We need to OPEN UP!!

I was chatting with a close friend yesterday and casually asked her how she had made Christianity her religion. She was not a born Christian and her answer got me thinking. She stated that it was her friends in Secondary school who had taught her about the religion and she was influenced to be part of that religion.

That response set me to asking how many of our Muslim convert friends had done so because they had been convinced of its beauty by other friends when they were teenagers. Many whom I know did so cos of marriage and a portion of that does not even really believe in the religion, half holding on to their own belief systems.

The other thing I was wondering is how many of our teenage friends were so strong in their beliefs in Islam that they wanted to spread the word and get others to see the beauty of the religion. Uhm.. I didn't know of any... not when I was in school. Well we were all practising Muslims but I supposed the spirit of wanting to share the religion with others was not there. At most, we would just correct misconceptions that our fellow classmates may have of Islam. Even the concept of halal and non-halal food can already create rifts between us and our non-Muslim friends. I remembered how at a class barbeque, the halal chicken was ostracised to the floor to be separated from the non-halal chicken as the non Muslim friends feared that we had prayed to the chicken!!

I think that the other problem was also the tendency for many of my Muslim schoolmates to stick to themselves. In my University days, I felt strongly the non-acceptance by my Muslim coursemates. I was not part of the tudung group and neither was I part of the wild-group. I was not wearing the tudung then and somehow those who do didn't seem to want to welcome me into the group and I was a fellow Muslim. If I who was a Muslim was already feeling so ostracised by this group, what more others who were non-Muslim? They somehow created an aura of untouchability around them and I knew many non-muslims viewed them with a certain wariness and had been asked many a times "Why do they dress like that?" and mind you sometimes it was not with a tone of curiosity. Their style of clothing also didn't help sometimes especially when they wore drab colours and walked with their head down, towards classes and out, mixing only with their own kind.

This stood out in stark contrast to Christian friends who somehow went around befriending others wanting to "spread the message of love" as they would put it, not that I liked it when they came on too strongly but it does allow for greater understanding by ithers on the religion.

I think all these somehow added up to Islam being viewed with a certain mysticism. People don't understand the religion cos the people practising it does not try to make sure that others understand it but instead create barriers from allowing others into their team. I do think we need to open up more. As much as we may not be out to convert others but to help others understand the religion much better and open up ourselves as religion for people to admire rather than loath and view with cynicism. This must all start from the schools level.