For those who don’t know, Malaysian actor Adam Corrie Lee has been relatively active in spreading Islamic teachings. He also regularly participates in Islamic programs to talk about his experience in embracing Islam.
A few days ago, the 53-year-old public figure revealed to his 838k followers on Instagram that he was once reprimanded for still using food chopsticks when eating his food, despite being a mualaf (convert). Yes, you heard that right!
Adam (full name Adam Corrie Lee Abdullah) revealed on his IG that there were a handful of people who are “shallow-minded”. According to him, people told him that it’s considered haram (forbidden) for Muslims to eat their food using chopsticks.
He commented, “Take it in a positive way. We live in a multiracial society. Eating with a chopstick is not considered ‘haram’. I was reprimanded previously. They told me that if you have converted to Islam, you cannot use chopsticks because it’s ‘haram’.”
Adam then accompanied his caption with a verse from Surah Al-Hujurat which reads, “O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into races and tribes, so that you may identify one another. Surely the noblest of you, in Allah’s sight, is the one who is most pious of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
In the same post, Adam explained that eating with chopsticks is indeed a culture practiced by the Chinese community. Not only that, he also took some time to show his followers how to properly use the utensils while eating rice prepared in a bowl.
“I will usually eat using my hands if the rice is served on a plate. We had our meals at a Chinese Muslim restaurant, and they served their steamed ginger chicken rice in a bowl. So that’s why I used chopsticks, obeying to my own culture,” Adam further clarified.
Not only that, Adam was also seen responding to an internet troll who left malicious comments against him. “This is one of the challenges I encountered as a Chinese Muslim. There are a handful of Muslims out there who do not reflect Islamic morals to new converts and also to the ‘unbelievers’. It can make us feel that our presence as Muslims is unwelcomed,” he wrote on his IG Story.
For the uninitiated, Adam officially changed his religion to Islam on 13th July 2007. He was 39 years old at that time.
Sources: Oh Media, BeautifulNara.
