Is there such a thing as being Moderate?

Just the other day I read Marie Claire (the UK version) and there was an interview with this lady who is a British Citizen but have origins from Pakistan and her fears of Islam being viewed as a violent religion. Both her parents have moved to Britain before she was born and had raised her in an English environment. She therefore went to English schools, mixed with English students and you get the drift. What made me raise an eyebrow in surprise was the fact that she termed herself a "moderate" Muslim. Her reason for calling herself a "moderate" Muslim? She occasionally drinks wine and does not pray five times a day.

I may not know the religion very well, but I know that drinking is strictly prohibited in Islam. Regardless of whether it is an occasional thing or not. How can she then call herself a Muslim if she does the very thing that her religion forbids?Is there such a thing as being a "moderate" Muslim? I think it is quite clear cut, you are either a Muslim or you are not. (though in Malaysia you are not allowed to convert out of the religion) Just as if you believe in Life after Death or Reincarnation, one cannot term himself a Christian. (I may be wrong on this, so I stand corrected). To me, you either stick to the religion's core values or you dont profess to practising the religion.

This article had suddenly made me understand why the Muslim world is so angry and in the words of our PM, humiliated. These so called Muslims in other countries have somehow forgotten the essence of being Muslim, yet they go around and call themselves Muslims. I can understand why the Muslim world thinks the Western World is "corrupting" their religion and making the Muslims living there think that its ok to drink wine and indulge in "sins" prohibited by Islam if essentially, you still believe there is an Allah. I would be angry too if one were to call himself a Buddhist monk living in a temple but who is not vegetarian and gets married.

I myself find it frustrating to see Malay girls in tudung but then with clothes so tight you can see the shape of her buttocks and the exact(!) size of her thighs. It does defeat the purpose of wearing a tudung isnt it? The whole point is to "tutup aurat" and by having clothes which are short sleeved and very tight, doesnt that defeat the purpose? Girls like these mock the tudung-ed Muslim women who don it for the right reasons. If you do not understand the true reason for wearing the tudung, then dont. Do not make a mockery of those who wear it.

Essentially, I can see the beauty of Islam having been in a college where I was exposed to it, and I can also see how fanaticism can develop due to frustration and disappointment with the way the religion has developed in other countries(and even in Malaysia). Of course there is NO justification for the violence advocated by some andI think these violence and hate can be eradicated if one were to start from within. If we can all understand a religion, the reasons for practising it, the reasons why it prohibits some things and how one can practise it, then we call ourselves a Muslim, Buddhist, Christian...etc etc. One cannot call oneself as practising a religion if you were merely born into it and you do not understand it.

Essentially what is being done is quite frankly, an attack on its own people, as they themselves have succumbed to the pressures of being a so called "moderate" Muslim and surviving in a Western country. So is it wrong for them to react that way? No violence is justified, but can we understand their frustrations and disappointment? If only we take the time to understand it instead of spending time labelling everything they do as terrorism and shooting them down. And if only the Muslim world can understand that the Western world is not guilty of all these "corruption" of religion, then perhaps we can end the unnecessary violence in the world today.

Some of you may think, good gawd!This woman is a hypocrite! She says one thing one day and she says another the next. But essentially, we are better people if we take time to grow and understand. As I expose myself to more things, I can learn to be less judgmental (I hold the Crown for being judgmental!Hands down no competition I have been told) and more understanding. So for those who think I am racist from reading my blogs, I truly apologise. I am but a student in life. I am learning everyday and I make mistakes just like everyone else. However if things are unjustified and wrong, you can trust me to point it out here!