No problem.

Regarding the poster referred to... this is end product terrorist strive for. A person who is so consumed by fear they are no longer rational.

So true.

wow.. just wow

I am not sure, just passing along an email...

I am not offended either for being question, actually feeling these security ppl are doing their jobs...but there is a difference in questioning and harassed...Believe me i know the diference..LOL

Whose sweetness Bosco?

rats! I just posted a nice long post and my computer froze before it saved it...grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...and it was just perfect too...

I wanted to say...when ppl say things as this person did, they really believe what they're saying. Don't be mad at them as they can only be as informed as the media allows them to be towards Muslims. (and we all know what is protrayed on tv..we all hate it). I was once one of the un-informed and it took a lot of convincing for me to begin researching Islam to see just what the truth was. Before I met my husband and went to Jordan, I looked at all "muslim looking" ppl (as the un-informed call them) and I was afraid too. It took around a year before I really realized the difference between media and reality. Now I feel really stupid about what I thought I knew back then. REMEMBER these ppl posting such nasty things are just like that...only they don't have what we had to help us open our eyes (some of us didn't need our eyes opened..but for those of u who were like me, you understand what I mean) If it wasn't for my husband (who has the patience of Job) I would still probably be one of the "un-informed" and be none the wiser. My husband put up with a lot from me..I questioned him on a daily basis .."why did they do this, why that, this, that, katha katha katha...etc etc" he very calmly explained everything (sometimes more than once) until I understood it. He gave me reading materials, cassettes, sometimes videos...anything he could to help me learn...

I wish I had the time and money to go to each of the ppl that says these things, sit with them for an afternoon and discuss their thoughts in full. Then I would LOVE to calmly give them my side of the story so as to try to help them to have a better understanding of Islam and Muslims. It's so hard to convey ones feelings when others can only read what's being said and not hear the emotion behind it. They really just need some calm and understanding ears/shoulders to say what they need and then help them understand what's real. If they don't understand...don't judge them in a bad light.....they've spent many many years only hearing 1 thing and all ppl are skeptical about something wether it be ghosts, landing on the moon, the loch ness monster, big foot, and yes Muslims. And all this coming from a non-Muslim...maybe I should just convert now and get it over with...


I hope I haven't repeated myself too many times......I realize I'm writing a lot but there's so much I feel on this....I also hope this doesn't come off negative towards the Muslim audience here.. I hope this wasn't too confusing....

I liked your post, Amal. It helped put things into perspective a little bit.

For me though, I still think that ignorance is no excuse. Before I met my husband, I knew very little about Islam, but even then I never had the sort of thoughts that have been expressed on this thread, and I was watching the same media coverage as everyone else.

Ignorance is ignorance....I was REALLY ignorant at first....that is why I can not blame them...I also had fellow employees at my work telling me all sorts of stupid things....I didn't know what to believe...Think of it this way..they are trying to make us understand their point of view as much as we are trying to make them understand ours... They come off as so horrible because they see the subject in a negative light....It's going to seem so much worse to us than to someone who isn't muslim or hasn't done some research.. To them, they are just being honest...and remember, in typing EVERYTHING comes out more harsh than it is intended.. just my take

Maybe you're giving too much credit though where it is not due. You were open-minded enough to begin a relationship with a muslim man. Do you think a certain person on this thread would ever in a million years consider it?

that's EXACTLY what I'm trying to say.....They don't have that...if it wasn't for A LOT of persuading from a friend and the eternal patience my husband had with me, I don't know if I would have even thought about having a muslim husband... I'm not saying they're right...I'm just saying that they really think they're right just as we think we're right and they don't have the education we've had on this... No they wouldn't consider it and that's why I wish I could go to them and just have a face to face conversation on this...We can't help/change everybody but we can have patience and show them (in kindness and understanding) what it is about...even if we don't help them all..helping 1 is better than none.

Amal, I appreciate what you are saying and I respect you are open enough to say it. I am curious, before your husband when you were scared, did you also openly say negative things about Muslims? You don't have to answer and I am not asking to make you feel bad - the reason I am asking is to see how much a person can change.

I gave this lady at work some information about Islam. It was an introduction book off a trusted website to Islam. Her Immediate reaction upon starting to read it was "wow, this is totally not what we know or see on TV. I feel comfrtable reading it. It's not scary and it's so simple". Just thought I would share that.

Ok this is me being a smart azz but it's true in many cases...

It's amazing what a cute, sexy guy can do to your perspective.

Admit it ladies..it happens..not saying that this is the case with Amal cuz I don't know her but it happens.

You minx, you...

hmm... even ann cloutier had a muslim boyfriend at one point in time.

really? i find that really surprising.

yup... I heard she referred to him as "my little terrorist" hahaha

I never actually openly said negative things about Muslims but I DID go along with the crowd. If they were saying negative things, I would go along with it. I would look the other way if I saw anybody even remotely arabian/muslim looking and I felt very nervous... YES, I was scared. The only reason I didn't say anything negative openly is due to the fact that my mother taught me (very well) when I was younger that "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" and that is a rule I follow very closely. I never thought in a million years that I'd marry one ...
When I first met my husband, yeah he was cute..but I had no interest in talking to him. Since I'm a nice person, I couldn't just turn him away ... so I "allowed him" to talk to me. He told me he was Muslim and immediately, I started questioning him.. "Why do "you all" kill in the name of God" is one of the first things I asked him. That's when it started and we discussed Islam on a daily basis after that. The more I learned, the more I began to understand the truth. He told me many things, gave me many informative resources, and I researched online and in the library. I did most of my own searching because I wanted to see if what he was telling me was the truth. that's right...I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him .... As you can see, I did come a long way and I'm so glad that I did my research and learned the truth about Islam. The difference between me and some others is that I was open to learning and seeing/understanding a different view than I thought I already had figured out. Some ppl are not that open to suggestion.

i hope this doesn't change my relationships with you all...
i just answered truthfully.....

Thanks for answering Amal.

I guess I feel that if the other poster is truly scared as she says she is, she wouldn't be posting purposely antagnostic things about Muslims where Muslims can read them in a less than anonymous way.

How you felt does sound like genunine fear of the unknown to me. I think it is great you are willing to talk about it, and I think you underestimate yourself. You were open enough and curious enough to know more, regardless of whether it took prodding. You were also willing enough to not only open your mind but marry a Muslim which is a very public and open statement acknowledging your change to your coworkers/friends, etc.

btw - i flew this weekend with a thing on my head and had no problems lol

flew where?

exlax

Hmm...does that arabic guy trying to talk to you count as a problem? (joking)

yea! he annoyed the crapola out of me

you shoulda

I had to be easy on him, I think he was lebanese.

is this page still going ??? LOL

LOL we need the post boosts...LOL

Well I just came in to mention that I flew, with hijab.. and had no problems at all... not this girl no sir-ee

Ehamdullah

altho it did get fumbled around when I attempted to sleep LOL

hmmm maybe it was the creepy lady next to me

LOL not as bad as the guy that fell asleep on me on the flight to Cali...

omg.. that is suspicious activity!! hahaha

sigh... hmm.. i'm glad I got to LAX early though, there were a billion hispanic and asian people in line not knowing what they are doing lol

Having a party now!

henia, you are cracking me up w/ all these smiley/emoticons!!!

ROFL!

Wicked just wicked

Sometimes, I think that ppl posting purposely hateful things is a cry for help and understanding. If they don't speak up, how will anybody know they need help?