Hitler also wrote of his Mein Kampf which is similar to terrorist Muslims.
On Jul 24, 4:50 pm, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > Thank you for a very informative post, SeeMaat. > > I appreciate the tenor of your exposition of Islam and accept > completely that one cannot simply equate Islam with a particular > extreme interpretation as exemplified by Al Qaida, or the Taliban. > Millions of Muslims live tolerant upright lives and see their religion > as something which enlightens them and supports them in this (Yusuf > Islam [formerly known as Cat Stevens] is someone who immediately comes > to mind). As do millions of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. > > Nevertheless, this very point brings up a major problem. Just as you > are convinced that your interpretation of the truth of Islam is > correct, so is Mullah Omar, so are extremist Wahabi teachers in Saudi > Arabia, so are, presumably, the religious figures associated with the > Janjaweed (جنجويد) in Darfur, as are the many Islamic teachers who > support the introduction of repressive, savage legal systems which > they claim to be pure expressions of Sharia (شريعة ). > > So how are we non-Muslims to judge which interpretation of Islam is > the most faithful one - if any? (This is not alone a problem for > Islam; George W. Bush also claimed to be guided by God - in a > Christian context - a claim which horrified millions of others who > also understand themselves as Christians. Jimmy Carter also professes > his Christian faith very publicly, but it leads him to very different > views of what God wants from society.) > > Still, the atrocities carried out in the name of Islam in the past few > dacades place, I would think, a special onus on the many millions of > Muslims who interpret their religion in a more tolerant, merciful, > rational manner to fight a true jihad within Islam against those who > besmirch the image of their religion, their God and his prophet. I'm > afraid I can sympathise with the feelings of some of those who post > here who feel that this sort of jihad has been rather weak - at least > publicly - up to now. I certainly would NOT include you in this > judgment :-) > > The issue of interpretation is central. As someone who is multi- > lingual I appreciate - to an extent - the problems which arise in > attempts to translate the Qur'an from Arabic into other languages. But > the problem goes even deeper. The world has changed much in 1400 > years, as have the societies in which Islam is practiced. Even the way > Arabic is spoken and understood has changed and is continually > changing - as is the case for every language. So the words of Muhammad > as recorded in the Qur'an have to be interpreted even for a modern > audience which understands Arabic, for language is always used and > understood within particular contexts. The meaning of many words, as > spoken and understood by the prophet and those who recorded his > visions are not always identical with the way these words are used > today. In the light of such considerations I have always regarded the > propensity of Islam to accord the Arabic original of the Qur'an a > privileged and preeminent place as somewhat disingenuous, elitist and > culturally imperialistic - particularly with relation to a > proclamation of a one, universal God, who is all-compassionate and > merciful. Why on earth would such a God demand that he/she be prayed > to in one particular language? Or demand that his/her followers > refrain from eating pork (as long as it is hygienically prepared)? > Such commandments are indications that the Qur'an is a document of its > own time and context. There is nothing wrong with this, but it means > that those who wish to find the essence of a divine message in the > text must get involved with textual criticism and interpretation. Such > critical approaches towards one's own religion are - to put it mildly > - not encouraged, even within mainstream Islam (I referred to the > historical roots for some of this in the "ask me about ..." thread > recently). > > This critical approach is, of course, a frequently risky course for > the believer to take. In my own case, it led me through Christianity > and beyond it to non-belief. This does not mean that I do not respect > my former religion - even if I now hold that religious belief is > mistaken and something that humanity would profit from growing out of. > But it doesn't have to happen this way, I know many others who have > followed this path and remained believers. And if Islam really wants > to remain relevant and say something to our modern world, it is > necessary for it to bcome much more self-critical. > > Salaam/shalom/pace/peace/namaste! > > Francis > > On 24 Jul., 20:01, "SeeMaat;" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Who knows the thing .. of course not the same as heard by the > > falsehoods with which people in fact do not know the truth ..! > > > people should know > > > 1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe > > that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, > > perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even > > heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert > > god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or > > something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from > > the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the > > belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most > > important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") > > Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not > > translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading > > not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English > > *****alent. > > > Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the > > Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it > > serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah > > is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ > > on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of > > them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with > > each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief > > in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and > > Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the > > prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.) > > > 2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." > > Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such > > things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of > > anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human > > creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss > > between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain > > other religious groups. > > > You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of > > God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies. > > > 3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned > > in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an > > extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do > > not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God > > (literally or ****phorically), although they do believe he is the son > > of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time > > of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to > > look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into > > heaven. > > > This is probably the most significant point of difference between > > Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe > > that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and > > elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time > > and place. > > > 4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows > > from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in > > much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with > > Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to > > have been the human being with the best character, he is still > > regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is > > regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does > > not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest > > regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits > > and characteristics, those being of the highest quality. > > > Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled > > variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it > > now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies > > shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or > > Quran, not Koran.) > > > 5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that > > something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers > > who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and > > whatever other languages in which its component ****s originally > > appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are > > all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred > > translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered > > to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are > > simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed > > to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel > > Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were > > revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and > > followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others > > ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not > > completely written down until after the Prophet's death. > > > There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since > > it was > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
