Elucidating a few misconceptions about Islam

I will abide by the site's motto, i.e., "Deny ignorance" and address some of the erroneous information about Islam which has been presented by some people...

Addressing the so called "honor killings" and terrorism

Suicide itself is categorically decried in Islam; it's considered among the worst of sins. The pseudo Muslims blow themselves up in front of MUSLIMS in MUSLIM filled markets (as is axiomatic in the Middle East) and consequently engender lethiferous casualties.

One may ask "Why?" Maybe you should do some research into extremist quasi-Muslim groups, particularly WAHHABIS. Wahhabis misconstrue the Religious Texts and claim that blowing oneself up in front of any one other then who follows there erroneous credo is valid. They inflict these egregious acts upon the Muslims and, in addition, label this act as "jihad" - one of the prohibitions of jihad is to kill the women and children, which is something Wahhabis are blatantly doing.

This is a report done by pbs on a boy who went to a wahhabi school

Reporter: If you go to school in Saudi Arabia, what do you learn about people who are not followers of Wahhabi, of the prophet?

Boy: "The religious curriculum in Saudi Arabia teaches you that people are basically two sides: Salafis [Wahhabis], who are the winners, the chosen ones, who will go to heaven, and the rest. The rest are Muslims and Christians and Jews and others. They are either kafirs, who are deniers of God, or mushrak, putting gods next to God, or enervators, that's the lightest one. The enervators of religion who are they call the Sunni Muslims who ... for instance, celebrate Prophet Mohammed's birthday, and do some stuff that is not accepted by Salafis. And all of these people are not accepted by Salafi as Muslims. As I said, "claimant to Islam." And all of these people are supposed to be hated, to be persecuted, even killed. And we have several clergy -- not one Salafi clergy -- who have said that against the Shi'a and against the other Muslims. And they have done it in Algeria, in Afghanistan. This is the same ideology. They just have the same opportunity. They did it in Algeria and Afghanistan, and now New York. ..."

Reporter: What do you mean, it reached New York?

Boy: "Well, when it was a local problem, the American media did not really care much about it. But until September 11, you saw how this faith of hate, I call it, did to all of us, to New Yorkers and to the rest of the world, honestly. ..."

Reporter: But the Saudi government has condemned what happened on September 11....

Boy: "... Yes, Prince Nayif condemned bin Laden, and other princes... Prince Turki condemned bin Laden. They did not condemn that message. They condemned bin Laden. ... Bin Laden learned this in Saudi Arabia. He didn't learn it in the moon. That message that Bin Laden received, it still is taught in Saudi Arabia. And if bin Laden dies, and this policy or curriculum stays, we will have other bin Ladens. ..."

www.pbs.org...

Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahhab was born in 1703, in the small town in a barren wasteland called Najd, in the eastern part of what is now called Saudi Arabia. Ominously, Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, had already refused to confer blessings on the region, claiming that from it would emerge only “disturbances, disorder and the horns of Satan”. Abdul Wahhab’s father was a chief judge, adhering to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, traditionally prevalent in the area. Yet, both he and Abdul Wahhab’s brother, Sulayman, detected signs of doctrinal deviance in him from early on. It was Sulayman who would first come out with a lengthy denunciation of his brother.

Following his early education in Medina, Abdul Wahhab traveled outside of the peninsula, venturing first to Basra. He then went to Baghdad, where he married a wealthy bride and settled down for five years. According to Stephen Schwartz, in The Two Faces of Islam, “some say that during this vagabondage Ibn Abdul Wahhab came into contact with certain Englishmen who encouraged him to personal ambition as well as to a critical attitude about Islam.”[1] Specifically, Mir’at al Harramin, a Turkish work by Ayyub Sabri Pasha, written between 1933 and 1938, states that in Basra, Abdul Wahhab had come into contact with a British spy by the name of Hempher, who “inspired in him the tricks and lies that he had learned from the British Ministry of the Commonwealth.”[2] The details of this relationship are outlined in a little known document by the name of The Memoirs of Mr. Hempher: A British Spy to the Middle East, said to have been published in series in the German paper Spiegel, and later in a prominent French paper. A Lebanese doctor translated the document to Arabic, from which it was translated to English and other languages. The Memoirs outlines the autobiographical account of Hempher, who claims to have acted as a spy on behalf of the British government, with the mission of seeking ways of undermining the Ottoman Empire. Because, as recorded by Hempher, the two principal concerns of the British government, with regards to its colonies in India, China and the Middle East, were: 1. To try to retain the places we have already obtained; 2. To try to take possession of those places we have not obtained yet. For we are the sort of people who have developed the habit of taking a deep breath and being patient. Hempher claims to have been one of nine spies sent to the Middle East for such a purpose. He reports, “we were designing long term plans to wage discord, ignorance, poverty, and even diseases in these countries. We were imitating the customs and traditions of these two countries, thus easily concealing our intentions.” The pretext Hempher was offered for his actions was: We, the English people, have to make mischief and arouse schism in all our colonies in order that we may live in welfare and luxury. Only by means of such instigations will we be able to demolish the Ottoman Empire. Otherwise, how could a nation with a small population bring another nation with a greater population under its sway? Look for the mouth of the chasm with all your might, and get in as soon as you find it. You should know that the Ottoman and Iranian Empires have reached the nadir of their lives. Therefore, your first duty is to instigate the people against the administration! History has shown that “The source of all sorts of revolutions is public rebellions.” When the unity of Muslims is broken and the common sympathy among them is impaired, their forces will be dissolved and thus we shall easily destroy them. In 1710, the Minister of Colonies sent Hempher to Egypt, Iraq, Arabia and Istanbul, where he learned Arabic, Turkish and Islamic law. After two years, first returned to London for briefing, before being sent to Basra, a mixed city of Sunni and Shiah, where Hempher met Abdul Wahhab. Recognizing his insolence towards the Koran and traditions of Islam, Hempher recognized him as the ideal candidate for the British strategy. To ensure his corruptibility, he had a temporary marriage arranged, known in Islam as Muttah marriage, and not considered legal, with a Christian women sent by the British government to seduce the Muslim men. As he had been told, “We captured Spain from the disbelievers [he means Muslims] by means of alcohol and fornication. Let us take all our lands back by using these two great forces again.” Hempher was then called away to parts of Iran, and then to Baghdad. In the interim, he was concerned that his pupil would be brought back to the fold by those more knowledgeable than he. And so, Hempher advised Abdul Wahhab to venture in the mean time to Iran, an area where the Shiah dominated, and which, according to Hempher, was plagued with ignorance, and therefore, less of a challenge to Wahhab’s heterodoxy. Wabbab did travel to Iran, territory of Shiah, a tradition contrary to his own, which was Sunni, and for which he later engendered quite a hatred. Therefore, his journey can only be explained as having been in the service of Hempher, who specifically advised him, “when you live among the Shiah, make Taqiya; do not tell them that you are Sunni lest they become a nuisance for you. Utilize their country and scholars! Learn their customs and traditions. For they are ignorant and stubborn people.”

www.terrorism-illuminati.com...
_______________________

Do Muslims permit female genital mutilation?

No.

"Al-Azhar Supreme Council of Islamic Research, the highest religious authority in Egypt, issued a statement saying FGM/C has no basis in core Islamic law or any of its partial provisions and that it is harmful and should not be practised".

en.wikipedia.org...

www.magharebia.com...
__________________________________________

There was a guy who posted a thread about Muslims beating up an Ahmadiyya so called Muslim...www.abovetopsecret.com...

I said so-called because they're not Muslim (I'll go off on a slight tangent). Ahmadiyyas believe that a guy in India who lived some 80 years ago was a Prophet (the guy later died in the restroom). One of the main tenets of Islam and what a person says to become Muslim is "There is no one worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" - that second part HAS to be understood by the person that Prophet Muhammad is the last Prophet. Claiming otherwise, would be like nullifying half of the Testification of Faith, which does not make one a Muslim.

Back to the vid, hitting even a non-Muslim unjustly is prohibited...you shouldn't blame the acts of a group of self-proclaimed Muslims on the whole group (all the Muslims). Especially when an act is prohibited by Islam. For example, the suicide bombing happening around the world as we speak, as I mentioned earlier, suicide is categorically CONDEMNED, so one cannot blame ALL the Muslims for the inane act some self proclaimed Muslims do, in addition to it being condemned by Islam.
________________________________________________
Does Islam promote terrorism?

Some guy titled a thread "Islam promotes terrorism" then referenced verses of the Qur'an to support his claim.

A guy had commented: No, it’s not Islam that promotes terrorism, it’s a radical twisted literal interpretation of Islam that causes terrorism. Bit like a Christian talking “eye for an eye” a little bit too literally. Also most scholars of the Qur’an would agree that for it to be correctly interpreted and understood it must be read in its native language, Arabic. So anyone could very easily criticize what you have said because you’re reading a interpretation rather than the original test. It’s a easy blow I know, and some of you will say it’s just a easy way for me to get around these comments but its true

This is a good response, but I'll add a little: The verses he quoted are misconstrued and are probably WAHHABI INTERPRETATIONS (you would understand this pun if you read about Wahhabis, as I posted earlier in this thread )
_____________________________________________
The thread of the fourteen year old girl

^people should know of what I'm referencing - after all, it was the member pick some days ago =O

I'll start out by saying that rape is prohibited in Islam and what the guy did was wrong. In a real Islamic court he would have been killed the first time for rape - Islam totally detests rape/fornication as is evident with the punishment. And then again, there were people accusing the whole religion based upon that unlawful act =S

But then again, there will be people arguing "BUT IT WAS AN ISLAMIC COURT"

Just because it claims to be an Islamic court doesn't mean it is one. The Wahhabis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia claim to follow "strict Islam" and they prohibit women from DRIVING CARS (not saying that all the people in Saudi Arabia are Wahhabis, but most of the ones with power are and many of the inhabitants are effected by there ideology, after all, they have all that oil $$$ to propagate it) - again this is due to there misinterpreting the Religious Scriptures - they take all the Religious Scriptures LITERALLY.

There are countries which are 99 percent Muslim and they have leaders who aren't Muslim, but secularists.

Tunisia is 99% Muslim and the hijab has been banned there 1981 - en.wikipedia.org...

The past (Wahhabi) mufti of Saudi Arabia (Ibn Baz) is said to have claimed that THE EARTH WAS FLAT - an idea denied by Muslims. Some claim this and quote a verse of the Qur'an to support there claim, and this is what Ibn Baz did in his so-called fatwa.
__________________________________________________
About the cutting of the hands of thieves

"Well good for them, i bet they wont steal again. It saves prison time, taxpayer money, and you have one less thief on the street. USA could learn from this. But we are so backwards, we only give a slap on the wrist for theft and they are out on the street again, bolder and more people to victimize" - a guy had posted in response to a thread yesterday about the cutting of hands of thieves by Muslims. This isn't a misconception, this is part of Islam. I just want to add additional information:

Nobody would even think of stealing if they knew that they were going to get there hand cut off. Furthermore, if one walks the street and sees a person with there hands off, right then, it will hit them that that person probably stole. The people with there hands cut off will be examples to others who think about stealing.
_________________________________________________

I actually just addressed 2 or 3 misconceptions, but they were some big misconceptions

Islam = malsi = mal si = bad yes in spanish.. end of.. simples.

it wouldn't surprise me if the story alberto rivera told about the vatican creating islam, same as christianity, to be opposing forces, either side of the war that they want to see in the new age with, is true. truth is stranger than fiction!

seriously dude, get your head out the middle ages!

I think that the there are a few issues at play. First, the media undeniably plays a role those big bad scary Muslim countries must be destroyed, because they are evil.....don't pay attention to the oil, diamonds, gold, and various other natural resources, it's our duty to manage those once we've dealt with the "evil ones".

Second, education and I mean this across the board in every nation. The reason that the actual bad are able to recruit willing participants (not counting those that are drugged or mentally disabled here) have been taught that their suicide is supported by God, that their murder of others (including other Muslims) is supported by God, etc.
Here we have our issue with education. People are quick to buy into the t.v. version of Islam and not actually research it for themselves (that would require education )

The two little examples I cited are completely against Islam and will damn a person to hell. Yet, some people succumb to the brainwashing on both sides.

Good thread.. Though sadly there are many who will
A. Make no attempt to learn what islam is truly about.
B. Make no attempt to understand any culture outside their own. Thus base all their opinions on false information and fear that results from lack of understanding.
S&F For the effort you put into trying to help them understand.

reply to post by Expat888


You know, your post reminded me of something

Many people, both within Islamic communities and outsiders looking in, forget the individual cultural practices of a society. The cultural practices may not fall directly into or away from Islam, and for this reason persist within Islamic societies.

Honor killings are rare within the mid east in general, despite the over abundance of media coverage when one does occur. Typically it is part of a local cultural norm, not necessarily the religion that the state claims.

Egypt, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Turkey are all Muslim countries and all have very different cultural norms and standards.

Too many times the media and individuals believe that all Muslims fit into a very need little box, and as with any society it isn't that simple. You have very modern societies, you have third world countries that time forgot, and you have everything in between.