful about it. Again, I did not get why he was regretting enjoying himself and dancing. I mean, he wasn't naked. He wasn't even dancing publicly. He was just having a good time with himself. Why is that so wrong?
You can watch the video here.
This does not end here. This public rant on everything that does not conform to the societal norms has suffocated many before him and will do so to many after him. There are many people who get a bashing by the community just for being different or for following their hearts. For instance, I remember my uncle not agreeing to my cousin growing his hair long because it did not look decent. That boy was trying to find himself and wanted to explore himself in the process which is I think is perfectly fine. However, he was stopped by his father because he wanted to be different and see what worked for him. This is just a really small example, but I know it isn't something small for those who go through self-esteem issues.
My own sister went through a lot of such troubles sometime back. She has a very laid back and casual sense of dressing up. She does not like to look formal or too presentable and does not care at all about what others think. If she feels comfortable, she is happy. However, my mother did not get that and honestly, I did not get that at first either. We would often pester her for not being properly dressed up and for not looking nice. We did not realize, but it was sabotaging her self-esteem and she started nurturing many unhealthy beliefs just because of that. I became more aware of this when I became a mother myself and realized my son had the same need. He wanted to feel comfortable and proper shoes and boots never make him feel comfortable like crocs do so be it winters or summers, he wears crocs and only on rare occasions, I am able to convince him to wear shoes with formal pants and a shirt.
I realized that it is important for a child to make their own decisions and to let him/ her grow on his/ her own so he understand himself/ herself better and feels confident in the process. Sadly, we have a bad habit of not letting the others live. Maybe, it is because we faced some pressures too which is why we are mean to others or maybe the society has turned us into people who just cannot see anyone be genuinely happy for long. I just wish this does change for the better and I am trying my best to let people live by not commenting negatively on anything I find different to what I do or believe in. If I don't have something nice to say, I try not to say anything mean either. I wish more people start doing that too.
What do you think of the topic? Have you ever had any experiences where you felt forced to behave a certain way? Do share your views in the comments below.
Love and light,
Sharoon.
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