Will someone be kind enough to write me a paper on the ecology and evolution of the Gopherus berlandieri? kthanxbye!

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That is the case for any human being following any religious sect, not just Muslims. We all hold very firm beliefs and to us, whatever we believe in IS the right path, the right way. However, God (or Nature to be more politically correct) has given us the power to reason, and interpretation has been left open to us. I am not saying that I am a better Muslim because I understand the faith more than people like Richard, but I am saying that there is a level of common sense that we are given ... Richard's version of Islam does not make sense to me. In the video, it is said that he follows a "strict interpretation" of the Quran ... but nowhere in the Quran does it say to shake hands with Non-Muslims using your "dirty" hand or to not watch sports or to not be a police officer. Then how can we call that a literal interpretation?

Other faiths like Christianity, Hinduism, etc. also face the same issue.

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There are a few hadiths (which contain teachings of the Prophet as recorded by those closest to him at the time) that are considered accurate recordings and the rest are usually questioned. It is said that not all hadith represent accurate descriptions of the Prophet's life and therefore should not be trusted. Regardless, I have never heard of one that promotes using their "dirty" hand to shake hands with non-Muslims nor one that discourages sports. In my opinion, 99% of Islam comes from the Quran and the Hadith are really a very small fraction of Islam (comparatively speaking). Also, the Quran does not ask us to follow Hadith, but Muslims do because of the fascination with Prophet Mohammad and his life/sayings/teachings/etc.

@ Bold red: I completely disagree with that statement. If you pick up the Quran and read it, you will find statements like the following:

"God does not forbid you, to act fairly towards those who have never fought you over religion nor have driven you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them." [60:8]

"Do not argue with the People of the Book, unless it is in the politest manner." [29:46]

"But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in God: for He is One that hears and knows (all things)." [8:61]

"God only forbids you, with regard to those who fight you for (your) Faith, and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances), that do wrong." [60:9]

Muslims are even allowed to marry Non-Muslims:

"This day, are all things good and pure made lawful to you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful onto you and yours is lawful onto them. Lawful onto you in marriage are not only chaste women who are believers, but chaste women among the People of the Book revealed before your time." [5:6]

I don't think Richard's contempt for non-Muslims is understandable from any point of view ... did he not read the above statements in the Quran? Shouldn't these statements also be taken at face value in a strict interpretation?

I know that when you refer to statements that refer to not consider unbelievers as friends, you are referring to verses such as this:

"When the sacred months have passed, kill the idolaters wherever you find them." [9:5]

But you have to realize that the Quran was not revealed all in one go. It was revealed in parts at different times in history. Verses like the one I posted above are referring to the Battle of Badr, where non-Muslims from Mecca traveled to Medinah to fight the Muslims. There, it was said to fight for yourselves and to fight for your faith. These are not general guidelines to follow, but rather an excerpt from history. This passage was revealed to Prophet Mohammad right during this battle and these were the commands from God at that time. Therefore, it IS important to make sure that you do not pull these quotes out of context from the Quran. Because right after this verse above, the following verse states:

"But the treaties are not dissolved with those Pagans with whom you have entered into alliance and who have you subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided anyone against you. So fulfill your engagements with them to the end of their term: for God Loves the righteous." [9:4]

Especially with Christians and Jews who are considered "People of the Book", and who follow the books that Muslims believed were revealed to both prophets - Moses and Jesus - how can Muslims not be "friends" with them or consider them "unbelievers"?

 

 

Edited by Believe - 10 April 2011 at 4:55am

God wants spiritual mango or religious kela .. ye to god ko hi pata hoga na ? Why form conclusions regarding something that is unknown & unverifiable.