Sick and Tired
Posted: September 10th, 2008 | Filed under: Campus, Cartoons/Art, Other Blogs, Politics, World | 7 Comments »Most people in this world are individuals that belong to a distinct group. Be it by gender, family name, nationality, occupation, health, religion, etc. And because they belong to this group, they are expected to represent it completely and know absolutely all there is to know about being part of that group. You are expected to spread awareness and knowledge when it is needed. Personally, I always had to defend my groups. I was always defending Islam, Arabs and Journalism. Living in a foreign country where people are ignorant (can’t blame the people for that) yet curious, defending myself was a constant routine. I was sick and tired of it.
Islam. This is the hardest one. Even the basics of Islam are hard to defend thanks to the contradicting events happening in the Middle East and surrounding regions. I would tell them that Muslims believe in and are supposed to respect all the prophets and books sent to us from God. What could I respond with when even the Arkan Al Iman (Articles of Belief) are set aside?
Is it still justified to say that Islam is a religion that promotes peace? To my knowledge in the times of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) people of different faiths lived peacefully in their towns. It was only when the Muslims were wronged that jihad was declared and the peace was disturbed. Let’s not also forget the Islamic movement that was for the purpose of spreading the religion. It was effective, but also violent. That is a fact.
I consider myself to be a religious person, in my own way. I love my religion and it is always on my mind. Almost every night before I fall asleep, my head rests on the pillow as I ponder and think about the things I was told to memorize at school. I try to make sense of it all. I do. And if I need to, I ask my mom to help me figure things out. She gives me the facts and lets me understand them on my own. The only thing that throws me off is that Muslims all over the world believe different things. We claim that that all Muslims are unified in their beliefs, but it is painfully obvious that we are not.
So the only things I said in my defense is that the people that are behind non-peaceful events and actions are extremists. Even though the truth is that some of those people that agree with extremists are just ignorant and don’t know any better. I’m not a history buff, but has there been a time when there hasn’t been a war in the name of Islam? (That’s a legitimate question that I hope someone answers in the comments.)
