Dhabaal
Part time -Devils Advocate Full time- Anarchist
It is classic sign of severe identity crisis being manipulated. It is a simple case known in the Muslim community as ''Converitis or insta-scholar''. It is more present amongs youth and converts.
The Case of the Insta-Scholar
Jane took her shahada last week. She was a "regular American" who studied a little about Islam, hemmed and hawed over the dress and dietary codes, decided it was the truth, and accepted it into her life. Many sisters in the community looked forward to helping Jane learn the basics of Islam, such as the salat, the five pillars, the six articles of faith, and so on.
Now, this week, we see that Jane has changed her name to "Ai'sha," is wearing full niqaab [black only], buying everything (even potato chips-- which she may stop buying as it is "imitation of the kufar") from the halal market, getting into interfaith debates at her job, using a miswak, telling the other sisters what they "ought to be doing," and what they are "doing wrong," and considering accpeting a marriage proposal to be a co-wife.
What Are the Symptoms of Convertitis?
The new Muslim who is suffering from this terrible disease is easily recognizable within the community. You will notice a radical change in appearance, almost immediately: from "regular clothes" to full niqaab or kufi and thobe. Often walking around with a miswak. Starts peppering their language full of Arabic-isms they either don't really know or can't pronounce. Almost immediately, they talk at great length about their "Islamic Identity," and their "Muslim-ness." In every incident, they will see an "Anti-Muslim" bias that didn't exist previously [and probably doesn't exist currently]. They often argue points of Islamic fiqh with anyone and everyone-- from the fellow new shahada to the valedictorian of Al-Ahzar. [of course, they don't know what "fiqh" is...]
The most serious symptom is that everything is black and white: what they view as good is truth , and what they don't understand is bad, bid'a, haram, whatever. They view themselves as the sole practicioners of "True Islam," and pass into judgement millions of others. Abdul Hakim Murad explains here, the "serious side" of convertitis:
"The initial and quite understandable response of many new comers is to become an absolutist. Everything going on among pious muslims is angelic; everything outside the circle of faith is demonic. The appeal of this outlook lies in its simplicity. The newly arranged landscape on which the convert looks is seen in satisfying black and white terms of Them versus Us, good against evil."
Oftentimes, when approached by other Muslims about this behavior, they become defensive. Those suffering from Convertitis will exhibit a marked lack of interest in any lectures, books, programs, etc. having to do with Islamic history, Fiqh, or spirituality, while their interests in things like "The Hijab Debate," and "Muslim vs. Christian" is noticibly high.
Most new Muslims, however, soon see through this. Those individuals who adopt Islam because they need an identity will be condemed to wander the sectarian and factional hall of mirrors, constantly looking for the perfect group that will give them their desperately needed sense of specialness and superiority. ...Those who come to Islam seeking an identity will find the multiplicity of traditional Muslim cultures intolerable. People with confused identities are attracted to totalitarian solutions. And today, many young Muslims feel so threated by the diversity of calls on their allegiance, and by the sheer complexity of modernity, that the only form of Islam they can regard as legitimate is a totalitarian, monolithic one. That there should be four schools of Islamic law is to them unbearable. That Muslim cultures should legitimiately differ is a species of blashphemy.
