Islam's views on interfacing the Internet and religion. question I am a journalist working for Punto-com Magazine. Our magazine is the information source of technology and the Internet throughout the Latin American region. We distribute approximately 110.000 magazines monthly in Portuguese and in Spanish as well as an online version you can find at punto-com.com or ponto-com.com. One of the stories we are working on is how the Internet has enhanced/affected religions throughout the world. I would greatly appreciate if someone knowledgeable of Islam could take a few minutes to respond to a few of these questions and let us possibly quote them. We would like to know what are Islam's views on interfacing the Internet and religion. The answers to these questions will be printed in an interview format and I will properly quote the spokesperson for the religion. 1.What is Islam's official position regarding the Internet? 2.What type of services do you think should be provided to Islam followers/readers online? 3.What do you think should be censured on the Internet? Why? 4.Do you think the Internet separates or unites people? 5. Up to what point can Internet educate people in various religions? 6.What do you think of the proliferation of religious sites? Do you think they should be centralized to avoid false preaching? Thank you in advance for all of your help in this matter.
Answer 3415 2001-07-07 1. The Internet is merely a tool of communication. Like other forms of media, use of the Internet is permissible, rather praiseworthy if for a good cause. On the other hand, like other tools, it is open to abuse. This will obviously not be permissible. 2. More authentic literature should be made available on Islam, and more forums by which readers may communicate with reliable Islamic scholars. 3. The list will certainly be lengthy. For starters the Internet is renown for pornography, and the promotion of various forms of immorality. A censure of all such material would certainly be welcomed, for obvious reasons. 4. Again, as a means of communication, it can serve both purposes. From our experience, it has served to unite Muslims around the world on many issues. 5. The internet serves to transfer information. While this is definitely useful, it lacks the human touch. Islam cannot be acquired form mere books or literature, but Islam is transferred from person to person, heart to heart. While the internet has its uses, it can in no way replace the original system of Islamic education, i.e. person to person. 6. Too many false sects and non-Muslim have set up sites, each one portraying to reflect true Islam. This is certainly harmful to those Muslims who are not very learned. It is not a question of centralisation, but of who draws the rules. There is no point in delving on this question since the internet has no rules. Do send us a copy of your article (in English). and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best Mufti Ebrahim Desai FATWA DEPT. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/SISQkA/gOaOAA/yQLSAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended: http://www.islamonline.net http://www.islam-guide.com http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
