My "I Believe" essay for First Year Seminar.
If there is one thing my life revolves around, it is Islam. Some may call it a religion, faith, or a complete way of life. For me, Islam is all of these and much more! Many of the things I have come to realize and believe involves Islam in one way or another. As a Muslim, I do believe in the six basic pillars of belief (belief in the One, True God (Allah in Arabic), His angels, revealed scriptures, messengers, the Day of Judgment, and divine predestination) and the five pillars of Islam (declaration of faith, establishing prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, giving a portion of wealth in charity, and pilgrimage to Makah, Saudi Arabia. These are what I believe.
On my vacation to Bangladesh and England back in the summer of 2007, I learned the true value of having a loving family and appreciating them. Unlike many other people I know, I don’t have many family members here in America. Taking a family vacation was a great way to meet with and catch up with relative who live elsewhere in the world. Although many of us, especially young people, are closer to friends, family is just as important. After all, who knows us better than the ones we have known since the day we were born! But of course, having friends is definitely beneficial and welcoming.
While in England, I saw my cousin spend time online chatting on a forum dedicated to female Muslims. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but after coming back to America and several months passed, I decided to join the online community, and I’m really glad I did! It is a place to ask questions, get advice and recommendations, learn about Islam and life in general, and talk to other female Muslims (Muslimahs). I can honestly say that after being on the forum for almost four years, it has helped me a lot! Not only have I learned countless things, I even made an Ethiopian friend who lives in Oregon and have been friends with since 2008.
Spending my free time on Islam Way Sisters forum, I was surprised by what Islam really teaches and what it means to be a Muslim. Being a female Muslim, I really wanted to learn about the position of women in Islam, so I read numerous books. My favorite book is Women in Islam: The Myth and the Reality by Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem. I also listened to lectures on the topic of Muslim women. Even though many people are born into Muslim families, that doesn’t mean they are practicing Muslims who represent Islam correctly. As much as women have been subjugated around the world throughout history, women are just as important as men. They are daughters, students, friends, wives, mothers, colleagues, etc. Females may be a weakness for males, but they can also be a source of strength for them too! Unfortunately, there are Muslim women who are disrespected or degraded (just as non-Muslim women are), but this is due to culture and traditions, not Islam. There is definitely a difference between Islam and the culture of Muslims, especially in terms of cultural/traditional practices that actually go against the teaching of Islam!
Although I started to wear a hijab in the beginning of sixth grade, it wasn’t until high school that I gained an understanding of what properly wearing a head scarf (hijab in Arabic) truly signifies. Contrary to what many people may think, hijab, or even a full body covering and face veil, isn’t oppressing nor does it make women inferior. Having experience wearing all three, I realized a saves a lot of problems and makes people appreciate you for who you really are on the inside instead of judging you solely on how you look on the outside. Before making assumptions, people should learn the truth for themselves instead of being “spoon fed” information on what to believe. In this case, why not ask a female Muslim who wears hijab properly how she feels about it. During my first year or two in high school when I was rediscovering Islam and my position as a female Muslim, I started to blog about Islam and what I was learning at the time. I later decided to share what I learned about Muslim women by writing about them for my research paper.
Today I continue to learn nit just by attending university, but also about Islam at home. I also started a new blog http://satisfiedwithislam.blogspot.com/ which includes some of my favorite motivational videos. Some reasons why I have come to love Islam includes that there is no racism and sexism in Islam, the diverse family of followers, true brother/sisterhood, and simply for the fact that Islam truly is a complete way of life with answers to everything, thus there is always something to learn! In addition, there are great role models in Islamic history such as Prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadijah. Finally, living Islam provides a life that is beneficial to all and has the best interest for everyone, as seen through hijab and personal development i.e. good character building. By continuing my quest for knowledge, both worldly and spiritually, I have learned that education is extremely important from a young age and gaining wisdom never stops in life! This belief is one of the reasons why I am choosing to become a teacher in the future. These are what I believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment