Are Good Muslim Men Still Around?

Good post Ummtaaha..

as you say, all kinds of people everywhere. Good we have a variety for the different types of people.

In my view Fatima, your chance to meet pious people from traditional muslim lands has been small, thus your observation is from statistically a small set of people.

I have seen muslims here from so many middle eastern, indian subcontinet, and south east asian countries.

We have Japanese sisters who are married to Pakistani, Egyptian,and Jordanian brothers, and they are practicing muslimas, then we have american "girl friends" of some muslim brothers.

We see people with all shades and levels of adherence to Islam. My general observation is most of the Bangladeshis here have a kind of moderate attachment to the deen. As for pakistanis, there are people who have beard, pyjamas above ankles, and others who would even wear a tie. There have been brothers from pakistan who would begin their day with the recitation of one complete juz of the quran, while others who may not be praying regularly except the jumua. .. So we cannot generalise as to what the case may be in Pakistan. It could be that the public coming to the west is more casual with their deen, however in the country itself things must be different.

Times are changing very fast in India and pakistan. Thanks to the media blitz and cable networks for an entire catalogue of TV channels. It is almost impossible to talk people into dumping the idiot box, but it is doing more harm than good in any part of the world. However, it is again pakistan that has a 24 hour islamic channel on their TV - The Q-TV of Pakistan claims to be the only channel running round the clock presenting programs on deen alone. Its quality is really alhamdullillah.  - I dont know about the TV in Saudia.

The contrast in choices of people is such that there are muslim reverts who have moved out of the west (to traditional muslim lands), because they think the temptation in their home countries is large, and chances for one to fall in fitna are greater. Then on the other hand we can find people from so many muslim countries wanting to move to Canada, Australia, US and Europe. It could be more likely that the people who are moving out and those who are moving in to US are different.

If you care to visit Jordan or Syria or Yemen, you will find the general public more traditionally islamic than in the US. I can name islamic scholars from US and Canada, who have chosen to live in these countries.

So, sis, sometimes our view of facts can be telescopic, not allowing us to see the entire canvas  

It is great that many reverts have serious adherence to Islam. Alhamdulillah, and allahu akbar to that!

However you don't have to go too far to find reverts (from US) who challenge Islam with all kinds of bizzare ideas - we have seen many on Islamicity discussion boards itself.

fatima wrote: Bismillah irrahman irrahim Assalamu alaikum I dont know why but i have different view about this, i think practising brothers in west are more knowledgeable mashaAllah. In islamic countries people are taught religious matters and it does come as second nature to them but most of times there is no awareness about true purpose behind those acts. No disrespect to any brother in islamic country but im talking about majority of times. In west you have to learn the deen and implement it and it requires alot of struggle because there are so many attractions to go stray. So you keep on your toes all the time, you are mindfull and alhamdulillah its beautifull. I saw a brother giving some coins to a lady on counter to pay for something and it was beautifull seeing him try to avoid touching her hand. So alhamdulillah there are good muslims around wassalam

I do not understand the background behind your opinion.

I have lived in the east and the west for considerable periods of time. I feel that there are some qualities in people that are not restricted by nationality, race, culture, upbringing, or other factors. These qualities are being moral vs being immoral, having a sense of responsibility vs not having the sense of such, the list goes on. The level of religiosity is one of the factors.

I cannot judge or even venture to guess if some people in a particular place are more or less Islamic than the others.

You are moved by seeing a man trying not to touch the hand of a lady. Well, in some countries, it is the norm to be very deferent towards women. In Saudi Arabia, if there is a woman in the elevator, a man will not enter it. For exchange of money, there is not hand to hand exchange, the money is placed on the counter or put in the bag with other purchases. Most men turn their gaze after the first glance. When I moved here, I was surprised to see that even when you ask someone a question, they look at the floor or someplace else while they answer you. This is the everyday occurrences with normal people. There are many who are more practicing and I imagine how they conduct themselves. However as with all places, there are some that are not practicing as you will find in any other place too.

You are also saying that in the west there are more attractions? Except in Saudi Arabia, no other Islamic country has enforced the black abaya or headcovering for women. In many traditional cultures, there is a segregation of sexes at a very early age. Because of Satellite TV and the Internet there is hardly any gap in the entertainment section between the east and west.

But can you imagine a man who has not been in close contact or even in the same room with a woman other than his mother/sister/aunt. And a man who has interacted with women( though it may be in a very courteous and halal way) The first man is more susceptible to shaitan than the one who has been desensitized because he has lived this way and grown out of it�.I hope I am able to convey what I think.

You have been careful to use the word �mostly� and �majority of times� and even said �no offence� but really your statement is biased and it reflects a �holier than thou� attitude.

I see that you are a moderator and this makes it even more disappointing.

Najamsahar