[Jim]

The Irony of Hijrah

By Sumayyah Meehan, MMNS

Muslims living in the West face unprecedented problems these days, whether it is the continued targeting of Muslims in the drawn out ‘War on Terror’, basic discrimination made by some non-Muslims during their daily lives, or the exponential increase in the cost of living. Muslims in the West also struggle with fulfilling the rights of Islam, like praying at work or wearing Islamic clothes like the headscarf. So, it’s not surprising that Muslims are scrimping and saving as much money as they can so that they can make hijrah, or move to an Islamic country. They do so sometimes intending this as of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s), believing also that living in a Muslim country will benefit their families and their iman.

However, this is not always the case, as many families have found out after getting on the plane and moving to the Middle East.

It is unfortunate, but all the same trials and temptations they left behind in the West exist in their newfound homelands, sometimes to a greater degree. Most countries in the Middle East mirror Western living which has saturated Islamic countries courtesy of the Internet, satellite TV, and has been imported by citizens returning home after years abroad. Other societal ills like human trafficking, prostitution, homosexuality and illicit drug use are also just as common in the Middle East as they are in the West. However, Middle Eastern governments do a much better job of hiding their ‘dirty laundry’ than their Western counterparts do.

As an American convert to Islam, I came to Kuwait almost 12 years ago. I did not make hijrah as I was still a Christian when I first came. However, I did come with the illusion that life in Kuwait would be better than it was in my own native America, which to me was full of addictions to vices and promiscuity. Initially my move to Kuwait was very refreshing. Instead of there being a bar on every corner, like there was in my hometown, there was a toy store. And families could always be seen out and about enjoying each other’s company, which was a stark contrast to what I was used to in the US, where families rarely spend time together due to hectic over-scheduling.

But over the years, things have changed drastically in Kuwait, and you have to go no further than the local newspaper to see the change. Last month alone, the police raided three brothels. Most of the female sex workers were housemaids who had come to Kuwait with the promise of a paying job only to find that their new employers withheld their pay for months on end and sometimes never paid at all. They had little choice but to sell themselves to the highest bidder or else return home where life is even more miserable, if not impossible. Illicit drugs and alcohol are also a massive problem in Kuwait. They are illegal but there is a black market for just about anything. The same holds true for other Muslim nations in the Gulf. The fallout of these social problems are the same as in the U.S. Drug crimes are becoming ever more present, and sexually transmitted diseases, like AIDS, are being detected more often. Officials with the United Nations estimate that there are currently a half million people living with AIDS in the Gulf region.

For me personally, the problems I have faced living in Kuwait have to do mostly with discrimination. I have faced it with non-Muslims living here but also with Muslims. The reason being is that I wear the face veil. The majority of women in Kuwait used to wear it but increasingly more and more women are opting to remove it in favor of wearing the latest Western fashions, like blue jeans and halter-tops, to hit the malls. In Kuwait, women have the same rights that men do. However, in the workplace, Western trends are the rule. For example, I recently heard a story about a Muslim man who had applied to work for the local airline. The manager he met with was more than happy to hire him but there was only one stipulation, he would have to shave his beard. The reason being was that it was not ‘favorable’ to have an ‘Islamic’ beard when dealing with the international clientele that comes with air travel.

So, to me, making the hijrah is ironic because in most cases the life you are leaving behind follows you straight around the World. It is a huge misconception that simply living in an Islamic nation can perfect your Islam. Islam is perfect but humans are not. There are, however, benefits to making hijrah, like being able to hear the adhan five times a day, living in close proximity to a mosque, and being able to send your children to an Islamic school, amongst other perks. But no matter where you hang your hat at the end of the day, whether in a Muslim or a non-Muslim country, the state of your iman is dependant upon your willingness to fulfill all the rights of Islam, and not so much on the environment in which you find yourself.


http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=2208

Good article.

[Jon]

Good read Jim. Thanks for that.

[Honu]

What is hijrah?

[fatima2003]

that is very good......... I agree with it 100%

[Jim]

What is hijrah?

Hijrah is when Muslims immigrate to a Muslim country for the sake of preserving their religion.

[Coexist]

Excellent article, Jim.

[Jim]

thanks yall

I think this speaks to many folks who like to say these things dont happen in Muslim countries and certainly not to the degree as in the west. Here is an eye witness. She says that even some things exist to a greater degree in Muslim countries.

I know that in Pakistan and India right now there is a huge problem with opium addiction. Also, from many Pakistanis that I know, they say child abuse is a big problem.

We are all human and capable of causing harm... it just goes to show it can happen anywhere in every culture... even ones with Islam as a dominant religion.

[jazain]

i appreciated this article jim for a few reasons. just a couple of things i wanted to add. my husband is from egypt and i see for myself there is a huge drug trafficking problem. alot of ppl smoking hash. the very ones running to pray run back home to sit on their balcony and smoke. not judging, just saying what i see. also many of the young men carrying on with the female tourists and the young girls committing temporarily to an orfi marriage to a gulf arab visitor for the summer..then the man goes back to his country and to his family leaving the young girl alone and forgetting her til the next summer.

the other thing i wanted to comment on was hijrah itself. a member of another forum was saying we should all make hijrah. ok that doesnt even make sense. islam is spreading over the entire world. whats the point of having us all piled up in one section of the world creating over population. islam would never continue to spread this way. we are everywhere now, not just in middle east or asia. and thats a testimony to islam and Allah.....that muslims from all over the world are accepting this "foreign" religion. we dont have to make hijrah, islam is coming to us!! we are growing by leaps and bounds. no need to pack up and leave!! we can practice islam wherever we live and practice sharia law in our lives and homes.

2 cents contributed.

[Jim]

i appreciated this article jim for a few reasons. just a couple of things i wanted to add. my husband is from egypt and i see for myself there is a huge drug trafficking problem. alot of ppl smoking hash. the very ones running to pray run back home to sit on their balcony and smoke. not judging, just saying what i see. also many of the young men carrying on with the female tourists and the young girls committing temporarily to an orfi marriage to a gulf arab visitor for the summer..then the man goes back to his country and to his family leaving the young girl alone and forgetting her til the next summer.

the other thing i wanted to comment on was hijrah itself. a member of another forum was saying we should all make hijrah. ok that doesnt even make sense. islam is spreading over the entire world. whats the point of having us all piled up in one section of the world creating over population. islam would never continue to spread this way. we are everywhere now, not just in middle east or asia. and thats a testimony to islam and Allah.....that muslims from all over the world are accepting this "foreign" religion. we dont have to make hijrah, islam is coming to us!! we are growing by leaps and bounds. no need to pack up and leave!! we can practice islam wherever we live and practice sharia law in our lives and homes.

2 cents contributed.

I agree Jazain There is an idealistic utopia in the minds of many Muslims, even the immigrant Muslims who have moved from their country to ours. The fact is, even "so-called" Muslim countries lack Islam. They may be "Islamlike" in their appearance but they certainly dont operate or promote Islam the way they should. You can be a good Muslim and live in the west.

Another component to this is the effect on western society and politics. There is no chance of changing the minds of westerners or our political leaders if we are not an active part of the society and political process here! Making hijra may seem like a good thing to many, but then, dont complain about US policies or mindset when they could have done something and instead chose to run off to another country.

There is a lot of work to do in the US. Poeple complain about the Jews and how they control Washington. The fact is the Jews are smart. They use the system and make it work for them. Muslims, the many I have seen, have a tendency to run away from the system and act outside of it while expecting it to cater to them. Many of us Muslims tend to apporach the process with a defeatist mindset already preadicting the outcome and confronting it with agression or indifference.

Living in a non-Muslim country is hard work, but so is living in a Muslim country. I'd say even moreso since Muslim countries are generally more repressive politically and socially.

[MagnaCarta]

What is in the West is in the East...humanity has ALWAYS had these 'vices' in it, throughout time and in every place on earth. To think that one place will not have it is to not understand the reality of human nature.

I object to a few stereotypes made about the 'West' in the article (Blue jeans and halter tops as the fashion statement of the west for instance) and the accusation that many 'innovations' are 'western influences' like the Internet and satellite TV. I would say that is part of global progress, and lack of it represents controlling the masse sby disconnecting them from the greater world at large.

Also, the assumption that in the West the Muslim is 'oppressed' with their religious needs is an exaggeration. Unless of course you are talking about cultural practices that are entwined in it, or the political practices that are a part of it...then yep, you can't make the West the East culturally. This is where Islam can't fulfill its claim to cover the earth, it is too immeshed in culture and that does not transfer from one place to another. Christianity on the other hand has no cultural identifiers and no restrictions on how to worship, such as needs for prayer. It truly is the portable religion that can fit in anywhere on earth...

Finally, I agree that you can't judge any religion by its followers, you must look at what the religion itself contains.

Seeking for external proofs that the religion is the best or the most correct is only going to lead you to the conclusion that this person has...it isn't possible. Externally the world appears to be mostly devoid of ANY solid footing with God, when you consider the list of 'vices' that we see everywhere on earth that we agree are abuses of humans upon humanity. Good thing we are told that we are NOT the judge of what is in a mans heart and soul, even if we see some stuff going on in the world, we can not know everything about anyone and are not here to clean up the world in any case for God. God is in charge of this, it is an "inside" job with humanity, and many do not even seek Him there, but they DO look outside in the world for signs of God's presence in people.

Leads to disilliusionment such as this person had when they moved to the Middle East hoping for a more perfect Utopia he could have found right in his own place in America had he been looking inward at himself.

[MagnaCarta]

Most of the female sex workers were housemaids who had come to Kuwait with the promise of a paying job only to find that their new employers withheld their pay for months on end and sometimes never paid at all.

As in...what the right hand possesses....the fruit of such a teaching perhaps when used by imperfect human beings.

[Jim]

Christianity on the other hand has no cultural identifiers and no restrictions on how to worship, such as needs for prayer. It truly is the portable religion that can fit in anywhere on earth...

This is not correct.

You are thinking of evangelical free churches here. The majority of Christians, Catholics and Protestants, have restrictions and rules of worship and cultural traditions that are specific to them.

Islam also has spread over many cultures and, like Christianity, those cultures submit (alter) cultural traditions to the faith. Some traditions are required to change and some aren't, just like in Christianity.

[MagnaCarta]

This is not correct.

You are thinking of evangelical free churches here. The majority of Christians, Catholics and Protestants, have restrictions and rules of worship and cultural traditions that are specific to them.

Islam also has spread over many cultures and, like Christianity, those cultures submit (alter) cultural traditions to the faith. Some traditions are required to change and some aren't, just like in Christianity.

No, you are incorrect. Jesus did not impose these cultural restrictions and therefore my statement is valid. Christianity itself does not require a church setting or any particular support from the society or culture of the Christian to worship God. You are discussing organizational traditions, not the teachings of the Lord, Jesus.

Do tell either way, what restrictions and rules of worship are found in these particular orgs/churches that prohibit their worshipping in any particular society. Seems to me christians are still able to properly follow Jesus in even the most oppressive and restrictive societies, ie Saudi Arabia, without any loss to the faith.

[Jim]

No, you are incorrect.

*sigh* Okay. Whatever you say Magna.

I think history and both religions tell a different story. You're just not studied up enough because this is a non-issue.

I am very familiar with the cultural effects of mission work in Christianity, as a Christian who studied missionwork in Bible College and am familiar with many cultures in Islam who have become Muslims and how it effects their cultures.

[MagnaCarta]

*sigh* Okay. Whatever you say Magna.

I think history and both religions tell a different story. You're just not studied up enough because this is a non-issue.

I am very familiar with the cultural effects of mission work in Christianity, as a Christian who studied missionwork in Bible College and am familiar with many cultures in Islam who have become Muslims and how it effects their cultures.

The point is being missed. What the culture has done with religion is not what is 'required' with regard to Worship.

If you can enlighten me as to what in culture is prohibitive of freely approaching and worshipping God as Jesus instructed us that would be more helpful than telling me I just haven't studied up enough.

Details. What are the blocks and hinderances brought by culture to following the way set forth by Jesus?

Mission work and its effect on culture is not 'cultural restrictions upon worship' which I thought was the point we were discussing.

[Jim]

The point is being missed. What the culture has done with religion is not what is 'required' with regard to Worship.

If you can enlighten me as to what in culture is prohibitive of freely approaching and worshipping God as Jesus instructed us that would be more helpful than telling me I just haven't studied up enough.

Details. What are the blocks and hinderances brought by culture to following the way set forth by Jesus?

Mission work and its effect on culture is not 'cultural restrictions upon worship' which I thought was the point we were discussing.

Magna,

You simply dont know what your talking about.

If a cannibal converts to Christianity, he cannot eat human flesh anymore. His culture changes.

If he worships his gods by sacrificing babies, then Christianity puts worship restrictions and replaces them with new ones.

Same with Islam. Christianity and Islam are the same in this regards.

[jazain]

oh my goodness, am i reading things wrong? i remember when i was catholic i had to follow so many rules of how and when to pray, when to do this and when to do that, when to stand, when to kneel, what prayer to say to what saint, what was considered sacreligious, what to do friday, stand up sit down fight fight fight!!!!

there were more guidelines to follow as a catholic than there are for me as a muslim. and islam is actually more relaxed alhamdulillah.....for me at least.

[MagnaCarta]

oh my goodness, am i reading things wrong? i remember when i was catholic i had to follow so many rules of how and when to pray, when to do this and when to do that, when to stand, when to kneel, what prayer to say to what saint, what was considered sacreligious, what to do friday, stand up sit down fight fight fight!!!!

there were more guidelines to follow as a catholic than there are for me as a muslim. and islam is actually more relaxed alhamdulillah.....for me at least.

Jesus did not order any of those rituals. So still, my statement stands. The Christian is not bound by culture in their worship of God. I can go to any nation in this world and not loose a measure of my worship freedom. It is an INTERNAL job, not one that is in need of external props and considerations to come unto the Lord. It is never lost. This is actually how it was able to survive underground before Rome adopted it, before all the rituals that you say are necessary were added.

It seems to me both of you are former Christians who followed the way of men and churches more than the path to God given through Jesus own Word and example, to discover God's presence in your very heart and soul.

I never could understand the Catholic rituals. I knew they were not taught by Jesus even as a child. But then I wasn't also aware that I didn't need church to be a follower of Jesus or to be in a personal relationship with God. I was with God from the start, not seeking Him, but as a child I was already with Him. I learned later that most are seeking God and haven't any real connection or experience with Him as a living real entity in their life that responds and moves and reveals daily in a million small ways His presence.

I have come to believe that most of humanity looks at other humans and rituals to find what they think is "God" but miss the very truth that Jesus gave...he is right inside of you, a part of you, you need to be looking inward. This is why there is no effect of time or place on the Way taught by Jesus...we carry it with us wherever we go. Jesus didn't go through elaborate rituals when he was with the people, when he worked miracles of healing. It was pure and simple. By your faith you are healed. The Kingdom of Heaven lies within us, and when you find it, you also find many greater mysteries and truths about God in the world that no human church or 'sacred text' would be able to reveal to you. As I have said before, God is so much more than is written in any ancient text...and we were given the WAY to receive this endless unfolding deeper mystery and truth. No need to be a prophet, no need to be a church member, no need for anything that men have fashioned (and books are fashioned ways of men keeping God in their pocket), Jesus didn't even tell us to write anything down because what Jesus gave is planted in the heart and passed on from generation to generation that way. It really is beyond words but we use both words and actions to express it to our friends and 'enemy' alike. And that rises way above any culture and is independent of any temporal or material matters that may pertain to the gathering of humans for worship. We worship with every thought, every breath, every moment...Jesus taught that our thoughts were equal to our actions. It begins and ends there...and our thoughts are the way home, they are not bound by anything in life.

This is why I make the statement with confidence...The Christian is not bound by any cultural need in their worshipping of God.

[Jim]

oh my goodness, am i reading things wrong? i remember when i was catholic i had to follow so many rules of how and when to pray, when to do this and when to do that, when to stand, when to kneel, what prayer to say to what saint, what was considered sacreligious, what to do friday, stand up sit down fight fight fight!!!!

there were more guidelines to follow as a catholic than there are for me as a muslim. and islam is actually more relaxed alhamdulillah.....for me at least.

I agree as having been raised in the Catholic Church myself.

[Jim]

Jesus did not order any of those rituals. So still, my statement stands.

The majority of Christians are Catholics, so you're statement doesn't hold water