Are the Muslims making anyone else intolerant of Islam?

Question

I've always been a pretty tolerant live and let live sort of guy. The only Muslims I've ever had much contact with were some Iranians I once worked with. They kept to themselves, and with one exception, seemed hostile to westerners, and their eyes seemed filled with hatred. I dismissed this as just an overactive imagination, but since interacting with them on YA I've become very apprehensive about Islam. There don't appear to be any Muslims that support the principle of the separation of church and state, a fundamental premise of democracy. There don't seem to be any that have any objection to the Iranians killing people for so-called crimes against morality, and one even expressed the belief that Jews and Christians do it also. None of them responded to the issue in my question of whether the doctrine of abrogation supports the violent interpretation of the Quran. I'm afraid the more I learn about Islam the less I like it.

From the Quran, Earn, just look at this
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/cruelty/long.html

Now I know you can quote me a list of verses nearly as long which say the opposite, but according to the doctrine of abrogation, it is the violent ones that should carry more weight
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013262.php

Mustafa, to put it simply, the doctrine of abrogation holds that the parts of the Quran that were written later should be accorded more weight than the earlier parts. The significance of this is that most of the more violent sections of the Quran were written later than the peaceful ones, because the Muslims became stronger militarily with the passage of time. Therefore, according to most (but not all) Muslim scholars, the violent interpretation of jihad must be the correct one.

Answer 1

Yes. Earlier I was a complete 'who cares about ur religion' person, but now I can feel that I've become intolerant to Islam. When I hear frm or see a Muslim, something in me says "Ah! These barbaric morons & terrorists". Maybe it's because of Yahoo. But the truth is, they've made earth the worst place to live in, they want others to convert but r themselves so biased & contemptuous of other religions, r the most insecure ppl on earth, can't take jokes, take offence 4 the most trivial things, think that others r targeting them when they themselves go beheading & bombing ppl. They've made me hate Islam. Be it 9/11, 7/7, 7/11, beheadings of Nick, Eugene, Daniel,............They r growing more barbaric & bloody day by day. What I hate is the hypocritical cliche " Islam is a religion of peace". It's become more of a joke now. They never 4get to include Allah, Mohd. & salam in their sentences. We all say 'God' but they'll say only & only 'Allah'. I can't take it anymore. Let me stop. U take care & remember u're not alone.

Answer 2

ONE thing I don't understand is that why people get mix up with race & religion. Some people behaving strangely because of the environment they live in and their culture. It has got nothing to do with the religion. Well I can say, why are the christian are so shameless that they can show off their entire body to the public like in the Hollywood movies. It doesn't sound fair right? Because other christians from other country don't do that freely. Some people act mischivously didn't matter what race & what religion are they? What about the assasination of the US Presidents? They are done by christians, but why haven't anybody call them a terrorist? Just stop saying that the Muslims go around killing people what about the INVADERS to the oil land? They are the one who go and attack other people land without any valid reason. If you wanna learn more about ISLAM and the content of Quran, I suggest you go to the proper channel not to the biassed media.
All the best to you!

p.s: The Muslims have been provoked by some parties, that's why they behave the way they do now. Just leave them alone and the world will be a better place to live in.

Answer 3

You're right Muslims don't separate religion & politics. Do you want to know why? Because we believe that Islam is a way of life, it encompasses everything we do - from the food we eat to the way divorces are handled. The western concept of democracy does not apply in Islam because you believe that ANYONE can change a law, for example, prostitution is now legal in some countries. But in Islam, we believe only God knows what is truly best and no one can change the laws that have been set by Him. However, discussions are always encouraged and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself attended them. I hope that helped clear some things out for you.

Your Persian friends probably had issues, it's probably because of what they have gone through in Iran. There are many Persian political refugees. If you were to meet other Muslims I am sure you will find that not all Muslims are the same, just as you can say about Christians and Jews.

Try to learn about Islam from Muslims who are knowledgable about their religion, practicing Muslims... not just the ones who say 'Yeah I'm a Muslim" but on weekends they can be found drinking at pubs. In all religions there are both good and bad people, and I don't hold the religions accountable for their bad actions as most religions preach good things.

I'm sure if you were to approach a Muslim here on Yahoo Answers they would be glad to answer your questions. It would be a good way to start if you're not yet keen to approach Muslims in person. :)

But even after you have extensively studied Islam you feel you don't like it, that is your decision & completely fine as long as you're not being disrespectful. If you respect them for their beliefs, they will be the same with you. We're all adults here aren't we?

Answer 4

I think there's a fundamental divide operating here. Western religions deal with spiritual and ethical matters, not politics. Islam on the other hand is a way of life. It regulates everything about muslims' lives from diet and dress to banking and inheritance. Naturally, muslims believe that public life must operate according to the quran as well. There can be no such thing as a secular government in (the ideal version of) the House of Islam. In the Dar al Hab, where the rest of us live, ignorance reigns.
How can secular democracies deal with people who believe that every single thing that happens happens because Allah wills it that way? How can secular democrats have any kind of meaningful dialogue with people who believe that their only real loyalty is to the ummah, the worldwide muslim community? I don't know the answer. I would like to know how Muslims who live in the US or UK define themselves: Muslims first, then citizens? Or citizens who believe in Islam?

Answer 5

Interesting. I'm sorry you feel this way but from your experiences, your sampling of Muslims is pretty narrow. You need to meet some who are considered Sufi.

Can you please clarify what "None of them responded to the issue in my question of whether the doctrine of abrogation supports the violent interpretation of the Quran." means? i don't understand what this doctrine aims to prove. I'll try to answer... thx

EDIT can you please explain doctrine of abrogation in your own words?

EDIT: Ok, now I understand the question. Basically, my understanding is the Qur'an must be understood in the light of the life example of the Holy Prophet. In his famous Sermon on the Mount farewell speech, he said to those present: I am leaving you with two things, the Qur'an and my Sunnah. Stick to these two and you will never go stray.

The Sunnah is essentially a written and verbal record of how the Qur'an was implicated in real life situations. Based on this, we must remember, the Muslims were never given permission to fight (even in self-defense) for the first 13 years of the new faith's emergence. This means God encourage problems to be solved with deplomacy as much as possible. With that in mind, persecution and broken treaties against those early non-violent Muslims elevated to a point were even a peace-loving person would agree that self defense is now needed. The non-Muslims would not back down in their intolerance and violence towards the peaceful Muslims.. and they would never back down if they had the chance. Therefore, self-defense was mandated to convey the message to the non-believers that their intolerance will not be allowed to continue, nor does God appreciate or accept it. So when God started to reveal verses to the Holy Prophet, they we're to cut off the violent non-Muslim's vile behavior from the root. The swiftness of attack and detailed descriptions of war are not to be taken lightly or to be applied in a hurried situation. The Muslims took a non-violent stance for many, many years until it was pushed to the limit. The Qur'an must be taken in it's entirety. No section is more important or even allowed to abbrogate another section. The Qur'an is not patchwork... it is a complete solution. Just picking it up and opening it does not mean a person will understand what it means unless they also have a parallel understanding of the Sunnah (Hadith) that deeper explains the circumstances of those verses. Often, this can only come from a truely learned scholar of Qur'an and Hadith. Therefore, I can not agree with you that anyone is allowed to justify their violent actions based on their interpretations of the verses pertaining to Jihad. The Qur'an must be understood in the light of the Sunnah to see the true circumstances in which those verses apply.

Answer 6

I think there are some Muslims who truly believe they are doing the right thing in believing in Islam. However, I also believe those Muslims are being deceived. I do not thing the God of Islam is the true God. It is something much, much darker. Someone here commented that there was a petition for peace signed by 700,000 Muslims. That's not saying much since there are more than 1 billion Muslims in the world. That means that less than one in one thousand Muslims have signed that petition. For some reason, I really don't think the majority of Muslims are for peace. I do believe there are some peaceful Muslims who really are good people -- but that's the exception and not the rule. All you have to do is look at the violence the religion instigates and common sense will tell you that.

Answer 7

dude, if u want to learn of The Islam, then don't learn from the Muslims of this present era, 'coz sadly we aren't the good examples of Muslims. if u want to learn abt Islam, Read The Holy Quran, view the lives of Prophet Mohammad (May Peace and Blessings of ALLAH Be Upon Him) and His Apostles (May ALLAH Be Pleased With All of Them) through authentic & reliable sources. don't count on present Muslims and those who are defaming Islam. if u do the effort to Seek The Truth urself by Researching abt it, only then will u find True Islam, don't count on hearsay (not even mine), u have to do this research urself as Not a favour to urself but an obligation on urself, as ignorance is the biggest crime an individual can commit on oneself. Do NOT judge the doctrine on the basis of its Practitioners, judge it by its True Teachings or by the Best Example (of Last Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) ). just like u won't judge a BMW car, by the accident that adventurous teenagers caused, u will judge it by its features and specifications and safety measures that it offers, and on top of that, u will let Michael Schumacher test-drive it for u to help u make ur judgement better.
ppl interpret The Holy Quran as they wish to, by taking some verses and skipping some verses. This is NOT the way, 'coz if u wanna follow The Holy Quran, then u follow each word of it or u don't follow at all.
no one ever said that democracy is the best way of life, but it seem all other man-made ways are worse. it might be ur view that State and the Church are to be kept separated. it may Not be an Islamic view. State is to be run by the morality and code-of-life which is taught in the Mosques. i know it is Not a refined view, but it is worth sthg having to look at. Neither the Mosques would run the state, nor the Mosques are to be kept separated from the issues of the state, there is got to be a middle pathway that has to be determined to make it an effective way of life.
Peace to All.

Answer 8

I'm with you on this. I even took time to read parts of the Qu'ran.

Many parts seem to be peaceful, but others of hate. What seems quite hypocritical is the Jews are in the Qu'ran as the people of the book and Moses is the most mentioned person in the Qu'ran. However, the Muslims attack the Jews at every turn.

I to try to be open minded, but the actions of the Islama Fascist and the in action of the general Muslim is painting a dark picture and changing attitudes against them.

Answer 9

Yes...
I used to believe that all religions are good as long as the religion is telling them how to live decent life. you know, love thy neighbor, don't kill, don't hate, don't steal etc.
Are we not all the same on the inside?

That is not a good description of the Muslim religion, is it? (government?).

Don't tell me I just don't know enough. I will not convert.
Don't tell me how most are peaceful. Enough are NOT, and the ones who are would rather promote Islam than object to those terrorist (militants) who are ruining their religion and their countries.

How many wars in the world today involve Islam quest for
world domination? Islam will not bring world peace. Even now Muslim kills Muslim because of differences of belief.
Which country's self appointed Muslim leader is correct in his interpretation of the Quran?
Which will try and dominate all?

Intolerant of Islam?
How about justifiably fear the violent propagation of forced religious domination.

Sorry I like my freedoms (including religious), and I will keep my eye on those who seek to take those freedoms away.

Answer 10

I've the Quran before these events.. but there is nothing about a merciful God.. the Quran it's againts jews even actually the hatred againts them it's not about the Quran it's about the violence of Israel the war againts the Lebanon ect