I don’t get why this is tagged SJW, I don’t think this was made in blind hatred for any other people, this is just art.

@Background Pony #7034  

 
That’s quite the accusation you made there friend. What is your bias for it?

Implying there is religion in MLP that does pertain to the worship of Godhorse Celestia.

You people are vile and racist. This art is awesome! Way better than the shit you guys cramp out!

I always like human!CMC best when they’re clearly of different ethnicities and/or backgrounds.  
Sweetie in a hijab never occurred to me, but I think she looks great in it and I wouldn’t mind seeing more.

Of course this has downvotes.  

More ponies in headscarves please. Also I think it’s hilarious(ly sad) that everyone downvotes Muslimshy and the gang and says “Don’t force religion on my ponies” but Nunlestia gets gazillions of upvotes because nuns r hot or something.

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
Well, the only religion I know of that has a high presence in Africa is Islam… so maybe Zecora would be a better option to wear a hijab headscarf? Ahem. Anyway, just wanted to mention that you were very civil, and that I only hope I came off the same way. Peace.

@toonbat  
Hi.
 
I typically don’t have a problem with assigning a character a skin colour if it works well with their hair and outfit (and yes it must be both; there’s a reason “colourist” is a real profession). In fact, there was a pic of a black Rainbow Dash that I praised to the hilt because the artist understood how to make a dark skin tone work with the rainbow hair. There’s nothing wrong with Celestia in a kimono either. But keep in mind that the kimono - of which there are many types - is not necessarily a religious symbol, nor is it all that much of an “ethnic” symbol either. It doesn’t have all the baggage the hejab does.
 
Anyone has the right to draw whatever they want, however they want. I certainly would never try to stop you, unless you were just trolling, which I don’t think you would do. ;) However, one must be willing to subject oneself to criticism, both fair and unfair. Naturally, the unfair criticism should be ignored, but sometimes people can make sense.
 
Y’know, it’s funny you mention Zecora meditating, because we see her doing exactly that in “Swarm of the Century”. Interestingly, I don’t know of any African religions (I’ll admit my knowledge is not all that deep) where zen-style meditation is practised. So you actually have a point there.

@Mephistopheles  
Please find the section in my reply that says I think that assigning races based on personality was a swell idea. I merely said assigning race based on looks was okay, because frankly that’s all that race is. Mere appearance.
 
As for assigning religion based on personality? Of course it’s bad. Members of any given religion run the gamut of all personality types. But religions are still specific guidelines for how to behave, and if you meet a character who’s behavior fits the guideline, it’s okay to make the association. You’re not necessarily saying ‘He/she must be a member of this religion’. You could just be saying ‘He/she would probably feel right at home in this religion’.

@toonbat
 
Assigning religions and races based on personality is demeaning. It classifies entire peoples and faiths into artificial sets of preconceived notions. If cops are slammed for doing such a thing (AKA racial profiling), artists shouldn’t expect to be immune from similar backlash, either.
 
A better model would be assigning colors and cultures based on geographic origins of species or mythology. For example, Zecora would definitely be humanized as African because the three species of zebras are all found in sub-Saharan Africa. Conversely, an African-American would be “ponified” as a zebra because both Africans and zebras come from Africa (obviously).
 
A full guide (in two parts) can be found here:  
>>379174  
>>379448  
I’m still working to expand it, by the way.

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
I… can’t really see where I disagree with ou. Assigning religions, nationalities or ‘races’ to the characters according to what the artist thinks suits their personalities is basically promoting stereotypes, and therefore not a good idea.
 
I just don’t see why assigning them for purely cosmetic reasons is bad. If I’m drawing a human Rainbow Dash, and I think that her mane looks better against darker skin than pale, why the tartarus should I not draw that? If I think Celestia would look gorgeous in a kimono, why not draw that?
 
Also, even though I specifically mentioned that assigning nationalities or religions to characters based on their personalities is bad… I don’t think it’s terribly bad. Cultures and religions are all about life philosophies or strategies for living , and that goes hand and hand with attitude and personality. Let’s say I was buddhist, and I wanna mix my love of ponies with the love of my religion. So I decide to draw one of the characters doing meditation, so I go ahead and pick Zecora. Not because ‘Zecora’s introspective and therefore buddhist’ but because ‘introspectiveness is a valued attribute in buddhism, and it seems to me that Zecora would be the kind of person to appreciate that’. How terrible is that really?

@toonbat  
No. There is a difference between colour & race in the MLP world and colour & race in the real world.
 
In the world of MLP, colour means nothing and race is, for the most, part, not a big deal unless it involves specific attributes like flying or magic (poor Earthponies).
 
Like it or not, Race comes with baggage, notably stereotypes (both positive and negative). As a result, anyone who tries to map these non-human characters to human races will inevitably dredge up those stereotypes, especially if they insist they aren’t.
 
What is the #1 reason given for making Twilight Sparkle a Black woman? It usually boils down to her being the “darkest” character, or a desire to play the “Black Nerd” stereotype. Sometimes artists make her Asian? That’s even more stereotypical, even if it’s positive!
 
Similarly, some artists will make Rarity a Black woman (oftentimes a big Black woman). Why? Because of the stereotype of Black women being sassy and into fashion.
 
Why does an artist see fit to make Fluttershy a Muslim? “Because she’s quiet/humble/etc.” That’s an even worse stereotype than the previous ones!
 
“But that’s just how I see these characters.” Bullsh*t. You’re either mapping real-world stereotypes onto these fantasy ponies, consciously or not, or you are attempting to force diversity into a cast that is in reality 95% White.
 
PS - This is exactly the reason I’m glad Hasbro decided to skirt the issue with Equestria Girls, though I’m sure plenty of “Diversity Warriors” were ticked that Twilight wasn’t Black.

@scootaloo  
Forced? Appreciated! Would you like MLP better if the main six were five earth ponies, one pegasus and no unicorns? Or if there were four jocks, two nerds and no fashionistas? Or if all six of them were purple? Yeah, it’s ‘unrealistic’ that they’re all varied colors, species and personalities. It also makes for better stories based on their contrasts.

Dat forced diversity.

Love Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in this one.