How difficult is it to be a traditional, living to the letter, fundamentally (in a positive way) practicing muslim in a society where how you dress is 50% of your identity, and how you choose to fashion your body is the other half as far as determining character goes.
Yes, it can be labelled profiling. It does happen.
And because it does happen, and certain people seem to have perceived notion of a group of people when it comes to social associations, do you feel it becomes difficult to be as good a muslim as you’d like to be? Does society impose itself, and its norms/expectations on your beliefs and lifestyle?
If no, how have you managed to be true to who you are.
If yes, what factors contribute to you being how you are rather than how you’d like to be..
PS: I apologize if this comes off as confusing or disorganized. But, i hope it made sense. Also, some of what i have written is pure assumption. I am not endorsing that the society makes it harder for anyone to practice their faith, but take it for its face value and answer it as a general question. Thanks.
Many will not agree with my approach - which is to get the basics straight, dont get too much into the specifics.
Islam is a code of conduct, according to which - I believe - being a good/responsible human is of the core essence. Customization of religion is not the best way to go, but sticking to the basics is what is essential. Allah forgives, and forgive he shall. None of us is a perfect human being, hence not a perfect muslim. The degree of deviation varies. Live and let live, problems start when the feeling of being superior, pure and holier start to pollute the mind and tolerance for others starts to diminish.
Edit: And I think I have deviated from the original question To a certain degree, society does affect your ideas and freedom to choose. Right will always remain right, nothing in any society will make it wrong. It is a matter of striking the right balance, choosing the right path, but without letting pride and the feeling of superiority take over. This is when you start to point fingers and make judgments - which is how you contribute to the negative pressures a society exerts.
in a society where how you dress is 50% of your identity, and how you choose to fashion your body is the other half as far as determining character goes.
I am going through identity crisis right now. You took the words out of my mind!
I have made a small collection of beautiful summer dresses. I think they look good on me. It's very respectable wear - YET - I am worried and I have to be worried because these dresses are long but end just below the knee.
I have to be concerned of how people would perceive me. There are no wrong intent - just wanna stay up to style without wearing pants/jeans under the dress....
It gets hard to go against the grain. Small example is fashion, not many people can wear 70s clothes and hairdos in 2009. So intrinsically humans like to fit in and blend and be accepted to some extent. Another part is that because religion is under so much scrutiny and debate every body has their own ideas about what is essential and what is not. Therefore anyone who choses to dress in accordance with fundamental demands is already dressing up in a way that speaks for their perspective on the issue. I mean one wouldn’t wear a headscarf or clad themselves in a cloak if one thought it wasn’t necessary. At the same time some people tend to feel that because this person chooses it for himself or herself, they must consider it essential and that in turns essentially means that this person holds those who don’t confirm to these codes in contempt and considers himself above them.
Sticking to ones ideology and principles is always hard not only for social reasons (though that doesn’t mean social reasons don’t count). First you have to undertake a constant study to keep yourself informed, second you have to mellow yourself and the desire to fit in, thirdly it is a constant reminder to yourself as well, fourthly hard on your vanity, and thirdly the social pressure that it brings. Some people consider traditional appearing people with reverence and as soon as they see hole in their religious veneer they consider the traditional get up an unnecessary requirement for it clearly didn’t make an honest person out of falana person.
Sometimes staying true to your principles comes at the cost of social isolation. At others isolation is replaced with hostility. Similarly, depending on the environment it might make you more socially acceptable and help you fit in. I have personally found that the worst obstacle is one’s own personal doubt, this can be triggered by any one of the things that are affecting the individual most, for some people it is being a social outcast, for others it is the trial that this poses to one everyday, for some it’s the conflicting religious perspectives and for some its the tiredness that is brought on by being constantly judged and having to work harder to get rid of many misconceptions that might come swinging by.
How difficult is it to be a traditional, living to the letter, fundamentally (in a positive way) practicing muslim in a society where how you dress is 50% of your identity, and how you choose to fashion your body is the other half as far as determining character goes.
Yes, it can be labelled profiling. It does happen.
And because it does happen, and certain people seem to have perceived notion of a group of people when it comes to social associations, do you feel it becomes difficult to be as good a muslim as you'd like to be? Does society impose itself, and its norms/expectations on your beliefs and lifestyle?
If no, how have you managed to be true to who you are.
If yes, what factors contribute to you being how you are rather than how you'd like to be..
PS: I apologize if this comes off as confusing or disorganized. But, i hope it made sense. :) Also, some of what i have written is pure assumption. I am not endorsing that the society makes it harder for anyone to practice their faith, but take it for its face value and answer it as a general question. Thanks.
I don't know but I think Islam is made till doomsday that means that even the time is highly modren it can fit.You can always find solutions to difficult problem without being isolated. As far as fashion is concerned I don't know but if you are doing fashion and you know your limits then it should not be a problem.If I am rich I can wear any name brand but I have to see I don't wear mini skirts. or I don't wear half sleeves but I can wear a normal and stylish dress remaining in my limits.I know some people will mind that anywayz Islam tells us to cover our selves but it didn't tell us not to wear long skirts or trousers. Islam has very simple and clear rules but people make it difficult for them because their nafs is not on right path. Society does sometimes effect somethings like in now a days you cannot wear two pieces of men clothing which our propher (p.b.u.h.) used to wear and neither did our prophet (p.b.u.h.) said that you must wear this dress if pant shirt is available then we can wear it.But whole point is we should not forget who we are and we should know what is our limits.
Many will not agree with my approach - which is to get the basics straight, dont get too much into the specifics.
Islam is a code of conduct, according to which - I believe - being a good/responsible human is of the core essence. Customization of religion is not the best way to go, but sticking to the basics is what is essential. Allah forgives, and forgive he shall. None of us is a perfect human being, hence not a perfect muslim. The degree of deviation varies. Live and let live, problems start when the feeling of being superior, pure and holier start to pollute the mind and tolerance for others starts to diminish.
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hi all
i have some very particular views on this all - so i dont want to go into one on here... but i must say that the Jaanwar makes a lot of sense and i wholeheartedly agree with what he said here....
small example... dont know if its relevant but i am reminded of it when i here people speaking about being a decent / good, responsible and balanced human being...- recently went for jumma at the local mossque, walked in whilst maulvi sahib was doing his takrir - sex education in our schools, and he was urging everyone to sign a petition to ban sex education in our local schools - at the end of namaz i went over to read the petition, but couldnt get thru the crowd of men trying to sign this petition... eventually i walked away happy in the knowledge that i didnt sign becos i want my 3 school age kids to grow up knowing what it takes to become good , responsible balanced human beings .... we are humans and fallible first and foremost, we have a responsibility to our selves and our children first, then our neighbours, commuinity and wider ummah.... i suppose what i am saying is that becos i am a muslim and believe in islam as my way of life, i dont forget everyday i am a human being first and how do i fullfill my responsibilities as an individual and as a parent and as a muslim all in equal measure ........
went off topic i think a bit but i think its relevant (somehow).........
Threads like this remind me of a wonderful mother in our community who unfortunately moved to a different town last summer. She has 3 beautiful children and they are a family of devout Muslims. Mom and daughter practice Hijaab and the daughter and 2 sons are model citizens and students. Mom and daughter wear western clothes with an "asian flare" I guess you could say. They dress very modestly but do not stand out in a crowd as being entirely different - I mean they wear head scarves rather than burka. They wear long sleeves, loose shirts etc. They are proud of their religion and the mom visits each of her children's classrooms on Muslim holidays to give a presentation (and treats when appropriate) to educate the classes about the meaning of their holidays. The sons love dogs and love to visit friends who have them as pets but they will say "I cant have a dog as a pet inside my house, its haraam and that means forbidden for me...but its cool that you have one". They not only fit in perfectly in the community but they added so much to it by presenting such a lovely picture of an Islamic family.
Also, some of what i have written is pure assumption. I am not endorsing that the society makes it harder for anyone to practice their faith, but take it for its face value and answer it as a general question. Thanks.
To a certain degree, society does affect your ideas and freedom to choose. Right will always remain right, nothing in any society will make it wrong. It is a matter of striking the right balance, choosing the right path, but without letting pride and the feeling of superiority take over. This is when you start to point fingers and make judgments - which is how you contribute to the negative pressures a society exerts.