Little Muslim Questionnaire

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu everyone, and Ramadhan Mubarak!

For those of you fasting, Insha'Allah I sincerely hope it's going well and is not too difficult during these long, hot summer days, and that Insha'Allah you are strengthening your relationship with ALLAH at the same time.

Here's a short questionnaire that I found on Elisa's blog, and as a big fan of these types of things (they channel my inner stalker, lol) I decided to fill it out myself. One thing that kind of peeved me about it, though, was that it kept lumping "Arab" and "Muslim" together as if they were one and the same. I'm going to ignore the "Arab" part of it and just focus on the "Muslim" parts.

1) Are you a convert or born Muslim? How about your parents?
I'm a convert Alhamdulillah; I decided I wanted to be Muslim in 2005, started observing the five pillars in September 2008, took the shahadah on December 31, 2008, and got my shahadah certificate on July 15, 2010. My mother is Jewish (non-observant) and my father and sister are Christian (observant).

2) What's your ethnicity and how did it relate to how you were raised?
My sister and I are adopted, so we have different ethnicities than my parents. I'm Italian, Irish, and German, and these specific ethnicities played no role in my upbringing (although my family did visit Italy when I was 10). My dad is the epitome of WASP culture, so I really was brought up with WASPy values. My mother is Jewish, so I also learned about Jewish customs. My sister is Chinese, and our family used to do a lot of Chinese-related activities and customs (we celebrated Chinese New Year, took Chinese cooking classes, I was in a Chinese folk dance troupe, I took Mandarin Chinese for six years, etc.).

3) Where are you from, and if not the Middle East, have you been there? For how long and why?
Um...what? I'm assuming that this question is being asked because the Middle East is the "heartland" of Islam (totally ignoring the Muslims in the subcontinent, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia...). I am American and have always lived there. I have been to Morocco for three weeks for a college course, and Insha'Allah I would love to return someday.

4) What's your favorite Arab/Middle Eastern dish?
Bechamel, hands down. And of course shawarma and fresh hummus.

5) What's the most interesting or funny Islam/Arab related saying you use day to day?
The only Arabic words I use are in relation to Islam (e.g. Masha'Allah, Alhamdulillah, etc.), so none of them are really "interesting" or out of the ordinary.

6) What's the most attractive and unattractive thing you find toward a Muslim or Arab man/woman?
I am attracted to Muslim men who are serious about their religion without getting too zealous or intolerant of people who aren't just like him (no going around acting like the haram police or claiming that everyone that doesn't agree with him is a kafir). A sense of humor and respect for others, especially children and women, are essential. Men who think that women are inferior, only belong in the kitchen or birthing babies, and who don't respect our opinions and feelings are an absolute no-no for me.

7) Whats the thing you love most about Islam? What do you dislike the most?
The thing I love the most about Islam is the Qur'an; just an all-around amazing, beautiful thing. I dislike how the Qur'an, hadiths, and sunnah have been traditionally interpreted to subjugate certain groups of people (especially women) when in reality, upon closer examination, Islam actually doesn't condone these attitudes and behaviors.

8) What's the most interesting/embarrassing/funny thing in your house that's related to Islam or Arab culture, excluding the Quran?
I have a t-shirt that says "I <3 ISBCC" on it (ISBCC being the masjid that I attend).

9) Do you speak Arabic? If you do, then say something.
Again, the only Arabic I know is related to Islam. I know a few secular words, but I hardly ever use them.

10) Name of all the Islamic Prophets you can remember at the top of your head. No Cheating!!
Adam, Idris, Nuh, Ilyas, Ibrahim, Lut, Ishaq, Ismail, Yaqub, Yusuf, Musa, Harun, Dawud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Uzayr, Shuaib, Dhul-Kifl, Zakariya, Yahya, Isa, Muhammad, peace be upon them all.

Feel free to copy and fill out yourself!