Lent’s a pretty secular tradition these days, isn’t it? Ever since Josh Hartnett starred in 40 Days And 40 Nights, you know, the film where he tried to give up sex for lent, the whole thing culminating in him ‘faking’ an orgasm and some woman sort of pretty much um raping him because he was in such a stupor of needing-a-wank, lent is well and truly not an act reserved only for ultra-observant Christians.
That’s why it’s not entirely weird that Muslims across America are giving up things for lent, using the hashtag #Muslims4Lent. While some young Muslims are happily uploading images of themselves holding up whiteboards saying stuff like : ‘I’m Bassel A Muslim AMERICAN in Solidarity, next 40 days NO sour cream + onion chips #muslims4lent’ or ‘I’m Saadia A Muslim AMERICAN in solidarity, next 40 days NO McDonald’s #muslims4lent’
These signs of solidarity are very sweet, and incredibly well-intentioned, especially in light of increased islamophobia. However, things are so fractious that the hashtag isn’t being taken so well by other social media users with one person pointing out that Muslims shouldn’t have to assimilate with Christian traditions without the reverse happening, too.
This lent, we think you should do whatever you feel like doing, just don't push it onto anyone else.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.