A Muslimah writes
I am a Muslim woman and attend one of the most liberal universities in the West. Coming to college caused me doubt to Islam in many ways and, like many of us at American universities, I often found myself confused and frustrated in the liberal space I was in.
Upon entering this school, I was first introduced to what it meant to be a “conservative” or “liberal” Muslim. I was also first introduced to feminism in the context of Western liberal Muslim spaces. For the first time, I was engaging in debates on whether or not females should be delivering the khutbahs and leading prayers. For the first time, I had to choose whether or not to attend a Jummah prayer dedicated to LGBTQ+ students or be ostracized by majority of the MSA for choosing not to attend. For the first time, I was asked by fellow MSA peers what I would do if my future child came out as gay, just to test my waters and call me a homophobe if I told them something they did not want to hear.
The hardest and most recent experience was when I was coined as an “internally oppressed” Muslim woman because I chose to pray behind men when my MSA implemented gender adjacent jummah prayers. Some had argued that I was internally oppressed by men’s inability to control their temptations and that, by implementing space for women to pray in the back, I had caused the MSA to regress.
As someone who considers herself an advocate for occupied and silenced populations, I identify “internally oppressed” people to be those who are unknowingly living under oppression by a state power and are in support of it. Thus, to be coined such a strong statement made me wonder if I was a hypocrite.
Although my decision to pray behind the men felt right, I started to doubt myself and asked myself if I was indeed being subjugated; why do women have to pray in the back? Was I advocating for justice for the oppressed while not realizing that I failed to stand up for “justice” in other ways such as by advocating for feminism? Why wasn’t I introduced to “Islamic feminism” earlier in my life, when I practiced Islam in a way that many liberal Muslim feminists would deem problematic and against their values? Were my conservative opinions a result of my ignorance and my “unwokeness”? And why were other Muslim conservatives not stepping up and saying anything? Why were we, the conservatives, being marginalized and letting ourselves get lost in our own deen?
We fail to remember that it is the white Europeans who used feminism to justify colonization of Muslims. They told us that our tradition was backwards, and that we needed western feminism to save us from oppression. Now, Muslims have employed the same mindset to our own Muslim spaces by coining traditional Muslims as oppressed (or as oppressors); however, what they do not realize is that they are repeating history and are now the ones being colonial.
Don’t get me wrong – the rise of feminism was meant to tackle real misogyny and abuse in our communities. These problems need to be addressed, but solving them must be kept within the bounds of Islamic tradition, which ultimately stem from revelation and divine guidance.
And there’s nothing wrong with questioning Islam– it is with doubt that forces one to seek answers and strengthen one’s faith. If you find yourself conflicted, take a piece of paper and write down all your questions – and don’t be afraid of seeming blasphemous in the process. From that, reach out to a trustworthy imam, sheikh, or scholar in your area to help answer those questions and have them supplemented with Islamic scholarly approaches using the Qur’an and sunnah. Your questions will not be new and have likely been discussed for the past 1400 years. You will find yourself glad that you took the initiative to deal with these doubts, instead of having them linger and pulling you away from the deen.
I have two more years at this university, and by gaining Islamic knowledge and taking the steps to address my doubts, I can proudly say that I am ready to embark on new paths and not be afraid to stand true to the haqq.
I will be unapologetic in the voice I bring into my future endeavors and my MSA, which I considered leaving several times because it was doing more harm than good to me as a Muslim.
I will be unapologetic in bringing up the Islamic tradition, a term often coined as problematic because “we live in a different society than the Prophet Muhammad (saws)”. Faith is meant to fluctuate and the journey as a Muslim will always be arduous – we just have to make sure we take the steps to attain the truth and apply it.
The Qarawiyyin Project 
Salamwalkum sister
What do you think as a Muslim I can do to really gain confidence and not be as afraid or embarrassed by my religion. How do I act as a Muslim who leaves an impact?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Stop reading articles like this, reach out to different kinds of muslims across the world and reject the Wahhabist “package” being sold to you.
LikeLike
What’s a Wahhabist?
LikeLike
“Dollywitch” it’s frauds like you who are to be avoided. The article is a much needed wake up call to the cancer for far left politics that inferiority complex suffering “Muslims” like you suffer from. Muslims are not going to change Islam to fit the degenerate narrative of western materialist culture. Nothing “wahabi” about that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Muslims are not going to change”
If conservatives don’t change, in a few generations there will be as few muslims as there are believing christians in western Europe.
LikeLike
LTmr, you are being deliberately dishonest by citing incomplete quotation. I said “Muslims are not going to CHANGE ISLAM to fit the degenerate narrative of western materialist culture.” Can’t you liberals even read a short sentence without twisting its meaning? Oh wit, that’s being “conservative” right?
You grasp of history is laughable. Christianity faded in Europe because 1) it is based on falsehood and 2) secularism destroyed what few religious beliefs they had. It is pseudo-Muslims aka liberals like you who will leave the religion aping the destructive secular example of Europe. The Prophet(s.a.w) spoke this. It also shows that you have no true belief as you doubt the promise of Allah(swt) to preserve Islam. In the mean, the real Muslims will continue to practice the Deen as it’s supposed to be practiced. You keep worshippping contemporary western secular culture like a zombie, we Muslims will continue worshipping Allah(swt),
LikeLike
Your local imam is no historian, and I believe in Allah (swt).
Ultimately your salafi nonsense is as modern as more liberal islam. Every claim of returning to roots is done through the ideological lens of the culture that makes the claim.
LikeLike
LTmr, you continue to make false and silly remarks. Typical triggered pusedo-Muslim. I don’t know who you’re babbling about because no imam taught me history. Nor am I “Salafi.” You childish name calling only reflects your insecurities and religious illiteracy. I doubt you believe in anything besides your nafs, you probably don’t pray and have a peverted aqueeda. Islam comes from Allah(swt) through the Prophet(saw), not mixing man made cultures like you liberal fanatics who worship the West are hell bent on doing.
It’s been tried before many times and you munafiqs have failed each time. Stature, and many enemies tried and failed. You will as well. Your worldview is intellectually and religiously bankrupt, just like the “wahabis” you’re obsessed with.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Learn the ‘light’!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Give some of your time as she mentioned to gain Islamic Knowledge from a sholarly approach.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tax,
Short Answer : “Wahabist” is pejorative term often used by liberal pseudo-Muslims against ANY Muslim who is NOT in their camp. If you don’t worship white western culture and all its degenerate radical movements like Predatory capitalism, Marxism, feminism, homosexuality etc you are a “wahabi.” If you practice Islam, you are a “wahabi.”If you emulate the Sunnah in any you are a “wahabi.” Etc Liberal pseudo-Muslims also use Salafi and Saudi interchangeably when they get bored of throwing “wahabi.”
The reason they behave like this is because They have no foundation in Islam, and are religiously illiterate. Many are Islamophobes, with their roots in far left radical extremism. They neither know Islam or live Islam. Just inferiority complex suffering loosers compensating for their minority status by trying to fit in at any cost, including misrepresenting and perverting Islam.
We can discuss the long answer later including the deviance of the Saudis, and their US and U.K. Supported spiritually devoid Protestant “Islam” aka “Wahhabism”. Not to be confused with the mainstream Salafis. There’s a lot of complex history and nuance which must be looked at . We as Muslims must be careful not to throw our genuine brethren stretching from the Salafis and Sufis underneath the postmodernist bus of western liberalism.
LikeLike
The irony is it’s the liberals who care about minorities, immigrants, the most vurnerable people in the community.
I am Muslim and I live in a muslim majority country. Like in the western world, there are racism, discrimination, bigotry and prejudice here. There are many Nigel Farages and Katie Hopkinsis in my country, the differences from the English ones is they are Muslims.
LikeLike
To understand the liberal secularist and feminist project in the Muslim world, one To understand the liberal secularist and feminist project in the Muslim world,One needs to revisit the British colonization of Egypt.
Everlyn Baring, better known as Lord Cromer, was the British Proconsul-General in occupied Egypt between 1877 and 1907. He wrote about his tenure in his book “Modern Egypt” (1916). Here are some conclusions from his book:
1. The West will not tolerate an Islamic government.
On page 565, he said that it would be “absurd” to assume that Europe would tolerate a “government based on purely Mohammedan principles and obsolete Oriental ideas.”
2. Muslims must be forced to adopt the principles of Western civilization.
On page 538, he said that Egypt had to be “forced into imbibing the true spirit of Western civilization.”
3. Westernization must be introduced under the guise of women’s rights.
Lord Cromer says that the “position of women” in Muslim countries was a “fatal obstacle” in the introduction of colonial values. (page 539)
4. The West must educate a class of young secular Muslims to be the rulers.
Cromer’s hope was that a Europeanized education system would cause an Egyptian to “lose his Islamism”, cause him to “no longer believe that he is always in the presence of his Creator”, and only hang onto “the least worthy portions of his nominal religion” for the sake of convenience. (page 230)
5. The West must reform Islam.
Cromer says that the goal should be to create “de-moslemized Moslems”, where people are Muslims-by-name, but in actuality, are “agnostic”. After all, Cromer says, “Islam cannot be reformed … reformed Islam is Islam no longer.” (pages 228-229)
6. The Muslim reformer would hate Muslim scholarship more than Europeans do.
The Westernized Muslim would consider the `alim to be a “social derelict”, use him in matters of convenience, but otherwise disrespect him. On the other hand, a European Christian intellectual would at least look at the `alim with sympathy and respect, as a “representative of an ancient faith”. (page 299-30)
7. Modernized Muslims will become Deists.
“It is conceivable that, as time goes on, the Moslems will develop a religion, possibly a pure Deism, which will not be altogether the Islamism of the past and of the present, and which will cast aside much of the teaching of Mohammed, but which will establish a moral code sufficient to hold society together by bonds other than those of unalloyed self-interest.” (page 234)
———–
We can see therefore that Islamic reform started as a colonial project. A project that has been devilishly designed by European intellectuals to undermine the clerics, introduce secular humanist institutions, and gradually and inconspicuously lead Muslims away from the central tenets of their tradition. They knew that this reformed, liberal Muslim would not be a Muslim at all, but just a Europeanized invertebrate (i.e. a spineless being) who would maneuver the religion to his needs.
This seven-step process is exactly what is happening to Muslim youth in the West. They volunteer themselves to Western academia and pop culture, and are led away from a truly Islamic worldview and epistemology. And while they fool themselves into calling themselves “Muslim reformers”, or “Muslim feminists”, or “moderate Muslims”, or “liberal Muslims”, their puppet masters know that these are all contradictions in terms.
Times change, but right remains right, and wrong remains wrong.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hang in there, sister. I went through a similar period at University. It will all come together one day. Consider this as metamorphasis. You could read about it and hope it helps in some way. Good luck !
(https://easttowestparenting.com/2017/10/12/self-discovery/)
LikeLiked by 1 person
America and Israel did 9/11 to destroy Saddam Hussein’s STRONG Iraq FOR Israel BUT Muslims and Islam benefited GREATLY from the 9/11…. * The losers of 9/11 are America and Christianity…….. * Since 9/11 Islam is growing in the west and Christianity is DYING……….* The news media blamed 9/11 cause by religion and the militant-evangelist atheists use 9/11 to spread atheism in the WEST………* Without 9/11 America = Israel could NOT had bombed Iraq to STONE-AGE ………* 9/11 woken up Muslims from dark dark dark-deep sleep……. * NOW Muslims woken up and will PROSPER soon……… * The Muslim’s future looks very very goods……. * Without 9/11 Muslims still be sleeping in darkness without realizing become self destructive …… * 9/11 suppose to destroy Islam but Islam become the MOST discuss religion on the EARTH …….. * Even anti Muslims and anti Islam propaganda is GOOD for the Muslims and Islam……* 9/11 brought lots of POSITIVE changed among the Muslims……* The 9-11-2001 and Islamophobia FORCING Muslims to REFORM themselves …….* I THANKS Zionists for woken up the Muslim………….* please read my blog….https://reformingmuslimnotislam.blogspot.com/…..* The Zionist NEXT target Iran
LikeLike
May Allah strengthen you in your struggles sister. I recommend these resources for anyone who finds themselves in a similar position:
https://zarafaris.com/
https://muslimskeptic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nonfeministmuslim/
LikeLike
السّلام عليكم و رحمة الله
Wallahi/By Allah: this is probably one of the Best-Articles I’ve ever read, concerning the Subject/Conflict-Of-Interests of Islām vs. Feminism. I personally view this Article as: sincere, honest, accurate. I encourage the Author of this Article to keep fighting against the Opposition to the growth/progess of Islām, via her awesome Writtings.
LikeLike
Of course some Wala bro would come in liking this article. Thus the problem with it in the first place.
LikeLike
Not everyone who follows traditional Islam is a Wallah Bro, you liberal scumbag.
LikeLike
Why are you hating on the Fact that the Author of this Article spoke honestly & accurately? You’re deflecting from the Reality of what was articulated within this Article. Muhammad (Peace be upon him) stated, “Arrogance is denying Truth & berating People.”.(an-Nawawī) You’ve literally done both: you’re denying the Truth of this Article & you’re attempting to discredit those who agree with its Truth via Insults.
LikeLike
To understand the liberal secularist and feminist project in the Muslim world, one To understand the liberal secularist and feminist project in the Muslim world,One needs to revisit the British colonization of Egypt.
Everlyn Baring, better known as Lord Cromer, was the British Proconsul-General in occupied Egypt between 1877 and 1907. He wrote about his tenure in his book “Modern Egypt” (1916). Here are some conclusions from his book:
1. The West will not tolerate an Islamic government.
On page 565, he said that it would be “absurd” to assume that Europe would tolerate a “government based on purely Mohammedan principles and obsolete Oriental ideas.”
2. Muslims must be forced to adopt the principles of Western civilization.
On page 538, he said that Egypt had to be “forced into imbibing the true spirit of Western civilization.”
3. Westernization must be introduced under the guise of women’s rights.
Lord Cromer says that the “position of women” in Muslim countries was a “fatal obstacle” in the introduction of colonial values. (page 539)
4. The West must educate a class of young secular Muslims to be the rulers.
Cromer’s hope was that a Europeanized education system would cause an Egyptian to “lose his Islamism”, cause him to “no longer believe that he is always in the presence of his Creator”, and only hang onto “the least worthy portions of his nominal religion” for the sake of convenience. (page 230)
5. The West must reform Islam.
Cromer says that the goal should be to create “de-moslemized Moslems”, where people are Muslims-by-name, but in actuality, are “agnostic”. After all, Cromer says, “Islam cannot be reformed … reformed Islam is Islam no longer.” (pages 228-229)
6. The Muslim reformer would hate Muslim scholarship more than Europeans do.
The Westernized Muslim would consider the `alim to be a “social derelict”, use him in matters of convenience, but otherwise disrespect him. On the other hand, a European Christian intellectual would at least look at the `alim with sympathy and respect, as a “representative of an ancient faith”. (page 299-30)
7. Modernized Muslims will become Deists.
“It is conceivable that, as time goes on, the Moslems will develop a religion, possibly a pure Deism, which will not be altogether the Islamism of the past and of the present, and which will cast aside much of the teaching of Mohammed, but which will establish a moral code sufficient to hold society together by bonds other than those of unalloyed self-interest.” (page 234)
———–
We can see therefore that Islamic reform started as a colonial project. A project that has been devilishly designed by European intellectuals to undermine the clerics, introduce secular humanist institutions, and gradually and inconspicuously lead Muslims away from the central tenets of their tradition. They knew that this reformed, liberal Muslim would not be a Muslim at all, but just a Europeanized invertebrate (i.e. a spineless being) who would maneuver the religion to his needs.
This seven-step process is exactly what is happening to Muslim youth in the West. They volunteer themselves to Western academia and pop culture, and are led away from a truly Islamic worldview and epistemology. And while they fool themselves into calling themselves “Muslim reformers”, or “Muslim feminists”, or “moderate Muslims”, or “liberal Muslims”, their puppet masters know that these are all contradictions in terms.
Times change, but right remains right, and wrong remains wrong
LikeLike
Keep at it, sister! You’re not alone. The liberal, secular ideologies of which feminism is part of is perhaps the most dangerous threat facing Muslims in thd west today.
You’ve written a beautiful article. Be unapologetic. The Qur’an and Sunnah is our yardstick…
LikeLike
Salaam, i would like to contact the author of this piece for a radio interview. Preferably tonight as the piece in now and quite poignant. Could someone have the author contact me ASAP. We broadcast LIVE cross country at 10pm EST
LikeLike
Truth speaker..never waver.
Remember what Allah says in Quran..most don’t believe, and hate the truth.
MSA is not for ilm, it is a social club that prays.
LikeLike
If you want to understand why it makes sense for Muslims to be liberal – it’s for the same reason Jews and Christians can be liberal. All religions are beautiful stories made by people which let us live together in harmony and share meaningful traditions. The stories are not literally true, they’re just metaphors. Liberal religious people subconsciously understand that (but have a hard time admitting it to themselves) . But the moral context in which those stories were written is very different from today, so they need to be slightly adapted. For instance, very few Muslims think about concubines today, even though the subject of concubines is very thoroughly explained in the Quran and Sunnah. And it’s good that Muslims don’t think about having concubines IMHO.
Regardless of how literalists feel, religions have always and will always evolve, often because of cultural moral forces (eg, slavery and concubines). That’s what is happening with Islam and women today.
LikeLike
Weak minded atheist rubbish. It’s clear you have no understanding of religion, especially Islam. Aping western materialist culture is not evolution but backwardness.
LikeLike
My friend, you are making too many assumptions and are being unnecessarily offensive towards me and others in this comment section. Being rude is not something you should do, as a Muslim.
My parents are Muslim and I had very strong Iman growing up, more than anyone in my close family. I decided to dedicate myself to the Deen in my late teens, and spent my 20s studying Sirah, Fiqh, and Tafsir under many different schools of Islamic scholarship – in Medina, Cairo, and Istanbul. First I decided that many of my scientific beliefs about the world did not square up against a literalist interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah (forget evolution – what about angels creating the weather, asteroids/comets being sent by Allah to kill devils, Earth created before the stars – found a nice list here: https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran). Then I realized that not believing in Islam literally meant behaving consistently with there being no God who you could pray to – and so ultimately I decided to leave Islam.
For any Muslims considering leaving Islam – do you want to traumatize your children by telling them that some of the people who’ve contributed the most to human civilization and wellbeing are going to end up in eternal suffering just for not believing in something which most people only believe because of their family/parents? I do not. It’s hard but it’s worth it to be true to yourself. And you don’t have to lose your family if you approach it the right way.
LikeLike
“ExMoose,” nice try but I’m not buying you bulls•••. Oh yes, you had “Muslim parents, you went to so many Muslim countries, ate halal shawarmas, snorted biryanis, had such “strong” imaan blah blah” and it all apart because of visiting one crap website which confirmed your “doubts.” Classic confirmation fallacy.
By linking to “WikiIslam” one of the most disruptable anti-Muslim websites, you’ve given yourself up as a fraud. Wikiislam was started by the same fanatics behind “faith freedom” which was openly supporting the extermination of Bosnian Muslims by Serbs back in the late 1990s. Forget existential questions about heaven and hell, when you should be questioning your lack of character.
And really, don’t fool yourself, atheism is Eurocentric materialistic mental disorder which has nothing to do with science or deep thinking. Go back to trolling on Reddit and social media hoping to get attention pretending to be a “ex-Muslim.”
LikeLike
Islam is a complete religion that forbids women oppression. each gender class has their role to play in the society and the sooner we understand that the better. may Allah help we Muslims of today to understand what is and what is not
LikeLike
Your last two paragraphs say that you will be unapologetic. I definitely think that’s a good idea.
What you must do now is to learn how to be convincing, persuasive, and be able to share your truth. It could be the other MSA members are searching for a truth. They become very very liberal because they don’t know how NOT to without looking primitive or politically incorrect. So they have a fight within themselves and you might be the key to remind them of why Quran and Allah’s Universal path is correct.
I don’t know if you are born American or lived here for a long time, or if you have come from a different country to attend university. Muslim Americans are bombarded every day with a defamation of Islam. And we have to defend every rule, fiqh, or fatwa to all those who are looking for proof that our path is wrong or inferior. Hence, the birth of the liberal Muslim mindset. Stick with them though, there could be a reason why you are meant to be here.
Also, one more thing to keep in mind is that there are many different sects, and schools of thought in Islam. Maybe your beliefs are different in this community.
LikeLike
I am glad that you have taken a hard stance toward the obvious bid’ah (innovation) in your local MSA. I am also glad that you mentioned how a Muslim can get their doubts resolved and restore their faith if it ever becomes shaky as a result of one’s questions.
The classic excuse of “we do not live in the same society as Muhammad (pbuh)” is constantly repeated as a means to justify an unnecessary change. Yes, we do not live in the same society. However, isn’t Allah still infinitely wise? Isn’t the Quran the divine word of Allah? Don’t we all remain the slaves of Allah? Nothing has changed except the times we live in, Islam is unchanging and does not need any “reform”, ever.
2:285
“The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.”
I hope you remain steadfast despite the pressures issued by your naive MSA, may Allah keep your heart turned toward Islam.
LikeLike
I’m pretty sure Allah thought that people would be smart enough to contextualise and learn from example rather than to exactly recreate every detail mentioned. Much of the Quran was revealed while the Muslims were at war with the Quraysh. It was necessary to reveal these parts of the Quran so the Muslims knew how to engage them. So let’s say my side is right and these things had a context – should Allah have not revealed them because people 1500 years later think only things that directly apply to all times should be there?
Islam’s origins are important to it and much of the Quran and Hadith(to a lesser degree) give us an idea of how it came about. We can learn from it, but it doesn’t mean we can or should try and emulate the society of the early Muslims because they were an embattled people trying to make an existence for themselves. You can’t fight forever. And definitely not the same fight.
LikeLike
You’ve proven that you don’t know much concerning Islām, nor of the History of The Qur’ān. Most of the Qur’ān was revealed even prior to the formation of the Islāmic-State in al-Madīnah, let alone prior to the Muslims fighting Wars. Infact, less than 20% of The Qur’ān even refers to/mentions Combative-Jihād (Military-Combat/War)
LikeLike
i r8 8/8 m8
LikeLike
No lie this MSA sounds dope. There is hope in the future iA
LikeLiked by 3 people
This MSA sounds broken and useless to Muslims, which is why extremists like you are drawn to it.
LikeLike
This MSA sounds woke and supportive of social justice-just as the Prophet and the sahaba were. No wonder lazy Wahhabis like you hate it.
LikeLike
Atif, labeling those who oppose your anti-Islamic agenda “Wahabis” won’t get you anywhere. You are not “woke,” you are a weak brainwashed millennial idiot overdosing on western postmodernism. I looked at your lame blog and I wasn’t surprised that you are a supporter of Zionism. You’re a zindiq. Stop pretending to be a Muslim
LikeLike
You label others taqfiri, you’re in no position to complain about being called a wahabi.
LikeLike
LTmr, I see you are dedicated to making a fool out of yourself yet again . I’m in every position to call out Zionists and others masquerading as Muslims. And I will continue to do so much to your chagrin.
Name calling other and trying to hijack Islam and you extremists cry foul and yell “takfir”(which is you don’t believe in anyway)? You are a shallow minded hypocrite who can’t see past his own hubris. LoL! You have the intellectual depth of a parking lot puddle. Now scream “wahabi” again you predictable munafiq.
LikeLike
This is a really hurtful post given the large number of people that WISH they had access to spaces like this.
It’s also ironic to draw a link between colonisation and the idea of you being forced to respect LGBTQ people, since the rejection of LGBTQ people is very much a colonialist value in of itself.
This isn’t a widespread, issue, at all. The vast majority of Mosques are conservative, the majority of MSAs are conservative. Where I live there are no “liberal” or progressive spaces at all. I’m a trans convert, and I have to hope I pass. I rarely go to the mosque for fear of being outed. I feel scared and out of place.
It’s ironic that you make this post and talk about colonisation because to a lot of people this will read like the Muslim equivalent of “first world problems”.
Part of the problem too is that you recommend taking your thoughts and doubts to an established Imam or Sheikh – but a good majority of those nowadays ARE distinctly conservative, and strongly influenced by Salafism. Once upon a time it would have been different, and it would have been westerners that were backwards, prudish and homophobic.
If your Islam to you is more about ensuring LGBTQ Muslims remain marginalised, that people do not question gender roles or cultural traditions, then I Don’t know what to tell you. I think is in of itself a colonised mind in a sense. Islam should be about love and mercy and introspection and connecting with Allah. If you need every space to reject queer people before you can feel properly Muslim, then that’s a problem with your Imaan, not ours.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Like honestly how many people are TERRIFIED to come out to their parents, terrified to say they don’t agree with modern Salafist interpretations of the Quran, to be queer, to date, to not wear hijab etc. etc.?
You can’t blame everything on Colonisation, especially because you might be doing the Colonisers job for them without realising it. At some point you have to start taking responsibility for your words and actions and do some real soul searching. Read some Rumi. Research the history of LGBT in Islam. Stop relying on your local Imam.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You sound like a typical liberal Muslim. Why should Muslims be “coming out” as “queer”? Holding into that identity is unacceptable for a Muslim because it promotes something haram. And no, I’m not a Salafist. Also, stop willfully misunderstanding Rumi to justify your own homosexual practices.
LikeLike
LGBT is Haraam. Period.
LikeLike
Interestingly enough, I’m pretty traditional in my life as far as the sunnah and Qur’an and I identify as lgbt. The thing is, I recognize these feelings as my test in this life. Because again, our purpose in this life is not to fulfill our desires. It is to worship Allah. I agree, the Muslim community must learn to make space for such individuals if only to help them in seeing the truth and support them in their struggle, but not to justify any action associated with those feelings. This is a truth I have arrived at after much reflection. I commend this sister in speaking up and pray that others also follow in showing the same strength against this conformist vision many Muslims are falling into. May Allah always show us the truth and keep us guided.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Be a martyr all you want, the walah bro won’t accept you more because you’d rather submit to the laws of men trying to divine the will of Allah
LikeLike
LTmr, you name calling again? You pseudo Muslim idiots are lame. Where exactly are getting the laws of Allah(swt) from? This should be amusing.
LikeLike
Do you even know what Salafism is, or are you just doing what any/every other Muslim/Non-Muslim Islāmophobe (you don’t have to be a Non-Muslim to be an Islāmophobe & People like you are Proof of this) claims, as soon as someone/anyone refuses to compromise on Islāmic-Principles and/or refuses to co-sign Sinful-Behavior.
LikeLike
Exactly. Wonder what the author will say when her future husband decides to take a (secret) second wife. Betcha she still believes the ‘liberal’ viewpoint that he has to ask her first. Then what? Like the Wahibis will let her divorce him.
LikeLike
Lame personal attacks by a kafira feminist for having your degenerate liberal ideology questioned. Do you idiotic pseudo-Muslims have anything besides tossing terms like “wahahis” like a distractor? Gender studies degree got you real stupid
LikeLike
It’s funny, she claims colonialism was driven by feminism, but most of european colonialism in the ME predates women having voting rights.
European colonial empires didn’t care about feminism or queers anymore than the salafis. It’s just a convenient justification to be conservatives and, in the end, have values that are very much in line with those of the colonialists.
Turkey was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality, and last I checked the Ottoman empire was muslim, unlike England where it was as much of a capital crime then as it is in nightmare hellholes like KSA.
LikeLike
Wrong on all counts. Ottoman Turkey at that stage was drowning in debauchery and known as the “sick man of Europe.” Your obsession with green lighting homosexuality and other perversions is part of the subservience to European materialist thought. They have colonized your mind, that’s why you are a slave parroting their failed narrative
You’re obviously a product of the broken American school system.
LikeLike
It’s funny when wahabis buy into dumb orientalist narratives about the Ottoman empire. I guess I was right to peg you for a saudi.
LikeLike
BTW, I’m not even american, not by birth, not by education, amateur sheikh
LikeLike
LTmr, no, you are wrong as usual. I’m neither the dreaded “wahabi” or a Saudi(who I can’t stand I general). You pseudo Muslim idiots need to come up with better insults. It’s not orientalism to point out historical facts. Just because some Muslims in engaged in haram and disgusting acts like homosexuality doesn’t make it halal no matter how much you want it to be so. Feminism is another European Marxist import which is you mentally colonized slaves are pushing on Muslims as if Islam is lacking. Sounds like classic western brainwashing, American or not.
Where exactly did you learn Islam from anyway? The 7-11, or perhaps in a gathering of low self esteem third culture adolescents with lots of cannabis? Bottom line: Islam will NOT be changed to suit your corrupt secular khawarij bootlicking.
LikeLike
Why as my comment deleted? I simply recommended the following for anyone who is struggling with feminism from an Islamic perspective:
https://zarafaris.com/
https://muslimskeptic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nonfeministmuslim/
I literally don’t own nor am I affiliated with any of those pages. They are just good resources.
LikeLike
Your comment was not deleted, it was awaiting moderation due to you including links to other sites.
LikeLike
Try reading Speaking in God’s Name by Khaled Abou El Fadl. It brings to light many customs and practices that occurred during the Prophet Mohammed’s (pbuh) time. You may surprised to learn why women prayed behind men. It’s not for the reasons you’ve been told.
LikeLike
Good article sister, may Allah bless you.
LikeLike
I really wish my msa was like this. Instead, muslim brothers and sisters I know cannot come out as gay without being ostracized. And having discussion is not a terrible thing. I ask my Muslim girlfriend how would she feel if our kids came out as gay or if they dated in college and beyond, and she doesn’t understand the hypocrisy given what she is doing. I think that religion, especially Islam, must change in the 21st century or risk being lost while the rest of the world progresses.
LikeLike
You’re obviously an anti-Muslim troll. If you really were a Muslim, you would neither have a girlfriend, support homosexuality, or call for “reforming Islam” to suit Western cultural norms to “fit in.”
You’re an extremist in ever sense of the word. Islam will not be changed because you’re a liberal inferiority complex suffering looser.
LikeLike
Unimpressed, your saudi nonsense is the cancer eating the ummah from within
LikeLike
Calling me names doesn’t change the fact the trend that most younger Muslims don’t pray, that they are beginning to drank, date, and are becoming more accepting of sexuality. By your standards the vast majority of muslims in the west aren’t muslims. Wahhabis like you are hypocritical because they profess to follow the Sunnah yet don’t allow their husband to beat them lightly, take another wife, or have concubines. Would you seriously be fine with your husband doing any of these? Why not? This is the example of the prophet and the Sunnah you wish to emulate
LikeLike
“NoMoreExtremism,” your “response” makes no sense. It shows how utterly immature, stupid and clueless you are. You have no honor or dignity(that’s why you have a gf). So much easier to do zina and homosexual filth and call your self a “good Muzlim.” All you liberal pseudo-Muslim loosers respond with same “wahabi”(which I’m happily NOT) label as if that validates your fitna. One trick ponys compensating for your minority status and identity crisis by worshiping white secular culture as the norm and rejecting any part of Islam what isn’t compatible with it. Pathetic and sad. You neither know or live Islam. I bet you’ve never read the Quran in its entirety or studied the Seerah of the Prophet(saw) seriously. Your comments on wife beating and concubines are proof of your religious illiteracy.
And don’t project your haram acts on the majority of Muslim youth as if that’s the norm. Everybody has their struggles and challenges but unlike you lot, Muslims don’t make excuses and justify haram acts. Islam has no need of extremists and fanatics like you, but keep foaming at the mouth with “wahabi this, Saudi that” look aid. Modern jahileeya in action.
LikeLike
LTmr, still trolling, childish munafiq? I’m not a Saudi, nor do I like the protestantization of Islam. In fact you pseudo Muslim liberals and them have a lot in common: mainly contempt for mainstream Islam as practiced by the vast majority of Muslims, rejection of traditional scholarship, radically misrepresenting the Quran and Sunnah etc you both even have the same masters: the US and U.K. Oh the irony!
You are a cancer and the Ummah will never succumb to your deception.
LikeLike
If the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was alive today, these liberal pseudo-Muslims would hate him and call him names like “wahabi.” These liberals are extremists, religiously illiterare and worship contemporary white western culture to compensate for their minority status and low self esteem to “fit in.” I’ve already seen one liberal “Muslim” feminist Kafira denounce Prophet Ibrahim(a.s) so nothing surprises me anymore. They are not Muslims but mulhids, murtads and munafiqeen.
The Muslims need to retake MSAs from these secular degenerate fanatics.
LikeLike
Every claim to be the one true islam of ancient times is tainted by the ideology of the people making the claim. Your wahabi nonsense is modernist in nature.
LikeLike
LTmr, doesn’t matter how many times you munafiqs repeat the same old lies over and over again. Wahabi this, Saudi that..You’re a broken record. Very ISIS like mindset, clueless and ignorant of Islam. Your western post modernist nonsense is intellectually bankrupt and will never be accepted by Muslims. Islam has no need of fanatics and extremists like you.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on InLovingHer and commented:
I think everyone ought to have a look at this. I have run into this at my own MSA, or at least, the beginnings of it. Myself being an LGBT individual who has come to accept my feelings as a test granted by Allah, applaud this Muslim sister for standing up and speaking. These are hard times to hold onto the Haqq of Islam, a time where “holding onto our Imaan will be like holding onto a hot piece of coal”! Hmm.. now where have I heard this before? Ah, yes, the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Do not forget the value of true Islamic studies and genuine scholarly opinion. Do not let the shadow of “feminism”, “Gender and women’s studies”, and philosophy courses blind you from truth and lose your way. May Allah protect us all, ameen.
LikeLike
May Allah protect you from yourself, because the brothers and sisters you think will defend you if you suffer enough for who you are never will. Liberal muslims will.
LikeLike
Again, you are quick to judge and generalize. I actually have many friends that were open to hearing me and responded with supportive and encouraging words. They did not push me away or treat me any differently. An MSA is not only meant to provide friendship and support, but do it in a way that is true to Islam’s teachings. It is not a political platform for reform nor is there space for negotiation or compromise when it comes to core Islamic principles. It is not our place to feel entitled in changing those principles. If we do not understand something, it is not a lacking in Islam, but a lacking in ourselves and neglect to pursue that understanding through the proper means.
LikeLike
LTmr, you “liberal Muslims” aka pseudo Muslims will do nothing but lie, misrepresent Islam, and try to mislead Muslims. You will fail just like secular fanatics in the past inshallah. Name amount of your infantile “Saudi Wahabi” name calling will change that.
LikeLike
Asalamu Aliakum sister,
Well said! May Allah(swt) make it easy for you and the rest of the Ummah in these difficult times.
LikeLike
Also, I do not need any Muslim’s protection, “liberal” or otherwise. I do, in fact, only need Allah’s protection. And trusting in Allah has kept me content and at peace, despite the trials I face.
LikeLike
Trusting Allah may help but trusting men like unimpressed will only leave you dead.
LikeLike
Quite frankly nobody cares how good at self-sacrifice you are, least of all the men whose social positions requires them to sacrifice nothing in their claims of being the most devout.
LikeLike
Your hatred of men(a result of your western feminist brainwashing) has rendered you utterly stupid and incapable of rational discussion.
LikeLike
I like men actually.
If anything, wahhabi men hate men, as they believe all men are savage beasts.
LikeLike
LTmr, nah you hate any man who isn’t a emasculated sissy who doesn’t share your feminist mental illness. Now you’re down to infantile trolling. Sad
LikeLike
Korang semua diam
LikeLike
Lady, you’re not oppressed because your MSA brothers and sisters aren’t bigots like you. You’re the donkey here.
LikeLike
LTmr, demented, sexist, bigoted feminist donkeys like you are not our “brothers” and “sisters.” We are Muslims, not low self esteem loosers with a severe inferiority complex who worship white western “culture”(whatever that is this week) to compensate for your minority status like you.
You really should seek professional help as your rabid posts scream mental illness.
LikeLike
Internalized oppression is a twisted concept, depending on your ideological slant you could argue that women in the west are oppressed because of how their spiritual purity is being tainted and compromised by the lure of sexuality under the guise of liberation. On the other hand you could argue that self flagellation and self relegating to a secondary position behind men is internalized oppression. There really is no good way to argue against either position because the epistemological position inherently requires you to doubt the veracity of the subjects reflection on their condition.
That being said any sort of objective assessment seems to suggest that you have much more choice in the matter in the west than in the east. Even if the MSA is intolerant of your regressive attitudes, you have alternatives and the real pragmatic costs are minimal. Contrast this to many Muslim countries where ideological dissent is legally prosecutable.
As an aside, the spread of Islam was a form of master-slave relation that is echoed in colonialism. In fact the inversion of previously cherished religious and social practices was very much so within the DNA of the rise of Islam during the Prophets time. It is disingenous intellectually to deny the very robust history of cultural negation and destruction that occured during that time and the time following.
LikeLike
Verbose pseudo-intellectualism at work.
LikeLike
I hope liberal Muslims will win. Conservative Muslims are hypocrites. They demand equal rights yet are quick to discriminate against homosexuals, atheists, liberal Muslims, other sects and even the “kuffar”. Using colonialism as a justification for furthering their own intolerance. Using victims of anti Muslim bigotry and Western imperialism for their own selfish, intolerant, supremacy agenda.
LikeLike
If the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was alive today, these liberal pseudo-Muslims would hate him and call him names like “wahabi.” These liberals are extremists, religiously illiterare and worship contemporary white western culture to compensate for their minority status and low self esteem to “fit in.” I’ve already seen one liberal “Muslim” feminist Kafira denounce Prophet Ibrahim(a.s) so nothing surprises me anymore. They are not Muslims but mulhids, murtads and munafiqeen.
The Muslims need to retake MSAs from these secular degenerate fanatics.
LikeLike
Wishful thinking from An Islamophobe masquerading as a Muslim. Your tired and failed talking points belong in the looney bin of FOX news, hypocrite.
LikeLike
“Hypocrite” says the one who whines about being oppressed while desiring nothing less than a world run like the kingdom of Saudi Arabia where everyone else is oppressed.
LikeLike
LTmr, your Mental illness is showing again I have nothing to do with the despicable American Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I’ve made that perfectly clear but you keep repeating like a broken record. I guess an anti-Muslim West worshipping hypocrite and a liar like you have nothing else to throw. Keep screaming Saudi and wahabi like deranged parrot…
LikeLike
You, my friend, have endurance. Wafaqak Allah
LikeLike
Well, doubting is human; thinking and having only certainties leads to disaster. Certainly the human being has an obligation that Allah has given him: to study, to understand, to know. No one on Earth (no one!) has a passport to Heaven, but we must conquer this gift. Ask, inform yourself; we are close to you. Here I’m! Do not blame others if not before yourself. God bless you.
#mashallah_book
https://mashallah-book.com/
LikeLike
It’s always good to keep asking questions. Like the Russians did when they were searching for the monotheism that fit their believes. https://lordsofthedrinks.com/2017/12/12/how-the-love-for-drinking-drove-the-kievan-rus-to-christianity/
Cheers,
Micky
LikeLike
Assalam Alaikum .
Sadly it has become if our situation but hopefully with us realising and implementing our prophet’s way of life then all ends well inshaaAllah .
Nice content really eye-opening .
LikeLike
I’ve found that Western feminists are often obsessed with their own ideologies that they feel they have the right to criticise small things in religions and cultures as giant sexist issues. Like praying in the back or front? Who cares.
Their parentalism and Western supremacy has made them assholes in thinking they have the right to dictate what the real issues in Islam are and who really is oppressed. And this is a form of Western colonisation which has never ended well.
So hang in their sis. And show these colonisers what the real issues are.
LikeLike
(Some “arguments” could help you, like it had help myself and… are useful thoughts to reflect and stop the Ummah “victimism”!)
LikeLike
I always tear up when I hear similar stories.
It’s sad to live in times when Islam becomes stranger, but in such times, good tidings for the strangers.
May God keep you on the straight path, and give you and the _people you love_ peace and happiness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful words Mussab;
Islam it and should be not strange indeed: it’s the human’s misery (and ignorance) to push Islam in a corner, so, we must study, talk each others and with withinh the times we are living.
#mashallah_book is the Twitter search or, just read here above my last post.
Thanks do-do much! God bless you.
LikeLike
An important conversation to be had.
LikeLike
A very notable example of Western, more particularly, Zionist, Neo-Con indoctrination of Muslims is the aversion of some Muslims living in the West towards Islamic duties. One such is female circumcision which they often confuse with FGM though these are quite different things and have different effects. Islamic female circumcision involves the removal of only the clitoral prepuce which is like the foreskin in males. It facilitates genital hygiene and actually increases sexual pleasure in women rather than curbing it. An analysis of the ahadith certainly favours the view that it ought to be obligatory as held by Imam Shafi, Ibn Taymiyyah, Sheikh Jaddul Haqq and many others: https://asiffhussein.com/2015/04/02/female-circumcision-the-hidden-truth/
LikeLike
“….the removal of only the clitoral prepuce which is like the foreskin in males. It facilitates genital hygiene and actually increases sexual pleasure in women rather than curbing it. (…)”
The Word of God, Allahu (Quranic) is valid above EVERY human word. Always.
If there is no trace of such practice in the Holy Qur’an, then no one should feel obliged to be God’s vicar on Earth.
IF I’m wrong and instead there is a precise verse about it, correct me.
God knows and knows better.
Year 2018.
LikeLike