It seems like, these days, you hear way more about Muslim people and ideals from non-Muslim sources, and that has created a lot of cloudy misconceptions about Islam and Muslim people, which, as you probably noticed, has stirred up a whole lot of Islamophobia lately. Here, we hear some of the greatest misconceptions about Islam, from Muslims.
1. Muslims are more than just their religion
I am may be a Muslim but that's not my identity. I am a Pakistani, I like reading, I like movies, I am very introverted, I have depression and anxiety, I struggle with words while speaking, I am a cat owner...just kidding they own me, I am a business student, I can't cook to save my life, I am a procrastinator, and I also happen to be a Muslim.
When people are criticizing Muslims, I just want them to know that a Muslim is not all I am. I live my life just like you do, we have the same worries, same likes and dislikes. I have a family just like you do. I worry about what will happen once I graduate university, I worry about my cat with chronic constipation, I worry about my mom and her frail health, I too have daddy issues like some of you. I am not so different from most of you. So when people think of me as some great threat, I wonder why can't they see me not just as a Muslim but as a person in my own right, with everything that makes me who I am.
Islam is a small part of my life. I pray occasionally, I fast in the month of Ramadan and yes, while my religion contributes to some part of me, it is not everything about me.
2. Muslim people are the biggest victims of extremist terrorism.
If you look at the countries that have the most terrorist attacks, they are all countries that the West has been heavily involved in. Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have all had extensive foreign involvement and in the case of the former three, have been absolutely torn apart through direct Western actions (for Syria it is mostly escalating the situation). The same happened in Afghanistan. What do you expect would happen when you leave a country without a capable government AND arm groups there? Don't tell me they fear extremist Muslims more. They wouldn't be there at all had it not been for Western meddling. The same people who fear for their lives today might have lived out a completely normal life had it not been for the West.
3. That there isn't this one single community called "Muslims"
...and there is so much diversity within communities that consider themselves Muslim.
There are gay Muslims, Muslims who are gay but find it difficult to handle, Muslims who know nothing about their faith, Muslims who don't care about their faith much, Pakistanis who were born into a faith but they don't really care about it, people who converted to Islam and became quite conservative then slowly became more relaxed over time, Muslims who are extremely committed to the faith in a peaceful way, Muslims who are extremely committed to the faith in a dodgy way, etcetera.
If I walk down the street in the UK people may think I'm Muslim as I'm brown and can look Muslim-ish, but I'm an Ex Muslim atheist. But that doesn't mean I've disowned my background or family, it just means I have to deal with both the discrimination faced by Muslim and the discrimination you face leaving religion (which affects people from lots of faith backgrounds), it's a "double-bind".
4. Islam means submission, but it's not what you think...
Islam means Submission. However, many people connote "submission" to this idea of strict and unquestionable obedience. The submission in Islam is not an illogical and irrational meekness, on the contrary, it is to (Continued)
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submit to the events of your life and the world through deep mental (rational and logical), spiritual, and emotional comprehension, WHILE moving forward. In the prophetic tradition (Hadith), it is said, "Strap your camel, AND put faith in God;" which means, you must submit your faith in God WHILE taking natural occurring reasons into account. You do not park your car with the door open and say that God will protect it - that's illogical.
5. Forcing a woman to wear a Hijab is a family practice, not a religious one
Are there women who are forced to wear the scarf? Yes. But that is not the correct practice. In Islam, the deciding factor is Intention. There are many women who wear the Hijab but their mothers, sisters, or daughters do not. It's a choice, like everything else in life.
The issue is that some choices are either forced or limited. In the same way that some Christian women are forced to cover their bodies or wear hats in church, and some Jewish women have to cover their heads at all time with hats or wigs, forcing members of your family to do something is based more on familial practice than a religious one.
Anonymous
6. Islam is a religion of diversity
There many more things I would like to talk about but the last item that I would like to share is on DIVERSITY. From the very beginning, Islam was a religion of Diversity and still is to this day. Walk into any mosque in America, and you will see rich, poor, black, white, brown, Asian, European, African, and Americans humbly sitting side by side -ironically, this cohesion work best in the USA, and it really frames the beauty of the Religion due to the cultural context of America.
Are there extremists? Yes. Are there literalists? Yes. Are there people who want to incite violence? Yes. Is there intolerance? Yes. Is there oppression of Women? Yes. Are there people who do not know how to mediate their identity? Yes. All religions (not just Islam) has been used as an excuse for violence for thousands of years. It does not mean that religion is inherently dangerous, it is the scapegoat.
7. People don't understand our standing on multiple wives
Many people criticize the Prophet's social standards of multiple wives or harsh rulings; yet many people do not take historical and social context into account. Many people do not realize that (Continued)
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his first Wife, Khadija, was older than him by 20+ years, she was a professional independent woman, and SHE proposed to him. She not only supported him emotionally, but also financially and was the bread winner in the family. When she passed away, he was not intending to marry again, but married because of revelation or due to political alliances. One of his wives was Jewish (Saffiyah) and she spent time with her family on Saturdays to support them in the sabbath.
8. Let's tackle the elephant in the room: ISIS
Imagine that you see on TV thousands of your people killed by foreigners. Innocent people just going about their lives, killed. This makes you angry. You join a group that promised you revenge. You travel to the country of the people that attacked you and take violence to their door in retaliation.
Does that seem plausible? Does that seem like something unique to any one culture or group? I wasn't writing that while thinking about a Muslim joining a radical group in retaliation to prejudice. I was writing that from the perspective of an American that participated in the invasion of Afghanistan. We aren't so different, you and I and everyone else.
I want to say, that in my experience, it is actually all the Islam hating that is causing more and more muslims to go to ISIS.
Many of these people are in a weak state after the US invasions, seeing the hate towards muslims just makes them give up on trying to argue and head to ISIS. Being bombed day in day out isn't healthy for anyone.
That being said, the vast majority of Muslims do not agree with extremist actions. Saying that all Muslims agree with ISIS is like saying all Christians agree with Westboro Baptist Church.
9. We believe in Jesus and the virgin Mary
I'm surprised now one said this yet. We believe in Jesus and virgin Mary. We believe in prophets Noah, Adam, Abraham, Moses, Joshua ...etcetera. We believe in ALL of them. I'm always surprised by Christians who think we don't believe in Jesus or that he will return at the end of times. Though, similarly to the Jewish faith, we do not believe that Jesus was the son of God. However, unlike the Jewish faith we do believe he was a prophet.
It's all in the Quran, plain and simple.
10. In fact, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are sister religions
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are what are known as Abrahamic religions which means that there is a lot of overlap between our religions. We all believe that the Hebrew patriarch, Abraham and his descendants, hold an important role in human spiritual development. All religions recognize Abraham as the first prophet. In many ways, our religions are all more similar than they are different. You can have good Christians and bad ones, you can have good Jews and bad ones, you can have good Muslims and bad ones. You see all the time that there are (Continued)
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that there are controversial passages from the Quran, the Torah, and the bible passages that are often taken out of context to justify hateful actions. The list goes on! I have made efforts to study all religious texts, so that I don't make assumptions about other religions based on biased media portrayals or "hear say". It's important to me to learn about everyone's perspective, because at the end of the day we're all just trying to live our lives according to what we think is best.
Anonymous
11. Just because a Muslim does something...
Just because a Muslim does something, does not mean the action is Islamic.
12. Iran is actually pretty non-religious
At least in Iran, everyone is forced to appear Muslim in public, but most people are atheist or at most spiritual. We are victims of an oppressive regime. Just because the women wear headscarves, doesn't mean they are at all religious or in any way support the regime. Many don't.
Funny story, during Ramadan, all stores are supposed to be closed, and everyone is supposed to fast from sunrise to sunset. Many restaurants will stay open, but just put a curtain up over the entrance, so people can duck behind the curtain, eat a kabob sandwich, and be on their way.
13. Not every Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you meet is Christian...
In the same way, just because someone's name is Mohammed or Ahmed doesn't mean that they are Muslim. Parents pick names, but people are free to believe what they want.
14. Allah is not some special God only worshiped by Muslims
"Allah" is the translation of "God" in Arabic just like "Dieu" is the word for it in French. Seems like a lot of people say stupid stuff like "Those Allah worshiping Muslims..." Not realizing that (Continued)
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Christians in Arabic speaking countries say "Allah" too during worship. You don't expect the French to say "Oh mon God..." It's usually "Oh mon Dieu..."
15. There is no Islamic culture
We're extremely diverse. Even the Arab speaking ones. Just like there is a difference between northern Spain and souther Spain, or urban and rural France. There is a broad amount of interpretation and religious tradition from region to region. We're not homogenous and there is no Islamic culture.
16. The oppression of women is cultural, not religious
Oppression of women. Most of the oppression of women by Islam and Muslims that is highly publicized is usually due to local customs and traditions. Muslim women have been presidents and prime ministers, and the vast majority are not slaves to their husbands. Violence towards women and forcing them against their will is not permitted by Islam. Care for widows, orphans, and the poor is one of Islams strongest teachings. Unfortunately, many women are oppressed, however, this is a global issue and not just Islamic oppression.
17. As a man who grew up Catholic, Muslim people restored my faith in humanity.
I have a Muslim story.
We were getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan and we were doing a lot of "cultural awareness" training - learning about Islam, learning to speak a little Pashto, and so on.
I got tasked to arrange a visit to a local mosque. No contact had been made with them before; I wound up cold-calling them. "Hi, I'm in charge of a bunch of soldiers and we'd like to visit your mosque during a service". One of many things in my career I thought I'd never say.
They were absolutely welcoming and very eager to have us visit. We were, after all, their neighbors, and they were very keen to get to know us.
So we hung out at the back of a service, and then met with the Imam for a Q&A session afterwards.
Now I'm a little ashamed to say that a couple of my guys were spoiling for a fight (very rude to do that; we're guests here guys!) They started asking very pointed questions about Islam and its relation to the Taliban, to international terrorism, and so forth.
The Imam though, he was a crafty old soul (and I say that with nothing but love and respect). Each time he got hit with a question like that, he would (Continued)
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Each time he got hit with a question like that, he would pull out his English translation of the Quaran, flip to the appropriate passage, and then hand it to the questioner for him to read aloud - thus having the questioner answer his own question via a quote from the Quaran. An absolutely brilliant debating judo technique. Defused every fight before it could get started. Tied my guys in knots.
By the end of the session, I wanted to high-five the man.
I also have to say this - I'm an Atheist, but I was raised Catholic. I'm used to Catholic services where the church quietly fills up from the back, everybody looking like they'd rather be anywhere else but here, nobody making eye contact... to see the undeniable joy that the congregation in that mosque had in seeing each other, and to see the struggle to get into the front row (with guys pressed up against the wall on both flanks) was really a very alien experience.
Overall, that whole congregation just impressed the hell out of me and I left with a certain amount of faith in humanity restored.
Incidentally, standing in the middle of Kandahar City as the sun starts to pinken the horizon and hearing the "pop" of amplifiers being turned on and the "thump thump" of mikes being tested as dozens of mizzeins got ready for the morning call to prayer... followed by that call to prayer... that's an experience that will be with me for life.
18. Islam is actually very sex positive
Here's an interesting one that I learned recently from reading a few articles about sex and homosexuality in Islam: for the time in which it began, Islam was a very sex positive religion. Though the culture of many Muslim societies has shifted away from that, religious doctrine itself still has lots of sex-positive messages. Abortion is allowed, contraceptives are allowed, legally married couples should have sex not just to procreate, but also to develop a stronger emotional bond. A woman's pleasure matters and husbands should take care to pleasure their wives. Celibacy is not a virtue in Islam the way it is in Christianity; we don't have monks or nuns, who do not have earthly pleasure; Muslims are in fact encouraged to some degree by our religious texts to have sex. Also, people should not feel guilty about their lust because lust is instilled in them by God (though they should exercise self control and not ogle women, because women are to be respected).
Growing up in a Muslim home as the daughter of immigrants from Egypt, I never heard any of this, because of CULTURAL taboos against sex. But within the context of religious doctrine, sex is nothing to be ashamed about having or wanting (within established relationships; some VERY edgy contemporary scholars might even say that green lights sex whilst dating... which might be why Arab culture bans dating...)
Thanks for reading and don't forget to share :)
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.