This question is similar to Wildest Bill’s.
There seems to be a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding about Muslim beliefs, interpretation of the Quran, religious vs. political power in the MidEast, etc. Is this confusion and misunderstanding reflected in the Arab lands? Are they as confused and miseducated about Christianity, our political power structures and such as we are about them?
I stand by my last post. The one true thing ever to
come out Farrakan’s mouth “The Quran is a book of love.”
Osama Bin Laden seems to have the same grasp of his religion as Torquemada had of his.
Question: Is the wearing of a kofi commanded in the Quran or is it a cultural tradition only?
Question2: What restrictions must be observed during Ramadan? I know that no food may be eaten between sunrise and sunset, but I’m sure there are others.
I add my thanks to the rapidly growing pile. Don't go back to lurking !Isn’t Bangladesh democratic? Bosnia sort of is…or at least is trying to be. Albania, while the gov’t is corrupt, is still democratic.
For starters, Muslim Guy, no specific question for you, just wanted to thank you for taking the time to do this. 
Very informative and interesting.
:sigh:
Zoid, Go ask you local minister about the KKK and abortion bombers. See what he says when you ask him “Why?”. I’m sure the same answer applies here.
According to theUnited States Agency for International Development, “Many formal institutions of democracy exist (parliament, an active opposition, a free and vigorous print media, the judiciary, competitive elections, and free speech), however they often function with limited transparency, accountability, and openness to public input. Human rights are guaranteed by law, but not always in practice.”
So, the answer would be “yes, with reservations.” Albania has made progress in achieving the forms of democracy, but they still have a way to go. Albania is both European and an ex-Stalinist state, so it’s not fair to include Albania in a survey of Muslim states.
Just off the top of my head, a roundup of the forms of government in Muslim countries:
Algeria–Military junta
Egypt–president for life
Indonesia–emerging democracy
Malaysia–president for life
Tunisia–one party state
Morocco–absolute monarchy
Mauritania–one party state
Jordan–monarchy
Saudi Arabia–monarchy
Syria–dictatorship
Iran–theocratic one party state
Iraq–dictatorship
Turkey–limited democracy (they banned the IslamicWelfare party)
Lebanon–democracy
Bahrain-monarchy
Yemen–one party state
Oman–monarchy
Kuwait–monarchy
UAE–monarchy
I believe it is, but the answer may be “Allah is God, the same God you worship” - So, ask yourself, does God hire hitmen to rub out anyone???
If I am correct, (and if I’m wrong, correct me) - “There is one God, and Muhammed is his prophet” - It’s the same God for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Just a matter of whether you believe in Jesus as Son of God or not, or whether you believe in Muhammed as a prophet.
It’s kind of like the Star Trek episode with the people with the Black/White faces hating the people with the White/Black faces.
I think the whole religion thing is overblown and basically, nonsense. (all religions are based on the ancient Sumerian religion worshipping Marduk and that may be based on older religions)
But, if you are going to fight over religion, get it straight. I personally think this has very little to do with religion, myself. That’s just a front for other real and perceived insults on both sides.
There are many seemingly contradictory passages in the Bible, so I mean no disrespect towards your holy book when I ask how the above passage can be reconciled with the following…
(Apparently 3 different translations of the same passage, taken from http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.120 )
Now, what I get from this passage is that it’s a call to Muslims not to allow anyone to lure them from their faith and convert them to another. That’s fair enough, as any religion should discourage its members from conversion out of it. But in the same breath, it also seems to be villifying Jews and Christians as people who will never like Muslims - ever (unless, of course, they convert, in which case, they aren’t Muslims anymore).
It’s (sadly) easy for me to see how impressionable and frightened Muslims in the Middle East could be pursuaded that, since the Qur’an says they will never be accepted by Jews and Christians, there is no reason to sit down in peace and negotiate for co-habitation. I mean, Allah says so, right? So how do you, as a moderate/liberal Muslim, reconcile this passage?
And then we have this, which truly frightens me (empahsis mine)…
Call me crazy, but it sure seems to me like the Qur’an preaches hatred of Jews, not a common bond. I’m actually getting a headache from trying mightily to see some of these passages as anything but hate-filled.
Please help me understand. I am honestly not trying to be flippant and I certainly hope you don’t take it that way. But since you provided the links, I decided to try to learn something and instead I’m more confused than I was before. I really do appreciate any insight, wisdom or knowledge you might be able to share.
[sub](P.S. Did you miss my question from above, or did you skip it only because of time limitations? Just wasn’t sure, since you’ve replied a couple of times to this thread since I posted it.)[/sub]
Jeg elsker dig, Thomas
Why not? The population of Albania is about 70% Muslim. Why should the fact that it used to be Stalinist disqualify it from our list? So did Azerbaijan, Kazakhistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and the other Central Asian soviet republics. For that matter, Afghanistan was Marxist-Leninist (if not Stalinist) for a while. I also don’t know why the fact that it’s European would disqualify it.
I’ll catch up on the questions soon, I promise. Just wanted to share a bit from a really good Washington Post article by a Christian woman, Caryle Murphy, that expressed my thoughts marvelously:
If there is one thing I would like to convey to people, it’s a voice for the liberal, moderate, democratic, gentle side of Islam that tends to get completely ignored in all the hullaballoo. We liberal Muslims have been trying to get across the voice of reason for years and no one anywhere seems to notice that we even exist. But if we had been listened to sooner, the world would not be in the pickle it’s in now. <sigh>
Well, Muslim Guy, if it makes you feel any better, Christianity is full of people claiming to have a handle on the Bible and its meanings. I’m sure most of the major religions have this problem (that is, so called know-it-alls).
Please tell me there are no Falwells, Swaggarts, or Robertsons in your religion.
Did you see the Behind the Music featuring Cat Stevens/Yusef Islam? I wonder if Natalie Merchant (ex-10,000 Maniacs) saw it? Her then-group removed Peace Train from their In My Tribe CD after that whole Salmon Rushdie thing. Did you read his book?
Muslim Guy, you’ve been tremendously informative and patient. Thanks for helping us understand.
My question:
One of the most striking things (to me) about modern Islamic fundamentalism is the willingness of people to kill themselves for a cause. Dozens people have died in suicide attacks, both on Tuesday and in the last several months in Israel. My religion emphatically forbids suicide under any circumstances, so I find this not just horribly scary but deeply tragic as well.
I realize that obviously people who strap bombs to their bodies or fly planes into buildings do not represent mainstream Islam. However, what does the Quran say (if anything) about suicide – about willfully dying for a cause? Do those who consign themselves to death justify it scripturally?
Please believe that I’m not trying to pass judgement - I would appreciate any light you can shed. Thanks in advance.
The Qur’an says very plainly: La taqtulu anfusakum ‘Do not kill yourselves’. It is of course unquestionable that suicide is completely unlawful in Islam. In fact, check the actuarial statistics: historically, Muslim countries have the lowest suicide rates in the world. All we can do is keep saying the truth, that these extremist criminals and their bizarre actions have always been and will always be rejected by real Islam. We Muslims constantly feel pain in our hearts every time some nutcase commits these crimes claiming that they have to do with Islam. They are completely alien to it. The analogies drawn by you Dopers with the Klan, McVeigh, & abortion clinic assassins vis-a-vis Christianity are very apt.
Whenever anyone anywhere is harmed, the whole human race suffers together. This horrible mess we’ve gotten into is not about Islam and it is not about America. We are all one humanity.
Muslim Guy, thanks for this thread. It’s very interesting and informative, particularly in this time of crisis.
My question is about the Muslim rituals of prayer. I understand that Muslims are supposed to pray five times daily. What is involved in those daily prayer sessions. What is the role of women in Muslim rituals and practices.
I also understand that Friday is considered a special day or sabbath. Are there special rituals for Fridays. Are their restrictions on what you can do on Fridays (like the prohibition on “work” on the Sabbath and certain holidays followed by observant Jews)?
What are other major holidays in the Muslim and what are the special practices associated with them?
Thanks again.
Could you briefly discuss the difference between between Islam and Louis Farrakhan’s “Nation of Islam”?
I wish to thank Muslim Guy for keeping with this thread, and my Teeming Minions for behaving like ladies and gentlemen. You make it worth my while to be a moderator here.
That, and the annonymous pictures sent to my e-mail on a regular basis.
I may be lowering the level of the discussion here, but here goes:
What are the Islamic conventions governing personal grooming. I’ve read that the Taliban punishes men for not growing their beards. So presumably, there is some Muslims who believe shaving is against their religion. However, it seems most Muslims (at least in the Arab world) do shave, at least their beards, if not mustaches.
Even more interestingly (and lowering the level here), in a biography I read of the explorer Richard Burton – who was fluent in Arabic, passed for a Muslim sufficiently to enter Mecca, and may have very well been a secret Muslim – it indicated that during his Hajj, just before entering, he and the other pilgrims shaved, ahem, other areas of their bodies.
What’s the Straight Dope on these practices?
I hadn’t heard of Burton shving before. I did know that he had to be circumcised before making the pilgrimage.
Shayna- I’m curious as to the context of those passages. Many Christians aren’t satisfied with Jews for not converting, and vice versa. This does not prevent peaceful and even friendly relations. This passage could be saying “The Jews think that they’re right. We know that we’re right. Don’t argue the point. This is one of those arguments no one can win.”
The master speaks on Burton.
When I worked in Saudi Arabia, a Jordanian colleague, who was born and raised in Saudi, told me that clean shaven men were considered effeminate, if not gay. He was clean shaven and single, not that there’s anything wrong with that ;).
Anyway, if this is a common cultural belief then it might follow that a very strict fundamentalist group might not be amused by clean shaven men. But I have no idea whether this is actually proscribed anywhere.
I’m curious, too, Doc, that’s why I asked. I can understand a religion proclaiming itself the one true “right” religion and even going so far as to discourage its members from being lured away by non-believers. What’s so hard for me to wrap my head around is the use of terms such as “enmity” and “hatred” in a holy text, and what appears to be the outright call to do harm to them (“Be their hands tied up…”).
I’m not well versed in the Judeo/Christian bible, either, so perhaps there are passages that are just as hate-filled as the excerpts I’ve quoted from the Qur’an above. I say that because I want there to be no confusion that I’m claiming one text superior over another. In fact, some of the things I do know of the Bible, I think are pretty stupid (though I can’t give you quotes off the top of my head).
I merely found it confusing that Muslim Guy presents Islam as calling for unity and brotherhood amongst Muslims, Christians and Jews, when I see the complete contradiction of that in passages from their holy book, which he linked to himself as a reference.
I also find it extremely unsettling and frightening that these things are (apparently) a part of Islam, as it gives me reason to wonder if there can ever really be peace between Muslims and Jews if Muslims are called upon to hate them.