(Literally!) Once a year a dramatic change occurs in the Muslim
community,

"Joe" and "Kat" becomes Yusuf and Khatija. Off come the Diesel jeans,the
Nike's, and Raider's cap. On come the abbaya and scarf, the gelled
hairstyle which glues on that terribly uncool topee and in comes the
miswaak in the top pocket. It's during this HOLY month of Ramadaan that
we ditch the daytime raves, movies and the frequent visits to the
library(and we don't mean for reference section) and begin to act it
out.

"Joe" and "Kat" become TEMPORARILY religious. It's a sort of spooky
feeling.
The Masjids are full and you feel good. Good because you've done a bit
for the year.
One by one you scratch the days from your Ramadaan timetable.Thank
goodness it's Eid, and you can wear that new beautiful outfit that you
bought a month before Ramadaan even started!
Eid Mubarak!

The masjids again become museums for the old and for those deprived.
The abayya comes off and on comes the Diesels, whilst the libraries
re-open for "business as usual". Just 11 months more of "freedom" to go
before the smelly breath season comes back with vengeance!

Year after year it goes on, almost as a ritual. You know it's rough.

Yet Allah (SWT) is Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem as we are told by our parents
(who probably also have gone through this).And anyway, religion is for
the old men in the Mosques - with smelly breaths, and beards that sweep
the floor every time they walk from one end of the Masjid to the other.
Religion is for those "fundies"(fundamentalists) at school and
university, the "weirdoes" who only talk to the opposite sex about the
benefits of the Khilafah ruling system, the fallacies of Capitalism, and
the intifada.

So you go around playing this game. It's like an endless spiral. You
think you're a rebel or tough - yet you're just one of the pack - a
zombie,conforming to a master-plan.

When you turn 40 you grow your beard and take your seat in front row of
the Masjid, invest in a miswaak, pack your bags for Hajj, and everything
is gonna be safe!
Well NO! It doesn't work like that.

The million dollar question is "Will You EVER turn 40?" Game Over -
Suppose you die. Just suppose you snuff it before you turn 40? What
then?
It could severely damage that master plan of yours. All right, the
chances may look slim yet the stakes are high. Nobody knows when he or
she is going to die.

Just suppose you're locked up in a room and there's no way out. Just
suppose there's a time-bomb-ticking away in this room. Now if this bomb
has "6 Days" on it you would probably turn "fundy" and Spend all six
days reading namaaz. Just suppose the bomb had a "?" on it? What then?
That's exactly how life is!!! A ticking-bomb with a "?"
on it. You never know when it's gonna blow-up. Wherever you are, death
will find you. Even if you are in tower built up strong and high!!!

30 Days or a lifetime? And anyway, even if you do go along with this
"dodgy" game, don't you think your Creator will know your intention?

Many people have sussed out Islam as a blind faith or an
emotional/spiritual/spooky belief which leaves you a contemplating
rationally about the meanings of life. Where did you comes from? Why Are
we here? Or the question that puts a dampener on all raves, "What's
going to happen to us when we die?" Islam asks us to answer these vital
questions and come to a conclusion, the correct one, Islam doesn't rely
on the dodgy culture we are brought up with either from our parents or
from the Molvi-Saab. Islam is far from being a "Religion" as it is
often coined in the media.

Islam is a complete system of life - with solutions to all our
problems,be it for Muslims or Non-Muslims. Check out Islam for yourself
and free yourself from this shallow zombie-like culture.

Remember there is no Life or Dignity without Islam. "O you who believe
answer the call of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (S.A.W) to that which
gives Life." (Holy Quraan, 8:24)