Why am I to blame for being born non-Muslim, and what authority do we have to kill animals?
Why I was born a Kafir when God had sent a religion for those who believe? Why he had not made me a born believer? Now to get into the “true” religion of God I have to get convinced about it. Why is this situation was created by Him for me, while others are lucky to be born as Muslims?
What about the division of mankind as good and bad vs. Muslims and non-muslims ?
When we kill an animal for satiating hunger it is justified? What did a goat [or other animal] to do be sacrificed against its wishes? And why is there another category called Qurbani? What authority we do have over a soul of an animal other than when we are hungry?
Why does a Muslim need to behave like an Arab to become a Muslim?
Answer
I can assure you that, to begin with, I approached my religion as a neutral person. When I got sufficiently convinced that it was a true message from God, I started thinking about it as a Muslim. By being sufficiently convinced, I don’t mean hundred percent convinced. Faith is a journey that travels from reasonable conviction to stronger states of it. In the process, there remain unanswered questions. However, there are two types of unanswered questions: those that are puzzling, but one realizes that one cannot get answers to them because of one’s own limitations. There are others which cannot get answered because one can see that there is something seriously wrong with the religious claim.
I have found both types of puzzling questions during my quest to learn about Islam. In the case of the ones that belong to the first category, I keep telling myself that I can’t get answers to them given my limitations, although I keep thinking about them whenever an opportunity to do so offers itself. In the case of the second category of questions, my experience is that all such questions regarding Islam have arisen because its teachings have been misunderstood. If there still remain a few questions of that sort, I keep looking for their answers on the basis of my confidence that I have gained through my earlier experiences when I was puzzled and then rescued on finding the right answers. In other words, although I may not be exactly a neutral person from your point of view, I still try to approach my religion rationally. This has been possible simply because I am convinced that my religion wants me to behave that way.
Coming to your queries, I believe you are asking essentially two questions: Why should a person be penalized by the Almighty for not being a Muslim (you have used the word Kafir) when He Himself arranged him to be born a non-Muslim? The second question has to do with the reason why animals are allowed to be killed for the benefit of the humans. I believe, that while the second one belongs to the first category of questions I have mentioned above, the first question belongs to the second category.
Indeed if the non-Muslims are going to be punished for no fault of theirs simply for not being Muslims, it is grossly unfair. I cannot believe a book that says so to be from God for a single moment. I am absolutely clear about it. Anyone who thinks that such a case is true, to me, has shocking views. I know that many Muslims hold that point of view. That worries me greatly because holding such a view is a great allegation against God Almighty, the Author of the Qur’an. The fact of the matter is that the Qur’an never said anything of that sort. The Qur’an has informed us that a Kafir is destined to go to the hell and has clarified on many occasions that a Kafir is a person who knows what the true message of God is and yet goes to reject that message unfairly and arrogantly. The Qur’an mentions that at least some so-called Muslims would turn out to be Kafirs on the Day of Judgment. It also clarifies that all Jews, Christians, and others who truly believe in God, the hereafter, and do righteous deeds (without being Kafirs) are destined to enter the paradise.
Why has God arranged for a situation like this to happen wherein some people are Muslims and some are not? The answer is that He wanted to test each individual on the basis of his peculiar circumstances. Every human is being tested on two counts: knowledge and character. A non-Muslim who passes that test (and only the All-Knowledgeable God can know that) is bound to enter the paradise. A Muslim who fails it is bound to enter the hell.
As for the second question, indeed killing a living being is a serious matter. I wouldn’t have killed an animal if God, the creator of those animals, wouldn’t have allowed me to do it. We Muslims are allowed to sacrifice animals only if we pronounce the name of God, which symbolizes His permission, while doing it. He knows better why He created those animals. If He says that He created them to serve us, there is no reason why such a claim should be rejected. After all, don’t we eat fruits, vegetables, and crops? Is it not a fact that all plants have life?
Finally, there is no stipulation in Islam that requires us to behave like Arabs. As a Pakistani, I am allowed to dress like a Pakistani, eat what I like to of course without getting into what is haraam (prohibited) in Islam, live, travel, do business, and celebrate functions the way I choose to. The only expectations from me is that I will not do anything that is prohibited in Islam and would abide by all the binding injunctions expected to be followed by all Muslims.