Sarkozy and the France Issue

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

Aaaaaaaaarrrrghhh!!!!!!!!

As some or most of you may know, I spent my grade 11/junior year in France, right outside of Paris. I loved it. It was a fantastic time. Sure I got a bit homesick towards the end, but for the most part it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and it was where I met my husband.

I love France very much. I met people there for whom I care dearly. I would love nothing more than to move back to Paris and teach at my lycée with my husband (and eat halal kebabs every day). Oh. But wait. I can't. And this is a source of GREAT frustration for me.

Why? Because I am a devout Muslim woman who covers her head as God commanded and as the wives of the Prophet (SAW) all did (the Bible also tells women to cover their heads, by the way).

But why should this stand in my way? Surely French law allows women to cover their head as dictated by their religion. Actually, no.

In 2005, I believe, the French government imposed a ban on all blatant religious symbols in schools. This includes the hijab or khimar for Muslim women, the turban for Sikh men, the yarmulke for Jewish men, the cross for Christians.

Now, if it is my greatest desire to teach in France will I not simply take the scarf off in school? After all, I can still dress modestly--wear long sleeves, not show my neck, long skirts/slacks, etc.

No, no, no and no. The Qur'an tells me to cover my head and so I shall. I will not make a tiny sacrifice against God's Will to fulfill my earthly desire. Instead, I will be forced to sacrifice my dream.

I am not trying to play the martyr. I am only trying to illustrate a point. This is probably a problem for French Muslimahs, including (former) teachers and students. When I was doing a research project on this topic for my French class this past spring, I read about several female Muslim students who were forced to complete their studies via correspondence because they would not remove their hijab at school, alhamdulillah.

Often, people try to make a point that this affects Christians as well: after all, they are not allowed to wear corss necklaces and such things. This is a valid point--I absolutely believe that Christian students should be allowed to express their religion as well. However, wearing a cross or a crucifix is not required in Christianity, while the head covering is generally considered to be a REQUIRED garment for Muslim women.

France claims to do this because they are a secular society: children at school are students, not little Jews, little Christians and little Muslims.

This is my biggest issue: that France (ie: the government) claims to be doing this in the name of a secular society. Rah rah!!

Please. Spare me the pseudo-"Enlightenment" crap. What the French are imposing is an atheist society, which would not bother me if only they would admit it! A truly secular, ie: non-religious, society would impose no rules regarding religion. The only religion apparent in France anymore is atheism, along with agnosicism.

Turkey has such a ban as well, as well as the same ban in government buildings. Someone once told me that "many people consider Turkey to be a model Muslim nation." What is "model" about a place that disallows the practice of the country's own majority religion? Ahh! Pathetic!

As if this weren't bad enough, the esteemed president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy is trying to ban the wearing of the burqa in all public places.

Firstly, I have to wonder: does he even know what he is talking about? Does he know what a burqa (left) is? Or does he mean niqab (right and down)?

The reason I have to wonder this is that recently on BBC, a reporter went to Paris to interview a woman wearing a burqa and she couldn't even find any.

As you can see, a burqa is an all-encompassing garment that givers everything, everything, everything, including the eyes. A niqab is simply a face cover, that sometimes only has a small slit for the eyes and sometimes shows most of the upper half of the face.

I for one, never saw a woman in France wearing a niqab, much less an actual burqa!

Anyhow, Sarkozy seems to think that the burqa is a symbol of oppression for women, so he feigns being a great feminist by "liberating" these poor women from the "oppresive" burqa.

Now, for the tiny number of Muslim women in France who wear a burqa--if there are even any--they more than likely feel more comfortable in a burqa. It is a very modest piece of clothing, which--believe me--is a liberating rather than oppressing thing in Paris! In France, I was treated as a sexual object on a daily basis! There are certain areas of Paris that, were I to return, I myself would definitely wear niqab, simply for my own comfort!

As my husband pointed out, even if some woman somewhere in France were actually forced by her husband, for example, to wear a burqa, the ban would not help--it would do bad! If Sarkozy actually cares about women (which I doubt), he would be building women's help centres. If this hypothetical woman were not allowed to wear a burqa by the government, her oppressive husband would prbably not let her leave the house, whereas if she were allowed to wear burqa she could at least go out and get to the women's help centre.

No doubt, for some Muslim women the burqa is a symbol of oppression. After all, in Afghanistan under the "Taliban" (meaning "students"), women were forced to wear the burqa. But today, after the Taliban, many women in Afghanistan continue to wear the burqa, and if you read Three Cups of Tea like I did, you will know that there are indeed women who do this (gasp!) of their own free will!

But like I said: in Europe, the likelihood that a woman is wearing a burqa in the first place, much less forced to wear one, is teeny, tiny.

Please make du'a for our sisters in France that their struggle may not get any harder than it is already.

May Allah make the path easy for them and may He give them the strength to continue to be pious even in an oppressive atmosphere as France is becoming. Aameen.

Corrections and Additions

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

So, I just have a couple things to add to my recent post "Pushing Christianity onto Islam."

Firstly, a certain A. Nonymous (who, I heard through the grapevines, is actually my husband) tells me that word on the street is that Prophet Mohammad (SAW) didn't drink alcohol even before it was forbidden simply because he did not care for it. He never ate bread made from fine flour either... just for interest's sake.

Second, I have been told that it may be more accurate to say that Catholics pray to saints to pray to God for them, I assume because it is Catholic belief that there needs to be a go-between from humans to God. Again, I could be wrong. I am not Catholic.

And most importantly, I have something to add to my post: the misrepresentation of Shari'a.

Even such credible news sources as BBC tend to completely misrepresent what Shari'a law is. My husband suggestion that what people tend to do is assume that Shari'a is like the laws of Deuteronomy but for Muslims (meaning that the laws prescribed in the book of Deuteronomy are extremely harsh).

For example, in a recent BBC story there is a segment that describes the cutting off of a hand and a foot of a thief to be "a strict form of Shari'a" or something similar.

No. Strictly following laws simply means following them exactly. What the article should have said is that that is a perverted form of Shari'a. Shari'a law would dictate the hand of a thief to be cut off only if the thief seems unable to stop stealing, clearly indicating that more than one offense must be committed.

There is also talk in this article about stoning to death of an adulterer. I really wonder why people do this. The Qur'an says that the punishment for an adulterous slave is to be half of that of a free person (man or woman). How can one be half stoned to death? I mean, I realize that there is an expression "half to death," but in reality one is either alive or dead. The proper punishment is flogging, not stoning. However, the adulterer (and rapist) in this story also killed his victim, so according to Shari'a he would be put to death.

Some people think that Shari'a is archaic and too harsh. But look at Saudi Arabia: they impliment Shari'a and they have one of the absolute lowest crime rates in the world.

These are not the rules of Deuteronomy. There is no cutting off the hand of a woman who tries to intervene in a fight between her husband and another man and she accidentally touches her husband's opponent's privates (yes, that is an actual biblical law, but I don't know for certain if it is in Deuteronomy). If executed properly, Shari'a would be a very good system of law. Unfortunately, it is often abused. Alhamdulillah, those who misuse the words of Allah for their own gain will be answerable to Him on the Day of Judgment.

Pushing Christianity onto Islam

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

Hello, all. Hope all is well on this lovely Sunday. At least it's lovely where I am.

Let me just start off with this little disclaimer: this post is NOT going to be me going on about how much better Islam is than Christianity or whatever. So, let's get that straight right away. This will be some simple comparisons and observations about how many North Americans--born and raised in a mostly Christian-influenced setting--project Christian ideals onto Islam.

So, I've noticed something about many non-Muslims around these parts (ie: North America). Because most of them were brought up some variety of Christian, or at least were brought up in a society influenced by Christian ideals, they tend to project Christian views onto Islam.

Sometimes, this works. After all, the religions are similar. However, the differences they do have are very important differences.

I'll start with the basics. I have heard a couple times of Islam being referred to as "Mohammedanism" or something similar. Now, I realize that during the so-called "Enlightenment" there was a group of Christians who wanted Mohammad (SAW) recognized as a Saint because they wanted to practice Islam but feared excommunication (these people are referred to in history as the Mohammedans, unless I am mistaken). However, to call Muslims "Mohammedans" would be completely incorrect.

But I can understand why that would happen. Christians are, after all, called Christian. Christ-ian: followers of Christ (AS). Islam/Muslim are not English words, and most non-Arab-speakers don't understand the meaning of those words. However, they do know that we have this guy called Mohammad (SAW) that we seem to like a lot.

Another possible explanation would be the erroneous belief that Mohammad (SAW) is to Muslims as Jesus (AS) is to Christians. Christians believe Jesus (AS) is God or part of the Trinity, the son of God, depending on their tradition. Muslims respect Jesus (AS) as a prophet of God--one of the greatest, even, but the Qur'an clearly says that Allah does not beget and is not begotten, and furthermore he has no partners. Therefore, we no more believe Mohammad (SAW) to be the son of God than we do Jesus (AS).

Although the Qur'an was revealed to humanity through Mohammad (SAW), we do not believe Mohammad (SAW) is anything more or less than an honoured prophet of Allah, as is Jesus (AS). The word Islam means "submission to the Will of God," and a Muslim is "one who submits to the Will of God." It is a much more appropriate name. Yes, we are followers of Mohammad, but only because Allah spoke to us through him. We follow Allah though the mediums which he provided us: the prophets, including Jesus (AS) and Moses (AS) and many others. Most importantly, however, we submit to the Will of God without question, for He knows what is best.

Moving on to the next issue: Imams.

I have addressed this briefly before. Many Christians seem to believe that Imams wield some sort of power over Muslims. For the most part, an Imam has no real power. Quite simply, an Imam is the one who leads prayer or the khutbah for jummah prayer (translation: sermon for Friday congregational prayer).

Although I have stated in a previous post that I do not believe division between sects is appropriate in Islam (and in fact, should be avoided in all religion), for the purpose of clarification I will differentiate: many or most Shia Muslims do believe it takes more than a couple memorized Qur'an verses to be Imam. This is the only exception I know of, though--as I have said before--my knowledge is not nearly complete, so I may be mistaken.

Again, I can understand where this misconception comes from. In most major Christian denominations, formal education is, in fact, required before a person can become "Imam," whatever the particular name for it may be. However, it is generally not so in Islam.

Next issue: praying to others besides God.

I've been reading this fascinating book of Middle Age European myths and legends. Of course, the Muslims (or Saracens) are frequently the bad guys.

In one such a tale, a brave and daring (and almost definitely ravishingly handsome) knight was battling a giant who happened to be Muslim. It was quite an exhausting duel, so every now and again the two would stop and rest quite amicably together and the Brave and Daring and Almost Definitely Ravishingly Handsome Knight would try and convince said giant of the virtues of Christianity, rather than his heathen religion of Islam (it's comical now, but it did get wearying after several stories of barbaric Muslim antagonists). While the giant came to agree on several things including Trinity (?????... I dun get it), he would not accept that Jesus (AS) was brought back to life (even though it is widely believed in Islam that Jesus [AS] was endowed with the ability to raise the dead--through Allah's Will, of course--himself). Ultimately, the giant was slain and the victorious Brave and Daring and Almost Definitely Ravishingly Handome Knight Who Is Also Christian Huzzah! went home victoriously and almost definitely married the fair maid that was awaiting him.

As the giant died the last word that left his lips was "Mohammad!" in a final cry for help.

Again, with the exception of many or most Shia Muslims, Muslims do NOT pray to anyone except Allah. But... I can see why this misconception would exist. Catholics pray to any number of saints, including the Virgin Mary (I don't know if she is actually a saint). Of course, most Christians pray to Jesus (AS) whom they believe is God or a part of God or the son of God or whatever their particular tradition is. Muslims don't.

The most beloved and honoured human beings ever to have graced humanity with their presence are the prophets, and we also have a great deal of respect for Maryam, or Mary--the mother of Jesus (AS). Mohammad (SAW) said that she was one of the absolute most righteous women ever. But we do not pray to these people.

It isn't that we believe that they can't hear us. No, no--if I pray to my ancestors or to Jesus (AS) or to his mother Mary or even to Mohammad (SAW), they will hear me, but they will not be able to do anything about my prayers. They cannot answer my prayers for me--only God, only Allah can do such a thing.

And our final issue for tonight, inshallah: alcohol. Someone once told me that my refusal to drink alcohol only pushed me further towards an extremist form of religion. I didn't feel like debating at the time, but now I'm ready to explain quite simply.

I can understand where that misconception may come from. In America, there was at one time at the beginning of the 20th century a Protestant Christian-backed temperance movement, which is a movement against alcohol.

Now, I am all for a movement against alcohol. Alcohol has taken the lives of many people in my family (by which I mean it has greatly affected them negatively, alhamdulillah, no one has yet died to my knowledge), as my mom's family and a few people in my dad's family have a history of alcoholism. There was a time when I used to drink and I could so clearly picture in my mind me becoming an alcoholic too. Alhamdulillah, Allah has saved me from such a horrible fate.

But, come on. Jesus (AS) drank. We all know it--it's right in the Bible. The Last Supper with the bread and the wine? Yeah? And what about his miracle of turning water into wine? Pretty cool, right? I think it is.

So, while I believe that a ban of alcohol is commendable (the Qur'an says--the bad outweighs the good), it is silly to back it using Christian doctrine. Jesus CHRIST (AS) as in CHRISTianity drank. So did many people in Arabia (possibly Mohammad [SAW], but I don't know for certain) before the Qur'an verse forbidding its consumption was revealed. No biggie.

For a Christian to refuse to drink alcohol on the grounds of their Christian faith would be silly. I wouldn't call it "extreme" because of my pickiness regarding that terminology, but certainly I would call it radical.

However, in Islam it is expressly forbidden. An interesting thing I've noticed about many non-practicing but still self-identified Muslim is that they don't drink and they don't eat pork. So basic, so simple. It is not extreme nor is it radical. It's basic.

That, sir, is why I won't allow alcohol at my wedding party, kapische?

Sooo, I hope you enjoyed this blog entry. I have another one brewing already, so don't get to comfortable away from your computer chair. Inshallah, I will have another update within a day or two.

Hijab Wrap

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

So, I just went to my final Spanish class this morning, so inshallah it won't take me so long to update in between my posts.

Another brief one. This is just a short YouTube video I made about a certain hijab wrap style that I like. I hope you enjoy!

Cute Islamic Videos

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

I just have a brief post showcasing some videos from You Tube that sing cute Islamic songs for children. I think they are adorable and my children are definitely memorizing these before they even hear about "I Like to Eat, I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas."

Enjoy!

We'll start with my favourite by Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Steven):



Don't forget to say... Bismillah! I try not to...



And I especially like this one for my kids (funny bit of British nanny narration at the beginning):



And this one is just cute:

Confusing and Confused Terms

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

Soo... as you may have noticed, my legions of adoring fans (yeah, right), I have once again not posted for over a week. I have a very good reason this time! You see, I had an envelope on which I had recorded all of my ideas for blog topics, and... I lost it. I know what you're thinking: how could a scrap envelope possibly get accidentally discarded? Well, my friends, I just don't know what this world is coming to. Good news, though: I started a new list on the instructions page for my Spanish composition. I really do have my priorities in order.

So, I have had this post idea for a while, and I was motivated to finally do it after receiving an email from a good friend that her step-mother had forwarded to her. Now, I've only met this woman (the step-mother) once, and only Allah is the Judge: I want to avoid passing judgments, but my friend does say that she forwards emails such as this a lot, and this one is just a prime example of ignorance, which I hope this woman does not possess:

As Christians we should do what we can to stem the tide of Muslim purposes.

This is a true story and the author, Rick Mathes, is a well-known leader in prison ministry. The man who walks with God always gets to his destination. If you have a pulse you have a purpose.

The Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States , especially in the minority races!!!

Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.

I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.

After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.

When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?'

There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, 'Non-believers!'

I responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?'

The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.'

He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'

I then stated, 'Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!'

The Imam was speechless!

I continued, 'I also have a problem with being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me!

Let me ask you a question: Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?'

You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame. Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the Diversification training seminar were not happy with my way of dealing with the Islamic Imam, and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.

In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President!

I think everyone in the U.S. should be required to read this, but with ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us send it on! This is your chance to make a difference...

FOR GODS' SAKE! SEND THIS ON!

Before I even get to the constructive part of my blog, I would just like to briefly comment on the gullibility it would take for a person to actually believe this is a true story. Required gullibility: lots and lots and lots.

I'm not going to even deal with how offensive this lie is. I will mostly try to intellectually analyze where some confusion might come up. I would like to just pose one quick question, though, rhetorical as it may be: what's the point? What do people hope to accomplish by sending this letter on to others? Do they hope to get people to convert to Christianity from Islam? Do they hope that people will stop reverting to Islam? Do they hope people will go out and start killing Muslims?

One more quick rhetorical question: even if all Muslims were ordered to go out and kill non-Muslims, then why aren't we? I mean, if we're promised heaven then what does it matter if we get caught? Just a question of logic.

An idea: we aren't ordered to kill the "infidels."

My mini-rant is over. Now onto the logic.

First, but not really foremost, I want to clear up the confusing concept of:

Imam

Many people seem to think Imam=pastor/priest, etc. But according to Sunnah, anyone can be Imam. My husband is Imam every day, and he has no religious training. Imam is essentially the person that leads prayer or gives the khutbah (sermon). In general, a Sheikh would be more influential because in order to be called Sheikh, religious training is required. So most (not all) of the time when people think that an "Imam" said something or ordered something, it was actually probably a Sheikh.

Onto our next important concept:

Jihad

So, although the supposed narrator of that story asked about the meaning of the English word "infidel," he did not ask about the Arabic word "jihad."

These people speak Arabic. Literally, as you can read by clicking that link, "jihad" means "doings ones utmost to realize [ie: fulfill] a goal." In Arabic, even in the Qur'an itself, the word used to describe war is "qital."

Though we Muslims do not joke about Allah and his messenger Mohammad (SAW), we do joke about jihad. Yes, it's true. Because a jihad is a struggle for one's faith. For example, my jihad is coming to terms with the saddening levels of ignorance I see regarding Muslims and Islam all the time. I have a jihad to come to terms with Islam's view on homosexuality. None of these involve killing anyone.

The joke, of course, is when something like finals are coming up. Say we're standing together by the food court or something and one of us has a final in something nightmarish... chem. The departing individual might laughingly say "Sorry, I have to go--I'm off to wage jihad. Assalaam alaikum." Hahaha!

Infidel

The Arabic word that is often translated as "infidel" is "kafir." Now, for a brief Arabic lesson. A really neat thing about the Arabic language is that words that are related have similar consonant sructures. For example: the word "kitaab" means "book" and the word "kataba" means "to study."

Now, it is true that many people translate the word "kafir" to mean "disbeliever." There is one place in the Qur'an that describes Allah as "kufr." Since anyone with knowledge of the Arabic language can tell you about the relation between words with similar consonant structures, it is clear that "kafir" and "kufr" are related.

When the word "kufr" is used to describe Allah it means "concealer." Allah is the Best Concealer of Mistakes, is what it's saying. Clearly, a word used to describe the One God cannot be related to the word meaning "disbeliever." Obviously, God cannot disbelieve.

A better translation for the word most people would translate as "infidel" (you will notice, by the way, that Muslims will rarely if ever actually use the word "infidel"--it's always in a translation done by some random American) is closer to "concealer" that "disbeliever," because Muslims believe that everyone is born in submission to God, but that part of people is later concealed from them and their hearts and minds harden.

Allah

This, to me, is the most important one. I have surprising news for some Christians out there: you are all servants of Allah too. Allah simply means "God" in Arabic. Muslims prefer to use the word "Allah" rather than "God" because in you can't differentiate between "God" (ie: the One True God) and "god" (ie: an idol), while in Arabic, the word for God is "Allah" and the word for god is "ilah."

Arabic-speaking Christians in the Middle East call God Allah too. In fact the Aramaic word for God is Aalah... which means that Jesus (AS) would have called God Aalah... suspiciously close to "Allah."

~~

Soooo... I hope most people out there are sound enough to realize that most of the Muslim world has NO problem with non-believers, so long as we are respected by them. There are definitely some fringe weirdos in the society, but for the most part we are ridiculously normal people.

Hopefully, you have a better understanding of some key words that you hear a lot: the word Allah being used as though it's any different from God, etc etc etc... you read the post.

Til next time!

Sunni vs. Shia

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

This topic can tend to get a bit volatile in Islam, but it is mostly a source of confusion for non-Muslims whose main source of information about Islam is the evening news (or a humble little blog). Though the origins of the split of Sunni and Shia (sometimes "Shiite") Muslims is quite basic, it has grown into a more complicated thing from the implications of the split.

So, bear with me. Inshallah, I will try to make it a little more easy to understand.

So, none of this discord existed during the time of the Prophet (SAW). It was after his death that the trouble began. There was a difference in opinion on who would follow Mohammad (SAW) as the leader of the religion--he was more or less the leader of Arabia at the time of his death. Some people believed that the Prophet's (SAW) closest and most trusted friend, Abu Bakr, should succeed him, whereas others thought it should be his son-in-law 'Ali, the husband of the Prophet's (SAW) favourite daughter, Fatima.

There you have it. The origins of the trouble. A silly political tiff from 1400 years ago.

Of course, it's the implications that have really become the problem. What happened, of course, is that Abu Bakr became Caliph after Mohammad's (SAW) death, and those who wanted 'Ali to be Caliph were quite upset. As a result, all narrations in Hadith (the sayings about the ways of the Prophet) by Abu Bakr were discarded as unreliable by those who preferred 'Ali.

But who was who? Who become Sunni and who Shia? Well, "Sunni" in Arabic means "follower of sunnah," sunnah being Hadith (explained above). So those who liked Abu Bakr are called Sunni. The word "shia" refers to the phrase "shia-t-ali" or "party of 'Ali."

I have heard different ways of people trying to understand Sunni/Shia. I would like to clear a few things up.

Idea #1: "Shia Muslims are the ones who are more conservative and the Sunni are more open to progress."

First of all, I have a problem with the use of the word "conservative" here. As a students of linguistics, I am going to help you to understand the meaning of this word better if a very fun (to me) way:

conserve-ative.

What does "conserve" mean? It means to preserve things the way they are. Don't change. The suffix "-ative" turns the verb "conserve" to the adjective "conservative" making the word mean "in a way which conserves things." This, of course, makes the name of the Canadian political party "progressive conservatives" a hilarious oxymoron... I think it's hilarious, anyway.

Therefore, I am a conservative Muslim. I think Islam should be practiced the way it has been for the past 1430 years. Changing the religion, to me, is unacceptable, because as a Muslim I believe that the religion was given to humanity directly from Allah. Allah has perfected His religion... He's ALLAH, for heaven's sake, He knows what He's doing.

Most people would describe the "religion" prescribed by the Taliban as being "ultra-conservative." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Also, the phrase "extreme Islam" cracks me up. What is "extreme" Islam? To be a Muslim extremist you would have to be such a good person and so pious and so generous all the time is would just be crazy!!!!!!!! The Taliban would be better described as ultra-liberal radical wackjobs. They have brought the most ridiculous changes to Islam... how horrible.

And I am politically liberal.

Anyhow, my point is that conservatism/liberalism has nothing to do with Sunni/Shia. There are conservative and liberal Sunnis as well as conservative and liberal Shias.

Idea #2: The Sunni Muslims are more traditional about their way of practice and the Shia Muslims are all about revolution.

Okay. Listen. There was a revolution in Iran (a predominantly Shia country). It was a religious revolution, even. But that doesn't mean that the Shia are all about revolution. The exact same thing could have happened in any predominantly Sunni country with the same results. According to both Sunni and Shia, they are each respectively following the religion traditionally.

I won't get too much into how Sunni and Shia practices differ now. A basic thing that can be kept in mind: if Abu Bakr said it, the Shia probably won't like it.

However, underneath all the media hubbub about the conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslims, I have a shocking bit of information to tell you: both practices are not as different as you would normally think. Yes, there are practical differences--many of them--but the fundamentals of Islam are practiced in both sides: be generous to the poor, take care of your neighbours, pray, fast, have pure intentions, etc. It's not as though the Sunni say, "You must have good intentions" and the Shia are like, "Umm... no!" At the base of it, they are the same... actually, at the base of it, many religions are very similar.

Annnnnnyhow, I know what you've been wanting to ask me this whole time: am I Sunni or am I Shia?

I am Muslim.

Allah has said in the Holy Qur'an: Those who divide themselves into sects do not belong with you. Their judgment rests with Allah, then He will inform them of everything they had done. (Surah 6:159).

WHAT????? Ohh, yes, even the Muslims have been led astray. Of course, at the time of revelation, this verse referred to the numerous sects of Judaism and Catholicism (I am not very knowledgeable about Christianity in this sense, but I believe at this time, while there was not the dispute between Catholics and Protestants, there were different groups of Catholics... but I may be wrong), as well as all the different idol-worshipping groups. Alas, there are now many Muslims who have been lead astray, in my opinion, in this aspect.

However, it is becoming more common for people to identify themselves simply as Muslim, and this is what I do. If you want to get technical, you could call me sunni (note I did not capitalize) because I follow Sunnah and I believe Abu Bakr is a reliable source of Sunnah. After all, it was narrated numerous times by many different people that Abu Bakr was a very close and trusted friend of the Prophet (SAW). While some minor changes were made after the Prophet's (SAW) death--for example, the Prophet (SAW) wouldn't have told people to say saull Allahu 'alayhi wa salaam after his name while he was alive--I don't believe such a trusted friend of the Prophet (SAW) would lead the people astray. After all, the Prophet (SAW) was not a stupid man.

But, what the heck, you can call me Shia-t-Ali too! I like 'Ali! I've got nothing against him! He was, after all, the husband of the Prophet's (SAW) most beloved daughter, so the Prophet (SAW) must have trusted him too. The Prophet (SAW) once gave a sermon about how much he loved Fatima and if she was unhappy then he was too... so, I think 'Ali is pretty safe too.

I implore my Muslim brothers and sisters to not accept the popular labels of "sunni" and"shia" and insist that everyone just call you Muslim. As for my non-Muslim friends, please encourage others to not be obsessed with the labels of "sunni" and "shia." We want to spread the message of unity and surrender to Allah. We are not going to accomplish this by setting up barriers between ourselves and others.

Until next time, inshallah. Assalaam alaikum.