Morning with a muslim family

Another weekend goes by as the end of 2006 draws nearer and nearer. I don't know about you, but this year has gone by really fast, it seems like only yesterday I was doing night-shifts in mid-January and here I am, nearly in December, relaxing between surgeries, typing a blog! A lot has changed during the year.

My wife visited the Indian Embassy last Friday to get a visa for our holiday to India in mid-December. Talk about an exercise in futility! You have to arrive between the hours of 8.30am and midday to collect a ticket and then return at 2pm to get inside the embassy. My wife arrived early hoping to avoid a queue, but by 1.30pm the queue was huge and she had to wait outside in the cold for ages. Eventually, after getting inside she was issued a further ticket and made to wait over 2 hours to submit the documents for the visa.

She wasn't granted the visa. She had to see the Public Relations Officer (PRO) because under occupation she had written graduate. When they asked her what job she did, she said she didn't because she had recently qualified and was looking for a job. Because of this they wanted proof of employment from me. It wasn't sufficient that it said I'm a doctor on my marriage certificate; they needed a letter from my employers. By the time she left it was 5pm, she had spent the entire day at the Embassy and didn't even get the visa!

The PRO was completely up himself, what an idiot! If I was unemployed, would that mean we wouldn't be allowed to visit India? Why the hell do they need proof of employment from me? Now my wife has to go back and queue yet again in the morning to get the ticket for the afternoon. She's been told that she won't need to queue again in the afternoon, but even after showing the proof of employment, it'll take 1-2 weeks for the visa to come through! It is so frustrating!

Switching to a much nicer topic, it was my wife's birthday over the weekend. Her family and mine got together and went out for dinner to celebrate. I ordered a cake from Patisserie Valerie in Kensington and had to collect it on Saturday afternoon. It was a chocolate, strawberry & banana gateau and was absolutely delicious. I somehow managed to finish the video of our trip to Pakistan despite Pinnacle continuing to crash but then got delayed in converting the film to DVD and was unable to show it. Such a waste of effort. Ironically, I managed to burn it to DVD five minutes after everyone had left at 1am!

At last I have a topic to discuss, no surprises it centers on Islam and Muslims. In fact today's topic is inspired from this morning's drive to work. 5Live breakfast was broadcasting from Altrincham, Cheshire. Nicky Campbell had taken up residence in a Muslim household to "experience what life is like for British Muslims." The idea came about following a debate on the show a few weeks ago with someone named Anjem Choudary, an Islamic extremist who basically condemned all Muslims living in the West for not upholding Shariah law. Dr Khalid Anis invited the BBC to spend some time with his family to view what moderate Islam is all about, something that has received very little coverage by the media who are only too keen to focus on the radical/extreme Muslims who do not represent the majority. So to coincide with Islamic Awareness Week, this morning's show came live from the Anis household.

A quick side issue, I've always hated the term moderate Muslim. What does a moderate Muslim mean? For me, it's either Muslim or non-Muslim, none of this 'moderate' business. There is a need to define the extremist and radical Muslims who take certain views outside the rules of Islam, but to call the rest of the Muslims as 'moderate' is a put down in my view. Am I a moderate Muslim? To some I am, but to others certain things I might do maybe termed as extreme. For example, take the debate regarding the hijab; soon it'll no longer be the moderate Muslim woman who wears hijab but the extremist. Using the term 'moderate' allows the definition to be changed as and when it suits the media and hence influence the general public, and I don't like it at all! It is not moderation to follow the religion of Islam, but it can be extreme to take it too far and perform acts which are condemned in Islam.

Anyway, for the hour that I listened during my drive to work I heard the Anis family discuss various issues presented by the Nicky Campbell. I don't really like Campbell. He goes on about trying to be impartial with all his questions and how he doesn't have an opinion, but you can tell by the tone in his voice what he really feels. He asked about the hijab and why Muslims wear it. He said with such indignation about how it's purely to prevent the lustful gaze of men and therefore surely should be seen as an insult to men. Dr. Anis' wife explained the reasons why Islam prescribes women to wear hijab and also clarified that there is no requirement to wear the nikab, but is something that is done by certain women for their own personal reasons. She explained the need for women AND men to dress and act modestly, and how the hijab is an indication of respect for women in Islam.

She also condemned Jack Straw for starting the debate about the nikab, because she felt, and rightly so, that it wasn't for a politician to comment, especially when it seemed as if it was only done with a hidden agenda. Similar to what I have stated in my blog last month, there was no coverage of any attempts made by Mr. Straw to discuss the issue; just a statement about how women shouldn't wear it and that was extremely inappropriate behaviour.

Campbell then went on to ask about homosexuality and why Islam condemns it so vociferously. Dr. Anis clearly explained that it is viewed as a wrong act and something that must be avoided at all costs. Campbell rather insultingly then claimed that God created homosexuals and that one the reasons homosexuals use is that it is in their genes. Dr. Anis denied the claim and explained that it is the result of nurture not nature and it can be changed. He then went on to argue that paedophiles or murderers could use the same excuse, so why condemn them and not homosexuals? Campbell completely avoided the issue by feigning offence to the attempt to bracket homosexuals with paedophiles and murderers.

Homosexuality is totally forbidden in Islam, but Dr. Anis also explained that they should not be treated differently as a result. Something I find difficult to do, but try nonetheless. Those Muslims who act differently to homosexuals should not be commended for their behaviour and it is the wrong thing to do. Only God can judge them. I've read reports which suggest their could be a genetic association with homosexuality, but there are also genes associated with anger, hate, violent behaviour, depression etc, and these qualities can be helped by nurturing, so why can't homosexuality? It's a weak excuse to use.

The last point discussed, before I reached work, was why Muslims pray 5 times a day, surely it's too much to ask? Why can't Muslims be more fluid like Christians and pray as and when they feel like. I was disappointed with the response to this question. Dr. Anis merely argued it's down to each individual and something that is required of all Muslims. There was no further elaboration. I've explained in a previous blog the blessing of prayer and the opportunities it provides and needless to say it is the command of God and something many Muslims follow and something we should be proud about.

On a humorous side note, Campbell also invited the local Imam to have a chat. Prior to that he had mentioned Dr. Anis’ DVD collection and how whether the Imam would approve with films like Harry Potter and Spiderman in his collection. The Imam then stated that he owned the Harry Potter collection himself. Although quite amusing, it was disturbing to hear Campbell feel the need to highlight such issues, as if it's not normal for muslims to enjoy films or other activities for that matter.

All in all I thought it was a useful exercise conducted by 5Live. I didn't like some of the questioning, especially the tone of the questions, because it was obvious what Campbell's agenda was, but overall I felt the Anis family gave a good account for themselves and hopefully the listening public's views of Islam might have changed for the better, although it's would need a lot more coverage of similar topics to reinforce such a change!

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?