Seriously...I am really confused about Islam.....?

Question

Im hoping a Muslim can respond to my question.
I know and understand that you call your religion a religion of peace.
However, as an outsider, I see violence and hatred - such as over the things the Pope said. While I understand that what he said can be offensive to you, how do you purport to show the world your tolerance and peacefulness by rioting in the streets and calling for infidels to be beheaded?
What does you religion REALLY teach about converting those that do not beleive?
Is Islam/the muslim religion truly non-violent, and these rioters are a minority (although there sure are many of them for it being an minority...)

I truly am curious. I am not a Christian...I am atheist. Thanks for your reponses.

Answer 1

It says you should not convert but it says nothing about killing them it says let them be. But in the Shar'ia law which is mans law rooted to the quran. It says they should be killed and alot of middle eastern countries have shar'ia law. The quran and Islam teaches peace and tolorance but I don't know what to say anymore. I have had a family member killed in a bombing in turkey like 5 days ago due to terrorist in the name of Islam. My fiance is muslim and it really if hard for me to be like of they are mad because of yadda yadda yadda and think that we provoke them when stuff like that happens I have nothing to say but in Islam there needs to be alot of things to be said and alot of things comdemned. Terrorism is one. Shar'ia law is two.

Answer 2

Why would you solicit an answer from a Muslim knowing what you would most likely get is either a distoration of reality, if not down right lies?

Muslims don't want we Christians to see the irony in Muslims being able to desecrate a Christian Temple in Jerusalem by spreading feces on images of Christ? But a Christian leader (the Pope) can’t remind people of what 14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel Paleolous II said about the profit Mohammad several hundred years ago. It wasn’t even the Popes own words or thought. He was repeating what Paleolous II supposedly said. . What’s with the hypersensitivity anyway?

The Muslims can dance in the streets; shout and yell; raise their fists all they want to but I do not believe the Pope owes Muslims an apology for anything.

Some have contended the terrorists are a form of radical Islam and a small minority of the faith. They say the large majority of Muslims are a peaceful people. I am beginning to wonder about these claims when I see the reported millions in the streets protesting what the Pope repeated.

Two faced or what? Is Islam a peaceful religion or a violence based religion? By what I am seeing and hearing, I would have to conclude the latter.

Your charaterization of Muslims is accurate. You are not as confused as you are probably in denial. You constantly hear about how Islamic faith is peaceful, then see time and again differently. Trust what you see. Not what you are told. You'll be less confused.

Answer 3

I'm not Muslim, but I'm going to guess Muslims will say that those advocating violence are not "true" Muslims, or have misunderstood Islam. Of course, the violent Muslims would say the same about the peaceful ones. That's how religion works; there's no room for large differences of opinions, and anyone who disagrees with you is wrong.

By the way, Islam is not comparable to a car that has its own existence and properties apart from how it's driven. Any religion exists only in the minds and practices of its followers; it has no independent existence. The best you can do is to conclude that each Muslim has his own interpretation of Islam, and some of them are violent.

Answer 4

hi, very interesting question. I am a Muslim btw. I can truly understand what you are asking. Violence and hatred are used in the name of Islam by these people to imply their own means. If you look at the true history of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) always turned to war as a last resort. it is wrong to say (mostly by media and conervative radio) that Islam was spread by the sword. First of all, look at what time period we are talking about, this is more than 1400 ago! When the Prophet first came with the message, people used to throw rocks and stone and their garbage on him, but in turn, all he did was pray that God show them the right path. he did not start stabbing and beheading all of them, he just PRAYED. The history of this whole spreading by "sword" is long and if you wish i can give u some material through email.
As far as the Pope sayings about Islam, all i have to say that Pope John Paul was always respected by Muslims across the world and he NEVER said anything bad about Islam or any religion. For Pope Benedict to say something about another religion, was just a way of provoking the hatred. I TOTALLY AGREE that even though he said this, Muslims should protest, but NOT in any violent manner. But think of this, for all Muslims, the religion is very sacred to them. Muslims don't hate Christians or Jews for that matter (referring to people in M.E and ASia) but its the Western Policies against muslims and always favoring other countries which builds up this anger, even though its wrong.
As far as the "infedels should be beheaded", this is a extremely wrong way of a protest, and this saying is more what came out because of emotion and anger rather than what the Quran said. And even in the Quran, every where it talks about killing the "infedels" it was referring to the even which was occurring 1400 years ago. iT is not a general idea that should be practiced, contrary to what the media says. Think about it, muslims follow the religion faithfully, and if in the Quran it actually said to kill non-muslims, than all the 1 billion + muslims out their would be going around killing everyone, which i don't see happening.
As far as converting people to the religion, Islam does not teach anything about forcing people to convert or killing those who are not muslim. Religion is a thing that comes to the person in their own time and own way and can not be brought upon by force.
As far as the rioters, you have to think, there are more than a billion muslims around the world, if the media shows a big group protesting, just think that not all the billion + are protesting. I would say that out of all the people that protest, they make up a very small population example, 1 % of a billion is 10 million, so you can figure that out.
Hope this helped and changed your view a bit, contrary to the falsities you hear about Islam nowadays. feel free to email me about any other questions!
take care, peace

Answer 5

I'll attempt to give you a non-Muslim answer, maybe It'll be a slightly non-bias opinion...

There are Five Pillars in the Islamic Faith:

1. The Oneness of God, similar to the Christian tradition, there cannot be any God's other than THE GOD. God is God, bottom line.

2. Daily Prayer, The word for Human in Islam comes from the root Insaam, which basically means that humans are forgetful. In order to be close to God, one must be constantly reminded of him/her hence the daily prayers. Prayer teaches discipline which is required in any religion.
fyi: Jesus kneels to pray in the bible, Muslims pray the same way Jesus taught in the bible through Example.

3. Almsgiving, or giving to the poor. Just as Christians are required to give to others, Muslims are too.

4. Ramaadan or the month of fasting. This is similar to the concept of Lent in the Christian tradition. Not only does it teach discipline but it also reminds believers of the struggles that prophets had before them.

5. Pilgrimadge to Mecca. People will tell you that this signifies a Muslim worship of idols, this is not true. The pilgrimadge allows Muslims to gather with other believers of faith for a spiritiual journey. Many Christians travel to Jeruselem as it is where much of the Christian faith has its roots.

Muhammad is known as the "Seal of Prophets" not put above any other prophet of God, he was born into a tribe during a time of pagen beliefs and idol worhsip. Muhammad was illeterate and struggled most of his early childhood. (Both his mother and father died, his grandmother died when he was only 3 years old).

Muhammad married an older woman who was a wealthy merchant (this was not common in that time for a women to be in business). Idol worship upset him because he believed in the Oneness of God. The Qur'an is a book that was written while Muhammad recieved messages from God just as many prophets did in the bible. The Qur'an is thought to be the spoken words of God just as the bible is said to be the spoken words of God through Prophets.

The Qur'an says that in times of warfare, non-combatants are NOT to be harmed. This is contradictory to what you will hear in the news. I suggest that you speak to someone who is an Islamic scholar such as a professor at a University, ect....

What the Media tells you, what Extreamist Christians will tell you and even what extreamist Muslims will tell you may not necessarily be an accurate representation of what the religion teaches. If you're interested in reading what the Qur'an actually teaches, I would look at Thomas Cleary's translation, it's the one I've used to try and understand the religion.

I guaruntee that no where in these religious texts will you find anything about suicide bombings and terrorist attacks because ther religion is against it.

Sorry about the length of this, I hope it gives you somewhat of a better understanding of Islam.

Answer 6

There are alot of reasons, some which are politically motivated some which are by ignorant Muslims that ISLAM looks like a religion of terror.but this is done by a minority fanatics. So it would be wrong to label all Muslims a terrorists.Actually the leaders in today's world are the cause for the violence .We the Muslims were denied our rights, our land occupied and invaded by the the infidels and you don't expect us to be quiet we retaliate and are label terrorist......is that fair?Suppose i enter your house and don't leave, you fight to chase me out ...... you are a terrorist.We were never treated fairly. In ISLAM there is no force... you accept ISLAM in freewill not for anyone or anything except for the love for ALLAH swt .As in the Quran verse 109 SAY: O ye UNBELIEVERS!

[109:002] I worship not that which ye worship,

[109:003] And ye do not worship that which I worship;

[109:004] I shall never worship that which ye worship,

[109:005] Neither will ye worship that which I worship.

[109:006] To you be your religion; to me my religion

You see the QURAN did not say that the UNBELIEVERS be forced into ISLAM

Answer 7

Please read about Islam. Islam is beeing potrayed by the west like this. Islam is the best religion peace loving religion. If Islam was to be propogated by Force whole India would have been Muslim where Muslims have ruled hundreds of years and Hindu religion is caste based providing a fertile masses to convert because in Islam every one has the same rights and is not differentiated by cast or creed. Yet the majority were Hindu in United India. THis is a proof Islam was not spread by force rather by being the best way of life.

There are lot of misunderstanding west have propogated against Islam. US have been supporting stupid, illetrate, rejected, radicle Clerics in Pakistan and used them against USSR. Now the same clerics have turned aganist US because they were trained in the name of Islam and US is not Muslim so those stupids are now problem for west.

Please read abhout Islam yourself and then decide. I am sure if you read with open mind you will be converted Mulim soon.

Answer 8

Media maligns Islam


Islam is without doubt the best religion but the media is in the hands of the westerners who are afraid of Islam. The media is continuously broadcasting and printing information against Islam. They either provide misinformation about Islam, misquote Islam or project a point out of proportion, if any.

When any bomb blasts take place anywhere, the first people to be accused without proof are invariably the Muslims. This appears as headlines in the news. Later, when they find that non-Muslims were responsible, it appears as an insignificant news’ item.

If a 50 year old Muslim marries a 15 year old girl after taking her permission, it appears on the front page but when a 50 year old non-Muslim rapes a 6 year old girl, it may appear in the news in the inside pages as ‘Newsbriefs’. Everyday in America on an average 2,713 cases of rape take place but it doesn’t appear in the news, since it has become a way of life for the Americans.

2. Black sheep in every community:


I am aware that there are some Muslims who are dishonest, unreliable, who cheat, etc. but the media projects this as though only Muslims are involved in such activities. There are black sheep in every community. I know Muslims who are alcoholics and who can drink most of the non-Muslims under the table.


3. Muslims best as a whole:


Inspite of all the black sheep in the Muslim community, Muslims taken on the whole, yet form the best community in the world. We are the biggest community of tee-totallers as a whole, i.e. those who don’t imbibe alcohol. Collectively, we are a community which gives the maximum charity in the world. There is not a single person in the world who can even show a candle to the Muslims where modesty is concerned; where sobriety is concerned; where human values and ethics are concerned.


4. Don’t judge a car by its driver:


If you want to judge how good is the latest model of the "Mercedes" car and a person who does not know how to drive sits at the steering wheel and bangs up the car, who will you blame? The car or the driver? But naturally, the driver. To analyze how good the car is, a person should not look at the driver but see the ability and features of the car. How fast is it, what is its average fuel consumption, what are the safety measures, etc. Even if I agree for the sake of argument that the Muslims are bad, we can’t judge Islam by its followers? If you want to judge how good Islam is then judge it according to its authentic sources, i.e. the Glorious Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith.


5. Judge Islam by its best follower i.e. Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):


If you practically want to check how good a car is put an expert driver behind the steering wheel. Similarly the best and the most exemplary follower of Islam by whom you can check how good Islam is, is the last and final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Besides Muslims, there are several honest and unbiased non-Muslim historians who have acclaimed that prophet Muhammad was the best human being. According to Michael H. Hart who wrote the book, ‘The Hundred Most Influential Men in History’, the topmost position, i.e. the number one position goes to the beloved prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh). There are several such examples of non-Muslims paying great tributes to the prophet, like Thomas Carlyle, La-Martine, etc.

Answer 9

Muslims are instructed to tolerate and forgive greivances against themselvesb ,but not against our religion. People should understand this, especially someone like the Pope, who claims to be a Christian, yet behaves in an entirely non christian way. He should know better than to say something like that after knowing what happened with the danish cartoons, unless he was deliberately doing it.

Answer 10

I don't mind when people are asking these kinds of questions.

But I serioulsy mind when people say stupid things about other's reliegions. Any reliegions. Even it is a muslim saying stuff about christiinanity or vice versa or whatever. because u c, i is worng.

when people abuse ur mom, dad....people who gave birth to u n brought u up, how do u feel...??

bad right!! even those people have feelings. maybe, u should sit for a while n consider them.


A Christian surveyor, Professor Edward reported in the Time Magazine of April 16, 1979 that in a span of 150 years, from 1800 CE to 1950 CE “over 60,000 books have been written against Islam by the Christian West.” Now, it is questionable, who has initiated, nurtured and collected the hatred which you have referred to, the Muslims or the Christian West?

I ask u, why did they do it in the first place????

Oh...they are 'harsh' n 'terrorist' verses from the Quran which I don't know how many non-muslims keep quoting. but one thing I have noticed is, they usually quote it from chapter 9 or the chapter which is 'The Repentance'.

U should know that when u start reading this chapter, it tells very clearly that there was a peace treaty between muslims n non-muslims n non-muslims attacked in the dead of the night. so, almost the whole chapter is in context with that war.

u r not going to say to ur soldiers that when ur enemy comes to u, invite them to tea??

but u still see all this hatred n voilence. Quran clearly says...in MANY places that a believer is a sabir. meaning, patient. he dosn't fight.

n what about those authorities, who only claim to be ‘peaceful, peace-loving people’ and ‘peace-keepers of the world’, but ironically have attacked thousands of innocent Muslims under the theme ‘War on terror’. The noted writer Arundhati Roy states: "So now we know. Pigs are horses. Girls are boys. War is Peace."

The terrorist acts attributed to Muslim suspects, should not be attributed to Islam or the Muslims in general but to individual human weaknesses. Such human failings occur among all religious and ethnic groups. Recorded history has not witnessed an incident similar to the ‘Holocaust’. However, one is not expected to and should not attribute the holocaust to Christianity or to Christians in general.

N I can give u evidence from the Quran itself:
"If one amongst the pagans ask thee for asylum,grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah; and then escort him to where he can be secure that is because they are men without knowledge."
[Al-Qur’an 9:6]
The Qur’an not only says that a Mushriq seeking asylum during the battle should be granted refuge, but also that he should be escorted to a secure place. In the present international scenario, even a kind, peace-loving army General, during a battle, may let the enemy soldiers go free, if they want peace. But which army General will ever tell his soldiers, that if the enemy soldiers want peace during a battle, don’t just let them go free, but also escort them to a place of security?
This is exactly what Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Qur’an to promote peace in the world.

’Let there be no compulsion in religion:
Truth stands out clear from error’
[Al-Qur’an 2:256]

It is the sword of intellect that should be used. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur’an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:

’Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord
with wisdom and beautiful preaching;
and argue with them in ways that are
best and most gracious.’
[Al-Qur’an 16:125]




If u have any sincere confusions about Islam about some verses or some muslims, here is my e-mail address. [e-mail]

Answer 11

i think Islam is peaceful with those who are peaceful with it, and harsh on those who gives it hard time (attacking them, for defense military).

regarding the Pope. there is a verse in the Quran which order Muslims to meet evil behavior with better behavior.
Quran 23:96
[96] Repel evil with that which is better. We are Best-Acquainted with the things they utter.

regarding the violence. first there is something called human behavior plus cultural behavior. most violence's in a critical places where there are wars and no feeling of hope. some ignorants ignorantly use Islam as an excuse to testify their crimes.

God in the Quran order us to not force anyone toward religion. it's up to you to believe in Islam or no. if faith comes from the heart, how i am going to force it on u? Islam allowed us to marry christian and Jewish.