Traded hot pants for hijab, i converted to Islam AMA

[user14943608381]

I’m going to be occupied with a cluster feeding newborn so thought an Ama would be fun. So, I used to drink, go clubbing, love mini skirts and dating but I gave it all up and became Muslim. For a little while I even wore the face veil.

Ask me anything!

I’m pretty clued up in theology and the sharia for feel free to ask me anything on that too! (Disclaimer though some opinions are my own and not the ‘majority consensus’)

Wasn’t it that Joseph was a widower when he agreed to marry Mary, and so Jesus’ older siblings were in fact step siblings?

Mary having children before Jesus would mean the Virgin Mary wasn’t a virgin. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just here to point out that there is diversity of thought on the age of Aisha, his second wife after he was widowed. Some say she was 19.

The islamaphobia here is shocking. My mother is Christian (practicing) and my father is Muslim. We had both books in our home. I was christened and married in a church however, we didn’t eat pork as a child and he never drank, gambled etc and my father was happy to be open about his religion and would teach me many aspects of Islam but told me to choose what I felt was right for me. Never ever was my mother made to be subservient in any way.

I have great respect for Islam and have many times thought about following its teachings but I fear my husband and children would not be happy.

Can I ask do you bring up your children through Islamic teachings?

Interesting thread. Thank you. Always nice to hear of someone finding their 'place', whatever religion.

Am curious though, why do you write x mas and c mas in previous posts, as if avoiding the full word?

I lived several years in a mainly Muslim country and our friendship circle was almost all Muslim. I never saw/heard any avoidance of mentioning a word containing the name of Christ. I may be overthinking it, of course, but I noticed it in more than one of your posts.

@flashbac

Just here to point out that there is diversity of thought on the age of Aisha, his second wife after he was widowed. Some say she was 19.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/sep/17/muhammad-aisha-truth

*According to this perspective, Aisha may have been young, but she was not younger than was the norm at the time. Other Muslims doubt the very idea that Aisha was six at the time of marriage, referring to historians who have questioned the reliability of Aisha's age as given in the saying. In a society without a birth registry and where people did not celebrate birthdays, most people estimated their own age and that of others. Aisha would have been no different. What's more, Aisha had already been engaged to someone else before she married Muhammad, suggesting she had already been mature enough by the standards of her society to consider marriage for a while. It seems difficult to reconcile this with her being six.

In addition, some modern Muslim scholars have more recently cast doubt on the veracity of the saying, or hadith, used to assert Aisha's young age. In Islam, the hadith literature (sayings of the prophet) is considered secondary to the Qur'an. While the Qur'an is considered to be the verbatim word of God, the hadiths were transmitted over time through a rigorous but not infallible methodology. Taking all known accounts and records of Aisha's age at marriage, estimates of her age range from nine to 19.*

@Welliesandpyjamas

Interesting thread. Thank you. Always nice to hear of someone finding their 'place', whatever religion.

Am curious though, why do you write x mas and c mas in previous posts, as if avoiding the full word?

I lived several years in a mainly Muslim country and our friendship circle was almost all Muslim. I never saw/heard any avoidance of mentioning a word containing the name of Christ. I may be overthinking it, of course, but I noticed it in more than one of your posts.

Laziness and ffs (fat finger syndrome) no deeper meaning.

@IHateCoronavirus

Wasn’t it that Joseph was a widower when he agreed to marry Mary, and so Jesus’ older siblings were in fact step siblings?

Mary having children before Jesus would mean the Virgin Mary wasn’t a virgin. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The virgin thing I’ve read there is some debate about the Hebrew or Aramaic term used and it can actually mean just young maiden and how that’s it’s been used to translate other parts of the bible. But I don’t know the deets here

That’s the first I’m reading about step siblings so maybe? I don’t know

@Shadowboy

The islamaphobia here is shocking. My mother is Christian (practicing) and my father is Muslim. We had both books in our home. I was christened and married in a church however, we didn’t eat pork as a child and he never drank, gambled etc and my father was happy to be open about his religion and would teach me many aspects of Islam but told me to choose what I felt was right for me. Never ever was my mother made to be subservient in any way.

I have great respect for Islam and have many times thought about following its teachings but I fear my husband and children would not be happy.

Can I ask do you bring up your children through Islamic teachings?

We’ll bring my children up Muslim yes :)

How does marriage work traditionally? Is it arranged? Within families etc? When your children are older will you have a say in who they marry?

Yesterday 18:01 Namechangetimes100

PferdeMerde
Do you hate women?
Only ones who ask daft questions”

🤣

Thank you for this thread it has been enlightening. I am a born Muslim and culture had coloured so much of the religion for me growing up.

Honestly speaking I find converts intimidating as I feel that they have more knowledge and such strength to convert to a religion I find difficult as a born Muslim. And some as a previous poster demonstrate, patronising to somebody like myself who is not hijab wearer

I don't want to sound goody but there are some aspects of the Muslim religion that frighten me. It is AMA so I will ask. Please don't think I am deliberately being provactive.

Muslims have to believe in every word of the Qu'ran and must not interpret in the light of the times and happenings in which it was written. Am I right?

If so, there are worrying passages in there about fighting Christians and Jews, husbands being allowed to beat wives, female being lesser than male.

I have just looked the above up so could quote those if necessary.

Others I recall reading about before was that it is okay foe Muslim men. To have sex without good intentions with non-Muslims. If a Muslim leaves the religion, they can have a fatwa of death put on them so would be in danger of being killed

We probably have questionable passages in the bible too but it is accepted in Christianity that we interpret according to the times so we don't have to believe word for word.

How do you reconcile hard hitting passages that condone or even encourage bad behaviour towards non-Muslims with peace given you are supposed to believe them.

Sorry again about hard-hitting questions. I know many Muslims and we get on fine. I would not dream of asking these questions face to face. But this is AMA? The sort of passages I am referring to and those that gave ISIS their justification. I find this a bit scary to be honest so I hope you can offer some reassurance. No offence intended.

@Shortandsweet20

How does marriage work traditionally? Is it arranged? Within families etc? When your children are older will you have a say in who they marry?

There’s nothing that says you can’t find your own spouse, There’s a hadith that says there is no greater solution for two people in love than marriage, so clear precedent islamically. Like any religion sex outside of marriage is considered sinful or wrong.

My marriage was a live marriage, I’d say arranged marriages are quite cultural so I’m not the best person to ask on that as it will vary hugely.

My kids can choose their own spouse, I’d actually be very nervous if they asked me to help but if they asked I’d try my best

@DahliaBlue

I don't want to sound goody but there are some aspects of the Muslim religion that frighten me. It is AMA so I will ask. Please don't think I am deliberately being provactive.

Muslims have to believe in every word of the Qu'ran and must not interpret in the light of the times and happenings in which it was written. Am I right?

If so, there are worrying passages in there about fighting Christians and Jews, husbands being allowed to beat wives, female being lesser than male.

I have just looked the above up so could quote those if necessary.

Others I recall reading about before was that it is okay foe Muslim men. To have sex without good intentions with non-Muslims. If a Muslim leaves the religion, they can have a fatwa of death put on them so would be in danger of being killed

We probably have questionable passages in the bible too but it is accepted in Christianity that we interpret according to the times so we don't have to believe word for word.

How do you reconcile hard hitting passages that condone or even encourage bad behaviour towards non-Muslims with peace given you are supposed to believe them.

Sorry again about hard-hitting questions. I know many Muslims and we get on fine. I would not dream of asking these questions face to face. But this is AMA? The sort of passages I am referring to and those that gave ISIS their justification. I find this a bit scary to be honest so I hope you can offer some reassurance. No offence intended.

Don’t apologise, not goady at all!

1. no, the historical context for verses is really important but there are lessons in them that can be applied to today but the overall historical content is important. Especially when talking about wars etc. It’s that mentality without context that ISIS used to justify mass murder. Whereas if you google Muhammad treaty with the Christians you can see historically how he actually treated

2. to have sex without good intentions with non Muslims? Do you mean like isis sex slaves? Rape as a tool of warfare is unfortunately really common and this is that and the systematic devaluing of the lives of those who oppose the dominant group. Which btw would include me. Death for apostasy? The ultimate means of social control, as the Quran tells us clearly there is no compulsion in religion. The hadith that reference death for leaving the religion are in the context of wars, where to leave your religion and to align with another was literally treason. But it functions beautifully as a means of social control, especially when you as the dominant group get to decide what constitutes apostasy, it could be missing a prayer, or even questioning something like the government or the people in charge etc

Thank you for this thread op, really interesting.

Did you change your name when you converted and if so was that expected?

Also, do you eat different food since converting?

Thank you

Which 'branch' of Islam do you follow? Sorry if there is a better word than branch, would 'sect' be better. I mean Suni or Shia and why did you choose that path?

@Ohdofuckoffcovid

Thank you for this thread op, really interesting.

Did you change your name when you converted and if so was that expected?

Also, do you eat different food since converting?

Thank you

So you don’t have to change your name (unless it has a ‘bad’ meaning or if it’s sacrilegious such as Christian or I think Arab Christians have names like Abdul messi meaning slave of the messiah, some do prefer to change their name but I haven’t. I’ve been my name my whole life and tbh I probably wouldn’t respond to anything else as I’d have no idea they were talking to me lol. Plus my name is also a Muslim name according to quranic names.com.

My in laws gave me such a hard time for this, they even tried to re name me. Eyeroll

I pretty much eat the same as I always did, just eat halal meat but I didn’t eat pork before either (I just really didn’t like it, awful memories of having gammon for tea as a kid, I hated it)

@sashh

Which 'branch' of Islam do you follow? Sorry if there is a better word than branch, would 'sect' be better. I mean Suni or Shia and why did you choose that path?

Branch is cool! I’m a Sunni. I don’t wish to further the anti shia sentiment that’s prevalent but it reminded me a lot of Catholicism when I looked into it

Difference between sunni and shia in practise?

@BiscuitLover3678

Difference between sunni and shia in practise?

The primary difference is who the different sects believe was the rightly guided caliph after Muhammad’s death. Sunnis believe it was abu bakr (Muhammad’s best friend, who was somewhat elected to govern the Muslims after his death) then umar, (another friend and the father of hafsa one of Muhammad’s wives) then uthman (Muhammad’s cousin) then Ali (his nephew and daughter fatimas husband). Shia Muslims believe that Ali was the only rightly guided caliph and think that sunni Muslims don’t pay enough respect to the relatives of the prophet.

Sunnis are more like Protestants in so far as no images of the prophets and no intermediary between god and man, there is no central authority really. I guess the imam of the kabbah has the most snr islamic role.
Shia by way of comparison are more like catholics do have pictures of Ali and Muhammad, there is a festival to commemorate the martyrdom of Hasan and Hussain (Ali’s sons) and there is self flagellation involved, there is also a concept of the 12 imams which it’s not like the papacy but kind of, it’s sort of like divinely guided succession which is the premise of the pope. I think that there are slight differences when the fast opens and breaks and some small prayer differences but I’m not sure on these.

@ColumboOnTheCase

Thank you for this thread it has been enlightening. I am a born Muslim and culture had coloured so much of the religion for me growing up.

Honestly speaking I find converts intimidating as I feel that they have more knowledge and such strength to convert to a religion I find difficult as a born Muslim. And some as a previous poster demonstrate, patronising to somebody like myself who is not hijab wearer

Please don’t ostracise them due to this though, you have no idea how lonely it is. Most have lost their family and friends and probably live a double life. Lots end up leaving

Interesting thread OP, thanks for starting it. Just one question from me.

While the Koran merely describes the punishments that await the apostate in the next world (Koran 3:86-91), the Hadith is pretty emphatic about the justice that must be meted out in this one: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him". No metaphor can really hide this directive, and it would seem that no process of liberal interpretation can brush it aside. While this injunction does not appear in the Koran we all know that in practical terms the Hadith literature seems to be every bit as constitutive of the Muslim world view. Given that the Hadith is often used as the lens through which to interpret the Koran how do you reconcile such blunt directives (such as above). How to accept that the justice of killing apostates is a matter of mainstream acceptance, if not practice?

@DillonPanthersTexas

Interesting thread OP, thanks for starting it. Just one question from me.

While the Koran merely describes the punishments that await the apostate in the next world (Koran 3:86-91), the Hadith is pretty emphatic about the justice that must be meted out in this one: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him". No metaphor can really hide this directive, and it would seem that no process of liberal interpretation can brush it aside. While this injunction does not appear in the Koran we all know that in practical terms the Hadith literature seems to be every bit as constitutive of the Muslim world view. Given that the Hadith is often used as the lens through which to interpret the Koran how do you reconcile such blunt directives (such as above). How to accept that the justice of killing apostates is a matter of mainstream acceptance, if not practice?

Historical context, i mentioned up thread those hadith are from times of war with other religious groups when being Muslim wasn’t just your religious identity it was your statehood, so if you left Islam for another religion and joined another it was treason

@DillonPanthersTexas

Interesting thread OP, thanks for starting it. Just one question from me.

While the Koran merely describes the punishments that await the apostate in the next world (Koran 3:86-91), the Hadith is pretty emphatic about the justice that must be meted out in this one: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him". No metaphor can really hide this directive, and it would seem that no process of liberal interpretation can brush it aside. While this injunction does not appear in the Koran we all know that in practical terms the Hadith literature seems to be every bit as constitutive of the Muslim world view. Given that the Hadith is often used as the lens through which to interpret the Koran how do you reconcile such blunt directives (such as above). How to accept that the justice of killing apostates is a matter of mainstream acceptance, if not practice?

It's IS NOT mainstream acceptance to kill so called apostates.

Another question from me, op.

Can you tell us about sharia law please and what your opinions are of it?