Musings of a Servant of Allah
Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. (13:28)Archive for Current events
On living in the West
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.” -Albert Einstein
Thank you, spiritualtravelman, for being my muse for this post.
Ironically, I’m better able to practise my faith as a Western Muslim, as opposed to a Middle Eastern one.
However! A Muslim woman living in Malaysia and Iran stands a much better chance at equality than one living in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Certain cultures have more deep-seated, tribalistic, misogynistic roots…while others are forward-thinking, modernised and view women as equal to men. Look at this disgusting example of misogyny in Saudi Arabia.
Strange isn’t it? Muslim women need to flee the country of their birth to be able to practise their faith. In the West, we can observe hijab, get educated, go to work, buy property, drive (don’t even get me started), select our spouses, divorce, remarry, adopt, choose to have children, choose to remain childless….the possibilities are endless. God bless Australia/America/Europe (except France lol)/the UK!
On another note, I read somewhere that spirituality is an intensely private, internalised concept for women…but for men, it’s all about the public sphere of legislative domination and the like. Why do egos have to get into the way of everything??? Heh.
Oh dear
Teenage STDs at highest rate ever
Young Australians are suffering unprecedented levels of the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia, new research has found.
Adolescent health workers have warned that messages promoting safe sex are not getting through to people aged 15 to 26.
An adolescent health forum at Sydney University today will be told an estimated one in ten sexually active teenagers has an STI, and chlamydia is the most common.
The number of notifications for chlamydia across Australia – a good indication of its prevalence – has more than tripled between 1999 and 2006.
And young people aged 15 to 24 suffer the highest rates, accounting for more than 60 per cent of all chlamydia notifications so far this year.
Chlamydia is easily treated but most people who have it do not realise this, putting them at risk of serious complications including pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.
University of Sydney lecturer Dr Melissa Kang said three-quarters of women and half of men with chlamydia had no symptoms, yet only seven per cent of young women had been tested for the disease.
Dr Kang said chlamydia screening should become a routine health check, particularly for young people, to help reduce its incidence.
“Young Australians aged between 12 and 25 years are more sexually active at an earlier age and have more sexual partners than their parents and grandparents,” she said.
“We need to support GPs and health care workers to take a more active role in discussing sexual health issues with adolescents.”
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Hm. I’d be naive to assume that these are all naughty naughty non-Muslim kids. I’m sure that our own youth are mixed up in this too. InshaAllah they’ll go back to the straight path and stop self-destructing.
What’s important is not just their repentance, change of social scene, and realignment with God, but their decision to undergo treatment for STDs. It would be totally unfair if they remain untreated and then spread these diseases to their unsuspecting, trusting spouses.
So, ladies and gents, before you get hitched, request an STD check. If he/she doesn’t like the idea, then they’re not worth it. Seriously. I’m sure you’ll all agree with me on that our Muslim girls are amongst the most clueless when it comes to issues of intimacy and sexual health! This just makes them sitting ducks. Worst case scenario? Young virgin bride contracts HIV and falls pregnant from wayward husband, who then leaves her.
It happens. So empower yourself! Get that STD check done.
