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Imaan
09-06-2009, 06:26 PM
:sl:

What the hardest thing 4 you as a muslim living in a non muslim country? Please tell me which country u come from also. Also nowadays living in most muslim countries is also a problem, so those from Islamic countries are welcome to give their opinion.
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ieshia
09-06-2009, 08:37 PM
I haven't faced any problems at all. Living in the United States gives me more freedom than almost any other Muslim country(if not all). I can practice my religion freely and do as i please. I am given more opportunities and respect from everyone.
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S_87
09-06-2009, 08:57 PM
:sl:

well in the UK i think Alhumdulillah there are muslim communities and there is a lot of freedom to practice..of course there is also bad which one can easily get caught up with but Alhumdulillah a lot of good too.
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Amanda
09-07-2009, 09:38 AM
Assalamu alaikum,

This may sound odd, but I feel more comfortable as a revert in Canada than I do living in Indonesia. Even though there are more Muslims here, and it's easier to find halal food, etc. whenever I go into a 'Muslim' shop or something I attract a lot of attention (admittedly, being white I tend to attract a lot of attention anywhere in the smaller villages). But in Canada, there is so much more diversity that I just blend in. I feel more 'normal' as a revert in Canada and less of a spectacle, if that makes sense.
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ahmed_indian
09-07-2009, 09:44 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Amanda
Assalamu alaikum,

This may sound odd, but I feel more comfortable as a revert in Canada than I do living in Indonesia. Even though there are more Muslims here, and it's easier to find halal food, etc. whenever I go into a 'Muslim' shop or something I attract a lot of attention (admittedly, being white I tend to attract a lot of attention anywhere in the smaller villages). But in Canada, there is so much more diversity that I just blend in. I feel more 'normal' as a revert in Canada and less of a spectacle, if that makes sense.
try wearing niqab sister!
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Imaan
09-07-2009, 12:20 PM
Yeah I guess nowdays livin in a Muslim country is more complicated. Alhumdullilah, here in South Africa we don't really have problems, the men are free to dress how they like, also the woman can wear hijaab.

No problems with religion, only here the Muslims and Jews always clash! :D:D:D:D:D
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Duhaa786M
09-07-2009, 12:28 PM
I'm also in South Africa imaan, I have to say its a totally free country in every way.
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Woodrow
09-07-2009, 05:28 PM
Currently I live in a very rural isolated part of the USA. The only problems I face are difficulty in finding halal food and the distances I need to travel to find any Masjids. Also the lack of Muslim neighbors. The nearest Muslims to me are about 200 miles away and that is only 4 or 5 of them.

But, on the plus side I get very little interference except that caused by the weaher. During the winter Months we are pretty well confined to staying in the house for up to several weeks at a time. I only been through one Dakota winter and hear this was a mild one.

There is no problem with any type of prejudice and the people are friendly, but curious about us. The people here all dress modestly and there are no things like nightclubs, bars etc any place close. No rampant use of alcohol, show of sexuality or immodest dressing. Although if outside the house during most of the year it is virtually impossible to pray properly. I found out you can not do wudu when the temperature is 40 degrees below zero and you can not prostrate in prayer in 5 feet of snow.
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_PakistaN_
09-07-2009, 07:25 PM
Canada, umm well I guess people here are really friendly compared to the states. Very helpful people I would say. In Toronto here, we have a muslim community, so pretty much most people don't really care too much about others religion and also since its multicultural. Aside from that, from my point of view as a teenager. I would say most of these schools and colleges are quite corrupt. Drinking, smoking, sexuality acts. Well, yeah, don't go with the flow and you're good :D
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cat eyes
09-08-2009, 02:05 AM
i am very happy living in Europe Alhamdulilah i can study full or part time if i wish! i can work! i can go 2 masjid. I have loads of time 2 worship Allah swt freely! And learn new things about islam. I can wear my hijab freely. Nobody forces me and no body oppresses me! Its easy for me 2 also speak freely about my religion with others. They give me alot of respect! I am very thankful to Allah swt
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Ramadhan
09-08-2009, 03:44 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by ahmed_indian
try wearing niqab sister!
She would even attract more attention if she wears niqab in Indonesia. when they choose to wear dress according to sharia, most indonesian women wear hijab. extremely few wear niqab.
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جوري
09-08-2009, 04:27 AM
I have lived in Saudi Arabia, Africa, Europe, Asia & the U.S.. would really like to try the far east and Japan, maybe visit Australia but not to live just for a nice vacation to recover from my years of hard work and studies ..
People are the same the world over, I don't really think there is much difference it is just about where you feel comfortable.. Home is where the heart is and I take it with me everywhere :D

:w:
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aamirsaab
09-08-2009, 02:35 PM
:sl:
I don't actually find it difficult to lead an Islamic life in the UK. Sure there are pubs (which you simply just don't go into - it's not like they are hard to miss!) and haram foods (that you can also avoid just as easily and purchase halaal equivalents) and alcoholics (that fortunately don't live on my street!) but actually practicing islam isn't that difficult; we have prayer facilities (purchased and funded by muslims); halaal butchers and foodstores and a fairly large muslim community that actually acts as a community and not just a bunch of muslims huddled together in ''ghettos'' as some would have you believe.

Perhaps that's just a leicester thing but at least from my own experience, islamically speaking, life in UK is pretty dang good. So I don't understand why some muslims in the UK complain about it.
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ژاله
09-08-2009, 02:55 PM
to Muslims living in non-muslims countries, i can understand that you can practise islam if you want to, people cant keep you from that.but dont you people feel like losing your identity? do people look down upon you or stereotype you as terrorists etc, or at least make you feel left out or something? do you really feel "home"?
just curious.
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Mohamed_
09-08-2009, 03:10 PM
I'm a convert from Hungary. The hardest things are foods, girls, less mosque.
Many Hungarian traditional food are cooked by forbidden foods, especially pork. We have a lot of pork here.
And girls are hard for men. 'Cause the girls wear very short clothes, for example: mini skirt and top... Especially in the summer time...
We don't have much mosque, we have 5 in the whole country. And the ezzen is also disabled in Hungary, if you play it on the street then the police take you.
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Woodrow
09-08-2009, 03:21 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Malaak
to Muslims living in non-muslims countries, i can understand that you can practise islam if you want to, people cant keep you from that.but dont you people feel like losing your identity? do people look down upon you or stereotype you as terrorists etc, or at least make you feel left out or something? do you really feel "home"?
just curious.
I believe a lot of that will depend on where you live. Here in the USA there are many areas that are predominately Muslim and most cities are Multi-cultural in which you will find communities of nearly any ethnic group imaginable. Just for example Los angels has the largest Iranian population outside of Iran. Dearborn Michigan is now predominately Muslim with one of the world's largest Arab populations, Austin Texas is very diverse and it is hard to say if any ethnic group can claim majority. Minneapolis Minnesota is home to a large Somali population.

It seems that nearly all Muslims who migrated to the USA have settled in only 6 States and now make up a sizable portion of those states. Muslims in the USA are generally more affluent than other Americans and are usually engaged in professional fields such as the sciences including medicine. Muslims here are often seen as being shapers and leaders of local communities.

As for us reverts I would say that most of us are accepted with no prejudice. We would probably have more problems living elsewhere.
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aamirsaab
09-08-2009, 03:22 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Malaak
to Muslims living in non-muslims countries, i can understand that you can practise islam if you want to, people cant keep you from that.but dont you people feel like losing your identity? do people look down upon you or stereotype you as terrorists etc, or at least make you feel left out or something? do you really feel "home"?
just curious.
I've never experienced any stereotyping as a terrorist (the ''paki'' comment was thrown around during secondary school, however) in the UK myself. Though, when I was in Makkah/medinah a few weeks back (for umrah), I must admit I never wanted to leave - there I truly felt home (even though I'm of pakistani origin!).
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Al Ansari
09-08-2009, 03:29 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Malaak
to Muslims living in non-muslims countries, i can understand that you can practise islam if you want to, people cant keep you from that.but dont you people feel like losing your identity? do people look down upon you or stereotype you as terrorists etc, or at least make you feel left out or something? do you really feel "home"?
just curious.
assalaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullah,

Honestly, I lived in New Jersey and alhamdulilah there were and are a lot of Muslims there and the surrounding tristate area with New York and Philadephia. There were masajid everywhere and the community was close and always holding functions.

However, I recently moved to Hawa'ii and I swear by Allaah it is type hard. There are less Muslims that you come across, of course it is humid and moderate weather all year round so less clothes are on. I mean there is a masjid (one which I know of) on the island of oahu, but it is miles away from my house.

With all the fitnah and the lack of Islaamic gatherings, you are psychologically pressured to conform and of course if you wear a thobe or a jilbab in an area where there aren't many Muslims--of course you seem and feel outta place.

I do not feel like I am losing my identity, it is when you begin to compromise and give in to the kufr that I feel one begins to lose their identity. No one can take your identity unless you submit.

WAllaahu a'lam
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Ramadhan
09-10-2009, 04:00 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by aamirsaab
I've never experienced any stereotyping as a terrorist (the ''paki'' comment was thrown around during secondary school, however) in the UK myself. Though, when I was in Makkah/medinah a few weeks back (for umrah), I must admit I never wanted to leave - there I truly felt home (even though I'm of pakistani origin!).
Brother, I also felt exactly the same way when I was there for umrah. I think this is the general feeling of any muslim who travel to makkah and madinah.
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Amanda
09-10-2009, 07:23 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by naidamar
She would even attract more attention if she wears niqab in Indonesia. when they choose to wear dress according to sharia, most indonesian women wear hijab. extremely few wear niqab.
Especially since I'm in Bali, which is predominantly Hindu, and the foreigners are mostly wearing bikinis and shorts! :hmm:
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glo
09-10-2009, 07:48 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Malaak
to Muslims living in non-muslims countries, i can understand that you can practise islam if you want to, people cant keep you from that.but dont you people feel like losing your identity?
I think that's the reason people try to stay close to 'their own kind', as far as possible.

When I look at the demographics of our town, there are pockets of people of the same ethnic origin: there is a Somali community, a couple of Pakistani ones, a Polish community, an Italian community etc.
I don't think that it is the Council who houses people in such a way (in fact, they try to do the opposite and keep housing estates diverse) - it is the people who are (understandably) actively looking to live with like-minded people.
It also makes it much easier to create facilities for the need of the community - shops, places of worship, a commonly spoken language etc.

Add-on:
I meant to add how impressed I am by the many positive impressions and experiences people have, living in non-Islamic countries. :)
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aamirsaab
09-10-2009, 09:19 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by naidamar
Brother, I also felt exactly the same way when I was there for umrah. I think this is the general feeling of any muslim who travel to makkah and madinah.
Makkah/madinah are honestly now my favourite places on this planet (well, makkah is first and madinah is second favourite :p). I honestly didn't want to return - nothing in this country comes close to matching that feeling you get after praying infront of the Kabah 5 times a day, 7 days a week, subhanallah (I am absolute serious; for those who haven't gone for umrah yet, please do). And I was actually more sad to leave Saudi to go home then when I left home to go to saudi.

Inshallah, I will go again next year.

format_quote Originally Posted by glo
....I meant to add how impressed I am by the many positive impressions and experiences people have, living in non-Islamic countries.
There's this general misconception that all muslims in the UK hate living there. In some cases that is true but not in all. If one looks objectively (and as I illustrated in my last post), it's very easy to practice Islam here.

But Makkah is still better IMO :p.
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glo
09-10-2009, 12:24 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by aamirsaab
But Makkah is still better IMO :p.
No matter how easy it is to practice Islam in the UK, it is bound to be easier still in Saudi. :)
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Aisha20
09-10-2009, 10:47 PM
Well.. in my country we dont have muslim schools (Alhamdulillah this year opened one but still for kids) thats why we cant wear hijabs n dat at school but uniform (skirts and tshirts); we dont have muslim restaurants so we get bored eating fish when going to a restaurant as well as we cant eat in fast food restaurants like McDonalds, KFC & company haha. We dont find muslim clothes so we have to ask it from India, UK or Saudi when some1 goes to hajj or umrah. And the list continues...
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zakirs
09-10-2009, 11:40 PM
we dont have muslim restaurants so we get bored eating fish when going to a restaurant as well
i have this problem too .. but Alhamdulillah India has a sizeable amount of muslims 15% ? .. so its not difficult to find one :D
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Faseeha
09-11-2009, 08:18 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Aisha20
Well.. in my country we dont have muslim schools (Alhamdulillah this year opened one but still for kids) thats why we cant wear hijabs n dat at school but uniform (skirts and tshirts); we dont have muslim restaurants so we get bored eating fish when going to a restaurant as well as we cant eat in fast food restaurants like McDonalds, KFC & company haha. We dont find muslim clothes so we have to ask it from India, UK or Saudi when some1 goes to hajj or umrah. And the list continues...
:sl:

South Africa is a non muslim country, but its the complete opposite, we have plenty of islamic schools and there are madressahs in almost every town. Our public schools also have uniforms but we are allowed to wear matching hijabs. As for halaal restaurants, almost all the frenchises in the country have halaal branches, and most supermarkets store halaal products. We also have plenty of stores which sell islamic clothing and products, so its actually quite easy to practise islam here.
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Somaiyah
09-11-2009, 09:17 PM
Salam,
I don't like living in Sweden at all. We have mosques, sure, good educations and salary and stuff like that. But when it comes to the people I haven't met many who sympatise with the Muslims in a way than to otherwise feel sorry for you that you're so oppressed or just hate you for being so brainwashed (oppress you more?). People stare, they comment loud, they spit, some are physical violent etc. No, I wouldn't say Sweden is a good non-Islamic country at all for a Muslim to live in. Just yesterday I was almost driven over by a person who saw me from far away, he just didn't feel for stopping even though I was half over the street (he was a skinhead so I believe he was more than that too). And today I heard that all Muslims should die. I love this country oh yeah.
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Rabi'ya
09-11-2009, 09:31 PM
:sl:

I live in UK. Alhamdulillah I have veryvery little trouble practising my religion here. In my city we have a great community although in other places I know it is different.

Problems you want.....hmmmm
1, used to be getting halaal meat in my mums small town in the middle of the countryside but now the supermarket stock it
2, used to be wearing full hijab in front of family and friends, but everyone is fine now.
3, I think Muslim schooling really needs addressing in our local community but if I'm desperate I could always up and leave to another city.
4, the amount of companies who are not ethical....this is not really an Islamic problem more a personal problem. I believe as a Muslim we should be very ethical about what we buy as our pence or pou nds can have significant damage on people in other countries. one by one we can make a difference.
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