CNN Unwelcome: Muslims Next Door Soledad O'Brien

I watched this video last night that aired on CNN this previous Sunday:



I'm amazed at how optimistic the Muslims remained. Personally, things like this make me believe that the average American Muslim has a higher risk of being attacked by an American non-Muslim than vice versa.

So often we hear that Muslims are trying to change the face of America, and "they" are working to make Shariah law into everyone's law. And by golly, we all know that Shariah law is all about cutting off appendages and stoning people to death! *shakes head* There's so much more to Shariah than that. I liked that they pointed out that Shariah is more of a way of life than just a list of punishments. InshaAllah, I would like to become much more knowledgeable in Shariah so I can confidently refute comments I hear, such as, "What about XYZ thing that happened in X country that I heard on the news?" There is so much garbage on the news, it is hard to come back with the specific cultural practice of every country that has an ocean between us.

It really is about "us" and "them", isn't it? This has been the fight throughout American history, and possibly history in other countries as well. First "they" were the Native Americans, then came those pesky Italians and Irish. After that, all the Europeans could band together to hate the blacks, Japanese, and most recently the Mexicans. Dang immigrants coming to "our" country! Do we forget our past? As much as people say that people need to learn English before coming here, I am pretty certain their original ancestors to this country didn't know perfect English before settling in the mighty U.S. of A. So many were fleeing persecution or poverty. What lazy dimwits they must have been for not stopping to take an English class before leaving their country! *sigh*

Now "they" are the Muslims. As I look through history, there has never really been an easy way to settle this. There are fights for equal rights, such as we see with Martin Luther King, Jr., and some things just take time for people to warm up to. Time will tell what will happen in the coming year. I know Muslims are watching the news, and this upcoming election seems pivotal for the outcome of Muslims in America.

Islam is on trial. We know the truth, but will it set us free, in America?

Worship and worries

Shannen Espelien (@Durriyyah1982) has shared a Tweet with you:

"Durriyyah1982: When a worshipper prostrates to his Lord, his worries fall off his shoulders and remain discarded on the ground as he rises back up."
--http://twitter.com/Durriyyah1982/status/51123155946840064

What do you think?

I find this so true, but only when I really concentrate on the worship. If I'm in prayer to worship, but thinking of my worries, there is no difference in my demeanor. I know I need to hand things to Allah and let the weight off my shoulders. Some things are out of my control; and alhamdulilah they are! The thoughts of "if I would have done X" melt away.

Thoughts?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Polygamy

Oookay, I am taking a break from life and making myself sit down and think about something of importance, or relevance.

My husband and I started watching Sister Wives, and it is interesting how many discussions it brought up about polygamy. Now, understand that we have never had a knee-jerk reaction to polygamy while we have known each other, but this is something I witness from others quite often. People immediately say, "Oh, no, gross, I would NEVER!!" but it is amazing how quickly they open up a "maybe" when you start bring examples in which it would be beneficial. The hypothetical example I typically give is: What if I was injured and became paralyzed from the neck down?

So, given this example, let's think through some scenarios.

1) My husband has to take care of me 100%, whether that is paying for a home nurse, or doing the work himself; probably somewhere in between. He now has the rest of his life married to me in which I basically can hold a conversation with him. I no longer can meet his physical needs nor can I take care of him in any way. This is a one way street.
2) My husband divorces me so he can be with someone who is able to meet his needs.

I don't think either of these options really seem like a good solution to this problem. Simply, taking another wife would be beneficial for both the husband and the wife. The wife can still be taken care of by the husband financially, and he can have his physical needs met (food, care, sex, etc.) by his second wife.


This is only one example. Think further, and we can find many other examples of situations that would be beneficial to both parties. For instance if the wife is barren, the wife has a much lower sexual drive than the husband, or even if she is less "cuddly" than him, the husband wants more kids than the wife wants to have, etc.


I have heard so many people look at men who are in polygamous marriages as if they are sex fiends. Okay, so let's be blunt here... who cares if they are?!? They are acting out their desires in a committed, loving relationship! This is not some guy who is cheating on his wife, lying about his actions, etc. all to cover up this deep dark secret that *gasp* he wants to have sex! I can't count how many times I have heard wives say they want sex FAR less than their husband does. Some go as far as maybe only being intimate with their husband a dozen times a year. So let's say a guy has two wives and they both have this type of drive. He would have sex *oh my gosh!!!* 24 times a  year. Whoooooaaaaa!! He must be a maniac, right?

sigh

So let's get real. It is perfectly legal for a man to be intimate with as many women as he wants, so long as he doesn't marry them. If he wants to be committed and marry them, this is downright illegal. What a system we live in.

So, before we go on judging about how disgusting a man is to have more than one wife, let's first think about how brave, caring, generous, kind, thoughtful, and affectionate this man must be to have won over not one, but two or more women to be his life long partner.