Is this Fundie "take" on Islam a fair summation, theologically speaking?

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

I’m putting this in GD because (a) it’s about serious religion stuff, and (b) I don’t think it’s going to have a simple “yes” or “no” answer.

This piece has been circulating in Fundie e-mail for a while now, and this morning in church it appeared in the bulletin as an insert. Oddly enough, the only place I can find it posted online is a version of it here. I’ve never seen any authorship accredited to this thing on its many trips through my Inbox.

I’m quoting only the parts about Islamic theology, not the “witnessing” helps that appeared with it. On the back of the bulletin insert there’s a world map of “Major Locations We Are Praying for This Month”: Belgium, Netherlands, Casablanca, Morocco, Western Sahara, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia, Central African Republic, Somalia, Madagascar, Central Asia, Lebanon, Herej (sp?), China, Zanskar, Lucknow, UAF, Mumbai, Thailand, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. No attribution for this map, either. No input on why these locations are on this month’s prayer list. Places like Saudi Arabia are obvious, but Belgium?

I’m not exactly asking for a debunking, but the overall tone of the piece tends to make me nervous. Are Muslims really superstitious, fatalistic, not-very-bright, natural-born slaves with completely alien mindsets? Somehow I doubt it. And even if I never in a million years would take an SDMB debunking of this thing back to church next Sunday and shove it in the face of the person who put it in the bulletin and tell him, “The Straight Dope is that this is a load of crap,” still I’d like to know just for myself.

Especially the part about the “Muslim worldview” and “jinn”. I mean, I’m, like–what? And I don’t know any Muslims to ask, “Do you really believe in jinn?” We have about 100 Muslims here in Decatur, Illinois, out of a population of 85,000. The reason I know this figure is because in the weeks after 9/11, the Decatur Police Department Neighborhood TAC team for the neighborhood where the mosque is located “established a police presence” there for several Fridays in a row (meaning they showed up with police cars and stood around looking businesslike in their official “POLICE” pinneys), just to make sure there wasn’t any trouble, and the local paper gave it front-page coverage. “Decatur PD Does Its Part to Ensure Safety of All Residents, Regardless of Their Religion”.

Snips from “How to Pray for Muslims”.

**
Muslims believe in the uniqueness of an all powerful and supreme God. Similar to Christians and Jews, they believe that God is creative and eternal. But Muslims also believe that God is unknowable, making a personal relationship with Him impossible. According to Islam, God holds himself apart from mankind.

<snip>

The Muslim worldview is strongly influenced by an awareness of the supernatural and the presence of good and evil spirits known as jinn, which are greatly feared and are often thought to be responsible for illnesses and misfortune. Superstition controls many aspects of people’s everyday lives and results in a great fearfulness.

<snip>

Islam means “submission”, a concept familiar to Muslims who understand they are a servant of God. Through Islam, a Muslim can only ever relate to God from the position of being a servant or slave, fully submitted to God. While submission is a Biblical concept, the Muslim understanding is incomplete. Christians believe that through Jesus, people can move from being servants to becoming sons and daughters (Galatians 4:7). Because this idea is so foreign, pray that Muslims will come to understand God’s desires for them to relate to Him as children and not as slaves (Matthew 18:3)

<snip>

Islam teaches that for a person to enter paradise, he must do enough good deeds in life to outweigh the bad. Even then, there is no guarantee for a Muslim of salvation. It is difficult for Muslims to understand the concept of grace as articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9, so concepts of repentance and forgiveness are distorted.**

[jayjay]

Heh…yeah, that ‘jinn’ stuff is all superstition…as opposed to the legions of minor and major devils and demons that the Fundamentalists believe torment and tempt the Christian faithful, I’m sure.

*[sub]Not getting on your case, DDG…just a general comment about the illogic and self-blindness of this piece of typical Fundamentalist glurge…[/sub]

[Hemlock]

It’s condescending and arrogant, if not thinly-veiled racism. I cringe to think what a Muslim would make of it. Phrases like “no wonder they hate us” come to mind.

[Sterra]

That probably only applies to fundamentalist Muslims. Take the jinn for example, the counterpart idea of demons or satan being the cause.

I never really have looked too hard at the Muslim religion, but to me that sounds like just a different flavor of say catholicism than an actual different religion.

[tomndebb]

To my knowledge, Muslims do not make the same “know Him personally” points that Christians, particularly Fundamentalist Christians and some mystics, do. Their attitude is more in line with the more typical approach to God the Father found in Christianity (which would make sense). The “unknowable” aspect is “true” in the sense that even Christians recognize that humans are not capable of grasping the reality of God. To claim that Muslims are somehow distant or separated from an unknowable God is to put a quick spin on Muslim belief based on a quick reading of some of the tenets of Islam without attempting to understand the mindset (or the faith) of Muslims.

There is a thread of belief in djinn and afrits in Islam that is not far removed in context (although it is farther removed in imagery) than similar beliefs among Christians regarding the devil and his demon minions. How this is much different than the stuff that Bob Larson spews, I have no idea.

Without a mythology of God-became-man-in-Jesus, Islam is not going to have a set of imagery that portrays God as father and brother. On the other hand, Islam does use imagery such as Allah being more loving that a woman to her child. This harkens back to the notion of the “distant” and “unknowable” God. It based mostly on a superficial reading of Muslim theology.

The last quoted point may have the largest grain of truth in it–although it is still lacking. That I am aware, Islam does not have a “get faith; get out of hell free” doctrine. However, we are still talking about a matter of emphasis. The name Allah is nearly always accompanied by the modifers merciful or compassionate. The “fear” that is mentioned in the quote is more like the “fear of the Lord” that is such a strong theme in many Christian writings. It is not a fear of condemnation, but a fear that one would offend a person who both loves each of us and who is desrving of all love from each of us.

[douglips]

Superstition controls many aspects of people’s everyday lives and results in a great fearfulness.

Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.

[Tamerlane]

*Originally posted by tomndebb *
To my knowledge, Muslims do not make the same “know Him personally” points that Christians, particularly Fundamentalist Christians and some mystics, do.

Just a quick comment since I have to go earn my paycheck, but my understanding is that there are certain threads of Islam, particulary certain Sufi orders, where there is an attempt to achieve a personal union with, and/or knowledge of, the divine.

But as regards orthodox views, I believe tomndeb is pretty much correct .

More later, if I can free up the time.

• Tamerlane

[Truth_Seeker]

You really need Muslim Guy for this but it looks to me like the most egregious problems with this tract are its monolithic view of Islam and its characterization of beliefs-not-shared-by-us as “superstitions.”

Tamerlane has already mentioned that there is a wide range of belief and practice in the Muslim world. Just like Christianity and Judiasm, it ranges from the fire-breathing, apocalyptic fundamentalism which has been getting all the press lately, to philsophical mysticsm with everything in between.

As for superstition, well, I suppose somewhere in some Islamic country there’s a tract being circulated which discusses colorful Christian “superstitions” about having water poured on your head or eating little bits of bread on Sunday. The point here is we all live in glass houses. Things that we may do can look like quaint superstitions to those who don’t share our beliefs.

[tomndebb]

Y’know, the whole point of the glurge would appear to be a good example of looking past the beam in one’s eye to see a mote in another’s.

There are, in the U.S., no Muslim preachers out trying to convert innocent Christian children to Islam. No one is broadcasting news reports of the general superiority of Islam to Christianity (rather the reverse if this MB is an indication).

These folks are not under attack, yet they are launching a pre-emptive strike on the beliefs of people whom they will probably never meet. What is the point? It seems to be mostly a vainglorious effort to puff themselves up and proclaim “Our belief is better than their belief.” for no better reason than to make themselves feel good. Given the religious nature of this stuff, I would respond with Luke 18:9-14.

[pennylane]

*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose *
But Muslims also believe that God is unknowable, making a personal relationship with Him impossible. According to Islam, God holds himself apart from mankind.

Hmmm… I’m not sure I understand this… but Muslims believe that while God is beyond definition, he is everywhere and he is with you wherever you are. Muslims are asked to study nature in order to understand the truth and righteousness of God’s creation.

The Muslim worldview is strongly influenced by an awareness of the supernatural and the presence of good and evil spirits known as jinn, which are greatly feared and are often thought to be responsible for illnesses and misfortune. Superstition controls many aspects of people’s everyday lives and results in a great fearfulness.

Yes, the Quran does mention both angels and jinn (who are considered by some to be fallen angels). The Quran also condemns superstition. Muslim children will talk about the jinn, claiming, for example, that a certain part of their school is haunted by jinn, in much the same way that Christian children might believe a place haunted by ghosts. In general, adults don’t take such talk seriously. One will occasionally find superstitious beliefs and practices among the uneducated classes, but these usually date to pre-Islamic times. The most common among these, in my experience, is a belief in the Evil Eye (the idea that the jealous gaze of an adult can curse a healthy or beautiful child). But superstition is generally condemned as un-Islamic and is, in my opinion, less universally accepted in Muslim society than in America, where I lived on the “fourteenth” floor of a building which had thirteen floors.

Christians believe that through Jesus, people can move from being servants to becoming sons and daughters (Galatians 4:7). Because this idea is so foreign, pray that Muslims will come to understand God’s desires for them to relate to Him as children and not as slaves

Well, I actually prefer the Muslim point of view (not that I see all that much difference between the two). Muslims think of themselves not as chosen people but as people who have elected to submit to the higher authority of God. Anyone can do the same, and will then be the equal of all other Muslims.

Islam teaches that for a person to enter paradise, he must do enough good deeds in life to outweigh the bad. Even then, there is no guarantee for a Muslim of salvation. It is difficult for Muslims to understand the concept of grace as articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9, so concepts of repentance and forgiveness are distorted.

This is absolutely ridiculous. The Quran emphasises forgiveness both in men and in God. The “righteous [are] those who… pardon men” (Surah 3, 134), Muslims are asked to “forgive them and overlook (their misdeeds): for God loves those who are kind” (Surah 5, 13). Muslims are defined as “those who avoid the greater crimes and shameful deeds, and, when they are angry even then forgive” (Surah 42, 37) and they are told that “the recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree): but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah” (Surah 42, 40). God is referred to as “Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” throughout the Quran. His forgiveness is strongly emphasised many times.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Okay, thanks, guys, that’s pretty much what I thought myself, but it’s nice to have it official.

[sub]Pot, meet Kettle.
heh[/sub]

[Prof.Dumbledore]

But well…since Truth Seeker said:

*You really need Muslim Guy for this *

HERE I AM!!! YAY!
ahem ahem…okay well basically we are fasting this month which means u don’t eat during daylight hours…some might view that as silly and stupid but its a part of our religion…one mans belief…anothers superstition.

Islam is really not that hard to understand if u want to. It seems real mystical and somewhat intimidating to people in the west 'cos of the fundoo image…but hey…not all of us are like that…well i just went to the market near my house for a smoke and hmm…well i met this friend and when we were talking we were approached by a religious guy with a beard and turban and he asked for a few minutes of our time…since it wuz impolite to refuse my friend said okay and he starting this lecture about how the world is a temporary place and we go after money and wealth and status etc. and then we die so we’ve earned nothing…whereas we need to go for religion and follow the ways of GOD and leave the worldly things… hmmm…well I Got real bored so i acted like i had to be sumwhere and i ran off.
Still…the point is…that this happens alot here…btw i live in Pakistan…anyways…its not a bad thing…like the guy wuz doing a good deed…its good to preach your religion…just that we’re errrrrr doing it a bit too much!
See my point of view being muslim and all is that well…i wanted to tell the guy that he was wrong and that it would do islam a bigger favor if we tried to educate ourselves and compete with the world and show them just how civilized etc. we were, besides thats also what islam teaches…but the tragedy is that the true spirit of islam is just not understoood by people so he woulda prob thot me a sinner etc.
Okay enuff useless rambling…lets get down to business…ISLAM DOES NOT PREACH FUNDAMENTALISM…MUSLIMS DO THAT…just like your reverands shout hallelluyahhhh turn to Christ…LOVE THY LORDD…GAYZ WILL ROT IN HELL…DAMN YOU BASTARDS…and send your donations at this address…its basically the same sorta thing…just with errrr nobler intentions…i.e your doods are literate…these guyzz well they’ve seen little more than religion…THE RELIGION THAT WUZ TAUGHT TO THEM! they don’t look for donations…they look for spiritual followers…i.e trying to make u turn to the light…very noble …but where do they go wrong???

As far as ignorance is concerned…well okay the taleban are NOT preaching islam as such…really a corrupted version of Islam…okay i’m a pashtun…and well pretty much proud of it hehe…tho im a pakistani pashtun and we’re diff from our afghani counterparts…but still nonetheless…pashtuns have strong tribal customs…and well the taleban mixed those into religion 'cos errrrrr they juss didn’t know better…since the tribal customs have become modified with the inclusion of religious teachings making a really rigid form of islam…that u all are obviously aware of!!!

Islam is a religion of Peace and tolerance adn well in broad terms…we believe that there iz only one religion and christians and jews are also a part of it…i.e there were around 120,000 prophets starting with Adam…they came and they preached the same basic message…just that Mohammad(PBUH) was the last of the prophets and hence completed the religion. Similarly Jesus Christ son of Mary was a prophet too! YES HE WUZ BORN WITHOUT A FATHER AND MARY WAS A VIRGIN…actually impregnated by an angel if i remember correctly but still a normal man with many gifts because he was a very important prophet! for instance he spoke at birth…removing the doubts about Mary’s virtue etc. and healed the sick etc. and preached his message of peace and tolerance. He was a remarkable person and the Quran has many references to him BUT he was a human being…not a son of God…a prophet like the others…similarly Moses, Abraham, Noah and all the other prophets were humans…alongwith Mohammad(PBUH) who was yet another remarkable man who was a prophet of God,chosen to complete the religion.

OKay well i think anyone whoz reading this is getting bored by now so i’ll cut it short by answering smoe small questions and then if anyone has any questions i’ll answer them:

**
The Muslim worldview is strongly influenced by an awareness of the supernatural and the presence of good and evil spirits known as jinn, which are greatly feared and are often thought to be responsible for illnesses and misfortune. Superstition controls many aspects of people’s everyday lives and results in a great fearfulness.**

About jinns…yes we do believe in them…The quran states that there are two kinds of “intelligent” beings, the humans and the jinns…the jinns are not visible to us etc. thats all there iz to it really! There are good and bad jinns…they are supernatural but don’t get worried…no excorcist stuff happening here…tho well there iz alot of superstition involved when u think of jinns but thats people perception of it…'cos since islam states the existence of jinns…hence anything that happens is ussually attributed to them e.g back in my village ppl really believe in them bigtime but they’re thot of more as ghost like creatures i.e possessing people and stuff etc. but thats not really the islamic view! THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ILLNESS OR MISFORTUNE OR ANY OTHER PRANKS…they’re juss there and thats all we need to know…i think its just Islam telling us that the supernatural does exist! and that its more natural than supernatural.

**
Muslims believe in the uniqueness of an all powerful and supreme God. Similar to Christians and Jews, they believe that God is creative and eternal. But Muslims also believe that God is unknowable, making a personal relationship with Him impossible. According to Islam, God holds himself apart from mankind.
**

Thats a load of rubbish…Islam places GOD very close to humans and the rest of his beings…God wants us to ask him for anything and talk to him!!! and that hez closer to us than our hmm…whats the term for the main vein in your brain…i don’t knwo but ya thats the one! the vein that pumps blood to our brain meaning hez that close to us…well its in the Quran go and check for yourselves…Really! dont’ believe what christian preachers say about Islam…it would be like me talking about christianity, i.e a religion that i think is very confusing and hence is hard for me to comprehend…so obviously what i say about it might not really sound too romantic…get the drift???

**
Islam means “submission”, a concept familiar to Muslims who understand they are a servant of God. Through Islam, a Muslim can only ever relate to God from the position of being a servant or slave, fully submitted to God. While submission is a Biblical concept, the Muslim understanding is incomplete. Christians believe that through Jesus, people can move from being servants to becoming sons and daughters (Galatians 4:7). Because this idea is so foreign, pray that Muslims will come to understand God’s desires for them to relate to Him as children and not as slaves (Matthew 18:3)
**

RUBBISH…GOD IS MY FRIEND!!! Though i am also his slave as in I accept his authority and i obey the commands that he gave in the Quran without question (BUT) Islam actually teaches us to question things around us…ALOT!!! and God is seen as a friend and the most merciful and beneficient…its the first line in the Quran!

**
Islam teaches that for a person to enter paradise, he must do enough good deeds in life to outweigh the bad. Even then, there is no guarantee for a Muslim of salvation. It is difficult for Muslims to understand the concept of grace as articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9, so concepts of repentance and forgiveness are distorted.
**

NOT TRUE AT ALLLLL!!! there iz such a huge concept of repentance…i.e GOD says that if u feel that you’ve done something bad and feel sorry for what you’ve done and make an honest promise never to do it again, he’ll forgive you 100%, no matter what you did!..its like if u truly repent you’ll be forgiven…as simple as that…no funny business here!..well for salvation…its really vague 'cos even a small good deed can outweigh a thousand bad ones…and if u plan a bad deed but don’t go ahead with it you won’t get penalised but even thinking about a good deed and not doing it…will get you benefitsssss!..so its a pretty loose system actually…how much easier can religion get?
About the small good deeds outweighing the bad ones…well there iz a story of a prostitute being sent to heaven because she gave a thirsty dog water!!! . By the way this hasn’t happened yet but since time is relative for God so its told in past tense!..its an example of how merciful Allah actually is!

[rjung]

*Originally posted by Truth Seeker *
…it looks to me like the most egregious problems with this tract are its monolithic view of Islam and its characterization of beliefs-not-shared-by-us as “superstitions.”

Isn’t that par for the course whenever fundamentalists of Religion A talk about the beliefs and practices of Religion B?

As for the OP, the appropriate response to the tract is to slap a gigantic :rolleyes: over the whole thing.

[Monty]

Muslims believe in the uniqueness of an all powerful and supreme God.

Correct. Since the idea of a monotheistic deity is that there is only one (therefore unique) and deity (therefore supreme), I’d say that’s pretty much what the Koran advocates as correct faith.

Similar to Christians and Jews, they believe that God is creative and eternal.

Correct. Since the Koran discusses a deity which created all and existed before all creation, that would be an eternal deity.

But Muslims also believe that God is unknowable,

Well, that’s not similar at all to what Judaism teaches. Christianity teaches that one may know Jesus, but Judaism teaches that the deity of the universe is unknowable.

STRIKE ONE. (Or for you cricketers: FIRST WICKET.)

making a personal relationship with Him impossible.

I was not aware that “personal relationship” with deity was a basic tenet of Judaism.

STRIKE TWO. (SECOND WICKET.)

According to Islam, God holds himself apart from mankind.

According to the Bible, God holds himself to a different set of standards than he holds humans; therefore, He considers himself apart from humanity.

STRIKE THREE. (THIRD WICKET.)

The Muslim worldview is strongly influenced by an awareness of the supernatural and the presence of good and evil spirits known as jinn, which are greatly feared and are often thought to be responsible for illnesses and misfortune. Superstition controls many aspects of people’s everyday lives and results in a great fearfulness.

Just like Fundamentalist Christianity!

“Awareness of the supernatural” - all knowing, all powerful being which operates outside the laws of nature is, by definition, supernatural. That would be the FC’s version of deity.

“Presence of good and evil spirits” - angels would be the good spirits and demons would be the evil spirits (especially with Satan as the ultimate evil spirit).

“Greatly feared” - The FCs fear BOTH the evil spirit (Satan) AND the good spirit (God).

“Responsible for illnesses and misfortune” - That would be the viewpoint held by the FCs who go around praying for good health, casting out of demons, and for changes in their fortune.

I leave it to you, dear teeming millionth, to decide what to say about superstition here.

FOURTH WICKET. (Now you see why I pulled in another sport!)

Islam means “submission”, a concept familiar to Muslims who understand they are a servant of God.

Fair enough.

Through Islam, a Muslim can only ever relate to God from the position of being a servant or slave, fully submitted to God.

Gross oversimplification of the concept.

I’ll give this one a “bye.” (No outs, but the bowling (pitching) team is penalized one run (point).)

While submission is a Biblical concept, the Muslim understanding is incomplete.

Incorrect. The Muslim view is that by following the word of God, one is submitting to God. That would be the same viewpoint the FC holds; however, the issue is which book is really the scripture to follow.

FIFTH WICKET.

Christians believe that through Jesus, people can move from being servants to becoming sons and daughters (Galatians 4:7).

Incorrect. The Biblical teaching (including the New Testament, of course since this is a FC rant…er, discussion) is that God is the Father of all of our spirits already.

SIXTH WICKET.

Because this idea is so foreign, pray that Muslims will come to understand God’s desires for them to relate to Him as children and not as slaves (Matthew 18:3)

Actually, the Biblical teaching is that our spirits, and our bodies also, already belong to God. So that means that it is Christianity and not Islam which holds that God is our owners. Islam teaches that it is our decision to be in submission to God, not to be enslaved. Christianity, apparently, teaches that we are His slaves even if we don’t believe in Him!

SEVENTH WICKET.

Islam teaches that for a person to enter paradise, he must do enough good deeds in life to outweigh the bad.

So do some sects of Christianity. Come to think of it, I might be willing to wager real money on the FC who penned this stuff declaring that those secta aren’t really Christian.

EIGHTH WICKET.

Even then, there is no guarantee for a Muslim of salvation.

And there’s no guarantee, apparently, in the New Testament for the Christian. Otherwise, why the whole Judgement Seat thing?

NINTH WICKET.

It is difficult for Muslims to understand the concept of grace as articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9, so concepts of repentance and forgiveness are distorted.

And the author now uses different wording to call someone else a fool, thus himself disobeying the Bible.

TENTH WICKET.

Not bad. Side Out (all batters dismissed) in one short rant.

[Monty]

Drat. For the First Wicket above, I meant to say “that’s similar to what Judaism teaches, but not at all to what FC preaches.”

[The_Flying_Dutchman]

DDG, Where in your cite does this fundie article claim that muslims are not very bright? That is your conclusion based on the "observations’ of the cited article.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Gee, Grienspace, you’re absolutely right. The article never once comes right out and says, “Muslims are stupid.” I guess that’s just my reading comprehension skills kicking in, dang it all. I just wish to heck I could get them under control…

Paragraph 2 means: Superstition controls their lives and results in great fearfulness. The subtext here is the assumption that superstition is “stupid”, and that people who are superstitious are also “stupid”. Smart people are not superstitious, we think. The cure for superstition has always been “education”. “Here, we’ll prove to you that according to the laws of physics, there is no such thing as ghosts.”

Paragraph 3 means: Muslims find it difficult to understand that they aren’t God’s slaves. The subtext here is the idea of the slave who is freed, but who is too stupid to understand it. Mutely he stands there, the remains of his fetters dangling from his wrists, uncertain of what to do next. “Freedom? Whazzat?”

Paragraph 4 means: Muslims find it difficult to understand the concepts of “repentance” and “forgiveness”. The subtext here is that since even children understand the twin concepts of “say sorry” and “that’s okay”, they must be less intelligent than children.

[Boyo_Jim]

Anyone who interprets dogma closely enough can find a reason why Lutherans should take on the Baptists, or they should both go after the Unitarians.

People point to dogma for justification for what they want to do or believe. It’s that simple. Christians, Muslims, Jews and most everybody else with an Old Testament based faith have managed to weasel from, “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, to “Thou Shalt not Kill except when we say it’s ok” by finding more obscure and indirect dogma implying something else. Quite an accomplishment, really.

A Muslim trying to reassure you about his faith would have a different set of quotes, or a different rationalization of the same ones.

[tomndebb]

It’s that simple. Christians, Muslims, Jews and most everybody else with an Old Testament based faith have managed to weasel from, “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, to “Thou Shalt not Kill except when we say it’s ok” by finding more obscure and indirect dogma implying something else. Quite an accomplishment, really.

Well, since the actual statement would be more accurately translated “Thou shalt not murder.” it is not that hard to define acts of killing that are not, actually, murder. From that perspective, it is not at all a “weasel” condition to define various killings as “justified.” Mind you, an awful lot of people have found ways to rationalize themselves right away from the original tenets of their faith–just as many people have looked at the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution and have found ways to rationalize slavery and a host of other divisive and oppressive laws. That does seem to be one of the common traits of humanity.

[smiling_bandit]

Now look, I’m Catholic, and hardly fundamentalist, and some of my friends are Hindu Muslims, but I think you guys are reading WAY more into this than is required or suggested. Does the author bend over backwards to be nice to muslims? No. Nor would I expect him to. However, he (yes, or she) does a decent enough job of pointing out some differences between his religion and Islam, given the space provided. The actual tract may only address specific a part of Islam, but nonethless works.

One might take exception to the Jinn remark, however, as I can’t see them being different from the devils and angels of Christianity. Different name is all.