Although this post doesn’t exactly pertain to Islam, I think it’s relevant because progressive Muslims are marginalised in various ways:

Through my life, I’ve been told I’m ‘sensitive’, often used pejoratively against me, as ‘sensitivity’ is seen as a sign of weakness, and thus undesirable in society. Especially as I used to be religious and conservative, and being involved with those kinds of communities…the ideologies they held quite conflicted with my sensitivity, so I tried hard to reconcile with both sides of the spectrum.

Since moving away from all that, I feel getting older, I’ve been becoming even more ‘sensitive’. I want to treat people with respect, kindness and dignity as much as I can, even if I may not exactly vibe with them, or agree with their views and opinions. Although I’m quite privileged in several ways—for example, being male without dysphoria, not visibly disabled, not black, living in a first world country, heterosexual—I’m less privileged than the average person in other ways, and I didn’t like being treated with discrimination. So why would I inflict it onto others that are even more marginalised than me? Over what they can’t change? It’s horrible, and I wouldn’t want to be a perpetrator of that kind of injustice.

My point is, maybe sensitivity isn’t a ‘bad’ thing after all, and it’s something to love about myself? It helps realise my zeal to dispel evil, strife and oppression that infests through society. I truly want to help make the world a better place, and I feel my understanding through my sensitivity. And although I’m far from perfect, I feel time and patience is on my side to improve swiftly.