Hey whats good mike?

im a muslim australian, and i have to admit that im not too enlightened on my own religion dude, but i'll speak to my local shiek dude and put these questions to him when i get the time, because im sure there's more to it than you wrote.

I'm not saying you're only telling one side of the arguement of course, i actually appreciate the question you raise, it's gotten me motivated to seek knowledge on it in fact, but i'm certain i've heard some reasoning for some of the "fallacies" you highlight. I'll get back to you

for real, big ups on the knowledge though.

quote:

Originally posted by Fresh To Def:
Hey whats good mike?

im a muslim australian, and i have to admit that im not too enlightened on my own religion dude, but i'll speak to my local shiek dude and put these questions to him when i get the time, because im sure there's more to it than you wrote.

I'm not saying you're only telling one side of the arguement of course, i actually appreciate the question you raise, it's gotten me motivated to seek knowledge on it in fact, but i'm certain i've heard some reasoning for some of the "fallacies" you highlight. I'll get back to you

for real, big ups on the knowledge though.

I have mad respect for Islam, it is a beautiful religion with a beautiful culture. But unfortunately, that is only one side of the case. I felt that this situation needed that side in particular. I felt that one person was picking the lesser of the two evils without fully knowing what's up. I have no religious flag mainly because I support everyone equally. I am glad that you seek the informaton you do but be careful. Religious authorities sometimes are harsh with questions that hint criticism.

quote:

Originally posted by M.I.K.E.:

quote:

Originally posted by Fresh To Def:
Hey whats good mike?

im a muslim australian, and i have to admit that im not too enlightened on my own religion dude, but i'll speak to my local shiek dude and put these questions to him when i get the time, because im sure there's more to it than you wrote.

I'm not saying you're only telling one side of the arguement of course, i actually appreciate the question you raise, it's gotten me motivated to seek knowledge on it in fact, but i'm certain i've heard some reasoning for some of the "fallacies" you highlight. I'll get back to you

for real, big ups on the knowledge though.

I have mad respect for Islam, it is a beautiful religion with a beautiful culture. But unfortunately, that is only one side of the case. I felt that this situation needed that side in particular. I felt that one person was picking the lesser of the two evils without fully knowing what's up. I have no religious flag mainly because I support everyone equally. I am glad that you seek the informaton you do but be careful. Religious authorities sometimes are harsh with questions that hint criticism.

Lesser of two evils?
Christianity and Islam are a way of life for billions around the world man, so 'evil' is barely an appropriate description for it ... but as you said your opinion, so i'll respect that.

"Religious authorities sometimes are harsh with questions that hint"

....True, these do exist, but we need to disparage between extremist leaders, and those that are educators. The majority in my opinion are educators, and not as harsh as you suggest. In fact, the sahabah (the prophet [s.a.w.] companions) were engaged in alot of critical inquiry, so questioning is in essence encouraged, though i do agree in some societies it is sabotaged.

To me, it just sucks that people magnify certain middle eastern areas, and i'll be careful when i say this because they are brothers of my religion of course, where islam is sometimes used as a vehicle for extremism and radicalism fuelled by hatred and terror and go on to wrecklessly annoint them as the ideal ambassadors for the fundamental islamic values, message and requirements shared by muslims far and wide.

quote:

Lesser of two evils?
Christianity and Islam are a way of life for billions around the world man, so 'evil' is barely an appropriate description for it ... but as you said your opinion, so i'll respect that.

Thanks for reading my post wrong. The poster above called it the lesser of the two evils, not me. I aknowledge that faith based organizations are a way of life for many people. That's why I said above that I would never try to sway someone away from a religion. But if your gonna try to tell me that religions are free of criticism because they are a way of life, then I think that's wrong. With this logic, we can't criticize our sports, our politics, or anything for that matter.

quote:

"Religious authorities sometimes are harsh with questions that hint"

....True, these do exist, but we need to disparage between extremist leaders, and those that are educators. The majority in my opinion are educators, and not as harsh as you suggest. In fact, the sahabah (the prophet [s.a.w.] companions) were engaged in alot of critical inquiry, so questioning is in essence encouraged, though i do agree in some societies it is sabotaged.

Of course it is, and that quote from me is very broad in terms of meaning so singling it out does it no justice. I was pointing out the fact that it is nearly impossible to recieve an answer from these religious leaders that sufficiently procures your thirst. They will only tell you to go with the word of God, or trust in your faith. I was a Catholic for 18 years. I say this not saying everyone is like this, but the majority of the leaders will steer you back in THEIR path, not yours.

quote:

To me, it just sucks that people magnify certain middle eastern areas, and i'll be careful when i say this because they are brothers of my religion of course, where islam is sometimes used as a vehicle for extremism and radicalism fuelled by hatred and terror and go on to wrecklessly annoint them as the ideal ambassadors for the fundamental islamic values, message and requirements shared by muslims far and wide.

Don't single out Islam in this. In today's society we single out anything that is non christian in seems. This past election proves it. People thought the idea of Barack being a Muslim was bad when they faled to take into consideration that they might be hurting the feelings of many Muslim people. Also not just the idea of him being muslim, but also being a Socialist. Socialism is something considered radical, when there are people in this world that believe in socialism.

Having backtracked, i notice that niether 'jstarlight1985' nor 'Sean{G}' referred to Islam or christianity as being the 'lesser of two evil's', so i really don't know who the other posters you speak of are.

In fact it only served to help me notice that, not only were you the only one to label the religions as evil, but that you reffered to them as that on two separate posts. So please don't fault me for reading your post wrong.

Secondly, had you not read my post wrong, you'd correctly comprehend that i didn't say "religions are free of criticism because they are a way of life". You see, what you did there was merge to separate arguments and unfairly merge them into the one. First of all i never said religion is free of critisism. In fact, had i not myself offered to go to my local sheik and put forth some of your critical inquiry? So i don't see how somebody trying to tell you religion is free of criticism applies here even remotely.

By all means criticise. It's healthy, and as i said in my initial post, it's encouraged in many quarters of islam. But then with that said, we've got to make a distinction between being critical and insolent. And to me personally, labelling my religion "evil" is insulting and kind of hurts as it inadvertently insinuate that i'm a bad or evil person for using it as the basis of my livelihood.

But to be honest, there's more than just a possibility that you were't even trying to take that route when you said evil, but im just saying, "evil" is quite a powerful and nasty word so be cautious of how you use it. And not to dictate how you should express yourself, but saying the religions are "wrong" in my opinion serves the same function, without the impoliteness. And if it is your opinion that the religions are evil, i'll unswervingly tolerate your opinion, but I just felt the need to give you my take on it.

And to address your other points, and i dont know if this is just my community, but i've never felt intimidated to approach a leader ...ever in search of answers. I totally agree with you though, there are so many places where religious analysis or inquiry is suffocated. But on the same token, there are so many places where challenging the content of the holy scriptures is welcomed warmly, be it in online communities, tolerant places of worship (believe it or not, they do exist), or even just the elders. Again, religion promotes and rewards the thirst for and seeking of knowledge. In islam it is perhaps among the most fundamental devices by which one can strengthen his iman (faith)

and lastly i only singled out islam because to me in todays international climate, it seems like being muslim is like a plague. And i look no further than your example of Obama having to so vehemently refute rumors that he was a muslim. And also Bill cunningham trying to rev up a crowd at a McCain rally earlier in the year by using Barack Obama's middle name "Hussein" - a muslim name - in a demeaning fashion. I doubt had obama had a christian or jewish name it would've been a tool used to ignite the crowd. So your kidding yourself IF you're suggesting Islam isn't the most 'outlawed', the biggest outcast or least welcomed of the religions hence why i singled it out

lol haha i gotta get back to this assignment now tho so yeah thats enough from me i guess