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Islām is the religion articulated by the Qur’an, a book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of the single incomparable God, and by the Islamic prophet Muhammad's demonstrations and real-life examples (called the Sunnah, collected through narration of his companions in collections of Hadith). The word Islam is a homograph, having multiple meanings, and a triliteral of the word salaam, which directly translates as peace. Other meanings include submission, or the total surrender of oneself to God. An adherent of Islam is a Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to God)". The word Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Muslims regard their religion as the completed and universal version of a monotheistic faith revealed at many times and places before, including, notably, to the prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus. I am a Muslim. I would love to explain my faith to others. Feel free to ask any questions.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 14:53 |
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| # ? Nov 21, 2009 23:19 |
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So, it's my understanding that the Qur'an states humans were created by Allah from a clot of blood. I've also heard that some muslim writers reject evolution, not only as a contradiction of the Qur'an, but also as a Western/Christian plot to corrupt young muslims. I was wondering what the mainstream muslim view of evolution is, and whether Islam in general has reconciled itself with evolution like Christianity has.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 15:50 |
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Do you pray five times a day no matter what?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 15:56 |
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How do you feel about the frequent confusion of Arab/Persian/Turkic/whatever culture with Islam due to their close association?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 15:57 |
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How does Islam view women, their roles, rights, jobs, coverings, abilities, etc?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 16:01 |
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how do you feel about the destruction of historical Islamic sites in Saudi Arabia?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 16:03 |
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why don't you guys let non-muslims into Mecca?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 16:12 |
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What form or level of Islam do you practice? Are you a reformer, an orthodox, etc? Was it something you decided on yourself or were you brought into it by your parents? And, are you male or female, and what are you views on sexism within Islam? What is your view on orthodox/reform and their views or practices on sexism within Islam?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 16:15 |
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G for Greta posted:So, it's my understanding that the Qur'an states humans were created by Allah from a clot of blood. I've also heard that some muslim writers reject evolution, not only as a contradiction of the Qur'an, but also as a Western/Christian plot to corrupt young muslims. I was wondering what the mainstream muslim view of evolution is, and whether Islam in general has reconciled itself with evolution like Christianity has. its really just a lot like christianity. the fundamentalists scoff that somebody could believe that monkeys hosed to make us instead of the beautiful truth that the great allah created us from dust. there are plenty of normal people who believe in evolution and science. also, i think islam gets a bad rap when it comes to women. women were actually granted many rights by the prophet, and they were much more liberated than their western counterparts at the time. however, it is now 1500 years later and islams rules havent changed at all (due to the hadith which is really the reason why theyre so crazy - can you imagine the savageness of millenia-old common law) so what was once liberal is now hilariously antiquated. edit: also wtf is up with the genital mutilation question. is that your idea of some kind of sick joke? glorp fucked around with this message at Nov 03, 2009 around 17:18 |
| # ? Nov 03, 2009 16:21 |
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What is your personal position on atheists, homosexuals and people who offend your prophet? Should they be punished? Are they free to believe what they want, free to love who they want and free to say what they want, as long as they cause no harm to others? Would you agree that most religious people are religious because they were raised by religious parents in an environment supportive of religion, not because God reached out to them or because it was an individual choice? Would you agree that it is tough for muslims to turn away from their belief? Because of all the praying, social control and because ex-muslims are heavily frowned upon (I believe it says in the Qur'an that they should be killed). What is your opinion on female genital mutilation? Should girls be circumcised? Should they be at age 5-6 or at a later age? Is it alright if the incission is only small and no permanent damage is done (like, removal of the clitoris) or is that up to the people who carry out the tradition themselves.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 16:50 |
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I'm going to assume you're Sunni, so what's your view on Shi'a? Most of the Muslims I know really don't care for them, but there's a couple of my friends who had no idea what they were all about before I explained it.Jeronimo posted:What is your opinion on female genital mutilation? Should girls be circumcised? Should they be at age 5-6 or at a later age? Is it alright if the incission is only small and no permanent damage is done (like, removal of the clitoris) or is that up to the people who carry out the tradition themselves. There is nothing in the Qu'ran about this. It's a pre-Islamic custom that's continued on. BALLIN LIKE STALIN fucked around with this message at Nov 03, 2009 around 17:35 |
| # ? Nov 03, 2009 17:32 |
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BALLIN LIKE STALIN posted:There is nothing in the Qu'ran about this. It's a pre-Islamic custom that's continued on. That's the sort of thing I was talking about in my question.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 17:44 |
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I've heard a lot of moderate Muslims reply to unfavorable translations of certain Qur'anic passages by saying that the word of Allah (or maybe the Prophet?) can't be translated. Does it bother you that I can speak more languages than your god?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 17:53 |
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comaerror posted:How do you feel about the frequent confusion of Arab/Persian/Turkic/whatever culture with Islam due to their close association? it is what it is man. we got the prophet to blame for that, since he destroyed a lot of pre-islamic arab poo poo in mecca (eg the idols in the kabah) so motherfuckers just followed suit creating one kind of monolithic culture, though obviously every country still has its unique culture that ends up just blending in to creating a bastard islam. plus of course the white mans orientalism doesnt help either! also sunnis hate hate HATE shia. not to mention mahdis and all the other 'cults' that sprung up. however, nobody except for real assholes hate the sufis. theyre essentially muslim hippies and a punchline.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 17:55 |
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glorp posted:its really just a lot like christianity. the fundamentalists scoff that somebody could believe that monkeys hosed to make us instead of the beautiful truth that the great allah created us from dust. there are plenty of normal people who believe in evolution and science. That's what I thought, but I was wondering what changed in the thinking of muslims to allow this. It's difficult to explain, but for me the idea I have of Christians and their reconciliation of evolution is that most of them were probably wishy-washy on the whole Genesis/Adam and Eve portion, believing it but only just. When evolution came along and eventually proved itself to be factual, most Christians were happy as clams to cast aside the concept of a young Earth and of Adam and Eve and instead regard evolution as a tool of God. However, to me the Qur'an seems to be regarded by muslims as a much more inflexible thing than Christians view the Bible, to the extent where, as I understand it, readings of it in a language other than Arabic can't be held to be entirely accurate because they lack the nuances of the Arabic language which don't translate over well. Or so I understand it. So, my question rephrased then might be: Was the Islamic creation story replaced by evolution, or was evolution incorporated into it somehow?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 17:55 |
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sorry, ziyaarah, this was totally your thread but it seems im answering all these questions. you undoubtedly would have a much more pro-islam view than i do so i hope im not portraying my culture in a bad light! even though im paki so gently caress them arabs! fuckin faggots... no offense lol.G for Greta posted:So, my question rephrased then might be: Was the Islamic creation story replaced by evolution, or was evolution incorporated into it somehow? nope. now you see the problem. when the quran is the explicit word of god, and the prophet is the most holy man ever whos every action and sentence was written down to be followed by generations for millenia, its kind of hard to change the culture. sure you have muslims who, like you say, squash their cognitive dissonance by viewing evolution as a tool of god, but many muslims (especially in the third world) have much more pressing problems on their mind then figuring out where evolution fits in islam, so its a lot easier (socially and mentally) to just not give a poo poo about it. Halisnacks posted:I've heard a lot of moderate Muslims reply to unfavorable translations of certain Qur'anic passages by saying that the word of Allah (or maybe the Prophet?) can't be translated. trust me that my lack of religiousness can somewhat be traced to having to read the quran in arabic as an american child. reading text i dont understand for no reason other than for ceremonial and traditional purposes when i could have just read the english text instead of both filled my little heart with hatred! at least i could always read about the virgins in heaven and whether buttsex is allowed! (it aint, but it never says anything about oral!) also, fun fact: drinking is specifically banned, but despite the fact that all psychoactive drugs are generally banned, smoking is never specifically mentioned, so cigarettes, hash, and opium are absolutely fine! hence why the taliban have no problem pushing drugs out of afghanistan! glorp fucked around with this message at Nov 03, 2009 around 18:11 |
| # ? Nov 03, 2009 17:59 |
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glorp posted:theyre essentially muslim hippies and a punchline. Wanna sit around and smoke hookah with some Sufis. Seriously though, those guys are pretty chill.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:11 |
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Why are the Arab people so special to God in the Islamic view of things? I understand that Islam is meant to be a religion for everyone, but Arab customs seem given special treatment, Arabs are almost always in superior social positions in multi-ethnic Islamic societies, and the Arabic language is considered holy - what was it about the existing Arab culture, before the advent of Islam, that caused God to choose the Arabs specifically for this role? While I find the Arabic language to be one of the world's most beautiful, I'd think Allah's bias in this particular matter would the religion a bit off-putting to non-Arabs. I know of course that there are a tremendous number of non-Arab Muslims but it must be frustrating to not come from the culture that natively speaks the language of God Earwicker fucked around with this message at Nov 03, 2009 around 18:18 |
| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:15 |
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Earwicker
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Earwicker posted:Why are the Jewish people so special to God in the Jewish view of things? you could ask this question and get the same answer. the real answer, though, is that the prophet says that even though he was the last prophet and therefore, THE SEAL OF THE PROPHETS (which is my favorite part of islam, seriously that is a fuckin cool name), every culture had their own prophet who came to them to preach the word of allah. so islam is the version of allahs word that came to the arabs that just so happened to be the last time allahs gonna bless us for a while glorp fucked around with this message at Nov 03, 2009 around 18:22 |
| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:18 |
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glorp posted:you could ask this question and get the same answer. Yes, but this thread is about Islam. I feel the same way about God's bias towards the Hebrew people in the traditional Jewish view of things. quote:every culture had their own prophet who came to them to preach the word of allah. so islam is the version of allahs word that came to the arabs that just so happened to be the last time allahs gonna bless us for a while Who were the other prophets and which cultures do they correspond to? And what does this mean for Muslims who come from non-Arab cultures but need to learn Arabic in order to be truly devout (since the holy text can't be translated) - does it mean that their own native language isn't important enough in God's eyes and is thus inferior? And did God's most recent choice of Arabs really "just so happen"? There's no more reason to it than that?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:22 |
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It's been a while since I've read the Qur'an, but I seem to recall it saying that Allah revealed himself to different peoples in different forms throughout the ages so that people of those cultures might understand him (sorry, forgot the Surah). I suppose in this fashion, you might be able to say that every religion is Islam.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:26 |
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Earwicker posted:Who were the other prophets and which cultures do they correspond to? And what does this mean for Muslims who come from non-Arab cultures but need to learn Arabic in order to be truly devout (since the holy text can't be translated) - does it mean that their own native language isn't important enough in God's eyes and is thus inferior? And did God's most recent choice of Arabs really "just so happen"? There's no more reason to it than that? mostly jesus and moses, some other guys who are mostly part of the judeo-christian religion, hence why jews and christians were called 'dhimmi,' people of the book who are not quite pagan. im not an imam or islamic expert, but as a child i always fantasized that most of the other prophets were murdered for their crazy beliefs or their works were lost in history. yes, arabic is allahs language and its pretty gay coming from a non-arab non-muslim (the worst part is that the arabic in the quran is so ancient that nobody speaks like that anymore, hence learning the language in the quran has no practical relevance) but at the same time its not so bad, they gotta learn english too but i dont see white people complaining about that. they have translations available in their own languages, its just that the arabic version is the real version straight from the prophet, not some poo poo that some dude with glasses and a turban translated for cash. also i dont see why its such a big deal. why did god put his glowing sperm in mary and not some other bitch?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:26 |
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How does the average Muslim feel about white people becoming Muslims?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 18:50 |
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Is it part of your Islamic faith that you should start a thread and then ignore it for 5 hours?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 19:38 |
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glorp posted:why did god put his glowing sperm in mary and not some other bitch? Because Mary was the hottest bitch in town that night. Seriously though, there was something on the History Channel a while back talking about how Islam sort of incorporates the majority of the prophets and other mythical figures you find in Judeo-Christian myths, all the way down to Mary herself and her children (not just Jesus, but his brothers as well). Could you or the OP elaborate on that a bit?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 19:41 |
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comaerror posted:How does the average Muslim feel about white people becoming Muslims? Many definitions of "white" include Arabs, Persians, and Turks
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 19:45 |
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Earwicker posted:Many definitions of "white" include Arabs, Persians, and Turks I'm talking Eurpoean/American type whites.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 19:52 |
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Do you see Islam as having any future as long as it continues to restrict the social freedoms of women? How do you feel about the religious monarchy of Saudi Arabia and its 14th century style of government juxtaposed against the immense wealth and outright decadence of oil money?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 19:53 |
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comaerror posted:I'm talking Eurpoean/American type whites. There have been substantial numbers of European white Muslims for over four hundred years, many of whom later emigrated to the Americas along with the other groups of Europeans who did the same in the 19th and 20th centuries. I'm not Muslim and I'm not trying to nitpick I just wonder what you are getting at with your question. Why would the "average Muslim" feel differently about white people, specifically, converting to Islam than they do about black people or Asians converting? Why would white Muslims not count as the "average Muslim"?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:05 |
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Earwicker posted:There have been substantial numbers of European white Muslims for over four hundred years, many of whom later emigrated to the Americas along with the other groups of Europeans who did the same in the 19th and 20th centuries. I'm not Muslim and I'm not trying to nitpick I just wonder what you are getting at with your question. I ask mostly because most of the Muslims I've met in the US tend to be immigrants from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa and are often quite conflicted on what to think when a local white American decides to convert to Islam. Some seem to think it's great, while others are very suspicious. So, basically, I'm just curious as to how this goes over on a larger scale.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:08 |
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I noticed in the "Ask me about life in Palestine" thread that you have very strong anti-Israeli feelings, but you never in all of your posts in that thread explained why. Is your stance politically based, or is it a common view among your family/friends/community to want Israel to sod off and die, or are you anti-Jewish, or what? Where does this come from? And mildly related, can you tell us a bit about your life? Where are you from and where do you live now? Are you in school, married, single, kids, etc? Have you always been religious, and is your family religious? Have you ever been on the receiving end, in person, of racism due to your background? I ask these things because before asking for actual information, I'd like to check that the source is credible.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:09 |
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What are the most important differences in fiqh between the four main sunni legal schools and shi'i schools? Do Islamic governments endorse specific legal schools? If so, which schools are endorsed by which states? How closely does civil law conform to religious law in various Middle Eastern countries?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:35 |
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Further to the question posed before, which was more about the religion itself and your opinions of other people's interpretations: do you personally think women are less than men? If so, why? If not, why do you think the other people have got it wrong?
Anjow fucked around with this message at Nov 03, 2009 around 20:44 |
| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:41 |
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Tell me about the different movements within the Sunni sect, more importantly traditional Sunni vs the movement in Saudi Arabia.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:52 |
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Earwicker posted:Why are the Arab people so special to God in the Islamic view of things? I understand that Islam is meant to be a religion for everyone, but Arab customs seem given special treatment, Arabs are almost always in superior social positions in multi-ethnic Islamic societies, and the Arabic language is considered holy - what was it about the existing Arab culture, before the advent of Islam, that caused God to choose the Arabs specifically for this role? This sounds like a political issue more than a religious one. I think that Arabic isn't considered holy, I think that Muslims just regard it highly due to the importance of preserving the texts.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 20:56 |
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Kakashi posted:This sounds like a political issue more than a religious one. I think that Arabic isn't considered holy, I think that Muslims just regard it highly due to the importance of preserving the texts. This is true, but there's a reason that the Qur'an isn't "translated" into English, Swahili, French, etc. - it's "interpreted." As the Qur'an, in Arabic, is the word of God, preserving the language make sure that the entire Muslim community is reading the exact same text, without any errors or transformations that translation always brings.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 21:04 |
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Ghrengis Khan posted:This is true, but there's a reason that the Qur'an isn't "translated" into English, Swahili, French, etc. - it's "interpreted." As the Qur'an, in Arabic, is the word of God, preserving the language make sure that the entire Muslim community is reading the exact same text, without any errors or transformations that translation always brings. I agree. I think it's pointless to read the Qu'ran, especially in any other language besides Arabic, because you need to interpret most of the Qu'ran, and most people, although many believe they do, are not qualified to interpret the Qu'ran.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 21:16 |
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If you don't mind I thought I might try to help out with some of the easy little questions, OP.comaerror posted:How does the average Muslim feel about white people becoming Muslims? Most Muslims are completely delighted to hear about anyone who converts to Islam, it doesn't matter where you're from. People are always really excited when someone converts, especially if they do it right there in front of you in the mosque that day. 935 posted:Do you pray five times a day no matter what? For me and a lot of my family and friends it's almost impossible to get the prayers done on time (due to class, work, etc) so you have to just make up the prayers that you've missed. There are a lot of days where I come home and I just have to pray all five prayers in a row, especially in the winter when the days get shorter and you have less time. Some people are really hardcore (and have more time--if you're a doctor you can't dash out in the middle of a procedure to pray, God understands) and make all 5 on time, but it's my experience that a lot of people really can't. It's easier in Muslim countries though because their culture and workday are kind of more set up for that. BALLIN LIKE STALIN posted:I'm going to assume you're Sunni, so what's your view on Shi'a? Most of the Muslims I know really don't care for them, but there's a couple of my friends who had no idea what they were all about before I explained it. My grandpa is actually Shiite but all that means to me is that he prays kind of differently than we do. Must Muslims I know think that it's pretty silly to fight over that, because it all started out of political differences anyway. I went to Iran a couple years ago in high school and we all got along just fine and prayed side by side.
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 21:16 |
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How can a Muslim be sure to get into paradise when he dies? In some Christian denominations you just "accept Jesus as your Lord and savior" and then you can pretty much do whatever and still get into heaven. Is there an equivalent certainty in Islam or is it a matter of doing more good things (pray, give alms, go to Mecca, etc) than bad things quantity-wise? How can you be sure that you've done enough to go to paradise?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 21:17 |
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Why believe in God? As a Muslim, is it more difficult to lose your faith than Christianity?
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| # ? Nov 03, 2009 21:18 |
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