Aslan wrote in his blog:
Iranian Version Of Islam
I ordered my favorite pizza at a small pizza place in UBC. The guy behind the counter, who is from Pakistan, got kind of confused and he double-checked my order. "So, you want Pepperoni & Ham?" he asked; I confirmed the order. I could understand his confusion; he knew that I am Muslim, just as he was.
Most Iranians don't practice Islam like Muslims from other Middle Eastern countries do. We are considered a Muslim nation; however, most of us were born Muslim, not chose to be one. We are called Muslim because our parents were called Muslim because their parents were called Muslim because... and it goes on and on. Although it doesn't seem like it; however, the people who really practice Islam are a minority in Iran. Simply compare the Iranians to the people from other Muslim nations who live abroad, you'll clearly notice that the Iranian Islam is somehow different! Iranian women don't cover their hair (In fact they lose their scarf right on the airplane which they are leaving Iran with), Iranians drink alcohol, eat Ham & Pepperoni, we don't necessarily fast during the month of Ramazan, and etc. You don't see such thing in Muslims from Arab countries; at least you don't see it at the magnitude that you do see among Iranians.
A joke has been circulating around since the early years of the Islamic revolution; I find it very true and cleverly said. It goes as following: A few years after Iran's Islamic revolution, a TV reporter is interviewing people about the difference that the revolution has made to their lives. To which a man replies: "Actually nothing much; before the revolution, we used to do our prayers inside, and drink our Vodka outside; but now we do our prayers outside, and drink our Vodka inside."
