Ask a Muslim anything

[Leumas]

I have no idea how Muslims handle the issue[of hell], if it is one?

Oh it is an issue believe you me..... about 50% of the quran is nothing but THREATS of HELL for the unbelievers and Promises of heaven for the Believers.

Another 45% is stories about the Hebrew (Beni Israel the chosen people) stories which are EXACTLY the same as in the Bible. Where there are some discrepancies they are to avoid making God so pedestrian and earthly as he is in the bible. The quran tends to make it mostly ANGELS that do things on earth and interact with people rather than God himself.

The other 5% is a few laws and legislations and dietary prohibitions (similar to Kosher but less strenuous) and the commandments are strewn all over the place (quite a bit less than 613).

Incidentally....there are quite a lot things in the quran that are from the MISHNAH or Talmud and that are not in the OT proper.

As far as the Arabic pagan stuff.... I did not detect any...but that is because I am not quite familiar with those aspects of Arabic culture. But I THINK that whatever paganism may appear to be Arabic may in fact be Babylonian or Persian and thus may in fact have crept into the Quran through the Judaism influence rather than through the Arabic..... Muhammad was pretty much very opposed to paganism..... in the Quran it says that the ONLY THING Allah would NEVER forgive is for people to worship other gods.

But I guess just as Christianity had to ABSORB some pagan habits....he may have had to too.... it would have been only prudent to have done so.

 

[DC]

Although he seemed like a nice guy...he was a little lacking on critical thinking as far as religion is concerned.
His apologetics and evasive tactics were pretty much STANDARD FAIR.

What puzzles me is .... if he is capable of rationalizing islam with such faulty reasoning....why could he not do it for christianity.... it is not really that different....and would have been easier due to childhood indoctrination.

This point really fascinates me. He could have just as easily kept to the same faulty reasoning and rationalization and stayed christian.

His claim to "science" stuff in the quran is pretty easily satisfied by the same warping of the Bible.... it is not as if it has not been done. In fact there is a lot more of it going on.

I am quite intrigued by his MINDSET.


Another fascinating thing he said.... "it is easy to be an atheist all you have to do is not believe".


Now that is a NOVEL thought....... he is right....BUT… would a person who just stops believing for no rational or reasoned out causes be really an Atheist? Technically he would!

It makes me reconsider the notion that we really need a different delineation than Atheist....we need one for people who use REASON to reject all religions and gods than just not wanting to believe in one?

What do you think?

oh really?

what i liked about him, he came here to let us ask things, and not like many others believers, to point out how wrong we are in not believing and how all of their religion is the total trueth.

 

[MRC_Hans]

Has he left? Pity, but understandable. Even without the nasties, the sheer weight of qualified questions can be hard to bear. Few religious convictions, if any, can bear a torrent of rationalization.

It was interesting to hear his views, unfortunately, he could tell very little about many of the pertinent questions about Islam, since he rejected many of the notions commonly attributed to Moslem. It would be interesting to know how representative he is for the modern Moslem. If he is, some people need to revise their views on the religion.

Hans

 

[DallasDad]

Where's Jinn?

Fell into a glass of tonic.

 

[I Ratant]

I got the impression that Jinn wants to believe in something above human.
An exposure to why Islam doesn't provide that can't hurt.
And also mentioning the shortfalls in all the other religions.
I'm talking to a lapsed JW, with lots of questions about her family's faith.
Looking into JWness, I see a faith for people who need to be told what to believe. Like LDS.
The thinking has done for them.
But woe if they do exercise their capacity to doubt.
Gets them tossed from the comfort of like-believers, into the darkness of we're on our own, and are directly responsible for what we do.
No sky daddy to appeal to or blame.
Just ourselves.
Too many people can't handle that.

 

[MickinEngland]

..All questions fielded will be answered..

Hi mate, the core principles of Christianity as stated by Jesus are-

Love one another, feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the destitute, tend the sick, visit the prisoners, look after the poor,

so I'd like to ask you in what ways did Islam improve on that when it arrived centuries later?

 

[Pardalis]

i hope Jinn comes back some time. But reading the thread i must say, i would not come back here. It must be like swimming in a piranhia aquarium.

It's probably due to an overload of questions.

 

[Pardalis]

Second, 21:30 states that all things were made from water, which from the first cell to today's creatures, is true.

Life forms are not made from water, and they're not made from clay either.

Third, 30:1 states that God increases/adds to the creation as He wills.

Which negates the principle of natural selection, which is all about random mutation and selective pressure, there is no "will" involved.

This is indeed a broad statement, but can mean literally anything from increase in population or an increase in complexity.

So you can make it mean anything you want.

Fourth, let's turn to the creation as described in the Qur'an. 23:12 decribes mankind being created from a quintessence, or extract of earth and water, interestingly enough, all the base minerals required for humans to survive are from the earth.

Not very difficult to see, it doesn't take a genius to see that people and living beings need water and nutrients to survive.

In 2:30, God declares that mankind will be placed as a successor on the earth. The word "khalifah" translated into "successor" literally translates into "one who replaces someone else who left or died and assumes their responsibilities." If Adam is the first man, who is the predecessor?

Well Adam isn't the first man because there was no Adam, so there you go. You can't believe in Adam and evolution at the same time. Pick one.

There is no contradiction with accepting both evolution and the Qur'an.

Alot of Muslims disagree with you. In Britain a teacher was reprimanded by his community for teaching evolution.

And what about this Muslim school?


The science teacher seems clueless about evolution, maybe she didn't read the Qur'an right?

Western scientists were well aware of this at the time and called it "The Mohammedan theory of evolution of man from lower forms"

And what mechanism did this theory propose to explain the complexity of life?

So as far as I'm concerned, Darwin's theory wasn't anything new, it was just the one that popularized it.

He didn't just popularize it, he proposed a mechanism to explain evolution, and that mechanism works, and that's why it became popular. Theories that work tend to do that, probably why the "Mohammedan theory of evolution of man from lower forms" never took hold, it didn't propose anything concrete.

And please don't say "peace" if you respond to me, I find it annoying. It is a given that people here have peaceful intentions, you don't need to repeat it at every post.

 

[RossFW]

Ask a Muslim anything

...And if it challenges his beliefs, he'll p1ss off never to be seen again.....

 

[Lowpro]

Hello Jinn,

On the first page you were asked if you consider the Qur'an a source of scientific knowledge, to which you answered:



I'm having trouble reconciling this with your testimony that the alleged "pulsar verse" is what led you to accept Islam as true. Further down the thread you were asked how you would react to a seeming contradiction between a hypothetical scientific verse and observed reality, and you essentially rehashed the original post I quoted.

So which is it? Is the Qur'an a source for scientific knowledge or isn't it? Would you say that the Qur'an is a source for scientific knowledge when it appears to agree with reality but is "just a book of signs" when it doesn't?





EDIT: I see that others have repeatedly brought this up with Jinn already and he has ignored such questions, so never mind.

I had issues with the statement too so I stopped bothering to ask anymore questions =\ I've heard it all before and it doesn't hold water. Faith is faith, doesn't give it validity unless you bring something stronger to the argument.

 

[Kopji]

Although he seemed like a nice guy...he was a little lacking on critical thinking as far as religion is concerned.

His apologetics and evasive tactics were pretty much STANDARD FAIR.

We sometimes feel stronger or more knowledgeable than we are?

What puzzles me is .... if he is capable of rationalizing islam with such faulty reasoning....why could he not do it for christianity.... it is not really that different....and would have been easier due to childhood indoctrination.

This point really fascinates me. He could have just as easily kept to the same faulty reasoning and rationalization and stayed christian.

This is why I so easily compare Mormonism and Islam. (The justification for the Book of Mormon is actually kind of logically silly.) "Additional proof" that Christ came not in a metaphorical or symbolic way, but literally descending from the sky in great glory. People want to believe that the God of old is still around and doing his thing. There is a major schism in Islam between Sunni and ***** - on to the Bahai's... and there was a similar schism in Mormonism and for many of the same reasons.

It seems like there is some kind of meta-idea in there somewhere that is attractive.

His claim to "science" stuff in the quran is pretty easily satisfied by the same warping of the Bible.... it is not as if it has not been done. In fact there is a lot more of it going on.

Maybe its that science is not so much about facts, but about a process of thinking.

I am quite intrigued by his MINDSET.

I understand it really well...

Another fascinating thing he said.... "it is easy to be an atheist all you have to do is not believe".

An example that sciencey things have a 'just so' nature rather than science being a way of thinking about things.

Now that is a NOVEL thought....... he is right....BUT… would a person who just stops believing for no rational or reasoned out causes be really an Atheist? Technically he would!

Technically I am. I find that I'm very comfortable with my atheism being both reason and a matter of honor. I reject the god described by religions because it is not only rational, it is honorable. Honor is an emotion. Unlike some who only use reason though, I can say there is no god. Maybe I am a super atheist.

It makes me reconsider the notion that we really need a different delineation than Atheist....we need one for people who use REASON to reject all religions and gods than just not wanting to believe in one?

What do you think?

Lesser Atheist.

 

[Toontown]

Well, my days of asking Muslims anything are over. I've tried it several times, invariably with annoying and counterinformative results.

 

[devnull]

Well, my days of asking Muslims anything are over. I've tried it several times, invariably with annoying and counterinformative results.

Its pointless, because Islam has no central authority.

If youd asked the same questions to a muslim colleague of mine you probably would have gotten completely different answers.

 

[Leumas]

I am quite intrigued by his MINDSET.

I understand it really well...

Do you mind expounding a little on it then.?

Why would he be so irrationally supportive of a religion that is not his inculcating one when he could have used just as much and similar irrationality to stay with his original religion with the added advantage of much less struggle?

The apologetics he is using to justify islam in his mind are the exact same ones he could have used to stay in christianity…..so what mindset results in one being critical enough to reject the religion that he has been indoctrinated in from youth requiring such an amazing will power and courage, only to turn around and adopt a belief system that is just as faulty, without any critical examination and with irrational apologetics to justify it?

 

[Jim_MDP]

Rebellious youth? Striking out for something more comfortable or just new?

You've asked this three or four times now... what do YOU think?

 

[Leumas]

Hi mate, the core principles of Christianity as stated by Jesus are-

Love one another, feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the destitute, tend the sick, visit the prisoners, look after the poor,

so I'd like to ask you in what ways did Islam improve on that when it arrived centuries later?

It did not IMPROVE on them.....just actually made them applicable AGAIN after Christianity has forgotten them and has become nothing but OPULENT churches and SYCOPHANTIC priests who pursued power and ostentatious luxuries while the people were being maintained as MISERABLE SERFS just barely subsisting after they have given most of the fruits of their labors to the CROWNED ROBBERS in taxes and the HOLY PARASITES in tithes.

One of the reasons Islam spread like a brush fire throughout Eurasia and North Africa and the Middle East (all christian territory until then) is because of the people being UTTERLY fed up, weakened, pacified and accustomed to OBEYING and did not care who they obeyed.

Christianity was an AIDS virus infesting Christendom and Islam was an opportunistic virus that invaded and found little resistance.

But in fact Islam was a VERY LUCKY thing….they were the reason that eventually the RENAISSANCE could actually take place….thanks to their science and their CUSTODIANSHIP of old science and preserving it from UTTER extirpation by a rampant and uncurbed benighted and corrupt Christianity.

 

[Jim_MDP]

Alot of Muslims disagree with you. In Britain a teacher was reprimanded by his community for teaching evolution.

And what about this Muslim school?


The science teacher seems clueless about evolution, maybe she didn't read the Qur'an right?

I found this to be horrific. And that's not easy.

Not that the students all agreed with the faith based answers, but that this is veiled as a complete education in the UK school system.

The one girl who aspires to be a doctor (I guess the class Dawkins interviewed were about 14 or 15 year olds)... her professional life outside of menial work in the Muslim community is over.

 

[Leumas]

Rebellious youth? Striking out for something more comfortable or just new?

You've asked this three or four times now... what do YOU think?

Yes that is one possibility.

I only asked once....then Kopji said he understood it well...so I asked him to expound.

Your idea is a good one.

What do I think? I am not sure...it depends on if he IS in fact a youth....if he is then I agree with you...if not then ????

 

[Jim_MDP]

I won't check atm, but I think he said he's 24 or 25.

 

[Jim_MDP]

Why would he be so irrationally supportive of a religion that is not his inculcating one when he could have used just as much and similar irrationality to stay with his original religion with the added advantage of much less struggle?

The apologetics he is using to justify islam in his mind are the exact same ones he could have used to stay in christianity…..so what mindset results one to be critical enough to reject the religion that he has been indoctrinated in from youth requiring such an amazing will power and courage, only to turn around and adopt a belief system that is just as faulty, without any critical examination and with irrational apologetics to justify it?

Sorry I wasn't clear, this is what no one had responded to after several repeats... though I can see it as rhetoric. But what the hell... I took a shot at it.