Bridging the cultural gap in a swimsuit

Leslie has taken an enormous step. She has changed her faith. It will take her some time to change her lifestyle. Human beings are not robots or computers that can be programmed into a new set of habits and behaviour.

For many young Muslims the choice is even more difficult. They are forced to swing life's pendulum in at least three directions between parental expectations, orthodox religion and the Western culture they grew up in.

For new Australian and New Zealand Muslims, both young and converts, conventional mosques and imams are locked in an alien cultural world.

I have a Kiwi Muslim friend who sometimes works behind a bar. She serves alcohol, and she enjoys drinking white wine or champagne mixed with orange juice. Both are habits regarded as sinful by mainstream Islam.

But beware anyone who says something nasty about her father's religion. My friend may not be the most observant Muslim on the planet, but in terms of passion for her faith I have known few people better and stronger.

More important than her job and her drinking habits is the goodness of her heart and her wisdom. Despite leading a difficult life, she is one of the most compassionate people I have met. She is extraordinarily sensitive to other people's feelings. I have never heard her speak ill of anyone. And when she rebukes her lawyer friend Irfan on his over-eating habits, she does it mildly.

My friend is the living embodiment of what American sufi Hamza Yusuf Hanson once said: “A religious person is someone who doesn't want to go to hell. A spiritual person is someone who has been to hell and never wants to go back.”

Islam teaches that a good heart and noble intentions matter more than appearances. Some rednecks claim that Muslims believe all martyrs go to heaven into the arms of 72 virgins. But the prophet Muhammad taught that a martyr who dies with the intention of being glorified will in fact be sent to hell. He made the same remark concerning the cleric and the philanthropist who do good deeds just to be seen.

The same prophet also spoke of a sex worker who finished her shift and went to the well to drink some water. She saw a dog dying of thirst and gave the dog water first. For that good deed and for the purity of her intention, God made this woman destined for heaven.

Whether you're a neuroscientist, a barmaid, a swimsuit model or a sex worker, what counts isn't what people think of you. Like all mainstream faiths, Islam teaches that what counts at the end of the day is the goodness of your heart.

I hope Australians of all faiths welcome Leslie home with open hearts.