What I Like About Islam & Muslims!

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- J4m3z
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #90 - February 16, 2010, 05:28 PM

What about the story where Muhammad was pelted with stones by the community, and all he did was pray for God to forgive them. I liked that story.

There must be parts of Islam that you like... Islam isn't the product of Satan. Satan doesn't exist

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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #91 - February 16, 2010, 05:39 PM

Why would women like anything about a religion that is man-made? Bigoted, male-chauvinistic, sexist men I might add.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #92 - February 16, 2010, 05:43 PM

There must be something good about some world-view. If Muhammad managed to get absolutely everything wrong, then that would be miraculous.

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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #93 - February 16, 2010, 05:45 PM

Quote from: J4m3z on February 16, 2010, 05:43 PM
There must be something good about some world-view. If Muhammad managed to get absolutely everything wrong, then that would be miraculous.

I never said that. But again, why would women find something good in Islam? Is there anything they specifically can benefit from?

And we're steering off from the point of this thread btw.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #94 - February 16, 2010, 05:46 PM

I can add focus on family and respect for parents and elders.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #95 - February 16, 2010, 05:53 PM

Quote from: J4m3z on February 16, 2010, 05:28 PM
What about the story where Muhammad was pelted with stones by the community, and all he did was pray for God to forgive them. I liked that story.

There must be parts of Islam that you like... Islam isn't the product of Satan. Satan doesn't exist

I feel indifferent to this, one stupid is beaten by many others around 1400 years ago, nothing interesting, what would interest me if somehow Mohammad could compensate for the portion of my life which he has eaten away.

That would be healing for me, but it is not possible, and i'm biased against him so i don't like anything about him or his life.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #96 - February 16, 2010, 05:57 PM

Quote from: BlackDog on February 16, 2010, 05:45 PM
I never said that. But again, why would women find something good in Islam? Is there anything they specifically can benefit from?

And we're steering off from the point of this thread btw.

Dno not much i can think of really. I think there is a hadith that says 'paradise lies at the feet of your mother'. Gives praise to mothers. Women in Islam is basically the same as women in the Judaeo-Christo tradition but without the blame solely put on eve for sinning and slightly better inheritance rights.

"The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those which blissfully and unawaredly enslave themselves."
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #97 - February 16, 2010, 06:04 PM

Quote from: Heyjustlooking on February 16, 2010, 05:57 PM
Dno not much i can think of really. I think there is a hadith that says 'paradise lies at the feet of your mother'. Gives praise to mothers. Women in Islam is basically the same as women in the Judaeo-Christo tradition but without the blame solely put on eve for sinning and slightly better inheritance rights.

Hm, Mo was an orphan. Stress orphans in Quran.

Mo lost his mother, hadith paradise lies at the feet of your mother.

Islam does emphasize love of your mother though, more than your father in fact.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #98 - February 16, 2010, 10:30 PM

There ya go then.

The unlived life is not worth examining.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #99 - February 17, 2010, 10:56 AM

I'll add another vote for liking Surat Ar-Rahman. Also, the last few ayat of Surat al Baqara. Last year a cousin of mine married a Turk, and apparently one of their traditions is to get someone to recite those last ayat as the bride leaves her parents' house under the arm or her father. When one of the men attending started doing that it almost drove me to tears, even though I was quite advanced in my 'doubting religion' process at that time.

Emphasize on cleanliness is great too, even though not enough people around me seem to stick to it.

I don't know if it counts, but back when I was a believer I took a great comfort in the existence of God when I witnessed or thought about something really evil or vile going unpunished. I would tell myself "this is but the first life. God is just and that bastard will pay in the next."

He's no friend to the friendless
And he's the mother of grief
There's only sorrow for tomorrow
Surely life is too brief
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #100 - February 17, 2010, 11:58 AM

When I believed God existed I loved the total dedication to God.
I loved the closeness of people, but that I think was cultural rather than religious.

I can't really think of anything else positive so I will shut up now

I don't come here any more due to unfair moderation.
http://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=30785
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #101 - February 19, 2010, 10:25 AM

- the ideal of universal brotherhood
- physical demonstrativeness, Eid embrace etc (in theory)
- all believers have direct access to holy texts, the emphasis on literacy
- the attempts at being historically accurate and rating the likelihood of hadiths etc
- Mohd. married women who were not virgins
- marraige as a contract in which both parties can make stipulations
- divorce, remarraige for women, mehr
- no dietary snobbery (the anti-pork stipulation doesn't seem to be snobbery per se)
- no alcohol/sobriety
- depilation, male circumcision
- the effects of the prohibition on human imagery (visual art made out of language, sleekness of mosques, geometrical abstractions instead of tacky depictions of people)
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #102 - February 19, 2010, 12:08 PM

Quote
the ideal of universal brotherhood

I really hate to be a party pooper, but Islam does not teach universal brotherhood. It (supposedly) teaches 'brotherhood' between Muslims. But it does not teach that kuffar are the brothers of Muslims. So, that is not universal brotherhood.

I could take issue with most of the rest of what you wrote to be honest, but I don't want to bad-vibe the place, the first was just the most egregious that came to mind.

"we can smell traitors and country haters"

Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
God is Love.
Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #103 - February 19, 2010, 12:14 PM

Hi Bronze - are you Muslim?

@Billy I don't blame you for balking at that - why not start a thread about 'Brotherhood in Islam' and invite bronze to join you?
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #104 - February 19, 2010, 12:21 PM

Done, Hassan. Sorry to bring a negative vibe to this thread.

"we can smell traitors and country haters"

Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
God is Love.
Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #105 - February 19, 2010, 12:23 PM

I just noticed the "and Muslims" part of the title. Some X are nice, some X are shit heads; replace "X" with just about any ethnic group of your choice.

Islam pretty much has a set of standards, not all people agree on what those standards are but let's ignore that for a minute, but there is no "All Muslims" which anyone can comment on. The Muslims I like I happen to like because they are nice people, NOT because they are Muslims; the people I dislike I dislike because of what they are like and NOT because they are Muslims.

There is no "What I like about Muslims" because there is no typical Muslim.

I don't come here any more due to unfair moderation.
http://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=30785
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #106 - February 19, 2010, 12:24 PM

Quote from: billy on February 19, 2010, 12:08 PM
I could take issue with most of the rest of what you wrote to be honest, but I don't want to bad-vibe the place, the first was just the most egregious that came to mind.

Me too, but considering the opening statement about another thread being full of negativity I thought I'd resist

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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #107 - February 19, 2010, 12:58 PM

Quote from: Naerys
I don't know if it counts, but back when I was a believer I took a great comfort in the existence of God when I witnessed or thought about something really evil or vile going unpunished. I would tell myself "this is but the first life. God is just and that bastard will pay in the next."

When I was Muslim I tried to square this idea with my belief in reincarnation and karma by saying that 'Allah will mete out justice through good or bad karma and through the kind of life a soul will be reincarnated into' i.e., if you're a good person, your next life will be better than this one or maybe you won't even have to come back as a mortal and if you are bad, then you will probably end up spending your next incarnation dealing with lots of trials and tribualations.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

The sleeper has awakened - Dune

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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #108 - February 19, 2010, 01:10 PM

"Karma"

My idea of Karma was a simple one of probability. If you start acting like an ass then there are more assholes in the world, increasing the probability that you will be affected by an asshole. From a reincarnation point of view, if you teach your kids by example to be assholes you might get to experience that when you are reborn as your own descendant.

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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #109 - February 19, 2010, 01:30 PM

I know what "Islam teaches" about the dirty kufar, but I also know that Muslims embraced (literally) non-Muslims who were otherwise ostracized. I can't seem to find the Kancha Ilaiah quote about this but when I was looking for it just now, I found this (I can't post links but you can google for the interview):

>>>I, for one, am all for Muslims to take to missionary work among the Dalit-Bahujans in a major way. In that way, they would revive the tradition of the Sufis of the past, who reached out to the oppressed caste victims of Hinduism, and won their hearts and their allegiance with their love and message of equality and liberated them. Islam became attractive to the labouring castes of India when the Sufis went and lived among them, ate with them, spoke their languages. They invited them inside their mosques and Sufi hospices, and allowed them to touch the Quran. Imagine what a revolution this was for the oppressed castes, who were forbidden by the Brahmins, on pain of death, from entering temples, forbidden even from so much as listening to, leave alone touching, the Vedas! Only when that evangelical spirit of the past is revived can the critical ideas of the sort that I am seeking to advance on issues related to caste and Brahminism win serious attention in Muslim circles.<<<<

I understand why a secular, progressive, non-Muslim intellectual like Kancha Ilaiah said this, and that reason is the #1 thing I like about Islam and Muslims.

@Hassan, you are so eager to put ID tags on people. I picture you holding a set that says "Muslim", "Zionist", "Christian missionary", "rightwing neo-con" etc etc and trying to see which one you should hand out to someone new.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #110 - February 19, 2010, 01:41 PM

OK I found the Kancha Ilaiah quote --

>>>>Then, Islam champions social equality, and there is a total absence of the feeling of untouchability. Take a very simple thing—the Hindu namaste, folding your hands to greet someone—is a very powerful symbolic statement. It suggests that I recognise you but you should not touch me. In contrast, the custom that the Christians introduced of shaking of hands is a touching relationship, while the Muslims go even further and physically embrace you. Even today in the villages the Muslims are the only people who actually physically embrace the Dalit-Bahujans. Of course, the Brahmins and Banias don’t let them do that to them, but that’s a different matter. You must remember that the human embrace is itself a very liberating symbolic act for the Dalit-Bahujan victims of Brahminism.

There’s a lot else that Dalit-Bahujans share with Muslims. Scores of Dalit-Bahujans continue to participate in the Muharram rituals and visit Sufi dargahs. Further, in the productive process the bulk of the Muslims find themselves in the same position as most Dalit-Bahujans, as peasants, agricultural labourers, as cobblers, weavers and so on, and in that capacity they share a common culture. <<<<
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #111 - February 19, 2010, 01:47 PM

Bronze, I started a thread in response to your list of wonderful things about Islam

http://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=8799.msg220395#msg220395

"we can smell traitors and country haters"

Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
God is Love.
Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.
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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #112 - February 19, 2010, 01:53 PM

Quote from: bronze on February 19, 2010, 01:30 PM
They invited them inside their mosques and Sufi hospices, and allowed them to touch the Quran. Imagine what a revolution this was for the oppressed castes, who were forbidden by the Brahmins, on pain of death, from entering temples, forbidden even from so much as listening to, leave alone touching, the Vedas!

Yes, they were treated with basic human decency, something their current religion prevented them from having. However, if once "the truth" had been revealed to them they decided it was not true then what? They become the lowly Kuffar, paying the Jizya and giving up their seats for Muslims. All they were offered was the chance of becoming a member of a group similar to those they despised.

Good old religion.

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Re: What I Love About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #113 - February 19, 2010, 02:36 PM

The other quotation discusses the experiences of some "lowly Kuffar". I don't know anything about historical communities that de-converted, though reading Susan Bayly, the boundaries between religious identities were pretty porous. AFAIK the Meenakshipuram converts de-converted and nothing terrible happened to them.
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Re: What I Like About Islam & Muslims!
Reply #114 - January 03, 2012, 10:02 PM

From around 1:00 to 1:33.

It's a shame Islam had more to it than that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucx41BqIH2c&feature=related
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