Mahfuja

In the interest of privacy, I won't post her picture. She told me that the reason out of 500+ photos on FaceBook, only about 3 are of her, and not even tagged is because she doesn't like her image floating around on the internet.

But I've read a lot of books about Muslim women, every single one being an account describing Islam as an abusive, hating religion in which the men are all Satanic, sadistic evil people and the women are all brainwashed drones. I didn't want to think of the religion this way, so I searched all over the place for people I could ask, hopefully men, about what the real beliefs were of the religion. But face it, I live in Utah.

So I joined all sorts of Muslim FaceBook groups asking someone to explain to me, how are women really regarded in the Muslim faith? I was completely ignored which made me even more frustrated because I saw this as secrecy, people completely dodging a question or dismissing it because the honest answer was something they didn't want to confront.




Well, after about a month and a half, I finally got a message from someone on FaceBook, her name is Mahfuja Ahmed, and she cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had and helped me to understand and respect the religion as one that's peaceful and really based off love and service, in fact, there are a lot of parallels similar to Mormonism:

Modesty : Outside of a person's home, women should have their shoulders covered, and be covered from their collarbone down to their knees, and men should be covered the same, unless working outside, in which case it's okay to be shirtless. Swimming is an exception.

Word of Wisdom : There was some exotic word for it, but essentially they're held to the same standards as we are; no tobacco, alcohol, and avoid things that are unhealthy or prone to cause addiction

Worship : Obey the Sabbath, be an example to others and study the scriptures to gain a better understanding of God and His will for you

Relationships : The roles of husband and wife are sacred, the two are equal in importance but different in purpose; men are to support the family and offer spiritual guidance and strength to the family, a women should help raise the children in the best way she can. It's a partnership of union and respect, and women need to be held in high esteem at all times, and likewise with men

It goes on for a while, the similarities between our two religions.

What made me glad, and excited, is when Mahfuja began asking me about The Book of Mormon and Mormon beliefs. I was able to explain her our beliefs about God and our relationship with Him, the Book of Mormon, prophets, the restoration of the church and the plan of Salvation.

This makes me really excited to serve a mission =)