Throwback 7.
Muslims always speak about "Fighting for the ummah" but ironically we also love to discriminate & hate on one another.
We divide & seperate each other by Religious sects, Superior-Inferior countries, race & more.
To be honest, i was like that before.
I used to look down on Bangladeshis in Malaysia. They're misperceived as "dirty", "stealing our jobs", "Bangsa Perompak & Pencuri"......the list is long.
All of that changed when i entered IIUM.
I was paired up with a Bangladeshi, @mubarratwassey .
At first i was skeptical.
"Why must i be paired up with him & not the other much better seniors?"
However, once we started to know each other. There really was no turning back.
Mubarrat ended up being my Roommate, DebateMate, travel partner & my brother.
We ended up beating our seniors together & won multiple international awards together.
Mubarrat pushed me like never before. We would train until late night in our dorms. We would be critical of each others flaws. We would even compete against one another while being in the same team, to see who can score better.
He must have been very patient as i can be a very demanding guy.
I remember punching him in the middle of a debate round as he was not focusing on the point i was trying to deliver to him. He was pissed but let it slide 😆
We ended up conquering Asia together & broke many records abroad.
Diversity is an asset & not a liability.
When i retired from competitive debating, Mubarrat, @ameeramoore & @saraxpress ended up breaking almost all of my international records.
They even won the elusive AustralAsian Championships which assembled the best teams in the world. This made them the first Asian team in DECADES to clinch the title.
The best of the best in the world beaten by an Afghan, a Bangladeshi & a Malaysian.
I have never been prouder.
I'll be hosting #Thunderbold classes on Public Speaking, Debating, Critical Thinking & more, sharing my years of experience.
5 classes(RM200)where 100% of proceeds will go to buy tablets for poor students.
Join me.
bit.ly/thunderbold
