The ambivalence of muslims

Submitted by Muhammad Arief (Indonesia), Jul 12, 2006 at 05:38

Dear Friends,

I am a muslim from Indonesia, I have been working for 5 years in France. I still enjoy and of course I like to live in western society especially France. For me as a muslim we have to realize that our culture is not as same as the culture of people in west where we live, so that we ourselves have to take as an obligation for us to understand the western culture. It's hypocritical of us as a muslim that we always must create the ambivalence of attitude and behavior in our life in west. If we are objecting or we don't agree with any kind of policy and habituation of the western society or christian culture so there must be wrong of us to live in western society, or I think it will be better that a muslim like us to move away to arab countries or live very comfortable in islam culture where the dream of any kind of Islam will be upheld.

The muslim in west has to pay attention of a unique phenomenon in Indonesia. Many people in Indonesia are very dissapointed that many indonesian maids who work in arab and islam countries got the worst service from their employers though they thought that the islam law is executed there even near by the holy places such as Mecca & Madinah. Most Indonesian muslims feel happier to work and live in western society and christian culture than the arab society or islam culture. This phenomenon is real and that is the fact of the portrait of muslim people in Indonesia. So I think it's very impossible and excessive if the muslim people in western society request the idea to create any special attention as a special community.

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