What is a Muslim?

Question

Here is the ones I know: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQXh20OuhIc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoQbMlcK3Pk&NR=1

What are the Muslims you deal with in your daily life like?

There is nothing anti-Muslim with this question - I really hope no one tries to delete this question.

Answer 1

A Muslim is a follower of the Islamic religion. It was their Prophet Muhammad himself who attempted to negate the positive image of the Jew that had been prevalent earlier.

According to historian Bernard Lewis, the Prophet Muhammad's original plan had been to induce the Jews to adopt Islam; when Muhammad began his rule at Medina in AD 622 he counted few supporters, so he adopted several Jewish practices-including daily prayer facing toward Jerusalem and the fast of Yom Kippur-in the hope of wooing the Jews. But the Jewish community rejected the Prophet Muhammad's religion, preferring to adhere to its own beliefs, whereupon Muhammad subsequently substituted Mecca for Jerusalem, and dropped many of the Jewish practices.

Three years later, Arab hostility against the Jews commenced, when the Meccan army exterminated the Jewish tribe of Quraiza. As a result of the Prophet Muhammad's resentment, the Holy Koran itself contains many of his hostile denunciations of Jews and bitter attacks upon the Jewish tradition, which undoubtedly have colored the beliefs of religious Muslims down to the present.

Omar, the caliph who succeeded Muhammad, delineated in his Charter of Omar the twelve laws under which a dhimmi, or non-Muslim, was allowed to exist as a "nonbeliever" among "believers." The Charter codified the conditions of life for Jews under Islam -- a life which was forfeited if the dhimmi broke this law. Among the restrictions of the Charter: Jews were forbidden to touch the Koran; forced to wear a distinctive (sometimes dark blue or black) habit with sash; compelled to wear a yellow piece of cloth as a badge (blue for Christians); not allowed to perform their religious practices in public; not allowed to own a horse, because horses were deemed noble; not permitted to drink wine in public; and required to bury their dead without letting their grief be heard by the Muslims.

As a grateful payment for being allowed so to live and be "protected," a dhimmi paid a special head tax and a special property tax, the edict for which came directly from the Koran: "Fight against those [Jews and Christians] who believe not in Allah ... until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low."

In addition, Jews faced the danger of incurring the wrath of a Muslim, in which case the Muslim could charge, however falsely, that the Jew had cursed Islam, an accusation against which the Jew could not defend himself Islamic religious law decreed that, although murder of one Muslim by another Muslim was punishable by death, a Muslim who murdered a non-Muslim was given not the death penalty, but only the obligation to pay "blood money" to the family of the slain infidel. Even this punishment was unlikely, however, because the law held the testimony of a Jew or a Christian invalid against a Muslim, and the penalty could only be exacted under improbable conditions-when two Muslims were willing to testify against a brother Muslim for the sake of an infidel.

The demeaning of Jews as represented by the Charter has carried down through the centuries, its implementation inflicted with varying degrees of cruelty or inflexibility, depending upon the character of the particular Muslim ruler. When that rule was tyrannical, life was abject slavery, as in Yemen, where one of the Jews' tasks was to clean the city latrines and another was to clear the streets of animal carcasses-without pay, often on their Sabbath.

The restrictions under Muslim law always included the extra head tax regardless of the ruler's relative tolerance. This tax was enforced in some form until 1909 in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey; until 1925 in Iran; and was still enforceable in Yemen until the present generation. The clothing as well as the tax and the physical humiliation also varied according to whim. Thus, in Morocco, Jews had to wear black slippers,10 while in Yemen, Jewish women were forced to wear one white and one black shoe.

The edict set by the Sultan of Morocco in 1884 varies somewhat, as did most interpretations of the dhimma law. His restrictions also included insistence that Jews work on their sacred day of rest; carry heavy burdens on their backs; work without pay; clean foul places and latrines; part with merchandise at half price; lend beasts of burden without payment; accept false coinage instead of negotiable currency; take fresh skins in return for tanned hides; hold their beds and furniture at the disposal of government guests, etc.]

Jews were relegated to Arab-style Jewish ghettos -- hara, mellah, or simply Jewish Quarter were the names given the areas where Jews resided -- recorded by travelers over the centuries, as well as by Jewish chroniclers. A visitor to fourteenth-century Egypt, for example, commented in passing on the separate Jew-quarter, and five hundred years later another visitor in the nineteenth century verified the continuation of the separated Jewish existence: "There are in this country about five thousand Jews (in Arabic, called 'Yahood'; singular, 'Yahoodee'), most of whom reside in the metropolis, in a miserable, close and dirty quarter, intersected by lanes, many of which are so narrow as hardly to admit two persons passing each other in them."

In 1920, those Jewish families in Cairo whose financial success had allowed them out of the ghetto, under relatively tolerant rule, had been replaced by "poor Jewish immigrants." Thus, although the character of the population may have changed, the squalor and crowding remained. As one writer, a Jew, observed:

Our people are crowded and clustered into houses about to collapse, in dark cellars, narrow alleys and crooked lanes choked with mud and stinking refuse, earning their meagre living in dark shops and suffocating workshops, toiling back to back, sunscorched and sleepless. Their hard struggle for existence both inside and outside the home is rewarded by a few beans and black bread.

Under no circumstances were Jews considered truly equal. Among the Jews in Arab lands were many individual personal successes and regionalized intermittent prosperity, but the tradition of persecution was characteristic throughout most of Jewish history under Arab rule. If the dhimmi burdens were light in one particular region, the Jew had the residue of fear left from the previous history of pogroms and humiliations in his area. These harsh and ancient dhimma restrictions persisted even up to the present time to some degree, in some Arab communities, and their spirit -- if not their letter -- continued generally throughout the Arab world.

Throughout the centuries, the Jews were the first to suffer persecution in times of economic turmoil or political upheaval, and the cumulative effect of the sporadic mass murders left their mark on the Jews even in periods of relative quiescence. In Syria, the infamous blood libel of 1840 brought about the death, torture, and pillage of countless Jews falsely accused of murdering a priest and his servant to collect the blood for Passover matzah! Before the Jews were finally vindicated of this slander, word of the charges had spread far from Damascus, causing terror in numerous Jewish communities.

The scurrilous blood libel has not been purged from Arab literature, however. In fact, the Arabs seem in the past two decades to have seized upon this primitive old calumny with renewed vigor. In 1962 the UAR (Egyptian) Ministry of Education published "Human Sacrifices in the Talmud" as one of a series of official "national" books. Bearing on its cover the symbol of the Egyptian Institute for Publications, this modem book is a reprint of an 1890 work by a writer in Cairo. In the introduction, the editor shares his discovery: "conclusive evidence ... that this people permits bloodshed and makes it a religious obligation laid down by the Talmud." The editor's description becomes more vile as it purports to become more explicit regarding the "Indictment."

Two years later, in 1964, a professor at the University of Damascus published his own affirmation of the nineteenth-century blood libel, stating that the wide attention given the story served a valid purpose: to warn mothers against letting their children out late at night, "lest the Jew ... come and take their blood for the purpose of making matzot for Passover." Still another version, also published in the 1960s, "The Danger of World Jewry to Islam and Christianity," alleges that thousands of children and others disappear each year, and all of them are victims of guess who?

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Answer 2

Salam :) I'm a Muslim teenager living in Canada. I wear hijab alhamdullilah and it's for the most part accepted here since i live in a big city with a sizeable Muslim population. I do get the few ignorant comments and idiots at school though who ask stuff like "yo got a bomb under there hahaha". But the hardest part is being different from your friends. Being a Muslim, parties, alcohol dating boys wearing revealing clothing etc is haram, and while I don't want to do that anyway, it can be a little awkward to have to explain why I don't do it to people who consider it just a part of being a teenager and its ordinary to them. Muslims living in Muslim countries definitely have it easier when it comes to fitting in. And with food it can be a little tricky but I always try to read the label if I'm not sure of the ingredients. But I wouldn't wanna be any other religion no matter how difficult it gets and how different I feel from everyone else, I'm glad to be Muslim :)

Answer 3

I personally am no Muslim, but this can equally be applied to any other religion. What is the essence that makes one a follower of a specific religion? It doesn't seem to me like anyone can decide objectively what it is. For example, Orthodox Judaism believes that one must be maternally descended from a Jew to be Jewish, while Reform now accepts patrilineal descent. The Orthodox Jews point to the Talmud, but Reform does not accept the Talmud, so who's to say? Reform also doesn't accept the Old Testament as binding, so essentially in their opinion, anyone who calls himself a Jew is a Jew. How can Orthodox say otherwise, as it is after all just a subjective opinion? The only fair answer I think is to accept the Reform opinion - not for religious decisions but for the philosophical discussion at hand. Anyone who considers himself a Muslim is a Muslim, simply because no one has the objective authority to declare if someone is or not. For this reason I reject the opinion that says that Islamic terrorists corrupted Islam and don't actually reflect the religion. In my opinion, they are Muslims just as peaceful Muslims are Muslims. Between themselves Muslims may argue about who is true to the religion or not, but in a subjective philosophical framework both opinions are of equal weight.

Answer 4

Just like the people in the videos you posted. Those videos represent most muslims and those videos represent the minority:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4YsLnIFEr4


I have a question for you, How many Muslims have you ever met and spoken to in your life?

Please don't take the Muslims on this website an example. I have seen so much intorerance and get so many insults from muslims on the Ramadan section but I am muslim and I have so many muslim classmates and I know a lot of Muslims. All of them are great educated and nice people.
If you really want to know what a muslim is, look for a muslim friend. Believe me, you will get a long faster than Christians. Muslims and Jews share a lot of believes and you can understand each other better than a Muslim or a Jew can undersand a Christian and vice versa.

and MikeInRI, there is nothing anti-islamic in your post. It is very beautiful and you deserve a star for it.

Peace


tal
I gave you a thumb up. Thanks for the answer


THIS IA A REPLY VIDEO FROM A CHRISTIAN TO THE FIRST VIDEO YOU POSTED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mAfCZjlMzQ

Peace

Answer 5

The various Arab empires were not peaceful and neither were the Ottomans. Even a Muslim written history book will tell you that. Muslim Spain Wasn't even stable with rulers constantly dragging there "subjects" into wars.

Ancient Babylonians invented Algebra.

Muslims did’nt create astronomy, that has been around long before Islam ever existed.

Calligraphy they copied from Iranians. Chinese and Indians have been doing it thousands of years before Islam appeared.

So called “Arabic numerals” came from India and the Iranians introduced it to them.

Geometry was invented around 3000 BC in Egypt and India.

But I understand why this guy believes all that, since I believed it when I was a Muslim. They also believe Shakespeare was from Yemen and Chess was invented by Arabs.

Oh and shaving the beard is haraam and is considered trying to look like women.

Just watched the second video. The dentist shaved his moustach, thats bidah(innovation) which is common amongst Indians and Pakistanis, many of them thinking Urdu is a holy language and have there children engaged right out of the womb.

Another guy shaped his beard, HARAAM HARAAAM!! one is a musician, instruments except a certain drum are haraam as is music(to say music is halal is to say Muhammad is wrong since he made it clear music is forbidden and a sign of yumah kiyama)

Two muslimahs were not wearing hijab and another was only covering her heard, not her neck. HARAAM!!! ZENAHHH!!! and a California state senate follow? Astafghallah al atheem!!

Answer 6

Thanks for the question and videos!

The Muslims I deal with in my daily life are me and my family!

There are wide differences among Muslims on some issues, especially political ones. As tal said, Muslims in other countries are often molded to a certain mentality by their education and upbringing. I will tell you frankly that I am still battling with my oldest child against the hatred instilled in him against Jews by the education he received in Egypt from K-3rd grade.

As to Muslims in America, they benefit enormously from living in a pluralistic society were all points of view are freely discussed. That is the problem overseas. Often erroneous information is repeated over and over and there is no counter-balance. Now with the internet, hopefully that will begin to change. In terms of their opinion of Jews, again Muslims in America benefit from having exposure to actual Jewish people and when they do, they often find a cultural and spiritual affinity.

Generally, it is my experience that Muslims are honest, hard-working simple people. Their lives revolve around raising a family and struggling to make a new life in a new land, while retaining their beliefs and customs. For this reason, they are often ghettoized, esp. the newcomers. That has its positives and negatives.

Ironically, many Muslim immigrants truly find Islam for the first time after they reach our shores. And this new-found Islam is often at odds with the old, culturally-inspired notions that they came with. That is why many people say that Islam in America is a purer Islam than what you see in many other countries.

As to what a Muslim officially is, it is anyone who has made the shahada (testification) that there is no god but God, and Muhammad is his messenger. By saying this, he/she is negating worship directly or indirectly of anything other than the one true God. The second part is obvious, but you may not know that it also implies the belief in all of the Prophets of the Tanakh as well.

Answer 7

The beliefs of Islam are many Among them, the destruction of Israel is a global Islamic responsibility.

"Arab and Moslem rulers! The weaponry that will not be used against the enemies of Allah will rust and you will use them against one another, as happens periodically. Aim your arrows once and make war, as they war against you. Why this fear of the State [of Israel] that is surrounded by Arabs and Moslems? Why this fear? Because you do not fear Allah -- whoever fears Allah, all else will fear him." (Palestinian TV, March 30, 2001)

"There are Hadiths (Islamic traditions attributed to Mohammed) regarding our struggle against the Jews. And it is given: 'The day of resurrection will not arrive until the Moslems make war against the Jews and kill them, and until a Jew hiding behind a rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: 'Oh Moslem, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!' This Hadith clarifies to us the characteristics of the campaign between us and the Jews. The tree and the rock do not say 'Oh, Palestinian,' 'Oh Arab,' or 'Oh resident of the Middle East.' Rather they say: 'Oh, Moslem, Servant of Allah.'" (Palestinian TV, March 30, 2001)

"The Arab rulers and the Moslems, and our people everywhere. If we don't support Allah, He will replace us with other men... The courageous over the infidels, make war for Allah and are not afraid... This is the depiction of the army of Allah that will come at Allah's decree, from here or from there, to liberate these lands from the defilement of the Jews, for Allah was angry with them in his book and called them once 'monkeys,' once 'swine,' and once 'donkeys.'" (Palestinian TV, March 30, 2001)

"Oh, our Arab brethren... Oh, our Moslem brethren... Don't leave the Palestinians alone in war against the Jews... Even if it has been decreed upon us to be the vanguard... Jerusalem, Palestine and Al Aksa, the land that Allah blessed and its surrounding areas will remain at the center of the struggle between truth and falsehood, between the Jews and the non-Jews on this sacred land, regardless of how many agreements are signed, regardless of how many treaties and covenants are ratified. For the truth is in the Koran, as verified by the words of the prophet Mohammed, that the decisive battle will be in Jerusalem and its environs: 'The resurrection of the dead will not occur until you make war on the Jews...'" (Palestinian TV, August 11, 2000)

"All the members of this nation must take part in this struggle against the enemies of Allah, so that through us the saying of Allah will be fulfilled: 'You will not find people more hostile than are the Jews.'" (Palestinian TV, April 13, 2001)

Answer 8

A muslim in the west is basicly a good honest person no different to the rest of us their are bad eggs among them just like you find in any other country. The Muslims in Islamic countries well they too are good people exceipt they are ruled by their leaders moulding them into their way of thinking with the result they have become insecure with the result they think in a sterotyped way of thinking with complete lack of insite with the result chaos.. Their interpertation of their religion that is something totally different .

Answer 9

It was actually a very beautiful post, and the muslims I deal with in my daily life are really just like the ones in your videos. Thanx for that. Peace!

Answer 10

they kinda think that they own their wives and that women are basically meaningless. like some muslims i work with were bought by their husbands when they were fourteen and they're only nineteen now and they are divorced with kids. i dont know what they believe in when it comes to allah and all that but all i know is their beliefs are a little unamerican.

Answer 11

A Muslim is someone who takes the Shahadah-- شهادة .
The Muslim I "deal with" everyday is my dearest friend whom I cherish; she is loving, compassionate, brilliant, funny....