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Original poster

Islam - is anyone interested in it? No preaching, just asking...

228 replies

PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 21:37

Just wondering if anyone here is or has ever been interested in coming to Islam, despite all the bad press/media hype etc?

I'm not here to quote and preach, I just want to maybe answer a few questions from my own perspective as a convert/revert muslim and give a bit of evidence.

Your thoughts/opinions/questions welcome

OP posts:
NovackNGood · 10/06/2012 22:30

Having spent a good deal of time travelling in Islamic countries and Europe and North America I am of the opinion that in conversations on religion in the Islamic countries people are far more polite and tolerant of other religions than the christian countries are of Islam. (I'm looking at you USA and Spain)

There are plenty of christian churches in the UAE etc and they are empty and don´t need security but yet look at the vitriol and bile in the USA about 1 cultural centre (not even a mosque) in manhattan.

Passeblanc your assuming that the narrator of the Qu'ran was Mohammed and not an intelligent other who included the science facts that were well known in the intelligent east 1400 odd years ago when it was written.

At least the Qu'ran has a lot more basis in fact and archeological evidence of it's writings being in truth compared to the bible.

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:31

seventheverything - yep you're right about the way Islam is portrayed here. Unfortunately many daily mail reading people think arabs are simple villagers with burqa-clad wives and a terrorist society at the local mosque.

But hey, that's ignorance in all its glory

OP posts:
mrscumberbatch · 10/06/2012 22:32

Oh great.. You brought the bible into it.

Wonderful.

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:32

novakangood - I didnt say Mohammed narrated the Qur'an lol

I think you misunderstood me.

I meant that Mohammed was the one who spread the words of the Qur'an and made sure it was compiled into text by the literate people in his community.

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JaneFonda · 10/06/2012 22:33

Quint, my way of thinking is that I don't believe in a God/Gods. I understand that other people do, and I am in no position to dismiss their beliefs. They are also in no position to dismiss mine, because, really, they are beliefs. It's not knowledge. The only time I would ever roll my eyes at a person from any religion is when they claim to know something which no one knows.

So, basically, I could be wrong, you could be wrong, everyone could be wrong! It doesn't matter as long as everyone understands that beliefs aren't about being 'right'.

thegreylady · 10/06/2012 22:33

My ds is married to a Muslim lady with whom I have a great relationship.Her parents asked him to convert but he refused.He did read a translation of the Koran and a Bible.
Their dd had a muslim naming ceremony and is also baptised.She is nearly 13 and as they live in a secular Muslim country will decide for herself-atm I think she thinks of herself as Muslim.

QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2012 22:34

Zero, absolutely. I am not insistent that there IS a God. Which probably make me a rather rubbish Christian. I believe there is one. But I am prepared to be wrong.

In fact, some aspects of my own Faith I find hard to reconcile with doctrine, as I do have a hard time believing in something as crucial as the afterlife. Part of me is pretty convinced I will rot and turn into bio matter, and all the little connectors in my brain that you call "soul" will perish with me.

But I think there is always something in your life that you find hard, in relation to Faith. For some it is staying faithful to your spouse, for some it is being gay. I think most religious people have an aspect of the religion they disagree or grapple with. If it is not homosexuality, it is creationist theory, or afterlife, or anything really in your life that you feel is unacceptable.

I find religious discussions really interesting as I am always interested in what people believe or dont believe. It is only difficult when people start taking offense with other peoples experiences and ideas, or when people are too set in their ways, ignorant and inflexible.

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:36

Hellcheeky - I challenge you to read for yourself what is written in the Qur'an and explain to me how arab scholars could have known any of this. It explicitly goes through in detail the THREE stages of development in the womb. The Qur'an was compiled 1400 years ago in a simple area of land occupied by pagans, check the history for yourself. There were absoultely no scholars at all and most were illiterate people who farmed the land and had trade business.

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QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2012 22:37

JaneFonda, I will never be able to claim that I KNOW there is a God. I feel there is one, but I dont KNOW it. It might be collective psychosis for all that I know! Grin

JaneFonda · 10/06/2012 22:37

Actually, just to add to my post: I would roll my eyes at an atheist who claimed to know as well.

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:37

thegreylady - thankyou for sharing your experience. you sound like a wonderful mum in law

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only4tonight · 10/06/2012 22:37

I am interested in all faiths. Science has strengthened my belief in A God but I am yet to find a religion that has not been manipulated and allows belief to freely develop. I take issue with people telling me what I have to believe which goes completely againt my belief that God gave people free will.

QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2012 22:37

I feel at peace. Grin

FreudianSlipper · 10/06/2012 22:42

i have read the koran and some of the hadith's

i felt i needed to do this as at the time i was married to a muslim and i lived in a muslim country. what i learnt more than anything is that as with all religions it is adapted to culture and cultural influences though many muslims i know will strongly deny this (including some of my family)

i did not convert (the ex's family always thought at some point i would see the truth as i am a non believer) and i still do not believe there is a god. i do not dismiss all that is in the koran or the bible

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:43

Just a few quotes I would like to share.

"It is the Creator Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They swim along, each in an orbit. "
(The Qur'an, 21:33)

"Does man reckon he will be left uncontrolled (without purpose)? Was he not once a drop of ejected semen?"
(The Qur'an, 75:36-37)#

"... He creates you stage by stage in your mothers' wombs in a threefold darkness. That is the Creator, your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no Creator but Him. So what has made you deviate?"
(The Qur'an, 39:6)

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QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2012 22:46

I would also like to throw in a few quotes:

Rarely Rarely Comest Thou
Spirit of Delight

Wherefore hast though left me now
Many a day and night?

Many a weary night and day
'Tis since thou art fled away...

............

FreudianSlipper · 10/06/2012 22:46

thegreylady

i have never heard of a man marrying a muslim woman and not converting. i am glad they are making it work

HelloCheeky · 10/06/2012 22:47

Please can you explain what it proves about Islam that there are bits and pieces of scientific knowledge in the Quran. I am still puzzled as to why you think this is a revelation.

emmanana · 10/06/2012 22:48

Genuine curiosity - why do some Muslim ladies cover more of their faces than others? Does it signify different levels of faith?

mrscumberbatch · 10/06/2012 22:48

" You're a wizard 'Arry..."

(Harry Potter)

There are things in Harry Potter that are scientifically true.... it doesn't make it all real though.

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:48

only42nite - I advise that you study Islam one day because you will not find one single scholar or historian that can explain the origin of the texts themselves and you will not find one single academic in the study of ancient language that will tell you a word has ever been changed. It is stated clearly in the Qur'an itself that it would never be changed and that is is a sign for people to reflect on.

Islam is the only religion out of the three abrahamic ones that accepts Judaism and christianity. The other two do not accept Islam and have severe and undoubtable inconsistencies in their texts. In Islam, we know from the Qur'an that the original Bible and Torah were taken and changed to be fabricated by hypocritical leaders for self gain, both political and materialistic. Once again, ask the people who have studied the ancient languages as well as the texts themselves, and they will tell you the same thing.

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only4tonight · 10/06/2012 22:50

While I completely respect your faith and the religion you represent I think basing that belief on the fact stages of development in the womb was known is rocky to say the least. Studies and scientific knowledge does not have to be based in religion at all and is far from proof that a certain religion is correct.

all religions have scholors. They cant all be right.

Original poster
PasseBlanc · 10/06/2012 22:51

Hellocheeky - well why wouldn't this be a revelation to any human that's thinking outside the box? And it is not just bits and pieces. Cheeky, I challenge you to read it for yourself and study hadith. If you can't be bothered then that's fine and your business but I urge you to at least do analytical and scientific research before proclaiming your opinion of your own existence. Same for anyone else.

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HelloCheeky · 10/06/2012 22:52

And another question ! Why do you keep saying that the words of the Quran haven't been changed ? What does that prove ?

CoteDAzur · 10/06/2012 22:53

PasseBlanc - re that Miracles of the Quran website you linked to:

Do you have any idea who that "Harun Yahya" (= Adnan Oktar) is?