Operation: Dard and Devotion

Extra 3 | Misconceptions & Understanding

BEFORE YOU PROCEED, KNOW THAT THIS SECTION IS THE GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF ALL SPOILERS. 

I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU AVOID THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ FROM CHAPTER 1 TO THE FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE.

I really wanted to avoid adding anything after the Final Author's Note, but after reading through the comments and messages from there, I think there are a few things that need to be cleared up. No, I'm not doing this because I'm angry or anything, but I've seen a lot of people think along these lines and it's probably best to clear the air right here.

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Arabic and Urdu are languages. Like English, they can be spoken by anyone. English is not restricted to only (I hate pointing this out like this, but) "white people". In the same way, Arabic is not only for Arab Muslims, and Urdu is not exclusively spoken by Pakistani Muslims. In fact, there are a number of Arab Christians who speak Arabic, and Urdu is spoken all over Pakistan and in some parts of India - regardless of religion. Can you imagine if English was restricted to a certain type of people with a certain background and a certain faith? In that case, hardly any of us would be able to read this at all!

Next, Asia is the hub of most (if not all) of the world's religions and of such rich diversity. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and so, so, so much more! These religions don't have language or cultural or racial barriers. They can be practiced by anyone! Therefore, just because I am a non-Muslim does not mean I am non-Asian (and I very much am - can't live without salwars and samosas, ya know :3 OH AND BIRYANI!!!!).

It is certainly not impossible for a non-Muslim to write about Muslims (hey, look at me! ;D). The internet is a lovely, vast source and that makes it possible to learn a lot. However, I do find it mildly off-putting when people think I am not capable of writing this story on my own. I had a slightly easy way out on this because I had wanted a good grade for my Public Speaking class, and so a lot of the research I did for those speech assignments were able to be carried over for the makings of ODaD's plot. Regardless, it did take time, especially since I did not emerge from the womb with all this information.

You don't need to be of a certain background to write about something, but you should be very sure you aren't being biased! (*stares at all of you*) Yes, I do have Muslim friends in reality, however, nobody in my reality knows that I write. Plus, they're not huge readers to begin with, so no, I did not get any help from them. I'm not calling myself a bighearted saint, but I truly do consider everyone (except for jerks...) to be my brothers and sisters, whether they are Christian or not. I never, in my head, ever discriminated people just because they were of a different religion or background than me. And I know I am not the only one who thinks this way. We all bleed the same color. (Although, I think I've read that some animals bleed blue? - LOL not the Indian cricket team! xD But some animals actually have blue blood...or maybe that's some illogical myth and I'm just really confuzzled. I dunno why I even mentioned that because its irrelevant since I'm supposed to be talking about humans here...)

ANYHOO...

On another note, my grandfather was fluent in Syriac, written and verbal, and even went to Syria in the 1930s - way before any of this present nonsense had occurred and yes, once upon a time, Muslims, Christians, and those from other faiths had resided there in peace. He was an Orthodox Christian priest (as was my great-grandfather whom I have never met) for over fifty years. Perhaps my interest in Syria sprouted from flipping through my grandfather's Syriac books and from growing up to chants and lyrical prose in Syriac. Either way, telling me I should not write about a foreign culture just because I have no direct roots from there is not going to sit well with me.