Ask about Islam

[Samadhi]

Victoria, Australia "police are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits."

Excuse my French, but you have got to be shitting me.
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[LGB*]

I suppose treated 'differently' is ok so long as it doesn't mean excused. After all given the position of women in Muslim society, the options open to women are different from the rest of mainstream Australian society.

[wordcross]

Bah @ Australia.
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[Mackay]

Victorian police are also the ones who used to shoot everyone.

[The Ragin' South Asian]

[Ms Hurd]

I didn't realise the police carried guns in Victorian times.

[Ms Understood]

Crossbows.

[Not Punny]

Crossbowstreet runners

[Guest]

Why do muslims hate america?

P.S. NGGGRRRAAArrruughhHHAR DO NOT FEED ME HURRRR

[dethwing]

*Twiddles thumbs*

[Troll]

Stop mocking me!

[Courk]

In either Ann Landers or Miss Manners or something like that today, someone said that they were raised Jewish. S/he had issues with people who just ask "What are you doing for Christmas?" or "What did you get for Christmas?" She said she would either pretend that she celebrated Christmas, or mention that she celebrates Hanukkah. It just got me thinking, what would be your response to a question like that?

[Samadhi]

Well, I would hope your face was covered when you asked you western whore.
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[Courk]

[Samadhi]

Haha, teehee. Oh my, that's quite funny.You're not wearing a veil. You whore. Whoops! Looks like you've been raped! Oh my you western slut! You should have known what was coming to you. I feel bad for you, let me help you find someone who will buy you cheaply.
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[wordcross]

[wordcross]

[Courk]

Woah, Samadhi, what was that for?

[extro...]

BTW, a co-worker of mine just received a free copy of the Qur’an requested from this page on the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) web site. I didn't read it, but I have to say I was impressed with the overall quality (look and feel) of it, especially given it was free. The size of a telephone book, with text in the original language, translation, and commentary, with nice graphic designs. If you want an impressive looking book for your book shelf, or want to get on a government watch list, request your copy now. Or if you want to read it too.

[wordcross]

lol

hey, if you get a chance, see if you can find out who the translation is done by. I'd be interested to know.
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[Samadhi]

[Hitchhiker]

word, you may have alswered this already, but are you Sunni or Shi'a?

What do you think of the Shi'a custom of sigheh (temporary marriage)? I had never heard of it before today, but apparently sigheh is a binding contract between a man and a woman for an agreed-upon length of time, and any children of the union are considered legitimate. It has various uses, such as making it possible to conceive a child for an infertile couple, or allowing a woman to appear unveiled before a distant male relative sharing her living quarters, or permitting a young engaged couple to be unchaperoned on dates to get to know each other before marriage. Basically, it's a multi-purpose marriage loophole.

(My source is Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden Wold of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks. I don't know how accurate her assessment is.)

[wordcross]

[*]

[Samadhi]

So...are these Dutch cartoons blashphemy or not?
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[groza528]

(psst... Danish)

[wordcross]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/animalmagazine/sets/72057594059300225/

In case anyone has not seen them.

I'll get back to the answer later. I have to go to work now.
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[Samadhi]

Ooops...Danish
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[old grey mare*]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/02/14/pakistan.cartoons.ap/index.html

I don't understand all this.

[wordcross]

Okay, here's my take.

I haven't found anything that claims that pictures of the prophet specifically are a "blasphemy."

There is, however, a sort of consensus amongst Muslim scholars that it is best to avoid creating any depictions of Mohammad. There is a movie called "The Message" which is an account of the happenings during the time of Mohammad and the actions of his closest companions. Since telling the story of Mohammad's companions could not be complete without showing some of their interaction with him, they had to include him. But, to avoid possibly being in the wrong, they avoided using an actor to play Mohammad, instead opting to portray his role from a first-person pov.

As others have mentioned, creating pictures (i.e. drawing/painting/computer models/etc.) is not allowed in Islam (photographs/video recordings are okay). Much of the reason (not all of it) given for this is to avoid things like idol worship.

And yes, there are innumerable portrayals of Mohammad in art from across the globe, but i think the part that sparked protest in this case was the context, as several of the cartoons either poked fun or were outright accusatory towards Mohammad and Islam in general.

The reactions throughout the Muslim world are way way too overblown. There is no reason for such wanton violence over this. If Muslims want to get up in arms over something, it should at least be for a worthy cause, like protesting the treatment of the poor in corrupt 3rd world nations, or massacres of innocents in countries across the globe. Killing over bits of ink is ridiculous.

The "Two dead in Pakistan" article isn't so surprising when you realize that in many places throughout the Muslim world, there is a pervasive concept that the west, and specifically the U.S., is the cause of all the world's woes and the symbol of all that is "wrong" with western culture. So anytime anything happens that comes out of Europe or North America, the U.S. is automatically seen as an accessory, whether they condone it or not. It is unfortunate that this is so, but when the cultures are such that little can or will be done to correct these assumptions, it should not be surprising that these things happen over and over again.
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[Hitchhiker]

[wordcross]

Pictures of living things.

Another reason (that goes along with the idol-worship reason) is that only God can create a living being, and therefore humans should not try to create anything similar (mostly to avoid the possibility of idol worship.)
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[worm]

[Hitchhiker]

All living things, including plants? Or just "creatures" (mammals, birds, reptiles, etc.)? I can't imagine idol-worship of trees being much of a potential problem. But then again, you never know.

Is there an official Islamic stance on altering your body through, say, piercing or tattooing? I remember you saying that it is forbidden to pollute the body with drugs and alcohol.

[wordcross]

living things as in "creatures"

I've heard it said that such depictions are fine as long as it's not detailed enough to recognize specific features (especially eyes).

trees/plants/inanimate objects are fine.

tattooing and piercing is fine, in and of itself. Things like nipple-piercing or whatnot would likely be heavily frowned upon, if not outright forbidden.
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[Jack_Ian]

My children go to a multi-denominational school that tries to respect all religions.
However the children are regularly asked to draw pictures, sometimes including people, so I thought I'd do a bit of research and came across this...

[Samadhi]

Word: Your response is refreshing to hear. Why aren't there more moderate muslims denouncing what is going on?
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[LGB*]

That's a fair point Sam, but do 'moderate' Christians say anything about the rise of the Christian Right in the USA?

[Talzor]

Actually in Denmark, we are starting to hear a lot from moderate Muslims. A Danish politician, Naser Kahder, has started a new organisation "Moderate Muslims", which has got 800 Muslims members and 2500 non-Muslim members in just a week. (That might not sound like a lot, but when you are a country of only 5 mil. people it's actually quite good)
We have also had several support demonstration by resident Muslims.

[groza528]

Sorry for the (slight) hijack, but I had to respond to this: