Thread by @twt_malaysia

Which of the following best describes your religiosity?

Poll will be in the next tweet. Choose the option (number) that best describes you.

1. I am very religious- I do everything my religion tells me to
2. I do the bare minimum
3. I believe in a higher power & that’s it

Here’s the poll!

Interesting poll results with “I do the bare minimum” being what most people identify with.

I grew up in a pretty religious household but only started seriously looking into religion at age 14, sec 2. I could never relate to ceramah’s esp the ones delivered by Malay ustaz-ustaz

Just because my “thinking/logical” language of preference was and still is English. I rationalize better in English and to me, if someone had to convince me about something, their mastery/proficiency in English was something I looked for

Therefore language to me was more than just a vessel to convey ideas. As a young girl I was naturally an “explainer” and I loved writing. So anyways my mom introduced us to Islamic scholars of the English-speaking world.

And that was what got me to say, yes, I do want to take this religion thing seriously. Because I understood what they were trying to convey. Their analogies and rationale made sense to 14yo me. I reckon it’s different for everyone, but here was how my spiritual journey started.

I think my philosophy is in line with the philosophy of Ahmad Deedat. When asked, “What if you died and discovered there was no Hereafter?” . His reply was, “Not worse than if I discovered the Hereafter was true”.

I think even if I found out that there was no Hell or Heaven, at least I'd be able to look back and say, "Hey I didn't lose anything. I lead a pretty good life". At least that's the kind of Islam I practice and the one I believe is the right kind. Again, I'm not here to preach,

I just find it important to have these kind of conversations. When I was studying at a christian college at 17, I was best friends w a pastor's daughter. She was protestant and carried around a Bible. So she wasn't your average believer, we had many a deep conversations abt God.

And interestingly, every time we'd "debate", we'd arrive at a conclusion that 1. Islam & Christianity had to share some kind of divine link (Of course as a Muslim I already know this and believe it to be true) and +

+that 2. we have to accept that though our differences are irreconcilable, it doesn't mean that we have to harbour animosity w each other. So we enjoyed these theological dialogues for as long as we were friends- we even shared a locker. And she is the most eloquent person I know

My point is, even if right now you're not convinced in the existence of a higher power, or that you believe entirely in a different deity or that you don't believe or see the need for [an] organized religion/s, it's always a good thing to get the conversation going. Why?+

+Because it concerns you as a mortal. If you're going to live 60-70 years here on Earth, with God-believing people (regardless of their religion), shouldn't you question life's purpose and why religion's stood the test of time since well, forever? There must b something out there

Of course I expect the atheists to disagree with me on this, but I've had atheist friends who were open to these conversations who said, "ok, try to convince me". Like if there was a huge, monumental sign that could move them in the other direction, only then they'd take it.

I personally think that's already a sign of person who's ready to accept that yes, science is true and logical, but also that perhaps knowledge and science belongs to a supreme being. And there's no need to separate them; that they are not contradictory.

But obviously, at the end of the day, "To you your religion and to me mine," Chapter 109, verse 6. I don't believe in forcing people to convert into anything. Faith is a personal matter. There should NOT be any coercion. "There shall be no compulsion in religion" 2:256