[thechat] Religion - a way of life (was: what the...)

[Syed Zeeshan Haider]

From: "Madhu Menon"

> First, I changed the subject line because I didn't find it particularly
> well-suited.

Agreed!

> See, that's my grouse. I can appreciate that at their core, most religions
> seem to preach the same message of love, non-violence, peace, morals, etc.
> And if that were indeed the case, we might be much better off today.

Islam is much more broader than your imagination. I invite you to the world of
Islamic studies. But I'll be helpful much more in May 2003. I am too much busy
these days.

Your mail needs a REALLY DETAILED response but I'll keep it short.

> 1) When you try and make rules for *everything*, you cut out any
> possibility of individual choice in their lives. We're all unique people,
> and drafting rules for millions of people to follow down to the last detail
> is too restrictive. Why on earth should a religion be concerned with taxes
> for instance? Surely your belief in God isn't affected in the least by how
> much tax you pay.

Islam stresses that all Islamic rules are made by Allah. Muhammad is just a
messenger of God. Muhammad has powers to be the messenger of Allah, therefore,
he is.
Islam has rules for everything and everybody for every situation.

> 2) Most holy books (not just the Quran) were written many centuries ago. It
> reflects societal norms at that time. The Quran was written in the 7th
> century. 14 centuries have passed since then.

Have you ever studied Quran? If you ant to study it then get Microsoft Reader
from http://www.microsoft.com/reader and then tell me. I'll send you complete
English translation of Quran in Microsoft Reader eBook format.

> ...this I'm definitely not OK with. I don't want it forced on me either.
> You believe what you want; let me believe what I want.

No, you'll not be forced. A path will be shown to you. It's up to you if you
choose to walk on it or not. If Allah had to force His religion Islam, He could
convert all humans to Muslims at once. Study Quran, specially second surrah
which is called Al-Baqara (The Cow) and third surrah Aal-Imran (Family of
Imran).
When you convert to Islam, you choose to be forced to do what Islam says.

> What if the [holy book] said that you should get crucified if you have sex
> before marriage?

There is a bit difference between "sex before marriage" and "sex out of
marriage". I have already stated earlier, the Islamic laws about both
situations.

> How about "we are all human beings and we should treat each other as such"
> instead? You don't need religion for ethics and morality.

Yes, sure! Attack on Iraq and any aggression against any other country is
MORALLY RIGHT for Rumsy, Dicky and Bushy.

> If God approved
> of murdering innocents, would you then do it? No, your own internal sense
> of right and wrong tells you not to.

You can easily find people who believe on no religion but think the murders of a
particular group morally right. Allah, who has created humans, has given them
the sense of right and wrong. How can He approve the murders of innocents?

> (Incidentally, there are enough
> instances in the Bible where God does precisely that. Killing all
> first-born in Egypt, for example. But I digress... this doesn't need to be
> a "what the book says" argument.)

I haven't studied Bible although I have some chapters of it in my PC in MS
Reader eBook format. But I know that God never approved so-called "Killing all
first-born in Egypt". It was Pheron (the king of Egypt) who ordered it. An
astrologer told him that "there will be a boy who will be a reason of your
kingdom's decline". I thank all Jews, Christians and Muslims believe, that boy
was Mosa (Moses) who was brought up by the wife of Pheron.

> >The Jews, the Christians, the Muslims - all of us claim a common heritage,
> >that we are children of Abraham.
>
> Okey dokey, the Hindus, Buddhists, and other religions don't figure
> anywhere in this. Guess there's no salvation for 'em. Not that it matters
> to me, but still...
>
> (Does the Quran really say that Muslims are all descendants of Abraham? I
> honestly don't know.)

Not all Muslims, but Syeds, Hashimis, Qureshis, Alvis, Aiwans and there are some
others whom I can't remember now. Many Muslims in Pakistan are descendants of
Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Zoroasters etc. When one becomes a
Muslims, he/she is a part of a global Islamic Nation; nothing less than that.

--
Syed Zeeshan Haider.
http://syedzeeshanhaider.faithweb.com/