Love your article! The get involved part is hard for me. Not because I don’t have many masjids to go to in my hometown, but rather the behavior and judgmental nature of many Muslims have really upset me. The Haram Police and the Tafsir Police. The Tafsir Police seem to think their interpretation of the Quran is the only interpretation. They are pushy and have no respect for a person’s boundaries. I can’t breathe. I wasn’t a part of a religion before though I studied many. I am fine as a Muslim when it’s just me on my own, but often being around other Muslims is distressing. My hijab (I had a piece of hair hanging out), my lip gloss, listening to music, watching TV, taking a picture, none of which is forbidden in the Qu’ran, suddenly garner’s judgement. And you touched on this in your piece, people thrusting their scholars on me.
