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Stereotyped
Recently, I read an article about atheism by Sarah M. Titled "My Religion", I would urge everyone to read it, as it gives an insight into an atheist's mind, one that is not often seen. While I was reading it, I was thinking; 'wait. I barely knew her religion, yet I rejected it. Have people done the same to mine?'
I've moved from Saudi Arabia to Canada. As anyone with a basic knowledge of geography and culture knows, that is about the biggest culture shock a person can get. In Saudi Arabia, modesty was valued. In Canada, modesty is but a word. In Saudi Arabia, I felt at home, among fellow Muslims. No-one questioned me or my principles; they were generally accepted and understood to be true. When I came here, I thought, unreasonably, that it would be the same. I thought that people would have a general, basic knowledge of something that was my whole world. I was so sure of God, and Islam, and all of the ideals that came along with it. I thought that others, too, would be drawn by the light.
I was wrong.
Canada is a very tolerant place. Anyone will tell you that it is a multicultural quilt. The people are polite and respectful. They are wonderfully open-minded. But they, unfortunately, have concluded that as Christianity is not for them, neither is any other religion in the world. Chrisitianity, a religion which they are familiar with, is their base for judging other religions.
I am, of course, generalising here. But not much. It is what I have seen and observed. Undoubtedly, not everyone thinks like this. But the people whom I have met--nice and honest to the core--are blissful in their ignorance. And it kills me, because they don't see what they're missing out on.
Islam is not violent. It is not oppressive or cruel or any other stereotype. It is, quite honestly, what is true. Every time I read the Quran (the holy book), I know that it is true. The most beautiful poetry fills my ears and heart. It's as if some empty part of me is content. This is faith.
But for some, faith is not enough. They need scientific reasoning. They need facts. And, because Christianity does not give them these, they think that Islam does not either. It is perfectly normal. But I would urge anyone who feels this way to read "Allah's Miracles in the Quran" by Harun Yahya. It is one of the most in-depth and enlightening books on the subject. Science, through and through. Order it off Amazon or eBay. It's not that difficult.
Every single time I hang out with my new Canadian friends, there's always a little thorn in my heart, saying, 'What will happen to them after they die?'. It hurts so much to know that someone you care about is misguided. That is why believers of all religions always try to get non-believers to convert--they care. They cannot stand the idea of you or I burning. They want to help. I want to help.
I realise that I am getting a bit desperate here, but if I manage to convince even one person, it will be worth it.
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This article has 50 comments.
I do agree that religions often cause people to dispute, but in my opinion, this is mostly due to political and social problems rather than religion itself. Religious people can have very enlightening interfaith dialogues when their homes aren't under attack. :)
Out of curiosity, what caused you to doubt Christianity since childhood?
Islamic history is very interesting in and of itself, but Islamic doctrine (as in, the actual beliefs) are the crux of the faith, obviously. :) I really would encourage you to research it! Or, well, if you're too busy to do that, I'm always at the Philosophy forums preaching to random people. :P
Yeah, I know, if I could rewrite it the ending, I definitely would. :) Thanks for your input!
Saved_by_Grace:
You're both sort of right. The Qur'an is like the C.hristian Bible in the sense that it's the sacred scripture of Islam. However, the Bible is believed the be the inspired word of God, written through the hands of men, whereas the Qur'an is thought to be the literal Word of God. A better comparison would be that the Qur'an is like Jesus (peace be upon him), and Muhammad (pbuh) is like Mary in that he is the vehicle that delivered the Word of God to the world. :)
As for the actual content, I don't think all of it's that different. Some of it, yeah, but worship one God, do good deeds, etc etc. After all, the New Testament has a vastly different tone from the Old Testament, doesn't it? :) But that's just my opinion.
@kindyxkandy,
The Quran might be the Muslim scriptures, but I don't think the term "Bible" applies. I looked up the definition, and this is what it is defined as: "the collection of sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old and New Testaments. " So, technically, the Quran isn't a Muslim Bible.
I've heard some people say the Quran is the Bible but with different names, but I just want to make it clear that they are not. If people want to say that the Quran is to Islam like the Bible is to Christianity, that is an accurate statement. However, the two books are as different from each other as could be.
@Jessica3,
Whether or not you believe in Heaven or Hell depends on your faith, and since people don't come back from the dead every day to tell us about what the other side is like, no, we don't have physical proof. It's a faith thing, so if you don't believe in Hell, there's really not much to say about it... As well, please note that this article is in the "opinion" section, so people are actually supposed to say what they think.
@kindyxkandy:
I am not a Muslim, but I think that, based on the fact that this author is, they did a very nice job of presenting the book they care about the most. Based on my own mistakes in evangelizing my faith (Christianity), I know for sure that there are far worse ways to push a religious book on someone. I've made worse mistakes concerning the Bible. Oh, and the Bible isn't the Quran, by the way. Just so you know...
I reallly did like this article. But I do have one little thing to say.
Not all believers try to convert non-believers because they care. Some (most of the believers I've encountered), do it because they simply want others to believe as they do.
Other than that, I would like to know more about Islam. I learned a few basics in History last year, and I know that not all Muslims are bad, there are just some extremist, just like any other religion, politcal party, etc..
And I'll be honest, the Jesus thing is kind of confusing. You have to understand the whole hummanity-diety-in-one-human thing which [in my opinion] gets misinterprited quite alot and it ends up making Jesus sound weak. And he's def. not. But yeah:}