First off all to the handfull of people who judge me for allegedly believing that all non-muslims will go to hell; I don't believe that either. I believe every person will be tested and every person will be judged according to his actions and every action will be judged according to its intention.
Hi Princespinoza, yeah it's kinda sad, because I realize there's people here who want to start an honest genuine conversation, but it just gets buried in all the attacks and rants.
To the point, I believe it's fair infants get a free pass because nobody deserves heaven eitherway, but instead some are granted it by Allah's mercy. As for the "he might grow up to be a bad person" that's pure speculation. I don't believe he would, otherwise Allah would have lenghthened his stay.
Is disbelieve a sin? Depends on the meaning of disbelieve. The Arabic Kafir means somebody who covers up the truth, so a person who considers Islam is true, but yet does not follow it and rejects it for other reasons. So that's a very specific type of disbeliever.
Hi sojournerlumusIt's difficult to reply in short to your question, and I don't want to copy paste pages of information here. But in short I think things like common descent are neither logical nor scientific. If you really want to know the finer details of my viewpoints, I dedicated a page of my website to the issue of evolution (link in my profile and signature)
I'm not aware of any scientific errors in Islam, I do know that Harun yahya claimed there were allot of miracles in the Qur'an. But those miracles don't follow the rules of tefsir and are from an Islamic point of view already controversial, not to mention from a scientific point of view.
Hi HomerSo your question is, you've found things to be the opposite as I see them, and you want me to elaborate why that is so?
Hi abzYou speak as if people should only accept something if it is verified with the scientific method. I think that's rather shortsighted. Science is simply to limited to apply in some fields. Obviously I didn't verify my faith with the scientific method. Thats why my replies was that I believed in the usefullness of the scientiifc method, but at the same time think that it's scope is limited so we shouldn't stop there and be open to other methods as wel, and we should allow our minds to form opinions based on other methods as welll (such as philosophy, logic, plausibility, personal experiences and so on).
Hi Jinn and tonic,I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I don't know to what amount it contributed to you leaving Islam. And I certainly wouldn't wish to tear open old wounds. I'll just try and remember the sensitivity if we were to talk in the future. Also, I fail to understand what that post you made about Ahmad Kutty has to do with me.
hi Blackdog,You asked me to tell you the logic in about 10 or so things. If I were to reply to every single of your demands, the post would be at least triple the lenght of what it is becoming now. If you already have your mind made about about what's logical and what's not, then fine, have it your way. I didn't come here to debate these issues which you can find tons of information on teh web eitherway.
As for my connection with that other forum, I'm not "harbouring" fatwa's on that site and speak against some of them. As I said to Jinn and tonic, scroll down to the 24th post of that thread and you'll see I did commented on it and voiced my opinions against it.
Hi Hassan, Yes I believe divine punishment is just. and I believe so based on my faith that God is the most just. Circular you say? Yes of course! But so is your opinion. You believe God is unjust because of hell, and you don't believe hell is just because you don't believe God is just. And all the rest about logic and ration is red herring. This is way beyond the scope of logic and ration.
Hi ras111,Yes I believe there's a biological difference between men and woman, not just when it comes to sexual organs, but also when it comes to characteristics, capabilities, strong points and weak points. I don't think one is inferior or superior to the other, but I do think both are different.
Secondly, I also believe that in a relationship there's always one person who'll naturally take the lead. A relationship of peers with equal say to me seems practically impossible.
So putting those two together, I do think it's logical for God to appoint one as leader over the other in a relationship based on these characteristics. And no I don't think that implies one is inferior or superior, and no I don't think that this viewpoint should be offensive.
As for your question as to how I know if these are the orthodox view and not just wishful thinking. On each controversial issue, I always tend to look at what different people are saying, and look at the strength of their sources. and for almost everything I discussed here I have found scholars who were able to convince me with strong arguments .
Iraqi atheistIn reply to your many questions; In my view of an ideal islamic state religion should be free (so no killing of apostates and no hindering the act of apostacy)
Alcohol would not be allowed. I don't see anything immoral with a state forbidding the use of certain substances. Almost all western countries forbid most types of other drugs as well. I don't understand how alcohol is any different as it can be debated that it's definitely harmful and causes allot of problems. As for your other two questions I don't know, I haven't read enough on the subject to form a strong opinion.
Hi olweaselI think can be simultaneous strong and logical, in fact I think those two reinforce each other. My comments on evolution, were coming from my personal views which you can find in detail on my website on the evolution-page, but which I don't want to copy paste here in this thread.
That amounts to claiming that god is above reason and morality, essentially begging the question.
What you did here doesn't validate god, but it invalidates the supremacy of reason.
I'm very well aware that my viewpoints are circular and faith-based here on this issue. I never intended to deny that. It also wasn't my intention to "validate" God. Just to explain my viewpoints as Hassan asked about them.
And I disagree, I don't think Hassan was arguing from a logicians point of view, neither do I think you can just claim this view to be moral objectivism. There's a difference between arguing in favor of a view, and then proceeding by establishing it as universal. And what you're doing, labeling it as universal and expecting me to accept it axiomatically. But who gets to decide what's universal? I certainly don't think your viewpoint is the moral one. If you fail to bring arguments to show that, you cannot claim rational high-ground just by throwing in a label.
As for your other two questions,yes I do believe in the existence of djinns and that the majority of them are out to misguide us.
Topic: convinced rational muslim