In a not so long a future, Muslims will dominate the world (according to demographics click here for a 7 minute video explanation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU )Are Muslims ready to lead?
Do Muslims understand the other cultures and spiritual traditions enough to lead with compassion and fairness? Do Muslims understand, trust and have confidence in Islam and the Quran in the first place? Can Muslims restore an Islam that accepts all and care for all? Today in Malaysia we have yet to share our Zakat money with the other deserving poor (like many of our brother and sister Hindus) even when the Quran suggest that the Zakat is for all who are needy (Quran 9 :60)
I recommend both Muslims and Non-Muslims to start taking Islam more seriously, read and understand Islam vis a vis the other faith, create new methodologies and approach for a future that bring forth universal and confident Muslim leaders and followers of the highest standards – a truly median nation that can moderate the world towards a peaceful state. A Muslim population that is willing to share Allah with followers of all other religious traditions, defend them when needed, and rule with justice and fairness.
"And that all places of worships whether they are mosques, monasteries or churches honor Him,
(They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah.. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will).( Quran 22:40)
(They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah.. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will).( Quran 22:40)
4 comments:
First of all, the video has this freaky background music, as though they are filming about the progression of H1N1 virus slowly increasing in numbers and infesting the body of the host ergo, killing it,.... or something like that.
Perhaps that does reflect the sentiments of the people who created this video. And the last bit is even more eerier....."this calls for desperate measures"...what desperate measures? Is it like "we have to come up with some pesticides to kill this pests" kind of measures? Oi, that can't be good.
But can we blame the non Muslims for fearing Islam? It's because the people who practices Islam now are the Muslims divide by many sex, i mean, sects. To me,Islam and Muslims bears two separate meaning. Muslims are the people who practices Islam, only the question is, what interpretation of Islam are these "Muslims" practicing?
Are we practicing the Islam God had meant us to practice, or are we practicing our interpretations of Islam tailored to our advantages?
The burning question is not about quantity of Muslims, rather , the quality of Islam today's Muslims are practicing. If the interpretation of Islam translates to monopolizing and discriminating women by manipulating the Quran and Hadith,for example then by God, I'd gather amongst those who worries about the progression of "Islam".
Why the obsession of taking over the world in the first place? Islam is not a religion, rather it is deen, a beautiful way of life that makes perfect sense, and it should be spread via understanding it's beauty, and not via genetic multiplications.
That what makes us human differ than the animals. Quantity takes a second place to quality. Funny, how our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w , despite having many wives, had only ONE child. Funny how people noticed the quantity of his wives and not in the number of child he had, and turned it into a Hadith. Polygamy for instance, should be an obsolete issue because even if a woman is baron nowadays, with modern science, it is possible to un-baron her. If a man can financially afford to have another family with another woman upon an excuse of a baron wife, surely he can spend money that may cost less than having another set of family, on scientific methods of obtaining a child. Give it up men, you guys have ran out of excuse a loooong time ago for polygamy. Oh, let me guess, there is a hadith already in regards to artificial insemination? It is not good to create a life within the consent of the couple, but better to destroy the life of another woman in order to create another life....exactly, makes no sense
Another thing. If France will be an Islamic country in the future, I wonder what the fatwa on french kissing would be...hmmm....
You may not necessarily agree with me, but I hope you open your mind and consider what I have to say.
1) Religions have to interpreted as a whole, is that agreed?
2) We cannot pick and choose the verses or parts in the Bible or the Quran and let it stand by itself, because that would lead to misinterpretations, (intentional or not) is that agreed?
3) I believe, and this is my personal opinion. You may not agree once again, but I hope you read it
- Religions are written by bigoted males
This would seem rather hypocritical, the verse singled out but do hear me out
From the ten commandments
“17 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”
-the instructions are plainly written for the male in the family… and where the wife’s position sits behind the house… or is in equal rank with slaves and donkeys.
On the issue of Polygamy, If got created humans (which we shall assume to be true)
And if god meant for men to take 4 wives (which we shall assume was the order/ intention of god and not the interpretation of the act of his servant)
Then the male-female ratio of the world would be
1 to 4
Is that agreed?
All Major religions in the world espouse the freedom of religion…true?
Let there be no compulsion in the religion: Clearly the Right Path (i.e. Islam) is distinct from the crooked path.
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 2:256]
Mahatma Gandhi says :
““The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”
Well I say (not in any way to mean that I am of equal rank/ status but it is a reflection on the statement)
“the greatness of a religion and its fairness can be judged by the way its apostates are treated”
And here, the benevolence / Malevolence of a religion can be judged.
Remember that we MUST interpret religion as a whole, and not a figment of it… so there is no selective interpretation or claiming that the law is no longer practiced without a religious statement or fatwa to back the claim.
In Judaism
Deuteronomy 13:6-10:
6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
In Christianity
12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; 14 Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; 15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. 17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; 18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,
In islam
• Kill whoever changes his religion. Sahih al-Bukhari 9:84:57
• The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims. Sahih al-Bukhari 9:83:17
Islam Online, a website,[citation needed] contains a fatwa dated 21 March 2004 and ascribed to 'IOL Shariah Researchers' says:
• "If a sane person who has reached puberty voluntarily apostatizes from Islam, he deserves to be punished. In such a case, it is obligatory for the caliph (or his representative) to ask him to repent and return to Islam. If he does, it is accepted from him, but if he refuses, he is immediately killed."[14] No one besides the caliph or his representative may kill the apostate. If someone else kills him, the killer is disciplined (for arrogating the caliph's prerogative and encroaching upon his rights, as this is one of his duties).
And wherein lies freedom of religion when the son born of a muslim in this country must be Muslim and the spouse of a muslim must convert to Islam?
I have more to say but let it rest at this point and I shall return to the post if there is a fair, equal, non-judgemental reply :-) Peace.
Dear Willow,
TQ for your entry.
In general it is better to look at a spiritual tradition in its entirety and not pick and choose one or two parts here and there. Furthermore, one should also study the context of within which they are set.
So to understand better the Quranic worldview and philosophy and go deeper about Islam may I recommend these two books – ‘Major Themes of the Quran’ by Fazlur Rahman ISBN 0882970461 and ‘The Opening Chapter of the Quran’ by Abul Kalam Azad ISBN 9839154281
To get to the heart of Christianity and know how to be Christ-like, I highly recommend Albert Nolan’s ‘Jesus Before Christianity’ ISBN 1570754047.
On apostasy and Islam, to get a clearer picture read S.A. Rahman’s Punishment of Apostasy in Islam ISBN9839541498. As for matters of the fairer sex and polygamy do refer to Asghar Ali’s The Rights of Women In Islam ISBN 9679502643.
While in general it is better to look at any spiritual tradition in its entirety, there are areas that a direct quote is acceptable. This is when the scripture semantically state the obvious in a direct manner. For example when the Bible says’ ‘Thou shall not kill’ or like the Quranic decree about zakat I quoted in my blog entry.
To understand semantics in religious scriptures, the Quran in particular I highly recommend Toshihiko Izutzu’s book ‘ Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Quran’ ISBN 9839154559.
Do tell me your opinion and send me the comments on the books read and thank you for the interest.
“ And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea (were) ink, with seven (more) seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, verily, God is almighty, wise. ”
(Quran 31:27)
“ Those who listen to the Word, and follow the best (meaning) in it: those are the ones whom Allah has guided, and those are the ones endued with understanding ”
(Quran 39:18).
peace, anas
First and Foremost I apologise for apparently hijacking your post from an issue twice removed into a religious debate. My apologies. :-)
Thank you for the list of books recommened. I am trying to open my mind and will read your books recommended in due time while I am still struggling to complete Syed Husin Ali's "Ethnic Relations" due to a conflict of time management.
We need more public discussion on issues like these and I believe your blog is a good place as any for an intellectual debate.
Indeed the issues raised cannot be summarised into a few paragraphs but as a direct consequence I am unable to respond adequately till I have read the books.
That said, thank you for allowing my comment to surface and thank you for your time.
sincerely, Willow
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