More of the same but very different AMA. Ask me about Islam

[therealcookiemonster]

Hi guys, I noticed there have been few recent AMAs about being Muslim which have fallen on their faces for different reasons and I thought I would try something different. instead of publicly posting questions, I am inviting anyone with questions about Islam to PM me. I am suggesting this to avoid anyone feeling awkward about appearing 'insensitive' and also the ego battles that often happen on these threads. I promise to answer all your questions and I will do so by PM, so it will be more like a real life conversation with a Muslim person you know. I am a bit busy during the day so please bear with me as I respond.

I also did a normal AMA some time ago (changed my name since then as cookie monster really suits me as a name)... here is the link. quite a few of the common questions are answered here. if you don't wish to engage via PM, you are welcome to post on my old thread.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/4818978-im-a-practising-muslim-ask-me-anything

for background, I am a late 30s practising British Bangladeshi Muslim female. although far from perfectly practising. I belong to the sunni sufi denomination broadly but explored other religions before coming to this. I am a medical professional during the day (and night sometimes) and am left leaning politically.

don't worry about offending me, ask away!

Sorry OP! Good luck xx

God almighty, it didn't take long to descend into a cat fight did it. And I've been blaming men for all the trouble on the planet.

You will get the same question hundreds of times by people who have not seen the others asking and getting answered. You will need a LOT of copy and paste

@ginasevern nope lol. funnily not had a single PM yet or any posted questions on the other thread... patiently waiting.

I don't mind 😊

Still reading through your other one - Very interesting!

Numerous people were hounding her after she had already asked the question. There was no need for it.

How is that racist and Islamophobic though? She asked for questions and a conversation. Or is it that the questions raised things that are impossible to jystify?

Hounding isn't the same as asking a question - it suggests and aggressiveness

Your precious thread is so interesting. I am still reading it. Thank you so much for sharing. What I wanted to ask is, if you are following a written text, the Qu-ran, how can so many differences exist in terms of what is deemed right and wrong in Islam. For example I always thought listening to music, having opposite sex friends is forbidden. But I can see you said in your faith it is not. Is it that the text is not written clearly and open for interpretation? My husband grew up Muslim but stopped practicing years ago, he is recently starting to come back to the faith and introducing some things to me. I have a lot to learn so this is all very interesting. Thank You again for spending your time sharing. ❤️

Your previous * thread :) typo

@SkinnyMalinkyLankyLegs @aswarmofmidges @WhatWhereWho

peoples, I understand that you have strong opinions about this previous AMA and I appreciate it... but this thread has nothing to do with it and I am not the previous poster. I don't want this thread to be an argument about another thread. this is an AMA, not AIBU - would really appreciate if you started another thread so you could discuss it - or maybe msg mumsnet. thanks so much

I have more I hope you don't mind! Let me know if I should send these via private message, although I think it's useful and educational to have an open conversation that hopefully doesn't turn into what the other thread did!

Is it forbidden to have false eyelashes, paint your nails? My Muslim friend say it is forbidden in her faith as when praying the hands and face must be "clean". However, nail polish and false eyelashes didn't even exist 1400 years ago, so no specific rule could have been made against that. What do you think?

Backing up on that also I guess that is beautification which also some in Islam say is forbidden for the woman outside the home

@RiceRiceBaby16 thank you for your question. you are right in that the quran shareef is written down and preserved exactly as it was revealed. the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is also preserved with a great deal of accuracy. After his demise, scholars compiled the sayings of the Prophet (SAWS). then the massive work of interpretation all this information to actual standardised working guides on how Muslims should live (islamic fiq and jurisprudence) began. scholars gathered together and debated and discussed. 4 main schools of thought were formed and although they vary in the finer details, the main points remain the same. the work including verifying sources, testing the validity of narrations, considering historical contexts etc. before coming to any conclusions.

it's important to note that although they may have disagreed regarding some aspects of practice, the core pillars of faith were not disagreed on and they greatly respected each other. the sunni-shia issue is seperate (even there core pillars of faith are the same pretty much) as that division occurred due to political disagreements following the demise of the Prophet (SAWS).

jump forward to modern times and the rise of someone called abdul wahab najdi from present day saudi arabia, who was not a scholar but a tribal leader. he wrote a book called kitab al tawhid which questioned the basic tenets of faith. he was declared a heretic by scholars of his time and was funded and armed by the British to overthrow the Ottomans (who tbf were also problematic) . this led to present day wahabism/salafism and then extremism/al qaeda/iris etc. etc. obv not all wahabis/salafis are extreme or even familiar with the ins and outs of salafi beliefs. but the ideology itself does reject core islamic principles and also enforcee demonstrably false restrictions eg. no birthdays ( the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions celebrated birthdays), no music (Muslims have always played music!), no pictures etc. etc.

hope I answered your question!

I'm not sure anyone cares as much as you think.

We live in a very areligious society.

I certainly don't invite questions about my faith and practices.

@RiceRiceBaby16 would prefer PM's for various reasons, but I also see your point or view as to the benefits of having an open discussion, so whatever you feel comfortable with is fine

😊false eye lashes and nail polish/stick on nails is fine if taken off before washing for prayer.

forbidden is a very strong word... things like alcohol, drugs and pork are forbidden I.e. when you consume them, it takes you out of the fold of Islam in that moment of consumption.... but although make up outside is discouraged, I wouldn't say its forbidden in the same sense. Muslims in general (men and women) are discouraged from focusing on the material world or their outward appearance, instead working on the inner self and helping others.

I wear make up if I feel like it... but I am lazy and also an old fashioned feminist, so a lot of the time I aggressively under dress so I don't inadvertently don't do anything that please the patriarchy 😏

@PurpleChrayne thank you for caring enough to take the time to tell us all how much you don't care. much appreciated🌹

@PurpleChrayne if people didn't care as much, I believe there wouldn't be these threads with dozens of questions :) I certainly do care and it's much different speaking to a practicing Muslim than trying to google things. You can also discover how faith can differ, learn acceptance, perhaps even dispel some myths and common judgements. I think these topics are very useful, whichever religion they concern.

I was talking to a Muslim friend once who said that they were not allowed to profit without work - so they could not use bank accounts that paid interest

Is this common / standard ?
I could see it being a financial disadvantage in western society

@therealcookiemonster

The cat fight seems to have subsided, sorry you haven't had any PM's. I do have a question though but it encompasses a broader view. As Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Baha'i are all monotheist religions which share the same basic tenets, have you ever considered that their different practices are social constructs reflecting their cultural heritage, lifestyles and even their home terrain rather than God's doctrine? For example, not eating pork could historically relate to it being unsafe to consume in a hot climate. Wearing the veil could be a practical solution to sand burn. Christians taking communion (symbolically drinking blood) dates to Roman sacrifices. This is rather off topic so please feel free to tell me to go away.

Thank you so much for the previous answer and this answer to my questions. Very in depth and very interesting. Gives me a basis for learning more

There is absolutely no evidence that Mary was 12 when she gave birth to Jesus. No historical document gives her an age.

We can assume that she was probably an adolescent but that's all we can do. There's certainly no reason to state with authority that she was 12.

Why do so many Muslims have an issue, dislike and don’t even recognise as Muslim the Ahmadiyya?

@aswarmofmidges hello there. your friend is right, interest is not permissable... it is very difficult to manage this in any society, any where in the world today as the whole world runs on interest. so even if you don't want to, you end up participating in the system.... some Muslims choose not to (kudos to them) but it is very hard and they often struggle to buy houses etc. even the so called islamic banks or islamic mortgages are basically not interest free, just more expensive for no reason!

not sure about the profiting without work though.... i mean people might have investments or endowments/trusts set up by parents etc. so unclear what she meant in that regard...