I'm a muslim, ask me
- Started
- Last post
- 128 Responses
- deathboy0
If you don't have any real hate to try and explain from a personal point of view for the understanding of others than this whole thread becomes quite trite and better belongs in the religion thread with the regular banter.
So I want to hear about what kind of things you hate because of your muslims beliefs? Because a perfect PC tolerant muslim with no hate and desire to force his beliefs on others is nothing more than a man without religion.
So any views on women rights, or values? Kurds and way? Why don't u like Erodgan? Views on us greenlighting turkey gov to bomb whoever? Gays? When would you use force to apply your beliefs or on whom and why?
Be brave and tell us about what you don't like
- http://www.employmen…deathboy
- sort of a weird question, why should he hate anything? he's not a fundamentalist._niko
- He said something like it gives him inner peace, what better reason to be religious than that?_niko
- I think I've been telling since the beginning. I hate STUPIDITY. And I see a lot of Stupid religious people as well as Stupid anti-religion people.Beeswax
- There's not much difference in my eye, of you projecting hate on a Muslim, then fanatics projecting hate on west and justify their actions.Beeswax
- I'm projecting? I'm simply asking what things your religion makes you dislike? If you are tolerant of everything than u don't even need a label of belief.deathboy
- You might be a muslim that believes in a higher being for inner peace and cherry picks around the intolerances and seperations.deathboy
- Like whats your views on gay marriage? How bout a family member marrying a Jew or Kurd or not even being Muslim? Religious without any predispositionsdeathboy
- He's also alowed to have personal views not dictated by religion isn't he?_niko
- to any countering beliefs is a hard thing to believe. Not saying its not impossible. Unless u prefer not to discuss because of judgements? Which is fine.deathboy
- I don't think deathboy meant "hate" but rather "forbid"pango
- Beeswax4
Good questions, comments and arguments.
As you may have noticed there are already a lot of unsolved problems between muslims. We're not one giant man. If there are 1.6 billion muslims, there are 1.6 billion interpretations and practices of islam. So many sects, divisions, this and that. Most of them lives in harmony but some of them causes big trouble.
Just like west who have started two world wars and now in a temporary age of harmony because they decided to focus outside of themselves to gain power in the last 60 years and that focus is mostly middle east.
Middle east is like your hippy community in california where life is slow, families are big, produce is organic, art is crafts, money is scarce, portions are small, life is basic.
In contrast west is competitive, individual, creative on the verge of craziness, innovative like a mad scientist, capitalist and hungry as an obese.
When west focus on east they only do this for the sake of money. Not only oil or energy.
1.6 billion people is 300 million more than China's population.
That means tens of thousands of more McDonalds, Starbucks, Banks, Cars, Insurance, Packaged food, Coke bottles etc.Middle east is the biggest last market.
And these people are not ready to switch into your lifestyles.
Religion is only their cover, their safe grounds. Real fear is loosing their identity.
Think of it like this, you're want to drive your grandmother at 150 miles per hour in your Lamborghini. She doesn't want that.
With one difference tho. East is much younger than west. And most of them are being born in the west now.
We'll see what will come out of this marriage in the future.
My guess is that it will be freak.
Westernized middle eastern sudo-Muslim communities.In the mean time if you really want to learn what does islam says at the core read "THIS" Quran interpretation. Because the rest is just outdated for our times.
https://www.usc.edu/schools/coll…
PEACE
- sums it up right there, the west fears being overrun by islam, Islam fears being overrun by the west._niko
- and fear feeds evil.Beeswax
- also be my guest if u ever come to Istanbul so we can make a small QBN Istanbul drinks and discuss more. I'm on QBN FB group as Talha.Beeswax
- Thanks again sir. It was great reading your perspective.IRNlun6
- Would never come to Istanbul, but would definetly meet you for drinks in Constantinople ;)_niko
- fear feeds ignorance. ;)jaylarson
- +10,000sarahfailin
- *1.6 billion does not refer to Mid East. 1.6 b is amount of people practicing Muslim globally.pango
- Thanks for making this thread Beeswax. I always wonder why people are so eager to say that "all Muslims are like this." I guess there is something appealingyuekit
- about a black and white, us vs them view of the world.yuekit
- Great stuff man. Thanks for this perspective. I remember after the second gulf war western mobile companied salivating to get in to Iraq to provide cell phones.HijoDMaite
- Nothing against wireless communication but its just a small example.HijoDMaite
- very clear, thanx again beeswaxgeorgesIII
- thanks for putting yourself out there dude. great read for someone like me who doesn't really like the necessity of religion but can learn to understand it.indian_pole
- yes, thank youformed
- sarahfailin4
Really great to have a voice to add some dimension and texture to the discussion about ISIS and terror in the Middle East.
Some on here are still trying to pigeonhole all Muslims into one category, despite your best efforts to show that there is a great diversity of perspectives among the 1.6 billion people who comprise the group.
As we look at the problem of violence in the middle east, let us look at who the greatest perpetrators are, where most of the violence is coming from, and strive understand the *material* and *economic* causes of the continuing strife.
It's happened over and over in history that populaces see war as one religion or race against another, when in reality both are losing, and a small minority of extremely wealthy becomes even more so. Watch this vid Hijo posted in the ISIS thread and tell me this war is about Islam vs Christianity.
- robotron3k0
Have you ever read a passage in the Koran that says to cause harm to non-believers?
- He will tell you no, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blahi_was
- i_was-3
Like i give a shit
- Clearly, you gave enough of a shit to make this post, yeah?Continuity
- ^oey
- If You're Writing This It's Too Lateisleptwithsirenstonight
- MakeBelieve3
As a Muslim too, I would like to thank Beeswax for starting this.
I'm from London, UK, born and raised here, but found my identity as a British-Muslim the most relevant to me. Parents are from South Asia and I have studied Islam quite extensively, although not a scholar or theologian. I do speak and read Arabic, even though its not my native language, as I studied in Egypt for several years.
Although I may consider myself more conservative, I don't drink, do pray 5 times and observe Ramadan, I therefore do also have different opinions to Beeswax on some things.
In Islam we have what we call 'ikhtilaf' or 'adab al-ikhtilaf', respecting of different opinions, which is the pinnacle of tolerance and understanding (which a certain minority love to hate).
To clarify again, most Muslims, the vast majority of Sunni and Shia (99%) oppose ISIS, terrorism and extremism. The very basic teachings of Islam are clear-cut about aggression, fighting, killing and hate, so even a young madrasah kid could poke holes in the rhetoric of the terrorists.
Don't mind answering some questions either (if that's ok Beeswax?), my answers would be only slightly different as I feel some things aren't as black and white as they may seem. But I will also be fair in showing the wide range of opinions that exist amongst (Sunni) Muslim jurisprudence, without getting too technical.
- Welcome to the party!pango
- Thanks!MakeBelieve
- Awesome. Please take over. I'd like to see your opinions about these matters too.Beeswax
- georgesIII-1
sorry for title, but this debate at oxford is really a good one,
(you can find the full debate in the list)- One of the best responses by the journalist Mehdi Hasan, he pretty much sums it up here.MakeBelieve
- Medhi is a good debater, his show on Al Jazeera is worth watchingyuekit
- LOL @ YouTube top comment:
"A debate usually includes more than just one person..."isleptwithsirenstonight - hard to comment. so much missing from the video.dirtydesign
- Watch the full debate, its on YouTube. Mehdi still wins (or he won the debate according to the votes).MakeBelieve
- I guess he wasn't there to make friends.isleptwithsirenstonight
- isleptwithsirenstonight0
What's the deal with the status of women?
- Replied below, hope it helps somewhat...MakeBelieve
- It does. I specially appreciate that you acknowledge that practice doesn't correspond to theory in a lot of cases.isleptwithsirenstonight
- Thats the biggest challenge Muslim societies face, and in my opinion, why so many are stagnant.MakeBelieve
- MakeBelieve0
Big topic, women in Islam. Will try my best to explain:
(Note: I am a guy)
In Islam, the status of Women is considered to be equal in God's eyes, which is clearly outlined in the Quran in several verses. The prophet Muhammad described them as 'twin-halves of men' - note this is at a time where men fully dominate all spheres of life and women were just 'owned' (across the world).
Women do not carry the burden of original sin, women are equal to men and were created by God as such.
Islam introduced for women, for the first time, the right to own property, vote, inheritance, right to their own money, right to divorce and have a prominent role in civic society - quite radical for the time you could say. Remember we didn't have voting for women until quite recently (last 100 years).
The Prophet also outlawed the killing and live-burial of infant girls, as was the custom of the backward Arabs at the time (as they only wanted boys). This was also a radical move, as it signified the equality of men and women.
Women are seen as the cornerstone or the centre of society. There is a famous saying of the Prophet 'Heaven lies at the mother's feet' and this implies that society is nothing without women's role in all aspects of life. The first university was founded by a woman called Fatima Al Fihri (Fez, Morocco) for example. Women even ruled at times, e.g. Razia Al Din (Delhi Sultanate) and many were and are scholars of the religion (no restriction in this regard). The first and best of female scholars was Aisha, the wife of the Prophet.
But this doesn't gloss over the key issues women face, which are mainly enacted by men, using religion and not instigated by Islam itself.
1) Women cannot be restricted, banned or denied education - as the Taliban did, this is against Islamic law. Unless of course there is a danger to their lives if they go out to school (war/lawlessness).
2) Women cannot be denied entry to mosques, ownership, equal pay, rights and positions in society. There is an exception when it comes to being the President. There have been female Prime Ministers of Muslim countries, look up Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey for example. While women are not allowed to lead prayer, they can lead their own congregations in some scenarios.
3) Hijab (modest headscarf and clothing) cannot be imposed or forced upon women (or any other aspect of religion). As the verse in the Quran is clear 'there is no compulsion in Islam'. But modesty according to most Sunni scholars is considered obligatory for believing women, but hijab as a concept is also obligatory for men - so men are also expected to be modest, but head covering isn't required. Some women naturally do not wear hijab.
4) Women have many exceptions when it comes to prayer, e.g. they don't have to go to pray in congregation (in Mosques), whereas men are obliged to. As a Muslim its not easy to pray in congregation, so this ease for women is welcomed by them.
5) Niqab (face-veil) is not mandatory according to majority of schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam. A minority of women choose to wear it.
6) Women in marriage have a lot of unique rights. They own their own wealth and do not need to share or spend on their husbands if they don't wish to (but most do, naturally). Islamically, they are not required to clean, cook or even take care of children, the duty is actually on the husband. Naturally women do play their role in the family, however too many men abuse their role.
7) FGM is not allowed in Islam and is limited to a few African countries and isn't practiced by Muslims worldwide.
8) A Muslim man is not allowed to abuse a woman, physicaly or mentaly. References to hitting women in the Quran is debunked by many scholars.
9) Women can initiate divorce and have the right to remarry. Women also keep their own surnames and do not adopt the names of their husbands (your lineage is yours and should not be changed - i.e. you are your own person not 'owned').
The Prophet's first wife, Khadija, was a woman 10 years his senior, she was a business woman, very independant and at the time, his boss. Her example is considered one of the ideal examples of how confident, independant, educated women should be in Islam.
Islam venerates women, and the Quran even has a whole chapter dedicated to women as well as one to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
Due to male-dominated societies and cultural practices, women are oppressed. Many countries are not representative of Islam, I would say NO country or society reflects true Islam, so we should not judge them as such. Women are struggling to regain their rights through Islam, from the grips of men.
I would advise talking to women directly, as they will give a better account than I ever could.
Apologies in advance for any mistakes or if I have left anything out - this is a huge topic!
- Thank you for your answer.isleptwithsirenstonight
- Whoo ! it sounds like women's paradise !
I can't wait until the global Califat !gonzalle - But still nothing about forced wedding, stonning for adultery, about the story of the Young Aicha... etc... I know it is not "Islam" it is "traditions" ...gonzalle
- Unfortunatly... we also heard about Taqiyyah...gonzalle
- You can't force anyone to marry, this totally unislamic. This is purely a cultural practice. Not Islamic.MakeBelieve
- Taqiyah - is when Muslims fear for their lives that they can claim to renounce their faith to save their own lives. Only in grave danger.MakeBelieve
- Stoning for adultery is a form of punishment, not just for women. While it is archaic, it isn't carried out anywhere (except KSA) and pardoning is prefered.MakeBelieve
- Punishment for adultery is near-impossible to do, as you need 4 witnesses to the act. So it is extremely rare. Some things are part of Islam, I won't sugar coatMakeBelieve
- Thanks for your unintentional confirmations about Taqiyyah !gonzalle
- (I really liked the "archaic" term about stoning - it is true that nowaday one could use metal props instead of rocks)gonzalle
- I don't think you know or want to take for fact what Taqiyah really is, but up to you. Happy to engage academically, but not childishly.MakeBelieve
- Anybody in danger of their lives can and should do what it takes to save their lives. Jews did it in WWII, or was that wrong of them Gonzalle?MakeBelieve
- It is only in specific life-threatening circumstances (mainly done by Shia), but otherwise lying or deception is a sin in Islam. Thats the fact.MakeBelieve
- Great notes MB. I had a Women in World Religions professor who said all religions have the capacity to oppress or liberate womensarahfailin
- it's the culture's choice which parts of their sacred texts to emphasize or ignore.sarahfailin
- Thats right Sarah, when culture, egos, sexim and other isms mix up with religion, you get oppression. E.g. ISIS is political grievance disguised as faith.MakeBelieve
- nicely put SF / MB. That's pretty much what half the internet has been trying and failing to explain to the other half for the past weekFax_Benson
- women shouldn't experience orgasims either? is that why they are mutilated?hotroddy
- hotroddy - FGM is not Islamic but cultural. Orgasm and sex is actually encouraged in Islam.MakeBelieve
- The supporting evidence for Stoning is so weak that it'll make you laugh. According to the supporters, this was written in the Quran but a goat came andBeeswax
- ate those pages. Note that in the beginning Quran spread by hundreds of "memorizers" named "Hafz". Even if all pages were perished it'd still be there.Beeswax
- robotron3k0
How does the Koran view non-Muslims?
- Replied below, I hope this clarifies some things.MakeBelieve
- MakeBelieve0
robotron3k: How does the Koran view non-Muslims?
Islam is a continuation of the Abrahamic faith, Judaism and Christianity and it is very clear on how to treat and consider non-Muslims.
Since the Prophet was sent as a "mercy to mankind" all humans are considered the creation of God and thus all lives are sacred.
Islam instructs Muslims to treat all people kindly including non-Muslims, i.e. treat your neighbours with kindness and care. There is no discrimination against people who are not Muslim.
All contracts, dealings and relationships are sacred between Muslims and non-Muslims and God is their witness. Muslims must always follow through on their promises and dealings with non-Muslims, like they would with Muslims.
Muslims are commanded to adhere to the laws of non-Muslim lands, so as citizens, they must follow the law - as it is a contract in front of God.
There is no special or discriminatory behaviour towards non-Muslims at all.
Other points:
KAFIR - The term is used to describe people who reject monotheism or Islam, can be also used generally as non-Muslim (no derogatory). In the Quran, God tells Muslims to say 'you keep to your religion and we keep to ours' (Surah Kafiroun).
PEOPLE OF THE BOOK: Christians and Jews are considered People of the Book and not Kafirs. Meaning they are believers in the same monotheism or the previous books/prophets sent by God.
JIZYA - This was a tax on permanent non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic state, paid for protection against external enemies. This meant that non-Muslims were not required to join the army to fight if their society was attacked by outsiders. Muslims would fight on their behalf. They were also exempt from other duties Muslim citizens would have. The Jizya is controversial in this day and age and is not applied anywhere anymore. It does not work with modern nation-states. Most scholars now take the opinion that jizya does not apply.
Non Muslims have a right to build and worship, own property and live freely in Muslim states.
CONTROVERSIAL VERSE:
Often you see Islamophobes citing that the Quran instructs to kill non-Muslims where you find them (Chapter 9, verse 5). Yet this is out of context, as this verse refers to a Treaty that was broken by Meccans, which naturally meant that they would go to war (and killing would occur). This does not refer globally to all non-Muslims. This clarified in the very same chapter. In those times (and even now), if a peace treaty is broken by one side, then war resumes.
To clarify, some people wrongly believe that Muslims must somehow have an inherent hatred for non-Muslims or be out to kill them. This is quite obviously a ridiculous notion and totally baseless. The Quran clearly states that every life is sacred:
“Whoever kills a person [unjustly]...it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur’an, 5:32)
-
This is a simplified account of things, there is a lot more detail to the evidences but I would simply bore you. So excuse me if I've left anything out.
- The 'Sword verse' often mis-cited by Islamophobes is explained here: http://discover-the-…MakeBelieve
- Every one you don't agree with - or try little critics - is an islamophobe... I'm so tired of this poor dialecticgonzalle
- In Paris... So many people were also Islamophobes...
Blind and unfaithfull are they are they misunderstood the message of peace they come with....gonzalle - Islamophobes here is to mean those who skew or distort the text to portray something false. So in this context, it's right.MakeBelieve
- Anyone can critique, but when they deliberately are unacademic about text and clearly with an agenda, then it only reeks of Islamophobia.MakeBelieve
- Paris incident has nothing to do with Muslims or Islam. This is political terrorism by a bunch of psychos. KKK don't represent Christians, right?MakeBelieve
- thanks MakeBelieverobotron3k
- uan0
a theologian and imam told on tv that the differences in interpretation of the qur'an are due to the differences of the cultures of the people that follow islam. and those cultures are older than the religion, therefore they have nothing to do with islam.
what do you think about this?
- Yes differences will always be there, as people of different backgrounds have different understanding of things. Hence we have multiple schools too.MakeBelieve
- and do the schools debate with each other? how do they interact with each other?uan
- In Sunni Islam, we have four main schools, they equally respect each other. They have different opinions due to different methods.MakeBelieve
- But they never denounce each other, as the rule is to respect each other's 'effort' in trying to derive religious law.MakeBelieve
- Debates are done at the scholarly level mainly by qualified individuals. But lay people may engage in it too. We have no pope or supreme leader of any kind.MakeBelieve
- This is different from Sects or Groups, as they don't differ on law but on other aspects. To main sects: Sunni and Shia. Sunni is majority.MakeBelieve
- So if I understand well... only well educated people should be allowed to be muslim...gonzalle
- Er, what? Gonzalle not sure how you got that. Anyone can be Muslim based on a simple belief in one God, Prophets (inc. Jesus, Moses etc), angels and afterlife.MakeBelieve
- Islam encourages us to seek knowledge, it's paramount to faith. Revelation began with 'Read!' a command to attain knowledge, for all those that can.MakeBelieve
- Milan0
Are you the chosen one?
- I like to think I am lol. But if you mean religiously, no. Don't know what you mean otherwise :PMakeBelieve
- detritus0
Do you agree that Islam should be spelt backwards so that it read 'Malsi'?
- I think that would be cool, for a number of reasons. I'm sure Benfal's way ahead of me on this one, he can fill the blanks.detritus
- You're on your own there buddy.MakeBelieve
- Arabic's writ right to left, right?
I'm not being funny - this should have some serious consideration.detritus - should be malsI then.uan
- bals!detritus
- Arabic is right to left yes, like Hebrew. Still though Maisl sounds like some scandinavian town somewhere.MakeBelieve
- Maisl Tov!detritus
- gonzalle1
OK, now it's enough...
as a frenchman living in Paris and working in subareas
I tried my best these last years not to merge everything and everyone...
I did my part of the job, willing to understand... But with never any reciprocity.
Now I'm no more interrested in what Islam really is, or why it is misunderstood... I only see the results and the facts...I'm so tired of hearing things like:
- Islam and islamism is not the same
- You don't know how to speak litteral mediaval arabic. so you can't tell anything about the Qran.
- What about the Crusades ?I really think that muslim need to begin a little introspection if we wan't to be able to live together... and they must start by not seeing islamophobia at the very first critic. They need to accept that their religion, as any other deserve criticism.
But sadly, i'm more and more hopeless.
- I think if we saw more of the good Muslims outing the bad Muslims, we might think different but we don't see that. The good and bad seem to be on the same side.robotron3k
- They interviewed "friends" of the Paris bombers and they would say, "He was a really nice guy, didn't seem to have any problems" all seems strange...robotron3k
- I'm sorry you feel that way. i really do. i can only hope that you hold those guilty ones accountable, and not generalizing a whole group of people.pango
- See response below Gonzalle. Sorry for long message.MakeBelieve
- _niko4
Do you feel that you need Islam ( or any religion for that matter) to tell you to be righteous, moral, kind, honourable, ethical and in general a good person? Are these qualities not see evident truths and something we as human beings should strive for on our own?
- *self-evident_niko
- I liked something I heard recently: People don't get their values from their religion. They choose their values, then bring those values to their religion.nb
- ^formed
- You don't need religion to be good. But some feel they do. Muslims want to emulate the Prophet. They primarily follow Islam cos they believe in God.MakeBelieve
- It would apply to many religions. I feel Islam introduced equality, rights, freedom from paganism & barbarity and civilised many societies & encouraged learningMakeBelieve
- MakeBelieve0
Gonzalle - a quick response, apologies if some bits seem like incoherent ramblings, but tried to address as many points as possible.
-
You have made some good points. I woudl say that you did try to engage, but it was initially a bit offensive, making fun of or trying to find faults even in me - as if I am deceiving you.
I would ask you to honestly read the writings of John L Esposito or Karen Armstrong, non-Muslims who write about Islam from an unbiased perspective. This way you can know about Islam without learning about it from media and other skewed sources. Go to the academic books, that is the best way to truly make a fair judgement.
I will clearly state something that 99% of Muslims have been saying over and over again, ISIS, AlQaeda and other terrorist organisations do not represent Islam or Muslims. Even Obama came out to clarify this yesterday. They are as Islamic as a ham-sandwich.
We do not hold the KKK as examples of Christians around the world - would it be sensible for me to ask every Christian to apologise, condemn and speak up against KKK - when that small fringe group has nothing to do with them?
Would I ask every Jew to answer for every crime committed by the 'Jewish' state of Israel? Does Israel represent all Jews? Of Course it doesn't. What about the terrorist activities and attacks by Jewish-Zionist settlers across occupied Palestine, we don't hold all Jews accountable for this. No Muslim organisation in the UK, for example has asked for Jewish community to respond to the massacre of 100's of children last summer.
Would I expect all regular white-Americans to answer for the mass shootings randomly carried out by young gun-toting teens?
Should I ask every Buddhist to come out marching against their own followers in Burma/Myanmar who were slaughtering and attacking the Rohingya minority?
Seriously, we need to get to a logical and sensible position about all of this. Just look up what ISIS, Osama, Bin Laden, 7/7 London bombers, Lee Rigby killers and all the other terrorist claim as to WHY they do what they do. Almost every one of them claim it is because of US/Western intervention in their homelands - i.e. foreign policy and thus POLITICAL grievances. Even the MI5 says there is evidence that a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation (Guardian, Aug 2008). In fact almost all of the Paris attackers were known to not pray, attend mosques or observe fasts. They drank, did drugs and other un-Islamic things. The lady suicide bomber herself only become somewhat religious in dress a month ago, before that she was taking nude selfies of herself. This radicalisation has almost no basis in normal, traditional, conservative or liberal Islam, it is a strange mutation of disenfranchisement (France is known for its 2nd class citizens, particularly the north African Muslim community), unemployment, racism and other factors.
True religion prevents radicalisation - that is almost universal. Islam is no exception.
Fact: 94% of all terrorism in US is not perpetrated by Muslims (surprising right?). Islamic terrorism figures very small, this is the same across the world. But due to the media coverage given almost exclusively to Islamist terror, you would never believe it.
Almost every Muslim organisation in every country, including France, have come out categorically condemning the acts of violence. They have issued tons of fatwas against terrorism, and some scholars have even asked for Muslim governments to wage war against ISIS. The highest authority in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar University has issued tons of harshly worded refutations of every terrorist claim to religious legitimacy. Deoband in India, Malaysian, Saudi Arabian, Turkish Millet and many others have all done the same. It is almost given 0 coverage anywhere. If you don't look for it, then you won't find it, but just Google your local Muslim org and you'll see. They're shouting at the top of their lungs.
Is ISIS our problem? Yes, absolutely it is. Muslims have a duty to tackle their misguided theology and debunk their arguments. But note, that Muslims are also the enemy of ISIS and others. In fact, ISIS has killed mainly Muslims in Syria, Iraq and other places. Its first focus is to kill all Muslims that do not follow its skewed version of Islam.
Islamophobia is on the rise and after Paris, I have known over 20 incidents related to my family and friends. A friend's sister was spat on, another one was refused on to a bus, another was almost ran over by a car. A baby pram was rammed by a woman screaming at the Muslim family. My friend door was strewn with hate-graffiti.
An egg was thrown at me and my family the other day and we have had verbal abuse aimed at us on the street. Never, in my 34 years, born in London, had I faced any form of Islamophobia (or even racism), so this is an escalation.
What did I do? Did I have anything to do with Paris attacks (one of my favourite cities)? Do I know those terrorists? Do I even share their ideology or political grievances?
I don't feel I have to respond or apologise for the attacks, as it is as alien to me as a KKK lynching. I do however, openly and clearly condemn the act and barbarity and I pray to God that ISIS and other groups are destroyed. I pray for those that lose their lives, their families and friends.
I pray that we have a better, more mature society that can see the difference between average Muslim citizens and these criminals - that's what they are, criminals.
Islam is open to criticism. In fact the Quran has an open challenge for this and asks those who can refute what is revealed. Muslims are happy engage in debate, but not in mud-slinging or manipulation of facts and texts - as is done by a lot of Islamophobes. See the above video of Mehdi Hasan debating in Oxford University. Just recently in the UK a new Q&A open tour has been arranged allowing anybody to ask questions.
I am not diverting responsibility to tackle ISIS and others, rather I am saying that this fight is OUR fight, together. We are their enemy and they are ours. One Australian commentator, Waleed Aly, said on TV, that ISIS wants to make western countries absolutely despise Muslims so that the Muslims then flee to ISIS.
This only reminds me of when Jews were given badges to wear to define who they are (Look up what Trump recently said about labelling Muslims). Also when Jews tried to enter other European countries and were denied entry, as they fled from the Nazis. When Jews faced the worst crime of the last century. I don't want to see a repeat of anything like that, but as a Muslim, this is how it feels now. We're the new bogeymen, the new Jews.
If you're honest about getting to the truth, go to a local Muslim neighbour, mosque or Muslim friend, talk to them and you'll find out how much of what of I have said above they will repeat.
- As I said... I'm fed up with this kind of logorrhea... In my everyday life I don't meet any scholar muslim. Far from that !gonzalle
- it's alarming to read about such racists incidents! Stay strong!
Really dangerous also because it's what the terrorists want. devide our culture.uan - Trust me, we're all fed up. Lets all try to be fair and tolerant, this is what makes the west so much better than other places (even most Muslim countries).MakeBelieve