Evolution of a Canadian Muslim

Imagine for a second, that you walk into a Masjid for Salah, and the people look at you with a surprised look as though you are not supposed to be there.

Imagine that you show up to an MSA event for the first time, and one of the brothers approaches you to give YOU dawah.

Imagine you are with your Muslim friends and you bump into one of their parents for the first time and are greeted with a ‘Hi’. And when you give them Salam, they think it’s cute that you tried to learn.

For me, that’s real life.

For so many years I had trouble fitting in as a Muslim in the Muslim community. I would find myself regarded as a convert, or that weird child who seemed to have a lot of Muslim friends. After a while I began to find humor in the way Muslim people acted with me before realizing I was Muslim; born and raised just like them with the values of Islam instilled at a young age- except for the fact that we didn’t look alike.

Despite the fact that I would joke about it with my friends, I often felt like an outsider. Someone who would never really fit in with the Ummah. Being a visible minority in the non-Muslim world is bad enough, but when you are treated as such within your own community, it can be close to unbearable.

I eventually came to a conclusion. I realized that if I wanted to be accepted and recognized in the Ummah I would have to also do my part. Become the undeniable CANADIAN MUSLIM. That transformation doesn’t mean that I traded in my winter boots for a pair of leather sandals, or my canada goose for a kamis (I don’t actually own a canada goose).  Rather it meant pulling up my jeans so that they sat on my waist, and growing out my beard so that instead of just being a normal thug wearing an Expos hat, I became the guy with the beard wearing an Expos hat.

I wasn’t sure these changes would make a difference, but what I knew was that I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror, and recognize myself as a Muslim, even if no one else would.

There are a lot of Muslims who throw aside the importance of the beard in Islam, without realizing that it is our gift. The Prophet saws ordered us to grow a beard so that we could be different from the others. By Allah, I never understood the wisdom of this until people began to greet me with Salam during my everyday activities. At the gym, at work, at the grocery store, walking down the street. I was even recognized as a Muslim when I walked into a Halal store 2 hours away from home.

I had wanted to be recognized as a Muslim for so long and for years I had placed the blame solely on my community, only to realize that I too had my part to play. Once I did my part, Allah put the rest in motion for me.

Little do those strangers know, that every Assalamu alaikum (Peace be unto you) touches my soul, and brings peace to my heart.

May peace be unto you and the Mercy and Blessings of Allah.

The Canadian Muslim.

Common Practice?

A: So, what happened with that sister you saw that interested you.

B: Nah, forget about her.

A: Why what happened?

B: She said her parents demand an (insert country of origin)  ******an man.

A: Wow! Well Alhamdulillah. We will all have to account for our actions one day…

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Quand les jeunes jeûnent! Positive press about Muslims

Assalamu alaikoum, I came across this on the web and I HAVE to share! Montreal Muslims Represent!! It’s not everyday that there is something positive said about us in the Quebec medias.

Ramadan Attendance Trends

Assalamu alaikoum!
Ever notice the reoccurring attendance trend during Ramadan? It looks a little something like this

You are only as great as He allows you to be!

“His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, “Be,” and it is.” 77:83

Find That Balance

“Nothing says that you can’t be Muslim and live a normal lifestyle. You simply need to remember what your focus is. Find a balance between who you are, and what you do.”

Who is that guy??

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem, Assalamu alaikoum,

I had initially planned to write this post on a different subject than the one you are about to read.  But by the grace of Allah I have found inspiration after attending Canada’s largest Islamic conferences.

Part of being a Canadian Muslim means that when I encounter people in the street the last thing they will see is a Muslim.  I will generally come across as the average stereotype of a non-Muslim westernized Canadian. I’m the type of person that is not afraid to stare back at someone giving me a demeaning look; which many Muslims initially do. Everything about my initial appearance is “unmuslim” except for the beard, and even that can often be confounded with modern style. In my society, I am an undercover Muslim.

Being an undercover Muslim however is simply the outer shell, it is what people see when they don’t know me.  My cover is blown as soon as they approach me for a conversation.  I can be one of the friendliest and nicest people you can ever meet.  Or at least I try to be.  It is a personal philosophy of mine that if I come into your life, I must absolutely improve it in some way.  Whether that may be by making you smile in that moment, being a friend to give you advice at some point later on in your life, or becoming a lifelong companion to bring joy to you as often as possible.  Above all, while I may look like a typical Canadian youth, my love for the religion of Islam is evident through my speech, my actions and my behaviors.

My close non-Muslim friends have always known that there was something different about me because of my mannerisms even before knowing I am a Muslim.  I tend not to act in the wild extravagant manner that most Canadian or even North American youth do, but somehow still manage to blend in. In fact I find their initial reactions quite humorous when they do find out that I am a Muslim.  “What you’re Muslim?!” “No way, bro you’re not Arab or Pakistani, you can’t be Muslim!”. As Muslims, we often find these comments to be extremely ignorant responses because anyone who knows the least bit about Islam would know that one of the reasons that Islam is such a beautiful religion is because it transcends all racial and cultural barriers.  Anyone can be a Muslim because the religion of Islam is in your heart and not your blood.  No one knows this fact better than North American Muslims themselves.

This is why I feel so frustrated and insulted when Muslims themselves negatively stereotype other “non-visible “ Muslims.  I can understand that there may be a contexts when one may be unable to identify another Muslim, but the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged us to assume the best of each other and make as many excuses as necessary to do so (up to 70!!).  As Muslims we are taught to avoid suspicion and that it is better for us to think good of someone and be wrong than to think evil of a person and be wrong.

Many Muslims would be tempted to argue that there are no such stereotypes but the truth is that stereotyping is an inherent part of human nature; it is what helps us survive and allows us to grow as individuals. But stereotypes are also something that we can control, and there is much more blessing for us when we try hard to control a thing that can negatively influence others around us.

How many times have we seen that white guy who hangs around Muslims and simply assumed that he was just curious but not Muslim?  Or the black guy with the baggy jeans, long-tee, and baseball cap turned backward and almost fainted when he walked into the mosque? Every one of us can relate to one such moment where we have stereotyped a person who turned out to be Muslim. The problem is not that we are surprised when we meet these people; the problem is what we had initially thought of these people before realizing that they were Muslim. The negative character that we assumed they had. We must remember, and I stress this, Islam is in the heart.

I remember hearing Yasir Qadhi say once that Islam did not present itself as a fashion revolution, or a cultural revolution. Rather it was a lifestyle change, a change in values and morals, a code of ethics.  There is no Islamic garb per say, but there is an Islamic form of modest dressing. There is no Islamic culture, but every culture has Islam.

Muslims cannot unite to combat external stereotypes if we are limited by our own internal ones.  We must unite rather than divide and most of all fully understand our own religion so that we may be able to apply it to our everyday lives, and Insha’Allah then be able to explain it to people of other religions.

I pray that Allah guides us all and unites us to create one Canadian Muslim Ummah beyond racial and cultural stereotypes.

“People, we have created you from different all male and female and have made nations and tribes so that you would recognize each other. The most honorable among you in the sight of God is the Most-Pious of you. God is All-Knowing and All-Aware.”

                                                Surah al-Hujurat (49:13)

“Assalamu alaikoum brother! Where are you from”

When Muslims ask me where I’m from I like to respond Montreal. They think I misunderstood the question. I think they misunderstood my point.