A conversation with a new Muslim American girl. A new Muslim American girl born in Tucson, Arizona, USA, 26 years old, likes Asian lilies. Mrs. “Brandy Chase” who chose the name “Amina Zuhaira” after converting to Islam…
, He introduces himself as follows: “An idealistic creative Muslim woman trying to find her way to heaven. I’m like a bud waiting for the best moment to bloom magnificently and give the world my beautiful colors.” She, who now considers herself an American Muslim, is married to a Lebanese man and has a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son, and lives in the United Arab Emirates. He is a writer, poet, artist and designer as well as an active blogger. Shahadatin poured his life on the 5th of August 2001, almost a month before the September 11 incident! Read our detailed conversation with him on a spring day. In advance, we would like to thank Mrs. Maedeh Imani for her cooperation in designing the questions. The first and fundamental question! How did you become a Muslim? Well, I was born a Christian and I was a Christian until I was 14 years old. At this time, I left Christianity and became an atheist, I no longer believed in any god. But after some time, I started searching again for a religion for life. Alhamdulillah, God sent Islam to me at the age of 17. One year after I converted to Islam, I married a lovely Lebanese man, and after 7 years of marriage, we have 6-year-old Raja and 3-year-old Mustafa. Which one happened first? Becoming a Muslim or starting to write poems and stories? I have been writing poetry since I was 8 years old and I started writing short stories since I was 12 years old. When I entered high school, I started writing long stories. I became a Muslim in my last year of high school. Since then, have there been any changes in your works that you can directly relate to your conversion to Islam? Yes, of course, after I became a Muslim, many changes have happened in my writing style. Before, my characters were doing things that were conventional by American standards, but were “forbidden” in Islam. Now I have to lighten things up and decide what I need for my characters to be good or bad and still have depth to my story. For example, in romance stories, I have to make sure that if a 13-year-old teenager picks up my book and turns the pages, what he reads will be pleasant for him. Before Islam, I used to talk about life in my poems and express my hatred towards “religion” and my hatred towards “God”. Now that’s not the case anymore! Now my pleasure is to write about the beauty of “Allah” and to show others the happiness and peace of “Islam”. Tell us, when a young Muslim woman from America starts writing stories or poems, what are her works about and for whom does she write them? Most writers start writing with an image in their mind or a passage, and a story or poem grows around it. They feel this image or passage deeply and are looking for a way to share it with the world so they can feel it just as deeply. As a “Muslim” there are two ways before us. One is to write a story about any subject, mysterious, science-fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, etc. or the second option is to write an “Islamic” writing. Now there is a new type of books called “Islamic fiction” and it is really gaining popularity all over the world. Muslims who like to write stories and want to be useful for young people and adults who are inclined towards Islamic fiction and provide an opportunity for people to read books of better quality without harming their Islamic morals. After Muslims, the highest traffic of Islamic blogs belongs to Christians. Since they embrace many of the same values as Islam, they feel an affinity with what we write on our blogs. Do you know anything about the feedback of your works among fellow citizens and non-Muslim citizens? Have non-Muslims who read your works ever talk to you about them? Many non-Muslims in America and all over the world have read some of my works and expressed that these books inspired them to learn about Islam and discover new dimensions of it. My family, who are not Muslim, really enjoy reading my stories and poems and seeing my artwork and say that even though they are not Muslim, they can relate to the message in my work. Al-Afo Are there Muslim writers or poets in America whose fame is beyond the limits of local and regional media? For example, those who know them all over America? Mashallah, if not hundreds, there are dozens of Muslim writers and poets who are well known not only in America but all over the world. For example, a writer named “Yahi Amrik”, or “Jamilah Kolocotronis” or “Linda D. Delgado”, which are only a few examples, but there are many whose books are exchanged internationally. will be You can find these authors on the “Islamic Fiction Books” website. Also, I am a member of an international association called “Muslim Writers’ Union”, which seeks to raise the level of literature in the world, support writers and other artists, and also try to identify and introduce Islamic fiction as much as possible. it is interesting! The question that arises is whether the works of these people have an Islamic flavor or are they just Muslims who write like others and if you don’t read their biographies, you won’t even understand that they are Muslims? Well, if you search on the websites I introduced, you will see that there are two different interpretations of the “Muslim writer”. One type of writer who writes any type of book and they are Muslims, and another type of Muslims who write about Islam. The ones I mentioned generally write works of Islamic fiction or Islamic non-fiction. But there are hundreds of other people who are Muslim and write stories about other topics and you should definitely read their profile to find out that they are Muslim. I think that both ways of using the gift of writing are acceptable as long as you are willing to meet God in the end with the words you have written. In Iran, some believe that literature and art should serve to introduce Islam and Muslims to the world. On the other hand, some say that art is an end in itself. Which one do you agree with? I think that these two views are not necessarily opposed to each other. This is not an ‘either or’ choice. Some writers write “Dawt” for non-Muslims and use their pens in the service of Islam and also write for Muslims to use, hoping that God will reward them for it. At the same time, other writers, for whatever reason, believe that they either do not have enough knowledge or information to write about Islam or that this issue is not in their field of interest. For example, some writers who write mysteriously, only want to write about secrets, not Islamic secrets. And may God reward them for what they do. I know many writers like myself who write both ways. The point is that you write and spend time to gain skill and then write for a higher purpose for someone to use. Does the American Muslim community try to introduce itself, its ideals and characteristics to the rest of the Americans, or does it prefer to live as an isolated minority? Americans are generally kind people who are mostly honest and honest. So when they try to introduce Islam to non-Muslims, they try to do it in a way that doesn’t make them afraid or repulse them. There are large communities of Muslims all over America, and there are cities like the one I grew up in where you never come close to a single Muslim in your lifetime. Therefore, Muslims do what they can in both areas to propagate Islam in such a way as not to make people anxious. Where the number of Muslims is small, of course they try to be very close to each other as it is human nature and sometimes they can be very distant from others, but in many places Muslims in America like to share their values. share with others and often non-Muslims are receptive. In what ways? Well, for example, in big cities, there are “multi-faith” gatherings where Muslims, Christians and Jews gather together to show their unity. Many Muslims invite their neighbors or friends or colleagues or classmates to host them in their homes or in mosque programs. Other Muslims, especially women, try to show just how much they like Islam by the way they dress and behave in society. In most American cities, people only know what is fed to them through news and advertisements. If there is a controversy in the news that a person has been tortured in prison in Afghanistan or that a woman in Saudi Arabia has been denied access to her children, then people will think that the governments of the Middle East are wild and dangerous and are considered a threat to global security. You blog. Is the audience of your blog only Muslims or are you talking to the whole world? I did a survey last year about the religious beliefs of my blog visitors and the result was that about two-thirds of them are Muslim and one-third are from other religions. Most of the topics in my posts include Islamic issues, which naturally Muslims come to read more, although I try to cover a variety of topics that will appeal to anyone outside of this space who might think like I do. And of course I hope that many of them will come and see the beauty of Islam and join us, God willing. God willing! What are the rest of the Muslim bloggers doing? Do they only write to each other or do they also address non-Muslims? Yes, the majority of Muslim bloggers are looking for other Muslim bloggers to meet and talk to and share similar points of view, but overall from what I read in the world, they are very close to followers of other religions and try to To show them that it doesn’t matter where they are in the world. Muslim bloggers are human; We have human desires, needs, wishes and ambitions, just like non-Muslims! Also, because I enjoy reading Muslim Sister blogs, I created a “Muslim Blog Directory” to introduce different blogs that Muslim Sisters write to make a difference. Newly Muslim American girl, is the world listening to these words? Are Muslim blogs read by others? What are the reactions? Yes! The world is listening! In fact, the highest traffic of Islamic blogs after Muslims belongs to Christians. Since they embrace many of the same values as Islam, they feel an affinity with what we write on our blogs. The same thing is observed on the opposite side. There are many Christian blogs that I visit because their authors write about issues that I agree with and want to share and support. For example, there is a Catholic blog that I like to read, and whenever the lady writes that they want to cover their hair with a scarf when going to church, I send her encouraging messages. Of course, as Muslims, we are happy when a non-Muslim wants to wear some kind of covering for the sake of modesty. Tell us about political participation. American Muslims participate in voting and meetings? Do they support a particular party? In fact, many American Muslims are divided by political parties, just like in other countries. You see Muslim Democrats pursuing their ideals of greater tolerance towards minorities and things like that. Naturally, some Muslims are supporters of Republicans who have conservative views such as opposition to abortion. These are just some of the issues that each group has opinions about. The rest of the Muslims are completely away from politics and refuse to vote for their own reasons. But where there are people, there are opinions and ideas, and where there are Muslims, there are Muslims who are looking for ways to make their opinions heard. Have you ever felt that there is a conflict between being a Muslim and being an American? For example, if your country asks you to do something that Islam does not allow or vice versa? Okay! This is a deep question and I feel like there are many good answers to it. On some levels, there is a conflict between being a Muslim and being an American. For example, America should recruit Muslims for the army and send them to places like the Middle East to fight against their religious brothers and sisters. These are serious conflicts. At the same time, there is not much conflict in everyday life. You eat with non-Muslims as long as you are careful that what you eat is “Halal”. You work with them as long as what you do and the money you earn is “Halal”. Sure, you have to be more careful, but life goes on without much fuss. OK! If there is a conflict, which side do you take in such cases? Islam or your homeland? Of course, for major and fundamental issues that may arise, Islam is definitely the priority. If your business partner is drinking alcohol and talking about usury, you should know that the appropriate course of action is to either excuse yourself from the table or the conversation, or make it clear that you don’t like the situation. express If you happen to live in a state where you feel you cannot make Islam a priority, you may need to decide to live in a more valuable place. God has given us the whole world to live. Save some money and relocate where you feel you can do the right thing. Finally, on the Day of Judgment, we are responsible for what we have gone through and what we have accepted. The borders and dependencies of a homeland may change every day, but Islam and its principles are always the same. What do you think about the Islamic Union? Do you think a Muslim should first of all be one with his co-religionists or with his countrymen? In Islam, we have an obligation to help our Muslim brothers and sisters first. After that, we open our hands to help others in need. But some situations really require that we prefer a Muslim to a non-Muslim. For example, if a Muslim is dying of hunger and a Christian is also dying of hunger. Of course, you provide help to a Muslim and then you find a means to help someone else. Being united in Islam does not mean that Muslims cannot help non-Muslims. But if people do not even fulfill their basic duties towards their brothers and sisters, how can we expect others to help us? Many Muslims turn to other religions for help when they suffer from hunger or homelessness and no food or shelter is provided to them through mosques or local Islamic congregations. There are Muslims who fail and get confused and when that happens, they turn away from Islam. They cannot understand why someone from their own religion cannot help them. So I believe we should be more united. In Islam, we have an obligation to help our Muslim brothers and sisters first. After that, we open our hands to help others in need. But some situations really require that we prefer a Muslim to a non-Muslim. Tell us what is the view of Muslim countries, their governments and their people in America? In most American cities, people only know what is fed to them through news and advertisements. If there is a controversy in the news that a person has been tortured in prison in Afghanistan or that a woman in Saudi Arabia has been denied access to her children, then people will think that the governments of the Middle East are wild and dangerous and are considered a threat to global security. But some Americans try to get their information and awareness through blogs and social networks and meeting people from other countries that they hear about in the news, and understand life there through first-hand sources. Then they learn the reason behind some such issues. The same can be said for news about America. We rarely hear in the national news about Americans torturing or persecuting people around the world or in their own country, so when a scandal breaks, it’s doubly shocking. I think that the more people share their information with each other, the more countries will come together. But both sides have to put aside the walls and fences that have been erected for centuries. Specifically, what do Americans think about Iran? We know that the Iranian government and the western governments have differences about nuclear energy. How do the American people perceive these differences? Wow, what a question! Well, for sure, many Americans and other nations consider Iran as a threat because of its declaration of acquiring nuclear energy. But there is a growing number of Muslim and non-Muslim people who feel that Iran and other countries should have the right to use nuclear power. Some feel that big countries are trying to establish a monopoly on this energy and this is not fair. Some go to extremes and say that no one should have such energy available. However, many in America are worried that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, it will use it against its enemies, and they think that America is definitely Iran’s enemy, and if not directly, one of its main allies. As many observed that the president of Iran does not back down due to the demands of other countries. What is your opinion? Well, I’m sorry I can’t respond to you and your audience, because for my family’s safety, we’re not allowed to air our political opinions and interests online. But I really hope that Iran and America can reach an agreement and repair the growing gap between them. May both countries bring interesting issues to the world and unite for the betterment of the human condition. Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview. Your last words with the readers of Charqad? I also thank you for this interview and I hope that I have been able to present a brief but fair picture of the American life and my life as a “certain” American writer. Conversation: Seyyed Kamaluddin Doa’i/Chargad electronic publication
