Celebrating Eid

Hello from the OTHER SIDE - no just kidding, but I am about 2 weeks from COS'ing and things have been busier than I expected, which caused me to (once again) become lax in my blogging. Despite circumstances and excuses and though it has been about a MONTH (yikes), I wanted to do a blog to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and the festival of Eid. With that being said, I want to share the views and words of MY Muslim friends and family. I ask you to be respectful and open minded in hearing their responses. For those unable to do such, I ask that you do not continue reading and refer back to the next forthcoming post. Thank you.

The following questions are being answered by each respondent and I hope it is an enlightening read for all: 

1.  What does it mean to you to be a Muslim man/woman?
2. Why do you choose to cover /not cover yourself (women only)What are your beliefs on modesty for women and men's role in the faith. (Men)

3. Which misconception about being Muslim annoys you most and why?

4. How does the holy month of Ramadan influence your faith

5. What is your favorite part/ aspect of your faith?

6. What do you want people to understand about your religion and it's followers?

Female A.

1, what does it mean to you to be a Muslim man/woman?

It means everything to me.  I feel like Allah overlooked my past and choose me to be a better person.  I feel empowered as a woman through the Quran and finally understand my worth and purpose in life.

2. Why do you choose to cover /not cover yourself (women only)

I chose to cover myself based on my understanding from the Quran.  Not all agree that woman are commanded to cover and I respect that, but I personally believe covering myself has brought me nothing but allowing the person I am to shine through.  

3. Which misconception about being Muslim annoys you most and why?

It saddens me that often upon meeting me I am stereotyped as a weak woman who blindly follows an ancient religion.  Thank God, it only takes a few moments of talking to me for people to realize that is not the case.

4. How does the holy month of Ramadan influence your faith

Ramadan means everything to me.  I spend all year praying I make it to see another Ramadan.  It is a time to reevaluate myself as a person and the importance of Islam in my life as I physically and mentally cleanse.  Each Ramadan has done nothing but offered me beautiful self introspection and the opportunity to better myself.

5. What is your favorite part/ aspect of your faith?

My favorite aspect is that there is always hope.  No matter what I can turn to Allah for forgiveness and guidance. It's never ending as long as I keep asking.

6. What do you want people to understand about your religion and it's followers?

We have good hearts.  We mean well. We are human too.  We make mistakes. Forgive us.

Female B.

1, what does it mean to you to be a Musliman/woman?
This one's complex. It depends on the person. To me, it means following in the Prophet Muhammed's footsteps of humility, guidance, peace, and equity. It means being open to all religions, people's, and faiths. It means looking at things from different angles, and not having a 1 sided story. It means being free from a materialistic world and letting one's soul soar free.

2. Why do you choose to cover /not cover yourself (women only)
I choose to cover because it is my identity. As someone who was bullied throughout most of my school years, I decided, on my own, to start wearing the headscarf in the 10th grade. To me, it was a stand to all my past bullies. That yes, in the past I used to hide who I am, and yes I used hide where I came from, but putting on the headscarf was a stand that I'm finally not afraid to show who I am.

3. Which misconception about being Muslim annoys you most and why?
That Muslim women in Islam are oppressed. We are not. Look at me. I am a practicing Muslim woman, in the Peace Corps. My family (who's somewhat religious) fully supports my decisions in life, I am not involved in an arranged marriage, and I make all of my own life choices. From wearing the scarf to deciding on the job I want, I was not forced to choose anything.

4. How does the holy month of Ramadan influence your faith
I love Ramadan. To me, it's like Christmas; it's the most wonderful time of the year. It's a restart button and a chance to re-look at life. Ramadan, to me, is about love. Love for my faith, love for my family, and love for my friends. It's a month that reminds me of how fortunate I am to be alive, to be healthy, and to be lucky enough to follow my dreams. Ramadan is a reminder that this is how I should be, not only during the special month, but throughout my life.

5. What is your favorite part/ aspect of your faith?
The fact that it tackles all aspects of life. If I'm confused, hurt, lost, all I need to do is turn to my faith for guidance.

6. What do you want people to understand about your religion and it's followers?
We are not terrorists. This might sound cliche, but we really aren't. As a Muslim PC volunteer, it saddens me that after serving 2 years for my nation, I won't be welcomed home with open arms. I might face being detained at the airport and I might even have to face daily racism in my life. Muslims are not bad people. Just like every religion, we have our good and bad folk. Most of us are good. Most of us live normal day to day lives, and we want nothing to do with those that claim to kill in the name of our faith. Muslims are just like you.

Female C.

1. .I'm very happy that i was born as a Muslim. As a woman, it is a privilege too. Based on Quran woman and man are equal, the Quran respects and arouse the value of the woman.

2. Wearing the hiijab, its part of muslims' world and tradition, it is a rule ofIislam. But I personally, and Kosovo as a society practice a kind of Islam, which can easily be called Modern Islam, which is pretty modified. My mom is not covered, neither me, because I didn't grow up knowing that I 'must' cover my head and body. In a word i'm not covered because i didnt want to. Otherwise we cover our heads and our body while we pray.

3. If you tell people that you're Muslim, they will be prejudiced and will try to avoid contact with you. As we know because of Islamic terrorists. But being a Muslim doesn't mean that you are a terrorist. Terrorists aren't good Muslims. And this thing annoys me a lot, because people shouldn't believe everything and they shouldn't judge all Muslims in the same way.

4. The holy month of Ramadan is kind of refreshing for every year. This holy month helps us to reflect, to think clearly, to help people, to know the value of our life and wealth. In this month we practice praying more than usual and it keeps us more connected to religion. So for me it has a positive effect. In this month we feel God closer to us.

5. I love Islam because is a peaceful religion.

6. Islam is a peaceful religion, is not how people describe it. It doesn't isolate you, it helps you to be in peace with your self and your people it and Muslim people are not terrorists. They are good people and generous.

Female D.

1. Due to the fact that Islam means Peace , I am very glad that I belong to this religion. I really can find the peace within myself, living by Islamic rules it gives me a great satisfaction and never losing hope for plans that our Creator has planned for us.
2. Unfortunately, in our town the hijab is not allowed in public places and this is a disturbance for not covering ourselves.
3.Well, the 'terrorist' thing it is not related to Islam and some people have a misconception for this.
4. During the Ramadan, you are more peaceful, you make more good deeds, strengthen your belief and you are more prosperous.
5.Praying.
6. People should know that Islam is about peace and doing good deeds, being more related to God. Islam has nothing to do with terrorism and killing innocent people. Our prophet peace and blessings be upon him, was a great man, he only taught us on doing good deeds and living according to Islamic rules.

In addition to my Female friends and family, I wanted to get a male's perspective on his religion and what that means. Below are his responses.

Male

1. Being a Muslim to me means accepting that there are questions that I cannot answer, concepts greater than myself, and submitting myself to a higher power on a journey of understanding.
2. What’s interesting and what many people—including Muslims—fail to understand about the Islamic concept of hijab is that it does not refer to a head covering and does not only apply to women. The conditions of hijab actually start with thoughts and actions before extending to dress and starts with men before extending to women. In the Qur’an, it states that hijab begins with the responsibility of men to lower their gaze and guard their own modesty—modesty referring to their actions and speech as well as their dress. Only after addressing men are women addressed. A head scarf is only a small aspect of hijab.
3. People having no clue what sharia means but talking about it nonetheless.
4. Ramadan is a chance to humble myself and feed my spiritual being while mastering my physical being. It is the month of Qur’an where I rediscover the miracle of revelation.
5. My favorite aspect of Islam is the personal, direct relationship Muslims have with Allah. There is no hierarchy in Islam based on gender, race, nationality, wealth, or other such factors.

6. I want people to know that you cannot understand Islam without knowing a Muslim. Islam is a personal journey and personal relationship with Allah. Everyone’s journey is unique. Get to know Islam through the Muslims in your community and not through your computer and television.

These amazing souls have been in my life for 2 years. I have learned with and through them various aspects of self and other. I have learned more about their and my own religious identity. Like any other religion, Christianity, Judaism etc, Islam has many sects and different interpretations. At the end of the day, the resounding sentiment is this is a religion filled with people who wish nothing but peace, self awareness, positivity and understanding among themselves and others - PEACE being the main objective. I have been blessed and empowered to commune with these souls and gain a wealth of knowledge from them personally and their religion. So thank you to everyone who submitted their answers, thank you for trusting me in portraying your views and submitting them to the world, thank you for sharing with me and being part of me, as well as sharing in my experience. Additionally, to the Muslims around the world, an (extremely) late Happy Eid and Inshallah you will make it to the next and be further connected in your faith and purpose.

Peace and Blessings

- Ashley