Hate Vs Islam :.
I don’t usually like to weigh in on any heavy political topics on this blog. It’s just a personal preference, but I do enjoy lengthy, healthy debates with my friends, as it does keep the wheels of the mind greased and it’s a mental check so I don’t turn too drastically “numb” or dumb.
However, the protesting and the hatred that has been going around towards Muslims and Islam has been building with the proposed ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ and the Muslim Family day at a 6 Flags amusement park in the U.S that is supposed to take place on September 12 has really struck a chord with me. Many similar stories have become the fodder of celebrity and political bloggers, activists and media outlets, and more of these keep coming out of the woodwork.
I think I should say now for the record, I am a Muslim. I was born one, I will die as one.
For those of you who have followed me for a while (and I can only think of the one) and/or are new to These Honest Lies, I hope that this fact does not put you off.In fact, I hope that it opens your eyes that there are muslims who live their lives normally and peacefully, side by side with people of other races, religions, faiths and beliefs.
I am not a good muslim, this I will admit. I have vices which go against my religion, I don’t pray 5 times a day as I should, and I certainly don’t wear a hijab everyday or am I forced to. I live in a country where Islam is the widely practiced and is official religion of the country, yet we live alongside other faiths in a happy congruence. Culturally, the Muslims and the other faiths live happily with and respect each other. During the muslim festival of Eid, it’s not unusual to see people of other races and religions happily visiting their Muslim neighbours and relatives and celebrating alongside with them. This happens during Christmas and Chinese New Year too, where the Muslims will visit their Christian or Chinese neighbours to send them good wishes.
Anyway, the reason why I have suddenly decided to touch on the topic is because I do have a personal interest in it. Recently, Gray Eyes and I permanently ended our on and off emotionally turbulent relationship as we were at a stalemate with each other. We still have strong feelings for each other, but somehow, neither one of us was willing to budge from the comfort zone we were in.
Last week, after a very unhappy incident which I’d rather not discuss openly, which left me in pieces and angry at Gray Eyes, he finally explained why he had made such a hasty decision and a drastic move. He is unwilling to convert, and one of his reasons for doing so is the current heated environment in the U.S towards muslims. As a muslim woman, I can only marry a muslim man, this is something I have accepted and am not willing to compromise on. Though we have touched on the subject of his conversion a few times, I never openly stated he had to convert, and neither did he openly state that he was going to. I figured that we would jump that hurdle if it came to it, and unfortunately, it never came to pass.
Though I am saddened by the fact that this was a reason, I cannot help but understand this. Muslims in the U.S face an uphill battle everyday, whether it is judgement on young girls who wear the hijab, or trying to find a place to create a mosque to nurture the community of already established muslims. I think there is a story in the news almost everyday about the persecution that American Muslims face, and hundreds if not thousands more, that go unpublished.
As what they call a “moderate muslim”, I cannot help but feel for all my brothers and sisters who live in such an uncertain world, where they are persecuted for their beliefs. I know that for every story published about Islamic hate, there is one that celebrates all religions and spiritual unity, but those remain largely ignored. Is ignorance a large factor in this? Have people become so blinded by hate that they fail to see the logic of tainting thousands of the moderate with the red brush of the few that are extremist?
Gray Eyes’ fear is understandable. In fact, I am grateful he was honest with me (but somewhat peeved that he chose to keep this fact to himself while allowing me to pursue a relationship which he knew was never going anywhere). Were the situation reversed, I think I’d probably feel the same way. But it pains me that its because of this religious hatred and hostility towards muslim Americans that has put fear into his heart.
I suppose it’s too idealist to think that the world was going to be okay after 9/11( 11/09). I know America is still reeling and healing after a tragic blow, but people have to understand that Muslims also died in the plane crashes, and Muslims joined in the fight in Afghanistan, and Muslims are now fighting to defend their rights, just as other faiths before them.Where in the American constitution does it state, “It’s okay for Muslims to live here, as long as we don’t know about it.”
Hey, hating people in America, listen up. Guess what, you’re not the only freaking country on the planet okay? You share the world with the rest of us, and if you start nitpicking on the Muslims, well guess what, y’all ain’t exactly innocent. Think descendants of thieving, disease mongering, genocidal, immigrants much? I wonder what the Native Americans would have to say. Or the Japanese victims of Hiroshima, or the thousands of families displaced by war in Afghanistan?
I think the world has bigger problems to think about right now. Like the freaking Great Pacific Gyre, which is basically a giant floating plastic garbage dump in the middle of the ocean that’s twice the size of Texas. Or global warming. Or obesity. Or the fact that we’re overfishing our oceans and screwing up our food supplies. Or the oil spill in the Mexican Gulf. There are so many things that we can focus our energy on besides religious hate.
As for me and Gray Eyes, we’ve accepted our differences, and I will be as happy for him as he is for me.. (lies!) I will constantly miss him in my life. He was (and perhaps always will be) a chapter that I can say truly made me happy in times of darkness. I loved how his quietness and gentleness contrasted with my wildness and anger. His love was never the kind that sought to tame me, but was the kind that would rather find the blessings in the wildness. In those hopeless places where I retreated to, he always found me and nurtured me back, and at times, when I was at my wickedest towards him, he was at his sweetest and most understanding, which is why I will never forget him.
Love is sometimes not about holding on so tightly and never letting go, it is about understanding when you do have to, you do it from the honesty of your heart and knowing that it is what is best for both.
I shall only take what is mine, and I hope that if we meet again, in circumstances where religion is not an issue, that we can be together.
If you made it this far, congratulations. I hope that I will meet you here again soon. To those of you who choose to leave this behind, thanks for reading and I wish you well. Peace be with each and every one of you, always, whether it be spiritual or that on earth.
