Question(s) of the Day

How much should an understanding of cultural nuances be incorporated into a profession? Is it important that this inclusion only be applied to certain fields (say, medicine) – and not to others (say, engineering)? How much should one separate what defines one in terms of a cultural affiliation and relates to people to how one works professionally?

In law cases, how important is it that the lawyer representing you have a similar background to you, an understanding of what defines you?

Articles of relevance:

More Muslims Going Into Law

Are you a public person or a private person?* How much of yourself do you share with others? Noting that in different cultural contexts, the answer may be different – generally, what do you think is "too much information" to share with another person? What shoud be considered – of oneself – the public realm, and what should fall under the private realm?

How do the above questions fit into the issue of hayaa, of modesty, in the life of a Muslim? Should a Muslim ever be a public person?

*Note: the question is not regarding being an extrovert or an introvert.

Despite how our family and friends know us, there is always a certain image of ourselves that we like to project – especially to strangers. How do you like to ideally show yourself to the world? If meeting someone for the first time – given that, yes, your interaction will largely depend on the background of the individual you meet – what are some of the bigger characteristics of your personality, of yourself, that you would like to project and immediately show?

As a Muslim, how does one capture humility in projecting who one is? How does one do this if there are significant accomplishments and affiliations that strongly shape who one is?

How does one share significant affiliations of oneself in a way that is useful to another individual, but at the same time is done in a humble way?

When recounting incidences that have majorly affected us as individuals, as communities, as nations, there is often disagreement as to why those incidences took place – and often, conspiracy theories abound.

The first step towards moving forward, and not blaming different "sides," is to engage in dialogue with each other. If you are interested in engagement, in dialogue, in learning from an incident, how do you do so if there is intense disagreement on the reason for the root of a problem?

At the end of the day, we are all biased. Be it against certain persons of certain ethnic, religious, cultural, or geographical backgrounds – amongst many – we have stereotypes as nurtured by society around us. Would you want to know up-front if certain persons have a bias against you based on what you may represent? Especially if it saves you the headache of ever interacting with that person and suffering as a result?

As Muslims, we live in a day and age where there is constantly a media hype portraying us in a negative way. How much should we engage in dialogue, in communicating with others, if it means going out of our way of interacting with those that have a preconceived notion about us?

Articles of relevance:

The Nitpicking Nation

Dating, as a concept, is generally looked down upon in Muslim communities. Courtship, on the other hand, does not have the same negative connotation and in many Muslim circles, is permitted, with varying rules and regulations, and as defined by the family and particular cultural background.

How different are the two? And how should one refer to the period whereby two individuals are getting to know each other for the purpose of marriage, especially if it is over a long period, where an engagement/marriage may take some time to be announced publicly? Are these two individuals "dating"? Or "courting"? Or are they simply "involved in a process"?

Can dating have a positive connotation, and courting a negative one? How should these words, these processes, fit into the life of a Muslim?