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Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

*Kramers into thread as if I am any sort of authority.*

Hay everybody reading. I'm your average jackass who happens to be a muslim (converted at 17, still at it 10 years later). And I wanted to answer questions too because I hovered around in one of these threads years ago.

BattyKiara posted:

Why is there no Islamic music? The call to prayer sounds like it should be the base of a rich musical tradition, but it isn't. Why not?

Depends on the culture you're in. You may tend to see arab muslims treat reciters of the like rockstars (like Al-Sudais). In the west you see (especially with younger kids) more traction with islamically-based/influenced music & artists. And just like you'll find ordinary muslims who draw arbitrary lines they won't cross, you find the same with artists. Artists that have versions of their songs with and without drums, ones that take contemporary songs and make it more "wholesome", etc. The old "music is forbidden vs only drums are forbidden vs music is ok if it's religious in nature" debate. The music is there, but there are (in my experience) swaths of people/communities that look at music with contempt and scorn. When I learn about big music artists who are muslim and read they don't practice as much/at all since they got older, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the reason is that hard-line conservative families/communities can be really disdainful when it comes to things like music, that are (falsely) seen as gross western practices.

One example of an islamic artist that pops into my head (because my younger students mention him whenever they want to talk about music) is Zain Bhikha. Dude was being called the "Muslim Michael Jackson" for a while. I have no doubt in my mind that somebody heard Bhikha and assumed it was MJ with zero fact-checking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-59ngOqbCk

BattyKiara posted:

Do you have a favourite part of the Quran? If yes, what is it about that part that speaks to you?

There really two really short passages that have stuck out for me. One of them is one of the shorter chapters, Surah Al-Asr (duhh.. The Time chapter 103) and a single line from Nuh (71:13).

Asr speaks to me because it really encapsulates to me the important things that should help you in being a muslim and, for the most part, a person in general. I won't quote the whole thing, but it's essentially God going "I'm telling you, so long as you believe, are doing the right thing, being honest, and are patient, you're not a loser".

With the line from Nuh/Noah, here's a translation:

quote:

What is the matter with you that you don't have hope for greatness from Allah?
Of course it's in reference to the story of Noah, but I like it for two reason.
1. Like person, I have my faults and have my occasional crisis where I feel like trash for doing the dumb things I have in the past. That line helps me snap back into remembering that just because I have made some mistakes doesn't me I'm going to be drinking boiling water and thorns for all of eternity. I mean, I still need to work on myself as a person, but it's not all-or-nothing.

2. Later on in life, it has reminded me of this, which is a stupid and funny(to me) reason:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0TQbRNmYus

Yestermoment fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Sep 25, 2017

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Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Okua posted:

How common is it to say "peace be upon him" or PBUH or arabic equivalents or whatever when talking about Muhammad? Is it a regional thing, more common in certain branches of Islam or something people do everywhere?

It's pretty common across the Islamic world. It's a thing that's cited within both the Quran and in the Sunnah. You'll also see the occasional praise phrase for companions or other prophets. It's something that's dependent on the person, their conviction, level of casual conversation, etc.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Tendai posted:

But you know how tricky a subject tone can be on the internet.

I made the mistake of posting on the Muslim board on Reddit once and hooooowee that place is this sentence in a nutshell. I mentioned something about my grandmother still giving me a birthday present at my age and it turned into people going :

"Shame on you for celebrating your birthday it is haram!"
"No, shame on you for complaining that your grandmother loves you!"
"What's wrong with celebrating your birthday? Stop being the haram police!"

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

It's bad enough when local inquisition hound you about not changing your name to something arabic in order to assuage their feelings. Then I school them on the meaning behind my name and how it's very suiting.... still get the scrunched up nose and "ehhhh".

Help me. I'm an oppressed white man.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Tendai posted:

That is interesting, one of the things I noticed last time I did a thread like this was when I looked around at resources online for converts, there were way less websites saying oh you have to change your name to something Arabic. That's really different than it was when I converted in... 1998? Somewhere around there.

At that point, using the search engines and other resources of that time, most of the biggest websites geared towards people really learning about Islam or having just converted, were pretty strongly on the side I'm changing your name something Arabic, no matter what. Even just the Arabic version of the name. When I look now, and look at the consensus among most Muslims on social media that I've read, the opinion is more that changing your name is somehow disrespectful to your parents. Unless it's something that is quite literally offensive to Islam and/or might cause harm to you or others, there's really no reason to change it.

I feel like it's a definite step in the right direction in that sense. I still cringe at remembering my idiot teenage self trying to convince friends and teachers to call me by an Arabic name in my small Alaskan fishing town. Lord, teenagers are loving idiots.

I did that too as a "statement" to friends and family as well as pressure from community. I don't entirely regret it. When it came time to make a steamID, "Rasheedeedoodah" had a nice ring to it. I've been in the same small community for long enough so only the stubborn still call me by it.

At least in my area, it has a lot to do with the community being overwhelmingly "old school". Tribal/village influences the community politics despite these people having left Yemen before the unification even went down (1990 for those out of the loop). I can never tell if the axe I have to grind is with my own area or otherwise.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

What amuses me most is bigots REFUSING to concede it was someone who was simultaneously a muslim and a viking. Not a muslim who became a viking, a viking that became a muslim (out of sincerity OR convenience). NOPE. It had to be that a pure blonde nordic berseker murdered some unworthy Moors and stole their belongings.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

pidan posted:

To be fair, using decorative (pseudo-)Arabic writing was pretty common in medieval European art, especially on clothing. While people don't really know what reasoning went into using it, it's unlikely that the people creating those images of Christian saints were trying to convey some Islamic sentiment. It seems more likely that the Arab script was used to characterise imported, expensive and high-quality materials. Much like decorative Chinese characters are often used on Chinese luxury goods like tea and silk in western countries today.

It's certainly not impossible that Viking culture was influenced by Muslim culture in some ways, or that some Muslims lived among them (Ibn Fadlan is known to have traveled there). But embroidered ribbons found in some non-Islamic graves don't really demonstrate that.

Which is, honestly, a reasonable argument. It's not even a hill worth dying on that would validate Islam being the one true religion, like say, if cars were mentioned in the Qur'an (I just watched Kumail Nanjiani's monologue on SNL :v: )

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

FELD1 posted:

My thought exactly. It's a proud, white tradition.

For an Islam question that might be kind of strange and/or self-explanatory:

To preface, I was raised Mormon. The standard Mormon church building often includes a central room (technically called the "cultural center" but more often colloquially referred to as "the gym") that serves a more secular purpose: pickup basketball/soccer/volleyball games, holiday celebrations, party events, etc.

Are mosques also frequently used for such community purposes? I would assume that they are, but I really have no idea as I've only met a handful of Muslims in my entire life. Given the demographics of my region, I think I've met way more Buddhists than Muslims :)

All depends on your locale. Of the dozen of mosques in my 20 mile radius, 2 of them Have a larger "rec" area for community activities with there being a Muslim equivalent of ymca in addition. If you have communities that aren't stingy/upper-middle class, most def.

The one across town from me doesn't have one, but there is a room in the basement for the occasional youth activities.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Nowadays you hear a lot of people pull the Air Bud defense. "Where in the Qur'an or Sunnah does it say I can't do acid?". Or, if they are REALLY insecure about their private actions, "Ok, i don't care what the sunnah says. If it's not in the Qur'an, it's not haram." :eng99:

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Muslims aren't as driven with "rule lawyering" as, say, some aspects of judaism (the story escapes me? The story of some prophet/rabbi arguing with God and God going "My children have overruled me!"). The idea isn't necessarily to be pedantic, rather rulings tend to be (i'm quoting here) "dependent on the presence of the effective cause rather than wisdom behind it".

I'll regurgitate this, it gives a good explanation behind how he deduce rulings in (most schools of thinking within) the muslim community:

quote:

Traffic lights exist to prevent accidents on the road. This is the hikmah (wisdom) behind their existence. If a driver sees red, he must stop. The effective cause is the red light which tells us to stop. Which of these two is the ruling (of having to stop) based on? Is it that a driver must only stop when there is an immediate risk of an accident (since this is the wisdom behind having traffic lights in the first place)? Or must the driver stop each time he sees red, even if he is quite certain that continuing is safe? The answer of course is the latter. Although driving through a red traffic light may at times be safe, it is not allowed, because legal rulings are based on their effective causes (in this case the red light) and not their initial wisdom.

https://www.facebook.com/hanbalimadhhab/posts/907779639376769?pnref=story

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

BattyKiara posted:

Thank you for interesting and informative answers.

But of course, this leads me to yet another medical question involving drugs. So we have established that you should stay clear of any intoxicants, including medical ones, when praying. But what about mental illness? Let's take bipolar disorder. Where you might end up taking drugs that alter your mind in order for your mind to function properly. Yes, simplifying a lot here.

On one hand you could say that the drugs alter your mind, and that means you are not in a clear state. But on the other hand, if you go off your meds you might also have a very confused and not at all in the right place for prayer mental state. What I'm trying to say here is that there must be a lot of grey areas?

There are certainly areas that require consensus and reasoning from a medical/scientific perspective. I, personally, wouldn't argue that SSRIs alter you to be in an unclear state, on their own. Mental conditions such as depression etc effect people in such wildly different ways, that for me to be an armchair sheikh OR doctor would reflect poorly on everyone involved. But, the general view is that if there is medication for a sickness (physical or mental), then one can/should take it.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Yeah. For some some people, the meaning behind the name they choose for their kids is a big deal. I know when I first converted and I went through a "I am a DIFFERENT person now!" phase and had people call me by an arabic name, I picked one that held some significant meaning for me.

Although I realized I was just being peer pressured and my birth name's meaning was just as significant so I just go by that. Except for the most stubborn of people that are obsessed with arab-washing anyone and anything muslim/islamic in nature. :v:

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Tendai posted:

First day of Ramadan is always a struggle, oof.

I remember when I first converted in Alaska it fell during the winter for awhile, it was basically like cheating :v:

Blessed Ramadan all.

Try being a type-1 diabetic and not being able to fast at all.

"Take these dates, brother! You must be hungry!"


....yeah :v:

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

BattyKiara posted:

Is brushing your teeth or using mouth wash seen as breaking your fast? I don't want to be rude, but a few of my co-workers, including the super friendly security guard who always greets everyone in person, have absolutely horrible cases of bad breath at the moment.

It's more that not drinking water throughout the day gives you stank breath.

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Tendai posted:

Eid Mubarak you dumb goons :toot:

Was this the first year we didn't have any quarreling about when the new moon was sighted for Eid?
:toot: :toot: :toot:

Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

Tendai posted:

The bounce house is sunnah :v:

In these parts, Chuck E Cheese sees a massive influx of business right around now. Its a madhouse.

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Yestermoment
Jul 27, 2007

ToxicSlurpee posted:

How do Muslims generally feel about Buddhists? I realize that's probably complex and varies a lot but I can't help but be curious.

Do non Muslims ever go on the hajj and how do actual Muslims respond to that? I can't help but assume some curious people show up or Muslims bring their friends or something.

Just how much do Muslims love coffee? My understanding is that alcohol was often either forbidden or discouraged historically but Muslims, being human, still wanted to hang around and be chatty while consuming chemicals that would make them chattier. So they jumped on the coffee train something fierce then added tobacco when it became available later on. Is that correct?

Edit: pretty much every religion spins off at least one incredibly bizarre cult. Does Islam have any really unique ones you can think of?

It's been a while since I understood the main principles of buddhism. But my understanding is that buddhists don't believe in a personal god and follow a belief in reincarnation; two principles that starkly contrast Islamic creed. So just in a cerebral context: thumbs down. Although I'm sure the rohingya have more biting commentary about buddhists.

You usually need some statement establishing you are indeed a muslim to enter Mecca, but plenty a people have fabricated such.

I know coffee/tea are big in the arab and desi world. I dig a good cup of chai, but that's a personal taste thing.

And in regards to kooky cultish stuff, there's quranists, submitters, NOI is pretty off in it's genesis.

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