A Challenge to All Non-Muslim

Hello to all, and peace be with you.

As everyone knows, I am of the faith of Shi'a Muslim. Its my religion, therefore a part of my world view, especially when it concerns 'right' and 'wrong'. Its a path to the knowledge of God, we pray, we fast, we try to perfect self in effort to become the best people we can possibly be.

Muslims as a whole number over a billion in this world. Most are just like me, a human being who is imperfect and trying to live a good and decent life. I laugh, I smile, I joke, i have freinds and family, job to make ends meet, but a small portion of my day is always spent in prayer, and trying to be closer to God. Asking for my needs to be met, and asking forgiveness for my sins and the sins of those I am close to, asking help for people in need.

I also help the needy in my community, I help at a local soup kitchen. If I have even one extra dollar I am always giving to someone in need.

But many people look at me, and treat me, like I am some kind of evil person. They judge me by my religion and what someone who doesnt know much about it did or said, or what a very very very few (less than 1% of all muslims in the world) did in bad actions.

But my religion is just that, my belief in God, the path I believe God wants me on. When people see me they see a headscarf and full length dress when I am out shopping or whatnot (although I wear pant suits and headscarf also at work, ie: "the professional Muslim woman" look)

But when I am out I am treated differently than others. Today I had to purchase a couple items at the store and stopped at one on my way home that I do not normally go because it was most convenient at the time, and the checkout woman was completely rude to me, all because I am Muslim. When I said hi to her, after seeing her be extremely freindly with the people in front of me, she refused to even say hello back. She gave me evil looks the whole time and when I told her to have a nice day she just grunted like she was disgusted I was even there.

I believe that my religion teaches us it is better to cover, and not wear make-up, so that we are treated more respectfully by strange men. And this really is the case, I am always treated with the utmost respect by men who would otherwise be "hitting" on me. I believe it is better to be seen for who I am inside, and seen as being a respectable women who loves her God, than to be seen as a sex object.

But in this country it takes a lot of courage to say this is a part of who i am too. No one forced me into believing or practicing the way I do, I do so because I want to, because it is simply what I believe. Some people who would have otherwise been freinds with me will not because they do not enjoy being with someone who gets stared at and treated so much differently in public. So I have lost possible freinds just for how we are treated going out to a dinner or something.

But many Muslim women will not wear the hijab (headscarf) because they are afraid of peoples reactions to it. I teach english to many women who are new to this country and help them to intigrate into western society. (since there are many cultural differences) I help them with language, answer questions, and give advices to help people in this society.

One time I was freinds with a young Christian woman, and I had explained to her about why I choose to wear the scarf etc. and I encouraged her to wear it at least one time for an hour or two in public so that she understood what I was talking about concerning how much more respect I get from strange men.

Now I must say, being stared at, or treated rudely, for me is simply a common place occurance and I do not usually even pay any mind to it, most the time I forget how much different it is for me in this country than it is for western women. But this woman did it one day, she and I were at my house and she said I want to wear hijab to see what it is like.

So we put a nice matching scarf to the outfit she was wearing and we went to the library and grocery store. We were gone for an hour and a half. She stated after we got back to the house that she would never do it again because of the people staring and rudeness by other women, but she said one thing.

She told me she thought I was the most courageous woman she had ever met for daily standing my ground, for having the courage in the face of all opposition to say, I am a Muslim woman who lives in the west and is a contributor to my society.

I now challenge all woman, to wear a scarf once, just so you understand what it is we face, and how much courage it takes in this country to stand and say, "This is what I believe"

We are not evil, the majority of us are wonderful people just like you.... we just have a different faith... this is the only difference between us.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Well, it is nice to meet you! I won't judge you or comdemn you for your beliefs as I hope you wouldn't judge me!
The whole idea, as far as I am concerned, is that we are all human beings, and we all may have different beliefs, but the important thing is to treat others as you would want them to treat you!

I judge a man/woman, by their character, not their religion, job,,,,etc etc.

If you are happy with who you are, then blessings to you my friend! I would only hope that you would grant me the same courtesy.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


mashallah! this is a very well stated post. you are very courageous woman, indeed. being muslim as well i understand what you go through daily. Inshallah, people will see it from your eyes and it will soften their hearts. Hopefully someday. Until then, keep up the good work, alhamdillah, there is good work to be doing!

Originally posted by seeker1963
reply to post by OpinionatedB

 

Well, it is nice to meet you!

I won't judge you or comdemn you for your beliefs as I hope you wouldn't judge me!
The whole idea, as far as I am concerned, is that we are all human beings, and we all may have different beliefs, but the important thing is to treat others as you would want them to treat you!

I judge a man/woman, by their character, not their religion, job,,,,etc etc.

If you are happy with who you are, then blessings to you my friend! I would only hope that you would grant me the same courtesy.

Always I would grant the same courtesy... I believe who we are shows in our daily actions toward others. The point is, we really can all live together and get along even though we have a few differences, I could care less what your beliefs are, and all I ask is the same! . It is our differences that make us unique!


It is very nice meeting you as well. Blessings to you also freind.

Originally posted by couldbeanyone
reply to post by OpinionatedB

 

mashallah! this is a very well stated post. you are very courageous woman, indeed. being muslim as well i understand what you go through daily. Inshallah, people will see it from your eyes and it will soften their hearts. Hopefully someday. Until then, keep up the good work, alhamdillah, there is good work to be doing!

InshaAllah inshaAllah... jazakAllah khair

I am Christian and you get a star and flag from me.

Most Muslim's I know try to live their lives just as you say. It is very close to how I try to live my life as well. The actions I try to follow - trying to help people, trying to be and do good, respecting others, etc - they are the same as what you say.

We are not so different (most of us) as the world would have us believe.

Peace to you.

Wonderful and Insightful post. You've had my respect for quite some time, now that respect has increased tenfold.

Kudos to you for having the courage to stand up for your convictions.

Tomorrow is my shopping day, I'd like to try your request. Is there a special way to fix the scarf, and can the scarf be from any material? I have a lot of long hair that I wear up during the summer, is that allowed? I don't wear makeup do that's not an issue.

S&F, I hope many people see this.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Good post, but I'm afraid those "evil" stereotypes do have some truth to them. I can't speak for other countries, but Australia has had some problems with Muslims and I don't think its a clash of cultures, for example.
In the early 2000s, there were a series of brutal rapes committed by Muslim Arab men who targetted white women. They bashed them and kept them chained up in public toilets for several days and were repeatedly raped.

Now we could put aside the fact they were Muslim and just say it was a racial motivated attack, BUT when the men were charged in court the mother of the men wearing a hijab actually spat on the female victims calling them "whores" and "they deserved it they are infidels!!!"

Australia is a country that has given refuge to many people including Muslims, but this is how they thank us?
History proves that wherever Islam has gone it has conquered the country, most of the times violently.

EDIT: I don't doubt it would be hard for a Muslim woman in the West, BUT lets turn the tables and see how Christians are treated in the Middle East - At least we don't stone you like they do!!!

reply to post by smyleegrl


Let me link you to a scarf tutorial on youtube! (that might help) But yes, a scarf is just a scarf, I have long hair too, what I do is put my hair into a quick bun and then cover


It can be any material, any color... (I am big on matching with my outfits!)



There are literally hundreds of ways to wear a scarf! you can follow the link to youtube and look on the right side for all the related how to wear hijab tutorials.

reply to post by Frogs


Peace be unto you as well. And I am glad you know a few Muslims, I think most of the fear comes from people who dont really know any personally.

Hopefully together, we can change our world for the better for all people. The key is really how we treat one another.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


hello, please can i ask one question, what part of the world do you live in?

i know it shouldn't make a difference but a lot of the people where i live are that brainwashed that they think muslims are a terrorist threat, which is a completely absurd thing to even begin to think,

thank you

reply to post by CrimsonKapital


I have spoken online a few times to Muslims who live in Australia, and yes they face the same things there as we do here.

I would like to ask you one question, yes, Muslim men raped some white women and did some bad things... how many Muslim men were involved in this? And how many Muslims in Australia spoke out against that horrible act, as well Muslim around the world.

Rape does happen, it is a bad thing, white men rape women also... there is something wrong in the brains of a man who would do such a thing...

But only a very few men did one act, and for that few men you are having anger against all Muslims in your country? this is wrong...

there are good people and bad people... we can never blame evil actions on religion, the blame lies soley on the person doing the evil act. There is NOTHING in Islam to condone rape, not one thing... those were simply bad men...

In the Holy Quran it says we should say to the people, "To you be your religion and to me be mine" There is no forced conversion taught in Islam, there is nothing that says men no longer have their freewill....There are a few bad people, and you cannot judge us all by the few.

Syria is a wonderful example of a Muslim majority country that under the current regime enjoys complete religious freedom, and Muslims and Christians have lived side by side there for a very very long time.

reply to post by Minnie1985


I live in the United States, the midwest. (where everyone thinks we are all terrorists! )

reply to post by OpinionatedB

i live in the uk, and its just as ridiculous here, people believe every word the mainstream media tells them, they have no idea that its just one big hatred machine designed to create divisions between us all,

i'll give you a few little examples,

at christmas time our town has had to tone down the decorations so that Muslims aren't offended, so as you can imagine, there was uproar, but from any muslim i have spoken to about this tells me its total rubbish, just another way of creating a divide in a highly muslim populated area,

2nd example, in the uk there must be hundreds (or thousands) of murderers, rapists, sex gangs etc, a good majority of these groups of criminals are white british people, and when the papers and tv report white peoples crimes there is never any mention of colour or race, so why is it than when we hear of the above mentioned crimes that are commited by asian people do media feel the need to mention race/religion,

to cause divide between us all, and oh boy, they have done a brilliant (although evil and sick) job of succeeding so far,

When i hear racist comments i get so angry, by the way, i'm a white female who believes in God

Thank you

Originally posted by OpinionatedB
reply to post by CrimsonKapital

 

edit on 29-6-2012 by OpinionatedB because: (no reason given)

It doesn't matter how many Muslim men raped these women, the fact is it was a targetted attack. They didn't choose to rape an Arab, Asian, Indian, African, etc woman they only chose to rape White women....

Lets see if you can explain this then;

The only planned religious attacks in Australia have all been Islam motivated. Examples:

Faheem Khalid Lodhi is an Australian architect accused of an October 2003 plot to bomb the national electricity grid or Sydney defence sites in the cause of violent jihad. He was convicted by a New South Wales Supreme Court jury in June 2006 on terrorism-related offences,[7] namely:
Preparation for terrorist attack, by seeking information for the purpose of constructing explosive devices
Seeking information and collecting maps of the Sydney electricity supply system and possessing 38 aerial photos of military installations in preparation for terrorist attacks
Possessing terrorist manuals detailing how to manufacture poisons, detonators, explosives and incendiary devices


Mohammed Abderrahman aka Willie Brigitte, is a French Islamist al-Qaeda recruit who resided with Faheem Lodhi while in Australia in 2003, during which time he married a former Australian Army signaller.[9] He was arrested by Australian immigration compliance officials in Sydney six weeks after the marriage[10] and deported to France.

His wife said before a French investigating judge that at times he had 'bombarded' her with questions on the subject of her military knowledge and career.[10] She reports that she rebuffed such questioning or responded minimally 'so that he would leave [her] in peace' and that she burned three of her notebooks originating from the period of her military service in East Timor as a precaution. She reported his anger about her taking such precautions, his presumption to forbid her from further similar actions, and she exactly confirmed his repeated statement of the opinion that "Allah and all Muslims need this information" in order to obtain information of a military character from her.[10]


On 28 August 2006, following the quashing of his terrorism convictions, Joseph T. Thomas (also dubbed "Jihad Jack") was the first person to be issued with a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 after written consent was provided by the Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.[13][14] In December 2007 a control order was issued against David Hicks to ensure that he was monitored upon his release.[15]

Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan and Mohammed Omar Jamal were found guilty of conspiring to commit a terrorist act or acts.[16] They were jailed on 15 February 2010 for terms ranging from 23 to 28 years

In September 2008, of an original nine defendants, five men including the Muslim cleric, Abdul Nacer Benbrika were convicted of planning a terrorist attack. During the trial, the jury heard evidence of plans to bomb the 2005 AFL Grand Final, 2006 Australian Grand Prix and the Crown Casino, as well as a plot to assassinate then Prime Minister John Howard.

On 4 August 2009, four men in Melbourne have been charged over the Holsworthy Barracks terror plot, an alleged plan to storm the barracks with automatic weapons; and shoot army personnel or others until they were killed or captured.[18][19] The men are allegedly connected with the Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabaab.[20] Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd subsequently announced a federal government review of security at all military bases

All of these planned terrorist attacks have been by MUSLIMS, no other religion in Australia HAS EVER IN HISTORY PLANNED A TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST AUSTRALIA< ISLAM HAS!!!!!

reply to post by OpinionatedB

I live in the United States, the midwest. (where everyone thinks we are all terrorists! )

And so indeed you are......

wait for it and don't jump to conclusions......because you strike terror into their hearts because the Government has conditioned people to think this way.

When one looks at the hijaab it is no different to the clothing worn by Christian nuns (who would call them terrorists?) or indeed even to this day by Roman Catholic communicants - the mantilla. The origins are the same.

I have no problem with Muslim ladies wearing the hijaab any more than I do with nuns wearing their wimples.

Now I can't say that about the burqa if I am honest, since I view that as such a distancing piece of apparel and one which is ripe for abuse in the security sense. I see no need for it, the hijaab being sufficient. There was an advert for the army on British television where the officer was being treated suspiciously when wearing sun glasses, but the situation was eased when he took them off. The burka has the same effect. If you can't see the eyes there is no connection and there can be no trust. My point of view and you may consider me wrong.

It is the agenda of all Western Government to foster fear of Muslims as terrorists since it is a good way of making people accept security measures and controls that they would otherwise object to.

Regrettably this fear is further enforced by the fundamentalist elements, who are of course stirred up by the hatred preached in (some of) the Mosques, which in it's turn has been fostered by the West as it is useful. It is a vicious circle. The West needs terrorists desperately and will do anything to invent them and pushes this agenda via the mainstream media.

reply to post by Minnie1985


Yeah, I have never understood that "so Muslims are not offended" thing...lol... many Muslims I know (including myself) think the Christmas lights are beautiful....and a couple of Muslims I know even strung lights around their bushes and windows to have the community spirit during the Christmas season.

I always during the season wish everyone a Merry Christmas because it is their holiday and a joy for them.... I have never met a Muslim who would be offended! Besides, we believe in Jesus too!

We see the news, but it is so opposite to what I personally am, and what I personally know of other Muslims, that I have often wondered, well do I simply know extraordinary Muslims or are most of us just like me... and I have come to the conclusion that most really are just like me

reply to post by CrimsonKapital


Islamic extremists are responsible. Don't confuse a group of fanatical extremists with the norm; they are, in fact, the exception.

Think of it this way. Say 25 Australians were caught plotting to bomb New Zealand. By the logic you used, one could equate all Australians with hatred of New Zealand.

reply to post by CrimsonKapital


You might want to take a look at some of these before being so certain that only Muslims are terrorists.

Mostly the biggest terrorists are the governments.

Originally posted by PuterMan
reply to post by CrimsonKapital

 

You might want to take a look at some of these before being so certain that only Muslims are terrorists.

Mostly the biggest terrorists are the governments.

Where have Christians ever plotted to attack Australia? Please answer this?