Total questions: 6
What do you mean when you call yourself "culturally Muslim?"
From Wikipedia, "Cultural Muslims are religiously unobservant individuals who still identify with the Muslim culture due to family background, personal experiences, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up."
But yeah, I grew up Muslim and have shared similar experiences to people who follow Islam. I still engage in some of the Islamic and brown practices, like going to prayers (usually the only family gatherings, even birthday parties are prayers), making sawine and sweets for Eid, wearing desi clothes for festivals, holidays and jummah (Friday mosque prayers). But I don't necessarily believe in God.
I used to juggle a lot with identifying as either a deist or agnostic, because I don't know if there is a God and even if there was one, I don't think he follows religious doctrines. If there is a God, I struggle between him being a cruel Powerfuller (check out the poem Hap by Thomas Hardy) or a wholesome Creator. But if He is the latter, then why would he let all this death, destruction, meaningless violence, and such go on? I understand that we supposedly have free will, but then why even allow those things to be something that exists?
In short, I used to be a religiously devout Muslim, but now I am just a "Muslim by name" but I don't really believe.
have a bronze badge :)
<3 thank you love
Do you miss Kitty?
I think I spoke to her once within the month, but yeah. We had some good fun in the old days on DDO, but we drifted apart over time. It be like that sometimes.
What do you think is the single most important quality someone should have?
Empathy. With empathy, you try to be more understanding, kind and patient. I sometimes feel over time that I've lost my empathy for others.
What is Islam to you? What does it stand for?
I was raised Muslim. In early Primary school, I learnt the Arabic alphabet. Every Friday and Saturday my family would go to mosque - for Friday jummah and Islamic weekend classes, where most of my family taught. I would pray five times a day and from the age of 11, I started fasting the whole month of Ramadan.
Despite being born into Islam, my parents allowed me to choose whether or not I would wear the hijab, and support me in most of my feminist views. I understand that mainstream Islam isn't as progressive as I would like - the majority of Muslims believe same-sex is a sin, don't support abortion etc. But I am privileged to have found a community of progressive Muslims - some being gay, some non-binary etc. Religion is what you make of it. I believe that Islam is a religion of peace, that instilled in me the wanting to love everyone and help them be their best selves.
That said, I do not know if I believe in God. If one exists, my feelings can best be described with Thomas Hardy's Hap. While Islam taught me to love others, I can't fathom a world where a god would allow all this hatred and corruption to fester. I understand we have free will, and my mum says that God didn't promise us a good time, but He wouldn't give us anything we couldn't handle. But it's still hard to accept a higher power that allowed all the death and destruction in our history. I stopped going to Islamic classes when I was 14, if I'm not mistaken. I rarely read the Qur'an nowadays, and very few times pray or recite surahs. I feel isolated from my religion, but I never truly felt the connection that my grandpa and mum describe, Imaan. I admire jummah, where the huge groups of people pray together and it's beautiful to see the ritualistic unity. But after so many years have passed by, I don't feel like I am a good example of a Muslim, or how most Muslims try to portray themselves.
Do you see yourself as a social justice warrior? Do you think SJW is wrongly associated with a negative connotation?
I do see myself as an SJW. I believe that an SJW fights, "argues" might be a more appropriate word, for what they believe is right, usually progressive or social issues. I do think that the term SJW has been shifted in recent years to be more of an insult for holier-than-thou people on the left. Honestly, I think people more on the right will always look down those on the left, but as someone who's more left and progressive, I don't mind being called an SJW. Perspectives - I don't see being called an SJW a bad thing, while others may.
Thanks for the question!