Muslim and Race Identity

When you hang out with your non-Muslims friends, sometimes you must be wondering what do they think about you. In your stylish Lebanese hijab style wrapping your head, hiding your black coloured hair or you've just coloured it with your favourite colour, purple cause there's no discipline teacher gonna do a spot check anymore!

I've asked a friend once, what does he think? He said I'm trapped!

Well, that's one good example.

After reading 2 chapters of Islam in Britain by Nabil Matar, I've came to one humble conclusion (pardon me it is wrong).

Sometimes, people like to judge a religion based on race. The best example is being a Muslim.
If in Malaysia, for the eyes of fellows non-Muslim Malaysian , they conclude that being a Muslim means adapting the Malay culture and lifestyle.

Globally, people may think that being a Muslim means being Arab.

But during the Elizabethan (1558–1603) and Jacobean era (1603–1625), being a Turk was being a Muslim. Conversion to Islam was conversion to Turk. The culture ,dressing, names , and many more.

Muslim=Turk (1558-1685)

Labeling Islam with Turk because of the superiority of the Ottoman Empire during the era. In Malaysia since Malay Muslim is the dominant Muslim race in our country, so people assumed being Malay is being Muslim. For the Arabs as you all know, Islam was born in Arab country, the "national language" for Islam is Arab.

I guess, that's all for now. Who knows maybe later, being Muslim is being Indonesian since they have the biggest share of Muslim population in the world.

Till,then...

My two penny worth shares.

Excuse my English,

Marina