World Hijab Day

Muslim women wear hijab because they feel it pleases God/Allah, Christians(and other religions) are allowed to do things we feel pleases God, they should be allowed to in peace as well.

So, I went to the store alone wearing this(I tried to find the loosest clothing I had). I always say hi to a dozen random people(give or take a couple, haha) and give compliments every time I go out somewhere. It’s rare that I don’t get a “hello” back and this time only 1 out of 10 people replied with a greeting of any sort, the others turned away and said nothing. No, I’m not saying it was because I was wearing hijab, it most definitely could have been a coincidence, maybe I only said hello to extremely shy people today.  Haha.

I was walking along the front of the store after grabbing the few things I needed and it just so happened that the only open register that was empty was with a Middle-Eastern guy donning a beaming smile, LOL!  I was thinking, “Oh gosh, what if he says something to me in Arabic or another language I don’t understand, I’ll feel bad.”  Sure enough he greets me with “Assalaam Alaikum” in which my reply is supposed to be “Wa Alaikum assalaam” if you don’t want to be rude, but I knew I couldn’t pronounce it, I’m only familiar with a few phrases typed & familiar with when they’re said. LOL! SO, I replied, “Um, I, er, I’m not Muslim.” He just continued to stare at me as he was putting my groceries in bags. I elaborated, “Today is World Hijab Day and I’m supporting my friends. Many people see hijab as oppression & it’s a part of religious freedom.” Then he got all excited and agreed saying that if you choose it, it’s freedom.

He started talking about his Islamic background, his homeland, and how he is now a Pagan. Then he paused and said(even though I made it clear a moment ago, LOL), “So, how long have you been a convert?” I replied trying not to laugh, “Um, I’m not a convert, I’m not Muslim, I’m a Pentecostal Christian supporting my Muslim friends.” He looked a bit curious and confused and I continued to briefly talk about how I’m an admin to a Facebook group called “Children of Adam” and our goal is to have all religions come together in peace and understanding and to assist in eliminating stereotypes that the media likes to feed us.” He seemed very pleased once again, beaming. I swear it was like the sun was behind his teeth. LOL!  So yea, that was my experience today.  🙂

Here is a close-up photo of me & my Catholic friend who is also supporting World Hijab Day today.  

Understanding possible reasons for some seemingly hateful Christians

“The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What troubles me & is difficult to admit for me since I believe in God is that from experience, the majority of people I come across who are filled with the most hate(seemingly) are people who call themselves Christians. It’s ironic & we need to fix it.  There could be many reasons why so much hate is in the atmosphere of my community & it’s not entirely the average individual Christian’s fault.  The media does a bang-up job in propelling negative stereotypes & being a major influence of what disunites humanity as a whole.

When it comes to mending something so crucial, or mending a mass, it’s always best to mend from the inside out.  If we don’t sincerely dig deep enough within ourselves, we’ll just continue recreating low-quality shells of ourselves.  We can be solid, intricately put together from nail, to frame, to roof, to plumbing, to furnishings.  We need this.  We ARE society.  Every single one of us is what’s wrong with society, just to varying degrees of error.  We don’t have to be Christian, Jewish, Atheist, or Muslim to do so, renewing the world through this.  Though, since my experience with a very large quantity of fellow Christians is how this post began, let’s analyze the possibilities of why my experience/opinion could have some solid truth to it.

The unique pressure.   Well, each of us are nowhere near perfect & we all have to deal with many sorts of pressures, but maybe the pressures on a Christian can be of a larger mass in certain aspects & not the sort of pressure non-believers or people with some other beliefs can really relate to which can weigh down the pressure even further.  We’ve all heard the cut & dry, “If you don’t accept God & Jesus into your heart, you will burn for all eternity.”.   I realize this can really give us Christians the overall feeling of doom, needing to perfect every facet of ourselves, & rushing to help save the souls of the ones we deeply care for by teaching the love of God.  Not many people in this world outside of certain communities have to fret about such an immense concept & the idea can really get to your head if you don’t approach things the right way & find peace through God.  This can lead to it all completely backfiring, causing chaos within us & emanating it into the atmosphere we share with everybody else.

Blurring the line between walking down a Godly path & acting exactly like God.  There is a difference between submersing yourself in a Godly atmosphere & then partaking in actions & thoughts that only God has a right to.  Yes, I’m speaking of being judgmental or condemning others.  It’s perfectly fine to notice a wrong in someone, a sin, & then steering away from it & praying for the person.  Heck, you can even walk right up to the person & explain why you are so uncomfortable, but be prepared if they are not ready to hear it & want nothing to do with what you believe or present to them.  This is where I notice many of us Christians not being able to let that go.  Sometimes we push & push(sometimes ending in frustration & name-calling) so much that they’re even more turned off by the idea of God & the Christian community than they were before you even started the conversation, or should I say CONVERTsation?  Haha.  😉  This is okay in one perspective, afterall, we’re just having great intentions & spreading God’s word, correct?  That’s not the problem though & this fact only nourishes the self instead of others.  The problem is the APPROACH itself, nothing more.

From what I recall of the Bible, when Jesus spread the word, he was very mild, approachable, humble, loving, peaceful, & understanding.  I often do not see a single one of these traits while a believer & non-believer are clashing in a conversation.  I’m sure God & Jesus also knew/know when a person is not ready to accept.  We are often told this all the time in church with receiving the gift of tongues for example, “You just have to be ready, it’s okay that you’re not ready yet, you will be ready soon.”.  Maybe we need to keep that in mind more when dealing with non-believers?

We’re so passionately devoted that we gush & overflow sometimes.   This is another example of a good thing & a no-so-good thing.  Being this way inspires ourselves & empowers ourselves.  In short, it makes us happy feeling God’s presence, being so thankful toward Him, & wanting the world to know how great He is.  Not only does this make US feel invigorated, but also those who relate to us in that way.  Imagine that you’re a teenage boy & have a best gal pal whose family is culturally-unique compared to what you’re used to & throws a big vivacious party for your gal pal all because she started her monthly for the first time & she wants you to come, of course.  Not only does her family celebrate her womanhood with such gaiety, they overdo it with all sorts of quirky games that have a theme loosely relating to her, um, event.  As a boy, you don’t really care about what is happening because in your mind this will never happen to you, it has nothing to do with you, it’s practically foreign.  You’re also an adolescent which in my point is representing the youth, the naivety, the seed that hasn’t sprouted.  The non-believer being the teenage boy, the believer being the teenage girl.

In other words, we can be very overwhelming which automatically turns certain people off obviously.  If that isn’t enough, if & when we witness someone commit a sin for the hundredth time while rolling around in their elation, we can end up projecting ourselves onto that person, as if they should fully know better.  When I say we’re “so passionately devoted”, I mean that we experience such great results in having a close relationship with God & doing things that make our Father happy, that when someone near us commits what we see as an atrocity, we can feel as if that person is in some way raining on our parade with their spit.  We are so used to our ways & know fully how good it can be, that we can see others as merely passing up the most amazing opportunity of their lives without even flinching, which can lead to some impulsive explosions from us.

Ok, so this information is nothing new for a lot of people.  My point here was simply to have this as a reminder for us all & having you guys see it through the tint of my lens specifically.  All of this just comes down to tolerance & working even harder at setting ourselves aside to let God take care of the details that are meant for Him alone.  Tolerance & love need to be more than just Band-Aids for us.  We as a human race(not just Christians) need to let tolerance & love mend us from the inside out till we are completely renewed.  With the help of God & our willingness to receive, absolutely anything is possible.  If you would like me to clear something up(maybe I worded something in an odd way that offended you or confused you), add to this post, or go further into detail with me with specific verses from the Bible, just type away in the comment section!   Thank you for letting me waste your time!  🙂