Editorial

The checkout girl who was in her duty dress and was an Arab Muslim girl. She started to scan the items of Ayesha one buy one and then she looked at her with arrogance and said:"we have in France many problems, your Niqab is one of them!! We, immigrants, are here for trade and not to show our Deen (religion) or history! If you want to practice your Deen and wear Niqab then go back to your Arab country and do whatever you want!!"

Ayesha stopped putting her grocery in the bag and lifted up her Niqab for the other female to see her face.

The checkout girl was in total shock! Ayesha who was blond with blue eyes told her:"I am a French girl, not an Arab immigrant! This is my country and this is my Islam!! You are born as a Muslim and sold your Deen and we bought it from you."

"...And if you turn away, He (Allah) will replace you with another people; then they will not be the likes of you..."

Surah Muhammad [Surah Muammad 47:38]

This story highlights some important points that we should reflect on, especially those Muslims who are living in non-Muslim lands. When living in a non-Muslim country, Muslims should be careful to integrate into the society but not to assimilate. To assimilate is to lose your identity and to be exactly like the people you are living amongst, Islam promotes successful integration into society, where Muslims are shown as the leaders of good conduct and behavior. We should also remember that many people accept Islam, not through speech, but through witnessing the good behavior and manners of Muslims, as was the case when most of Indonesia accepted Islam. So we should be enthusiastic in showing Islam to people and the beauty of it, not like the checkout person in the story.