I'm a muslim, ask me
- Started
- Last post
- 128 Responses
- pango2
Oh I have one.
Do you feel like you get profile and searched more often than other people at air port?- thirs nothin like a darker skin tone tae increase the vigilance ay the police n the magistrateshotroddy
- Not at the airport but getting visas is a tedious process. I show my bank accounts and I filled a form once at the US consulateBeeswax
- with a question asking if I'm going to USA to plan a terrorist attack or commit one. Serious.Beeswax
- Has anyone ever wrote yes to that question?
Hapango - I wanted to make a little joke there really bad.Beeswax
- pango5
Can you even?
- oey18
Hey Beeswax,
I think that this thread, the way you started it and put yourself out here like this is very admirable and courageous somehow.
Being available for all sort of questions in a forum, and I can imagine all types of questions popping out — from serious ones to trolling ones, typical QBN questions and so on — and you just accept yourself to open like this is terrifically great in all ways whatever this discussion might lead.
Haven't read any questions with attention yet but I'm pretty sure that one has to be fucking comfortable with his decisions and life to do something like this.
Thanks and...Respect!
- *wherever this discussion might lead...
thanks for the downvote on my showing respect for someone's great attitude...loser.oey - who the hell downvotes this??iCanHazQBN
- Fixedpango
- +pockets
- ++sted
- *wherever this discussion might lead...
- hotroddy0
@Beeswax if you do believe in evolution than we are no different than animals.. Correct?
Do all animals reach heaven (ie. sponges, pine tress, and tardigrades)?
- Sponge is animal?!?!?pango
- it's a living organism isn't it?hotroddy
- Mehhhh sureHueyGnash
- spongebob square pants is an animalhotroddy
- i don't think anyone knows what the hell spongebob is...pango
- you can believe in evolution and still be spiritual / religious / believe in a god.inteliboy
- In Islam all souls are eternal, including those of animals. But in order to get to heaven, beings must be judged by God on Judgment DayBeeswax
- some Muslim scholars say animals are not judged as humans are so say they will. Muslim means the one who submits to the Creator. I believe all animals areBeeswax
- Muslims in this literal sense. https://www.google.c…Beeswax
- Do you believe that the creator us so petty that he demands submission?_niko
- @_niko We're finite by definition. To not be humble in the face of the infinite is petty.scransom5
- IRNlun60
Do you find my criticism of Islamists to be anti Muslim? If so, why? Do you find the wests avoidance to blame Islamists as helpful or hurtful to supporting secular Muslims?
- ernexbcn5
We'd be better off without religions and their nonsense.
- Ya! Those religious nazis!Hayoth
- i would still have a lot to worry about. but one less is nice i guess.pango
- Test your claim in a lab environment and let us know the results. I think there will always be bad people here regardless of religion.Beeswax
- Religion is just an opinion about that which is ultimate. Money, sex, power are religions to some. Sacred texts by Marx, Freud, & Nietzsche.scransom5
- hotroddy1
- Do they have any of the today's religion on Star Trek?pango
- nope. that would have been the correct reply but woudn't be as funnyhotroddy
- funny because muslim societies do not want to modernise. To modernize is to succumbing to infadelities of the westhotroddy
- Well we do have a Muslim here. Let's see what's his answer.pango
- all religions retard progress/science b/c they don't want to be exposed by facts. same happend w christianityhotroddy
- you can't argue the impact modernity has on islam. It happened much slower with Christianity so Christianity was able to adapt.hotroddy
- :/ not arguing.pango
- If i take modernity as progress in science, Muslims proved they can do that between 6th&13th centuries.Their contribution to science is undisputed.Not today thoBeeswax
- If modernity is consumerism and magazine lifestyles I think west should find a way to reduce that since it effects us in a bad way too.Beeswax
- agreed. cheers beeswax.hotroddy
- HijoDMaite1
Beeswax are you and your fellow congregants at your mosque aware of certain clerics or mosques in your community that teach a more militant interpretation of Islam? Do these groups attempt to recruit or debate you or your friends?
- docpoz0
Beeswax,
you are obviously a liberal Muslim. Do the conservatives piss you off?- http://38.media.tumb…docpoz
- I'm actively fighting against them, on a democratic level of course. Our current elected govrnmnt is conservative and they hurt islam more than anyone.Beeswax
- We found an organisation that supports values like, transparency, fair judgement, environmentalism, democracy, freedom etc. But no matter how hard we press onBeeswax
- these issues the leading government is getting more and more votes at every election. You know why? These issues matter only for middle class and aboveBeeswax
- The majority of Turkey and other muslim countries is below middle class and they only care about feeding their families and finding jobs naturally.Beeswax
- Give these people money and security and you can finish terror, fanaticism, ultra conservatism etc. There are christian conservatists in Europe and USABeeswax
- But they don't start terrorist groups instead they piss you off in a more civilized manner. That's because they have a certain life standart and they can't riskBeeswax
- their lives and life standarts. People in middle east have nothing. They are suffering so why not make others suffer when you are at the bottom?Beeswax
- Fair enough. But wasn't Bin Laden doing ok on the money & security front? He wanted a badass image on top of that. :)scransom5
- utopian1
too soon!
- scarabin7
i'm really digging this exchange. thanks for sharing, beeswax
- iCanHazQBN-1
Do you eat gummy bears?
- muslim, vegan, crossfitterHijoDMaite
- i see where i can hate is going...pango
- i meant icanhas... i can't type if my life is on the line...pango
- I did. Why? Is it related with muslim cryptonite? Pork product?Beeswax
- Gummy bears are made of gelatin, which is made from the bones of cows. The gummy bears you eat should be halal... or you don't get 40 virgins when you die! ;)iCanHazQBN
- oh. i thought it's pig bones.pango
- shellie5
Beeswax, I found all your responses so far really inspiring. As a black female, I can relate to the random ignorant stuff you must experience based on your culture/religion. It's not something you can just shake off just because other people don't understand it. It is cool to see you handle this subject with such grace.
Here's my question(s) - mostly because we rarely have conversations about people of color with people of color on this forum. Thanks for opening this up.
1. I have no idea what you look like so I can't determine personally if you pass for more white than brown or other in social situations. So this is a two sided question i guess. If you feel like you pass as more of a white person in every day life, do you find people making racist remarks, comments or opinions in your presence because they can't see your religion on your skin?
2. If the color of your skin more obviously denotes your possible religious and political beliefs, do you find people testing your comfort boundaries when discussing cultural subjects based on what they see on the surface? Does that bother you? I personally feel like when people get too comfortable with me, they always try the N-word thing at least once even though the word isn't a part of my daily vernacular.
3. There's a thin line between tolerable conversation and offensive. What's the subject that comes up that you have to check people on the most? And, why do you think this subject baffles people so much? To be fair I'll answer this for myself first. People always want to touch black hair. It's always an issue with black women. We all have countless stories about it. But when you're raised in a society where white hair styles are considered neat, professional, beautiful, etc, it feels pretty gross to feel like you're in a petting zoo because the texture of your hair doesn't fit into that norm. Most black women try really hard to assimilate to the culturally accepted definition of beautiful because they don't want to be considered "less than" for physical attributes we can attempt to hide. Hair can be changed with wigs, weaves or chemicals and obviously skin color is harder to hide (although skin bleaching is also a common thing). It's kind of a life long issue all black women deal with and it seems really superficial to people outside of the issue. There's also more nuanced situations like interracial dating where there's maybe a less offensive ignorance (if there is such a thing) where I would say "like don't touch my hair - at all - when we're making out." As an adult I've asked many black and mixed women this and they all have similar experiences. There's so much baggage with hair that it's just a no touch zone. If I don't make it a big political/racial thing it may take years for me to truly explain what it all means and give it some context to someone I actually care about who isn't also black.
- he's got a photo assuming him self on his profile page.pango
- I actually didn't want to look before asking this question. When I apply to jobs most people think I'm white.shellie
- I prefer for people to define themselves mostly based off my own personal experiences.shellie
- True. name on resume somewhat matters.
but i've been rocking my none white name since after high school and i wouldn't have it other way. :)pango - unless i get to have this name...
http://wac.450f.edge…pango - Hahahah beezowshellie
- Bee - is there an unspoken benefit to "passing" as not muslim outside of your family/community and do you take advantage if you feel like you can.shellie
- there an unspoken benefit of hiding that in certain situations like, hitting a girl at a club, it's not cool to show that you are a practising muslim.Beeswax
- She could be like "eeeww". I don't take advantage coz I'm married for 5 years. But I did.Beeswax
- But also there's an advantage of passing as muslim in certain situations because of a feeling of "community" among muslims.Beeswax
- I made some Muslim clients when I was in SF. Also you can use religion to get more jobs or benefits in Turkey unfairly, like nepotism.Because of current gvrnmntBeeswax
- I never got the skin tone issue.Once I was driving in a dark neighborhood in SF and a cop car stopped me. He had his hand on his holster and spoke Spanish to meBeeswax
- Maybe I look more like a Latino/Mexican and I was driving a beat up old BMW. I liked that actually.Beeswax
- Thanks beeswax very informative!shellie
- "dark" neighborhood? like "dark" humor?bklyndroobeki
- perhaps poorly lit. low populated? lol i know it could be interpreted many ways.pango
- gottcha!bklyndroobeki
- _niko2
Hey beeswax, I think Turkey for the most part is one of the most liberal an secular Muslim countries in the world so asking about the mind set and ideologies of some of these fanatical extremist groups is almost a moot point, but what I am curious about is your thoughts on the Kurds and if they were to get a Kurdish homeland, a country called Kurdistan, would this be a positive move in your eyes or would it further destabilize the region?
- I think that territory bears more trouble for Turkey than it's benefits. That's why I'd be okay if they are separated. But yes it would destabilize the regionBeeswax
- We're talking about an intersection between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Great breeding ground for all sorts of organizations.Beeswax
- And it's right on the drug trade route. At least right now Turkey is controlling the area with military.Beeswax
- I think the best solution would be a federation type freedom for Kurds where they have all rights but with higher security precautions.Beeswax
- Great insights Beeswax. Truly appreciated.scransom5
- citizen_h0
I'm born and bred a Hindu and my bestest mate is Muslim. We are both liberal people and hardly ever pray but do acknowledge our religion and take it with a pinch of salt. We take from it the cultural parts which are positive and disregard the principles that are practically neolithic and unfair in todays society. He has been to Mecca and done the Haij and I have been to Varansi and prayed in the temple.
Hindus and Muslims have had a long history of trouble culminating in the division of India creating Pakistan. There has always been an underlying hatred between the neighbours. It's easy for myself and my mate to say WHY? why do people hate each other. Why can't they just live as they are and just be. Hate breds hate. If people teach the next generation about hatred then they will grow up with that same mentality and continue the battle.
Recently the Indian Prime minister (Modi) turned a blind eye when a massacre of muslims happened in his constituency.
http://www.theguardian.com/comme…Another story fucked up story.
http://www.theguardian.com/world…
There are bad things in Religion which create divide and yet at the same time there are good things in it which evoke peace and harmony. Oxymoron is the apt word for religion.
It's really hard to say but this sort of occurrence with always take place because of the people who take religion to extreme.
There's a great scene in the film 'The life of Pi" where Pi decides to learn about all religions. I think thats the best thing to do for the next generations is learn about all religions and keep an open mind.
Religion is never going to go away.
@Beeswax do you know of any strict/extreme muslims? if so what are their thoughts about the Paris massacre?
- Or someone could just avoid all religions. What I don't get is how people can cherry pick certain things and disregard others, in any religion.formed
- It's easier to spread hatred than peace. How many times we hear about Hindus Christians or Muslims saving lives of other people,but we hear the worst incidentsBeeswax
- In Bosnia neighbours, friends, turned against each other in less than a week. That's what they told me.Beeswax
- surprised you guys didn't show up on the religion thread... but agains, not surprised cuz that thread is a mess....pango
- trooperbill-1
i read somewhere that the whole burka thing is a result of mohammed telling his wives to dress modestly and not show off as they were to set an example... i get it but theres a whole difference between for example michelle obama wearing a hoochie dress and how she dresses to support her husband.... wasnt this the intent and not covering women from head to toe?
- That was the intent taken afar by the traditional Arab society over a thousand years ago. In the meantime they got effected by neighbouring religions likeBeeswax
- Christinaity. The current black veil is a direct copy from Christian Nuns. But they even covered it up more. Women & 6th century arab society is a whole topic.Beeswax
- Women had no rights, they were like a property owned and traded by men. Muhammad tried to change it by giving them rights for the first timeBeeswax
- And he succeeded during his lifetime but right after his death Arab society reset itself back to their 1000 years old traditions. The head cover was merelyBeeswax
- a protection for women in those times. I mean how safe was it for a women to live in the middle of a desert where tribes and bedouins rule.Beeswax
- Look at these two different interpretations about women covering. http://i.imgur.com/O…
I accept the first one but majority doesn't.Beeswax
- utopian-3
With at least a 129 victims slaughtered to death by the Islamic terrorists...FFS show some dignity and respect for the innocent victims, their dead bodies are still warm. At least let the families properly mourn and bury their children before we make this all the misunderstood and oppressed Muslims all around the world.
- That would be nice. except some time situations don't wait. instantly people were blaming the muslim. i see why some people stood up to explain the difference.pango
- This thread is a debate on why this happened and NOT a thread that pisses on the fatalities. Obviously we are ALL upset by this.citizen_h
- I thought this thread is not even a debate. but more to understand muslim from a muslim.pango
- wow.. utopian you perfectly exemplify the type of people I'm going to stay clear of for the next few weeks, did you even understand the point of this thread?georgesIII
- utopian?!oey
- Is it only Paris? Look at the last 3 years in only in Turkey.
Sept 10 2015: 95 dead 246 wounded
May 11 2013: 52 dead 146 wounded
July 20 2015: 34 dead 100+ wBeeswax - Two of these are by ISIS the first one is still unknown. Almost all of the victims are Muslims. I can't even count the ones in Syria or Iraq. We always mourn.Beeswax
- I respect French people and their losses because I live with the same fear everyday.Beeswax
- georgesIII0
Hey Beeswax, first thing, thanks for this AMA,
my questions are:
• what was your initial reaction when you heard there was another attacks happening in Paris?• What will the next weeks be like for you and your muslim friends?
• Do you believe isis to be a genuine islamic group?
•
--
I had to take some time off internet since this happened,
my super pregnant sister live in paris, her apartment is right next to place de la Bastille (for those who don't know paris, it's very close to where bataclan is and she was in the neighbourhood where the attack happened but went to bed around 8pm)I spent the night trying to reach her to no avail, till she called saturday morning to tell me everything was alright, that she was just tired cause she's pregnant and people kept on calling her, so she muted her phone,
why am I telling this story, my sister is married with a french muslim, she never had to convert, her oldest son never had to convert, she has another son that will probably never convert and so on and so on, we are proud that our parents didn't force us into following blindly,
But I can't let go of this feeling of great shame, shame for the people and families of the people who had to lose their life like this, shame that my first feeling wasn't for the victims but more hoping that it wasn't muslims again, I hoped that it would be someone else this time( I still feel weird just to think I was hoping for that :/ ) , I felt shame for the comments I read online,
but the greatest shame came from the realisation that no matter how many years, how many generations of my family and friends will be born here and no matter how integrated we all are, we will never ever be truly european. Every single act we make is scrutinised and when someone from our country, religion or skin color commits a crime, we are immediately lumped together, no matter how open minded and in love with the country of birth/residence.
How do I tell people that I'm sorry for the act of a few without sounding like an hypocrite, that I know the feeling of pain of losing someone like this, without sounding like an hypocrite, every time I find myself defending myself and my close friend, saying things like "not all arabs are..., not all ...",
but even I have stopped doing it,
so here am I on a sunday morning wondering how the next week will be, what will be the french response, how the millions of french arabs living in France will react, how the world will react,
tomorrow is monday, my head hurt, thanks in advance for your answer, fuck isis
- I felt anger. first towards big powers who mess up things for nothing, then to us who haven't said much when we heard our governments supported terror that ledBeeswax
- to these incidents eventually. USA got hit by a group that they started against Russia. Turkey got hit by ISIS twice and over 100 people diedBeeswax
- And current TR government sent them weapons. We heard and protested about it but not enough. France always have a hand in middle east oil. UK as well.Beeswax
- I can't internalize the pain of the family members of people died in Paris. I can't handle that. I can't get a sleep if I do that.Beeswax
- Upcoming weeks won't be different for muslims here. Only if I want to travel abroad I expect more security, I understand that.Beeswax
- If I get profiled, I understand that too.Beeswax
- There's no killing of civilians in a war in Islam. http://www.juancole.…Beeswax
- I get embarassed too. And worse I might get defensive like you did. I want to do something about it. Something with people like us. We have to say stopBeeswax
- organise Muslims against terror. Let them kill their own beast. But once you do that you know what will they say?
Where were you when they killed us?Beeswax - thanks for the honest answer, I kinda feel bad because it seems everytime there's an act of savagery like this, everyone wonders why did it happen?? why us??georgesIII