Please bear with me.  I’ll probably complain my first few blogs because I have had little place to vent my frustrations to more than myself or the proverbial blank wall.  Sometimes my husband will be on the receiving end, but his ability to change my complaining voice into a lulling melody to which he can fall asleep does not move me towards resolution.

I consider myself Muslim. I do so because I consider myself on a journey to find the best way to commune with my higher power whom I choose to call God and subscribe a (mostly) monotheistic worldview.  I believe Mohammed is a messenger of God.  I use ‘a’ instead of ‘the’, because in my own interpretation of my language, it makes a big difference. Mohammed’s words are what brought me closer to my higher power and away from forever spiritual uncertain purgatory. I do not believe the Qu’ran is the literal word of God or maybe not even the words of a god at all, but I do believe the words are inspired by the strong faith of someone, or maybe even more than one someone, who found something to believe in that was much larger than himself.

I was born in America and consider myself fully American.  It is because of my American ideas that I was able to become Muslim.  When I am told the things I was taught directly contradicts my religion by whomever, I simply laugh, sometimes to myself depending on the situation, and marvel at how I would never, never have become nor stayed Muslim without my American and very Western ideas of religion, freedom and feminism.

But all these considerations mean nothing compared to the pressing issue below here…

So, Saturday, I am dining at one of my favorite places and enjoying a quite tasty dish of alligator tail when a friend of mine inquires as to what I am eating.  When I mention I am eating alligator, I am told I should not eat the food again because it is forbidden.  Really?  Is alligator part pig? My husband’s eyes roll.  No, but the alligator is an aggressive animal. Fish can be aggressive, should I not eat them? More eye rolling. They are different. Oh. I don’t remember reading about alligators in the Qu’ran.  Hand on my leg…Not all prohibitions are in the Qu’ran.  Okay. What if I disagree with these extra-Quranic revelations?  You cannot! Toe stepping…Okay. Doesn’t the Qu’ran and Mohammed mention not following such things? MAJOR knee kicking…You do not understand because…fill in the blank with one of the standard reasons I cannot fathom some random proclamation…

I go home and look up alligator meat online and find the sayings the prohibiton is based upon, which does not bring me to the same conclusion and definitely not when it doesn’t make any sense and move on…my husband mentions the halal butcher said alligator meat should not be eaten and mentions the same sayings…I don’t agree…he rolls his eyes and moves on…the friend keeps on and says I eat lots of things I shouldn’t, like Jell-o…I will go to hell because of Jell-o and am comfortable with that…scowls…you also do not like zucchini and that was the prophet’s favorite…can’t help that Mohammed had to eat gross food…more scowls…I ponder if my friend’s wife will ever be banned from hanging with me and then remember she is a partner in thought crime…hehe…

Later, my friend and I discuss the energy we put into silly discussions about things that are prohibited and how much energy people spend on making sure others don’t do/eat/say/believe those things. Forget worrying about equal rights when people eating alligators are afoot! I should create a website…

Ki