So I was thinking abou the wide selection of religious groups we have present here, a wide selection which makes theological threads more of a joy to read and participate in here than anywhere else I’ve found online.
We have Jews running from Orthodox to barely practicing. We have Christians running from Methodist to Baptist and everything in between. We have pagans and we have Uniterians. We have deists and theists. We have agnostics and atheists (some of the later evangelical! :D).
But I do not recall a single Islamic poster here.
I would love to know more about the Muslim view on things and how they differ from the other religions present in abundance here. It would be great to hear an educated view about the Koran. And it would be swell for someone to be able to show how they are different from the Muslims the media likes to harp on - those with guns and an agenda - as we have Christians able to show they are different than their more publicized bretheren.
So, do we have any Muslims on the board? Is Islam in the house? Or do I have to start a war with an Islamic board to get some over here?
Yer pal,
Satan
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I used to be Islamic. Many of my friends are. I also fiddled with Zoastrianism. My grandmother’s Zoastrian, and my grandfather Islamic, if you must know.
Of course that doesn’t keep me from misppelling it.
I couldn’t help you too much. I know quite a bit about Islamic history, and more than most americans about the theology of it, but my knoweldge is still pretty limited. And since I’m currently an atheist, I wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to speak from an Islamic point of view. I can always go ask a friend though, see what answers I come up with.
If you go to the Zoroastrian sites on the Web (there are quite a few) they are obsessive about Zoroastrians only marrying Zoroastrians. How did your parents get together?
Well grandparents. Also, I didn’t state that they were married. Just that I had one of each. For the record, they were indeed married. both were pretty liberal religiously. I mean reaaaal liberal. Lapsed and all that.
I don’t like discussing religion. It’s personal and it’s a private issue with me. However here are some books that I found quite revealing about Islam:
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran - Eng translation Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall
And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety - or anything written by Annemarie Schimmel
Unveiling Islam by Roger Du Pasquier
Journey of the Self: A Sufi Guide to Personality by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
In the Paradise of the Sufis by Dr Javad Nurbakhsh [Nimatullahi Order of Sufis] or anything else written
I once began reading the Koran (back in the days of my foolish quest to truly understand all religions), but stopped when I found out that it violates Islamic law to translate the Koran into any language other than Arabic (or was that just a myth that I was told?). Anyway, I was curious about the religion, but didn’t wanna violate any of its teachings/ideas… and shortly after that, I realized my quest was rather futile, anyway, so nothing much came of that.
But, no, I’m not a Muslim.
Y’know, I never met a Muslim I didn’t like (yes, I HAVE met quite a few of 'em).
My co-worker is a devout Muslim and although I admire his devotion I do not agree with all of his beliefs. Then again, I work with a bunch of Catholics and don’t agree with their beliefs either. Hell, I rarely agree with anyone.
I was surprised that we were so easily able to discuss theology together, I had to explain what an agnostic was to him but as long as I wasn’t an athiest that was okay with him. I had studied the Koran before meeting him so he was surprised at the meager knowledge I posessed. He is very open minded and was surprised to learn things about other religions as he had not studied anything but the Koran in his life. We find that we have more in common than one would think.
I have found that he is probably one of the most honourable people I have ever met. If I needed someone to hold a million dollars for me he would be the one.
It is sad that the followers of Islam are so often painted with a dark brush.
Actually, from what I understand (big disclaimer - I understand very little on this subject), the word “Koran”, in its various spellings, refers by definition only to the Arabic version. Any translation has to be labeled an interpretation or commentary. It’s not illegal to translate it, it’s just that once it’s translated, it’s no longer the Koran. The rationale is that God spoke in Arabic, therefore the words of God are in Arabic. He didn’t speak in English, so there are no English words of God. I hope that made sense.
There are a LOT of muslim sites on the web. G over to http://www.webring.com and type in “Islam” and see the hundreds that turn up.
I’ve read the Koran three times (The N.J. Dawood translation published by Penguin). Trying to understand a faith from its sacred books is impossible, though. There’s a good book – “Islam for beginners” and “Teach Yourself Islam”. Alfred Guillaume’s “Islam” (Pelican books) is useful.“Know Your Islam” (don’t recall the author) is tedious but “feels” like a good insider’s guide.
On the other side there are two books critical of Islam in my collection: “Why I am not a Muslim” (Prometheus Press) and “Islam Unvailed”. These books have SCATHING reviews by the faithful on Amazon.com
Hmmm. Yes and no. I think I’m getting to be much more tolerant in my old age.
Some of the things in the books I cite are eye-opening and scary, but then I remember the things done in the name of other religions, and I realize that I could, if I wished, slant a report about just about any religion to make it sound downright awful.
That said, I find Islam too authoritarian and inflexible for my tastes.
One book I left ut in my earlier post, but which I very highly recommend, is Sir Richard Burton’s “Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Meccah and al-Medinah”, still in print through Dover books. In the 1840s Sir Richard Burton, a British army officer, dressed as an Egyptian physician and made the HAJJ, the pilgrimage to the holy cities of Islam, and described the result in a two-volume tome that is massively and fascinatingly footnoted (the footnotes frequently take up more space on the page than the “clear” text – and the footnotes are in smaller print). Burton’s books are always worth the reading, and give a lot of insight into the culture of the Middle East (And elsewhere – see his “City of the Saints”, about Salt Lake City!). Especially worth it, if you can find it, is his complete and unexpurgated translation of the Arabian Nights.
I believe that Don Diego de la Vega was actually a god who came to Earth to wear a black mask, rid California of evil, and make cheap Disney movies. He was later immortalized as the star Vega, hence the “astrian” part.
