The Muslim Next Door

I recently read an excerpt from a book called the Muslim Next Door and believe me, I did not expect to be so sucked in as easily as I was.

The small few pages that I read had to do with how people from the West have viewed Muslims throughout the years since the terrorist attack on 9/11. And let me be the first to say I have no qualms with people of other religions and respect those that are of a religious faith. Well, more than me at least.

The author, Sumbul Ali-Karamali stresses how people of the Western world can never truly follow or understand the Qur'ran because it has to be studied in Arabic, which is its native language. That did not offend me in any way. It just made me realize that we have done wrong by translating our Bible so that everyone can read it for themselves back in the old days. It's come to the point where we have millions of translations and therefore millions of ways to interpret the Bible. Although there is no definite translation for the Bible, other than the native tongue it was written in Hebrew, thousands of people still plan to read it for their own enjoyment and of course, to try and shove their beliefs down another soul's throat.

I have lost count on how many people have tried to pick an argument with me over religion, and demanding me to explain why my beliefs are better than theirs. I had a friend in high school (while I was talking about my Catholic religion because Lent was coming up) get into a heated argument with me about how the Virgin Mary was anything but a Virgin. It's not the fact that she was offending my religion that offended me. It was the fact that she was wanting to pick a fight with me over the topic of religion.

The reason I don't like fighting over certain topics like religion is simply this: I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN. I have my beliefs and you have yours. Simply respecting my beliefs the way that I am respecting yours should not stop us from being friends.

That was also a problem for the author of the Muslim Next Door, among other things. And I understand that some people are very religious, that it is all they think about and even sleep with a Bible next to their bed stand. I however, do not. And just because I am not a "Jesus Freak" doesn't make me a bad person. God is still close to my heart, and I give praise when I feel like it. That doesn't give anyone a right to brand me as a sinner.

But now I am getting further away from the topic that I was intending to write about. To return to the excerpt, I loved how Karamali was explaining how daft and dumb we Americans have become, further showing off our jack-assery on 60 minutes and picking and choosing certain verses from the Qur'ran to begin a feud with Islam and the West.

For those that don't know, the Qur'ran is anything but a topic of warfare. It is a topic of peace and forgiveness. But many people overlook that with the constant blaring of warfare brought on by the news as they are glued to the television in their living room. If you don't believe me read it for yourself and see. Don't just take a person's word for it, although I will admit Karamali's argument was flawless enough to convince me, or I should say, her examples of the Qur'ran convinced me.