Same as before: Please ask any questions you'd like 

Hey Guys and Gals,
I've been thinking of making a thread with questions and answer to anything related to Islam. It seems like after 9/11 there has been a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about islam and hopefully this will help alleviate some of that. So ask away...i'll try my best to answer

Some people have a misconception that there is a difference between muslim and islam. 

It is my understanding that a muslim is someone who worships the Islamic religion.  If I am wrong, then I have been wrong for 13 years or so. 

Clear that up, and we'll go from there.  Thanks!

Hey Jake,
Hehe....you are correct. Islam is the name of the religion and a muslim is one who is part of that religion. Islam is to Christianity as a muslim is to a Christian 

Muslims and Jesus are homeboys, but Jesus isnt Islams number one HOME BOY?

Why doesn't the Islamic community take actions to seriously denounce terrorism associated with their religion?

If i was associated with a bunch of people who were doing terrible things, i would be ashamed and single them out and not simply keep on shoving it off and saying "oh well, its just a few extremists".

That is a damn good question, Mike_mike. 

Ok I have a some real questions about Islam.  I am not joking here I really want to know.  Since I dont have a copy of the Koran(sp?),  what are the pretenses that justify a jihad and is treating women as 2nd class citizens something koran based or doesn it have more cultural implications??

Ajgs500

+1

Sorry, I'm not a neutral party anymore.

Very Valid Question Mike_Mike:
Let me give some background info on this...it might help.

The people who were responsible for September 11 were well known wahhabis. The whole phenomena of wahhabiism started about 150 years ago in the 1850's right as the Ottoman Empire was starting to break apart. The wahhabis were funded by the british empire at that time to take over the area of Saudi Arabia; this was a move to weaken the ottoman empire which was a rival to the british empires power. The Wahhabis took over Arabia once, they were driven out by the ottomans but a few years later they regrouped and took over Arabia for good.

During the takeover they stormed Makkeh (Islam's holiest city) and slaughtered a good number of people. Then they began to demolish shrines and Islamic holy places. After that they began a systemic program of assassinating anyone they deemed a threat. They have been ruling in this way till now. Killings, beatings, and torture has become a way of life in Saudi Arabia. Even today the US continues to support Saudi Arabia and has military inside the country to protect it. The reason they do this is because of oil (I believe). Most of the hijackers were in fact Saudis of wahhabi persuasion from what I have read.

The next big wahhabi group that popped up was the Taliban. These were pretty much of the same cloth as the Saudis. They believe in a very strict, very literal interpretation of Islam (If you wish to call what they practice Islam). Anyways they've been killing and destroying for the last 20 years as well. Massacres have been ongoing and there has been so much it's really gotten to be normal news for muslims. Even worse the average muslim knows that the Taliban was set up, funded, and even trained by the CIA to fight against the soviets. So in reality most muslims see the wahhabis/taliban as a British/US funded, trained, and supported group that is hell-bent of killing normal muslims and destroying any historical/religious monuments they can find.

Most muslims are angry that one, the British funded these fools to begin with and two the US has been supporting them to this date. The real reason is of course political power and money; nobody actually cares about religion. They were funded initially to destroy the Ottoman empire and consolidate British power and today they are a tool which the US used to fight against the Soviets and consolidate OIL power. The real question: is it necessary to really dissociate yourself from a group who has been slaughtering your people for almost a century and a half? Is that really necessary when you've done nothing to be associated with this group?

Ok I have a some real questions about Islam.  I am not joking here I really want to know.  Since I dont have a copy of the Koran(sp?),  what are the pretenses that justify a jihad and is treating women as 2nd class citizens something koran based or doesn it have more cultural implications??

This was a question asked by Wild Blue on Heaven and Hell

First off let me give a brief intro and then I'll answer the question. Islam believes in a succession of messengers from the earliest time of man till now. We believe that as mankind grew more advanced in logic and thinking a more advanced form of religion was needed. And so god would send a new message along with a new messenger. To date there have been 124,000 prophets. Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Buddha, Jonas, John the Baptist...etc Some were major messengers whose message spread to continents and others were smaller whose message perhaps reached a small city.

So as people grew in their understanding of the world and they began to comprehend things better a new message would be sent to complement the previous one. Not only as a complement but usually the previous message would be weakened because of changes in the text and practices. So each religion would strengthen the last and build upon its foundations.

Now with this in mind what does Islam believe about the fate of the people of different religions? Here is a verse from the Quran written 1400 years ago:

5:69 Those who believe (Muslims), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day (Day of Judgement), and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Based on this verse anyone who believes in God and practices good deeds will most probably have a good end. Just believing is not enough and it must be coupled with action. Any good they do they will get rewarded for. Of course Muslims believe that there is a short way to get somewhere and a long way. The short way is naturally best . But if someone doesn't know and say they choose the longer way then they will still reach the correct destination. Naturally a just god would reward them for reaching the correct destination; he wouldn't punish them just because they failed to take a specific life route.

If anyone else has any questions please do tell  Cool Thumbsup

Ok I have a some real questions about Islam.  I am not joking here I really want to know.  Since I dont have a copy of the Koran(sp?),  what are the pretenses that justify a jihad and is treating women as 2nd class citizens something koran based or doesn it have more cultural implications??

*Trumpet noises* I think AJ has a question. *more lous obnoxious noises*

Yes. Go ahead Banner...you posted this thread as a place to ask questions. You seem to have some answers to give. I'm curious as to what the answer is myself. Lets not ignore the questions you asked for...

I'll in with what I know/have learned, but I can't claim it's 100%.  The treatment of women in Muslim society seems to be based a complex blend of both society and the Qur'an.  There's arguments on both sides, and there appears to even be considerable disagreement within Muslim society itself.  Many verses in the Qur'an state that men an women are "equal before God" or "equal as believers".  But other passages of the Qur'an clearly set up differences between men and women.  For example:

Quote"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all)." Qur'an 4:34

This is one of the most controversial verses i nthe Qur'an, and comes across pretty clearly as treating women, like AJ said, as second class citizens.  But I think it's important to point out that this is an attitude that's also reflected in the Bible.

Another interesting point, and an important one, I feel, is that many scholars argue that at the time, the treatment of women in Arabia was abysmal, and Islam actually did a lot to liberate women.  However, gender equality has obviously come a long way since the 7th century, and many argue that Islam has pointedly failed to keep up.

Although I appreciate your response, aaronstj, I still would like banner to answer my questions. 

To expand on banner's answer to Mike_mike, it's important to realize that Muslim groups who have spoken against terrorism have tended to recieve little attention from mainstream US media. The strongest Muslim groups in North America have all issues repudiations of terrorism, as have the Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the center of Islamic learning in the world. In addition, a number of influential Muslim scholars and leaders have repudiated terrorism (some under international pressure, but others more freely). I've got a list at the end of one of my old books, I'll look it up later. You may have noticed that this hasn't seemed to stop anyone. Islam, much like Christianity, can interpreted in so many ways that it is used to justify terrorism regardless of what the major leaders may say.


As for Aj's question, I can't do it proper justice now since I need to make dinner and its a very complex problem. The society Islam replaced in Arabia was strongly paternalistic and Islam itself was incredibly uplifting to women at the time. It was, of course, nothing near the (near) equality that women in America enjoy today, but it was a large step forward. The precedent that Muhammad set has since been viewed differently as various people have seen fit, and unsurprisingly some men have sought justification in the Qur'an for keeping women in an inferior position. The hijab (headscarf) is often seen as a symbol of male oppression by people in the west, but in the early years of Islam only Muhammad's wives wore headscarves. Since then it has been various interpreted as a mandate to all women, and by women themselves as a resistance to secular culture. It is only one facet of the oppression of women under many Islamic societies, but it illustrates the complexity in dealing with such questions. I don't want to come off an apologist for Islam because it certainly has many issues to address, but I do like to help people understand that Islamic societies, like all societies, encompass a variety of opinions which aren't always well represented. Anyway I'll let banner handle the rest.

BTW banner, what's your background in Islamic issues?

Thanks for your response Unnamed!  Still waiting on Banners.

its a complex issue AJ...give banner time...

Ok, Pablo.  I thought he wasnt answering my question because I am a hate mongering racist.