Re: Do Muslims Today Really Understand Islam?
Interesting thread, Miss Noland,
I've read your other thread also but everyone else (specifically psyche) has pretty much summed up my thoughts so not responding there.
I do not wish to / have capacity to type lengthy posts in response to your question . So, in short, to answer your title question:
"Do Muslims Today Really Understand Islam?"
- No, they dont.
Muslims these days are forced to follow an extremely twisted version of Islam which is out in the market in the form of twisted translation of the actual words, extremely violent explaination / description of the Quranic verses with regards to what Jihad is & some of the hadees books.
It's all in the market. I have seen those books in cluding some translated copies of Quran. Who exactly is publishing & distributing those books containing extremist / violent ideas & preparing an army of humans having violent & messed up beliefs about almost every subject of life & ways of life, that I cannot say. But I have absolutely no doubts that it is none other than the satanists - followers of lucifier who are not happy with the idea of followers of one God living peacefully in this God's world.
Please have no doubts that these satanists are the same people who initiated, supported & financed the holocaust because they actually were the satan worshippers who wants to clear world from the existance of the 'truth'. And these satanists are the same people who turned the most pure religion 'Christianity' into some practice of pagan rituals / beliefs. And these satanists are the same people who has now attacked the last true message from God - Islam.
By doing that, the lucifier & his followers / worshippers (satanists) wants all the believers to submit to him rather than one God. They have used so many tactics to do that over the years. Ask a true follower of the Jewish faith, ask a true believer of the Jesus Christ, ask any true Muslim who knows better than the mullahs at every corner of the street or thosebrainless who blindly follow stupid beliefs 'just because.............' The lucifier does not want any believer of God remain on earth. He is brainwashing believers into submitting to him. There are tactics used for that. Either through greed of more power, fame money or force or fear.... any which works. If none of that works, they dont want him in this world. They either lock him / her up or kill him / her. How many believers do you think have been made to suffer over the years just for being the believers of God? That's what's been going on for years. It happened with the Jews, it happened in many wars between the Christians versus others & it is happening with Muslims now but the Muslims or believers, in broader term, do not really understand that this is only the outcome of the power struggle between God & satan which caused this massacre in the past & it is still being caused.
Since this war is between God & his followers & the lucifier & his followers (whether by choice or by confusion or ignorance), the satan is using men to meet the challenge he made to God. So, satan is making men kill the true believers & followers of God so that not many of them are left in the world but those who are weak & can easily be subdued by the lucifier.
I do not know how many copies of the Quran with uneffected translation are still out there in the market & if there still is an authentic copy of the 'peace' or Islam in the market anymore because I have not looked for one since after I found a translated copy of Quran from my mother which clears up most of my confusions................... Not immediately but after I keep pondering over it, dwelling deeper until I fully understand why some specific verse has been said, in what context & imply over which situations & what kind of issues.
Do not forget that the broader picture of faith was given by the older abrahamic faiths. The 'new' that Islam brough was the way of life in detailed description about almost every situation that any human can encounter in the world. Your reference to sex slave, the wife beatings, etc..... Those lessons imply only in those siatuaions where it really is an issue. That's where those solutions are employed. So that the brainless twits do not implement the ways of primitive cultures to live their lives. But if you do not face such a situation or can deal with it yourself in a better & civilized manner which is good for everyone involved & does not create fitna, really you do not need to even obtain the solution from Quran. It is for people who need & seek & do not know better.
Same goes for all the solutions / ways / procedures of life which are described in Quran. But please remember that the hint here is that you must be very open minded, patient & honest in seeking knowledge / truth to be able to understand all those teachings. After all of that struggle, there still might be some or more teachings you would not understand or find contradictory or even stupid. But do not be too quick to disregard or reject it. Keep pondering, anaylizing further, deeper. Please do not go to a mullah who wait for someone to come to them so that they can brainwash them as per their liking but try to get to the bottom of it yourself. If you really cannot or your brain is incapable, please be very careful in choosing someone to explain to you something you do not understand because really, nobody else can teach you better than what you learn through your own struggle, findings & research. The key here is to be very patient, wise & seriously honest. Seek the truth, it'll come to you.
Please do not let your heart & mind or the hypocritic 'Islamists' who enforce their messed up beliefs on you in the name of 'Islam' confuse you. Trust you own judgement, findings & research about a particular subject you're studying. And do it with respect, even if you're a atheist / agnostic. They are called 'sacred books' for a reason. And please take good care in finding the true version of Quranic translation / tafseer books, etc.
Religion is very simple so keep it simple. Dont make it too complicated for you & for others & do not enforce it on yourself or others. Becasue "There is no compulsion in religion." Follow it only if your heart finds peace in it. Enforcing it on yourself is like disrespecting it.
Watch the documentry 'The Arrivals'. But just watching it would not help you much if you do not ponder over every aspect of it. It will take you in the right direction but do not get confused. Your mind may want you to laugh at it after you're done watching it but that is the fact - the fact as is the world around you. It answered alot of my own questions. Im referring it to you because you seem so confused.
I wish you good luck in your journey to find the truth.
P.S: "Something I missed to mention in my post above (but which has relevance to your other thread about women's status in Islam) is that if you are being mistreated by anyone (your family or others) in the name of Islam, say no to it because Islam does not encourage torture of any kind, mental or physical. Say no to anything unfair. Do not take it just because people tell you you have to take it because you are a (born) muslim. That is no excuse. Leave such ignorant people behind but do not leave the 'peace' because of those people. I say this because you sound quite frustrated as if forced to submit to unjust treatment in the name of Islam.
It's fine and dandy going around telling everybody that suicide bombing and terrorism are not the result of Islamic teachings. This is not Islam, Islam is the religion of peace, BUT have you ever wondered where in Qur'an/Sharia that all these terrorists find justification, there's got to be somerthing that makes them feel it's ok to kill the infidels (even the civilians)? Have you ever wondered that the non-Muslims may have found something in Islam that they found distasteful and they are not necessarily ignorant?
How many of you have actually read the translations of Qu'ran, and how many of you have actually read the Hadith (Sahih Bukhari and whoever you consider valid)? Do you agree with everything in it? Ever wondered why we are told to read Qur'an in Arabic and not in Urdu/English because it earns us more points for our afterlife? Do you wonder if as kids, we were asked to read Qur'an in the language we understood, our faith would be different? It would have provoked us to critically think and analyze what we are reading, may be?
Many of us become Hafiz-e-Qur'an not even knowing what they are reciting. Ever wondered how it would really affect us if we said those words and understood the meaning and we come to know that there are things in Qur'an we may not necessarily agree with and that they don't align with our belief system today? for example; slavery, concubinage, inequality of women, harsh punishments and all.....
What gives?