I’m a convert to Islam AMA

[Candyapplesandhearts]

All in the title really.

feel free to ask. I know this has been done before but irl people always seem fascinated but too afraid to ask yet have LOTS of questions

i’ll answer a few in advance: I’m white british
I’ve been Muslim 12 years. Since my early 20s
i didn’t convert for a man (Christians and Jews wouldn’t need to anyway)

hope this can be a place to ask a question you’ve wanted to ask IRL but maybe felt too shy or was worried someone would take it the wrong way

Well if you don’t want to appear arsey, don’t, half an hour after your initial comment post again saying ‘waiting to hear about this’

no, he’s not liable for capital punishment. Thats no where mentioned in the Quran, it is reported that is what the companions may or may not have ruled to be a punishment.

there is also the fact the hadd punishments (capital punishment) is meant to function as a deterrent and prior to the formation of Saudi, was barely ever carried out ( im talking like less than a handful in the 1300 years prior, and I’m talking hadd has a general category inc theft, murder, adultery etc) but in order to be convicted of any sort of illicit sexual contact islamically you have to be witnessed by 4 individuals at the same time in the act, and the individuals have to be of perfection in character (I.e if they missed one prayer, their testimony can’t be counted etc) so it’s pretty impossible for that to happen. It’s meant to be a deterrent.

BUT I know biblically the argument is made that the clobber texts, Sodom and Gomorrah aren’t actually about sexual orientation but poor hospitality and making men subordinate which was a huge norm violation of the time. Perhaps the same thing can be argued islamically I don’t know

To be fair, most religious text are anti-homosexuality. Certainly it’s in Leviticus. But the point is that if people are trying to show interest in your religion don’t be so rude to them.

ha!

maybe don’t correct people on how they refer to themselves then? I read your comment as quite baity. Apologies if that’s not how it was intended, take care

I have answered you.

there are also some progressive grass roots organisations in the queer space, although they are a minority but they are gaining prominence

I teach religion at school and know lots about his alarm, so you don’t need to be a twat. I’m out of here.

About Islam *

Are you the type of Muslim who only refers to the Qur'an or do you consider the Hadith too? If so, how did you decide which Hadith should be followed and which to disregard?

Haven’t been a twat.

well if you teach it then you’d know that some people say revert and some convert.

but to come to someone and say ‘shouldn’t you refer to yourself as this because that’s what you do in Islam’ is quite goady

no, I wouldn’t say I disregard hadith, I’m just cognisant that there is a chain of narration of around 200 years, so in that there is a lot of space for error or dare I say agendas.

so if it is beautiful, and supports the Quran or makes sense with what we know the Quran is telling us or how we know the prophet acted then yes that’s something take on board. Or if it’s referenced in numerous books of hadith.
there are several and some are deemed less accurate than others

You said upthread you'd consider it a failure on your part if your children wanted no part in your religion - why would it be a failure to have raised free thinking adults with a mind of their own?

Also, what will happen if your daughter decides she doesn't want to wear something the mosque says she must wear to attend and so refuses to go? Will you force her?

I also am aware that these questions may come across as judgmental, they're genuinely not, I'm just interested!

It would be a failure on my part that I’d not instilled a love for the deen (religion) or maybe hadn’t had that open relationship with my child that they couldn’t talk to me or I didnt have the answers for/ about something that was bothering them or that they didn’t understand or didn’t agree with in the religion.

was going to say I don’t really agreeing with forcing kids to do anything but I guess I’ve forced mine to go to swimming lessons when they didn’t want to go or to go to school when they didn’t want to. So I guess it would depend on her age and her reasons, and if i thought making her attend would do more harm than good or if she really liked it when she got there (like swimming). If making her attend would do more harm than good, and make her resent me and the religion then one should consider the bigger picture. But I’d like to get to the route of her objections

I don' t know about all this arse stuff and anger. I have spent my life promoting tolerance but now its personal and yet again I can't get an answer.

But I’ve replied to you, twice and answered you twice.

capital punishment in Islam has a huge burden of proof needed meaning conviction is pretty much impossible

also there is no quranic capital punishment for homosexuality. That’s a much later addition attributed to the companions.

so no it is not that any gay person should be thrown off a building, that is abhorrent and I’m sure that overwhelming majority would agree (even if they did believe being openly gay was sinful)

Thank you for the information. I see that being openly gay is regarded as being sinful, thats what I was trying to work out.

yes, that’s most certainly the mainstream view.

is it the correct view? That’s another question entirely.

as I said i know scholars of the Hebrew bible have made the argument that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t actually about sexual orientation or desire rather hospitality and the social status of men. Can the same argument be made for the same story in the Quran maybe, but I don’t think the Muslim world is ‘ready’ for such a challenge

.think that is an unfair characterisation that ‘Islam’ is more accepting of fundamentalism. How do you rationalise the US then? I’m sorry I don’t understand that cognitive dissonance.

I did say this was just my perception. The vast majority of Christians don't agree with the fundamentalists, even in the US. But I think in surveys about 50% of Muslims do agree with the Islamic fundamentalist way of life. I was just wondering where people are getting the perception from that this is Islamic teaching, if, as you say, women and gay people are equal under Islam and have a right to an ecucation etc. Is it infiltrating mosques due to miney from SA? I agree that all religious texts disapprove of homoseual acts, and the teachings of Catholicism are the same- the act is wrong not the person. But if you throw someone off a building, that is clearly saying the person is wrong.

See all things aren’t created equal in this scenario. The vast majority of Christians disagree with some of the regressive politics some fundamentalist Christians have tried to introduce in the states? Do they? Where are these Christians who disagree being polled? Are they in red states? Blue states? The US as a whole? Africa? Or are they cultural Christians from the UK and the like? Because each of those demographics will have a different feeling to those policies, I’d imagine most red state Christians would agree with them, as they basically vote for them?

And the Muslims who agree with fundamentalism? Let’s define fundamentalism here? What are the things they are agreeing with that are so objectionable? Where are they being polled? Are they being polled around pretty much ghettos in Birmingham and Bradford? Or are they being approached outside of universities? or are we talking isis and the taliban? And let’s be clear it’s not 50% of world Muslims, it’s of a specific cohort of people chosen for sensationalism. I’ve never been polled and asked for my opinions on anything. Even the most regressive and conservative clerics have been very vocal condemning isis, the Taliban and the like so surely that’s proof that Islam doesn’t endorse those extremes

theres so much to unpack with regards to what you are saying about women, I honestly don’t know where to begin. Maybe if you could provide some examples that would help.

Even the most regressive and conservative clerics have been very vocal condemning isis, the Taliban and the like so surely that’s proof that Islam doesn’t endorse those extremes

This is all I wanted to know, because that is not how it is portrayed in the media. I just wanted to know what is being taught in Mosques and whether what is said in the media is true or not.
I will take back the 50% statistic, as I read it in a British newspaper ( can't remember where) and I can't find it again.

I’m actually shocked that you’ve not heard this, during the peak of isis it was quite common for the Muslim council of GB to be condemning them and other Muslim majority countries around the world too.

as to what does go on is mosques globally again it’s as problematic a question as to ask what does go on in churches? The answer is likely lots, and a huge variation. When we say church when tend to think of CoE or Quakers or catholics but there all small enthnospecific denominations that have quite shocking practices, esp around child witchcraft in which children have been starved and beaten to death in these church exorcisms.

so in terms of mosques im sure there are some that will have some problematic views or twist texts to further whatever agenda they are pursuing.

but islamically there is nothing against the education of women, but there is something socially, as we in the west should know as women were prevented from owning property, accessing oxbridge, and the vote. It’s a fantastic way at keeping a subservient population, enslave 50%, keep them in the dark and give the other 50% power over them. Religion is just used to legitimise their power, and they know that the masses have no idea what their religion actually says, so they gatekeep ‘the truth’ and the truth there fore becomes whatever they claim it to be

There’s nothing painless or quick in having your throat cut.

The context is pre industrialisation and over 1000 years ago.

So what is the optimum method for animal slaughter then.

is or electrocution that’s used after battery farming ?

its sad that homophobia is still so widespread

I have waited 25 years to be able to ask this and cannot possibly ask someone in real life. So as it is AMA I am going to go for it.

Many years ago I looked at an English translation of the Qu'ran and to my horror, there were multiple disturbing references to Jews eg, 'kill the Jew wherever you may find him', 'the Jew will hide behind a tree and the tree will call out saying there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him' etc.etc.

Now, I understand that the earlier part of the Qu'ran refers to Jews and Christians as being people of the book and therefore being worthy of some respect, and that the inflammatory references are from the later part of the Qu'ran when Muhammed was upset that the local Jewish community had chosen not to convert to Islam. However my understanding is also that later writings in the Qu'ran are considered to take precedence over the earlier writings.

So, my question is, how are these passages understood and interpreted by mainstream Muslims?

@silverhamster I can't answer that but an awful lot of the Qu'ran is polemic against Jewish and Christian beliefs and stating that they have corrupted what they received, etc. So it seems like the potential for conflict is there just from that. Unfortunately this anti-Jewish rhetoric starts very early in the Qu'ran, telling the Children of Israel not to conceal truth with falsehood, again the implication is that this is what they are doing and must stop.

Ffs I just wrote a whole answer to this then deleted it. Right to start again

What you’re referring to is a hadith, and the context is the end of times when the messiah and anti christ have come, a group of Jews will mistakenly take the antichrist for the messiah and launch an attack against the messiah and his followers. This hadith is clearly metaphorical as we know trees and rocks don’t talk and is talking or how this specific group of Jews, their plans will be their downfall.

re the poster below, the Quran isn’t positoned as the next chapter in the bible, rather correcting the changes that have been made to the original texts and Christians and Jews are given a pretty big telling off for having made such alterations.

understanding context is super important, there were times that Muslims were at war with Jewish armies so there will be verses that attest to that and others when they were at peace. The Quran also says twice that good Christians and Jews will go to heaven

then there is also how the caliphs interpreted the Quran and enacted that for Jews living under their rule, and that was of tolerance and respect and far far better than the Christians of the time