Have you ever been accused of Islamophobia? Have you ever asked a Muslim person why they have to pray five times a day or when the next Hajj will be? Have you ever been called into question for saying “Allahu Akbar” or “Amen”? Have they questioned your intentions like punish a muslim day reddit in visiting holy sites like Mecca or Medina, asking if you think yourself better than them?
If so, then chances are that this was a Muslim Day. And if it was one of those days where someone just accused you of something terrible because your name is different from theirs, well … welcome to Muslim Day. These are the 8 things that will make it different for people who react poorly during these days.
1. When you say “Allahu Akbar”, we will not accuse you of trying to convert us.
No. Not everyone who says “Allahu Akbar” is trying to convert you. It’s just that most of the people who say it aren’t saying it because they’re having a good day and are feeling very thankful for their God. It’s being said in response to something that happened that was good. Or in response to something that was extraordinarily bad. But I can promise you that the person saying it means no harm and is just happy or sad about the occurrence, be it good or bad, respectively.
Just the way that you mean no harm when you say “Allahu Akbar” when you’re running outside to stop a fire. Or say it in response to someone bumping into you. Or saying it in response to yourself because there’s something wrong with your hair or shoes and you wanted to set them straight. When we hear it, we know that it is not being said because someone wants to convert us, but because they have experienced a good or bad thing happen and will appreciate the reminder of God (sawaa’). Which, if they’re one of us, means they are thankful for our existence and don’t see any harm in praising Him.
2. We will not assume that we are superior to anyone.
The first Muslim Day was exactly 96 years ago (on August 14, 1914). And that was the day that Muslims were told that we are inferior to them. And ever since then, many Muslims reacted in a very negative manner to being reminded of this. That is why Muslims felt pressure to prove Muslims to be superior – because of the inferiority complex and inferiority complex mentality that exists in their culture.
And no… you don’t have to prove it to us. We know who our Creator is and what we are entitled to from Him, and we don’t need someone else’s permission or approval before we can do those things. But, after we’ve proved ourselves, then there’s no need to ever feel ashamed of our religion again. And certainly no need to feel inferior ever again.
3. When you say “Amen”, we will not accuse you of being a Satanist or a worshiper of anyone other than God (the Christian notion).
You know how non-Muslim family members and friends always say the “Amen” after you pray? Well, just because it’s part of their culture and tradition, it does not mean that they do it because they believe that it is from their religion. And if someone who only says “Amen” at the end of your prayers decides one day to start saying “As Salamu Alaykum” instead… Well then, that’s another story altogether, isn’t it?
4. We will not assume you want to marry our daughter.
You: She looks good in that dress. Me: Yeah, I just bought it for her. You: What?! You can’t give her such a short dress! Me: Why? It’s not as if I want to do something scandalous to her or anything. She’s my daughter and I know how she should be dressed, so why don’t we just leave this conversation at that and let me decide what my daughter should wear?
This… is the most classic example of Muslim Day that could exist in the world today.
5. We will not assume you’re trying to snatch our son from us.
You: If I get a good job and make more money, I’m planning on moving out of this neighborhood and getting my own place… or getting married. Me: Stop right there! I don’t care what your goals are, but if you get a job and start earning your own income… Well then, why should you leave me behind? And if you want to move out of this neighborhood, then why don’t you move in with me or find a wife? As for marriage, why would we let one of ours go anymore?!
It’s no different than the above scenario – it happens all the time wherever Muslims live amongst non-Muslims. And no matter how much we try to make it okay for them, they still try to justify their independence from us. It’s like they’re trying to prove that the whole relationship with Islam is not good enough because the Muslims are not doing what we want them to.
6. We will not assume that you’re trying to steal our wealth (or our babies).
You: I’m planning on investing in this business and having a big success, so I want my son to grow up around successful people, who can teach him how to be a good businessman. Me: Okay… but, why can’t you teach him that on your own? Why would we need to step in and teach him how to be a businessman? You: Because I will have him in everything I do. So he’ll be around the day that I have my big success and he’ll see it for himself. And as for his being around other successful people, well…
It’s no different from the previous scenario. It only happens when Muslims are living among non-Muslims. But they don’t let up; they keep trying to teach our children things we’ve been doing traditionally for centuries, even if they’re not our children anymore. We may be their parents, but we don’t wish to be their father or mother now.
7. We will not assume you’re trying to rape our daughter, no more than we would assume that about another man.
You: I think your daughter is so hot. How about we go and have a good time together? Me: What?!… Just because I’m not telling you to leave her alone doesn’t mean that I’m trying to be polite or hospitable. Stop it!
It’s a reality that exists in the world today, and Muslims are solely blamed for it. Even if they are trying to do the right thing and set their children on the right path, their fear of us causes them to say things such as this one.
8. We will not assume you’re trying to steal our money.
You: I’m making a lot of money, but how do I know that’s mine? How do I know that my boss isn’t going to take it from me?
Muslims are often blamed for being greedy, which is why many of us are afraid that non-Muslims might follow through on their threat. Even if we’re telling them not to be afraid, we still want them to think we’re bad people… even if we never intended for that to happen in the first place.
Conclusion:
This is the reality of things. When we live amongst non-Muslims, they will continuously make us feel that we’re not good enough because they don’t want to be around us, not because they see our religion as immoral and evil. But rather than make excuses for ourselves, we should just be truthful with others and make it clear that we don’t think we’re in any way inferior to them. Muslims have a huge amount of potential in our lives; we should just let everyone know about it and stop feeling ashamed about our religion.
Insha’Allah, there will come a day when none of this ever has to be said again.
