My Islamic experiences in New York City

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My Islamic experiences in New York City (Part I)

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I have been here in this city for over a decade now. So, I have a good idea of how people are here and how things work. New York City is one of those places where you'll see a homeless man singing over the top of his lungs in a crowded subway and everyone will act like as if he doesn't exist. Yeah, that's normal here. For me, this is one of the good things about New York. The fact that you can do almost whatever you please - put on the weirdest clothes ever made, eat the oddest looking food that you wish, speak any language regardless of how strange it might sound to others, and the list goes on. In the end, as long as you're not directly bothering anyone, many New Yorkers won't even blink at you.

Now, what does this mean for me as a Muslim? Well, firstly, it means we have the freedom to dress in shalwar kameez and thobe (or hijab, for sisters) in public and no one will look at you as if you just landed from Mars. I have heard of stories in other, less diverse, areas of the country, where wearing Islamic clothing can get you mean and dirty looks from the local residents. Here, however, Alhamdulillah, majority of the people are accepting of different cultures, nationalities, and religions. After all, New York City is one of the biggest cities in the world, so it definitely has its perks.

Having the freedom to be able to adhere to our Islamic and cultural ways so openly, a lot of Muslims have developed an identity here throughout the past several decades. There are many areas of the city throughout the five boroughs which are famously known to be populated by Muslims hailing from the Arabian peninsula, the Subcontinent (Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh) and Africa. So, another of my interesting experiences is being able to get the diverse taste of Muslim cultures from so many corners of the world, all in one city.

We have restaurants serving food from different corners of the Muslim world in very close proximity. So, you can try out authentic Somali canjeero, delicious Turkish shawarma, or tasty biryani from Pakistan, all without having to travel halfway across the globe. Oh, and, let's not forget about the Halal Carts and their famous white sauce!

The fact that you get to see your brothers and sisters in Islam from places you'd never even hear about if it wasn't for you being in New York, it instills a sense of unity in me. Even though we are from different places, we all have one thing that unites us all - la ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah (There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). This is the unity of this Ummah that goes above race, color, ethnicity, nations, social status, professions, etc.

And, we truly get to witness the unity in places like masjids, during Islamic events, and in MSAs at colleges and universities. A Yemeni, a Pakistani, a Bengali, a Ghanaian standing next to each other and making sujood to One God, sitting together and sharing stories and jokes, or just going out to eat, these are the Islamic experiences we would not be able to enjoy in our home countries. Alhamdulillah for Islam!

It's clear that New York City has its benefits for us Muslims living here. However, unfortunately, it isn't always as pleasant and peaceful as we'd like it to be. Why do I say that? Find out in Part II.

Experience submitted by Brother Anonymous

Posted 30th May by DaBash

My Islamic experiences in New York City (Part II)

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Part I of this experience can be found here.

So, what did I mean when I said things aren't always as pleasant and peaceful here in New York City for us Muslims? I talked about several advantages of living in this city in Part I of this series and all of those are well deserved in their places. However, what might not be readily visible to outsiders are things that us Muslims go through here and there which reveals the fact that even a decade after 9/11, there are still many misconceptions about Islam amongst people. The hysteria is still present, unfortunately.

Like almost anywhere in the world, you'll find ignorant people here, as well. What's worse is that the law enforcement plays a fair amount of role in causing problems for Muslims. Of course, they don't want to admit that. From time to time, they will target the Muslim communities, whether that's through sending spies in MSAs and masjids, looking for "hot" words like jihad, profiling ordinary people, or simply because you're a Muslim, so they're applying "precautions."

Another thing, and as unrealistic and crazy as this might sound, there are actually open organizations out there that are clearly aiming to negatively target Islamic teachings and defame our religion. There have been many attempts in the past by certain group who advertise Qur'anic verses or Islamic concepts in public places like subway, train and bus stations. Obviously, these people lack proper understanding of Islam, as these Qur'anic verses are taken out of context to malign this beautiful and peaceful religion and increase misconceptions about Islam.

Some other issues for Muslims living here are, in my view, lack of quality Islamic educational institutions for the future generations, lack of Islamic organizations to support the Muslim communities, and even things like the way people dress, especially in the summer, can be a source of problem for us.

I suppose, big cities come with their problems. It's impossible to expect a worry-free place in the West for Muslim. Though, a question we all must ask ourselves is, what are our intentions in living here and what are we doing for the betterment of others?

Experiences submitted by Brother Anonymous

Posted 6th June by DaBash