future of Muslims and Islam

[Dushwari]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

smurf,

i would recommend u to go visit the mosques all over the world and see
how beautifully they are made. religion does not mean, a dull, colorless, dismal looking dimension in which you worship.

yes, in Islam we do prefer simplicity, but look at Masjid-e-Nabvi

how majestic it is. u wont stop from marveling.
calligraphy is a proper art - the focus of an artist's creative spirits is Allah's names.

the more Allah's names i have in my place, the more i am reminded of my Allah & also it looks decorated with nothing drawing to this world, but to the Almighty. I’ve them on metal, on wood, on stone, on marble and on gold.

hope is that those who enter the house of Allah,
whether it is a shabby mud mosque or a marble gold chandelier mosque,

they do find strength to ask for forgiveness from Allah and pray for the good tidings in life for all life forms.

iranian, arabic, cultures have a lot of things on daily use, like plates and tashbeeh that are beautiful.

we can still be religious, while being aesthetic & not luxurious or over done in affluence.

regarding death penalty in Islam, first off, why would those sins be ever committed by Muslims, i am saying this out of sheer disregard for the human nature, but for the reverence ideally we ought to have, in order to be so alert to our actions, that such crimes that warrant death, may not be ever done.

i do believe in the khilafet way of running Islamic states.
but, that is an undertaking which will involve a whole new system of
societal change & reconfiguration of the Muslim states into a framework that can adapt the khilafet governance, seamlessly from the model of current governance in our countries.

@Smurf

Okay I'm sorry, wrong of me to speculate and make assumptions but I can't fathom why anyone would want to retain the Muslim label and remain a part of the Ummah when they've no faith left in Islam.

Death penalty is from the religion and is to be applied to crimes such as murder, sodomy, adultery etc. Those who reject this reject a part of Islam and are therefore no longer considered Muslim according to the scriptures.

Common sense would dictate that if you didn't believe Islam was infallible/divine anymore then you'd leave it and not bother with it at all than update it, because following a religion you know is imperfect and manmade kind of defeats the purpose don't you think?

Wouldn't it make more sense to do what Kemal Ataturk did and do away with religion altogether and not bother with the rest of the Ummah but only with ones own nation-state? (My people don't have their own nation-state at the moment but I don't think it will be any less Islamic than the current set-up, because it's not rebelling against the Muslim Khilafat as non exists at the moment and Islam doesn't say anywhere to let Munafiqeen exploit you in the name of Islam and brotherhood.)

The only reason I would see to carry on identifying with it is a nostalgic attachment to the cultural side of it, I don't have those feelings because I make a distinction between South-Asian/Arab culture and the faith itself, I only feel for the beliefs, rules and method of worship etc. I think of articles commonly associated with religion (decorations, architecture, calligraphy, caps, beads, prayer mats) as unnecessary because Islam doesn't have iconography so the only distinctly 'Muslim' thing I have in my house is a cupboard filled with religious media (books and discs). Except for the use of Arabic in liturgy I don’t see Islam promoting any specific culture so I've not developed an attachment with all that to miss it.

[Lahore_981]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

@Dushwari

i do believe in the khilafet way of running Islamic states. but, that is an undertaking which will involve a whole new system of societal change & reconfiguration of the Muslim states into a framework that can adapt the khilafet governance, seamlessly from the model of current governance in our countries.

Thanks for saying so. I feel boasted by such this comment. Inshallah, this will happen and in fact "is happening at a very slow pace and momentum" and it is gonna give us fruit somewhere in the future.

[Iconoclast]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

@PrinceMS

and wat have you have tried to do, that made you loose hope?

Solution is simple. ACCEPTANCE! (Setup basic criteria Who Is Muslim! then accept them regardless if other's beleifs are different than yours. Respect their opinion.)

If its too abstract / confusing. Just follow the strategies of "Acceptance of multicultirism society in Canada" as much as we can.

There are people among Muslims that consider themselves to be superior to others based upon language and ethnicity. As long as they keep such beliefs unity is not possible.

[PrinceMS]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

^^ Do not concern yourself what people consider or not. You just do your part of understanding, accepting, mutually respecting and create awarness of issues at hand.

Its upto them to accept or deny. Its irrelevant what they choose. As they are free to do so. Do your part and let other's do their own.

[Dushwari]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

very well said, prince MS.
it is true that one's own sense of commitment does not need someone else to follow.

thanks for sharing this reminder.

dushi

@PrinceMS

^^ Do not concern yourself what people consider or not. You just do your part of understanding, accepting, mutually respecting and create awarness of issues at hand.

Its upto them to accept or deny. Its irrelevant what they choose. As they are free to do so. Do your part and let other's do their own.

[Iconoclast]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

@PrinceMS

^^ Do not concern yourself what people consider or not. You just do your part of understanding, accepting, mutually respecting and create awarness of issues at hand.

Its upto them to accept or deny. Its irrelevant what they choose. As they are free to do so. Do your part and let other's do their own.

Wrong, it does matter what other people choose, coz we do not live in our courtyards, we live in a society and if a group of people considers me inferior to them based upon their language or ethnicity then i am not ready to unite with them.
Islam does not ask me accept injustice or discrimination.

[manna]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

I dont think that a majority of Muslims really know what it is that they stand for when they take a stand for their religion.

Fix that and you've got a wall where one brick uphold the other.

[Kikoy]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

@PrinceMS

^^ Do not concern yourself what people consider or not. You just do your part of understanding, accepting, mutually respecting and create awarness of issues at hand.

Its upto them to accept or deny. Its irrelevant what they choose. As they are free to do so. Do your part and let other's do their own.

You are so right here Prince. However, fine line between concerning yourself with others affairs. I feel that if my neighbour is a wife-beater or thief I cannot let him do his own. If on the other hand my neighbour is a Muslim and does not fast or wear hijaab, that is not my concern. He/She will have their own answer to Allah. After all I too have my imperfections. We are too concerned about why so & so is not wearing hijaab or praying.

The future of Islam lies in how we deal with the following:
1. Educating our children
2. "I am a better muslim than you" mentality.
3. "Why are you not a true muslim?" mentality.
I have found that the proverb which goes "You lose sight of the forest for the trees" or something like that is apt. We look at the trees and concern ourself so much with them that one day we ask ourselves "Hello... where is the forest?" Look at the forest or the bigger picture. We have to live with all different religions. After all Allah is the One who created everything and so He has a reason why he created some Muslims, others Hindus, others Christians and etc. If you are in a better religion, feel at peace within yourself and get on with your life...why belittle other religions? This applies to all religions. But since the topic is on Islam and Muslims, why not take the initiative to show others that you are content with your religion as being the right one. You don't have to shout it out from the roof tops...sometimes silence is more powerful that words. And as such we have to be the living proof of this for our children to follow this example.

[deer]

Re: future of Muslims and Islam

right on aly-sam! I totally agree with the whole loosing the forest for the trees perspective! its not just specific to islam! its true of a lot of the religious right! they are so busy trying to get the whole world to convert or conform that they fail to realize the big picture! its kinda hard to be good to thy nieghbor when you are telling him he is gonna burn in hell for his beliefs!!

As for the death penalty! It is applied incredibly unfairly..chances are in any state where the death penalty is legal if you are poor/ minority you are more likely to end up on death row for committing a crime that someone more well-off/ powerful would not get the death penalty for. Not to mention in many places, due to corruption its doled out to innocent people to make a point (specially in third world countries). In the US due to the incredible lack of resources for public defense work, a lot of innocent people are put on death row. some are fortunate taht pro-bono/ public interest lawyers and investigators take on thier case but generally not very many lawyers are that charitable so therefore - quote a few people who are innocent end up on deah row!

you have to understand that sometimes when we call someone a child molestor or rapist..just that accusation in itself is so laden with guilt that even in a place like the US where you are innocent until proven guilty - just b/c a person is accused of such a henous crime - people automatically hate that person and right from the get go think of that person as guilty! so its a lot harder for them to prove their innocence! We are mere human beings, very capable of human error! I just dont think that after knowing that there will always be the chance that we might accidently inadvertantly put an innocent person to death - knowing that...i can not ever agree with the death penaly! i would much rather a few guilty live then even one innocent die!