Good Morning,
I hope all of you are well
.
First of all, I would like to say that I think this poll is a good one concerning the 'rubbish' some people are posting about Islam (please don't mind the word...I don't mean to offend anybody but if you were a Muslim or knew what Islam is, you would know what I mean).
Secondly, I would like to clarify some things that a member posted on this poll.
Islam and Christianity do have alot of things in common although they also have differences since they are different religions. The following book, I have heard is a good one regarding the commonalities between Islam and Christianity. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a hold of it myself...but since the writer is Christian himself, some of you might be interested:
"More in common than you think" by William Baker
Indeed, Islam means submission. But Islam is derived from the word 'salama' which means peace. You know, I just found something very interesting. I went to the islam.com website and found that it says that the literal meaning of Islam is peace (note that this is not a contradiction since Islam is actually derived from a word that means 'peace'...some people just say Islam means 'peace'). However, you have stated that you have done online study at sites like islam.com. How can you conclude from doing an online study of a site that explicitly says that 'Islam means peace' that Islam doesn't mean peace?
Islam teaches compassion, kindness, politeness and patience amongst other virtues....don't believe me, go back to islam.com or read the Quran again carefully. Now, I ask you how can a follower of Islam be kind, compassionate, polite, and so on if there is no concept of peace in Islam? The name of this religion, Islam, has been derived from a word meaning peace....ofcourse it teaches peace.
Perhaps, you are reaching incorrect conclusions after reading some verses in the Quran. Each verse of the Quran that deals with practical issues has a certain context behind it. Without understanding that context and without keeping in mind other verses in the Quran, it is likely that one will be led to an incorrect conclusion regarding that verse. Infact, if you let me know of those verses in the Quran which led you to the conclusion that Islam does not teach peace and that it teaches that peace can come only after all people have submitted to Allah, I'll see if I can give you the context of those verses and hence, what they really mean.
About the issue of peace, history is a testimony to the fact that Islam is a religion of peace. There were times in the first few centuries of Islam when Jews and Christians preferred to live under the rule of the Muslims because they were treated so fairly and their beliefs were respected. That wouldn't have happened if Islam wasn't a peaceful religion.
Also, note that under certain situations, it is permissable for Muslims to fight...but these situations have to be understood and the conditions and restraints have to be understood (As examples of the conditions, innocent people must not be fought against, women, children and old people must not be fought against, only those who fight you can be fought against and so on). These are situations where things would go worse than they are and a larger number of people would be harmed if Muslims did not fight. For example, if innocent Muslims are being oppressed somewhere, there houses are being destroyed, they are being thrown out of their houses, their children are being taken, their belongings are being
looted and so on, then if these Muslims do not defend themselves, then the oppressors would be able to go on doing whatever they like because there would be nobody to stop them. So you see, Islam is a peaceful religion but unfortunately, there are people on this Earth who don't like to live peacefully (those who oppress others and so on). Hence, Islam has given its followers permission to fight such people in certain cases where it must be done and there is no other choice. Islam is the solution to all this oppression and destruction taking place in the world because it offers a solution on how to stop it...it is the solution through which the entire human race can attain peace...it is the solution, not the cause.
Take care
Your brother in humanity,
Zeeshan.
I hope all of you are well
. First of all, I would like to say that I think this poll is a good one concerning the 'rubbish' some people are posting about Islam (please don't mind the word...I don't mean to offend anybody but if you were a Muslim or knew what Islam is, you would know what I mean).
Secondly, I would like to clarify some things that a member posted on this poll.
Islam and Christianity do have alot of things in common although they also have differences since they are different religions. The following book, I have heard is a good one regarding the commonalities between Islam and Christianity. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a hold of it myself...but since the writer is Christian himself, some of you might be interested:
"More in common than you think" by William Baker
Indeed, Islam means submission. But Islam is derived from the word 'salama' which means peace. You know, I just found something very interesting. I went to the islam.com website and found that it says that the literal meaning of Islam is peace (note that this is not a contradiction since Islam is actually derived from a word that means 'peace'...some people just say Islam means 'peace'). However, you have stated that you have done online study at sites like islam.com. How can you conclude from doing an online study of a site that explicitly says that 'Islam means peace' that Islam doesn't mean peace?
Islam teaches compassion, kindness, politeness and patience amongst other virtues....don't believe me, go back to islam.com or read the Quran again carefully. Now, I ask you how can a follower of Islam be kind, compassionate, polite, and so on if there is no concept of peace in Islam? The name of this religion, Islam, has been derived from a word meaning peace....ofcourse it teaches peace.
Perhaps, you are reaching incorrect conclusions after reading some verses in the Quran. Each verse of the Quran that deals with practical issues has a certain context behind it. Without understanding that context and without keeping in mind other verses in the Quran, it is likely that one will be led to an incorrect conclusion regarding that verse. Infact, if you let me know of those verses in the Quran which led you to the conclusion that Islam does not teach peace and that it teaches that peace can come only after all people have submitted to Allah, I'll see if I can give you the context of those verses and hence, what they really mean.
About the issue of peace, history is a testimony to the fact that Islam is a religion of peace. There were times in the first few centuries of Islam when Jews and Christians preferred to live under the rule of the Muslims because they were treated so fairly and their beliefs were respected. That wouldn't have happened if Islam wasn't a peaceful religion.
Also, note that under certain situations, it is permissable for Muslims to fight...but these situations have to be understood and the conditions and restraints have to be understood (As examples of the conditions, innocent people must not be fought against, women, children and old people must not be fought against, only those who fight you can be fought against and so on). These are situations where things would go worse than they are and a larger number of people would be harmed if Muslims did not fight. For example, if innocent Muslims are being oppressed somewhere, there houses are being destroyed, they are being thrown out of their houses, their children are being taken, their belongings are being
looted and so on, then if these Muslims do not defend themselves, then the oppressors would be able to go on doing whatever they like because there would be nobody to stop them. So you see, Islam is a peaceful religion but unfortunately, there are people on this Earth who don't like to live peacefully (those who oppress others and so on). Hence, Islam has given its followers permission to fight such people in certain cases where it must be done and there is no other choice. Islam is the solution to all this oppression and destruction taking place in the world because it offers a solution on how to stop it...it is the solution through which the entire human race can attain peace...it is the solution, not the cause.
Take care
Your brother in humanity,
Zeeshan.
