I have lived in this cold state of MN, for the past 10years. Besides the 10,000 mosquitoes that keep us indoor even in the summer, I realy love this place. However, ever now and then I ran up to some arrogant, long-nosed, bustard, who will ask a dump question, or make a comment. Most of the time it is in regards to my religion(islam), culture(Somali) and race. They are great topic of discussions, however could be lethal when you add politics to it. And that is exactly how these few cowards I came accross handled it.

For instance, I had a conversation with John Jacobs, who used the phrase "Islam Extremist", to identify those responsible for the suicide bombings. The phrase itself is oxymoronic, because "islam" means "peace". I explained to John that evil and good, come in all types and shapes, therefore whether the suicide bomber is muslim or christian is irrelevant. John disagreed with me because the suicide bomber were acting in the name of the religion. He had a good point, but based on his own experience with Islam. See John's knowledge of Islam and other cultures is biased and only based on what he was served in the media. I explained to him that suicide is a sin in our religion, thus it forbidden. If one choses to commit suicide for whatever reason, they are sinning. If you have faith, then you will agree with me that you don't get close to god by disobeying him. So, at the end of the day, Islam, disagrees with the extreme.

Secondly, we discussed what is it that defines whether a Muslim or Muslimah is moderate, or conservative. See, this type of division is what we see only in the Western world. It is as if we have to have a label for everything, then for every human. If you are christian, then you should be christian, not moderate, or extremely religious. And if you chose to be moderate or not, its should be something between you and your god. Why does everyone have to know how close to god you are. This is just what politicians and hypocrates do, devide and conquer to get the votes and anything thats on your pocket. Ofcourse am going to be an extreme muslim if you disrespect my religion in shape or form, and vise versa, I wouldn't be surprised if you acted the same way if somebody was to question your principles.

In conclusion, we live in a world that has no mercy on any living thing that sits on it. So, its best that we show each other that mercy. Remember that no idea is original, and religion is probably the oldest ideas of all. Ever since young I was taught to respect other religions, respect your neighbors and to remember we are all creatures of the creator of all. That doesn't mean that I am moderate muslim, it doesn't mean I am extremist, its says very little about my connection to god. Only god can calculate that, and I live that to him. To all the hypocrates and cowards, I will let you see me as an extremist for as long as it takes to see it all clear. And for the long-nosed arrogants, keep reading your papers, and watching too much TV, thats just how far your knowledge of anything is going to be.