Do you really believe that anyone who doesn't convert to your religion should die? It seems like this is the basis of your religion, could you please explain what really is at the core of your religion? It is hard to believe that a religion out there could be so bent on the destruction of the rest of the world. I've seen on the news when Muslim grouped get riled up when they are refered to as "Islamic fascists" but I don't see anyone standing up and saying any of these killings are bad things. I'm not trying to upset anyone with this question, I am just really curious to hear things from the point of view of a Muslim.
2006-08-20 06:56:34 · 23 answers · asked by Heather 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
To acquiesce is to condone. - JFK
2006-08-20 07:12:51 · update #1
Please understand that the intent of this question is simply to educate myself more about the religion, I'm not the type to believe blindly what the news reports which is why I asked the question in the first place. I'm also not trying to bash the religion. Simply looking for the views of the people who follow it.
Also, I am not Christian, so don't try to refer to me as "you people".
2006-08-20 08:01:12 · update #2
"I don't see anyone standing up and saying any of these killings are bad things." - I'll tell you RIGHT AWAY, that killing another human being for being of a different religion is wrong, sinful, and definitely a one way ticket to hell for anyone - muslim or non-muslim. At least that is what I stand for. And I'm muslim!
Firstly, you must understand that there is a difference between Muslims in general and certain Arabs (not all). All the stuff you see on TV about killing people who don't convert to Islam may be true, but IT IS NOT THE BASIS OF ISLAM. Islam is for peace NOT war.
Also you must understand something else: you are referring to only the muslims in Arabia... but Islam is actually widespread. Let me ask you something, What is the world's largest Islamic country? You may know the correct answer but most people would think about some country middle east. The world's largest Islamic country is Indonesia. When was the last time you heard of an Indonesian terrorist? I'm from Bangladesh: we are the 8th most populated country in the world and 90% of the people here are muslims. When was the last time you heard of a Bangladeshi terrorist? All the terrosism and islamic related killings you hear about is related to the middle east in some way, and even though they claim it to be religious... its more political than religious.
Watching what the middle east does would give you a very poor outlook on Islam: that just gives you an idea of the middle east: and just because the middle east is filled with people who claim to be "muslims" it doesnt mean that they ARE actually representing Islam. I'm a Muslim. If for some WEIRD reason, I decide to kill a person today... it does not mean that Islam is a bad religion, it shows that I am a bad person.
If you would like to know how beautiful the religion is, don't ask people... read the quran. I'm sure you'll find things there that will surprise you: the least of which is that Muslim males are allowed to marry Christians and Jews.
My request to you is that if you encounter a muslim, please do not hate him or her by default. We are human beings as well... which means we may be good, we may be evil. You have to open your mind to our differences before you say "it seems like kililng is the basis of your religion".
2006-08-20 08:41:50 · answer #1 · answered by shams_shafiq2000 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Killing is not allowed in islam murder and suicide are the two unforgiveable sins in Islam. Islam does not say that you must convert everyone to this religon, what it does say is that you must respect others beliefs and never force your own beliefs on to others! Islam also says you must follow the laws of the country you are living in, if you can not do this then you must move out of that country. Islam also says that when you are in war you must never hurt civillians or plants.
The thing is the media fails to report all the protests muslims are making against terroism. heres an example for u:
There was recently a 4 day protest in London led by some very promenet scholars in islam it started on thursday and ended on sunday, however the media did not report, not once!
A american soldier raped a 14 year old girl in front of her parents he then shot her parents and then her, this was put on the news ONCE as a very brief story.
This is the problem the media is only showing one side of the story.
2006-08-20 08:31:26 · answer #2 · answered by bluewatr111 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Muslims have always lived among communities with different religous backgrounds. What Islam does require each muslim to do is to spread the word of Islam. To open people's eyes to the faith and give them the choice to embrace it. This is called daawa and should be a part of every muslim's daily life, whether its just by saying a kind word with Allah's name in it to other muslims like Alhamdilulah, or by giving out books about Islam. However it doesnt tell people to kill all the non-muslims in the world. We are supposed to invite you and try to educate others who are curious about the religion. I think what people are Islamic facist are people who are not motivated by religion to do what the do, but rather by politics, just using religion as a popular front to gain other people's sympathy or support. But the mere idea of terrorism is against basic Islamic ideals. It encourages peace above all. And prrof of that is in its greeting : assalamu alaikum, Peace be upon you.
Its upsetting to see my entire faith misunderstood by the world and ridiculed. Its a beautiful religion which has taken the reputation of a few ugly acts. I hope people will try to understand it more and look beyond the media and poltical agendas out there today.
2006-08-20 07:12:38 · answer #3 · answered by Pinkspirit 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well of course if you are using news of western media as the source of your argument, each and every single Muslim is a terrorist.
I would suggest a quick search on Google and find out yourself that EVERY major Muslim organization has ruled against those terror acts.
Muslims forcing people accept Islam is the most common myth used by the anti-Islam media.
Think about it, what good is a person to a religion if he/she is forced into the religion?
There was a time when Muslim had world's biggest empire mankind has ever witnessed, if they were into forcing people in Islam, 90% of this world would have been Muslim.
Islam spread on the sword? My question is where would one get his first sword and who will he force to convert?
2006-08-20 07:10:16 · answer #4 · answered by Mesum 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I'm a muslim. No. This is not at all what the religion says. It's not whether others agree with us or not. It is that this seems to be the only thing muslims can do to survive. Take a look at what Israeil is doing with the muslims. See how Palestinians are treated. Look back at what happened to Afghans. Observe the situation in Iraq. Do you really think muslims are killing others, or it's just the other way around?!!!
2006-08-20 07:07:54 · answer #5 · answered by o.abdar 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
you are generalizing the actions of a few to the feelings of all who practice Islam. This is called stereotyping and it is the basis of hatred.
How can those who practice Islam in the US stand up against the actions of a few terrorists? Do you know what they go through on a daily basis just to live in this country? They are profiled, mistreated, and ridiculed for their religion. Those I know (and I have plenty of friends who practice Islam) are very devout and PEACEFUL people! They are my friends, so they must not want me dead (I'm christian) They came to this country for freedom, just like our ancestors did, and part of that is the freedom to practice their religion. They take time out to pray at their alloted times each day - more than I see my christian friends praying, and I know the friends I know don't agree with murder and killing.
And,OH, by the way...what do you think all the soldiers in Iraq are doing? Muslims aren't the only ones who kill, Christians, Jews, Athiests... lots of people kill, and in any case, it isn't right.
2006-08-20 07:06:05 · answer #6 · answered by KB 6 · 7⤊ 0⤋
its not that muslims are not doing anything, they had rallies in USA on 911 , they rallied and banned DaVinciCode and they have condemed many terrorist attacks, but the media is always hiding things from us. now i wonder why the media would do this, but this is the thruth.
http://www.crescentlife.com/heal%20the%20world/muslim_reactions_to_sept_11.htm
http://www.gracecathedral.org/enrichment/reflections/ref_20050712.shtml
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/12/half-million-mosques-protest-terror-in.html
http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/hhislam2.htm
no islam allows u to be what u are. i'm giving u 2 references from Quran.
Qur'an surah AL-Baqarah 2:256.
Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.
Al-Kafiroon | 6 verses | The Disbelievers سÙرة اÙÙاÙرÙÙ
Sura #109 | Makkah
1 Say: O disbelievers!
2 I worship not that which ye worship;
3 Nor worship ye that which I worship.
4 And I shall not worship that which ye worship.
5 Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
6 Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.
when u read the quran try understanding it with an open mind. and also while quoting something try reading the verses next to it. when u say that this verse is preaching non-violence, then try reading the verses that are next to it also. then you will know what Allah is speaking of. please for ur Lord's sake
there have been many people who have given quotes from quran saying that Allah asks u to kill infidels or non-beleivers. but how many people know what a infidel is in islam.
in·fi·del (nf-dl, -dl)
n.
1. An unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam.
2. One who has no religious beliefs.
3. One who doubts or rejects a particular doctrine, system, or principle
if this is the infidel u are talking and linking to islam, then u are wrong. an infidel is not a man/woman from the opposite Faith. it simply means a person who is leading astray from the STRAIGHT PATH, which leads to God. in layman terms, it means, a person who commits sin. and every right religion and God will say the same thing.
WHO IS AN INFIDEL/ unbeleiver/ kufr?
who are not kind and compassionate to entire humankind
infidels are people who torture others,
who dont help needy ,
who commit adultary, who lie, steal and kill
a person who worships idols
those who bear false witness against brothers
those who dont serve their parents and community
those who take taxes
those who associate false Gods
those who do not give charity
those who opress the orphans
those who burn widows alive with their dead hubbies(sati)
those who shave widow women bald (christianity)
those who considered woman was a slave and 3rd class citizen
those who say that a woman cannot give witness
those wgo play with a woman's reputation
those who say that woman cannot be educated or give sermons
those who let their women and men commit fornication
those who do not desire what they deisre for them selves
those who are not kind
those who are not patient and enduring
those who are arrogant
it all comes down to ignorance and stupidity of a single person. u cant blame a religion or religious rules for that matter. it basically is the individual who acts like a moron. these people who kill innocents are the ones who are misguided due to their poverty and lack of education. and terrorists take advantage of them. as far as i know they are a bunch of crazy monkeys playing with explosives rather than bananas.
and i think u should try mingling with other people from islam, so that way u will have a better point of view and opinion. i'm telling u this coz i have freinds and they are just like u and me.
and by the way there are no virgins waiting in Heaven for these dumbheads. these are just rumors the media is breezing among people like us. and i'm sure that these are the first people who will be thrown in Hellfire for killing innocent and pure souls.
every religion has had its bad day and we all know that. when a religion has transgressed all limits then the rest of the world as patient and hopeful, so i guess that its islam's turn right now.
2006-08-20 07:08:29 · answer #7 · answered by marissa 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
dear sister,
it is nowhere written in the Quran that who doesnt convert to islam
should die, rather muslims are ordered to spread the message
of islam with good preachings .
fighting is recommended if the other people trouble u and start war
against u. well,, for the core of my religion:-
i belive that islam is the only true religion.i m not saying bcoz i m a muslim but bcoz of the fact that islam, like all religious philosophies of the world condemn evil practises like rape , murders etc, but it also gives steps to prevent such evil practises..........take the example of rape, the Quran says : men should lower their gaze ( first step towards preventing rape as a man couldnt see a woman walking alone as he is lowering his gaze) . Quran also says that women should cover themselves well enough (not to arouse sexual feelings in males and also men should also cover themselves well enough not to arouse sexual feelings in women.)
even if rape happens , then punish the rapist with capital punishment , which terrorises the people who rape and by this way Islam suggests the most appropriate measures to remove the evil practises.....Islam also suggest preventive measures for other evil practises.
if u want to know more , mail me at religion_zaeem@rediffmail.com
2006-08-20 12:18:47 · answer #8 · answered by yavan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Those who believe (in the Quran) and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians, any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Al-Baqara (The Cow), 2:62)"
"There is no compulsion in Islam" (Qur'an, 2:256)"
So called "Muslims" that are intolerant of other religions are not true Muslims, according to the Qur'an. To each his faith. According to Islam, God will be the only judge and a perfect one at that.
Be good.
2006-08-20 07:23:20 · answer #9 · answered by molon_labe_rkba 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Do you really believe that anyone who doesn't convert to your religion should die? It seems like this is the basis of your religion, could you please explain what really is at the core of your religion?"
No it is not there is a saying in islam wich reads "Laa Ikraah fee el deen" wich means you cant force anyone to belive in what you do
In Islam it is said that the best way to convert someone is to prove to them and show them how good islam is .
but if we are under attack we cant just sit doing nothing now can we?
---------------
" It is hard to believe that a religion out there could be so bent on the destruction of the rest of the world. "
we muslims Dont want to kill anyone but
Islam is being targeted by many especially Israel Muslims are trying to free Palastine from the Israely Occupation The came into our lands by force . and the only way to counter that is by force .
if your home town was under the occupation of people who kill your family and freinds and destroy your property what would you do?
self defence
--------------------
I've seen on the news when Muslim grouped get riled up when they are refered to as "Islamic fascists" but I don't see anyone standing up and saying any of these killings are bad things. I'm not trying to upset anyone with this question, I am just really curious to hear things from the point of view of a Muslim.
The news you hear is being twisted let me give you a few subtle examples
Muslims are refered to as Terrorists [Causing terror in islam is a sin ,Killing the Innocent is a sin .killing yourself is a sin]
israely soldiers are called defenders even thou they are entering Lebanon and Targeting civilian Houses and shops killing the innocent .
please understand that there are many people that hate muslims and they dont even know anything about us
Do you know anything about our relegion? please learn before you judge us
please don't act before you think
We muslims belive In God almighty
and that mohammad mosses and jessus are some of his messengers.
why do people hate us so much why do you keep attacking us calling us terrorists
A person who blows himself/herself up to kill innocent people is against ALL the rules of islam .
please understand
And yes you guessed right im a muslim i pray 5 times a day i got to work i try to help others and give to the poor .
its a sad world we live in where people can hate each other "Just because"
Peace
2006-08-20 07:21:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋