It’s a sad reality that moderate Muslims are few and far between. Anti-Western views run very deep among the group, as even moderate ones often espouse alarming beliefs.
Even so, there are still moderate Muslims out there trying to make their way in the modern world. But oftentimes, these folks are targeted by their fellow Muslims for “offending” Islam, which is exactly what’s happened with a prominent Muslim woman that dared to take a photo with a person from the most hated nation in the Middle East.
As reported at the New York Post, Miss Iraq, Sarah Idan, along with her family, have been forced to flee their home country thanks to a photo she posted on Instagram last month.
The photo in question was taken during a Miss Universe International Beauty Pagent, and in it, she’s posing with Miss Israel, Adar Gandelsman.
Idan came under fire for posting the photo to Instagram, captioned, “Peace and Love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel,” in addition to modeling a bikini. Talk about adding insult to injury when it comes to the feelings of radical Muslims.
“The two of those things together caused a mess for her back home where people made threats against her and her family that if she didn’t return home and take down the photos, they would remove her (Miss Iraq) title, that they would kill her,” Gandelsman told Israeli TV, the paper reported.
After the controversy picked up steam, Idan tried to mitigate the damage by making another Instagram post apologizing to those who thought the photo was “harmful to the Palestinian cause,” clarifying that it was not a political statement, but instead meant to “express hope and desire for peace between the two countries.”
The apology and explanation weren’t good enough apparently, as death threats continued to pour in. So much so, she and her family have fled Iraq.
She added, it “does not signal support for the government of Israel and does not mean I agree or accept its policies in the Arab homeland.”
According to Miss Israel, Idan doesn’t regret the photo, as it’s still up on her Instagram page. Gandelsman also explained the logic behind the photo. “She did it to so that people can understand that it’s possible to live together.”
Idan will now have to find a new home, likely outside the Middle East. So much for an innocuous attempt to bring people together.
Source: New York Post