i am curious what do u think about Islam?

Question

i wnt to know wht you think of islam honistly. plz u can say what u want, but be polite .as anyone shoud be towards all religions.

Answer 1

its a religion thats what i think of it

Answer 2

Honestly? Well, when I first read the Qu'ran many years ago I was most surprised how it tied in with Judaism and Christianity through the Bible, which was something I wasn't aware of at the time.

I haven't studied it since then and have to rely upon views expressed here on Y!A (by which time, my opinions on Christianity have 'crystallised' a bit more).

I suppose I find it no more, nor less, credible than other Abrahamic religions. I find it odd that people feel that everything important is enshrined in a book 'written' 1400 years ago and that every word of it is true. But then as an atheist, perhaps that's not surprising.

I certainly find my Muslim friends to be generous, caring and loving individuals. And if this is in some part down to their religion, then it can't be too bad, can it?
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Answer 3

To me the most vital thing Islam needs is some centralized authority speaking out against the acts of the radicals. Unfortunately, Islam is very non-hierarchical, so there is no central group of perceived leaders of the Islamic faith that speak with one voice and condemn the actions of the heretical.

Where is the public outcry from Islam's theologians over the acts of these radicals? It is missing in the media and the silence among the leadership and over 1B peaceable Muslims is deafening to the observers on the sidelines.

If Christian radicals were performing the acts that we see Islamic fundamentalists doing, there would be a world outcry among the leaders of Christian organizations condemning these persons as heretics. It would be in all the newspapers, television, etc.

Muslims are quick to point to the violence recorded in the Christian bible and claim that Christianity’s early history was violent, too. But unlike the Bible where some very awful HISTORY is recorded, the violence described in the Qur’an is part of Islamic THEOLOGY. This is a very significant distinction between the two belief systems.

The famous Muslim scholar and “father of modern history” Ibn Khaldun states the dichotomy between jihad and defensive warfare thus:

In the Muslim community, the holy war [i.e. jihad] is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force... The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense... They are merely required to establish their religion among their own people. That is why the Israeilites after Moses and Joshua remained unconcerned with royal authority [e.g. a “caliphate”]. Their only concern was to establish their religion [not spread it to the nations]… But Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations (The Muqudimmah, vol. 1 pg. 473).

I believe Islam is going through what the Christian faith went through during the Reformation. During the Reformation religious leaders were forced to carefully define their doctrines, that is, what do Christians really believe? This established a baseline of orthodoxy that then could be used as a litmus test for the practices of self-professed Christians.

Islamic leaders must do the same thing. They must reclaim the Islam that has been hijacked by radicals who have plunged Islamic countries into the Dark Ages. New leaders must codify their acceptable theologies, especially the violence now part of the Sharia, Muhammad’s Sunna (4:24, 4:92, 8:69, 24:33, 33:21, 33:50), and the “sword-verses” of the Qur’an (e.g., 9:5, 9:29). Then Muslim leaders should defend these theologies against heretics loudly and publicly.

I have found non-Christian religions, such as Islam, to be philosophically indefensible, being internally incoherent or undermining human reason and experience. To better understand Islam, I suggest you review the following sites:

http://www.carm.org/islam.htm
http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/04/islam_apologists_tell_a_partia.html

Answer 4

I can't say I know an awful lot about Islam. I've been trying to learn more, so I'm not making assumptions in my ignorance. It doesn't have a great reputation since 9/11, but as someone wisely said, it's the bad that everyone sees. My observations, from my interactions with people on this forum, is that Islam is not so different from Christianity, and that its followers, aside from a few extremists (which crop up in every religion/social group sooner or later), are generally peaceful enough. I'm always willing to learn more about any religion, rather than make generalisations.

Answer 5

Islam simply means to achieve peace - peace with God, peace with oneself, and peace with the creations of God - through wholly giving oneself God and accepting His guidance.

Islam is not a new faith. Muslims believe that it is the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is not just a personal religion, but a complete way of life.
Muslims come from all races, nationalities and cultures across the globe. They have varied languages, foods, dress, and customs; even the way they practice Islam may differ. Yet they all consider themselves to be Muslim.

Islam is a qualitative term - the quality of accepting God's supreme authority above one's own. As such, being a Muslim does not mean having to give up one's culture or traditions; rather it means adopting the simple and logical principles of Islam to better one's life and attain peace.

Less than 15% of Muslims live the Arab world; a fifth are found in Sub-Saharan Africa; and the world's largest Muslim community is in Indonesia. Substantial parts of Asia, and almost all the Central Asian republics, are Muslim. Significant Muslim minorities are found in China, India, Russia, Europe, North America and South America.


for more info visit
http://www.discoverislam.com/poster.asp?poster=DIP2004_02&page=1

http://islamway.com/mohammad/

Answer 6

To be honest, I don't really know what to make of Islam.

Here are my thoughts on:

THE QU'RAN

I have an English translation (A.J. Arberry--beautiful translation!) of which I have read some passages.

It has an interesting kind of rhetoric (not "rhetoric" in a bad way) that primarily speaks of God's mercy & power and contrasts good & evil/believers & non-believers. This structure seems to dominate in the Qu'ran and doesn't move me personally; in fact, I always feel rather turned off by it. For others, though, there is a power in it & connects with them spirituallly. I guess it depends.

There is a lot of the imagery--mostly of the fate of the non-believers, of hell, and of paradise--that I find to be unsettling and even scary, but lyrical at the same time.

I've listened to recordings of Quranic recitations, which are rhythmic and moving, even as I can't understand the Arabic. So I wonder what an experience the Qu'ran must be for Arabic speakers. *Beautiful.*

But then I find it kind of creepy that the verses about people roasting in the Fire are a part of that sequence. Maybe there is a cultural difference that makes me, a Western reader, feel more unsettled by it than I should be. I don't know.

There are without a doubt some passages I've read that I think are lovely. But they tend to end with something like, "As for the non-believers..." So when I read, I search out passages that captivate me & ignore parts, just for my experience of the Qu'ran.

I've definitely found some verses that go against such a black-and-white view of the world that seems to be in the Qu'ran on the surface.

But sadly, the black & white on the surface is most people's first impression. Including many Muslims'. So to me there is no surprise where Islamic fundamentalism & extremism comes from.

For this reason I don't know yet what to think of the Qu'ran.

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PHILOSOPHY

I've always, *always* loved the ideas of islam and of jihad (not jihad like terrorist jihad). I think it is so true, that surrendering oneself to the Greater/God is essential to living the best we can. We need to give ourselves up in order to be selfless, merciful, compassionate, loving--the best of ourselves for humanity. And to strive to reach that, to be that through jihad.

Without a doubt it is such an important spiritual concept, a real truth--and it is at the heart of Islam.

I really believe in the heart of Islam. But sometimes I think that it is obscured by theology. Sometimes as I read the Qu'ran, whenever there is emphasis on rewards & punishment and Heaven and Hell...

I think it is easiest to see *directly* to the heart of Islam through Islamic mysticism, Sufism, and also through Muslims themselves.

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MUSLIMS

All of the Muslims I know I think are wonderful people. They are all young American-Muslims, so they've grown up with both cultures. They make jihad really apparent in their lives.

But I haven't been exposed to very conservative or fundamentalist Muslims. I only see them on TV, in the news. I guess my impression of Muslims would be much worse had I not personally met the Muslims whom I have.

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Overall:

I love the ideas of islam and jihad and Allah.

I love salat and Al-Fatiha, the prayer & the opening to the Qu'ran. (am trying to memorize it in Arabic)

And I love what I know about Islamic mysticism. :)

Answer 7

Both the Qur'an and the Bible have evil stuff in them but Christianity has been largely de-clawed and is now a warm and fuzzy and relatively innocuous religion, whereas Islam is taken too seriously and has too many extremists and basically has more catching up to do before it becomes civilised.

Answer 8

I think that years of suffering and tyrany have turned what was an attempt to live a good life by the laws of Judaism under the teachings of Muhammed into an image of violence and lunatic raving. Islam is not what it has become and is not what the Arab fundamentalists portray it to be. Sadly, like so many things, the worst parts speak the loudest.

Answer 9

I don't think about Islam it is the farthest thing from my mind. I'm just concerned about the next Big Bang. It's not going to be no firecracker. December 2012. God Bless.

Answer 10

Seems a tad intolerant in some locals, not so much in NA. I think they lose much with the fatwas against people (e.g. Rushdie; contrary to Free Speech) and the current levels of violence against themselves (Sunni vs. Shi'ite) and infidels.

It wasn't that long ago when this wasn't so.

Answer 11

You should worry about what God thinks

and He tells us Islam is the only religion accepatbale to him - so who are you going to follow God or those who have rebelled against him ?