A misunderstood religion

[shehtaz huq]

let me clarify some things:

1. in islam a forced marriage is automatically annulled
2. islam being the family-oriented religion that is it, does NOT advocate fornicating, premarital sex, living together, or having extramarital affairs. there are appropriate punishments for these offences.
3. i wear the hijab and i dont find anything wrong with it. and as for the burqa, if you dont like then fine, but you should think that whatever Allah recommended ought to be respected.
4. we in islam dont believe in idolatry. we dont draw cartoons, pictures etc. esp of our respected prophets. and by the way, we believe jesus and moses are also our prophets so we dont advocate making fun of them.

i think i've done a good enough job. any more questions?

[Roman Centurion]

Hey, Shehtaz.
In a sense, if you're trying to provide us with information about Islam, you've done an okay job.

You're not really addressing some of the cultural aspects of Islam, and the points that have been raised in this forum.

1. A forced marriage is automatically annulled? Why is it that forced marriage occurs in the first place? How do people come to the conclusion that a forced marriage has occurred? Does the woman have the ability to go somewhere and say, "I have been forced to marry against my will. Please annul it"?

2. Islam is just like Christianity in the sense that it does not advocate premarital sex, etc... You are talking about cultural, and not religious, differences, if you are comparing "Eastern" and "Western" values. There is a BIG difference between the two. "Western" values have moved away, for better or for worse, from punishing people for having sex outside of marriage. Christian values have not changed. We just don't stone people for adultery anymore.

Plus, it's naive to say that extramarital sex is NOT happening in the Muslim world. It just doesn't get talked about as much.

3. I don't really care what you wear, but the whole idea seems rather silly to me. I think the criticism of Muslim women's outfits is that it's demeaning to women to have to cover themselves up completely, and only be seen by their own men. If you can't see why that sounds sexist, then I'm not going to explain it.

4. It's fine not to believe in making pictures of your prophets, even Jesus and Moses. The previous posts were about the incredible over-reaction to a cartoon. Let us know what you think about that.

Perhaps at your age, you girls shouldn't be trying to explain Islam. Do you understand the difference between religion and culture? As previously indicated, not all Danish people are Christians, although many of them come from a society based on Judeo-Christian values.

In Canada, there is an incredible mix of cultures. People wear all kinds of outfits. People even have sex outside of marriage, and they aren't killed for it, even though the Old Testament has very strict rules about those things.

Whew. I better take a breath.

[spicy sweet]

That is what I do. I respect every religion. I would like to do a research on them in future. I posted this topic just to see how many respect all religions. The result is very disappointing.

Majestic Swan quoted a line from the bible, which I like so much. Thx for that. In Islam,however, it is said to tell the person that he/she is wrong and to ignore him/her.

RC, you really asked a good question. The problem is, muslim world is now far away from Islam. They are dominated by mullah. These extremist people are the ones who are spoiling the reputation of muslims. Trust me, Islam is actually a peaceful religion.Today, many muslims are failing to understand their own religion. It is really sad.And it is not compulsory to wear hijab. But the muslims are asked to be decent, thats it.Nowadays, in fashion shows, I see that the models hardly put on any clothes. Islam does not support such outfits.

Shehtaz, thank you so much for your post. You have made good points. Well done.

As Shehtaz says, we believe in Jesus. Her points are absolutely right. All that I want to do is to clear the confusion. Many people do not respect Islam cuz they don't know the actual things. I hate religious extremists.

[Shehzeen]

Ok RC I wud like to clear up some things. I said its natural for SOME people to react in that way. Not all the muslims are violent, like you PERHAPS think they are. I think i have mentioned that revolting was not the best solution because I don't think it was. All I am saying that its not ABSURD.
Secondly, I found the cartoons in the internet when my brother showed them to me. I hope that is not a crime! And you are not a Muslim so you would obviously not care about the cartoons BUT WE DO!
What made it Newsworthy?
Well I'll tell you because they showed our PROPHET looking for prostitutes! Perhaps Roman you should take a look at those pictures and then talk about the topic.
Another question, Danish cartoonists aren't Danish people? Couldn't the Danish newspapers stop these cartoons from being printed? No one cared.

AND roman my purpose was not to make fun of you, BUT TO JUSTIFY MY BELIEFS. I didn't insult you. All i wanted to say that they shouldn't have made those cartoons. And I do apologize if I have insulted you.

[Roman Centurion]

Hi, Spicy.

Good post.

The survey you posted asks about Islam. You will get replies from people who respect no religion, and I wouldn't take that as critical of Islam itself.

Everything you say about Islam being peaceful can be said about most religions. There are many different kinds of Christianity, and many different beliefs. Some are more tolerant than others. Some are definitely extreme. Many Christians are shocked by fashion models, too.

You may find that many Christians would be insulted by the assertion that Jesus is no more than a prophet. That contradicts the basic tenets of Christianity. Did it occur to you that you may be insulting a lot of Christians by saying that? You see, the need for tolerance, understanding, and education needs to go both ways in order for it to work.

[Roman Centurion]

Thanks, Shehzeen. I can't say I was insulted by your previous posts. I was asking you to look at how you were presenting your opinions to us.

I know several Muslims here in Canada. They are not violent. I don't think the ones that I've met here at the Broth are violent, either. I live in a very multicultural society. We're not as divided among religious lines as in other parts of the world. There is still some division, of course.

You're right. Violence isn't absurd. It's worse than absurd. It's childish and unacceptable, no matter how strongly someone may be offended by a cartoon. I can understand why it seems wrong, even though I have grown up with images of Jesus throughout my life. A picture does not lessen the impact of the faith, or turn a person into an idolator.

I don't know if your brother showing you pictures of your prophet with prostitutes is a crime in your country. It isn't a crime here. I wonder why your brother felt the need to show you, or why you felt the need to look, if you knew in advance that it was offensive. Why do you care about some cartoon in a newspaper you've never seen, in a country halfway around the world?

I agree with you. I don't think the cartoon should have been published.

Newspapers print what they want to print. Some are more responsible than others. You would not see that cartoon in a Christian publication. This paper is not a religious magazine; they decided to print it because it would make them famous for a few days. And it worked; all across the Muslim world, people over-reacted splendidly. That's pretty irresponsible for the paper to act. But they probably made money. And in the business world, that matters more than any religion.

Again, no need to apologize. It's a good conversation. I think you should examine the world around you, and this is a good opportunity. You may hear a lot of different opinions.

[spicy sweet]

I think the truth is really stranger than fiction. Ask Go Go, in his country, a programme called Maan Mein Hai Vishwass is telecast on Sony Entertainment television. This programme will make you think if you watch it regularly.( Once they telecasted a miracle which happened to a chrisitian girl). It is a docudrama. I won't be good at explaining . This programme really made me think about religion.You can ask Shehzeen or Shehtaz, but I don't whether they watch it or not.