My parents are muslims (they were born in pakistan— i was born in uk and raised in states) and eventhough I classify myself as a muslim, i am not really one (dont practice). I think Im a decent guy, but not really a practicing muslim. Probably, the reason Im not religious is because of my political leanings. I am a liberal and have liberal views regarding such issues as abortion, death penalty, womens rights etc. and I am having a difficult time reconciling these with Islam.
I believe there is no point in praying, if my heart isnt in it. I believe that if I can understand the why islam says this… or does islam say this… about certain political issues, maybe this will help me on the road to perhaps becoming a muslim (actually I probably would be considered a convert-- because there is no difference between me an a christian raised person becoming a muslim) or perhaps Im too far to the left to even consider becoming a muslim. maybe Im at the point of no return.
Anyway, could any one recommend any good books, websites, etc that discusses interpretations of islam, etc. Any advice would be helpful.
My father died last year of cancer and i got to know the muslims from the mosque in my town, because of that. Generally the are very nice and friendly people.
Butto be frank, they are one of the reasons why I am so distant from islam. they are soooo backward.
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*Originally posted by uklawyer: *
I appreciate your advice. thank you.
My father died last year of cancer and i got to know the muslims from the mosque in my town, because of that. Generally the are very nice and friendly people.
Butto be frank, they are one of the reasons why I am so distant from islam. they are soooo backward.
im a bit scared of them to be honest
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don't judge Islam by the behaviour of few human beings...
you dun want to be loser because of others???
as ALLAH says in Quran:
"Every one is responsible for his/her own deeds."
I pray ALLAH that such a nice person like you may get guidance from ALLAH .. Aameen!
I appreciate your kind words. You seem like a really nice guy.
But what you just said doesnt help me at all.
Its very easy to say "Allah will do this or Allah will help you" Thats what those guys at the mosque say. But it soo unhelpful. Not to be rude but thats not good enough.
Little addition to above advises, do read al-Quran when u have time, not just the translation, but also the explaination of when that verse came, what was happining then & what was the circumtances.
If u can get some translations u can try reading Imam Gazali’s books. those books would be way too old (centuries) but still they explaine good some of the basic things.
Islam is not only a religion,its a way of life, it just dont depends on Quran & Hadith, Shariyat is based on 3 things, Quran, Hadith & Common sense, that explains how much flexible this religion is.
Islam is not backword nor difficult to follow, its always us who make it difficult, for example, i always qoute the the insident that happened with Moses, (u can find the same insident in Cristian History) God told Moses to sacrifise a Cow, Moses conveyed the messege, ppl asked should the Cow be white or red? …Moses asked God again, then ppl asked should it be healthy or week, etc …& same thing was going on for years, at end God told Moses, i only said to sacrifise a cow, any cow would do, but its Human who make things difficult.
I m sure soon when u go into depth u will find islam is not hard, its some humans who present it as a hard religion & we add extra things everywhere.
Well i am afraid your mind towards Islam has been corrupted too much by what you hear from your ears. Why dont you Sit down do wuzu and try to learn the TRUE meaning of islam on your own. The best book is "Quran Shareef". Your parents would definately have an english translation of it too. Read it in arabic and then English. Try to understand the main concept and reasons and i am 110% sure you will get answers to all questions Inshallah.
What made you think law supports christian or jew thinking?
Laws were made by men they can get destory easily but Religion that is something given. You can question it to get out of confusion but you cannot change it to please yourself or your pleasures. Sadly that has been the case in several places. Who ever questions me about similar topics i tell them to read Quran shareef and try to understand the meaning of it.
[It can take years to learn everything.... i am sure you are young.. Start your journey and hopefully it will lead you to a great path........... ameen]
I am so glad that you didn’t post this in religion forum.. :~)
First thing first..welcome to Gupshup.
Then as jony and nia said our religion Islam is not as much complicated as ppl today are making it. times may change but it does not change the basic concepts of a religion…Islam is simply believing truly in One God Allah and in his Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) then offering ur prayers and reciting the Holy Quran is also very important… that’s the base of Islam.
Since u r not believer u should also know why u r converting ur religion to Islam. Just because ur parents were Muslim? Start from the beginning ..heading directly to certain issues won’t help either…I’ll suggest that first u should read some good books regarding Islam before becoming a Muslim…it might help u to get some hold on ur religion…
Why don’t u ask questions regarding ur concern? We might be able to be more helpful that way…Islam is a vast religion. If we start explaining it all it might take us whole day..
LOL. And man was taught his religion in a day. LOL.
365 days a year, 70 year lifespans, and here we’re contemplating 24 hours…
UKL, u might want to read some books on Comparative Religions b4 u jump into any belief. Go thru the whole gamut - Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confuciansim, Islam, Zoroastrianism… trust me, you’ll find faith…eventually.
Ukl, Salam. Welcome to GS Cafe. I unerstand what you are saying. I have had many of my run-ins with people like you described. We and my sisters' family have been taken to the cleaners by the very devout muslims who never spend on free moment of their time without read the kalma. The AHs.....! But on to your question.....
Do you have an understanding or recognition of the fact that you are a Muslim? If so, how? What do you think makes you a Muslim? I don't care what your political/social views are. You are saying things that suggest you are influenced by Islamic thoughts but that's for later to discuss.
A lot of the part of actually feeling and believing what you read is having an open minded and unbiased approach towards it. You are bitter b/c of the suffering your late father went through, Innalilahi wa Inna Elaihi Rajioon. That's understandable, but all the answers are indeed woven into the Quran, waiting to be unwrapped. No one can weave the way for you in discovering the answers, you have to make your own way, like anything else in life. Others can only give you hints. I hope that helps.
I have a palestinian friend who is christian--- and he made me read excerpts from the bible-- and I just read wonderful stories-- and whether or not they are false-- they gave great moral endings--
he did everything he could to convert me-- and i acceptd his views and help, but he didnt succeed.
Is the Koran supposed to make me feel good. Because I read the bible (LUKE) first time and that did make me feel good-- i enjoyed reading it- eventhough Im not christian-- i dont get that from the koran-- i keep on reading and reading and reading it-- but i just dont get anything from it.
I am honestly trying-- i just need something-- i want to be a muslims but what is the point in praying if your heart isnt in it
this is really emotional for me-- (ive been crying since the last paragraph)--
I dont know-- im sorry i wasted all your time
I wont bother you anymore
Thank you for your help-- i will follow all your advice
