Nominal from Bedfordshire

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- crumble
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Nominal from Bedfordshire
OP - June 01, 2019, 09:31 AM

Hi there - I'm a forty year old coconut living in an infamous ghetto town full of retrograde asians. Never been actively religious but have gone under the muslim radar thanks to my brown skin and matching name.

Just looking to talk with likeminded types and this deserted forum seems to be the closest match!
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Nominal from Bedfordshire
Reply #1 - June 07, 2019, 01:33 AM

hello there,
and Welcome.. . yes place is deserted compared to how it used to be. oh well.

I didnt actually understand your post - are you from a muslim background?!

As for like minded types. I'm also a coconut. Older than you, so dessicated coconut.
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Nominal from Bedfordshire
Reply #2 - June 07, 2019, 10:22 AM

Yes, I flopped up the thread title - it should say nominal muslim.

Good to speak to another bounty bar, I suggest making some random posts to liven up this desert and slow down the drying out process!
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Nominal from Bedfordshire
Reply #3 - June 12, 2019, 07:25 PM

hi crumble and welcome

3 years back this forum was heaving. Now the are so many ex-muslims with YouTube channels (even CEMB have one) that it may appear more fun there. Also nowadays there a lots of meetups by ex-muslims.

Are you more inclined to 'non-practising' or 'pretending' muslim? Which ever one why?

Once I week I drop in to see any newbies and welcome them.
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Reply #4 - June 13, 2019, 06:03 PM

No prayer but halal diet - not for ideological or cultural reasons, it's just convenient. Does that mean I'm pretending? Doubt I'd convince any religious muslim with this act so probably not. Non-practising implies unmet obligation but I don't recognise that either.

All I can say with any conviction is that I'm muslim by name. I'm pretty sketchy in all other respects.
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Reply #5 - June 17, 2019, 10:27 AM

'Convenient', so you're in an area where pretty much all shops selling meat (cooked or raw) is halal, this is understable. Challenge here will be to pop into into McD and try a burger - how will you mind and body respond? Alom Shaha wrote a wonderful book about his 'first' time.

Muslims are just like all other people, with very busy lives, and last thing they want to do is follow you around all day. Once you're an adult no one has time to worry about what you believe. Question is what do you REALLY believe? One's beliefs influence the fears, anxieties and prejudices you have, and may be holding you back in this wonderul world and one life.

On YouTube search channel The Masked Arab and check his vid 'Seven main reasons why I left Islam'. And, if you want a major gut busting laugh search channel SyeTen and watch 'ISIS has nothing to do with Islam'
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Reply #6 - June 17, 2019, 08:32 PM

Quote from: hmseektruth on June 17, 2019, 10:27 AM
Challenge here will be to pop into into McD and try a burger - how will you mind and body respond?

I don't feel any yearning to eat non-halal meat but I'm sure I've eaten some by mistake a few times without bursting into flames or tears of joy. Maybe I'm too old to be excited by acts of rebellion?

Quote from:
Question is what do you REALLY believe? One's beliefs influence the fears, anxieties and prejudices you have, and may be holding you back in this wonderul world and one life.

On YouTube search channel The Masked Arab and check his vid 'Seven main reasons why I left Islam'.

I scanned through the video, a lot of stuff about inconsistency in the quran and yes, it seems to be a compilation of many different things based on the small parts that I've read myself. Still, I'm open to the idea of monotheism at least on a philosophical basis if not a religious one.

I guess I haven't been oppressed enough to call myself an ex-muslim? I'm more like a non-exmuslim lol.
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Reply #7 - June 30, 2019, 10:21 PM

Good to see your response.

I guess if you're not sure if you're muslim, ex-muslim or non-ex-muslim does it matter? What is important is being happy in what makes you comfortable believing.

If, or when, you travel outside of the area you live, how do you cope with when halal meat is not available?
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Reply #8 - July 01, 2019, 01:27 PM

If given.a choice, I tend towards veg options whether or not halal meat is on the menu. I'm guessing diet was a big issue for you? I'm not a foodie so not high on my priorities.
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Reply #9 - July 09, 2019, 11:06 AM

No. Growing up, soon as I earned money I started enjoying McD and KFC. I try to eat as vegie, but taste of burger and fried chicken is just too good, however, I do it in moderation. To this day tastiest meal I ever had was chump lamb with brie and cranberry sauce in a very posh hotel my previous employer (Microsoft) sent me to in the 90's.

Muslims have to believe in jinn, people made of fire (really), as asserted by Muhammad. Their myth was long established, before Islam, in many cultures. In the 70's even as a child it didn't take too much effort to see the nonsense, and I used to get annoyed when my late mother would blame my brother's illnesses on jinns and pay a mullah £10 each time for a talisman to 'cure' him.

One becomes more confident with life if you cut through the myths and superstition. In 2015 I spent £7k taking my wife and kids to do Umrah. She said 'you'll revert to Islam'. Out of respect, watched Madina Vloggers, learnt what to do and the chanting. Touched Kaba, saw Abe's golden footprint and Mo's grave (so they claim). It was exciting and fun, like all new holiday destinations are, but the 'magic' wore off on return, lol!

Hope we keep chatting, have a great day!
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Reply #10 - July 13, 2019, 05:06 PM

Yes, let's keep the conversation flowing.

I enjoy reading myths and faery tales but dislike chanting and rituals. Luckily, I didn't get much exposure to it growing up in the 80s but I do remember the black amulets and sequined hats. Religion used to be just another part of the immigrant time capsule. It wasn't until the late 90s when I noticed the folk/village stuff was being replaced by something more invasive and harder to ignore.

Fast forward twenty years, I'm constantly expected to tow some invisible line and conform to some manufactured ideal. Silently dissenting is fine and dandy until it comes to topics like marriage - especially, when the available candidates are casual zealots or superstitious villagers. It is a bit of a pickle - and the expiry date is fast approaching.

I'm tempted to abandon my quiet strategy when co-workers or random shopkeepers feel obliged to guide me to their straight path. I don't mind ideological differences but I can't abide personal meddling. Unfortunately, the practicality of living in ghetto muslim town means curtailing personal freedom for the sake of peace and harmony, ie keeping your head down to avoid hassle. Or so I tell myself, anyway.

Anyway.... it's a pity there isn't more activity on this forum. The quranic studies thread is a great discussion on the origins of the book. I think would be nice (if not original) to have a thread on european muslims who are a religion unto themselves.
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Reply #11 - July 15, 2019, 10:50 PM

Watch 'The Koran: Journey to the Book's Origin' on Amazon Prime and do an Umrah package trip, you can get deals for less than £1k. It'll broaden your horizon!

In my opinion 'European Muslims' is more about identity. As South Asians age, and no longer visit their ancesteral countries, they loose the sense of identity they used to have when their parents took them on holidays to see relatives every two years.

With loss of identity, only thing to do is fall back on religion. And boy, Islam is very good at creating community, with it's built in sense of Ummah. Hence, I love muslim people, they really are happy being what they believe.

You should think about joining local clubs to discover more.
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Reply #12 - July 16, 2019, 10:54 PM

I'm fundamentally an anti-social person so places with lots of people aren't high on my list.

Narrow horizons help you focus on things. Primarily, impending death. I really hope there's something more to life than love, community and happiness.

South asians educated in europe and decide to identify as pious muslims despite popularised ridicule of the christian tradition.... are we to believe the original muslims made a similar choice?
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Reply #13 - July 27, 2019, 07:03 PM

"I'm fundamentally an anti-social person...", sorry to hear that. Note to be rude, what challenges do you face in changing this?
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Reply #14 - July 28, 2019, 08:51 AM

I no longer feel a need to comforn - is that something that happens when you get older? I guess I have gone through a slight inversion over the years - from apologetic social cripple to self-assured misanthrope.

Then again, not all changes are good ones. As someone further along in life, do you notice any change in yourself? Do you regret choices you have made? Or the ones you avoided?
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