Islam, a strange lifestyle?

Answer to the question, nicely written by Ajmal Masroor, in the New Statesman

Article 1:

'Islam is a strange religion'
[full article]

'Muslims are not normal and Islam is a strange religion!' Do you believe this or do you demonstrate this in your direct and indirect behaviour?

Ask a Muslim this question and I can almost guarantee you that he/she would have felt treated like this, if not on a regular basis, occasionally. This has become the popular perception amongst many non-Muslims today. Once I went out for dinner with a group of people.

They all ordered alcohol and I ordered a glass of fresh juice. This sparked off a discussion amongst us all, why I did not drink alcohol; in the course of the discussion one of them asked what was wrong with me that I do not drink?. I explained to them that according to my faith drinking or taking any intoxicants was forbidden.

I know this makes me different from the popular culture here in Britain but what is wrong with being different? In fact Islam encourages me to challenge such cultural values, not to shove Islamic values down anyone throat, but to engage in a reasoned rational discussion about the benefit and harm of some of these popular cultures.

Article 2:

Islam is a lifestyle
[full article]

Islam and Muslims are often portrayed as abnormal and not compatible to the modern Western world. Muslims are shown in a negative way in today’s media; they are labelled as enemies within and out to destroy the West. My fear is that this has created the perfect environment for young people to feel excluded, increase community disarray and it is creating destructive popular cultures. There was a time when Jewish, Irish and Black people were part of the popular culture’s sick jokes, racist caricatures and hostility but now Muslims are on the receiving end of it all. This is a slippery slope and if we are not careful this may wreak havoc in our society.

My faith, Islam, teaches me to be colour and culture blind. I try my best to be a devout Muslim and at the same time to be a loyal citizen. I take my Bangladeshi ethnic background as an enriching feature and very proud of all layers of my identity. My religious duties and social responsibilities are two sides of the same coin. My faith is very important to me but not just as a set of rituals and "do’s and don’ts". It defines me as a person and shapes my worldview; it helps me develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with my surrounding and most importantly enables me to balance between material life and spirituality.

I have always had a very inquisitive mind and never accepted matters of faith without reason. I used to question every aspect of my faith and was never satisfied with emotional links to faith. Islam for me is a lifestyle, one that I have chosen as a result of conscious search, knowledge, faith and conviction. This lifestyle makes me conscious of my relationship with God.

At the core of my faith is the acceptance of God’s existence and His presence in my daily life. My relationship with God is direct and encompasses my private and public life.

My daily prayer is "O God please give me success of this world and the success of the Hereafter, strengthen me in my faith and help me to be content with what I have. Bless me with energy to be active and relieve me from laziness, help me to be generous with the richness that you give and relieve me of miserliness; help me to be just and save me from oppression."

About Ajmal [link]

Ajmal Masroor is regularly invited to speak on issues on integration and Islam in the modern world. He leads Friday prayers in several Mosques across London.

p.s. the prospect of me livin in a foreign environment in the near future scared the hell out of me. Thx for these articles, I think Ill face what Ajmal is going through, hopefully, these challenges will make me stronger and shape a better me. Amin.