Maintaining Our Islamic Identities
June 7, 2007
New from brother Kâmil:
The age we live in today is an age of trial and tribulation, especially for the Muslims living in the non-Muslim societies of the West. You find many of them trying to strike a balance between their Islamic and Western identities. You find that when Islam is attacked they turn to the defensive with an inner feeling of defeat as they try to show that the Islamic values are no different than the Western ones. If they are told that the Islamic political system is dictatorial they respond by trying to show it is democratic. If they are told that Islam was spread by the sword they respond that Muslims fought only to defend themselves when attacked. They present a false interpretation of Islam without realizing it, for the purpose of pleasing the non-Muslims.
Read on here.
June 29, 2007 at 6:29 am
I wonder what your views would be like if you had actually grown up in Muslim-majority countries. As I have done, and interestingly, where one is not in the minority and does not have to worry about the ‘identity’ thing. And where of course, Islam is mainstream and the ‘authority’ and not something that might provide some answers - where it is clear that religion by itself is not going to provide anything, probably not jobs, not unless you are high up in the social pecking order. And of course, not providing any social welfare.
June 29, 2007 at 11:27 am
Being that Islam is a complete way of life, it provides us with all that we’re going to need in life. It provides us with a guideline of how we are to conduct ourselves, whether in our spiritual endeavours, in our personal relationships, or in our business dealings.
As for the social welfare thing, when Islam is implemented the way it’s supposed to be implemented, particularly by the Muslim rulers, this is taken care of through the yearly tax (zakâh) every Muslim is obligated to pay.