Islam Exposed

8/14/2019 Islam Exposed

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ISLAMEXPOSEDTHE REAL ISLAM EXPLAINED BY

TWO PERSONS WITH TOTALLY

DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDSI was born, 7 pounds and healthy.

My parents glowed and were at their happiest. A perfect moment.

After 3 months I watched my hands and learned about movement.

After 5 months I got curious about my surroundings and moved

objects with my hand.

After 12 months I could sit up and I could respond to my own

name. I also copied some of my parents actions.

After 17 months I could walk independently and enjoyed listening

to music and words.

Step by step I discovered this beautiful world.My parents had no religion. Naturally I did not follow a religion

myself. A godless life, seeking only earthly materialistic pleasures.

My parents were very wealthy. My mom was chef in a restaurant

and my dad a lawyer. I could have everything I wanted if I asked

for it.


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At the age of 12 I started high school. The years to come would

practically go like this: Gossiping, forming groups, being a racist,

occasionally disrespecting my parents and others that loved me.

Dating girls, go clubbing, drinking alcohol and the list goes on. I

was the most popular and handsome guy at school, but inside Imust have been the most depressing. I was missing something in

life, but I did not know what it was. I wore myself out and had no

fear of life or death. Especially death was never on my mind. In

my mind, life was forever.

I wasnt aware that my life could end at any moment. And what

would happen if I died was never on my mind. I never knew at

that time how lucky I was. I had a loving family and a good life.

At the age of 15 my parents didnt know what to do with me.

There was nothing stopping me. The only one who could stop this

self-destruction was me. One time my aunt, that hadnt seen me

for 5 years, was shocked to see what Ive become. She had a chat

with me to try to change my behavior. I acted as if I was listening

to her just to get her away from me as soon as possible. But there

was one thing I did catch and it struck me.

She said I will not and cannot change you, because society hasnothing to say against you and your behavior. All of the things

youre doing are being promoted. You are the only one who can

change yourself and you should only do it for yourself. You

deserve it

Such simple words and logic seemed very odd to hear. After she

left I cried my heart out. I was hurting myself without knowing it.

This was the moment I knew I had to change my life. The onlyproblem was I didnt know where to begin.

I noticed I started talking to God in my room before going to bed.

That was strange, because Ive always lived a life where God

wasnt on my mind. This must be what people call fitrah.


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Faith wasnt enough for me. Eventually I decided that Christianity

was a very beautiful religion, but incomplete. I also wondered that

if Jesus (pbuh) was here in this time and saw the Christians of

today, would he approve them? Or have they gone so astray from

his original and pure message, God is one?

Women also used to wear headscarves and the early Christians

also said peace be upon you. Jesus did say it, how come

Christians today dont?

Helas, my journey had just begun and Christianity was not the

religion that fully gave peace to me.

To me Christianity from afar seemed like a beautiful mirage and

up close a maze with countless of possibilities. I was alreadydoubting about life and this religion made me doubt even more.

Jesus (pbuh) did learn me a lot of great things. The one I always

keep in mind is The truth shall set you free

My journey went on. I never researched Hinduism/Buddhism.

Those religions or way of lives seemed so strange and almost

unexplainable. Maybe they used to be the religion of God, but it

was changed so much. I could barely see the truth in it.There was a Jewish guy in my neighborhood. His name was

Jonathan. He was very firm in his religion and I liked that about

him. I saw him celebrating Pesach with his family. They were

celebrating in the garden and I liked the atmosphere.

One day I went out to play some basketball and I saw him walking

by. I asked him to play with me and he did. After playing some

time we started talking and came to know each other more. He

always wore his kippah or yarmulke. I said that I was looking for

God, but I didnt know what religion was the truth.

I did wonder why there werent a lot of Jews in this world. And how

come this religion isnt preached from East to West? That struck


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me the most. Didnt Jews want people to become Jews and know

the truth? It seemed like a private club.

He tried to teach me about his religion, but very soon I said that it

wasnt for me. The thought that there werent many jews in this

world stayed in my mind. It was a very scary thought. This could

not be the truth.

By accident ( actually faith) I met a Muslim girl. She was 23 years

old and a librarian. I was 17 years old at the time. Her name was

Aisha and her parents came from Somalia. I still remember the

first time I saw her. She was wearing a long white headscarf and

looked like an angel. She looked like the most beautiful woman

Ive ever seen. She didnt even had to show all of her body to bebeautiful. Her modesty and piety gave her a glow.

I went up to her to talk to her and get to know more about her.

After a while I asked her what religion she was following. I did

have a guess, but I didnt know for sure. She said she was a

Muslim. I had no idea what that meant. All I knew of Muslims were

of the pictures and videos Ive seen on the news. And they

werent really positive. But I was always curious for new things so

I wanted to know more. She asked if I could come back the dayafter, because she was very busy. I agreed and went home. I

searched on the Internet about Islam and came to know more

about it. And I got excited. The more I read the more I had a good

feeling about this religion. Was this the truth the non-Muslim

world is trying to hide from me? A distorted view of Islam and

Muslims was imprinted in my mind. It felt like poison and the cure

was true knowledge.

Just as Stephan Hawking has said: The greatest enemy ofknowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge

The next day I had a talk with her in the reading area in the

library. I asked her why she was a Muslim and how it made her

feel to be a Muslim. Her answers were clear and simple and


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satisfying. She said that its good to really know your religion. And

not just be part of a religion just because the people around you

have that religion too. She said that in Islam Muslims are ordered

to seek knowledge. Even knowledge of other religions. This could

be good for interfaith dialogue and also strengthen faith in yourown religion. I was surprised to hear that Jesus (pbuh) has a great

role in Islam. The view of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam seemed to be more

in place about what Jesus (pbuh) thaught in the Bible, than what

the Christians in these days teach.

She felt Islam has all the answers to the worlds problems, but

that the Islamic world now is too divided that it can no longer

solve the worlds problems in this state. She asked me to look at

the religion and not the people. Which seemed fair to me. She

also explained that the word Islam was used by God in the Quran.

This makes Islam very different from the other world religions.

Buddhism named after Buddha, Christianity named after Jesus

Christ etc.

Aisha said that in Islam the basic is very clear. From the five

pillars of Islam to the one on one relationship with God. The

crystal clear message of Islam was also very appealing to me.

God is here, worship him. Islam felt like a complete and pure

religion. Aisha gave me a copy of the Quran, the last revelation of

God. After my meeting with her I went home to read the Quran.

I dont really know how to explain this. But after reading

only the first short chapter of Al Fatiha, The Opening, I

started to cry my eyes out. It was as if someone had put the

heavy weight off of my shoulders. Fresh water over my bodyand light everywhere. I could breathe again.

I had no expectations about Islam. Only a clear and inquisitive

mind. Ive never read a book that fast! Maybe thats a miracle

itself too, lol. The Quran is like a shining gemstone in the middle

of darkness and confusing.


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The miracles in the Quran did help me in my journey. How can the

human mind say no to these facts? Why do they keep on coming

up with lame excuses? This reminds me of a Quranic verse

"Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path). " (2/Al-

Baqarah, 18)

But above all, the teachings of Islam are good for the mind, body

and soul. And could help all societies in this world. All things that

are forbidden in Islam are bad for the mind, body or soul. Its a

religion that protects and takes great care of life. Both human

nature and animals.

I wanted to learn about this religion from the start. From the life of

Mohammed (pbuh) the seal of the prophets, to the first Muslims,to the great Islamic empires that shaped our lived today. I

especially love the Andalusian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and

the fact that the Islamic world used to be the best place for

knowledge, tolerance and understanding. I hope that will return,

Inshaallah. I still cannot understand why the life of Mohammed

(pbuh) isnt taught in schools, but the life and accomplishments

of Shakespeare is.

What Mohammed (pbuh) has done for and to this world is

amazing. He is a Godsend and I love Allah (swt) for bringing Islam

to my life.

Noor- UK/HinduI came from a purely Hindu family where we were always taught

to regard ourselves (i.e. women) as beings who were eventually to

be married off and have children and serve the husband - whether

he was kind or not. Other than this I found that there were a lot of

things which really oppressed women, such as:


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* If a woman was widowed, she would always have to wear a

white sari (costume), eat vegetarian meals, cut her hair short, and

never re-marry. The bride always had to pay the dowry (bridal

money) to the husband's family. And the husband could ask for

anything, irrespective of whether the bride would have difficultygiving it.

* Not only that, if after marriage she was not able to pay the full

dowry she would be both emotionally and physically tortured, and

could end up being a victim of "kitchen death" where the

husband, or both the mother-in-law and the husband try to set fire

to the wife while she is cooking or is in the kitchen, and try to

make it look like an accidental death. More and more of these

instances are taking place. The daughter of a friend of my own

father's had the same fate last year!

* In addition to all this, men in Hinduism are treated literally as

among the gods. In one of the religious Hindu celebrations,

unmarried girls pray for and worship an idol representing a

particular god (Shira) so that they may have husbands like him.

Even my own mother had asked me to do this. This made me see

that the Hindu religion which is based on superstitions and things

that have no manifest proof , but were merely traditions which

oppressed women could not be right.

Subsequently, when I came to England to study, I thought that at

least this is a country which gives equal rights to men and

women, and does not oppress them. We all have the freedom to

do as we like, I thought. Well, as I started to meet people and

make new friends, learn about this new society, and go to all the

places my friends went to in order to "socialise" (bars, dancehalls, etc.). I realised that this "equality" was not so true in

practice as it was in theory.

Outwardly, women were seen to be given equal rights in

education, work, and so forth, but in reality women were still

oppressed in a different, more subtle way. When I went with my


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friends to those places they hung out at, I found everybody

interested to talk to me and I thought that was normal. But it was

only later that I realised how nave I was, and recognised what

these people were really looking for. I soon began to feel

uncomfortable, as if I was not myself: I had to dress in a certainway so that people would like me, and had to talk in a certain way

to please them. I soon found that I was feeling more and more

uncomfortable, less and less myself, yet I could not get out.

Everybody was saying they were enjoying themselves, but I don't

call this enjoying.

I think women in this way of life are oppressed; they have to dress

in a certain way in order to please and appear more appealing,

and also talk in a certain way so people like them. During this

time I had not thought about Islam, even though I had some

Muslim acquaintances. But I felt I really had to do something, to

find something that I would be happy and secure with, and would

feel respected with. Something to believe in that is the right

belief, because everybody has a belief that they live according to.

If having fun by getting off with other people is someone's belief,

they do this. If making money is someone's belief, they do

everything to achieve this. If they believe drinking is one way toenjoy life then they do it. But I feel all this leads to nowhere; no

one is truly satisfied, and the respect women are looking for is

diminishing in this way.

In these days of so called "society of equal rights", you are

expected to have a boyfriend (or you're weird!) and to not be a

virgin. So this is a form of oppression even though some women

do not realise it. When I came to Islam, it was obvious that I had

finally found permanent security. A religion, a belief that was so

complete and clear in every aspect of life. Many people have a

misconception that Islam is an oppressive religion, where women

are covered from head to toe, and are not allowed any freedom or

rights. In fact, women in Islam are given more rights, and have


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been for the past 1400 years, compared to the only-recently

rights given to non-Muslim women in some western and some

other societies. But there are, even now, societies where women

are still oppressed, as I mentioned earlier in relation to Hindu

women.

Muslim women have the right to inheritance. They have the right

to run their own trade and business. They have the full right to

ownership, property, disposal over their wealth to which the

husband has no right. They have the right to education, a right to

refuse marriage as long as this refusal is according to reasonable

and justifiable grounds. The Qur'an itself, which is the Word of

God, contains many verses commanding men to be kind to their

wives and stressing the rights of women. Islam gives the right set

of rules, because they are NOT made by men, but made by God;

hence it is a perfect religion.

Quite often Muslim women are asked why they are covered from

head to toe, and are told that this is oppression - it is not. In

Islam, marriage is an important part of life, the making of the

society. Therefore, a woman should not go around showing herself

to everybody, only for her husband. Even the man is not allowed

to show certain parts of his body to none but his wife. In addition,

God has commanded Muslim women to cover themselves for their

modesty:

"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of

the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when

outdoors). That is most convenient that they could be known as

such (i.e. decent and chaste) and not molested." (Qur'an 33:59)

If we look around at any other society, we find that in the majorityof cases women are attacked and molested because of how they

are dressed. Another point I'd like to comment on is that the rules

and regulation laid down in Islam by God do not apply just to

women but to men also. There is no intermingling and free-

running between men and women for the benefit of both.


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Whatever God commands is right, wholesome, pure and beneficial

to mankind; there is no doubt about that. A verse in the Qur'an

explains this concept clearly:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and

protect their private parts (i.e. from indecency, illegal sexual acts,

etc.); that will make for greater purity for them. And God is well

aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they

should lower their gaze and protect their private parts (from

indecency, illegal sexual intercourse, etc.); and that they should

not display their beauty and ornaments . . . " (Qur'an, Surah Al-

Nur 24:31)

When I put on my hijab (veil), I was really happy to do it. In fact, Ireally want to do it. When I put on the hijab, I felt a great sense of

satisfaction and happiness. Satisfied that I had obeyed God's

command. And happy with the good and blessings that come with

it. I have felt secure and protected. In fact people respect me

more for it. I could really see the difference in behaviour towards

me.

Finally, I'd like to say that I had accepted Islam not blindly, or

under any compulsion. In the Qur'an itself there is a verse whichsays "Let there be no compulsion in religion". I accepted Islam

with conviction. I have seen, been there, done that, and seen both

sides of the story. I know and have experienced what the other

side is like, and I know that I have done the right thing. Islam does

not oppress women, but rather Islam liberates them and gives

them the respect they deserve. Islam is the religion God has

chosen for the whole of mankind. Those who accept it are truly

liberated from the chains and shackles of mankind whose rulingand legislating necessitates nothing but the oppression of one

group by another and the exploitation and oppression of one sex

by the other. This is not the case of Islam which truly liberated

women and gave them an individuality not given by any other

authority.


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Islam Exposed

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