How a text and restaurant can lead to eliminating misconceptions.

A friend of mine recently sent me this message:

“I live, as you know, in Shadwell, (London) a predominately Muslim area, and love it. There is somehow a very good sense of community that I have never experienced elsewhere, despite me not being Muslim.

Of course in the present times the misconceptions on Muslims and Asians are abundant. The media surely isn’t helping. Muslims in the media are pretty much always portrayed as terrorists or simply as 2nd class citizens.

I thought it could be interesting perhaps to create a YouTube channel, or a series of films, portraying Muslim people. Each film about a character, a Muslim man or woman going about her/his everyday life, with the purpose of “humanifying” Muslims a bit more!”

Emanuele (http://mannyc.tv) is an Italian film editor living in London.

His altruism stunned me. He wants to give back to the community that he lives in, and possibly change the stereotypes of a community that he’s grown to love by doing what he does best. Films.

This got me thinking of the community I live in and its stereotypes.

I live in Dubai. A city that was literally built in the desert. A city that probably has way too many Ferraris, Lamborghinis and BMWs roaming its streets. It is a city, however, where only 10-15% of its population is Emirati.

One of my misconceptions towards this community is the extreme segregation of genders. Where dads aren’t even involved in their kids’ daily lives because they’re too busy sipping on their coffee and paying more attention to their newly purchased phones. I did not believe “these people” knew what family ties meant.

I was convinced they did not make time for their own families.

I also thought that Dubai is part of a country that has no national cuisine. It wasn’t until THIS month that I actually tried its cuisine at Al Fanar Restaurant. In fact, I was told that this country’s food is a mix of other countries’. Blame it on my ignorance or general misconception, but many people living or even visiting Dubai have this same idea. (I conducted a little survey amongst my humble circle of friends and VERY few even knew that Emiratis actually have their own cuisine).

Having visited Al Fanar Restaurant twice in less than a month got me thinking again.

Why isn’t a delicious and beautiful place like this better known among non-Emiratis?

And not that Instagram is a good measure of popularity, but heck, the Dubai Police Instagram page has more followers than this restaurant!

One of the reasons why I really like Al Fanar Restaurant is because it’s packed with Emirati families sharing a tasty meal together. They were laughing, talking and seemed to be having a great time.

I didn’t even feel unwelcomed by any weird or judgmental looks. I’m the minority in this restaurant and no one really stared. If anything, I was the one that caught myself staring several times.

In an age where it’s so easy to dehumanize a whole culture, it really can take a restaurant like this to change one’s negative perceptions.

If you haven’t visited Al Fanar Restaurant yet, I encourage you to go and try it out. This place is now my new “must see” location next time I have visitors in town.

I hope this article motivates you to give back to your community and help diminish harmful stereotypes/misconceptions. Even if giving back involves something as little as writing about a local restaurant.

PS. If you’re interested in collaborating with Emanuele on his cool new project, or know someone who is, then contact him today manny@mannyc.tv