DIVERSITY | FAITH | PATRIOTISM
How Embracing Diversity Made Me a Better Human Being
My dad taught me to question and validate everything before accepting it as truth.
When I came to the US in 1974, I stepped into a world that was totally different than the one I was used to. It challenged my beliefs because what I saw was contrary to what I was told.
I didn’t see a society of unethical and immoral drunkards who didn’t believe in God. Instead, I found people who had their own distinct way of looking at life and practicing the same principles.
I was fortunate to have learned from my dad to test things before accepting them as truth.
I proceeded to examine the hypothesis by living life, the American Way. As I started acting in ways that contradicted my upbringing, the voice in my head kept condemning me.
But my heart spoke out loud and clear.
God will NEVER let me go so far astray that I cannot return to my guiding principles.
Following my heart, I went on to experiment, learn, and gain insights that otherwise would have been impossible to acquire. It enabled me to expand my study of my beliefs and discover things I wasn’t aware of.
If God had so willed, He could have created you all the same. He made you all different so you may learn from each other, says the Qur’an.
Follow your Bliss.
As the years went by, I found more in common between my new home and my old way of thinking. For example, In Islam, you can summarize the social mandate of the Ummah as “One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
By embracing diversity, I am able to practice tolerance and inclusivity which are among the guiding principles of my Faith. Not only that, but I also became a spokesperson within the Muslim Community about the diverse interpretations of Islam as a necessity, rather than a hindrance in being unified.
When I explained this as my Faith to a co-worker, who called himself a Christian, and was trying to tell me what Islam teaches, he threw up his hands in frustration and exclaimed, “You are a fucking Humanist.”
Well, Duh!
“We have sent a messenger to every nation and a guide to all people.” ~ Qur’an
Diversity is Strength.
If the current global crisis has made us realize anything, it is that we are all in this together. Humanity is One. And that humans are only a part of the entire ecosystem.
As we look to the future, can we understand and accept that within this oneness there is plurality; that the diversity is by design. Everything within this Unified System is interdependent and provides strength and support to everything else.
For too long, we have ignored this interdependency and acted as if we’re the only ones that matter. However, it would we incorrect to say that all of humanity has acted in this manner. It is only a small segment that has corrupted the balance, like a cancer cell that is intent on multiplying itself without any regard to other cells, not realizing that it will destroy itself in the process.
The truth is, Nature doesn’t allow us to go so far out of balance that it cannot be corrected. I learned through experimentations and became a better person in the process. Today, I firmly believe that these erroneous ways, when corrected, will make us better stewards of Nature than we ever have been.
Chaos and order are like night and day, and we are amidst the darkest hour before the dawn.
This story evolved out of a comment I made on a story by Trista Ainsworth. I am deeply grateful for this passage in her story.
I cannot be lead astray because if something starts feeling wrong to me, I can always turn and go a different direction. I can always pivot. I can always choose a different path to follow.
As always, thank you for reading and responding.
Here are a couple of related stories:
Rasheed Hooda is a published author and a regular contributor to ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium where writers support each other.
He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)
More about me:
An interview by Dr. M Yildiz for ILLUMINATION
Testimonial by other writers.
