Religion is dividing the masses…or is it making us faithful as a group?

A few friends and I had a discussion today. In this discussion I remembered another time in my life when religion and religiosity was less of an idea for me. I always observed my religion. Yes I did. I was and am a practicing Muslim. At different times in my life I practiced things differently. But as society has evolved, we Muslims have become more strict and canonly observant now in 2015, then we ever were. And I’m not referring to the dumb, ignorant ISIS type Islam of killing and beheadings and violence. That is not even Islam. I’m referring to the day to day observances of our faith. This includes where you eat, and perhaps more than people think. Islam is just not all inclusive of Halal food but things now have become more murky. For example, we now have to verify the “Halality” of Halal food. And even food that is not required to undergo the scrutiny of Halal such as vegetarian food, seafood and pastas now become questionable. There was a time when you walked into a store that said “Halal” and ate whatever you wanted. Then there was all the hype about how many of these joints are opening up and we should verify if they are Halal. So now we have the added burden of questioning the poor owner about his meat source. And say you decided to avoid meat altogether? Fair enough. At one time if the Halal issue became too much for you, then you didn’t eat meat and chilled out and ate vegetarian. Not any more. What oil is the vegetarian food cooked in? Did the owner keep the meat and veggies separate? Could there be even a trace of alcohol or lard in your vegetables? Now we even question the vegetarian joint before we eat there. The point is that as we become more and more observant, while our non-Muslim friends turn more and more secular, we are now beginning to feel isolated and alienated. Couple this to the worlds hatred of ISIS, The Taliban, Al Shabab, Boko Haram and other nutcase Muslim terrorists, and we have automatically become the world’s most disliked group, as a group. People far us because we are always talking about our Sharia law, even though none of us feel or ever felt that it should be part of western law. I thus question whether this is right? Whether we do have to remain secular in some form or else become alienated? As far as we have gone, let us now slow down and try to acquire some secularism. It is enough to observe the fast in Ramadhan. You don’t need to fast outside of that. Pray the prayers you need to but do not pray all the time or live out of the mosque. Relax your hatred of all music. Do not argue wherever you go about Israel or the Middle East. They will work their own problems out. Be sympathetic of all humans suffering at the hands of tyrants. Be sensitive to all humans afflicted by political strife. Assimilate where you can. Don’t advertise that you don’t drink alcohol. Observe in silence. Let us see Muslims, Hijabis modestly dressed in concerts and beaches, townhalls and community centres, libraries and hospitals, observing dress code but also having fun like all people do. Let us stop our religious evolution for a moment and focus on our integration with our neighbours, friends and coworkers, and showcase us with our identity in the milieu of society. I once mixed with so many different cultures, even went to my Sikh friends wedding and had lots of fun. As we have become more observant, this has changed. And I do not necessarily agree that everything about this change is desirable in the world today.