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Did Kamala’s Khan’s origin take a dark and problematic turn?
There were so many wonderful aspects to Ms. Marvel episode 3. The beautiful depiction of Aamir and Tyesha’s wedding including a great insight in Muslim tradition and Pakistani culture, not to mention the amazing dance scenes! We get a great fight scene between Kamala and Najma’s clan. Marvel continues to pull panels right off the page including the heartfelt moment where we have Sheikh Abdallah give some powerful words that will propel Kamala toward being the hero we all anticipate her becoming.
Yet there were also some moments that many feel was a misstep for the series and the origin of our first Pakistani-American superhero. Mainly the reference to the Clan Destine and Djinn.
The Clan Destine
After the cliff-hanger of episode 2 and the revelation that Kamala had a vision of Kamran’s Mother, Najma, two terms were mentioned in association to Kamala’s great grandmother and the source of her powers, Clan Destine and Djinn, and there lies the problem.
The Clan Destine and Djinn in the comics have been intertwined as the children of Adam of Destine and a Djinn named Elalyth also considered an angel in the comics.
There has been much concern that Ms. Marvel would provide an honest representation of Muslims in the MCU and though much was done correctly, many feel that this is a major step back. Though this has only been mentioned in one episode, using religious beings (Djinn) that millions of Muslims hold as a part of their faith, in a trivial manner can only sour the experience for what has been an otherwise promising series.
TheAmiraReview, fellow contributor and creator on Tiktok gives insight to the concern:
The problem lays in the misuse of the concept and also the fact it could fall into the usual orientalist trope. Muslims hold dear their religious beliefs and using those as red herring is problematic. Misusing them and separating the religious concept from its true meaning is also seen as disrespectful.
TheAmiraREview
What happens next in Ms. Marvel episode 4 will possibly answer some questions, and could expand on the current concerns of many. As much as I have enjoyed this series, I respect the calling out of problematic issues that many have been brought up regarding this topic. I hope that they do not continue with the Djinn story and instead use this moment to disconnect some of the historically wrong representation that has been depicted in comics.
You can find Ms. Marvel steaming now on Disney+
