What do you guys know about islam

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omer94

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i just wanted to ask, what is it that people know about islam?

this is kinda like research for my own knowledge but at the same time an opportunity for some of you to ask a muslim some questions and get a more accurate picture of islam than what the bbc and fox news show

so ask away guys :)
 
I have a general knowledge of Islam. I realize that if the majority of Muslims agreed with the most violent factions that the whole world would be at war, but the majority of organizations who engage in violent attacks against civilians claim that they are following the dictates of Islam and the example of Muhammed.

So my questions are what do you think are the primary religious causes of Islamic violence are and what are non-violent Muslims doing about it?
 
hey guys :),

first things first, 'I would like to ask you what major religious holidays do you follow in your country?'

I live in England, and here they celebrate alot of holidays like christmas, easter, haloween, and all the usual ones. most of the ones celebrated in america and the rest of the english speaking world i guess.

As a muslim, i dont tend to celebrate them in the conventional sense, we dont put up lights and decorations nor do we go trick or treating (though we do tend to buy easter eggs 😀 )
some muslims decide to celebrate some of them, most muslims dont.

Muslims only really have two holidays, the two eids these celebrations last for 1 day and 4 days for small and big eid respectively

hope that answers your question reynold :)


now Mutt x my friend, 'what do you think are the primary religious causes of Islamic violence are and what are non-violent Muslims doing about it?'

i dont think im the perfect candidate to answer such a question but ill have a stab anyway (i think im not experienced enough being quite young)

Islam, like most religions and most governments recognises that war is part of life, although its a bad part we cant deny that people having been fighting from the dawn of time for both religious reasons (the crusades) and non religious reasons (world war 1&2). as such we belive that allah gave us guidance on how and why to fight theses wars so that it was done in the most humane way,

What can justify Jihad?
There are a number of reasons, but the Qur'an is clear that self-defence is always the underlying cause.
Permissable reasons for military Jihad:

Self-defence
Strengthening Islam
Protecting the freedom of Muslims to practise their faith
Protecting Muslims against oppression, which could include overthrowing a tyrannical ruler
Punishing an enemy who breaks an oath
Putting right a wrong
What a Jihad is not

A war is not a Jihad if the intention is to:

Force people to convert to Islam
Conquer other nations to colonise them
Take territory for economic gain
Settle disputes
Demonstrate a leader's power

Although the Prophet engaged in military action on a number of occasions, these were battles to survive, rather than conquest, and took place at a time when fighting between tribes was common.

i guess extremism, and violence are a misunderstanding of the points above, some people justify what theyre doing by saying 'were proctecting the freedom of muslims' or 'were putting right a wrong'

the rules for jihad are also very humane and attractive i think youll agree

The opponent must always have started the fighting.
It must not be fought to gain territory.
It must be launched by a religious leader.
It must be fought to bring about good - something that Allah will approve of.
Every other way of solving the problem must be tried before resorting to war.
Innocent people should not be killed.
Women, children, or old people should not be killed or hurt.
Women must not be raped.
Enemies must be treated with justice.
Wounded enemy soldiers must be treated in exactly the same way as one's own soldiers.
The war must stop as soon as the enemy asks for peace.
Property must not be damaged.
Poisoning wells is forbidden. The modern analogy would be chemical or biological warfare.


anyways sorry for that convoluted explanation but i think its good to understand the basics.


now....what are non violent muslims doing about it.... again being quite young im not 100% sure, the things i can see being a young person is that mosques and teachers now go a long way to explain jihad to the younger generation more, implanting the ideas above more firmly to avoid the youngers being 'brainwashed' into violent thinking. for me thats a great start because if people understood islam correctly there would be little external extremism

well i hope that answers your question too Mutt :)
if you want any clarification i can try, but like you see im by no means a very knowledgeable source
 
I think most of those reasons would fit well enough with Jewish and christian faiths ... i guess.

The scary thing for most of us is that the "Imans" or religious leaders are those who declare a "Jihad" against someone (say for instance Salmon Rushdi" or some country (say for instance Israel or the US).

Religious leaders in my mind have no place to declare war against a person or country ... those sorts of decisions should be made by NATO ... or some Government ... only when all other options have failed.

I think one of the biggest issues for westernised Muslim countries (say for instance Malaysia) is that the elected leaders must be able to run the country without religious interference.

That boundary seems to be the one that is the biggest cause for concern.

Here we have religious leaders ... but they stay out of political issues ... usually ... unless they are contentious ones like abortion, and anything from a humanitarian perspective.

Thanks for posting and explaining a few things.

Perhaps some of the others might also want to ask some questions?

 

Not true.Maybe Arabs have those celebrations but Iranians(Persians) have more eids(such as Mehregan and nourooz)

 
From the American perspective, at least this American, the implementation of Islamic Courts in England are an affront to England's national sovereignty. News reports have shown that these Islamic Courts, 85 in total throughout England, effectively circumvent English law for Sharia Law and hold there rulings legally binding even for non-Muslims. Do you believe the Muslim Courts circumvent England's laws and sovereignty? If not, how do Muslim Courts support and/or compliment England's existing laws and court system? How do Muslims who want acceptance from their host nation and citizens justify circumventing the host nation's sovereignty and legal system in favor of implementing a court system that "understands Islamic culture"? How do Muslims expect equal treatment from their host nation and its citizens with implementing a parallel court system?
 
Not to speak for the OP but if remember correctly, Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet but not the Messiah (in the traditional christian sense, as the redeemer of original sin, Islam does not believe in original sin) and, if I also remember correctly, there is some dispute as to whether Jesus was crucified or God took him up to heaven before he was crucified.

I'm curious to read the OP's views.
 
Here in Australia calls for Sharia Law were stopped before they started ... massive uproar from the public.

We have our legal system ... fair and based on the English system ... as it is in the US and Canada.

Mind you the references to the Queen should be replaced and the Gov General given the arse ... so we can have a republic ... but otherwise I am fine with it.

Our Gov General spent more on flowers last year than I earn ... pathetic.

Indigenous laws here respect the traditional owners of the land (Aboriginal people) ... in terms of a few and non-contentious issues for most of us.

I'd like to see Ernie Dingo as our first president ... a top bloke.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Dingo

:)
 
A lot of users here wer worried about the Muslim brotherhood after the Egyptian riots. Im tempted to go dig up some old threads for quotes....

But could you explain that organization and how a regular Muslim feels about its political power?

Glenn Beck had some very unkind words to describe it.
 
I can see why this upsets people ... It's the hat and the googly eyes.

Here is some inappropriate Christian humour to offend others as a diversionary tactic ... :)

jesus.jpg


 
I hope the academic chap from the moderates is able to steer them through the next few months safely.

Those people need a hand to get things on track.

NATO should stick around for a while and provide some support to them.

I agree with you oldman that the last thing the world needs in Libya are more extremists.
 
Hello, Omer.
With great trepidation, I have decided to participate in this thread.

I have been working in Saudi Arabia for about 12 years directly for the Saudi military forces. There are some that I consider my friend - up to a point. The Qur'anic proscription about not taking infidel friends is always in the back of my mind.

You asked what we know about Islam.

Well, I knew that under the Rashidan and Umayyad Caliphates, the Muslims exploded out of the Arabian Peninsula, invaded and occupied everyhting from Spain to what is now Pakistan (formerly Hindu India).

And I knew that in the early years of our nation, our first involvement with Muslims were the Barbary Coast (North Africa) pirates - Muslims who felt entitled to attack our shipping and enslave our seamen when we didn't pay tribute, tribute that annually amounted to about 20% of our GNP.

Learned that in history classes years ago (graduated high school in 1964). Well, that was Then. Everybody did things that would not be acceptable in this Modern Era.

"Islam is a Religion of Peace." Well, OK. Then comes 9/11 and 19 suicide bombers, 15 of them Saudi. Then comes denial, "It wasn't us. It was an inside job. Bush did it. The Jews did it. Little green men from Mars did it. Etc.

Then, again, "Islam is a Religion of Peace. You need to study Islam." So I started studying. I used the Pickthall translation. Unfortunately, I came to a different conclusion.
 
+1

I too have read the Koran (also the Bible, Torah, and the Bhagavadgītā) and I have a hard time rationalizing Islam as the third Abrahamic religion and Muhammad as God's final prophet.

I hope the OP hasn't bailed on this thread. I would still very much like to read his discourse.

 
As a Muslim myself, I'd be happy to give you an overview of Islam:

The word Islam derives from the Arbaic term "Salam" which means peace. "Muslim" is an Arabic term for one who submits or surrenders to God.

Many people assume Islam originate in the 7th Century. Wrong. Islam has always existed since Judaism. How so? We believe the Torah was God's first Holy Book, and the followers were Muslim, so to speak. It was the 1st of Islam. Yes, calling them Jewish is correct. It's just implied that they are Muslim.

We believe in Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and many more. They are Prophets chosen by God. Muhammad is the Prophet which you will hear about quite often. He was God's final prophet, chosen to spread God's final testament, the Quran (or Koran). It is said the final prophet has a marking on his neck. Muhammad had such a marking. Also, someone mentioned about if Jesus will return. We believe he will to fight off the Dajjal (the Antichrist), which means "The Deceiver."

You may be wondering about our views of non-Muslims and such. We, as Muslims, are meant to respect those outside our faith, regardless of whether they show it back. It's a way of showing acceptance and kindness. Nowadays, we are viewed as hostile. Remember, generalizing is an example of stupidity.

If there's anything else you need, don't mind asking about it.

True knowledge comes from those who experienced it first hand, and who have lived by it their entire life.



 

Prayer beads are used in Islam as well. It's for practically the same use for Catholics.
 
Oh, and I just wanted to add one more thing. Someone mentioned about going to Saudi Arabia. Regardless of whether you are a Muslim or Non-Muslim, you will not be treated kindly. Saudi Arabia pushed religion down it's citizen's throat to the extent it's just not the same religion. My friends uncle and his friend lived their for awhile. They are Indian-born Muslims. They were treated like crap, dogs, etc. Why? because they weren't Arabic. They didn't speak Arabic. The arrogance of being Arabic like many of the Prophets, being able to read and understand the Quran, and so on has brought arrogance to them. Not all of them are like this, but you will not experience the kindest welcoming.
 

NP. And sorry about not acknowledging that it's just for Catholics. EDIT DONE.
 

To some extent, yes, unfortunately. It's the reality of it. If you are American, you will be questioned even though you may look Muslim. The list goes on. You know Malcolm X right? He went through something like this. He was an authentic Muslim (he proved so too), but his American origins and inability to speak Arabic made officials question him when he went to Saudi Arabia.
 

Probably. It makes sense. If I ever go there, I would probably learn some Arabic first, or just not look or talk to anyone. Maybe a translator would help. To me, it seems more of a developing country than one that has power. Culture has been implemented into the practices and laws of the Saudi government too much.
 
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