Personal Narrative: My Religious Beliefs

I have been very fortunate to be able to mentor a local 11th grade student. I think mentoring this student has truly made me grow personally. We typically talk about current topics, like how every day there are bad things happening constantly one after the next. However, we never really talked about personal stuff until one day, when we started talking about our own personal religious beliefs and this was uncomfortable for me because I am a devote Muslim and, recently, there have been such terrible crimes committed against humanity in the name of Islam. My biggest fear was that maybe if I told him about my religious beliefs he might not want me as a mentor anymore. I felt that he would dislike me or he would no longer listen to my advice.
However, I was interested in hearing his perspectives on the recent terrorist attacks in California. Hence, I started asking him what he believed were the reasons for the recent terrorist attacks. Surprisingly, he said that the religion of Islam was to blame because Islam teaches to kill those that disbelieve. As a Muslim, his beliefs and values were completely opposite of mine. However, I recognize that in situation such as these, it is extremely important to hear the other perspective and engage in dialogue in order to express my perspective as well. It is also important for me to remain patient and calm even …show more content…
However, the best way to interact with these patients is by being patient and trying to help them understand what Islam is truly about and dispelling any fear that they may have by showing them as a Muslim doctor, I want to help as much as any one of my colleagues, if not more. Because as a Muslim doctor, I have to prove that, contrary to what the media may portray, Muslims are scientists and doctors who contribute to the betterment of