u/throwawayimsorry20

As a child growing up in a lower-middle-class family in the late 90s and early 2000s, I really appreciated that Kenan & Kel portrayed a traditional, ordinary middle-class family. So many kids shows, especially on Nickelodeon, featured kids living such wealthy, carefree lifestyles that I started to feel as though the way we lived wasn’t normal. Honestly, that could be deeply discouraging as a kid.

The teenagers in those shows practically did anything they wanted, with little to no rules, responsibilities, or realistic consequences. Not to mention, magically, always had money. I understand that sitcoms aren’t supposed to be completely realistic, but that doesn’t mean those portrayals have no effect on children.

Take Drake & Josh, for example: their bedroom alone looked nearly as large as our living room and dining room combined—and then some. The presence of their parents was almost nonexistent and when they were, they were basically clowns, well, mainly the dad, but you get the idea. Meanwhile, Kenan & Kel showed Kenan working an ordinary job at Rigby’s, dealing with a boss, answering to his parents, and getting into trouble when his schemes went wrong. His home looked lived-in and attainable, not like a mansion disguised as an average family home. His parents were also portrayed as actual parents to be respected.

When Kenan wanted something, like the mountain bike, the show emphasized how hard he had to work for it. When his parents wanted to buy it for him but simply couldn’t afford it, that really hit home. I remember my mom buying me an Xbox, but I had to wait a long time for it, and even then I contributed some of my b-day money.

I also appreciated that Kenan’s parents were genuinely present. They established boundaries, worried about money, disciplined him when necessary, and still clearly loved and supported him. Even Kenan and Kel’s adventures usually began in ordinary places—a modest home, a cozy neighborhood grocery store (Rigby’s), school, or local places in Chicago—which made their world feel familiar and welcoming.

For all its ridiculous comedy and orange soda chaos, Kenan & Kel made everyday working-family life feel worthy of being shown. It allowed kids like me to laugh without constantly being reminded of what our families couldn’t afford. Looking back, I really appreciate the show even more for that.

As much as I dislike the app, I keep it around in case I need it for something. I hardly use it. One thing I’ve consistently noticed, though, is that Instagram seems to push anti-Islam comments to the top of almost every Islamic reel I come across.

I know hateful comments exist everywhere online, but Instagram seems especially bad. I often have to make a couple decent scrolls in the comments page before I start seeing normal, organic comments from actual users.

What I find even more interesting is that many of these hate comments are relatively new, yet they’re placed above older comments with far more likes that are friendly, neutral, or actually relevant to the post.
I’m willing to bet the majority of these comments are by bots but I guess that’s besides the point. I even tested something out; I copied one of the anti-Islam comments almost word-for-word but simply replaced the Islam-related terms (“Islam,” “Muslims,” “Qur’an,” etc.) with references to other groups. Instagram immediately warned me, blocked the comment, or auto-removed it and flagged my account.

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I the only one seeing it? And my other question is, why the heck aren’t the Muslims uploading Islamic content not removing these hateful comments? Even if ur a big uploader and don’t have to time, u can literally set filters lol.

I’ve recently found myself leaning towards the maturidi creed but a lot of atharis have jumped down my throat because of this. Is there any objective reason the maturidi creed is kuffir?

Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh

I’ve noticed on the dawah-scene, especially on different parts of the internet like TikTok, where brothers and sisters will be sitting on livestream panels just casually shooting the breeze. I mainly notice this on TikTok because of how easy it is for guests to hop onto panels.

And to be clear, I’m not talking about cases where a sheikh is streaming and a sister joins just to ask a sincere question about the Deen. I’m talking about casual chitchat, joking around, hanging out on panels, etc. Whenever this gets called out, people either get hostile or try to defend it by bringing up how Aisha رضي الله عنها spoke to men from behind a screen. Then they’ll claim that “over the internet” is basically the same thing as that screen 🤦‍♂️

But obviously Aisha رضي الله عنها was doing that for the purpose of conveying needed knowledge of the Deen, not casually socializing with non-mahrams. Yet ppl take that specific scenario, strip it of its context, and use it to justify what honestly looks like obvious free-mixing online. You’ll even notice the same sisters constantly joining specific brothers’ panels over and over again.

Brothers and sisters, am I wrong for seeing this as not allowed? Please be unapologetic. Jazakum Allah khair.