Hi! Just me popping in for a second!
I’m insanely grateful to the next writer in my guest series! Fads (meaning Galaxy in Arabic) created her blog aptly named “The Astron” in June 2016. Her take on Minimalism and productivity is amazing and I love her blog!

This guest series is really about sharing stories and the fact this is the second from across the globe is amazing!
Please stay tuned for some more stories to share soon! And as always thank you so much for reading!

Another great fit for It’s All Great Until….

نمرا

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

First of all, I would like to point out that we naturally all have different experiences and perspectives in life. This is my story and my experiences that I’d love to share with the world just because I can.

Assalaamu’alakaikum/Peace be upon you,

Hi, I’m Fads! I’m currently living in the Philippines for over four years now, and I’m a Muslim. As for my background, I was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and due to some necessities, my family and I decided to reside here in the Philippines for good. And yes, I’m a proud Muslim Filipino.

Saudi Arabia to the Philippines, both in Asia but both have a different culture, lifestyle, ethnicity, and religion. So what’s it like to live in a Catholic Country as a Muslim?

Filipinos appreciate cultural diversity
Let’s start with the advantage since I’m a Filipino myself, I understand the differences of Filipinos when it comes with the culture. We have hundreds of ethnic groups with different languages, values, and principles in the country. And I belong to the Tausug tribe in the South. We are known as people who are considered, let me just say, warriors. We have strong faith when it comes to our family and especially to our religion.

We appreciate cultural diversity and therefore respect each other despite these differences. Although the population of Catholic people are beyond the Muslims’ population (duh), I truly understand that because the Philippines is a Catholic country. But what I love the most is, we embrace each other.

Most of my friends are Christians
They respect my religion, and I respect theirs. We completely don’t force each other in any way. Most of the time, it’s like “Ooh that’s interesting” and just that, no further preach and unnecessary questions that can cause misunderstandings. Also, they respect the dos and don’ts of my religion, so as much as possible, they try not to interfere with that. For example, I can’t go drink with them, we eat in a non-Pork food place, and they always ask permission or eat at the opposite area every time they eat pork which I find really sweet. I genuinely appreciate the fact that I’m gifted with warm-hearted friends.

By the way, the fact that most of my friends are Christians doesn’t mean I don’t get along with my fellow Muslimah girls. It’s the situation itself. In college, less than five of my classmates are Muslims, because I’m in the field of Business Department. Now that I’m working, the one and only Muslimah I know in the building is in a different department too so.

Limited opportunities for hijabis
I think this is not a shocking news anymore. And although this doesn’t really bother me as much because I’m a firm believer of “you create your own opportunities”,  I still wanted to point out that in a lot of circumstances, inequality is there. We can’t really avoid that, so I no longer need to rant it out. It’s natural. One big example for that is, job opportunities, most of the employers here ask their hijabi applicants if they can remove their hijab during working hours or simply doesn’t hire them despite the awareness of hijabis’ potentials.

Life is not perfect. Not everyone is going to be nice to you.

Limited halal food places
This is probably the hardest part of living as a Muslim in a non-Islamic country because compare to when I was in Saudi Arabia, where all food places don’t serve pork, in the Philippines, you can see lots of pork everywhere. You know, pork is forbidden in Islam. Although lots of the food places in the city where I’m living doesn’t serve pork, the pork seasonings are there without clear realization from both sides. It’s hard, so I’m leaving everything to Allah and hope that He’ll give signs when I’m about to eat non-halal food.

So we finally came to the end. I honestly loved writing this post, thanks to Nimrah for giving me the opportunity to share my story. It was an honour. ‘Til next time!

Much love,
Fads A of The Astron

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @imfads
Instagram: @imfads

Image Source: The Astron logo, Retrieved September 2018.