Yes. Madarasachap. Let us begin by learning what it means.
And oh, before I tell you the meaning, let me tell you that ‘madarasachap’ is a derogatory term.
Etymology: Its etymology lies somewhere in the words ‘anghutachap’ which means ‘illiterate’ and in ‘sadakchaap’ which loosely mean ‘homeless’. Here in India, I have come across many people who think that every Muslim is a madarasachap.
Meaning: Muslims
Synonyms: Muzzie, Mullahs, sand/oil nigger, raghead, etc.
Madarasachaps lack intelligence, patriotism and compassion; were born without any useful skills and are basically good for nothings who feed on taxes the Hindus pay.
The term has become so popular, that you can feel it when a non Muslim looks at a Muslim. These days, when I step out of the house I am more socially conscious than ever. I have to make sure that nothing about me would give someone a chance to call me a Madarasachap.
Being a Muslim woman, I wear the abaya. But unlike many non Muslim women who step out in their pajamas and night dress when they take their pets on walk or when they make a quick, short visit to the grocery store, I can’t wear pajamas or maxi under my all-covering abaya lest it shows while I walk the stairs and people point at me and laugh.
I can’t commit little everyday blunders like dropping my keys, mispronouncing a word, feeding the wrong pin to the ATM, taking too long to decide on the flavour of ice cream, spelling a word wrongly, missing the target entirely while playing archery at the sports arena in the mall, taking an extra minute at the billing counter, making a simple grammar mistake, shutting the door too loudly, pushing instead of pulling the door or even taking longer than half a minute to find change in my purse.
Nope, I can’t do all that without being judged. If I do those things it just proves I was born inept. That’s your certification for being a madarasachap. Infact, I turn into a madarasachap the moment I cover myself in the abaya which many people so lovingly call ‘the black tent’. Harsh, but true.
I have to be extra careful and extra generous everywhere. I have to be extra courteous and mind my manners to a T. But sometimes even this fails to make an impression. I then have to showcase my oratory and communication skills and speak in English. Only then people begin to believe that there’s a face behind the veil, a human being inside the abaya and a brain in my skull.
A few months ago, I started disallowing myself a lot of things. Like going to book fairs, cycling, archery or bowling because people look at me funny. They are short of screaming “Look! There’s a Moslem girl reading or playing a sport in an abaya!” I stopped playing in the rain or jumping in the puddles. When I click photos, I can hear someone snorting and I know what they are thinking. They are thinking “what’s the point of clicking pics when you are wearing the same dress every single time?!”
Not just me, my husband had to change several things in his lifestyle to avoid being unfairly judged. In India, every fifth person does something stupid or flouts the rules, for instance- walking on the wrong side of the street, jumping the signal, neglecting the helmet, speaking in the library, trying to sneak food items in the cinema hall, triple riding on a two wheeler, etc. These are normal things in my country. People will see you doing it, laugh or shake their heads and forget about it. But when a Muslim does it, they are hailed as madarasa…wait-for-it…chaap, madarasachap! The prejudice continues.
I am not saying that Muslims never make mistakes. There are dickheads everywhere, in every religion and they come in all colours and sizes and shapes. There are villains too. But very so often you’ll come across good Samaritans also. If I ever get in a debate, I can point out a ton of quirks and flaws and weird rituals in every culture of the world. But that would still not make me judgemental.
My point is, it’s easy to look at people and make quick judgements about them because they dress in a manner unfamiliar to you or they belong to a religion you don’t like. A few bad apples doesn’t make everyone bad. So, stop judging a book by its cover.
What a beautiful blog you have! I have never seen like this blog ever in wp, it is a rare one, however, it is elegantly, and thank you for sharing this information, keep the great work up! 🙂
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Thanks for your time. This is a new blog and your comments and thoughts will be appreciated. Do keep visiting.
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Sure, I will , good luck ❤️
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Poignant.
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Thank you for your follow. I love your courage and sense of humour, because of your bolg name, especially in the context of this post. May I invite you to read this in the context of our human nature to stereotype a different person: https://wordpress.com/post/thinkinkadia.wordpress.com/4377
Please allow yourself to be who you want to be, whichever side of the fence you are on. Hugs! I’m sorry if ignorant Hindus made you feel bad.
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Thanks for visiting. Your comment and support provides me the strength I need. I am on my way to the link you provided. You needn’t apologise… if we begin to apologise for “ignorant” people on “our” side then I will have to apologise for so many people ! 😛
Do keep visiting. Happy blogging! 🙂
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I love it! N Welcome💞 Look forward to future interactions😉
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Hello and Asalaam alaikum. I enjoyed reading your post, there are so many things you mentioned, you have done a good job. I’m glad you dress the way you want. Ignorant people will never understand anything about religion or anything different. Why should we care what they think.
When I read madarasachapmuslim I didn’t know what it meant, but now that I know, thank you for explaining and following my blog.
I am a Bengali Muslim, I live in Canada, and have been blogging since 2012. Welcome to my website. I hope we will stay in touch.
Where in India do you live? 🙂
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Walaikum as salaam. Hey, you’re Indian too! 🙂 Thank you for understanding my point. I do think everyone has a right to follow whatever they want but then I also feel that we need to stand up against prejudice. Hence this blog.
I will surely find time to go through your entire blog but I liked what I already read. Do keep visiting and happy blogging!
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Today I learned the word Abaya.
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Hahaha. You mean to say you already knew what Madarasachap meant?
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Nope.. Well to answer your question. I know the words individually. Buy I have no use of the words combined..
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I’ll be interested to see more of your posts. Thank you for following 50figment. Cheers!
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I too look forward to your posts! Do keep visiting! Happy blogging! 🙂
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There are those of us who will never experience what you have written about. I do see in your writing one who has courage and a deep understanding and love for who they are. We cannot control how people think about us but we can control how it effects us. Thank you for sharing.
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Words like these provide hope and strength. Thanks a lot ! 🙂
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Hello and thank you for following http://www.thelittleredwagonblog.wordpress.com
Thank you also for sharing so candidly about your journey. I love all people and welcome any dialogue. God bless you!
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I liked your blog and will go through more of your posts again. May bless you too! 🙂
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Hello and hank you for following my blog. I’m sorry that in your country there is so much prejudice. I fear it happens everywhere. I hope that by talking about it, and explaining what Islam means to you, you might help some people gain a better understanding.
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I found your blog and liked it and will go through it again. Prejudice prevails everywhere, there’s need of people like you who aren’t biased and paint all with a broad brush. Thanks. Happy blogging !
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Ma’am, these hates, these ignorance’s seem to be all over the world. It is what that is between the ears of a person that makes them either good or evil, not a Burka or a towel upon your head, or not having them. I like the honesty of your article ma’am so I am going to reblog it for you.
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