I am a British Chinese Muslim.
However, I do not know if I can say I am proud to be any of these at the moment. If I don't speak I can get away with not being British (my Mancunian accent would give me away), but if you were to judge me from my appearance you would immediately identify me as a Muslim (and then probably make the assumption that I am Malaysian)! This suits me as when I am amongst Chinese people I don't feel Chinese although I look and act Chinese.
I do not agree with the situation in Tibet and there are other human rights issues and the fact that Muslims are largely oppressed in China by the government which makes me slightly (unproud to be Chinese).
I do not agree with the extremist elements from the Muslim ummah who committ terrorist acts in the name of Islam.
I do not agree with the foreign policy of our government in particular the Iraq war and their support for Israel.
All three have a lot to offer the world. I hope that I will one day be able to say I am proud of being all three.
When you were a kid, did your parents ever compare you to your cousin, your sibling (if you are a twin), the next door neighbour, if you were of similiar age and sex? My mum used to always say that so and so (a relative in London) was bigger than me (in height) even though I was older, and she used to compare me to some other girl that used to visit my aunties chippy (who looked scary) and it used to DO MY HEAD IN!!!
My son has a cousin who is 6 months younger than him, and his cousin is taller than him and can probably read better than him and they both started mosque (learning to read arabic) and even though my son started 3 months before him, his cousin has now caught up with him!
So, is competition (and comparing him to someone else's son) healthy? Is it a good thing? Well it works both ways. I remember the only reason I started potty training my son was cos his cousin's mother was about to start him and I really couldnt have her son out of nappies before mine could I? So in some ways it is good, but i have to stop (mentally) comparing them as they are essentially opposites. They have different personalities and the main thing they have in common is their age. I know that my son is better at other things than his cousin so i really shouldnt feel bad if his cousin excels him in some areas. I need to make a mental note to stop being so petty!
Incidentally the only reason his cousin caught up with him was because his teacher started comparing them and she deliberately put his cousin up to speed so he could catch up with my son, calling it a "competition", now that's what I didn't like cos its not good for them to be in competition with each other as one will inevitably will be made to feel bad by an adult (in this case the teacher).
We just got a new Wii Fit, its a balance board for the Nintendo Wii which has fun games as well as yoga, aerobics and muscle workouts. After setting up our profiles and entering our heights and ages, the wii board told me that my weight and BMI was ideal (a BMI of 22 indicates that you are less likely to get sick!) that wasnt very reassuring considering I have been feeling ill (with a slight cold and temperature) for the last few days!
It enables you to set yourself targets to lose weight or gain weight and has some activities like jogging and boxing which my son has been playing. We will have to weight a few weeks to see if we A) lose weight or B) get bored of it and play it once in a while.
I think i will try the yoga training after my exams:)
The local elections (for council seats) are to take place in May (only a few days away) and up crops the dilema of whether to vote or not. There are those from the Islamic school of thought, that we should not take part in the electoral process, there are those from the Islamic camp that say if you dont want to vote, then get out of my way and let me vote (Imam Suhaib Webb). From my own point of view, i just cannot be bothered.... what's the point of voting for a party that will ignore EVERYTHING they promised to do in their manifestos as soon as they get into power?? If anything the Labour government have proved just that. I have opted to vote by post. I cant be bothered to fill the form in and send it off. Not that I am Lazy, I just dont know how my vote will make a difference. I did vote last year, as there was a threat the BNP (British National Party) may get a local seat if there was a low turnout, but in general I dont see the point.
On a positive note, you do see improvements to the area that you live in, in the run up to the elections, and if they do send you a letter asking to vote for them , then just write back to them with anything you want bringing to their attention, as they are more receptive than normal, I emailed my councillor regarding the dangerous giveway coming out of our road, he is at present "looking into it!".
It will be interesting though to see who becomes the next President of the US, and indeed if he/she will get their troops out of Iraq...
