hi, i recently was asked why i believe in islam and my reply was that because it is the religion of my parents and also that from the cultural background that i was brought up in, it seem to best fit in with islam only.
next Qs was "what if you had no cultural bachgroung? would you still be a muslim an why??"
thats a pretty difficult qs! as if i was born a gora, ijm sure i would have prefered christianity and all of it would have made sense to me as does islam right now. but why?? why do we belive in islam. what would you guys say to a qs like that?
emm:rolleyes: ill take ur words for it that all religions are man made. im sure uve read about all of the religions and know what ur talking about.
im sure ur not just an ignorant lady calling herself parsi!
thank you for ur comments. u just changed my entire life!!! (lol)
"what if you had no cultural bachgroung? would you still be a muslim an why??"
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Actually we never choose religion/atheism/agnosticism(but its also true that some philsophies are rational then others), whatever offered to us in our childhood. It is only when we are grown that we start to think on, but that thinking is possible only if some genuine questions are raised. And If there isn't any big problem humans are found to be comfortable with their old philosophies, Because change is difficult and painfull.
Now regarding the question, I would say that if the background would be different you would be what background had to offer. i.e. whatever is the philosophy/religion of your parents. The way with which most of the people look at islam, in an absolute way which is full of emotions, is possible because they are not really exposed to the questions which can be putted on the Islam. They are not really in a position to ask from thereselves, that "Am i believing in something right?" because Islam is too close to them to be analysed.
Such questions are good they encourge people to analyse what they are believing. And finally develop enough tolerance which helop people to live together.
CUT & PASTE FROM ANOTHER FORUM, I LIKED THE POST-
"Religions are invented and crafted to keep the id in check.
I feel the same way about the invention of god(s). People needed an authority figure that was not another man (and thus a peer, and a competitor), so clever and literate men invented god.
No particular offense intended to anyone here, but I find it bizarre that in our modern society we have all the knowledge and technology that we use, and yet so many still rely on this "sacred cow" of religion.
I'm tolerant of religion because it's so entrenched in every society, but I really think that it's insane -- because I think belief in a god or gods is fundamentally insane. On the scale of probabilities, I think it's more likely that a dog could whisper secrets into a man's ear than it is that an invisible being somewhere manages the universe. The talking dog is only a moderate stretch of what we know to exist. The other is pure faith -- no basis in reality.
I'd be more willing to appreciate religion if people would acknowledge that it is a man-made means of social control, and that the all-powerful being is not a necessary part of it. That is, treat it like any other set of laws that exist for the common benefit of man interacting with man.
I'm not attacking any particular religion here -- just the underlying foundation of religions in general, which I believe to be fundamentally invalid."<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Children are born into religions. They aren't mature enough to understand religions properly, so the real choice is made by them when they've grown old enough to understand. This is pretty much the same as a person who had no cutural/religious background. When that person has grown to mature age, the real choice will be made then.
This goes for the Muslims aswell. Many young Muslims (teens), just follow what their fathers had followed, without actually looking into what Islam really is, and so they never realize the mistakes which they make.
I am not a Muslim because my ancestors were Muslim. I am a Muslim because I read & understood the contents of the Quran, and signs therein revealed by Allah, to me, proved that he is the One.
Do you guys have inter-sect conversions or you follow what your parents folloow ?
Dont quote examples where conversion takes place just for the sake of marriage.
false..I started to question my faith as a child and convert to Islam at the age of 10!..
Why?..because it is the most achieved religion offered to mankind…I mean it is more solid on its regulation of morality than others monotheist religions, as the last one it fits modern world best…it is more structurant for youth to grown in it and I have allways believed in only one god so becoming hindu or shamnist, pagan…had never been an option to me.
you need a high level of education and thinking to achieve such an acknowledgment! do you think sincerely it can thus be applied to most people on this planet?
my answer is no. I’d rather see “basic people” into religion and following their moral rules (some parts of the third world), than into drugs and with decaying values (=typical low social class in the west since industrial revolution)
I sometimes wish there were no Religions-more people have killed/Died due to them than any Disease/illness.
Even today, Sunnis are killing Shias & vica versa, Catholics are anti Protestants(and in the past have killed each other), Jews are persecuted & Hitler murdered millions etc etc.
Every human is born Muslim. It is their parents who make him a Christain, Jew, Hindu etc. Before coming to this world, we (All of us) in Aalim-e-Arwah have made a pact will Allah and declared Him(SWT) our lord.
I would ask that person to read entire Qur'an and them ask them if they now understand why I have chosen Islam. Then if they tell me they still dont understand why, I will ask them if the Qur'an has touched them. If they say no, I will say it has touched me. Which is something they cannot comprehend, nor something I wish to explain.
I would choose islam. I wish i wasnt born muslim cause sometimes i feel i take it as if it was given to me by my parents.
Plus this is how i look at it. Allah sent other books when he felt there was a need of another updated version of book he sent another one. Allah didnt feel He had to send another book after ISlam cause its a compelete package for entire mankind. It has any and every topic one can think off.
Why cut and paste? In cutting and pasting we do not use our brain at all, we borrow others brain and their thoughts. QURAN SAYS" AQAL WALON OR SAMAJ WALOUN KA LE YA YAH (QURAN) KAFE HAI
We all should think in the light of our intelligence. So I believe, for sure I would have reached to islam , what ever background I would have had.