What's wrong with Muslims

I called my last post What's wrong with Islam- scratch that- I should have called it What's Wrong with Muslims.

It is wrong to blame religion itself for the actions of those who profess to believe in that religion. I would not blame Christianity for anything a Christian person did so why would I do that to Islam- my own religion.

Since I returned from my trip to Egypt earlier this year, I have become increasingly more cynical and increasingly less tolerant of some of the actions of Muslims. I guess it's because in Egypt I saw how Islam was being practiced as a set of artificial practices and symbols of religiousity while the true meaning of Islam was being neglected. When I came back to Australia, I saw these same things and it angered me- the corruption of the religion, the reduction of Islam to a set of meaningless artificial practices, the value attached to these artificial symbols and practices as if they are all that is required to be a good Muslim.

So what's wrong with Muslims? For a start...

1. Stereotyping. For all their talk about how they are negatively stereotyped in the Western media (which is to some extent true), Muslims are the worst at stereotyping. To them Westerners are not just unbelievers but they are all sluts, painted jezebels, bastard sons of dead beat dads and mother whores, drug addicts and alcoholics. They all behave like the actors on Bold and Beautiful.

2. The Moral Highground. My pet hate. Can't stand the moral highground from anyone. And you know what? Muslims are soooo good at taking the moral highground. There are no sex, drugs and rock n roll in Islam- these are things that non-Muslims do. We are pure, they are not. We are moral, they are not. And God help you if you are a non-Hijabi because you are the bottom of the moral food chain. She who is "courageous" enough to hide her face behind a black shroud will take one scathing look at your bare arms and declare that you are not fit to call yourself a Muslim.

3. The Victim Mentality. Woe to the Muslims of the world for God is testing us and placing adversities like the global Israeli/ US conspiracy in our paths to test our Imam. Woe to us, we are victims, we are vulnerable to the evil West who want nothing more than to demonise us and make everybody hate us. We are only victims if we choose to believe we are and to identify with that.

4. Flocking, like sheep. News Flash people- Allah has given you a brain and the faculty to use it and the freedom of will to make your own decisions. Sooooo instead of just taking for granted anything that you hear is halal, haram, makrooh etc, use your head, your brain, your heart and the things that Allah has given you to make a logical and informed decision. Just because some mad man is telling you that statues are haram in the house, or some sister in niqab is telling you that photographs of people in your house are unIslamic- doesn't mean it's true. Research it and find out for yourselves instead of baa baaing like sheep.

5. Cultural influence. Get it right. There is culture and there is Islam. Now if your culture happens to be mysoginist and condones the beating of women then that's culture- it is not Islam. If in your culture, women wear ugly black robes then that's your culture- it is not Islam. Again- use your brains to think about this one.

I think that's enough for now. I'll think about it some more and get back to ya!