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

[PasseBlanc]

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

" its the eloquence of the language of the qur'an as much as it is the coherence of the message. Its why non Arabs have to recite their prayers in Arabic and learn to read it in Arabic "

I always thought it's so people don't really understand what the prayer is about

I remember having to memorise learning a prayer in RE. It sounded all mysterious and stuff, until you read the translation that was talking about how God made some birds throw stones at some guys he didn't like and made them turn into "chewed up corn" or some such.

It's not so hard to see why they say you are better off reciting the prayers in Arabic, especially if you don't understand Arabic

you should try some of the latin or hebrew ones Cote. You find a translation once the internet was invented and go 'wtf?!'

So much better to have your scriptures in your own language. Eloquence is an opinion. Many think the King James Bible is the most eloquent. But it's a translation! You wouldn't read any other text in the original language? Well I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Spanish for a uni course. But it means more in my "heart language", English. You should be able to pray to your God in your language. If He's God, doesn't He understand all languages?

yes in islam you can make dua in any language, and personally i see little point in using words you dont know the meaning too.

However there is reward for each letter of the Quran you recite despite understanding or not according to many mainstream scholars.

OP,
Are you on commision!?!
Sure sounded like preaching to me.

btw, no I'm not converting. I live in a Vicarage and my Father is the Vicar. I think that might make him take up smoking again and he has done so well bless him!

salamalaykom sisters on here

Im a revert sis, have been for a few yrs now alhumdullah. I was lurking on this thread last nite and tbh the sis did get a few things wrong in terms of adnan oktar etc but for some of u to gang up on her and agree with ppl that were obviously attacking her isnt right at all. The sis is young frm what I read and maybe still has a lot to learn, so next time I would advise you pm her instead of siding with a known mn bully who dislikes converts(not going to name who it is) which prob embarassed her.

may Allah guide us and remind us of our conduct 2wards our bro's and sis's ameen

Interesting to note the other muslims who sided with CoteDAzur

Have lurked on a few of her threads and she's known for her sarcastic rudeness towards revert muslims. Is that who you mean Stmoritz???!! If so you might as well just say it

"Known MN bully", no less

If you think I am bullying someone, why don't you report my posts and ask them to be deleted? Maybe then MNHQ can teach you that telling people they are wrong is not "bullying". Especially when they are actually wrong.

For the record, I don't "dislike converts" from one religion to another, which would be a silly position to take for a non-religious person.

What I dislike is people who don't really know enough about a subject insisting that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

I dont think people on here, namely muslims can be bothered to report your threads. From lurking on threads you have been on it seems to me because you think you're turkish with a muslim family, that it allows you to be more knowledgeable about things than a convert for example. Look at your own threads and the condescending way you speak to people who have chosen Islam. You have twice called two different users 'my little convert friend'

learn some manners and come off your high horse lady.

Am leaving this now as you are one of those irritating individuals who love an arguement. au revoir

lol @ yellow

Ciao, then

Btw, I didn't say "my little convert friend", I said "my dear "scientific" convert friend" which I honestly don't think is condescending or rude.

CoteDAzur Sun 10-Jun-12 23:15:04
If anyone needs to "research better", it is you, my dear "scientific" convert friend

sis, i dont think i was ganging up on her, i think by posting some you tube videos by respected scholars, and comments i was trying to increase her ilm.

I dont think what cote said about Harum Yahyah was wrong, and the OP was under the impression that it was wrong and she was just saying that due to her dislike for religion.

Why would I let a Muslim carry on following someone with questionable aqeedah and using his arguments in dawah, with non muslims who are knowledgable about islam, therefore, reducing the strength of her dawah.

If you would like to let me know any specific post in which i should have approached it differently please let me know.

walaykum salaam

Cote you do have to admit tho, you kind of nit pick stuff a bit too much imo.

we should all live and let live people get a bit too wound up on mn. For me its time to relax and have a nice chat. some people take it waaay seriously

I've just had a look at some of the quranic science stuff.

I fail to see how it proves anything, other than that the literate people who wrote down the quran had access to material written by other scholars in ancient times, even if some of their less literate fellow tribespeople did not have access to that material. I confess I don't know about ancient Arab scholars, but some of the "science" in the quran appears to be things that were known to ancient Greek and Indian writers.

The "mountains as pegs" idea could easily be seen as poetic licence. I personally think it is a lovely image, very poetic, but says very little about the author's scientific knowledge.

I also found a reference to a bee being feminine. This simply illustrates the author of the article's ignorance of language and linguistic phenomena. (or perhaps wilful and deliberate misinformation/ willingness to clutch at straws) Plenty of other languages also use a grammatically feminine noun for the word "bee".

For the record, I am also an atheist. I was interested to see this thread, as I am constantly asking WHY people believe in religions, a question I find is rarely answered, so I am glad that the OP has provided some insight into her reasons, even if I personally find them unconvincing as proof of god.

So...erm sorry to return to what I was talking about earlier.....

So regarding puberty and adulthood......do you agree with this definition? That it should not be considered rape if the child has menstruated?

Obviously, it wasn't considered rape then and it would be considered rape now in most western countries.

Are you asking whether it is OK for the morals & the law to have changed from then to now?

thanks for answering that one Cote. While we might not agree, in mediaeval Europe the age of marriage was puberty. 12 or so (and as young as 10 in England at one point). People had different laws to what we have now. And different notions of what was right and wrong. The Victorians would probably be astonished that we think children working up chimneys or down coal mines is wrong. Not so long ago slavery was lawful most places. Public hangings were things you took the kids too.
You cant judge times past by todays standards. In 300 years time those people will look back on our morals and laws with horror no doubt.
There's evidence Mary was between 12 and 14 when she married Joseph and that he was a widower of advanced years. Its how it was.
Morality. Is it absolute or relative?

I am very interested in religion. I don't believe at all, but I still find the idea interesting.

I'm sorry some of you have had bad experiences with atheists - I don't like people ridiculing others beliefs.

KalSkirata, what is the evidence for Mary and Joseph's ages (if you know)? I'd be really interested to read that.

Alexpolismum, you said that you would be interested to know WHY people follow religion(s). I am sure there are a multitude of reasons, but speaking personally it is a constant feeling/knowledge/whatever that christianity is the truth, in the face of all the evidence and despite the fact that it makes things very inconvenient at times. I was brought up by atheist and agnostic parents in a totally uninterested wider family and community so there wasn't a cultural inheritance aspect. I officially became a christian aged 24 but have felt like this for as long as I can remember.

I don't believe there is any evidence for the existence of God or the truth of the Bible or any religious text. It's all faith, pure and simple.

was on a couple of christian sites I was perusing at 3am while child screamed her head off. Claimed he was a widower with several kids and then married Mary. Old men marrying young girls was common in those times, amongst Romans as well as middle east. And probably other places too.
But whether the historical evidence for either of those 2 existing is convincing, that I dont know. But culturally old men marrying young women/girls appears to have been going on for thousands of years. Even nowadays, even here (thinking Thai brides etc)