When West met East :)

I've just come back from a vacation to the UAE and Pakistan. This was my first time back with the niqab.... yeah I KNOW! Alhamdolillah, it went well and I live to tell the story :) Both these places were once home to me and its strange how once familiar faces and places seem inhospitable... or maybe it was the niqab! On the flip side, there were some close friendships which grew closer and this time for the sake of Allah SWT. But this writeup is not about that part of my trip, rather about the differences I found between practicing Muslims living in a "Muslim" land vs a non-muslim land. The main difference is that here we are trying to save our Iman from a largely non-muslim environment. Thats how we are raising our kids too and hence we limit exposure to TV (watching the content closely) and make sure we spend time with them and know who their friends are (and their mums!). We are close-knit with the Muslim community at large, trying to instill values from the Sunnah of brotherhood and avoiding gheebah. We are working hard to get ourselves and our kids an Islamic education so they know their roots. We read labels like no-ones business so that we may eat halal. Alot of us are involved in youth counselling and da'wah work. We try to be responsible citizens as we consider ourselves ambassadors of our deen; to the extent that we dont steal parking-spots and wait in lines PATIENTLY!
Initially, I was a little taken aback when i found these elements almost missing from people there. Soon however, i understood that these were not their concerns. Living in a Muslim land, even if only in name - their Iman is being nurtured by the environment and hence their concerns are focussed on the tiny kinks like should we listen to nasheed, or that scholar is only "mostly" right hence we should avoid him, or you must cover properly or else! Granted, all these are valid but it seemed very authoritarian to me till I understood that this is the difference between living here and there. They can focus on gaining knowledge and have many avenues to spreading it; their kids already have Muslim friends, they just need to see what kind of Muslims, there is plenty of halal entertainment hence avoiding nasheeds is not a big deal; they dont need big Islamic conferences as the work is being done on a state level and Islamic congregations are held at many places. They have the luxury to focus on micro issues. Alhamdolillah! both serve to strengthen our Iman and not only that, I also understood how Allah SWT has split our work. How merciful He is!
Mainly, I'd like to address my friends and family on both ends of the world to try and find common ground as our circumstances are different but our motive is one - to please Allah SWT. We should avoid pinpointing mistakes in lives in these different parts of the world and try to live in piety wherever we are as all land belongs to Allah. We must appreciate our differences and challenges and try to adapt to situations we are placed in. It was the will of Allah SWT and we must adhere. Inshallah!