Fragmented Ummah, Bombing Syria & My Hijab

I have been disappointed, saddened and even distraught recently, at how some brothers and sisters of our Ummah are behaving towards each other, in light of the current change in climate, towards regular practicing Muslims in the UK.

I've noticed a marked change towards myself as a Muslim and accounts from others are similar. More general pushing, shoving when I am out - even with my baby girl, more tugs at my hijab as I walk by - then when I turn around you can't tell who pulled at it, more tuts, huffs, "f***in foreigners", more silence when I walk into a room, more barbed and overtly hostile questions and more suspicion shown when I answer. I can cope with all this....what I can't deal with is when other Muslims, for whatever reason, I don't know, decide to call po on regular brothers and sisters who maybe aren't as *moderate* as themselves.

But I guess when you sell out your own, you are alleviating your fears of people pointing the finger at you. When you cause some innocent brother or sister to have their life turned upside down and humiliated, you are racking up enough reps with the authorities in the UK, to be able to be considered a 'Good Muslim'....it actually makes me feel desperately sad and a little bit nauseous.

Being pious and trying to follow strictly your religion, doesn't mean you have terrorist tendencies. wanting to see a legitimate Islamic State emerge, doesn't mean you are a terrorist. Agreeing with the concept of Jihad, doesn't mean you want to jump on a plane and cause it to crash or strap a bomb to your chest and murder anyone who doesn't agree with you.

So the Western media are producing headlines (1in5) that are producing more Islamaphobia and Muslims are allowing themselves to be fragmented. When more devastating incidents happen on UK soil because we bombed Syria and inflamed the situation, we'll all no doubt cry many more tears albeit for quite different reasons.

The major powers caused this mess and are intent on making even more decisions that will make it worse.

I don't know what the answer is for peace. I am 22 and was born in England UK and am Anglo-Saxon ethnically, so I have only a cursory knowledge of the complex political issues that have influenced the East/West. What I do know though is, what I feel like in my country, when I am attacked for my faith, when I see my brothers and sisters in Islam dying in their thousands all over the world with no little outrage or assistance on their behalf. When I see western powers stay quiet concerning some brutal regimes while castigating others and when those same powers make mutually beneficial deals with some despots while taking down others in the interests of international peace.

It makes me rage, it makes me want to move, to live somewhere else where, as a woman, I am free to dress how I like, instead of being vilified for how I dress. In a Muslim-majority country, I will be given the freedom to dress how I like.

Oh the irony.