Lily Brunelle
“And the earth We spread out, and placed therein firm mountains” [al-hijr 15:19]
“And We have placed on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with them” [al-anbiya’ 21:31]
“Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs?” [An-Naba’ 78:6-7]
God may have seen earth as unstable and flushed with destructive earthquakes. Allah spreads mountains throughout the land to absorb any instability, and the mountains stand firm with strength to allow us to live on earth and make it our ‘bed’.
I hoped to portray mountains’ strength as stated in the Qur’an’s (to protect land and civilians from disasters like earthquakes), but also as a symbol of personal stability. I grew up in a mountain town in Idaho, where I spent my time exploring the wilderness surrounding my home. The mountains of Idaho were where most of my cherished memories and growth took place. I find mountains to be my symbol of stability.
For my illustration, I wrote the name of Allah within the shadows of the mountain on the sun-facing side. The shadows emphasize the sharp ridges and snow that define the mountain’s power and strength.
Digital drawing on IPad.
For Section B, I chose to write about the harmful politicization of the hijab or headscarf. When I was starting to think about a message to convey, I wanted to do something creative such as a painting or a drawing. However, I wasn’t sure how best to convey this message, and I was unsure how to creatively represent my hopes to convince the audience to normalize open-mindedness surrounding the hijab/headscarf. I went for the more critical route. I drew a hijab, but I drew the hijab as if a woman wrapped her head with the American Flag. Like I mentioned in Section A, the western preconceptions of the hijab/headscarf that lead to discrimination and Islamophobia make a massive impact on Muslims in society. The extreme islamophobia would be to never see a hijab/headscarf, but I still drew a hijab. I felt that if the entirety of the hijab was made up of the American flag, then the unsolicited and naïve, infiltration of people’s identity and faith that some of the west (in this case, America) imposes would be clear. What is supposed to represent one’s identity and worn proudly (if chosen to), is now a political/national symbol determined by irrelevant parties.
Like I said before, I went for the more critical route; my drawing is targeted for Americans. I really wanted to portray the idea that the lack of education and understanding for other’s identity, culture, and contexts is harmful, all-consuming, and uncomfortable.
