May 2, 2011

Right To Believe

1:10 PM  Habibi Halaqas  17 comments


By Amal Milaa Filza

It's 8:00 a.m. in the morning I am still a little bit sleepy and my bus is late. I just stare at the bakery right across the street where I see people going in and out. I feel that someone is staring at me. She looks at me with hateful eyes. I tell myself I am just imagining it and I look away. Still her eyes are burning on my skin.. I look at her again, she looks at my scarf and my clothes this time, still with the same hateful look.. If looks could kill.. Just when I want to turn my head again, I change my mind. Instead of ignoring it like I usually do, I stare back at her, I am thinking I can win this game; I used to play it all the time with my brother when we were little. Instead of staring at her with hateful eyes, I look at her with warm eyes and I smile at her.My bus arrives. Those looks cannot break me.

This happens to me almost every day. It is a challenge every single day, not to break down the looks and comments of the people. But I won’t give up, I was not built to break.

I love the country where I was born and raised.The Netherlands is my home, but lately I wonder, does it also love me? My whole life I have been kind to everyone here. I have always showed respect and followed the rules. I know the difference between wrong and right and I have always done what I was told to do. But as soon as the Dutch saw that I loved my deen more than I love them, they turned their back on me. I figured out that the country where I was born and raised was not the country it has always claimed to be. I feel misplaced in this world. Humanity has been poisoned yet they reject the blessed remedy. And I just have to stand there, helpless.. because there is nothing I can do.

I am tired of the people who say negative things about the Islam, without knowing what it really stands for. I can act like I do not care but it hurts to hear. The other day I read in the news paper that a Dutch politician said, “The headscarf is an Islamic symbol of oppression and it hurts when I see a woman wearing a headscarf. She should take it off and feel the wind blowing through her hair. My immediate response was, ´Are you serious?´ Nobody comes and asks us how we feel. Nobody wants to hear our voice. It’s as if we’re animals in the zoo, and they’re the caretakers who know what’s best for us. It’s amazing how they feel this patronizing right to decide what is best for us without even asking how we feel about it. It reeks of tyranny.

They just want to ban the headscarf and make us take off our Hijaab, and by doing that they think they are doing something great for the women in Islam. If someone is oppressing the other, then it is the government who is oppressing us and not Islam! Islam is all about freedom and peace. We say that a million times but they just do not want to listen. Yet I won´t give up. I will stay strong. I have as much right to live here as every other citizen.

I am tired but I fight, I fight for my right to believe in whatever I want. Lakum dienakum wa liya dien. They cannot take from me, the light that I have seen.

I'd love to hear your views on this article. Please tell me in the comments section below :)
 

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17 comments:

The servants of the Beneficent are those who walk upon the earth modestly, and when foolish ones address them, answer 'Peace!' [Quran, 25:63]

Dear Amal, there is a lot of honesty in this article. It also makes us aware of the various challenges that my Muslim brothers and sisters are facing. This makes us patient and humble. May Allah make it easy for you. Ameen.

Assalamu 3laykum Sis.
Masha'Allah, may Allah reward you for your efforts, intentions and deeds. Ameen. We all face it Sub7anallah. Let us pray that Allah accept our deeds for it is ultimately for His acceptance alone we strive and His acceptance alone that matters.

A very inspiring article Masha'Allah.

Thank you very much sisters! Your comments mean a lot for me:) May Allah accept our deeds and see our good intentions, Ameen

Jazakum ALlah Khairun
I have learned a lesson from your story,I though this is happening to me only.  

I am so proud of you sister, I pray that Allah grants me strength to choose deen over dunya also and to proudly wear hijab no matter what people may think or do to me because of it. May Allah make it easy for all of us to obey Him no matter where we are.

Mashallah..your ideas are really nice.it's short and sweet.Inshallah you can be a great muslimah.I love this one very very much sis:)<3

Wa Iyaak sister, SubhanAllah it happens to a lot of sisters. May Allah accept your good deed and keep you strong! Ameen.

JazakAllahu Khairan dear sister! I pray that Allah swt makes things easier for you and for sisters all around the world who are struggling with the same problem!

JazakAllahu Khairan dear sister for you comment! Insha'Allah we all can be a great muslima! Thank you again:$ :D

Masha'Allaah ! so beautifully written...be strong my sister,always remember Allaah subhanahu wa Ta'ala never leave you alone.proud of you.

maa shaa Allaah. may Allaah make it easy for you. i am proud of you, my sister in islaam, for holding firmly on to the Deen.

MaShaAllah sis, I know exactly how you feel. The ridiculous hypocrisy, "we must uncover those poor women to liberate them." I am a convert, I spent half my life living the Western way and I have no intention of turning back INShaAllah. I wonder why? I live in the US and I get the same stares and nasty comments. You did the right thing, smile. Sometimes I wave too. May Allah grant us all the strength to stay on the deen!
 

ماشاالله may الله bless you & all Muslims with the strength to remain true to our deen. اٰمين

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu! My dear sisters and brothers in Islam. It is not easy living our live here in this world. Allah test us in our deen every day. I understand the way you feel. The people you encounter every day may be a test for you. Yet it is not easy. No one want to be stared at with evil eyes and hated for no other reason except because we are muslims and we believe in Allah and the Last Day.

Alhamdulillah sister stay strong and keep the faith. These people who you stand at the bus stop or subway station are just that people. You will see them every where you go. Try to ignore them. Yes I know it is not easy. You continue to focus on where you are headed and pay no attention to them. Yes sometimes it is like you want to turn around and do the same thing that they are doing to you. And some of us do. We are only human.

May Allah subhana wa ta ala guide us and protect us. Seek refuge with Allah from Shaitan the accursed and continue on your way. Allah know best and Allah is the All-Seeing, All-Knowing. He is the Al-Khabir the All-Aware. I ask Allah to bless us and strengthen us in our faith and our belief in His Oneness. Where there is no doubt. Still we would so very much like to go about our lives and travel to and from work, shopping, etc without any distractions.

Life is like this for many people but it more so for us because now the focus is on Islam and the muslims. It is on the news, radio, tv, internet every single day. People are fed lies and the believe it.  So we go out about our daily lives and have to deal with people who don't have minds of their own and think that Islam is a "terrorist" religion or overall don't care about Islam and muslims as a whole.

Many people believe that we are backwards and something is wrong. Also, truth has been subjected to trials because an individual who believes in God (Allah) and practices the truth, has faith is subjected to dislike by those who think that they are the norm.

I know sister I travel every day. You have to do the best you can. Say Alhamdulillah! Supplicate to Allah ask Allah to help us the Muslim Ummah!
I don't know why some non-muslims believe that we are oppressed. I do know America may think because of the power that Allah has blessed them with that they have this right!

People feel uncomfortable about what they do not know. Many believe they have an opinion about other peoples live and it is all about what they think. They're are non-muslims. Don't let them hurt you! Try not too. Stand firm and hold fast to the rope of Allah! Ask Allah for forgiveness!

Many of our muslim brothers and sisters are suffering all over the world. We have so much (astaghfirullah) to be thankful for. It just a small minor test. Look at the bigger picture in that Allah has blessed you and your family and has protected you and kept you all safe.

Stay away from them, turn away from them! Don't look into anyone's eyes. Ignore them but always stay conscious of your safety! When Allah has bless you there are many days you have ease and comfort! There are many days when you're not subjected to this kind of behavior.

There are many non-muslim who don't annoy you! Alhamdulillah-ir-Rabbilameen! Ignore their words and what they say about Islam and what they feel. Allah knows best! Yes, I know it is not easy. Just keep in mind there are many of us out there who are going through similar tests and trials. If it helps any, you are not alone.

May Allah have mercy on us the Muslim Ummah, may Allah make it easy for us bless in this life and in the akhira! Ameen.

mashaa ALLAH very beautifully written. may ALLAH(SWT) grant you and all of us istiqamah. ameen!

A well written, open and honest article that I think most if not all visibly Muslim women can relate to. Tiredness of stupidity, (which lets face it- that's what it is) is a common emotion amongst us. It makes the intelligent, thoughtful non-Muslim hugely appreciated. You don't need to believe the same thing to budge along in society together, you just need to have a bit of common decency and respect. As Muslims this is part of our faith anyway.

As for the Dutch politician and his ilk, taking away a persons voice, and speaking for them is the cornerstone of oppression which is what these foolish individuals are actually doing. But they regurgitate their nonsense to the equally brain dead masses who in turn regurgitate the same thoughtless bile. If they were honest and said "I don't like it, so take it off- I wanna see your body and hair" it would be the truth, but the truth is obviously rather grotty and pathetic. A woman's body isn't anyone else's business, how the hell is some random individual arguing about my body.

The issue here is always "choice", if one makes a choice based on faith and knowledge it is nobody else's business. If an individual is forced into doing something against their will, then this is a problem. A different kettle of fish and a different issue entirely.

Thinking that a woman is oppressed because she chooses to cover herself in accordance with her spiritual beliefs(remember I said "choice"), shows me that the person saying this truly believes that a woman's worth lies in her sexuality and looks alone. That none of her achievements in life are worth a hill of beans. Discover a cure for cancer? amazing- do it with a piece of material on your head? oppressed, go figure!

No matter which way one looks at it, or how articulate one is- that behaviour, that thought pattern is just dumb.

Yes, these are arrogant patronizing people who obviously believe they know what is right for us "poor little uneducated backward oppressed Muslim woman" it's so boring. One of the things I realised is that in reality there seems to be something else going on here, like something else is at play. These individuals fundamentally "need" to believe this. I mean have you noticed this sis?, when they see blatant evidence to the contrary with regards to these particular beliefs, they become abusive and deeply threatened completely ignoring the facts and reality of a Muslim woman's life and experience.
I think that their are many individuals who build their identities around a feeling of superiority to others. It becomes part of how they see themselves. It is always easier to attack others then to feel in control oneself.
I'm no psychologist, but the word "projection" keeps coming to mind.

Allah says in his Kitaab that the disbelievers will never be happy until you turn away from your deen. We see it quite blatantly today, and when one ploy doesn't work, another one is tried.

So to undermine and destroy the future Mothers i.e the women is obviously the best way to corrode a people. Don't get me wrong there are very real injustices in our communities, but these people don't give a stuff. They didn't care about the rights of Muslim women they were raping, abusing and bombing in Afghanistan, and Iraq. They are just looking for a polite way to destroy Islam.

Sorry I've rambled on, but I feel you sis- and thank you for expressing that so well mash'Allah. We all have to bend grow and survive through difficult things in life and indeed this is one of them. May Allah help the sincere Muslims and guide us through the times we are facing ameen.

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