I'm constantly surrounded by temptation. Images, videos, music, even food and drink that seem to pull me in a direction opposite from the one I should be heading in.
And it's harder than most people think. My parents grew up in a country where being faithful was easy enough. You were surrounded by muslims, you were taught religion in school, the call to prayer to everyone in the country.
Islam is not merely a religion, it's a way of life, they tell me. It's hard. It controls every aspect of your life. Music is a sin. Pork is sinful. Alcohol is sinful. Immodesty is sinful. Backtalk is sinful. Gossip is sinful.
It tells me the clothing I can and can't wear. There are so many things I can't do. So many limitations I must abide by, or else I'll go to hell.
Don't get me wrong, though, I like my religion.
Once you get passed all the superficial, surface stuff, it's a religion that corresponds with science and it's a religion that makes sense. One thing I really appreciate and admire is the fact that it holds you accountable for all your sins, and does not give the power of redemption to anybody but yourself and to God.
People always ask if we look to Jesus as our savior. We believe in Jesus, and acknowledge that he was a prophet and a messenger sent by God, but we don't see him as divine or any less human than you or I. They then proceed to ask if we believe in Mohamed (PBUH) as our divine savior. I then have to explain that Mohamed is nothing more than a prophet and a messenger who received the word from God and spread the message of Islam.
That message says that you must believe in and worship God. That you are not held accountable for anybody's sins except for your own.
We don't believe that all people are born sinners. We believe that everyone is born completely pure at heart, and every sin that is committed counts against you. But you can ask for forgiveness easily enough. All that you need for redemption is honest remorse and a genuine attitude. We don't believe that any Priest, pope, imam, or rabbi can relieve you of your sins or grant you entrance to heaven or save you from hell.
It's all up to you.
That's what I like. The fact that you are completely and 100% in control of your life.
I believe in God. I believe that there's an afterlife, I just don't believe that it can be simply divided into black and white. Heaven or hell. Life's not like that. Between every aspect of good and bad there are thousands of shades of gray that must be taken into account.
I can't comprehend how you can fall under one of two categories. That you can either be good and righteous or evil and damned.
I feel like one's afterlife should be some sort of rehab. One's personal guide and plan to becoming the most perfect person that they can be, and then everything after that should be some sort of meditation.
These are just my personal ideas about religion. I respect anyone who does whatever they can to be a good person.
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