I'm a Muslim. Ask me anything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you gone on Hajj? If not, when are you going to go? Is there some sort of "penalty" if you die before you have gone to Mecca?

Yes, I have undergone the Hajj. There is no penalty if you don't go but if you can afford you are supposed to make an effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, do you really have to cut off your hair as part of the Hajj?

a symbolic snippet will suffice. some men might shave their hair but its not required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why do you light skinned muslims think that dark skinned people are not humans?

Can't speak for all. The Mosque I attend is very diverse with Indians, Pakistanis, Middle-Easterners and Europeans. I myself am not light skinned.

My Islamic School in Bethesda is wonderfully diverse. I have Africans, African Americans, Pakistanis, Egyptians, White Americans and Central Asians attending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you wear a head cover? Are you required to wear one to sleep? If you were forced to be in a room with others, eg a large room with cots because of an emergency evacuations, would you be allowed to go to sleep because there are men who are not in your family in the same room?

Hijab, or the head covering is only used in front of men who are not your "mahram." Your mahram is your father, brother, husband, son, son-in-law, grandson, nephew. You do not wear a hijab to sleep. You could definitely fall asleep in another room. For example when I did the Hajj 15 years ago, it was extremely tiring and there are points in Makkah where you are so overcome by fatigue that you literally place a small mat on the side of the road and fall asleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you allowed to take birth control? Can your husband have vasectomy?

yes, birth control is allowed and my BIL had a vasectomy in Pakistan after my SIL had her third c-section.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Islam impose a higher moral standard for how you treat other Muslims than for how you treat non-Muslims?

Not OP but Another Muslim poster: nope- a person is a person.

My grad school friend's roommate wouldn't shake my hand because as a non-believer I was unclean. I thought there were special tax rules and protected statuses for People of the Book vs. atheists and polytheists, too?

was he a man and are you a woman? the muslim man probably didn't shake your hand because of the separation and respect for the other sex. i'm a liberal american muslim and most muslim men won't run up to kiss or hug me even if they are very liberal. they usually allow the woman to dictate how much she would like to engage in her salutations (hand shake, kiss, hug).

[Anonymous]

What happens if there are no men in your family--for example they are killed in an accident or in a war? Does the eldest maternal relative become the head of the household?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a non-Muslim buy meat from a Halal grocery store/market? Will the employees look at a female oddly if she goes to shop there? Would race matter?

Non Muslims come into the Halal grocery stores all the time. Don't be afraid. The meat is very good and you can usually find great stuff from around the world.

[Anonymous]

I haven't read the whole thread so please excuse me if my question has already been stated. What I'm wondering is why aren't moderate Muslims more outspoken about what Islam is and isn't? It's obvious many Americans need to be better informed about Islam. Why don't we hear louder voices from the Islamic intellectual elite speaking out against radical Muslims and jihadists? Why don't we hear more level headed and educated Muslims speaking out against terrorism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do Muslims keep marrying and breeding with their first cousins? Then this happens again in the next generation. The gene pool gets pretty small after that. Doesn't this do something to the mentality and brains of the offspring?

yes its pretty normal to know of people marrying their first or second cousin. this is not because it is encouraged in Islam but more the tribal nature of the cultures that it has spread in.

there are no apparent gene issues such as the BRAC1 breast cancer gene in the Jewish community but i'll give you a personal example in my own family. my first cousins are married to each other and their third child does have a hearing problem and there is no such problem apparent in our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the whole thread so please excuse me if my question has already been stated. What I'm wondering is why aren't moderate Muslims more outspoken about what Islam is and isn't? It's obvious many Americans need to be better informed about Islam. Why don't we hear louder voices from the Islamic intellectual elite speaking out against radical Muslims and jihadists? Why don't we hear more level headed and educated Muslims speaking out against terrorism?

Honestly, because the mainstream American media doesn't want to show it b/c the majority of the country doesn't want to believe Muslims can be entirely boring members of American society who fully stand up for and support American values.

terrorism and scary brown people have more shock value. its galvanizing.

and depressing to me to have to explain that i'm as american as apple pie. and the way i worship does not make me a terrorist. sigh

[Anonymous]

PP again: my relative (trying not to out myself by saying which relative) is actually a writer and speaker and well versed on america's dependency on foreign oil and what that's doing to the US - so, I would say he's a member of the intellectual elite - speaks on CNN and BBC about oil all the time. never asked to comment on Islam, even though he'd probably be a great person to do so - educated, smart, people are familiar with him from his other stuff. when he does try to interject the association between oil-terror-whatever and how american muslims stand against it, he's routinely cut off.

[Anonymous]

Are you allowed to give blood or receive blood transfusions? Become an organ donor or receive stem cell transplants?

[Anonymous]

Haven't read the whole thread, so this may have already been addressed, but why don't more moderate Muslims speak out against militant jihad and radical, violent, and misogynist manifestations of their religion? Is is that they are scared?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're female, do you go to the beach? What do you wear?

spandex top and spandex leggings.

really?

Aren't you hot?

long leggings?