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Your advice, please

Posted in Q & A on Jun 27, 2008

You’re always great at giving advice when I bring you dilemmas, whether my own or that of other readers.

Remember the American soldier who wanted to know the best way to serve Iraqis?

And the Muslim cabbie who showed excellent customer service — until he began spewing conspiracy theories about the genocide in Sudan?

Here’s a fresh problem that I need your help to address. It comes from a reform-minded Muslim student who attended my film screening in Indonesia:

“Irshad, my home town is Solo, Central Java.  This is also the home of the National Majaheddin Council, a radical Islamist organization. 

Since 2005, I have been participating in a youth group to promote Islamic reform and pluralism. We do this by producing and distributing publications in many universities throughout Solo.

We face so many challenges.  A couple of years ago, we tried to organize a seminar on pluralism and received phone calls saying they would send hundreds of Allah’s soldiers to stop us.

My family is also very conservative. They will send me threatening letters whenever I get my work published. Recently, I was highly disappointed by a relative who is also a local imam.  He became involved in one of the terrorist groups. He is now in jail, leaving a wife and son without proper care.  What kind of jihad is that?

But no matter how conservative they are, I love my family and I want them to love me for what I believe in.  I often find myself giving up when I face my father.  Then I lie.  I don’t speak my mind. I don’t want to hurt him and I don’t want him to hurt me because I don’t want to hate him.

So how can we get along?  How do I use my freedom of speech in a manner that will make people understand, especially when they are conservative?”

Over to you, dear readers.  Please email me your advice.

To get your compassionate, creative juices flowing, you might want to review the guidance that you gave in previous situations.  Click here and here.