Why I Chose Islam
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canada goose store The media presents me as a naive, besotted 21 year old who has made canada goose outlet uk sale a hasty decision without really considering the consequences thus effectively condemning herself to a life of canada goose outlet england interminable subservience, misery and isolation. Although I must canada goose outlet locations in toronto confess I have rather canada goose outlet woodbury enjoyed the various depictions of a veiled and miserable „Haiqa Khan” incarcerated in chains, the reality is somewhat different. Contrary to current opinion, my decision to convert to Islam was entirely my own choice and in no way hurried. canada goose store
Whilst the act of conversion itself is surprisingly quick entailing the simple assertion that „there is only one God and Muhammad is His Prophet” canada goose outlet authentic the preparation is not necessarily to speedy a process. In my case, this began last July, whilst the actual conversion took place in early February three months before the Nikah in Paris.
Canada Goose online During that time I studied in depth both the Qur’an and the works of various Islamic scholars (Gai Eaton, the Bosnian president Alia Izetbegovic, Muhammad Asad), thus giving me ample time to reflect before making my decision. What began as intellectual curiosity slowly ripened into a dawning realisation of the universal and eternal truth that is Islam. In the statement given out of week ago, I particularly stressed that I had converted to Islam entirely „through my own convictions”. The significance of this has been largely ignored by the press. The point is that my conversion was not, as so many have assumed, a pre requisite to my marriage. It was entirely my own choice. Religiously speaking there was absolutely no compulsion for me to convert prior to my marriage. As it explicitly states in the Qur’an, a Muslim is permitted to marry from „the People of the Book” in other words, canada goose uk site either a Christian or a Jew. Indeed, the Sunnah which describes the life of the Prophet shows that the messenger of Islam himself married both a Christian and a Jew during his lifetime. Canada Goose online
canada goose coats I believe that much of this hostility towards my marriage and conversion stems from widespread misconceptions about an alien culture and religion. Not only is there a canada goose jacket outlet uk huge gulf between the Western view of Islam and the reality, but there is in some cases also a significant distinction between Islam based directly on the Qur’an and the Sunnah and that practised by some Islamic societies. During the canada goose outlet germany last year I have had the opportunity to visit Pakistan on three separate occasions and have observed Islamic family life in practice. Thus, to some extent I now feel qualified to judge for myself canada goose kensington parka uk the true role and position of women in the religion. His oldest sister, Robina, is an alumnus of the LSE and holds a senior position in the United Nations in New York. Another sister, Aleema, has a master’s degree in business administration and runs a successful business; Uzma is a highly qualified surgeon working in a Lahore hospital, whilst Rani is a university graduate who co ordinates charity work. They can hardly be seen as „women in chains” dominated by tyrannical husbands. On the contrary, they are strongminded independent women yet at the same time they remain deeply committed both to their families and their religion. Thus, I was able to see in theory and in practice how Islam promotes the essential notion of the family unit without subjugating its female members. canada goose coats
canada goose coats on sale I am nevertheless fully aware that women are sometimes exploited and oppressed in Islamic societies, as in other parts of the world. Judging by some of the articles which have appeared in the press, it would seem that a Western woman’s happiness hinges largely upon her access to nightclubs, alcohol and revealing clothes; and the absence of such apparent canada goose outlet black friday freedom and luxuries in Islamic societies is seen as an infringement of her basic rights. However, as we all know, such superficialities have very little to do canada goose outlet niagara falls with true happiness. Marriage, as Imran’s father has been quoted as saying, is indeed „a gamble”. However, when I see that in a society based on family life the divorce rate is just a fraction of that in European or American society, I cannot see that my chances of success are any less than if I had chosen to marry a Westener. I am all too aware of the enormous task of adapting to a new and radically different culture. But with the love of my husband and the support of his family I look forward to the challenge wholeheartedly, and would like to feel that people wish me well. Whilst I do appreciate the genuine concerns of many, I must confess to feeling somewhat bewildered by all of the commotion. This transition had a great deal to do with his disillusionment from his society. Here he reflects on the nature of American culture through the worldview that has transformed him. canada goose coats on sale
buy canada goose jacket Whenever I think about myself living in the United States these days, two stories come to mind. The first is from Maulana Rumi and the other, although a joke, is very revealing of the viewpoint that prevails here. buy canada goose outlet canada goose jacket
Canada Goose Outlet In the first book of the Mathanavi, Rumi tells a story of a man who lived in a desert and who, urged on by his wife, agreed to take an offering to the King in the city. The offering was a pitcher of rain water, which the man and his wife had laboriously collected. They considered canada goose outlet online store review this water precious because it was sweet compared to the brackish water of their well, their only major source. Canada Goose Outlet
Canada Goose Parka Meager though the offering was, the King received it in the spirit in which it was offered canada goose outlet official and, emptying the pitcher, filled it with gold. The King also arranged for the man to return to his home on a boat. Seeing the vastness of the river on which he traveled, the man marveled at all the water the King had at his command and at the way he took the poor man’s meager offering and rewarded him. Canada Goose Parka
canada goose It is one of Rumi’s renditions of the Islamic ethos. In fact, it is so rich in implications that Rumi himself narrated it with more than the usual splendid digressions which enrich his work. The King, Maulana makes clear, is God and His bounty is as boundless as all the water on earth. canada goose
What enchanted the story was the understanding that prevailed throughout, an understanding of an Islamic Ummah, of compassion, of knowledge of the world, of tolerance and of the recognition of the different kinds of people which constitute the Muslim world.
canada goose clearance I must admit, however, to one question which continued to bother me until most recently. She was there during an earthquake and she described how canada goose outlet in vancouver people shared their possessions with the victims and gasoline station owners 'opened their tanks’ so that the gasoline would be free and how wage earners contributed one month’s wages. canada goose clearance
A Yemeni told her of some of his people’s responsibilities: 'If someone is sick, or old, or poor, well, we give our food; we get that person clothes; we build for a widow a new house if the old one is falling down.’
The remarkable thing about Dillard’s description is how full of appreciation it is. Most American travelers, returning from Islamic countries, do not give positive canada goose outlet in canada reports of Muslims, even of those who have been hospitable to them. They were unable to see any women, these travelers complain, except those who were heavily veiled. They mention how exasperated they became because of the constant references to God and the frequent canada goose outlet winnipeg address addition of Insha’ Allah to statements about the future. They describe the tabs as 'worry beads,’ without any regard to what dhikr is and how serenity is achieved through the remembrance of Allah.
Rumi’s story presupposes a vital aspect of the Islamic ethos, the presence of a moral understanding among all the people. The trust the wife places in the King, the treatment of her husband at the palace gates, the ready acceptance of his meager offering, the fact that those with the King also took this acceptance in stride, the way the husband was treated in the King’s city.
A world, in short, so conspicuous by its absence in this narcissistic country called the United States. There is a moral aridity here which parches the throat and lips and which also parches the soul. It is best summed up in a joke.
cheap Canada Goose There was a rich girl in a class who was assigned to write on a poor family. 'Once upon a time’ she wrote, 'there was a poor family. The father was poor, the mother was poor, the children were poor, cook was poor, the maid was poor, canada goose outlet orlando the butler was poor and the chauffeur was poor.’ cheap Canada Goose
canadian goose jacket The United States is that girl, unable to see beyond a very limited set of assumptions it holds dear. After all, its people insist that their country is the epitome of civilization by virtue of its abundance of wealth and weapons (their only criteria for judging whether a country is civilized). canadian goose jacket
canada goose deals There is something drastically lacking and that is a commonly understood sense of either morals or ethics. canada goose deals
canada goose clearance sale The United States today is, in short an amoral world. Not immoral, which presupposes the existence of morals, which in turn means that the people are fully aware that they are doing wrong when they do, but amoral. A 'people’ as the Qur’an puts it, 'without any awareness canada goose outlet vip (of right or wrong)’ (11:29). canada goose clearance sale
People are killed here for the little money they possess and they are killed without the least compunction. The murderers bring to mind Lieutenant Cally who dismissed the My Lai massacre he was responsible for as 'no big deal.’
One might argue that there is a resurgence of religion here in the United States and point to the rising number of churchgoers. But figures are deceptive. Religion has become a ritual confined to the Sabbath. What people do the rest of the week appears to have no connection with what is expressed in church. And yet national leaders insist on calling America a Christian country.
buy canada http://www.mycanadagoosejacket.org goose jacket cheap What people say and what people do are two completely different thing. Reagan was, some months back, described as a great Christian, despite the fact that he doesn’t attend church. canada goose womens outlet Ironically, while this statement was being made, a former president, Jimmy Carter did not concern himself with labels. With his Christian service group, he came to New York, renovated an apartment complex to be used by the poor, and left without seeking any publicity. buy canada goose jacket cheap
canada goose black friday sale Religion here is at best lopsided. One watches with fascination a fundamentalist Christian church service in a huge auditorium filled with impeccably dressed people listening to a group of teenagers singing a song relegating everyone else to hell Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Marxists, Atheists. The people are all white. There is not a single black or brown face there. Equally difficult to accept is that church priest night, glorify God 33 times, praise whimsies and ministers describe as 'bums’ those without homes or food or clothes, those who sleep in the park even in sub zero temperatures. canada goose black friday sale
Canada Goose Jackets The lopsidedness is also illustrated by another story they tell here. A boy went up to his father after school one day and said that he did not understand what the teacher was talking about when she mentioned a 'moral problem.’ The father thought for a while and decided to illustrate what she meant. Canada Goose Jackets
„You know,” he explained, „that your uncle and me own a stationary store. Well, one day a customer comes in to buy some pencils. He hands me a twenty dollar bill and I mistake it to be a one dollar bill and I give him the change accordingly. But the customer canada goose jacket outlet doesn’t notice. He’s heading for the door and I look at him and at the twenty dollar bill and then I realize I am faced with a moral question: 'Do I share the twenty dollar bill with your uncle or not?'” canada goose outlet ottawa.
