"I find myself having to constantly re-examine my identity as a muslim and a citizen of a secular country without sliding down the slippery slope of either side. To my mind, searching for this Singaporean Muslim soul is a paramount importance, especially for youths who will inherit this nation one day" Shazana Mohd Anuar
Now that i have officially accepted the hijab. Many thoughts run through my head. Pretty obvious, being athletic, i always ponder on how to manage the tudung and sports. And i still do.
But then again, the tudung was never meant to hinder a healthy lifestlye. What about an extreme sporting lifestyle? I watch those active Muslimahs and admire their strong discipline on still wearing the tudung no matter how rigid the sport may be.
".... our Muslimah youths constantly face the dilemma of balancing the many conflicting demands of living as Muslims in a generally secular culture. The problem here lies in the self-repression and censorship that are the result of this inherent pressure that comes with wearing the hijab. Thoughts, behaviour and social actions are expected to conform to standards percieved Islamic in nature, repressing their true conscience in the process"
Based on my views, the percieved Islamic nature here is a mixture of culture and religion instead of purely religion itself. And obviously the culture is the malay culture.
There are thousands of Muslims all over the world. The percieved nature for the Muslimahs here and all over the world are different. Different culture, Different perception.
For me, I'm not brought up in a malay culture, therefore i appear rather different from the typical Muslimahs. Other factors also contribute to this character, coming from a convent school. having a great dad, And the fact that my best friends are non-malays.
I truly thank God for allowing me to grow up this way. I am blessed with the opportunity to experience both worlds. And now, I'm creating a nature of my own. No, i am not conforming to the percieved standards for Muslimahs in Singapore. I'm still learning, fine tuning and I'm taking the best of every world. Just like the blood i am made of Multi-racial.