Just curious - how many muslims are on mumsnet?

[Galvanise]

Hello/Salaam,

I know mumsnet has a wide and diverse population and I tend to recognise some MN usernames as regulars. Just intrigued to know how big/small a community it may be.

Of course, I respect that there may be those who do not wish to even identify themselves for various reasons - which is fine too.

I am not asking for 'religiousness' levels or any vital stats! Nor is this a muslim-only thread or an 'no non-muslims' thread.
If you really wish to tell me that you are not a muslim, that is fine too :)

:)

I'm still wondering why her girls couldn't change with the other girls in the girls' changing room.

Are they supposed to hide their bodies from other girls, too?

How much importance do you all place on fatawa?

I am Muslim alhamdulillah! Not that I judge any body else who choose to follow other faiths. I have friends of all kinds and religious inclinations.
I am mother to two sons, I am a writer, published an anthology on amazon: For the People, By the People. I run my own online jewellery business Sama Collections. I am also working on my first novel- its in the final stages!
I like to read Rumi's works but not inclined towards Sufism etc.
Ah! That is a long intro.
Would love to hear what others do!
Sabah

firefly- in answer to the Turkish ID question, no we were not allowed to state NIL or leave the religion section blank. I don't know why, no one at the registry seemed to know why either! The rule was the rule! I do remember being asked on getting my citizenship what my Turkish name was going to be, they seemed a little bemused but accepting when I explained I had a perfectly good name that my parents gave me. In my mind my religion should be completely irrelevant to my citizenship, for myself we put Christian in the end which felt wrong as I am non practicing. For my children we literally tossed a coin and so Islam is stated, it bothers me as they are not being brought up anything.

sparklingsea I wonder what they'd say if someone put under religion "Satanism". LOL... No actually, it is odd yeah. Even more odd that the people at the registry can't explain why. I mean, maybe there is an assumption somewhere that children should not grow up without a religion. But we cannot know for sure if they say they don't know either.

cote awrah between women is from navel and knees, but some say from neck to knees.

as for fatwa I read them to try and understand things, like reading explanations from sheikhs, but fatwas are legal judgements that are often specific to situations alot of the time not a one size fits all situation?

I see fatwas the same way as nailak, and the majority do go on personal circumstances. Also depends on which sheikh is advising because what with the different madhab, things can be poles apart. I do stay away islam q and a (the website) in general though as I've read things before that are more hardline opinions rather than opinions backed up with authentic evidence. If I have to know something I will research it first and if I don't understand or need more information, I'll phone the local imam.

Wanted to give my views on having lots of kids/contraception....I'm of the opinion that crescent moon stated above and the evidence above is why. I have chosen with dh to have only three children (inshallah) because we don't feel we can cope sufficiently with or dedicate enough time to more. I don't deal with pregnancy well and generally hate it apart from the scans and the baby kicking, and my labours are always very very long and extremely intense. There's no way I want to keep inflicting pregnancy and childbirth on my body over and over again and islamically I think that's absolutely acceptable and fine to do. This may be controversial to say and it is NOT a generalisation, so let me clarify that now..but some families with a lot of kids really seem to struggle. I've seen a number of families all with eight children each and the kids have had behaviour problems, been in major trouble with the law, older ones have too much responsibility on them from a young age, the mothers are haggard looking and run ragged physically and mentally, and the homes are chaos and without structure. This is what I've personally observed and the Islamic education of these kids has suffered very badly along with living in poverty and surviving off of benefits,word of a lie. I'm well aware there are amazing families who have a ton of kids and are more than able to bring them up and give them all quality time, but I couldn't do it and even if I could I wouldn't want to anyway. Time with my dh and enjoying being physically fit and well rather than sick with the pregnancies is really important to me. Plus our house is tiny and our three will all be sharing a bedroom until we can afford to move elsewhere. And those are my views :)

Crescentmoon - why would your DH say 'no way' to ballet? How old is your DD? Am curious.

Crescent. Lol it's nice to know you share some same ideas as me!! You have to be careful in certain circles as saying you don't want a ton of kids doesn't always get the best reaction. I think you and dh are wise in encouraging your dd to do martial arts, that's a hell of a lot more beneficial in terms of fitness and self defence! Asalaamalaikum Sabah! Need to check your jewellery out inshallah, welcome to the thread. I'm also a writer but finding it really hard to get established, also working on writing a novel too. Would love to hear some of your personal views :)

It's really sad that your 6-year-old DD can't go to ballet because her dad thinks it's too feminine. Or is it because her stocking-clad legs will be on display?

We have this conversation from time to time about how restrictive Islam is for a woman and you & others go "Oh no, we are free as birds tra lala" but restrictions start early on. By the time you get to puberty, it feels natural to live this restricted life because you have been groomed for it from early childhood

By sport, do you mean competitive sport?

There are boys/men who do ballet too.
Ballet also develops strength

I would like to add that many girls who start ballet from an early age become fixated on it and are bitterly disappointed when they reach their teens and ate told by teachers and examiners that they are not the desirable build needed to go professional. This in itself can lead to low self esteem and eating disorders to name but a few. Martial arts, swimming, horse riding and archery are all better in everything than things like ballet and disco dancing. Speaking from personal experience theris a lot of bitchiness and unhealthy competition in dance troupes so that's another good reason why I don't think it's great.

"awrah between women is from navel and knees, but some say from neck to knees"

I have never heard of this. What is the source of this particular restriction? I don't remember seeing any mention of women covering up in front of each other in the Quran.

By the way, my sis did ballet and I did horse riding when we were younger, and I was the one with stamina and thighs of steel

The awrah is in Hadith Cote. Does anyone know the isnaad? Is it hassan/daeef/sahih? I observe it in front of other women personally.

Why does ballet automatically make people think of princesses? I ask as someone who trained in ballet until I was 18 and not being at all pink or princessy! In terms of fitness and strength you need to be incredibly fit and strong although I realise at 6 it is more about having fun! I wish I could be as strong as I was in my late teens again!! Even 20 years later people remark on my posture and anyone in the know can see ballet training a mile off. Off topic somewhat but feel rather passionate about ballet and the joy it gave me when i did it. Dare I say for me it is almost quite spiritual, I felt totally whole whilst dancing, even now I do a lot of pilates and that is quite meditative for me.
I asked because of my interest in ballet but also think isn't childhood the time when you can be free to try out different things?

many girls do ballet just because they love it!

why would you want to restrict that?

Sparkling sea Of course ballet has its many benefits and nobody on here has said we see it as princessy etc, but there are other pastimes and sports that are as much if not better and more beneficial. Whilst you loved dancing, I adored horse riding and karate and tbh never had any desire to do ballet in particular. It's what you're brought up with and come into contact with, and it's the parents job to encourage their child to follow what they think would benefit them. I remember wanting desperately to train as a geisha..no kidding..until my mum gently reminded me i was not Japanese and the training takes years/having to sleep with neck on wooden block due to intricate hairstyle etc. I joined karate after that.