Sometimes I feel like I was meant for other things. My name is Farduusa Ibrahim and I am a young black woman of Somali descent living in the City of Calgary, Alberta. I recently moved there from the City of Ottawa, Ontario. Last fall I graduated from Carleton University with a bachelor's degree in economics. I thought I would find work easily but somehow, I ended up working as a clerk in the local library. This is so not what I wanted, and I may end up going back to school. The one thing I won't do is return to Ottawa. My family still lives there, and we parted on BAD terms.
My parents, Ali and Maryam Ibrahim are Somali immigrants, and they're very traditional. My mother doesn't leave the house without her hijab on. She waits hand and foot on my father and obeys his every order. And she expected me to follow suit. Me? I'm different. I've always been the type of gal who asks questions instead of obeying everything my parents say. That's not a good trait in a Muslim woman. Somali culture is deeply patriarchal, and ninety nine percent of all Somalis follow the Sunni branch of Islam. I've heard of Somali Christians but I don't think I've ever seen one. At least not to my knowledge. If a Somali man or Somali woman converts from Islam to Christianity or any other religion, the entire Somali community will persecute them.
In the Islamic faith, apostasy is one of the worst things you can do. The Prophet Mohammed clearly stated that anyone who leaves our religion must be slain. I was born and raised in a Muslim household, but I no longer wish to be Muslim. I want to live my life my way. I don't want to follow the ninety nine and a half rules imposed upon me by my family and my culture. I envy my Canadian female friends with their freedom and independence. A number of them are dating Muslim guys and I caution them about that.
The thing about Muslim guys is that they're charming and friendly at first, showering the woman with attention and gifts, and once she converts to Islam and marries them, she falls under their power and that's when they reveal their true face. I've seen it happen time and again to women from other faiths who fall for the seductive ways of Muslim men. What they're doing is called Romeo Jihad. They're spreading the faith not by the sword or even preaching the word of the prophet but by seducing the unwary into joining. It's a brilliant ploy, and Muslim guys are doing it to Hindu girls and Sikh girls in the Republic of India, Christian women in Canada and America and even Jewish women in the State of Israel. Men of other cultures need to wake the hell up and protect their women from the wiles of Muslim men. Lest they find themselves on the verge of losing everything they hold dear.
