Hi, I'm a Muslim and I'm ashamed of my religion.
I try to hide my faith and I'm embarrassed of my tradition.
I try to blend in so I don't cause any suspicion.
If this sounds familiar,
you might want to give this a listen.
Dear Muslims of the internet,
if I could kindly request that we stop trying to be cool
and relevant and start trying to be people of actual benefit.
If we can stop trying to fit in and start trying to stand out,
I mean we were never meant to blend in and I assure you we were never meant to just go along with the crowd.
You see, being different is exactly what being a Muslim is all about.
As the Prophet, ﷺ said,
"Glad tidings to those who are strange"
But unfortunately today, when it comes to our faith,
most of us are ashamed.
We try to hide our identities and even change our names,
which is funny, since those on falsehood aren't hiding at all,
they're in full public display, walking proudly down the streets,
even waving flags in parades and I'm not taking any shots nor am I here to complain.
I'm just saying, it's about time things start to change.
We should be proud to be different and embrace the fact that we're not the same.
I mean for instance, we should never be embarrassed to say,
"Hey, I'm a Muslim and I follow the religion of Islam,
I don't smoke, don't drink and I don't go to clubs and dance
and I actually believe that marriage should only ever be between a woman and a man
and I'm sorry, sister, I can't really shake your hand,
I hope it doesn't offend you, I hope you understand because I'm just being me
and in all honesty this is who I really am and I don't plan on ever giving this up"
See, I'm a Muslim and Allah told us,
"We are the best of nations"
Brought force for the people, we command the good and we forbid the evil
and we believe in God with no partners nor any equals.
So why should I be ashamed?
I mean we're the kind of people who are kind to people
and treat others like we like to be treated and we have Allah as the friend,
the protector and the supporter of the believers and we have Muhammad, ﷺ the best of all leaders.
So I honestly don't understand why we would ever feel defeated.
I mean why do we feel the need to always leave our faith neglected
or that we need to give up our ways in order to be accepted
or we need to rearrange and reform our faith so we can some way have it corrected,
failing to realize that you can never improve something
that Allah has already perfected.
And yes, I get it, some of us do feel disconnected
and it does get hard, we might slip and fall,
then at times we might feel far and this is normal for sure.
I mean it's why we were taught to make the dua.
"O, Turner of hearts, keep my heart steadfast"
So don't worry and be calm
and keep yourself connected to the righteous, the pious and above all the houses of Allah.
And if you still feel disengaged
or you just feel out of place
or if you came and you were turned away for your looks or your past mistakes, it's fine, it's okay.
Just keep trying, keep praying and at the end of the day
no matter what happens, never lose your faith.
Never be ashamed.