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What does Islam stand for?
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Andrea View Drop Down
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    Posted: 27 August 2009 at 1:50pm
Dear Friends,

As a Catholic I believe it is my duty to uphold and defend the dignity of my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.  I hate to see any racial/religious attacks against Islam and it angers me to see ignorant people talk ill about Islam.

So I come to you and ask for your help.  If I were to say Islam is a religion of peace....  what else can I say?

What is Islam about?  What does it stand for? 

What would you say if you saw an ignorant attack on your beautiful faith?

Regards,

Andrea
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honeto View Drop Down
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Points: 2487 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote honeto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 August 2009 at 4:39pm
Andrea,
thanks for your kind words. In Islam we are told to return kindness with more kindness. There are some who are arogant and attack those who differ with them. It just shows that they were never taught kindness or they forget to practice because I believe all religious beliefs teach kindness, its just some don't practice it. 
Islam stands for justice, in my opinion justice is the final goal. On the day of accountability justice will bring peace to those who were wronged and did not surrender to injustice.
That brings us to what is expected of us, how we can practice justice.
Islam in genral stand for doing justice with two most important aspects of our lives:
1) you and your relationship with your maker. That is your coming to the realization of the fact that God is your Creator, the All Knowing, the Merciful. And that you are one of His Creations.  Through faculties provided by Him, and aided by His revealed word you carefully align your relationship with your maker as accurately as possible without denial of truth or willful disobidience.
 
2) You and your relationship with the Created, that is all and everyone other than God. Islam teaches us to be in balance with all that is created according to God's revealed word.
 
And since Islam teaches us that we will be accountable to how we deal with those two relatioships, a true believer puts his best effort and intention into it. Islam also teaches us that both of these relationships has to fulfilled in order to achieve sucess, Salvation. 
This is my brief reply to your question, I hope its helpful.
Best wishes,
 
Hasan


Edited by honeto - 28 August 2009 at 4:39pm
The friends of God will certainly have nothing to fear, nor will they be grieved. Al Quran 10:62
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peacemaker View Drop Down
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Points: 3057 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote peacemaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 August 2009 at 10:24am
Originally posted by Andrea Andrea wrote:

Dear Friends,

As a Catholic I believe it is my duty to uphold and defend the dignity of my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.  I hate to see any racial/religious attacks against Islam and it angers me to see ignorant people talk ill about Islam.

So I come to you and ask for your help.  If I were to say Islam is a religion of peace....  what else can I say?

What is Islam about?  What does it stand for? 

What would you say if you saw an ignorant attack on your beautiful faith?

Regards,

Andrea
 

Hello Andrea,

Islam is the message of peace and submission to Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The Muslims believe in Allah, and His Messengers, including the last Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Here is a relevant link that you may refer to:

http://www.islamicity.com/education/understandingislamandmuslims/

When you click the link and a new page opens, you see that another link appears on the bottom right corner. Likewise, you find the link on subsequent pages.

When an ignorant attacks Islam, the best thing is to explain to him or her as to what Islam stands for.

Here is a verse:

�Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!�

Qur�an 41: 34

http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/QURAN/41.htm

The gravity of the attack and circumstances would also determine the best response. Generally speaking, the Muslims are encouraged in all situations to strive to establish justice and peace.



Edited by peacemaker - 31 August 2009 at 10:27am
Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?
Qur'an 55:13
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Akhe Abdullah View Drop Down
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Salams,Andrea.Bismillah:Islam is an Arabic word which means peace,submission and obedience.It also means acceptance and commitment to abide by the teachings and guidance of God.One of the beautiful names of God is As-Salam(The Peace).Islam also means to be at peace with God and His creatures.Being at peace with God implies complete submission to His will,Who is the source of all goodness.Being at peace with His creatures implies living in peace within one's self,with other people and with the enviroment.In this complete submission to God (Allah)we fear none but Him and associate none with Him.Islam promotes the brotherhood of man,toleration of one another,sympathy for the unfortunate and cooperation for general human happiness.And what ever the case maybe good or bad war or peace it's always (Al Hamduillah)All Praise is do to Allah!
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salahuddeen2009 View Drop Down
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salam brother
I found each one of the brothers here adding a wonderful point to the complete answer for your question,so i'l avoid repetitions
I have an addition,maybe my grammer will not be that good,bcz iam an arab,but i think my ideas will be clear:
1)when a muslim fights(jehad),this should be with the aim to establish PEACE,not for SELF-BENEFITS &should be with complete RESPECT to the the strict WAR-laws&conditions defined by GOD in the Holy Qur'an & Sunnah
2)all religeons have their own WAR-LAWS,the Bible itself has chapters explaining this topic(whether we agree with it or not)
3)when some muslims BREAK the war-Laws defined by Islamic Scriptures,then its not the fault of islam as a religeon,but it's the fault of those specific Muslims who broke the laws of God(whether due to their ignorance,selfeshness,bad cultural backgrounds...etc)
 
 waiting for your comments


Edited by salahuddeen2009 - 01 September 2009 at 5:03pm
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Searcher2009 View Drop Down
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Andrea,

 

As a former Catholic, now Methodist, I understand your quandary. I came here to ask questions, receive information from the point of view of a Muslim and make my own decision about what is real and not real in this crazy world. I share your question and would like to add a comment, or rather a question to this discussion.

 

When you asked what Islam stands for, I thought that was a great question. What I do not understand is how different the interpretation of Islam is in different parts of the world. Here in the US, Islam appears to be about following the word, not making a political statement. Elsewhere, it seems to be the tool by which some try to justify their actions, no matter how harsh or different from what an American Muslim thinks. I am having a hard time putting this into words, so let me use an analogy. A catholic in the US or in Italy believes and lives pretty much the same faith. In Islam, the interpretation of Islam varies by country or region. Why is this? In my opinion, the actions of a few reflect on the religion of many.

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Hayfa View Drop Down
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Points: 2368 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hayfa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 November 2009 at 10:40am
Hello Searcher,

Have you ever been to another country where Islam is the "main" religion? I ask because many, many things are deeper then the 'news' reports.

The vast majority of Muslims believe the same thing. And I was raised Catholic and there are certainly differences in the Church.  And there are quite many differences among the sects of Christianity.

The basic beliefs of Islam are quite universal. Having traveled and lived outside of the US I believe this is true. Some Muslims ARE more educated then others. Some are illiterate. So depth of knowledge may be limited. Some are not raised within the fold of Islam just like many people born into "Christianity" do not accept all part of the religion.

In fact my travels were instrumental in becoming a Muslim.  Knowledge and depth of knowledge will vary from family to family. Same as Christianity. And it is known that the Church has tenants than many Americans do not accept or agree with. And the "priests" and ministers in Christianity have to make everything sound nice. Goodness they don't talk about the possibility of hell. Must be nice.

If you ever can travel you would learn much. Don't assume that what you read is accurate. I have  read reports and language that is very incorrect.

Take care
Hayfa
When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. Rumi
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Searcher2009 View Drop Down
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Points: 3 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Searcher2009 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 November 2009 at 11:58am

Hayfa,

 

Thanks for your response, I can certainly relate your explanation to my experience in the United States, we have some groups that believe by handling snakes, one can become closer to God. They also claim to be Christians and have taken one verse from the bible and perverted it in this unusual way. Point taken on my first question!

 

 If I may, I would like to ask another, maybe you can help me understand. I have been reading several comparisons of Islam to Christianity. I selected multiple sources to be sure no one point of view dominated my thoughts. To me, the disturbing difference between the two is on the subject of killing another person. As a Christian, I believe to kill someone is wrong, end of discussion, but today i read several passages from the Holy Quran that speak of a different point of view, let me give you one example.

 

"...kill the disbelievers wherever we find them" (Koran 2:191); "fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem" (Koran 9:5); "murder them and treat them harshly" (Koran 9:123).

 

If one takes this literally, it gives a believer a license, or approval to kill anyone who does not share their religion. I would think that the passage actually talks about a total non-believer, not someone from another religion, but isn�t this an example of how some rationalize the death of others of different faiths. This is a question, not an accusation. Like the handler of snakes, is this someone twisting the words to justify their actions?
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