He started the conversation talking about a Muslim “Uncle” who was rather secular and then went back home to Pakistan and came back talking about Allah this and Allah that. – seemingly hyper religious.
My Pakistani friend expressed concern about something in particular. He told me that because he is Pakistani and Christian (and in Brooklyn his community is small, and the majority of Pakistanis are Muslim that he grew up around Muslims) saying As-salaamu-alaikum (Peace and Blessings be Upon You) was like saying whassup, how ya doing – hello; normal and easy to do.
So when this particular uncle came back with his new found so-called religiosity and with some of his other newly religious uncles (older brothers) they informed him that they would no longer accept hearing the traditional blessing in the form of a greeting from him simply because he was not Muslim. WWPMD?
I mention this conversation because it led to another series of conversations that illuminated something quite troubling in regards to racism, halal, and the importance of knowing where your food comes from as well as illuminating that so-called religiosity from the outside says nothing about a persons inner state.
In the Christian tradition there is a principle of the charity and sharing of the message or sharing the good news, not everyone has to do that per say, but it is considered part of your good works. Some people make it their mission or their calling and others simply are a good example and live their lives with such good character that they call people to their faith by their example.
Islam has a similar ethic. Dawah, which means to call, to appeal, or missionary activity, or a good wish, among other meanings. For some that means specifically and actively calling people to Islam but to others the application of this principle is the same as it is with Christians - it is how your example resonates in such a way that calls people to your particular path. You example of good character can speak much louder than your words.
If you are telling people that they cannot give you greetings of peace and blessings because they are not Muslim then you are not setting a good example. In fact you are setting a very very BAD example.
That same cab driver was so hurt by this “uncle” (who was the father of his friend) because their families had broken bread many times and their kids play with one another as well. The uncle closed a door and destroyed a bridge between two families based on some absurd interpretation of his own bigotry.
Speaking of bigotry. The same Christian brother, lets call him Vic, lives in an area where he has the option of going to halal delis that are near one another. He goes to one all the time where the brother that works there has as his workers some Mexican gentlemen who do the behind the counter cutting of the meat. One day he decides to go to the other deli where the brother behind the counter tells him that he sees him going into the other deli all the time and has been wondering when he would stop byt HIS halal deli and proceeds to tell Vic that his deli is MORE halal because he cuts the meat himself… that because Vic’s usual place has Mexicans cutting the meat it is LESS halal. WHAT??!! WWPMD?
And speaking of Halal… Vic also related a story of back in
the day when the meatpacking district was still the meatpacking district and
when some of his Pakistani friends would be told to go out and get halal meat.
Instead of going to known halal meat dealer they would simply go to the
meatpacking district and come back with meat killed any old way and tell people
it was halal.
Leave it to a Pakistani who can “pass” as Muslim to call out the Muslims. A moral of the story is watch where you get your meat. If you are trying to keep Halal then you better know where the meat was killed and who killed it etc.. Do not take it for granted that Halal and zabiha mean those things but don't always operate with suspicion when you eat at a Muslim persons' home. If they tell you the meat is halal that is between them and Allah.
This leads me to the future: Green Deen Food is Clean Food for the Future.
In a little land called Green Zabiha where you know that your little chickens roam freely and eat off the land, that they are vegetarian fed and happy chickens. In Green Deen, InshAllah, I will tell you more about the alternative to racists and questionable zabiha… the everyday people making Green Zabiha happen now!
WWPMD? What Would Prophet Muhammad Do? - peace and blessings be upon him.
bb
great post! keep it up Ibrahim.
Posted by: bassam | October 06, 2009 at 02:07 PM
Hmm, I'm not sure the moral of this post is "watch where you get your meat." It sounds like the moral of this post is to "Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful expressions." Surah Nahl, Ayay 125. I hope that "uncle" didnt think he was doing Dawah by telling the young brother his Salam was no longer acceptable.
Why muslims continue to get stuck on these trivial things is beyond me. What we should be concerned about is how this young Pakistani Christian is being treated by his Muslim counterparts; or how good/bad those Mexican laborers are being treated.
That is Islam and that is WPMWD.
Posted by: Z | October 06, 2009 at 04:36 PM