yourbitchystudentcollector said:Hello Ms. Clare I’m a big fan and I was wondering 2 things. Does shadowhunter culture change depending on the area, like east african shadowhunters having a different culture than American shadowhunters. And a while ago you answered someone saying that there couldn’t be any muslim shadowhunters because of shadowhunter culture, but what about mundanes who became shadowhunters? like how Simon is still Jewish even though he is now a shadowhunter.


Shadowhunters live all around the world, and as such, their culture is absolutely shaped by the mundane cultures that surround them. Quoting an earlier post on the subject: 

“The thing is, Shadowhunters have their own religion. They worship Raziel, and as such, they can’t be Muslim or Catholic or belong to other religions the way mundane humans can. However, they do live spread out across a world that contains many different beliefs, and bits of regional culture do bleed over into the lives of the Nephilim. Jem speaks often of beliefs (reincarnation, the Wheel of Life) that are specific to Buddhism. Though Cristina prays to the Angel Raziel literally, there is a lot about her beliefs that is tinged with Catholicism and echoes of the culture she grew up around. So in essence, Cordelia and her family have absorbed some of the surrounding culture and religion, like Jem did when he was growing up in Shanghai.”

Humans who ascend are in a different position, since they bring their own beliefs and identities with them, however they are expected to worship Raziel as their creator and prophet, which essentially contradicts pretty much every existing human religion (which is why I said that there weren’t really Muslim or Christian Shadowhunters — because being a Shadowhunter and believing their beliefs is often not compatible with other religions, and since those religions are part of mundane culture and they are forbidden mundane culture — well, you can see the issue.) Simon is not willing to give up his Jewish identity, so he’s essentially flying under the radar and working at the rather complicated process of reconciling his Judaism with what he thinks about Raziel, angels and the Shadowhunters. 

Other ascendents have done this as well— retained, reconciled and adjusted their own beliefs and practices even after they ascend. Like Simon, they generally try to keep a low profile around their beliefs, since they could technically get in trouble for acting on them in a way that seems to contradict belief in Raziel — and like Simon, they’ve usually developed something of a hybrid religion, a way to make their beliefs and Shadowhunter beliefs compatible. You’ll definitely hear more about Simon’s experiences and where he is with his Judaism in Queen of Air and Darkness, and with Cordelia’s mother in TLH, you will see a character whose life is deeply inflected by Muslim culture as well as Shadowhunter belief.