What's happened to Islam?

[RJM]

RJM, do you have any favorite writings there that you could recommend? I'm afraid the last time I visited there I fell asleep.

It is really a science fiction writer's site, where new writers can post bits of their work and get advice, etc. There are writing competitions, and a lot of advice from published Sc-fi writers and publishing agents, etc. It is not really a readers' site, but a writers' site. There is also a lot of other stuff -- a good Science and Nature section, and all the jokes and TV and movies and books sections and so on. It's a big site.

But mostly its a place for new sc-fi writers to interact and share ideas with others.

Religion and politics is strictly banned there

 

[stranger]

It is really a science fiction writer's site, where new writers can post bits of their work and get advice, etc. There are writing competitions, and a lot of advice from published Sc-fi writers and publishing agents, etc. It is not really a readers' site, but a writers' site. There is also a lot of other stuff -- a good Science and Nature section, and all the jokes and TV and movies and books sections and so on. It's a big site.

But mostly its a place for new sc-fi writers to interact and share ideas with others.

Religion and politics is strictly banned there

Oh, okay... thanks. Perhaps better for me not to go there then, since I am not a writer. Duh, no wonder I fell asleep! It was a Brian overload. (snicker emoji)

 

[RJM]

Oh, okay... thanks. Perhaps better for me not to go there then, since I am not a writer. Duh, no wonder I fell asleep! It was a Brian overload. (snicker emoji)

I mostly visit the science and nature forums. They are good
https://www.sffchronicles.com/forum/science-nature/

 

[yitzak tover]

What's happened to Islam, when it becomes regarded as acceptable to Muslim women and children?

I know - the extremism happening in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan - isn't typical of Islam, is seeded in US foreign policy, and have national political dimensions.

But at some point, these people being trained to carry out suicide bombings are being (apparently) told that their targets are not proper Muslims, and therefore it is acceptable to kill them.

And while we hear the Arab world condemning such bombings, we also see ugly political machinations - Iran wants to support the Iraqi Shi'as, Saudi Arabia wants to support the Sunni's.

We have a fracturing of the entire Middle East between Sunni and Shi'a Islam - previously at relative peace - and the extremists are blowing open the cracks where they can, inspiring even British Muslims to turn against any apparatus of a perceived enemy.

I dunno - I'm gobsmacked - when did any interpretation of Islam make it acceptable to kill women and children?

only quran says to avoid harming women in children. elderly in battle. but bible orders you to ' bash the heads of the babies of your enemies against the rocks ' I left church for islam in 2002

 

[yitzak tover]

Salaam/Peace/Hello!

I am a Muslim and I myself ask similar question: What's happened to Muslims?

Islam as Islam has always been the same since the time of Abraham, according to the Holy Qur'an. It is the human generations that misrepresented it.

To my understanding of the Holy Qur'an, accusing someone of being kafir (unbeliever) when they declare themselves to be in submission to God AllMighty (Muslims; believers) is a sin, because no one but God knows who is a true believer at heart.

Even if a person is not a 'true' Muslim, one does not have to kill him/her for that. As evidenced by the Qur'an, the defensive amongst the early Muslims at the time of Prophet Muhammad saws happened because they were attacked first. God allowed war and commanded certain war fighting guidelines: do not kill women, children, elderly, and do not destroy even a tree in a battle. So, basically what this is tell us is that fight those that fight you first.
In a qur'anic verse (I am not sure which surah, please forgive me) it even states that when winning over an enemy town, be careful for among them might be believers.

Today, certain Muslims have no ethiquette of warfare (if there is such a thing). Blowing up oneself and many innocent lives only brings pain and misery to everyone on all sides. Does not accomplish a thing!

Prophet Muhammad saws at one time led a small army, but never told his men to kill themselves after fighting a battle. Sacrificing oneself in a battle by fighting for justice and freedom is completely different from going inside a bus and blowing everyone up--the people who did not do anything evil to the suicide bomber.

Killing civilians of any kind is such cowardly act.

There is a thing called interfaith dialogue and also religious education. If one thinks that a person should be ona right path, present the facts, engage in a healthy discussion with the person--do not attack him/her verbally or physically!

we must understand that the western media/church propaganda that christianity peaceful vs islam. is a fabrication. we see in the u s 30k gun murders per yr. in fact the top 10 murder rates in the world are all christian nations. Brazil with 70 k murders per yr leads the pack

 

[RJM]

but bible orders you to ' bash the heads of the babies of your enemies against the rocks '

Do you understand the context of that verse from Psalm 137?

It is about the Jewish captivity in Babylon -- the Babylonians who had dashed the heads of the children of the Jews against the rocks, were now demanding the Jews sung for them a song of their lost homeland,

Here is the whole Psalm:

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof.

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

This is not to justify the violence in the Old Testament, but to put into context the passage you mention here. The Quran certainly does contain passages ordering abuse and torture of enemies -- using captured women as sex slaves and so on -- but also to be taken in context, of course

 

[yitzak tover]

Do you understand the context of that verse from Psalm 137?

It is about the Jewish captivity in Babylon -- the Babylonians who had dashed the heads of the children of the Jews against the rocks, were now demanding the Jews sung for them a song of their lost homeland,

Here is the whole Psalm:

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof.

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

This is not to justify the violence in the Old Testament, but to put into context the passage you mention here. The Quran certainly does contain passages ordering abuse and torture of enemies -- using captured women as sex slaves and so on -- but also to be taken in context, of course

 

[yitzak tover]

nope yahweh clearly orders followers to bash the heads of babies against the rocks i left church for islam in 2002

 

[RJM]

nope

You mean nope, that's not the context of the verse? You were once a Christian; do you know about the capture of the Jews and the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar?