LONDON – In a bid to counter Islamophobia, a young British Muslim has performed at a slam poetry competition, arguing that people’s tendency to “humanize” Muslims is not the solution to rising Islamophobia.

At a poetry slam competition in June organized by London-based charity Roundhouse, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan performed her piece, “This Is Not A Humanizing Poem.”

The British-born Pakistani poet warned: “This will not be a ‘Muslims are like us’ poem.”

Manzoor-Khan, who also runs a blog site on the intersections of religion, politics and gender called “The Brown Hijabi,” argued that Muslim lives shouldn’t be valued only for being relatable or recognizable.

“I refuse to be respectable,” she said.

Manzoor-Khan pointed out that Muslims are often dehumanized by the very efforts supposedly intended to prove their humanity.

“Instead, love us when we are lazy. Love us when we are poor,” she challenged.

“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.”

“If you need me to prove my humanity,” she said, “I’m not the one who’s not human.”