Short Bio of Me

Okay, this post is per request. :-D

So, because this is a religion-related blog, I'm going to kind of focus more on the spiritual side of my life.

My parents didn't raise me in a religious household. My mother was Christian, but didn't regularly practice Christianity or impose it upon us kids. My father was atheist (which he didn't tell me until recently), so religion and God wasn't really brought up or taught to us that much as kids. When I was very young, probably about 12 years old, I read a book my sister had that was called "Conversation with God." After reading that book [series], that was basically my entire belief system. I was not assigned or restricted to any religion, but I had a strong relationship with God.

I grew up a very inquisitive and analytical child, teenager, young adult, and so on. Since I was young, I was interested in different cultures, different religions especially. I read any and all books I could about the major world religions, and they all interested me in their own way.

My mother became religious when I was around 16 years old. Among the many dramas of my teenage years, this basically was stressful for me. She was Southern Baptist Christian, and her views and church was very imposing and suffocating. I HATED going to church with her. All the talk from the pastor about fire and brimstone and how God hates Gays as much as Murderers was TOO much for me. I was in a bad mood the entire day when I had to go. Then, once the pastor came to our house and asked me what I believed, and I told them all and felt very judged and as though I had no idea what I was talking about. I was just "young and haven't found the truth yet." It always seems like people say that when you don't agree with their personal views. Hmmm.

So around the age of I'd say. . . 20 years old, I started going to one of my best friend's culture centers and Buddhist meetings with her. I loved the peace I felt when I chanted and participated and I became a Nichiren Buddhist. I had NOT changed my view on God in any way and Nichiren Buddhism is not necessarily a religion as more of a lifestyle? It's difficult to explain if you have not experienced it yourself.

After a couple of years, I stopped praying (read: chanting) and I just fell out of the loop with it. I didn't feel that the things I was doing was necessary for my happiness.

I never stopped researching and studying religions. I never felt the need to be part of a major religion and I definitely didn't think I would fit into one. I started researching Judaism more and more and was completely intrigued by the religion. I was agreeing with so much of it, and I wanted to learn more. I was trying my best to find synagogues around me that had introduction classes or q & a's or something similar, but all of those were available. . . at a price! And an expensive price, at that! I wanted to learn more, but from people, not just books. I wanted questions answered and all of that. Alas, I found nothing free.

So as I've said, I love studying religion and I did find a Qur'an study class that was available in the area I live that was free of charge and every week. I started attending those classes and absolutely loved it. I loved the people and everything. I learned a lot of what the speaker thought about certain things, and what Sunni Muslims view on Islam was. It was incredibly interesting.

I decided that I believed the Qur'an was divinely relayed to Mohammed, and the rest is history!

People Who Turn Away

Top reason why people turn away from religion: Unsavory followers.

Obviously, there are members of every group that are embarrassing. People in your family, people on your team at work, people in your classroom, people in your city/state, people in your political party, people in your country, people in your gender, and of course and most of all, people in your religion.

People who turn away from religion and/or faith are not repulsed by how courageous and admirable Moses was, or offended about how loving and amazing Jesus was, or disgusted about how respectable and gentle Mohammed was. Not at all! How could they be? That is not what people who turn away are worried about.

They are worried about how repulsive it is for people who claim to be religious kill innocent people in the direct name of God. They are offended by how judgmental many religious leaders and followers are to everyone. These people are disgusted how hypocritical and harmful religious speakers' words are to many others.

It is not hard at all to see why people turn away from religion and faith. Although, I don't find this to be an excuse.

For me personally, if I do not like something or find something a little off, I do research on the subject. If you grow up around a family who claims to be Christian, and you see nothing but negativity and bad influences, why not research exactly what being Christian means, instead of taking your family's bad example as truth? Why not read the Bible yourself? You can NEVER take anothers' opinion & word as your own if you don't look into exactly what it means for you.

Every American on television reality shows are an embarrassment to me as an American citizen, but I definitely wouldn't want a non-American person to watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians and think all Americans are like that family. That is most definitely a FALLACIOUS hasty generalization.

You cannot accurately judge an entire faith based on the limited followers you run into in your life. You cannot judge it based on the people you know + the people you see on TV & in the news. You must find things out on your OWN, because if you don't, aren't you just a clueless follower yourself?

For me, it's difficult to know that others connect me to the type of Muslim that I definitely don't agree with on most levels. That is why I try to avoid the label Muslim if possible, and prefer saying that I practice Islam, or follow Islam. Unfortunately, others connect bad things to the word "Muslim" (and "Christian," etc) and that really is a shame, because it's very far from facts. When people do their OWN research about faiths, they see it in a whole new light.

Regulators

One thing I hate worse than ANYTHING is when people try to regulate my religion. MY religion. When an non-Muslim says "Aren't you supposed to _______?" or an atheist says "Oh, you're doing ________ wrong." Let me deal with my beliefs, the requirement of my religion, and how I deal with my day to day life with Allah. Not you. 


You do not need to deal with how I live my life in relation to religion. I did not hire you in any way to show me what you think I am doing wrong, or what you think I should be doing according to your view of my religion. It must be a terrible burden on you to try to keep me in line with what you believe is what I'm supposed to be doing according to my own beliefs. As Fiona Apple says, "curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease - Courteous to try and help - but let me set your mind at ease." 


Even other Muslims attempt to lead me in my belief, without an invitation to do so. Why is this, I wonder? As the Qur'an states, religion is explain to you only through Allah. 75:19 "And that behold, it will be for Us to explain it." Notice, also, how it does not say, "And that behold, it will be for your aunts, your cousins, your father, your brother, your friend's friend, and a complete stranger to explain it." 


I will try to be more at ease when people try to barge into my set of beliefs because Allah warns of these people, and tells us to let them be, because they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. 


This is more of a plea to those who are currently doing this to me, personally, or anyone else around them. To the intelligent people who know when to stay out of someone's business when it is uninvited. I invite you to stop regulating my beliefs. I would greatly appreciate it, if you can. Thank you! Salaamu leikum.

My Choice

I was sitting here thinking (yes, I do often sit and ponder things because I'm a genius!), "Why don't people let others believe as they want if it makes them happy?" Let me explain. . .

I was having a conversation with my friend and the Qur'an came up. He said some funny, slightly-disrespectful things (he wasn't intentionally trying to offend me). He was questioning certain things that I believed that didn't make sense to him. I asked him if his mother was religious, and he answered that she wasn't, and that's where he gets his viewpoints on religion. Most things he heard (he wasn't taught, because his parents weren't religiously affiliated) did not make sense to him and he could not relate to, therefore he had a negative viewpoint on these matters. When he was saying things and asking hypothetical questions, I told him, "If it makes me happy, if my religion makes me happy, what should it matter to anyone else?"

I could understand how, if I was miserable about what I believe and fearful all the time, someone would want to convince me that I don't have to believe such things and could be more peaceful without them. I can understand if that were the case. But for most people, religion is something wonderful to their lives. It's funny, because it's usually Atheists who are trying to convince others against their religions. I wonder why. . . I wonder why an Atheist would tell me how stupid he thinks what I believe spiritually is. Is it to simply express his point of view? Or is it to convince me of his way of thinking? If I am peaceful, happy, and content with what I believe, why should it bother him in the least, if it doesn't affect him in any way?

Usually, the people I've met who are like this, are like this in any aspect. . . For example, if I am listening to music, and they hate it, they will tell me how horrible it is and continue on. If I love a movie, and they do not, they will continue on with why it is bad and why no one should like it. Maybe, this is satisfying to them? I really don't know. Any thoughts? I would like to understand why certain people act this way. The more we understand one another, the better we can react to one another.

Parental Guidance

I was talking with my dad this morning, one subject being, of course, religion, among other things. Apparently, everyone is going to my parents, asking them their thoughts on me "studying Islam."  A good point my dad brought up was that I need to see both sides: the religious and the anti-religious. He's right. 


My dad was raised Muslim (from what I'm told), and he is now atheist. Whenever religion is brought up between him & I in any way, he is always saying something negative about it overall or its followers. He's always saying that religion causes all of these wars, conflicts, etc. The thing is. . . without religion, there would not be LESS killing/wars/conflicts, not at all. Humans create in- and out-groups to separate themselves from others, whether it be with race, language, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, region, STATE, CITY, affiliation of any kind (religious, political, gang, etc). 


Personally, I think that religion does more good than bad. Religion can inspires you to live a wholesome, disciplined, GOOD life. In a religion like Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, does it every say in the scriptures to do something horrible to others or influence followers to live lives that are corrupt? No, never! It does not! Does it outline how to live a happy, peaceful life? The Qur'an gives guidance like, "Be good to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy. Speak kindly and pay the poor-due," (2:83), "Kill not one another," (4:29), "Whoever participates in a good cause, will be rewarded. Whoever participates in an evil cause, will bear the consequences thereof," (4:85), "O people of the Book, do not be fanatical in your faith," (4:171) "Be kind and forgiving toward others," (7:199).


Confused or ignorant people tend to blame religion for all these atrocities, but it's not religion: it's people. Those SAME people who kill in the name of God would STILL BE KILLING PEOPLE without religion. What, do people think that those same killers would be peaceful, frolicking people without religion? If so, that is so sad. In the Qur'an, Allah says "Whoever kills a human being, it is as if he had killed all mankind. Whoever saves the life of one, it is as if he had saved the life of all" (5:32). 


Also, why are others so concerned about the beliefs of others if the belief does not interfere in any negative way? My father's non-belief does not affect me in ANY way. My beliefs should not upset ANYONE else either. I do not try to convert people and I don't judge others. Allah is the only judge, so why should anyone feel the need to take on that heavy responsibility?