I was at a celebratory event a couple of days ago and the waiters were offering wine. ‘oh I don’t drink alcohol’ – a simple reply that I’ve said time and time again but this time, I hear a new acquaintance pip in ‘oh not just a little? but (insert name of successful Malay person) does!’.
this is why I’m disappointed with us. Not the ignorant friend I had just made – us, the Malay Muslim community.
alcohol is almost always associated with celebrations and networking. I know this because for most of my career, I’ve been offered it and I’ve had to spend quite a bit of time explaining the reason why I don’t drink – I’m a Muslim and the Quran forbids it’s consumption.
In the Qur’an Surat Al-Baqarah [2:219] it says “They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: ‘In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.'”
this is why I get disappointed in the success of Malay Muslim professionals/success stories who choose to drink. I do not applaud their success because you are one more person who is saying ‘it’s okay, I’ll bend the rules so that I can succeed’ and that sucks. it paints a picture of me (not successful yet but working towards it) being inflexible when really, there is no room for flexibility in this matter – it’s a great sin. not a small one, a great one.
I’m sure there are many success stories of people who have achieved their amazing careers without ‘bending the rules’ and I want to meet these people. i want these people to be applauded and to be identified as role models. I want the future business/accountancy/law/whatever other fields that require networking graduates to know that it’s possible – to be successful in your career while not having to compromise on your beliefs.
Source: Nur’Ashikin Ahmad
