Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik fans (better known as Zayn), Yolanda Hadid.The rupture caused more pain than a breakdown of "brageline" or "bennifer", at least for millennials Muslims who have been burning supporters of the relationship of Gigi and Zayn, however unconventional that it was according to traditional Muslims standards.

Since One Direction appeared on the music scene through X Factor more than a decade ago, I was Zayn's fan (although I confess that I have not heard much of his recent music).In an industry largely empty of Muslim representation, here was a brown skin musician with roots in Bradford who was raised as Muslim (although he told British Vogue in 2018 that he no longer identified himself as a practical member of religion).He had an Arab name, he wanted his fans "Eid Mubarak" and occasionally sang in Urdu.Just say that the heart of Muslim girls around the world was instantly.I remember that I stayed to sleep at my cousin's house shortly after One Direction jumped to fame, and we both fell in love looking at Zayn's poster at the door of his closet.

When in 2015 it was reported that Zayn was dating the half -palestinian Gigi Hadid supermodel, the couple could not be more perfect for the Muslim fans of the two celebrities.In fact, the mere fact that they had Muslim origins is what attracted many of their Muslim fans first.The couple's images celebrating the EID with cultural clothes and statements such as "he has read the Qur'an three times" (as Zayn's mother, Trisha Malik, said to the BBC) were enough to win Muslim fans around the world.

Each at the top of their respective industries (music and modeling) and each with Muslim cultural history (Pakistani and Palestinian), made an unprecedented couple.It did not matter that Gigi was a model and undressed his skin for the camera, or that Zayn's body was covered with tattoos, or even that they both had a child out of marriage.In fact, their own rebellion against the norms of Muslim traditions may have made them win more Millennial Muslim fans, which are often trapped between their culture and contemporary social norms, and look for diverse and related behavior models of behavior.

Over the years, some Muslims have obsessively delivered to their fascination of "Zigi" (the nickname that many use for the couple);Numerous Islamic blogs and forums digest the behaviors and activities of the two celebrities in an attempt to demonstrate their "Muslim".

An Elle article of 2020 entitled "For the Muslims of the Z, Gigi and Zayn generation they are more than a powerful Hollywood couple," I successfully described why Muslims around the world identify with Gigi and Zayn, which may notStereotyped practicing Muslims appear but, however, their Pakistani and Palestinian identity are their.At a time when the media usually unfairly claim Islam, Zayn and Gigi becamepopular icons that fight generalized Islamophobia in the West.They have been a united icon of diversity in an industry that has been typically bleached and ignorant of Muslim nuances.

In March 2017, Gigi starred in the first cover of Vogue Arabia adorned with a scandalous facial veil.He shared the photo on Instagram and declared: "Being half a Palestinian means the world for me".Together with his sister Bella Hadid, Gigi has been a firm defender of the Palestinian cause, just like Zayn.Their political positions on Palestine earned them a new wave of support by Muslim fans.His private relationship and his decision to protect his daughter from the public gaze were also very understood and applauded by his followers.

Many perceived that the couple's life was perfect.However, that bubble broke yesterday, with the news of its apparent abrupt break and accusations of aggression.Fans around the world are desolate, but those who are Muslims are even more affected, since their vision of this ideal and glamorous Muslim couple has broken.

The accusations of aggression against Zayn (which he has denied "categorically") are especially discourage.That he is accused of hitting a woman is a difficult pill to swallow for his millions of Muslim fans.

While I write this, the journalistic investigations reveal that Zayn was accused of four positions of harassment, which he declared "not answered" (this does not admit guilt, but accepts the punishment, which in this case amounts to 360 days of freedomconditional, the performance of an anger control course and the selection for a program for supervision of domestic violence).

However, many of Zayn's fans defend him with burning on Twitter, and numerous memes circulate on the network, describing Zayn as a protective father and Yolanda as an entrometry mother -in.Fans may feel disconsolate by the news of the breakup, but trolling is not the answer, and less from an Islamic perspective that fosters compassion and empathy.

As a Muslim that longs to see more representation of my class in the media, I admit that I have often felt a warm and diffuse feeling when seeing the Instagram images of Gigi and Zayn (sometimes accompanied by baby Khai, whose face is alwayshidden).And although they are perceived as a "couple of Muslim power", I think that Muslims we hurry too much to assign pedestals to celebrities who do not ask the responsibility of being seen as models of their parents' faith.

His reign may be "power couple" has finished -at least for now -, but maybe fans could take advantage of this time to review their own intentions, priorities and passions.We should think twice before idolizing celebrities, insisting on their innocence in cases of supposed violence and getting lost in the fandom frenzy, and, just maybe, grant them the privacy they have asked for all the time.