Can Someone Explain Islam To Me?

[Cuzzo]

I am a person who is very ignorant to the religion of Islam. I grew up in an area with barely any Muslims if any. All I really know is what I hear on the news, but thats not the best source apparently.

I truly want to know...truly (so please don't be sensitive and take offense to any of this) why Islam is associated with so much violence? Or at least is percieved to be? 

Why does the Quran apparently state that non believers should die? I don't know this word for word, but thats the general idea about what I have read and heard about this religion. 

Thats what really trips me up. Yeah I know that other religions have committed terrorist acts in the name of their religion. But Islam seems very extreme at it's core compared to other religions. 

All religions at their core seem to be based on the universal principles of loving your neighbor as yourself, while the idea I get from Islam and everything I hear is that if you are not apart of Islam that you deserve to die.


Please please please don't be a rude and scold me for being ignorant to this religion. I am presenting you with the only info I really know about it and I would like to know more.

If anyone can explain to me why Islam is not an extreme and violent religion at it's core, I would love to know. 
 

[Mal]

@Cuzzo

I'm not trying to be funny here, 

But does trying to understand it add anything to your life?

If you don't know what it's about first hand, then you can be sure that what you already know about it is nonsense...

Edited June 24, 2016 by Mal

[Cuzzo]

Just now, Mal said:

@Cuzzo

I'm not trying to be funny here, 

But does trying to understand it add anything to your life?

If you don't know what it's about first hand, then you can be sure that what you already know about it is nonsense?

Well I am trying to understand such an alien way of life from my perspective. I don't want to be prejudice towards a group of people for their beliefs, but a lot of times I feel like Muslims could seriously endanger my life if I am not aware of them.

Basically what I am saying, from what I know about Islam right now and the idea I get from it, I would truly fear for my safety if the muslim population increased in my area. So I am asking if it is wrong to assume that Islam is violent and barbaric at it's core.

But I want to know from someone who isn't a proud gun slinging murican either, because their views could be skewed. Make sense? 

[Mal]

@Cuzzo

OK, I get your point.  But what I see is a big bunch of baloney assumptions based on second hand information designed probably to mislead you.

From my experience, learning about something means to get rid of the old story about it and try to see it from a beginners view.

5 minutes ago, Cuzzo said:

I don't want to be prejudice towards a group of people for their beliefs

I feel like Muslims could seriously endanger my life if I am not aware of them.

Basically what I am saying, from what I know about Islam right now

and the idea I get from it,

I would truly fear for my safety if the muslim population increased in my area.

assume that Islam is violent and barbaric at it's core.

I don't see any truth in these statements whatsoever.  And I'm not in denial, I'm just saying that what you do seem to know about Islam is not from your own experience.  

I'm not trying to argue with you either, I'm attempting to help you see something important (if you want)

[Empty]

@Cuzzo  Hi, friend. 

I am a Muslim, so I think I can give some infromation about it. However, don't take my words as the TRUE interpretation of Islam, for I am not very qualified. 

 There are many groups in Islam: Sunnis, Shiis, Sufis...etc who have been arguing over the real essence of the Quran ( The last message sent to the last Prophet Muhammad) since the death of the Prophet Muhammad. 

Muslims believe that all messengers came with ONE message, and that is the oneness of God. 

Muslims believe that there is only one life purpose: To Worship God and To look after the earth. 

Muslims do not believe in Jesus as the son of God, nor God himself. They believe in him as a prophet of God. 

Muslims pray five times day, gives charity if possible, recite the Quran, fast in Ramadan every year.  

About the dangers of Islam, I think it is real, but very few radical Muslim would kill people, especially Wahabis ( the current idealogy practiced in Saudi Arabia) 

I hope I have given you  some information. There is a lot I don't know myself

Peace  

Muhammad 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Muhammad

[jes]

 

@Cuzzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfhc32Pca9s

[Pelin]

I cannot say I practice Islam but I grew up in a Muslim country so I can say a few words I suppose. First of all let me start with what Muslims think about Christianity and Judaism.

They think that their words were misinterpreted to the extent of not having a trustworthy holy book. That is why they believe Muhammad was sent and brought a final book from God once and for all. So they believe the Koran is the final word and it may not be changed.

But here the conflict starts. If you cannot change the book, what will you do to have it serve you? You will change the interpretations of course. And some parts are so vague that you can really interpret one version as black or white. So there are millions of interpretations now. If you just look at how Turkey and Algeria and say, Dubai practice Islam, it's ridiculous. 

Having studied religions from a sociological perspective, all I have to say is religions and rituals are made to serve a society. If these terrorists were born to another religion they would use that religion. You have Nazis that carry Bible with them, you have Israel that bombs Palestinians, and you have f****** Isis that bombed and killed my students. 

About understanding, you wouldn't understand a single thing before gaining knowledge about it. All of us are ignorant in some subjects, we can't know it all, so it's okay that you ask. But we can help you just with things we know.

Take a look at Bloom's taxonomy in learning, you have to first know to understand. So seek to gain knowledge. I once read Koran and Bible and was surprised how those two were similar. So I suggest you read bits and pieces, if not the whole book.

[charlie2dogs]

15 hours ago, Cuzzo said:

I am a person who is very ignorant to the religion of Islam. I grew up in an area with barely any Muslims if any. All I really know is what I hear on the news, but thats not the best source apparently.

I truly want to know...truly (so please don't be sensitive and take offense to any of this) why Islam is associated with so much violence? Or at least is percieved to be? 

Why does the Quran apparently state that non believers should die? I don't know this word for word, but thats the general idea about what I have read and heard about this religion. 

Thats what really trips me up. Yeah I know that other religions have committed terrorist acts in the name of their religion. But Islam seems very extreme at it's core compared to other religions. 

All religions at their core seem to be based on the universal principles of loving your neighbor as yourself, while the idea I get from Islam and everything I hear is that if you are not apart of Islam that you deserve to die.


Please please please don't be a rude and scold me for being ignorant to this religion. I am presenting you with the only info I really know about it and I would like to know more.

If anyone can explain to me why Islam is not an extreme and violent religion at it's core, I would love to know. 
 

  religions are nothing but cults,  brainwashed people controlled by a false belief system, what more do you need to understand about religion.

[electroBeam]

@Cuzzo The thing is that Islam means different things to different people.

Because the Koran is so vague, you can literally twist it 100 different ways to suit your agenda. Not only can you do that, but you can justify inequality, discrimination, violence, etc by saying that you are doing something under the name of Islam. Because you cannot prove that a certain interpretation is more wrong than the other, a lot of muslims get away with doing harm. 

You cannot understand more about islam, because no one really knows what islam is, including muslims, as much as they don't want to admit it.

[Leo Gura]

Read the Quran.

And read or listen to the historical story of Muhammad. It's good stuff to the enlightened mind.

The core of Islam is enlightenment. You are the infinite Allah.

[Tariq]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Read the Quran.

And read or listen to the historical story of Muhammad. It's good stuff to the enlightened mind.

The core of Islam is enlightenment. You are the infinite Allah.

I'm pretty sure that the islamic ideology doesn't correspond with that.

According to the quran, a human being is completely different from god himself, he was made from clay and that clay was itself made from nothing, not some part of god.

did I miss anything ?

 

[Pelin]

12 hours ago, Tariq said:

I'm pretty sure that the islamic ideology doesn't correspond with that.

According to the quran, a human being is completely different from god himself, he was made from clay and that clay was itself made from nothing, not some part of god.

did I miss anything ?

 

As far as I'm concerned, it's Sufism that is interested in enlightenment and being one with God. And you can certainly interpret the book like that, among other interpretations.

But looking at day-to-day practice of Islam, most of the Muslim population isn't so much different from any other religious groups. They use dogma and fear of afterlife as a way to practice religion. What the religious leader approves is correct, disapproves is wrong.

[ChimpBrain]

I'm just a white boy from Oklahoma so like you I have minimal first hand experience with Muslims as people, but I did go down a rabbit hole on this topic for a few months recently and *might* be able to offer something of value. 

 

Like the Bible, the Quran is very contradictory. The first part is mostly peace and love and the second part is war and conquest. It was written over a long period of time, during which Muhammad was booted from mecca and moved to Medina, hence the terms "mecca Muslims" and "Medina Muslims" referring to different sects that place more or less emphasis on the earlier or latter verses. Once in Medina his contact with the Devine seems to take a turn for the worse and it's because he went to war with the people who kicked him out of mecca and needed to convince his followers that they were on a holy mission from God.  You are also dealing with the concept of abrogation, meaning anything written later supercedes the earlier verses. Since the latter half of the book is war and conquest that doesn't work out so well. Then there's the fact that the Muslim world never went through an enlightenment period and still take the scriptures literally. You seem to be worried about how Islam manifests itself in the world, which we can see clearly with our own eyes. Who cares what the book says if it's adherents have a tendency to go on murder sprees and justify it with passages from their holy book. That's really all we need to know. 

 

A few video recommendations for you if you're interested - "by the numbers" by the clarion project. Dave rubin's interview with majid Nawaz, and Dave rubin's interview with Ayaan hirsi Ali. 

 

Take everything I say with a huge grain of salt. It's probably half true at best. 

Edited July 29, 2016 by ChimpBrain

[Leo Gura]

16 hours ago, Tariq said:

I'm pretty sure that the islamic ideology doesn't correspond with that.

According to the quran, a human being is completely different from god himself, he was made from clay and that clay was itself made from nothing, not some part of god.

did I miss anything ?

 

God is Nothing.

You gotta learn how to read between the lines of religious teachings and sayings. It's all metaphor for reality. Don't get lost in the details and images.

A wise person can read the Quran and use it to get enlightened. A fool will read the Quran and entrench himself only deeper in foolishness.

[Extreme Z7]

@Cuzzo Personally, my advice is to study Islam or other religions but only out of curiosity. Don't do it out of pure ego fear/worry.

Your main focus should just be to develop conscious awareness. Period. That is, if you already are interested in developing consciousness, if not then get start now. It will probably give you a deeper understanding of what goes on in religion than any information you read in a book or anywhere else.

 

37 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

God is Nothing.

Woah, that's quite something.

[Pelin]

15 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

 

A wise person can read the Quran and use it to get enlightened. A fool will read the Quran and entrench himself only deeper in foolishness.

Same thing is applicable for all (holy) books and teachings, also for your teachings, Leo!  I hope we can all use what you provide us with wisely.

[Emerald]

On June 25, 2016 at 3:43 AM, Pelin said:

Having studied religions from a sociological perspective, all I have to say is religions and rituals are made to serve a society. If these terrorists were born to another religion they would use that religion. You have Nazis that carry Bible with them, you have Israel that bombs Palestinians, and you have f****** Isis that bombed and killed my students. 

I'm really sorry to hear this. As a former teacher, I would be devastated if my students were killed.  I wish you the best. 

[ttm]

On 7/29/2016 at 4:11 AM, Leo Gura said:

You gotta learn how to read between the lines of religious teachings and sayings. It's all metaphor for reality. Don't get lost in the details and images.

A wise person can read the Quran and use it to get enlightened. A fool will read the Quran and entrench himself only deeper in foolishness.

Wouldn't it be possible to create a religion with no valuable insights hidden in it? For example, completely for the personal purpose of gaining wealth and power? Also, it really isn't all metaphor for reality, there's a lot of stuff there...

As long as people cling to all that stuff which is actually called religion (and which so makes one religion different from another), the real insights are (at least for the most part) missed. The wisdom there is religion-independent. Also, reading between the lines does not mean that every sentence is wisdom there and you just have to understand it somehow, but exactly the ability to recognize the anti-wisdom there and just let that go. At some point it gets reeeally inefficient to find the wisdom from the haystack. 

I wasn't referring to islam here in particular, I haven't read the Quran so I don't know if there's any wisdom and if there is, how it is proportioned with anti-wisdom. A wise person can use pure solid antiwisdom to get enlightened, and a fool will do literally anything to deepen his foolishness, so that kind of approach isn't very practical to many people.

 

[electroBeam]

On 29/07/2016 at 11:11 AM, Leo Gura said:

God is Nothing.

You gotta learn how to read between the lines of religious teachings and sayings. It's all metaphor for reality. Don't get lost in the details and images.

A wise person can read the Quran and use it to get enlightened. A fool will read the Quran and entrench himself only deeper in foolishness.

How do you know that your interpretation is correct? Its all subjective isn't it?

[Cuzzo]

8 hours ago, electroBeam said:

How do you know that your interpretation is correct? Its all subjective isn't it?

It's that kind of stuff that literally makes me confused between up and down.