desmic89

ok sry for reviving this old post but i gotta say as a newbie to GF, i love it! to start off: ppl need to chill out esp with all the cussing/hate from both sides whether it be the dunes of arabia or the backwoods of kentucky..srsly..anyway, i just wanted to add my two cents by saying as a moderate/progressive/ muslim from texas, i see two groups of muslims (well maybe more than two but im sleepy lol) 1. Ones like me= rich (not really, but upper middle class so to speak), educated amongst good ol' american high school kids, live in predominantly white conservative neighborhoods, etc. 2. the rest= lower classes, first/second generation immigrants, kids go to religious schools, ethnic neighborhoods, etc. Now, the first group basically has conformed to the american ways much like the eastern european waves did in response to the older anglo-saxon gednerations 100 yrs back, except we did it a bajillion times faster with the realization of what the american 'melting pots' means. i prefer saying merry xmas to happy holidays when addressing my white amigos, as well as happy hanukkah to my jews (u get the pic). i don't brazenly speak in urdu/arabic in front of my friends just b/c it's rude; instead, in the privacy of my home, i do so only with my parents only b/c of their need, u kno? another example, i don't complain when the pizza at some party has only pepperoni for the meat ones.. i just eat the cheese or veggie instead.. what im getting at is I realize that im in the minority but don't disproportionately try to accommodate myself in front of others. I just conform as much as possible on the outside yet maintain my individuality at home. The other group, be it the human fear of change or simply the brainwashing of a culture from their media about us, does not usually do the above.. i don't know! my occidental buddies need to put themselves in a historical perspective. all empires go up, then down. the middle east (in terms of infrastructure) is where america was in the 19th century (the americans on this board better know their us history..). when the italians and polish came, the german and irish weren't too happy were they? ever seen gangs of ny? that "tension" so to speak always accompanies immigrating people. in present down houston texas, this is the question of the illegal mexicans that cross over into here as someone earlier said. but u say, waves of durka-durka with tnt strapped to their chest are wayy different than say, al capone with a tommy gun. fine, but srsly, fox news stats aside, those scary bearded guys in iraq under al-sadr represent less than .001% terrorists that enter the US apprehended by the Dept of HS (i read it in the ny times somewhere).. believe me my jingoists, we're not all that bad! just give it to some time, say about 100 yrs and everything will be different. and no u smart asses, they wont have blown the entire world up, just see what america did since 1776 and learn the way of assimilating for u immigrants out there. lastly, i just wanted to comment on ClassyMissFancy's comments; i think u hit the nail with the argument of quran dictates vs hadith dictates and which muslims follow. i personally believe the Proph Muhd (PBUH) hadiths were a sorta walkthrough/sparknotes study guide for the various groups of 600 AD Arabia. I mean, the kind of laws that freak yall now today were i guess the best for back then.. im sry to say this yall, but 1400 yrs ago, the world was a different place and certain things needed to be done for the sake of order. the quran in its core values remains perfect imo for even 2007, and i abide by it. but not sharia u see? anyway, for all yall about to blast me for wrong details, bad grammar, condescending tone, my use of "y'all", and prety much anything as an excuse to call me an idiot.. well give me break sheesh! im pretty sure we're all under 23 on this board so lay off the "i have more life experience than u" comments, b/c the important thing is to discuss/rant/debate about this issue and all the ad hominems detract from the main topic.. anyway, i for one can say this pizza hut is making me major sleepy so gnite from texas!