A poem by a British-Muslim aspiring writer and poet is going viral with thousands sharing it.
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, is the second runner-up of the ninth Poetry Slam competition, organized by Roundhouse, a London-based charity earlier in June.
Her piece titled, "This is not a humanizing poem," won big at the charity's event, which is part of their "Last Word Festival."
After being shared by the charity's official Facebook page on June 23, the video of her moving recital has already garnered over 200,000 views at the time of writing.
Refusing to use her words to "humanize Muslims" and minorities in the eyes of the world, the young woman sends a powerful message, saying:
"If you need me to prove my humanity, I'm not the one who's not human."
"I put my pen down, I will not let that poem force me to write it because it's not the poem I want to write. It's the poem I am being reduced to, reduced to proving my life is human because it is relatable, valuable because it is recognizable," she says.
"This will not be a 'Muslims are like us' poem, I refuse to be respectable. Instead, love us when we are lazy, love us when we are poor... Love us high as kites, unemployed, joy riding, time wasting, failing at school, love us filthy. Without the right color passports, without the right sounding English," she adds.