Muslims not understanding Islam and the Koran?

Question

I am seriously confused, after reading several stories and postings on debate websites with regards to Islam and the Koran I find that one minute the Koran say 'A' and the next it says 'B'.

For example;
I have heard differing arguments as to whether women are second class to men. Some muslims say the Koran says they are, others say they are not.

I have heard arguments regarding christians and jews, one minute they are infidels and the next they say 'The Koran says all religions should be respected'.

It seems to me that someone is lying or the Koran simply contradicts itself all the way through - thus you can choose whatever you want when its convenient.

Pretty lame if you ask me.

Sandora would you like to shed some light? I am 27 and it certainly appears to me that the Koran is self-contradicting, i dont think age has anything to do with it.

Salahuldi... So refering to non-believers as dogs is respect? , I look forward to reading future posts (not just this one) where other muslims will disagree with your view.

Answer 1

All mythology is self contradicting.

Answer 2

I do know that 'infidel' is meant to refer to unbelievers, that is unbelievers of any faith, not Christians etc , just atheists (like me)! If you believe in God you are a believer .
As for the rest of your question, I used to wonder the same thing,but about all religions, take Christianity for example, how many Christians do you think understand much about their own religion? have a quick scan on yahoo answers previous questions re Holy Trinity' not many have a clue do they?
As for the Koran, I commend you for having a go at understanding it, I've read it a few times and for me it raises more questions than answers, questions that I cant get answered
however to be fair I have had some answered by Muslims that seem to actually know what they are talking about. I am actually inclined to believe that the Koran cannot be translated correctly into any other language, perhaps it can word for word but most of the 'meaning' is then lost, so that's all way beyond my scope, imagine that an atheist saying he is inclined to believe? I meant of course I believe in some of the excuses, not that I believe in the religion or any other religion!
So as I am in a 'be fair' mode today I dont think the Koran contradicts its self, differing Muslim faiths may well do .
On the other hand I can understand both bibles and they certainly do contradic all the way through the both of them.
Dont ask me for examples, just try stcking that in your yahoo answers previous question for examples.
Thats about it then, end of my essay, Amen

Answer 3

Are U sure? U are making a wild accusation against the Muslims. What type of Quran do U read? Are U reading the translation Quran or the Real Arabic Quran ? Of course, if U read the translation Quran U will not be able to grasp the actual meaning of the word or the sentence. This is because, the understanding of the translator may varies from person to person. However, if U read the actual Arabic Quran, U may not understand the definition of the words or the sentences. Thus, U need to make reference with the hadith to understand the definition and get it translated by the religious teacher into your own mother tongue language.

Answer 4

The Holy Qur'an, sent by God All-Mighty, is not contradictory whatsoever. It's very clear that women and men are equal. We are all going to be judged on the Day of Judgement.

Men are the providers of women, because they have some strengths that women don't have, we each have our own roles in this life, but none is better than the other.

Of course people from all other religions should be respected. As a Muslim, I only tell others about Islam to help them, in hope to enlighten them about the truth. I truly feel sorry for the unbelievers, that they're wasting their only chance (this life) to attain bliss in the hereafter.

Answer 5

Men and women in islam are equal, however they have been assigned different roles in life. The tragedy today is that traditional female roles in all cultures have been made secondary to more modern approaches to female lifestyles. It is almost considered sinful for a woman to stay at home and take care of the children (not that a man cant do it), and there seems to be too much pressure on people to prove their modernity. We need to bring back the same level of respect for a woman who chooses to stay at home and take care of the children, that we already seem to have for career minded women.

Answer 6

Yeah--- you ought to be ‘seriously confused‘ because your intentions are bad.

It is a pity that so much of this is due to the fact that you, have so little knowledge of Islam or shallow to say the least. I will not use the word ignorance (being pretty lame). This is more a question of power and the abuse of authority than a question of religion.

We do not question or doubt Islam’s universal message of justice and equality for all; but we need to critique those who abuse to weaken and marginalize others. Remember in Islam, any abuse of women’s rights cannot have any kind of justification, as Islam is meant to establish justice to all, regardless of gender. Justice in Islam is gender-blind, it does not discriminate between men and women.

In the eyes of God, we are all equal and in the end it is our relationship with God that matters most.

Answer 7

Dear you need to put some extra time in researching the truth.. Check out few islamic websites... like islamcity.com or islamicfinder.org.
Women are equal to men in islam. As at some points women are better than men and vice versa.. So why raising only those points where women are not better than men.... There are established scientific facts about these logics...
Go and search
May ALLAH help you find the truth

Answer 8

A good question but from a fake Muslim.

A simple answer can also be given. A half filled glass of water can either be said as a glass filled or a glass empty. Both are correct answers.

The Quran is just a few injunctions, guidelines and commandments MEANT FOR DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.

Now one Surah of paricular circumstances will not reconcile with the other one of different circumstances.

This is equally true for the present day administrative law of any country. Like e.g. few fundamental rights of citizens are suspended if emergancy is declared in a Nation.

Now if in a country 'A' marshell law is declared and citizens are not allowed to move out of their homes, will you conclude that in country 'A' citizens have no right to move freely ?
Wouldn't you enquire as to whether these rights are suspended during peaceful times ?

Tha's what you people are doing with Quran.

Taking one Surah meant for emergancy time [ e.g.war] and applying it for peaceful times and quote them OUT OF CONTEXT.

Now for the Jews & christians and infidels.

The present day terrorist groups of Afghanistan were once, allies of US during Russian occupation.Now they are enemies [infidels] for US.

W
H
Y .........???


As for women, they will always be treated like a second class citizen, be it EAST or WEST.
Religion has nothing to do with it.Can you just tell me considering the fact that women consist 50% of world population, how many have become Heads of states ??
Even in west ?
Even in US ?
Even in your country ?

Therfore your assumption that Quran contradicts it self, is incorrect.

Answer 9

Qur'an never contradicts itself, but many people ( sadly including some Muslims) don't understand it right.

But there is a lot of respectable web sites, which represent trusted sources of info about Islam.

Try Islam.com

Answer 10

Where is the evidence of these arguments? The Qur'an only says that women should respect men, not that they are second-class to men. As far as saying members of other religions are infidels, this is true. And it does also say to respect other religions. This is not contradictory, but rather saying that while they are wrong in their beliefs, their choice should still be respected. If someone wants to believe the Christian faith, let them. It is only Allah's will, which we are not meant to question, that determines who is right and wrong.

As-Salaamu Alaikum - Peace be upon you

Answer 11

It's all about context - historical and textual. When people quote from a holy book they often do so without referring to its context, either from ignorance or a wish to fit the quote to their own argument. It happens a lot in the Bible. A classic example is Exodus 22:18; "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". This was widely used in the past as an excuse to kill the politically inconvenient and is now used in condemnation of modern witches. This is because it has been taken out of context. The term refers to a group of people who exploited the beliefs of others in biblical times. The original Aramaic translates as "false prophets", not witches. The bible is full of inconsistencies because it was never meant to exist as one document. It consists of over a thousand years of historical records, religious propaganda and religious theory.

Unfortunately, the Koran is arranged out of its original context. The verses are organised according to length rather than chronology. It should be read with this in mind, as well as in conjunction with the life of Mohammad and his followers. Perhaps the more vitriolic denunciations of "infidels" date to a time when early Muslims were at war or suffering persecution?

I think you need to look for common threads than pick at inconsistencies. For example, Mohammad based the Koran on his own interpretation of Christian and Jewish teachings. He recognised that they had their roots in truth but thought that they had misunderstood God/Allah's message. He lived at a time of great injustice. This is why he often extols his followers to treat others with respect. This doesn't mean he agrees with them or sees them as anything other than on a path of destruction. Islam and Christianity both insist that one of the greatest evils is ignoring God's truth. From his point of view, Mohammad was showing non-believers the way. If they chose to ignore it, they deserved respect as Allah's children, but were inherently wicked. That's why the the praise "Woe to you" is so often repeated.

You cannot expect a religious text to be an accurate, historical document that can be interrogated without some discrimination. It wasn't taken directly from Mohammed's lips and written down. Whilst it may contain the words of God, if you believe that, it has passed through a human medium consisting of many individuals and time periods. It must be interpreted with reference to its context, not taken at face value.