So it is snowing.

No, I mean, really snowing. I'm talking, a good 8 inches of snow, on top of 2 inches of pure ice, snowing!

Anyway, therefore I am cooped up in my home, bored as always, not knowing if I should write, read, eat or sleep. So I guess I will write and do one of the other three later.

I really wish there were other Muslims living near me. A Masjid would be great, but just to have maybe one other Muslim in this town would suffice. I feel so isolated at times, so alone, and although I have many friends, that I could hang out with and have a good laugh with in a pinch, it doesn't replace that spiritual bond between people of the same faith. Fellowship, that is what I crave.

I even seek out those who are not Muslim, but that are all about serving God, be they Christian or whatever. I just want spiritual connections between the people I am around, and lately, that is becoming increasingly hard to find.

I have a friend whom satisfied that need for fellowship, but as he fell out of touch with God, that part of our friendship faded. I am not going to say it died, because I feel there is hope yet to rekindle that, but for now, it is all but extinguished.

I could try and proselytize, and convert people to Islam, but for one that would be quite selfish of me to do that just for my needs, and two, it is not my place to force people into my way of thinking. My soul yearns for spiritual companionship.

I am to recall the way the prophets must have felt, alone in their cause, and even hated and abused for their belief. At least I do not have is so bad, and yet, I sometimes wish I have such opposition, because for one, it would build my own faith, and two, I would not feel so ignored.

I think that gets to me to, being ignored. I know people talk about me. Me, the strange Muslim boy, whom they all ignore and talk about later on. I want interaction, even if it is negative interaction. How am I to connect, when there is nothing to connect to.

Perhaps I am just contracting Cabin Fever. Suppose I will get over it once the snow melts...

Quran 3:45-46 "Behold! the angels said: O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus the son of Mary held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of those nearest to Allah. He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity and he shall be (of the company) of the righteous."

It surprises many Christians to know the high regard that Muslims put Jesus, son of Mary. His story of humbleness to his Lord, and gentleness towards man. His healing and his words of wisdom, can be heard in Masjids all around the world. His miraculous birth, and his ascension into heaven are found in the Quran, and life stories are told in the Hadith. Isa (Jesus' arabic name), was "The Word of God", and though this term means different things between Christians and Muslims, it describes a little of his mission.

Isa was a mercy to his people, much like Muhammad is a mercy to all mankind. Isa brought God's love into full front, a person, a human being, speaking about God's love that had been shortsighted since the time of Abraham. With his miracles of healing the sick, and even bringing the dead back to life, are all examples of God's Love manifest.

None of this, obviously, is to say that Jesus was divine. On the contrary, he was just as human as any of us, but as a Prophet, part of his role was to bring a portion of God's message to his people, in this case, the Jews. Through the prophetic role of all of God's prophets, we have slowly learned God's message, and learned what it is that our Lord wants from us, and for us, all ending in the message sent through Muhammad to mankind.

Although Christians and Muslims differ greatly on what Jesus means to them, there is no reason whatsoever that they cannot learn from each other, and love each other for the similarities in their faiths, bringing them together, as God intended.

Would an outsider call a Muslim who washes their hands, arms, face, mouth, nose, and feet five times a day, Obsessive compulsive, or even Extreme? Would an outsider call that same Muslim Obsessive or extreme for fasting from food and drink, from dawn to dusk for an entire month? Would and outsider even think it extreme for both Muslim men and women to where clothing that covers their entire body?

Many do, and many fear and hate what they do not understand.

Do Christians have restrictions? What I mean is, are they divinely guided in what they do on a day to day basis? A Christian would probably say "Yes". They would say that they should always act kind and helpful, being meek and humble, and strive for peace.

These are all fantastic ways to live your life day to day, but it is not exactly what I mean. As a Muslim, I am asked "Why do you have to pray 5 times a day, or fast, or things like that?" An answer that I could give is "Because God cares enough about how I live, and what I do to better myself, he has the best of structures for me live out my life by his will." I don't often give this response, because someone may think I am saying that God cares what I do more than what they do. And that is not the case.

The truth is, I have always tried to find what God wanted me to do on specific subjects, but prior to Islam, I was always disappointed by the seemingly lack of care for they daily life of God's creation. I felt there was just so much room for error, room to disappoint God. I wanted to please God, and even if God didn't have a specific way to do something, I at least wanted to know what not to do.

People seem to think It strange, the idea that God has a suggested way to do just about anything in Islam. If you have a question about something, There is an answer. And that is what I found in Islam. Answers.

Now, how extreme is extreme? Am I extreme for doing the things I stated above? are YOU extreme for NOT doing them. A Muslim would think another Muslim is extreme for not praying, or fasting, or giving charity. On the other end of the spectrum, we obviously classify terrorist activity and the like as extreme.

Islam= The middle Path

So before you can judge people on what is too extreme, or obsessive, maybe you need to reassess your definition of those terms.

How does one deal with their ideals of truth? Do Christians, Muslims, or anyone really, feel so deeply about their "truth" that they will go to any length to make people see in the same rose-tinted glasses? Are people so blinded by truth that they cannot see the forest for all the trees?

I once asked a Christian, whether he felt that anyone else deserved to go to heaven other than Christians. He joyfully, and immediately told me "No". I was a little taken aback. I asked him why he thought that, and of course his answer was, "The only way to Heaven is through the son, Jesus Christ." This, I know, is the agreed upon doctrine of Christianity, but to say that no one else deserved eternal paradise, is not. I find that a lot of Christians have this view though, and it is wrong, and in my opinion, inhumane to think that way. Did Jesus say in the bible that people should treat those who do not follow him in such a way?

Why can we not learn and love from one another? Do out own "Truths" conflict so much that we must plant the seeds of hate and opposition everywhere we go? I am a Muslim, but must I shut out the biblical teachings of the Christian Jesus, or even the 8 fold path of the Buddha? Of Course not. Must a Christian feel so enthralled to spread "The Message", that he cannot learn from the Prophet Muhammad? Where is our sense of brotherhood in this age of diversity? Must we only ever come together when a tragedy strikes, such as the one in Haiti? Must we only work together when we have a common enemy?

Where are the followers of Aristotle, and Plato when you need them? They taught to learn all we can, about everything and anything, and to never let that knowledge turn to pride.

Are we so prideful, mankind, that we have become like our adversary, Satan? Have we become what we have been charged to combat as vicegerents of God on earth? Are nothing more than a people, blind and scorned? Where is the love, where is humanity?