What's your opinion on Islam?

[Someone here]

Muslims in general are good, decent, honest, kind, law-abiding people who want nothing but the best for their children and for their neighbours and country.

Islam on the other hand i.e. the Quran is full of hatred for unbelievers and non-Muslims - almost 60% of the Quran is about denouncing the kufar and descriptions of the preparations of the hell-fires which will torture and consume all unbelievers for the rest of eternity while only Muslims (not sure if Shia, Sunni, Ahmadiya, Sufi??) will enjoy eternal bliss.

[vizual]

People on this forum will probably say that a stage blue Islamic society is better than a stage red tribal society. Thus Islam serves its purpose on the road of societal development.

[Someone here]

@vizual But are you aware of the blind spots of Islam?

The Sharia inculcates discrimination and enshrines inequality between the genders and between the Ummah and the Kufar. The Quran says Muslims should not befriend non-Muslims and should fight and kill the Jews and pagans. The vast majority of Muslims (sukrallah) either glide over these texts or disregard them or mentally suppress them.

[vizual]

10 minutes ago, Someone here said:

@vizual But are you aware of the blind spots of Islam?

The Sharia inculcates discrimination and enshrines inequality between the genders and between the Ummah and the Kufar. The Quran says Muslims should not befriend non-Muslims and should fight and kill the Jews and pagans. The vast majority of Muslims (sukrallah) either glide over these texts or disregard them or mentally suppress them.

Of course there are islamic fundamentalists and legalists who take the Quran literally, and demand that sharia law is followed and enforced by the latter, with the sword.

 But this won’t work, it’s not sustainable to deny progress over a long period of time. It can cause for stability in the short term, but the resistance of (moral) progress will create danger and chaos in the long term.

 That’s why you also see more Islamic scholars nowadays who don’t take everything in the Quran literally. At least, they are willing to interpret the texts through a contemporary lense.

[Dryas]

If Christianity can evolve to be more conscious, why can’t Islam? It’s a younger religion so it’ll take more time. Plus, the harsh climate and stuff. 

[Someone here]

I think most Muslims, like most Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jews and atheists are basically good human beings IN SPITE of what their religions teach. The vast majority of humans will risk their lives to save people in danger and especially children - this has been proven again and again, regardless of who the other is.

[roopepa]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

Islam on the other hand i.e. the Quran is full of hatred for unbelievers and non-Muslims - almost 60% of the Quran is about denouncing the kufar and descriptions of the preparations of the hell-fires which will torture and consume all unbelievers for the rest of eternity while only Muslims (not sure if Shia, Sunni, Ahmadiya, Sufi??) will enjoy eternal bliss.

What are you gonna do about it? End Islam? Delete Quran?

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

But are you aware of the blind spots of Islam?

Literally the same as any fundamentalist religion, conformism and stage blue culture ever. Nothing special about Islam. Islam is gonna do what it's doing until the people have had enough.

Edited January 11, 2022 by roopepa

[Someone here]

@roopepa public attitudes about Muslims and Islam have grown more negative in recent years. About four-in-ten Americans (43%) say they have a favorable opinion of Muslims, while 35% express a negative view. Opinion about Muslims, on balance, was somewhat more positive in 2004 (48% favorable vs. 32% unfavorable). As in previous surveys, Muslim Americans are seen more positively than Muslims (53% vs. 43%). 

Out of all major religions today.. Islam is without a doubt the most problematic and controversial one. Because of passages in the Quran has command to kill the nonbelievers. And that's why there is a negative attitude against Islam. 

[vizual]

15 minutes ago, Someone here said:

@roopepa public attitudes about Muslims and Islam have grown more negative in recent years. About four-in-ten Americans (43%) say they have a favorable opinion of Muslims, while 35% express a negative view. Opinion about Muslims, on balance, was somewhat more positive in 2004 (48% favorable vs. 32% unfavorable). As in previous surveys, Muslim Americans are seen more positively than Muslims (53% vs. 43%). 

Out of all major religions today.. Islam is without a doubt the most problematic and controversial one. Because of passages in the Quran has command to kill the nonbelievers. And that's why there is a negative attitude against Islam. 

It's not the Quran that gives Islam a bad rap. It's the fundamentalist extremist terrorists in the west. And of course the fundamentalist backwards countries that are ruled by Islam like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Old Testament also has similar passages as the Quran with a lot of violence. 

[Someone here]

@vizual But the terrorists and the extremests rely on the Quran to justify their behavior. 

[Preety_India]

My bare honest opinion. 

I have had Muslim friends. They were nice people. At the same time I have to confess that they tried to impose their religion on me. 

This never happened with the vast majority of my Christian friends. Nobody ever tried to convert me. 

But my Muslim friends would constantly indirectly signal me to take up Islam. 

It seems that Muslims have low tolerance for other religions and they try to impose their religion on others whenever they get a chance. They complain that others aren't tolerant of their religion, but it's mostly the other way around. I was never intolerant of their practices or rituals or religious ideas. In fact they were not tolerant of mine. 

A simple example of this is when my friend who was Muslim told me to wear a burqa. I had to explain to him that I'm a Hindu and that I don't wear hijab and burqa. But he said that I should wear it despite that and that all women should wear burqa. Then I had to tell him to not impose his way of living on me. 

Other than that I never ran into any trouble with Muslims. The only part that caused some stress was that they are not very accepting of another religion.

The other thing that I noted is that Muslims rarely ever tolerate a negative opinion on Islam/Muslims especially from a non - Muslim, they get very defensive and act offended and make any criticism of Islam by a non Muslim look like a crime. 

Not trying to offend, just giving my opinion based on personal experiences. 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Preety_India

[vizual]

Just now, Someone here said:

@vizual But the terrorists and the extremests rely on the Quran to justify their behavior. 

That doesn't mean you can blame the Quran for the fundamentalism. The proof for that is that Christians, for the most part, have grown out of such extreme fundamentalism while the Bible is just as violent as the Quran. You can use the Bible just as easily to justify extremism and terrorism.

 

[Someone here]

@Preety_India aside from Muslims... What's your opinion about Islam itself.. Like the belief system, the rituals etc?

36 minutes ago, vizual said:

That doesn't mean you can blame the Quran for the fundamentalism. The proof for that is that Christians, for the most part, have grown out of such extreme fundamentalism while the Bible is just as violent as the Quran. You can use the Bible just as easily to justify extremism and terrorism.

 

You have a point. 

[Gesundheit2]

Great practice, but poor ideology.

[Preety_India]

7 minutes ago, Someone here said:

@Preety_India aside from Muslims... What's your opinion about Islam itself.. Like the belief system, the rituals etc?

You have a point. 

I actually love Islam a lot. It has a huge potential for spreading love. It has wonderful teachings. It embraces love and peace. The whole terrorist thing is a stain on Islam created by people who don't want to truly follow the religion. 

In fact I have met Muslim people who were even better than my Hindu friends. 

Islam does not encourage haram. This concept doesn't even exist in other religions. Concept of haram keeps people away from unhealthy ways of living life. 

Also in Islamic culture, there is no place for money or wealth which is exceptionally good about Islam. Islam does not preach greed or accumulation of wealth. This is not practiced in either Hinduism or Christianity. You'll see huge donations in certain Christian ministries and even in Hindu temples, not only people offer huge donations but also pray for monetary benefits. However Islam does not encourage such practices. Even gold is considered Haram in Islam. So it practically teaches a person to not be greedy which is awesome. 

Islamic culture is very famous for its rich  poetry, decoration, literature, the Urdu language which is extraordinarily beautiful, conservatism which appears very cultural and traditional (Refer old Bollywood movies like Pakeezah which is my favorite for the depiction of Islamic poetry, designs and styles). There is a wealth of cultural enrichment within Islamic culture which is well adapted into Indian culture and tradition. 

Also prayer is a central concept in Islam. Prayer is an absolutely fundamental aspect of connecting with God (if you're a believer in God). 

My biggest fear is that when people decide to leave Islam (that is when Muslims who decide to become atheist) they might cause the disappearance of ancient Islamic culture, concepts, decorations, styles, poetry, art, lifestyles due to excessive westernization and they might leave it all behind and eventually lose touch with it. 

The best part of Islam that it helps to mould a person into honest selfless and loyal individual if the person follows Islam properly and correctly. 

Islam does not encourage terrorism. It's radical groups who want to spread their toxic ideology under the label of Islam. 

 

[Someone here]

10 minutes ago, Preety_India said:

Islam does not encourage terrorism. It's radical groups who want to spread their toxic ideology under the label of Islam

But there are clear passages in the Quran that commands to kill the nonbelievers.. What to make of those? 

[Someone here]

18 minutes ago, Gesundheit2 said:

Great practice, but poor ideology.

Care to elaborate. 

[PurpleTree]

There is beauty in Islam (obviously)

i like many of the mosques, especially the ones in Iran i love

looks so trippy, hope to see them in person someday

i like Rumi, maybe will learn more about Sufism some day

 

on the other hand i think it's holding many people back, just very backwards ideology in many places, still killing women, gays etc.

also terrorism in Europe and other places, many muslim immigrants imo aren't really trying to integrate in Europe, they have a lot of children and not the means to provide them a good life imo

2 hours ago, Dryas said:

If Christianity can evolve to be more conscious, why can’t Islam? It’s a younger religion so it’ll take more time. 

this is the dumbest argument imo

we're all living in the same time on the same world.

you could also now create a religion that would be more evolved than Christianity, Islam etc. you wouldn't have to wait 1500 years until it catches up with Islam and Christianity just because it's younger.

[Dryas]

@PurpleTree Right, it probably won’t take Islam another 500 years to get to where Christianity is now. I was simplifying a ton. 

[Gregory1]

I hate islam.

Islam suppresses and denys our humanity.

However, it wouldn't exist if it didn't have an important role to play in society... It's the bridge frum brutal stage red into the beginnings of dogmatic stage blue in the arabic cultures...

Of course there also are kernels of truth in islam... For good, Allah exists.

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Gregory1