Never be ashamed to be Muslim
This is a newly released powerful spoken word piece titled “Ashamed to be Muslim”, from the Talk Islam team at OnePath Network. The video is a response to Muslims who go about their daily lives in the constant fear of people finding out their true faith and those that are always embarrassed by their religion, finding it difficult to be true to their religious views and principles. The piece aims to not only inspire Muslims to once more be proud of their faith and embracing the fact that they are different, but it also aims to bring hope and light to those that are struggling to hold onto their faith in such difficult times. The lyrics are as follows: “Hi, I’m a Muslim and I’m ashamed of my religion I try to hide my faith and I’m embarrassed by my tradition I try to blend in so I don’t cause any suspicion” If this sounds familiar, you might want to give this a listen. Dear Muslims, of the internet If I could kindly request that we stop trying to be cool and relevant and start trying to be people of actual benefit If we could stop trying to fit in, and start trying to stand out. I mean we were never meant to blend in And I assure you, we were never meant to just go along with the crowd. You see being different, is exactly what being Muslim is about.As the Prophet ﷺ said فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ “Glad tidings to those who are strange”.But unfortunately, today when it comes to our faith, most of us are ashamed We try to hide our identity and even change our names Which is funny, because those on falsehood aren’t hiding at all, they’re in full public display Walking proudly down the street, even waving flags in parades And I’m not taking any shots, nor am I here to complain All I’m saying is it’s about time things start to change We should be proud to be different, and embrace the fact we’re not the same. You see, for instance, we should never be embarrassed to say: “Hey, I’m a Muslim and I follow the religion of Islam, I don’t smoke, don’t drink, and I don’t go to clubs and dance And I actually believe that marriage should only ever be between a woman and a man And I’m sorry sister but I can’t really shake your hand I hope it doesn’t offend you, I sure hope you understand Coz I’m just being me, in all honesty, this is just who I really am” And I don’t plan on ever giving this up
See, I’m a Muslim, and Allah has told us:We enjoin the good and we forbid the evil and we believe in Allah, without any partners nor any equals. So why should I be ashamed? We’re the kind of people who are kind to people, and we treat others like we like to be treated I mean, we have Allah, as the supporter, the friend and the protector of the believers And we have Muhammadﷺ, the best of all leaders. So I honestly don’t understand why we should ever feel defeated I mean, why do we always feel the need to leave our faith neglected Like we need to give up our ways in order to be accepted. Or that we need to go rearrange and reform our faith, so we can somehow have it corrected Failing to realise, we can never improve something that Allah has already perfected. And look I get it, some of us do feel disconnected, and it does get hard. We might slip and fall and at times we might feel far And this is normal for sure, I mean it’s why we were taught to make the Du’aaكُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ
We’re the best of nations, brought forth for the people
So don’t worry, just be calm, and keep yourself connected to the pious, the righteous and above all the Houses of Allah. And if you still feel disengaged, Or if you just feel out of place Or if you came and you were turned away, For your looks or your past mistakes It’s fine, it’s okay, just keep trying, keep praying And at the end of the day, no matter what happens, never lose your faith. Never be ashamed.يَا مُقَلِّب الْقُلُوب ثَبِّتْ قَلْبـِي عَلَى دِينك
“Oh turner of the hearts, keep our hearts steadfast”.