I notice there are some people who don't understand what Islam is about, and others who try and promote false views on Islam on this forum. So, I made.this thread for those who are confused on what they hear or want to understand something about Islam. I will do my best to answer all questions. If other members who understand Islam (such as Margot and Neutral - there are a few others as well) who wish to answer, feel free to as well. This is a thread in response to Blackrook's thread "Questions for Muslims." It's the same idea as what he pretended his thread was about, but real this time. I realize the usual anti-Islamic troll will infect this thread will their garbage. I recommend just ignoring their crap and not taking what they seriously if you are one asking questions. This is my first thread, and it's to try and minimize the religious hatred and influence by some users and also other websites that they use so often. I'm not an expert on Islam, but I will do my best to answer your questions. All I ask is you show the same respect I show you back, and take this thread seriously. Salam
Well, at least you know in advance The Army of Whackjobs will invade this like the Mongols and Asia. I do have a question for my book. There is a verse that goes something along these lines: "He who saves the life of a single innocent, is more pleasing to Allah than he who kills a thousand enemies." Know where I can find it?
Yes, we do. We believe both the Bible and Torah are revelations from Allah SWT (God) However the Quran states that it has been corrupted. Surah al-Maida: "Say: 'People of the Book (Christians and Jews), you stand for nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord. " Surah al-Nisa: "O believers, have faith in Allah and His Apostle, in the Book He has revealed to His Apostle, and in the Book He formerly revealed (Bible). He that denies Allah, His angels, His Scriptures, His apostles, and the Last Day, has strayed far from the truth." However... Surah al-Baqara: "Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: "This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price! - Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby. Surah an-Nisa: "That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surely they killed him not" Surah al-Ma'ida: "But because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard; they change the words from their (right ) places and forget a good part of the message that was sent them, nor wilt thou cease to find them- barring a few - ever bent on (new) deceits: but forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds): for Allah loveth those who are kind." and an from Surah an-Nisa: "Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: "We hear and we disobey"; and "Hear what is not Heard"; and "Ra'ina"; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: "What hear and we obey"; and "Do hear"; and "Do look at us"; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allah hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe." Lastly, Surah al-Imran: "There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (As they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, "That is from Allah," but it is not from Allah: It is they who tell a lie against Allah, and (well ) they know it!" So, to summarize, Islam recognizes Old Testament as the Word of God, however because we believe it has been corrupted through Man, the Old Testament we read now is not considered Divine. J hope this answered your question. Salam
It's the sad reality... I checked an could't find that verse. Something similar I found was Surah al- Maida: "On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land." This is the closest I could find. It's from Surah al-Imran: "And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous. Who spend [in the cause of Allah ] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good; And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah ? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know." The middle verse is the verse I was talking about. I posted the first and third verses because it didn't seem to make sense by itself. Salam
The weird thing about the relationship between Christians and Muslims is that we follow alot of the same traditions. Muslims for example, believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus, but that he was not really the Messiah and never proclaimed himself to be. They believe that his follows named him the messiah after. They believe that he was a prophet, but his teachings were corrupted by his followers because they wanted him to be known as the Messiah. The fact that Paul, one of the primary writers of the New Testament routinely contridicts Jesus points to this idea as possibly being true
What's with the peace on people's names? Is there a specific reason for saying it *every* time one mentions prophets? Who does it apply to? Does the Quran always do it? The Allah SWT I assume only applies to Allah, but I assume for the same reason as PBUH?
PBUH = Peace be Upon Him/Her SWT = Most Glorified and High (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in Arabic) We say PBUH after the names of the Prophets of Allah SWT. It is a sign of respect to all of them. It isn't madnatory or in the Quran, but we also believe we get "good points" or blessings and reward every time we say either of them. PBUH applies to all the Prophets, if you'd like a list of them I'll make post one. Salam
This is right. Really, the main difference between religions is Jesus' (PBUH) status. In Islam, he is a Prophet. In Christianity, he is the Messiah. We also believe in the Second Coming like you do. The only point we seem to disagree on with Jesus PBUH is what is said above. Salam
Since Islam is being promoted as a religion of peace, and the terrorists are supposedly Islamofascists, and not representative of the average Muslim, why don't the average, peaceful Muslims condemn them? If the so-called peaceful Muslims are the majority, and they abhor terrorist acts, why don't they say it loud and clear, and condemn and turn in the extremists in their midst?
Just for clarification, what variety of Islam are you a member of and claim to be speaking for? For example salafist and Ahmadiyya muslims are wildly different and could not pretend to speak for the other when explaining their views. Also how do you feel about some of the other branches of Islam? For example as I understand it the salafist would consider the Amhadiyya muslim to not be a muslim at all, and some would want to kill the Amhadiyya.
As far as I know, there are two answers to this. One is that most Muslims don't see themselves as associated to the terrorists as people in the west do. Most have about as much to do with the terrorists as you do with the war-crimes in former Yugoslavia (assuming that you are a white, Christian American), and you don't feel a need to automatically denounce them, do you? Some even refrain from denouncing the terrorist acts as a protest against the fact that they are automatically expected to denounce something which don't have anything to do with them. The other answer is that they do. Many Muslims denounce the Islamofascists, but it's completely uninteresting to inform the masses that they denounce terrorism. Let's say you're out to buy a newspaper on September 10th 2001. Are you going to buy the newspaper that says "Al Qaeda take responsibility for the attacks" or the one that says "Putin says he's got nothing to do with the attacks"? Media doesn't acknowledge it, and it's not like even a Muslim is supposed to change all their conversations for 10 years to make completely sure that nobody thinks he is aligned with some dudes in another country with rocket launchers.
Well, as far as I'm aware of Islam does not force women to live in a cloth bag. Many Muslim women don't. And if women have to do so against their will that's probably less of an Islamic and more of a cultural problem. Just as it did not have to do very much with Christianity and a lot with culture that it was seen as outrageous when women showed off their ankles in Victorian times. As to the benefits such gear might have from a woman's point of view: no more worries that people just see you as a sex-symbol, if you had too much chocolate you won't notice the very next day that your trousers don't fit any more and I would guess anorexia is not that much of a problem in countries where it is customary for women to wear such clothes, nor is it likely that women spend loads of money or risk their health for getting huge breast implants there, because it's not constantly suggested to them that they have to look like a barbie doll.
Junobet answered this one good enough: It is not mentioned in the Quran that women must wear the Burqa. The Burqa is more of a cultural thing. The Quran only tells us to cover our bodies up. Surah al-A'raf: "O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness. These are some of God's signs, that they may take heed." This simply means we are to cover our naked bodies with clothing. This verse is for both men and women. There is no Burqa for men, so the garment can't be the Burqa. Also, there is nothing luxurious about a Burqa. A part from Surah an-Nur: "And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary." Surah al-Ahzab can be interpreted to mean the Burqa: "O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the believers that they shall lengthen their garments. Thus, they will be recognized (as righteous women) and avoid being insulted. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful." But since we are not allowed to show certain parts of our bodies, it could easily refer to wearing pants or a dress VS short shorts or skirt. Either way, the dress code of Islam isn't meant to be oppressive. Covering our bodies is to be modest, or "clean" in a way. It's about being "righteous" which is meantioned in most Surah's describing clothing. There is nothing in Islam commanding women to wear a Burqa, or men to force them to wear one. There is the Hijab, which is different but honestly there is nothing wrong with the Hijab and usually they are very colourful and pretty. Junobet answered your question I just wanted to add some things. Salam
Another good answer by Swensson. You are right. While there are Muslims who speak out, they get very little media attention. Last week there was a anti-terrorism demonstration by Muslims in the UK. But it's also true, if we recognize al-Qaida and the Taliban as "Islamofascists", we are acknowledging them as Islamic groups even though their actions are against the teachings of Islam. There is a clear message: It is wrong to kill innocents. It is wrong to kill women and children. Therefore, the actions of terror groups aren't Islamic. Their attacks are not Jihad. Or pleasing to Allah SWT. I'm getting off topic. Anyway, already mentioned, the main reason Muslims outside of the Middle East don't protest and speak out is because we don't want any association with them any more than we already do since we "share" the same faith. And in the Middle East, main reason there are very few who speak out is because doing so can be fatal. Salam
I'm not speaking for all Muslims. I'm not an expert on Islam. If you want to ask an expert questions, I recommend asking an Imam or Islamic Scholar. But to answer your question, I am a Sunni Muslim. The seperate sects of Islam is forbidden in Islam. Of course, this doesn't stop seperation and constant violence. Surah al-A'nam explains this clearly: "As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did." The main "beef" involving Sunni Muslims is against Shia Muslims. It's a fued over how important the Hadiths (documents on the life of the Prophet Mohammed PBUH) is and how important Ali ibn Abu Talib PBUH (the prophet's cousin) is in Islam. Sunni Muslims believe the Hadiths are a vital part of Islam, Shia's don't. And with Ali PBUH, Shia Muslims believe that he is very high in Islam behind only the Prophet, since he was the first Imam. We have very much respect for him too, however see Abu Bakr as higher than he. Because we don't accept eachother views, there is tension between the two sects. There are many of these conflicts in Islam. And they do not nesd to be. It's because certain people feel they are right and everybody must agree with what they say. It's stupid. I don't agree with all the different sects of Islam. A Muslim is a Muslim as long as we all believe the Shahada: There is only one God and Mohammed (PBUH) is his messanger. It doesn't matter if you read the Hadith, like Ali PBUH more than Abu Bakr PBUH, or the other little things that seperates Islam.... Hope this answers your question. I know, I kind of went on a rant. I couldn't help it, I am very opposed to the different sects if you didn't notice. Oh, and I didn't talk about the sects you mentioned, and that is because I know more about Sunni's and Shia'a. Salam
The Muslim civilization was destroyed by the Mongol invasion and they have never recovered. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age
And that is when the region started falling into what it's become today. Britain and France split the Khalifate... In other words split the stability and peace of the Muslim state. The Ottomans were replaced by corrupt dictators and simply bad leaders... Muslim countries fought eachother for land... Religious tolerance has reached a low point.... There is death and violence daily... And honestly it can be blamed on the seperation of the Ottoman Empire.
...I'll leave the historical debate for another thread. Back on the subject of Islam itself. A theme that I've seen coming up in discussions with Musims is that, while many don't agree that blowing yourself up along with a bunch of women and children is a sure way to heaven, dying in the context of a "defensive" war against non-believers is a sure way in. I get the feeling they would consider it un-Islamic for someone, including their politicians, to say they are afraid of or unwilling to die in a "defensive" war against non-believers/wrong belivers/the west, as that would show a lack of faith and steadfastness.
I'm not sure if that's true. It certainly hasn't always been, but a lot of leaders have fallen. But I had said that many don't agree that a suicide bombing on civilians is a sure way into heaven. What I was asking about is if they do indeed virtually all agree that you go straight to heaven if your country gets into a war with non-Muslims and you get yourself shot or blown up.
