I am an Indian Muslim and theres one thing I find quite uncomfortable about Muslims. I dont know whether its an Indian phenomenon or a global trait but Muslims tend to alienate themselves from others. I am not talking about the liberal Muslims on Quora but those Ive met in my real life. When I was in college there was a small group of senior Muslim students who always stayed together. There was no such group of any other religious community. They tried many times to recruit me but I stayed away. Muslim families always want to live in a Muslim locality. Though its been my personal experience that non-Muslims make better neighbors than Muslims. We have faced more problems from our Muslim neighbors than our non-Muslim ones. Our non-Muslim neighbors have been more welcoming and friendly than the Muslim Neighbors. Then there is a feeling of discrimination in Indian Muslims. Many of them feel that we have been deprived of our rights and are not given the right opportunities to succeed. They feel that non-Muslims have an agenda against Muslims and they dont want us to do well. Now I have an example in my own home which goes against this belief. My Dad comes from rural India and has studied in village schools till class XII. He never had access to computers or other fancy stuff which we urban kids have. He has studied in a Hindi medium school till he joined college. Yet he was determined to do something in his life and joined one of the best medical colleges in India. He never felt discriminated despite coming from an unprivileged background. I also had the same experience in my life. I have more non-Muslim friends than the Muslim ones. They are always interested to know more about my religion and have even encouraged me to offer namaz(prayers) regularly. Its rare to see a Muslim do that to a non-Muslim. I wish Indian Muslims, as a community, were more liberal and open-minded. I wish they understood that they are not conspiring against us. Yes there are some haters among non-Muslims, but lets not cover everyone under the same definition. Lets give them a benefit of doubt rather than approaching people with pre-conceived notions. Edit: My father was caught right in the middle of the riots which followed the Babri mosque demolition. Fortunately he escaped unharmed. It was undoubtedly the most frightening incident of his life but he never allowed that incident to overshadow his life and beliefs. We have never been taught to hate non-Muslims or that a great injustice has been done to us. In fact he never even talks about the incident and I got to know about it from my mom. I wish more Muslims could let go of the feeling of resentment which they harbor in their minds and move forward to create a better future for themselves. Edit: I want to add another thought related to the Babri Mosque demolition. While Muslims are sensitive about Babri Mosque demolitions, I have seen many mosques in small towns and rural India which have fallen in a state of disrepair. I usually celebrate Eid at my grandfathers place, where the Imam at the Eidgah has to beg people to donate so that he can create some basic facilities. Why are we angry when someone else destroys a mosque, and yet show apathy towards the existing structures? Disclaimer: This answer should not be taken as a generalization of all Muslims. There are also perfectly liberal Muslims, but Im only writing about the things which make me uncomfortable because thats what the question asked. Also, please read the answer carefully. I am not criticizing Islam but the behavior of Muslims which I personally find wrong. From Quora quora/Islam/What-do-you-find-disturbing-about-Islam/answers/2038950?ref=fb
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 06:49:37 +0000
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