# What exactly is good about Islam? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 28, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304 "2016-11-28T18:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/81 "2016-11-28T21:04:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Why does the left not care? Why offend a potential voter. > > Religion for some unexplained reason gets a pass for irrational and illiberal messages. Now if it were merely an ideology it would be condemned as being the second coming of Nazism. :dubious: I’d hazard that more on the left object to religion than those on the right. And the previous post is my cite. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/82 "2016-11-28T21:05:54Z")
Islam is the worst religion, except for all the other ones. West Wing Season Three Episode One said it best. Islamic Fundamentalism is to Islam, as \_\_\_\_\_ is to Christianity. KKK It is wrong to trample people for their religious beliefs. I will defend the right of people to practice their beliefs just as I would defend the **KimJongUn** ’s right not to have any. KimJongUn, make no mistake. Many who want to discriminate against Islam would just _love_ the chance to discriminate against _you_. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/83 "2016-11-28T21:06:41Z")
Instead of attacking the OP’s assumed bases, wouldn’t you refute him more completely by merely listing those things you think Islam is great at ? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/84 "2016-11-28T21:08:53Z")
Why? It’s not my job to make the OP coherent. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/85 "2016-11-28T21:09:11Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Instead of attacking the OP’s assumed bases, wouldn’t you refute him more completely by merely listing those things you think Islam is great at ? Why? That’s not relevant when he’s calling for the\* persecution of\* Islam; not conversion\* to\* it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/86 "2016-11-28T21:16:17Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Islamic Fundamentalism is to Islam, as \_\_\_\_\_ is to Christianity. > > KKK This person doesn’t know how to do analogies. “Islamic fundamentalism is to Islam as _Christian fundamentalism_ is to Christianity”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/87 "2016-11-28T21:24:59Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > His claim that he would ban Muslims/people from Muslim regions has made a lot of liberals jump to the defense of Muslims. Ah. I understand. Well, it’s like this: we’re not bigots. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/88 "2016-11-28T21:29:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Why? That’s not relevant when he’s calling for the\* persecution of\* Islam; not conversion\* to\* it. > [@Grey](#): > > Why? It’s not my job to make the OP coherent. Well, the very title asked a question. Simply shut him down by listing the ways Islam has improved the world. One can do the same with other religions like christianity, jainism or marxism: but he wants to know about _this_ particular creed. Nitpicking will not answer his doubts. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/89 "2016-11-28T21:36:06Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Instead of attacking the OP’s assumed bases, wouldn’t you refute him more completely by merely listing those things you think Islam is great at ? Like its peer religions, Islamic scripture exhorts its followers to display virtuous behavior; it has rules to organize society by, and rules \> no rules; and a set of rituals to bind people together and give them purpose or inspiration or what have you. Again, the same features other religions have; they were created by humans to serve human needs, and human needs are pretty similar all over. And, the last NBA center to average 29+ points per game for a full season was a Muslim. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/90 "2016-11-28T21:36:35Z")
Muslims preserved and translated vast amounts of ancient Greek texts that form the basis of our science and mathematics while Christians were sitting in the rain forgetting that it’s a bad idea to dig the well next to the outhouse. Hope that answers the OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/91 "2016-11-28T21:38:31Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Well, the very title asked a question. Simply shut him down by listing the ways Islam has improved the world. > One can do the same with other religions like christianity, jainism or marxism: but he wants to know about _this_ particular creed. Nitpicking will not answer his doubts. Finally, a person who can read. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/92 "2016-11-28T21:41:32Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Well, the very title asked a question. Simply shut him down by listing the ways Islam has improved the world. > One can do the same with other religions like christianity, jainism or marxism: but he wants to know about _this_ particular creed. Nitpicking will not answer his doubts. His doubts are based on bigotry, by his posts, not based on some curiosity about the benefits of Islam. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/93 "2016-11-28T21:45:41Z")
Hi dumb new poster! Welcome to the board. You’ve got a nice username. Does it mean anything that isn’t dumb? (Not rhetorical- I’ll wait.) ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/94 "2016-11-28T21:46:36Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > Finally, a person who can read. Did you assume all the people criticizing your OP didn’t read it? Did YOU read your OP? I’m assuming not. > [@](#): > > I just want to hear some of the reasoning behind your unfounded support for Islam :smack: You basically said in your OP that you would not read any responses, because anything “good” someone says about Islam is “unfounded”. Why the fuck should someone respond in good faith to a poisoned well like that? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/95 "2016-11-28T22:03:37Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > The reason I’m mainly criticizing Islam is because of Trump’s recent victory and many liberals have been claiming Muslims and Islam isn’t that bad of a religion. I’d say you have a mistaken idea on what liberals generally think. Most liberals feel that Islam should be granted the same respect and legal protections that other religions are granted. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/96 "2016-11-28T22:10:16Z")
\*\ \\* ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/97 "2016-11-28T22:19:45Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Well, the very title asked a question. Simply shut him down by listing the ways Islam has improved the world. > One can do the same with other religions like christianity, jainism or marxism: but he wants to know about _this_ particular creed. Nitpicking will not answer his doubts. The thing is, he’s not really just talking about the religion. He’s talking about the people who practice it. So, the answer is lengthy but also seemingly a non sequitur. It gave us the number 0. The advancements brought about by the Islamic empires up to and including the Ottoman Empire are huge. The storytelling and folkloric traditions changed western storytelling in ways that are almost impossible to measure. How much of this comes from the religion itself and how much would have sprung up in those societies anyway is hard to say. Culture and religion are too intertwined. As an ideology? Like others there is good and bad. I’ve been diving into my Jewish roots recently and there is a shocking amount of horrible stuff in the Torah, and a ton od other stuff that says to ignore the horrible stuff and simply be good to others. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/98 "2016-11-28T22:34:36Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > Speaking in an objective sense, for those who argue that Islam is not a bad religion, and that it is peaceful and not a threat or danger, and not illogical, tell me, how is it good? As someone with a shallow understanding of many religions, I find Islam to be fairly boring. Buddhism and Hinduism have interesting philosophy, notes on human existence, and cosmology. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Aztecs, Gnostics, Norse, and various tribal African religions have fun cosmologies or stories. The Australian native Rainbow Serpent religion is pretty interesting, seemingly one of the few religions to hold menstruation as holy and creative. What does Islam bring to the table? I like [this verse I guess.](http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=57&verse=20) > [@](#): > > Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children - like the example of a rain whose resulting plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes scattered debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion. All is vanity, man, I dig it. The concept of Iblis refusing to bow before Adam is neat too, though apparently handed down from The Life of Adam and Eve. Jinn are a fun concept. Supposedly the Quran has beautiful poetry in the original language. I haven’t seen a lot of Quran quotes I feel compelled to save though, whereas the Bible has all sorts of wisdom, metal verses, or outrageous scenarios. Probably biased due to being an English speaker. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/99 "2016-11-28T23:30:01Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Here are some of the “crimes” the Christian God personally [smites/kills people in the Bible](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Examples_of_God_personally_killing_people) for: > > - disobeying an order from God to impregnate one’s dead brother’s wife > - being firstborn in Egypt > - complaining about food and wanting to go back to Egypt for an easier life > - despairing and complaining about the quality of bread > - touching the Ark while trying to prevent it from tipping over > - refusing to strike a prophet when ordered to do so by the prophet in question > - mocking a bald man’s head None of these things are in the New Testament. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304/100 "2016-11-28T23:43:01Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > Examples. I was also trying to show the hypocrisy of liberals who support Islam. There is a very large difference between supporting Islam (giving money to or recruiting for, or espousing their beliefs) and defending Islam (its right to exist and the right of its adherents to practice it without persecution). Most liberals are defenders, not supporters. Your beef should more properly be directed at Islamism (the political movement), rather than at Islam (the religion). Just as most Christians do not practice the more draconian aspects of the Bible, so likewise most Muslims do not practice the more horrifying aspects of the Koran. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-good-about-islam/773304.md?page=6)