1. Why then does your religion:
a) try to make everyone within it conform to the same lifestyle (eg no dating before marriage, praying 5 times a day etc)
A
) u mean why does our religion forbid people killing each other, from stealing etc...
why does it promote tolerance of other people of different faiths etc etc
B) and what u said why does it promote praying, charity, righteous actions etc?
and forbid dating, SEX!! and drunkeness, smoking, suicide etc?
for
A) You can see that u dont have to be a muslim to conform to those requirements, we have over time, accepted the idea that to live in a civilised manner, we too need to be civilised so as to judge the uncivilised amongst us- the killers etc. If you go to countries like trinidad and tobago where muslims and christians live side by side and have done so for a few hundred years, where some family members are muslims , others are christians, and no one really cares about it... then you will understand what tolerance is.
had islam guided the first settlers of this country we wouldnt have had such a trashy concept of
terra nullius in the first place - and muslims did visit Australia and established a few mosques in the NT and WA- and the Aborigines didnt mind it at all, and some intermarriages did take place. its all about understanding each other at a mutually benefical level
for B) What islam promotes is between me and God. So if u dont like it, or refuse to believe in God, then thats your choice- what am i supposed to do? debate with you just coz u cant tolerate the fact that my beliefs are incompatible with yours??
As for what islam forbids, or what the Prophet Muhammad - May Allah bestow upon him Peace and His Blessings- had advised us to stay away from, ill do it.
you probably recognise from the news and media sources that we as muslims will rise up to any challenge pressed upon us- like we took on the communists for cryin out loud. So we stand up for justice, go against the wishes of tyrants and invasions, because we are God fearing- we fear God, and Dont fear the invaders- what does this mean? - read on
we should stand up for justice even if its against our own selves - that is a quote from the 'quran' (English- translated v ofcourse)... so if the super power decides to invade, muslims dont care who is the invader- but they will repel the invasion..
God tells us to stand for justice, to defend our borders, to refrain from our desires etc etc... we listen to God, rather than TV slogans that say "obey ur thirst" (im generalising i know)
Is your life all about Sex , smoking, drinking beer?? if so.. then which kinda junkie are u?
look around the muslim world, and see the variations of muslims there are,
go to malaysia, singapore, tanzania, spain, the UAE (emirates) turkey, China and see the muslims there and you tell me if we are a homogenous community.
you are missing out on the bigger things in life, and looking for the smaller issues such as pre marital sex and alcohol. in a way -that just reflects who you are doesnt it?? tell me if i didnt just comit the offence of
ad hominem please.
As for defending our borders- assume from ur athiest perspective, that there is a utpopia of everything- like political stability etc... but outside there is also many different civilisations, all with there pros and cons, but with different cultures etc. is not your civilisation worth defending? why let your people die at the hands of oppressors? so that was the situation of the early muslims, and they dealt with their enemies accordingly- with most of their enemies seeing this utopia and becoming muslims themselves although they used to hate it whole- heartedly.
b) try to convert all non-believers to itself to create further homogeneity
and how does this create more diverse lifestyles?
1) we are not homogenous, our acts of worship are and our attitudes to life are similar but we have diff lifestyles
2) some muslim countries where muslims were pinned down by apartheid , and colonial rule in india and south africa- do have a culture of preaching - which is carried out by people who are skilled, and they target christians who formerly ruled them. but elsewhere... muslims preach by behaving as muslims and if others are interested they will come.
how does it create diverse lifestyles? think about it.
when u convert to islam - u are still the same person.
ur family and family traditions stay the same
only u make adjustments to cater for a new faith
so this broadens the scope of personalities of the islamic community
the ideology u gained as a child still stays there- bring me a psychologist who disagrees. the new ideology builds up on that
i met a convert who used to be an athiest who told me he's still got good ties with families, still goes fishing (he invited me too
) and enjoys life, just that he has made alterations to his outlook on life thats all.. and he feels more fulfilled.
u cant tell him he's stupid- u have no right to! its his choice okay! and it increased the diversity of what u get in the islamic community
2. So I should then judge the qu'ran most harshly on the times it has endorsed "slaying the infidels" and take a small account of the times it condemned death then?
what are u talking about i dont know.
this message is to the capt pig - not anyone else
bring the part of the Quran so i can know what ur talking about.
but u never even read it in arabic, so how can u decide what it really means
if ur smart, find an interpretation of that verse coz its in arabic and tell me if the author tells me to kill u or not
islam allows us to defend our homeland
our afghan brothers defendeed australia from the Japanese in WW2- that was jihad and give thanks for the Quran
ur not an intellectual so ill leave u with a site of what intellectuals had to say about the Quran:
http://www.al-sunnah.com/call_to_islam/articles/what_they_say_about_islaam.html
if u are truly open minded, you will scroll down that site and read it, and try to read what is said from a muslim perspective: criticize what evangels have said, try to see the usefulness for a God fearing person
cheers
