Ask about Islam

[wordcross]

To be honest, I'm not positive about whether or not the ruling about cholesterol and those healthy fatty acids holds any real weight. Like i mentioned, perhaps in my hotseat, many of the Fatawas handed down today are from people who probably shouldn't be giving them (because they're not qualified). I haven't really been trying to justify such a claim, so much as just explain why it might have been ruled that way. I don't know enough about the biology and chemistry of such things to say whether or not it should be classified as one or the other, and i doubt that the person giving the ruling did either.

[Agamemnon]

[wordcross]

I'm mostly happy with it. There are some things that I am unsure on, but nothing I'd outright change.

Do you not see this as narrowminded?
Nope. Islam is right, other religions are wrong, and if God says that non-Monotheists aren't allowed to publicly practice their faith, there's no reason to let them. Why allow the temptation to spread?

Is the Muslim God so afraid that Wiccans might just convert a few Muslims away from Islam? Surely the Muslim faith is built on such a strong belief and following that it would not matter who builds what or preaches what?
On the contrary, man is easily suceptible to deviation, and God knows this. Islam itself isn't proof against Satan and his lures, it's only when man practices faithfully and has the support of his community that he is able to withstand those temptations. The best way to stop a behavior is to remove temptation to do it. From a Western viewpoint, this may be close-minded, but Western society is not built on faith and religion, it's built on man-made and democratic ideals that do not put one man or faith or way of life above another. It is by its very nature supposed to allow multiple ways of life. Islam, however, is the only *right* way of life, and therefore has no problem limiting other faiths.

There are a number of issues I find archaic, and am unable to comprehend a logical meaning to. I find it hard to understand why the Muslim faith does not evolve into the future and why it's beliefs are unchanged over time, where as other faiths have kept tradition but blended with the youth culture of each era
Islam came as a complete and perfected religion sent by God. There is no need for "evolution" of the faith, or blending with other cultures. It would change Islam (Bid'ah) and make it something else. When man takes it upon himself to change what God has sent, it ceases to be the word of God, and instead becomes the word of Man, and that just won't cut it.
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[mathgrant]

wordcross, why do you slam?
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My logic puzzle blog

[Mck]

...afaik, in the Muslim countries where other faiths are oppressed, Christianity is as much so. But I don't think that poking word about that is going to achieve much on either end, though it is fascinating to see his acceptance of it.

Also, I have to poke fun at word here, because "Do you not see this as narrowminded?" "Nope. Islam is right, other religions are wrong..." made me giggle.

[Leptonn]

Most Muslim men expect to marry a virgin when they get married, I believe. However, some of these same men live rather wild lifestyles in their youth, even to the point where they are no longer virgins themselves when they wed. Are there reasons that such expectations and practice are so widespread?

[Agamemnon]

[extropalopakettle]

[Lepton]

In the last quarter of 2001, hate crimes against Muslims in America increased to about 75% of the total.

[wordcross]

wordcross, why do you slam?
Becaues the door has rusty hinges and won't close tight otherwise.
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[wordcross]

Most Muslim men expect to marry a virgin when they get married, I believe. However, some of these same men live rather wild lifestyles in their youth, even to the point where they are no longer virgins themselves when they wed. Are there reasons that such expectations and practice are so widespread?
It's roughly the same as the double standard in the US (just with a larger contrast) where women are expected to have one boyfriend/husband/whatever, while men can have multiple girlfriends or mistresses or whatever and even be lauded for it.
It's not any misinterpreted edict of Islam that makes these men go out drinking and debauching in their youth. In the Muslim world, many people have come to view Islam through a lens of convenience. They're all like "Yes, Islam says that women must be virgins until they marry," but conveniently ignore the same requirement for men. As for why they do this, it's a product of several things. The West is not blameless, but neither are the Muslims themselves.
Firstly, when Muslims (especially men) are exposed to western thinking and especially movie culture and such, it would be odd to find that no one is affected by it. And since there is no longer a cohesive Muslim authority, a man who wants to be told that it's okay for him to have sex with anyone he wants can find a seemingly wise person to tell him, and he's satisfied that he can just change when he gets married and his subsequent religousness will be sufficient. Muslims nowadays make very little effort to follow Islam properly, and often look for imagined loopholes or ways to circumvent rules, when in fact they're just ignoring certain bits and taking others.
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[wordcross]

If I'm coming across as 'poking' then I shall stop with my questions. I know damn full well that Wordy aint going to change Islam just for the benefit of a drunken Brit, I'm just trying to understand the Muslim faith and beliefs, but if that's the way I'm coming across then I'll not ask anything else.
You're not doing anything wrong aga. Feel free to keep asking. If i'm ever offended, I'll let you know, but i doubt it'll happen
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[wordcross]

Similarly, if God says that all everyone who doesn't believe as I do about God should be tortured and killed, there's no reason not to. Of course, you might not believe God says that, but others do, and they'll call it Islam. Islam may be right (for sake of argument), but who decides what is Islam? When you decide, it comes down to I am right.

Yes, what better way to deal with the fact that man is susceptible to the temptations of Satan than to encourage him to use the sword to spread the ways of God - to stop, by force, any behavior that he decides his God would deem a temptation.

Your arguments lack weight for one reason: It is not up to the man to decide what is right or wrong, or how to go about spreading Islam. Legislation belong only to God. God has told us what Islam is, and no man may change it and still be within Islam. It doesn't come down to "I am right" in that way, it comes down to "God is right."

And disallowing public Paganism within lands that are already Muslim is hardly "encourag[ing] him to use the sword to spread the ways of God." Islam does not arbitrarily take over a country and put every man to the sword, demanding that he or she renounce polytheism, etc. If a country is willing to allow Muslims to practice their own beliefs without ... then it is welcome to keep its Sovereignty, and the Islamic State has no power to stop pagans/druids/whoever from openly practicing their faiths there.
And even within the Islamic State, as i said, these people are allowed to practice their faiths in private. There is no violence against them unless they start becoming seditious through public preaching and will not listen when asked to stop. Violence is a last resort, not a primary option.
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[Leptonn]

Do most Muslims acknowledge that (Christian) GOD = (Jewish) GOD = (Islamic) GOD ?

[wordcross]

God sent all three religions, so for the most part, yes.
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[extropalopakettle]

[Meursault]

What do you think of Salman Rushdie?

[Visitor]

1)Salman rushdie, What was his actual crime which called the Fatwah down on him.


2)Was Mohammed born of of natural parents?

3)Is it true you are allowed to eat haram food if it is served to you by a Christian?

4)Are you allowed to smoke?

[jadesmar]

*waits for a story*
Any news on finding that book?

[Samadhi]

[wordcross]

Sorry I haven't been attending to this lately. College starting and all, I've been somewhat busy. Still looking for info about the 72 virgins thing, I haven't found anyone who can tell me what the "Bring the Mountain to Mohammed" thing means (I may have to turn to the net for that one), and the last few questions in the thread I'll get to soon, I promise
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[wordcross]

[wordcross]

What do you think of Salman Rushdie?
Dunno, I haven't read any of his books, never met the guy. He seems like a pretty westernized person and writer, from what i have heard of him in the western media.

1)Salman rushdie, What was his actual crime which called the Fatwah down on him.
According to the Fatawah, he was irreverent toward Muhammad and made light of Islam in general, indirectly seeming to call into question his own faith in it and generally making Islam out to look like it's outdated, obsolete, and just plain wrong, and therefore should die for creating such blasphemy and exposing it to the world.
Personally, I don't think it was a good idea on his part, but neither do i think the response of Khomeni was warranted in the present day situation.

2)Was Mohammed born of of natural parents?
Yes. His father died before he was born, however, and his mother died while he was still very young. He was sent to Bani Quraydah (The tribe of Quraydah) to be raised by a wet-nurse for a time, then he was raised by his grandfather for a short time, until he, too, died, then he was raised by his uncle until he went to live on his own.

3)Is it true you are allowed to eat haram food if it is served to you by a Christian?
Not in the way you mean it. Pork, no matter who serves it, is haram. Same with Alcohol.
The dispute about what Christians and Jews serve is whether or not their meat is allowed. When Muslims slaughter animals, they are supposed to invoke the name of Allah when doing so, and not eat any meat that has not been slaughtered thus. There is dispute over whether the Meat of Christians and Jews is allowed. One argument is that Since they are not properly worshipping God, their meat would not be allowed to us, while the other side says that even if they don't worship correctly, they are still people of the book and worship the same God, and so their meat is okay for us to eat.
My family eats meat from the store, and I see no problem with it myself, but there are people who will only eat meat that is slaughtered by Muslims (Zabiha meat)

4)Are you allowed to smoke?
Again, there are two opinions. The more widely accepted opinion is that it is Makruh (Disliked) so that one is not punished for doing it, but is rewarded for NOT doing it. There are those who call it haram, saying that it is harmful to the body and therefore comes under the same heading as drugs and alcohol for that reason, and other still argue that it's not the same, since it doesn't alter one's perceptions. Myself, I'd be inclined to call it haram, but I wouldn't stop others from doing it, just advise against it.
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[mck]

What is it, in your opinion, that makes Islam stand out from other faiths? I don't mean in specifics, but in general structure.

I don't know how to word the question better, if you don't understand I can try to clarify.

[wordcross]

What is it, in your opinion, that makes Islam stand out from other faiths? I don't mean in specifics, but in general structure.
A) It came as a message to the whole world, not just one peoples, and is structured according to that goal.
B) Islam is, as is often said, a complete way of life, not just an ideology or a weekend religion. And I don't mean that it's just a way of thinking that should affect one's actions in everyday life, I mean that it actually *tells* you what to do and how to do it.

That's about as general as it gets, i guess
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[jadesmar]

Why Mecca?

Is that why you face East when praying? or does it have to do with the sunrise? Should the Londoners face ESE?

Which way do you face to pray when you are in Mecca; is there a landmark?

[Samadhi]

Would you need to set up some kind of ramp to pray on if you were on the moon?

[wordcross]

Why Mecca?

Is that why you face East when praying? or does it have to do with the sunrise? Should the Londoners face ESE?

Which way do you face to pray when you are in Mecca; is there a landmark?

At the beginning of Islam, Muhammad and his followers would pray toward Jerusalem (specifically Masjid Al-Aqsa, which is right next to the Dome of the Rock, which is that building with the gold dome on top). At some point, IIRC, Muhammad asked God if he would change the focus to the Ka'ba in Mecca, which had been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. I'm not sure why, exactly, he asked this, but i'll look it up and let you know. So basically God says, "Okay, start praying toward the Ka'ba in Mecca, and every Muslim everywhere in the world shall pray towards it."

If one were to pray inside of the Ka'ba, you would then turn in the direction of the "Stone of Abraham" which is the rock that he stood on while he was building the Ka'ba.

Oddly enough, (I don't know if this applies to Londoners really), People here in the US pray ENE. On a flat map this look wrong, but it's actually a shorter distance if you were to tack some string to a globe.

So, no, the direction of the prayer has nothing to do with the sunrise. People in Pakistan would pray in a westerly direction. People in Yemen would pray in a Northerly direction. People in Turkey in a Southerly direction, etc.
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[wordcross]

Would you need to set up some kind of ramp to pray on if you were on the moon?

I kinda wonder that myself. I don't know how that would work. That's assuming there's ever a need. I get the feeling that it wouldn't be allowed for human space-travel, even if some technology made it possible to automatically always point toward Mecca, no matter where you were in space. It would be similar to the lunar calendar, for which Muslims are required to go by the sighting of the moon, rather than astronomical calculations.

So if a muslim country ever developed a space program, it'd probably all be done via sattellite or remote control.
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[Mackay]

What exactly is the story of Jesus in the Muslim faith? I know y'all see Him as a prophet, but could you explain exactly how that works?

You once told me that Mohammed was sinless, but that he made mistakes sometimes and was "corrected" by God. What were these mistakes?

[wordcross]

What exactly is the story of Jesus in the Muslim faith? I know y'all see Him as a prophet, but could you explain exactly how that works?
Jesus was born of a Virgin Mother, Mary (Maryam or Miriam in Arabic) and did indeed recieve revelation from God. We don't believe that he died on the cross, but that someone who looked like him was crucified, while instead Jesus was raised up to heaven. We do believe that Jesus will return and lead the Believers against the evil of the world and establish God's kingdom on earth.

Also, while we believe in the message brought by Jesus, we do not believe that the writings of the disciples were inspired by God, and therefore reject the Bible as the word of God.

You once told me that Mohammed was sinless, but that he made mistakes sometimes and was "corrected" by God. What were these mistakes?
All of the prophets were sinless, but none were infallible, as they were still human.

As for Muhammad specifically, there are few instances, and fewer important enough to document, but there are a few. I have one in mind, but I need to check on the story before I post it, because I don't want to get it wrong. I'll do that tonight, If I can (I'll also ask about the 72 virgins thing tonight, as well)
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[doormouse11]

[wordcross]

Islam seems to have a lot of rules. Will God forgive you if you break them occasionally?
There are three conditions which must be met to be eligible for forgiveness of a sin that affects only yourself.
1) Stop doing whatever action is sinful
2) Repent to God
3) Make the resolution not to do it again.
In addition, for sins that affect others, you must also ask forgiveness of them for sinning against them.

Also, there are many things a Muslim can do to expiate his sin, including saying extra prayer, giving generously in charity, doing extra fasting, etc. Making pilgrimage to Mecca, for instance, wipes away all sin one has ever done, up to that point.

It is also a saying of Muhammad that if you do a bad deed, follow it with a good deed to match the bad deed, in addition to being repentant.

Is God merciful towards people who don't understand/agree with Islam?
If one is ignorant of a rule of Islam, he is not held accountable for it, *but* a muslim is also required to learn as much of Islam as he can, so being ignorant for one's entire life if one made no attempt to learn about Islam is no excuse for sinning.

For those who "don't agree with" Islam, God has not said that he will be merciful toward them. You either accept Islam in its entirety, or you accept it not at all.
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[jadesmar]

[Samadhi]

Jesus didn't write that. Maybe one of the apostles slipped it in?

[Samadhi]

[jadesmar]

[wordcross]

[wordcross]

So if I lived in a suburb outside Mecca and took a bus in daily for a pilgrimage, I'd be pretty set then? Or is there more to the whole pilgrimage thing than that?
There's a great deal more. For one thing, Hajj, the prescribed pilgrimage, can only take place once a year, which is the end of the year on the Lunar Calendar. At any other time, it is called Umrah, and has most of the same rewards, but not all of them.

During a pilgrimage, one must circumambulate (walk around) the Ka'ba 7 times, walk between two mountains called As-Safa, and Al-Marwa, spend the night in the desert, throw stones at a pavilion, which represents the rejection of Satan (there's a story behind this), and also slaughter a goat/sheep/ram at the end. At the very beginning of the pilgrimage, men shave their heads and trim their fingernails, then don't for the rest of the time they are there. There is a strict dress code in which Men where white Toga-like clothing, and Women wear a two-piece outfit that can be any subdued pastel sort of color.

So yeah, if you live close by and can afford to make this pilgrimage all the time, and do it sincerely (otherwise it doesn't count), then yes, your sins would be washed away every time.

Then again, there are other easier ways to get rid of sin, so I doubt that anyone would do this more than once a year. (and I know people who do it almost yearly)
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[jadesmar]

wordcross: If I offended you by that comment, I am sorry. I was going for humour.

What is Jesus's message in the Qu'ran?