That’s me in the Corner Losing My Religion

The thudding noise of my dad’s fist against the mahogany door awakes me for a start of new day. No excitement comes to my mind because the same random routine follows. The routine starts out with grooming; in which I dishevel my hair in such a way that it stays in place like one of those Emo Punk Rockers. Everyone competes for the self-aggrandizing moment where one can hold his or her own over a pointless conversation. The truth is we look for attention and acceptance. By disheveling my hair and cleaning my newly bought Converses I gain acceptance in the social world. With all my efforts in the social arena I forget about religion.

Starting out everyone can conceive there is God. Scientifically and philosophically in the West it has been accepted that there has to be an unknown initiator known as God. Charles Darwin the famous philosopher who brought about the concept of evolution also conceived to the notion that god existed. Rene Descartes spends little time on proving there is God, he goes more directly into the idea what values and religion suits him. I was born into a relatively practicing Islamic family. My choice of religion was determined when close friend of my fathers whispered the Shahada (the intention to believe in the prophet and god) into my ear when I was born. Religion from then onwards was combination of cultural integration and selective practice.

My Islam is combination selective practice and cultural theory. My grandmother for instance the other day preached to me that the Koran says that if I shake my legs it means I am giving Satan a ride. This type of belief is part of the Pakistani culture that my parents have endowed on me. In the West, my parents are considered as conservative but I call them cultural theorists meaning they theorize cultural beliefs. There is a lot of theory in our religion. For instance the current debate is the so-called “extremist parties” who want to use the socialist government to rise to power and then implement their theoretical interpretation of the Koran. It’s sort of ironic that they use the same system to get into power. The other day, my close acquaintance, was talking about how he wanted to learn more about Islam so he can argue with his atheist friend. So I went on to ask him why he went to Jummah and Eid. He responded with a smile “because everyone else in Pakistan does.” Overall, we tend to practice rituals rather than the philosophy or the logic behind the religion. My upbringing in the religion therefore has been cultured with theories, which aren’t necessarily correct.

The other issue in the religion is the selective practice of Islam. A couple months ago, Robert Fisk talked about the impact of the West. In his article, he goes on to say, “I was very struck some years ago when the son of a Lebanese friend of mine went off to study for three years at a university in the south of England…and the student would usually meet me in a pub in Bloomsbury. He would invariably turn up with a girl and would drink several beers before setting off to her flat for the night”. This is quite common amongst educated Muslims. We tend to look at Islam through the Western eyes. We feel the need to Westernize to be accepted. In essence, this blocks the overall value of the religion that preaches some of the most progressive concepts. Consequently, we are left with a religion that has no meaning to us in our capitalist lifestyle.

The talk about modernizing Islam has been going on for centuries. We prolong any chances of modernization by the lack of interest to read and learn from the top scholars. Our interests are instead focused on Westernization. Inevitably this practice traps us in the jails of society such as egoism, materialism and so on. By perfecting our English accents we are given a higher rank in the Western society. Our clothes are bought from the so-called “in” brands like Abercrombie or Diesel. This only makes us more of a slave to the capitalist dogma created by society. As I stand in front the mirror trying to self -medicate my social anxieties, I shall remember that’s me in the mirror losing my religion.


Bibliography:
Rober t Fisk: The dangerous dichotomy between some Muslims and the society around them. July 23,2005. Independent.

AboutDarwin.com http://www.aboutdarwin.com/darwin/WhoWas.html