Gardener said:
Belief systems are a choice. Trouble begins when people treat belief systems as if they did not involve choice, and live in a world of absolutes.
Intrinsic to any belief system is a sense of chauvenism. This chauvenism derives from the sense of rightness we all attach to our beliefs and is a product of our defense mechanisms. It is the chauvenism that leads to the intolerance.
I absolutely agree with you
The question I would ask is why, if at all, Islam produces more than its share of those who treat their religion in terms of absolutes and for whom the magnitude of their chauvenism is so great
That is not true, i said it before there are 1,300,000,000 Muslims around the worlds and the majority disapprove the violence taking place. There are plenty of great muslim examples around the world butunfortunately the voice of violence is being louder because of all the media.
I agree that the cartoons were offensive, but they pale in comparison to the revolting anti Jewish blood libels appearing regularly in various Islamic countries. If one is to respect religion, then let's lead by example. If people only want their own religion respected while offering no respect towards others, they are acting in an extremely chauvenistic manner.
Actually its anti-Israilis my friend people are relating jews & Israil and considering them as the two faces of one coin. its not the religion, it is Israil.
Since religion is a choice, Muslims are as free as Christian or Jewish people (or any other religion) to choose which aspects of their religion they with to follow. There are aspects to all that are troublesome and problemantic to the other, and if people choose to hone in on these aspects of their religion, they do so by choice. The very first book of the Christian New testament contains the sermon on the mount, yet some Christians ignore that while focusing on aspects oft he religion that support their intolerant attitudes towards others. In Islam, the notion of Dhimmi is troublesome to me as are some of the direct references to other religions as well as the practice of al takeyya, yet there are also some wonderful passages in the Q'ran as well.
My question I would ask Muslims is this: Which aspects of Islam do you follow and which do you not? What aspects do you feel obliged to explain away and which do you admit can be troublesome for others? To what degree do you view your religion as absolute?
We Muslims do not have the option of following some of Islam and rejecting other aspects. actually a denial of part of Islam is a denial of it as whole ( even a denial of Moses or Jesus is a denial to Islam) We believe in Islam as a way of life .. for example, when a company develops a certain product, they issue the related handbook for it .. Same thing is applicable to Islam we believe that every single thing mentioned in holy Quran & Sunnah is our handbook because God who created us,and if we follow it properly we will be the same nation as his nation, prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and it was an amazing example of true muslims.
I believe that "Jihad" concept is misinterpreted among radical muslims & non muslims..
Jihad doesn't mean go through war for the sake of enforcing Islam, Jihad takes place on two level:
-self jihad: meaning fighting your self in order not to do the things that god forbid us to do such as drinking, Adultery, lying,...etc. Also self Jihad means spending your soul for the sake of god when Islam or Muslims are in danger (attacked) and you will be rewarded in Heaven. Moreover fighting satan who tries to drive you away from your religion is a sort of Jihad.
- Wealth Jihad: spending your money ( even if you are not that wealthy) to help the poor ( muslims & non muslims) and other nations when they are in need . also spend your money to help Muslims Army when they are going through war.
Bottom line is Jihad is not just fighting the enemy in War, Jihad can be fighting for morals, fighting to survive, fighting to be a good example, fighting an illness, fighting to raise your kids in a difficult world
Jihad concept now turned into a frightening concept to many people.
Islam drew every line to left us up as a nation we muslims believe that every aspect in Islam is there for a reason.
As for notion of Dhimmi, tell me exactly how do you interpret it so i can explain it further to you.
Practices of Takiyya is only allowed in Islam in the cases of Fear or threat. Fear or threat if you will be in danger for your religion. for example you were getting tortured to convert to some other religion & there is no way out ..
it can also be used in situations to patch things up between 2 parties during a conflict like a husband & his wife, or two families .. its for a good cause if it will bring a peace of mind to the 2 parties or even to the world.
I think if there is to be any real peace between people holding different religious views, they ALL must be willing to engage in a little bit of self examination as well as honest criticism of their own religion to the degree they find the good stuff. Otherwise, these belief ststems will only lead to violence by those who use their religion to exclude others instead of looking for the commonality.
I 100% agree with you
