I think the best place to live would be own desert island, preferably in slightly brighter climes, with its own volcano and shark pool.

do you agree that Britain is the best place to live as a Muslim?

Would you agree you get more rights in UK than in any Muslim country?

Comparing living in this county to a hypothetical situation in which one was born and brought up in, say, Mirpur…

In this country it is easier to define your own Islam. Islam can be as close as you want and as distant as you want. Whereas, in Mirpur, I think, you would have a very rigid definition of religion imposed on you. It would even be the case that you either accept Islam as it's presented to you – with its male hierarchy, strict ritual practice, and cultural amalgamations – or you reject it.

Living in Britain you have access to a wide range of literature on Islam. More significantly, there is unavoidable access to many different Muslim practices and Islamic interpretations. You can choose which way you want to go. If you take issue with an aspect of your family's traditional take on Islam you can speak against it but make your point on a religious basis. Back in Mirpur, such dissent would be heavily castigated.

It is easier to live as a Muslim in this country because you can be your own Muslim without having society dictate what kind of Muslim you should be. There is more room for you to develop your own relationship with God. But the strength of that relationship with God is more fluid. Without the strong societal and cultural hold over religion, your faith becomes much more dependent on you as an individual.

Pardon my broad brush, but I'm finding that I can say more if I don't let myself get hung up by a little thing called nuance.

It's not like the cultural practices have not followed the people over... and a difference being people back in Mirpur may change with the times while those over here will be stuck with the practices from 1980 or whenever it was that they made the journey over.

Also, not everyone there is super religious. quite the contrary.

Another good thing about being in the UK - education. you can have educated answers for everything if you so wish to recieve them instead of being told "don't do this, its from THE DEVIL!!!"

Well, I think you can. maybe.

As for broad strokes, they are much appreciated. it allows for discussion, and may force others to respond if they feel you are standing on their toes.

You wrote:

It's not like the cultural practices have not followed the people over... and a difference being people back in Mirpur may change with the times while those over here will be stuck with the practices from 1980 or whenever it was that they made the journey over.

Also, not everyone there is super religious. quite the contrary.

Cultural practices have followed people over, but in this liberal and diverse environment they are open to challenge and change. But changes to cultural religious amalgamations are slow and fraught in the conservative and traditional environment of Mirpur.

I agree people are not overly religious in places, or in our imagination of places, such as Mirpur. But there is a clearer distinction of what is and isn't appropriate and legitimate religious practice.

Religion is more diverse in this country and it is not reinforced by society. It is therefore much more dependent on the individual to maintain his or her sense of faith and relationship with God. In Mirpur religion is homogeneous and is reinforced by society and tradition. In this situation any form of variance is shunned and is not regarded as legitimate. This itself is reinforced by sectarianism which can be much more pronounced in rural parts of Pakistan.

(Who'd have thunk it? The electricity in my street went as I was writing this post)

I agree that there are benefits for Muslims living here in that Islam is NOT rigidly imposed on you, but at the other end of the spectrum the downside is that often its the British values that are imposed upon you- and even then, imposed in a very subtle way so that it goes unnoticed. From the moment you step into school, or work, or even on the streets, you see these values being pushed. I think thats a big downside to living in Britain as certain norms and certain beliefs completely contradict Islam i.e. taking interest based loans is a norm, even a necessity for some. So this makes living by Islam really difficult but living by British-imposed values really easy.

In comparison to other countries I think it is easier to live here and safer to do Da'wah here, like someone said there is a bank of resources available, there's always courses, seminars, circles that you can attend somewhere nearby, so for those who still want to practice Islam there are many options available. Until a certain time within these last few years, people who carried Islam like those in other countries, were protected to an extent. They had some rights and legal protection whereas in some countries like Egypt, China and Uzbekistan, its no secret that people are tortured for even talking about Islam. Someone told me about a book called "Just Five Minutes" which is an account of the torture endured in one Muslim country (Ive not checked it out yet but supposedly it is auto-biographical) it revealed that it wasnt just Muslims being tortured but communists and certain other organisation members which opposed the laws of the country. I suppose in that sense groups in Britain have more leeway, just looking back at the Gaza Protests people were allowed to express their different opinions.

Personally I think living in Britain has its ups and downs. I wouldnt call it the "best" place to live for Muslims, but then again I dont think there is any country in the world today which is the "best" place for Muslims ...ahh well, one day inshallah there will be

You wrote:

I think the best place to live would be own desert island, preferably in slightly brighter climes, with its own volcano and shark pool.

So you wanna live on the set of the TV Show Lost?

That would be a good substitute. Get rid of the people, the overarching concept that the people are being tested on (Is that still part of the storyline? I only watched a part of season 1) and add a few amenities such as junk food, the net. Unfiltered.

This is a big topic, i don't know where to start. Agree with much of what has been said, but I don't think Islam can be as close as you want. Although you may have access to a never ending library of Islamic literature society can be opposed to certain interpretations of Islam and Laws and make it difficult for individuals to practice what they believe in i.e dress codes the hijab, jilbab, beard and more commonly the niqab. Polygamy, Gender relationships, Paternity rights etc.

I pretty much agree with Wednesday, but to improve something you've got to first of all work within the system.