I have a few questions about Islam

[asadkahloon]

A "Muslim" (can also be spelled/pronounced "Moslem") is a follower of the Islamic faith. A person cannot be an Islamic. "Islamic" is an adjective. You talk about Islamic culture, the Islamic calendar, Islamic scripture, etc. but you don't call people Islamics. That's bad grammar.


There is no one official Muslim policy on these things. Just like Christianity, there are lots of different sects and sub-sects, with their own interpretations of what the scripture means. This is especially true of what "jihad" is supposed to mean. There is a lot of debate on that issue going on, but (according to Wikipedia), "although some Islamic scholars have differered on the implementation of Jihad, there is consensus amongst them that the concept of jihad will always include armed struggle against persecution and oppression".

As for women, there is no way to doubt that the Qur'an considers them inferior to men, and that this belief is widely practiced throughout Islamic culture. It's really quite an abomination. Here is a thorough collection of the anti-woman verses in the Qur'an, if you're interested, but this one really says it all:

"And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them." â??Surah 2:228

all those verses on that website have been changed and are not correct as for the one above the correct one is men have a degree of RESPONSIBILITY above them. Men are told to be care takers and providers for their families and that is why is it said like that. Why dont you do alittle more ACCURATE research before you go around posting links to inaccurate sites.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Give me some evidence of where you see this. You're telling me millions of Muslims who don't dominate or kill simply don't understand the religion? I believe not.

I hear a lot of conflicting info on this so I don't know. However, yes I think it's very plausible that millions of muslims could be just ignoring (or ignorant) of certain scriptures. You'd be hard-pressed to find a christian that actually lives exactly as the bible teaches, but if we did live by the bible there'd be a good deal of slavery, wife-beating, child-abuse, spousal murders (forget the term) and infanticide, raping of (the christian equivilant of) infidels, gay-killings, and the odd stoning (no not the good type we here enjoy). But most christian's don't condone these things, as I'm sure most muslims don't condone a lot of bad things that may be in the Koran.

Sorry if I offend anyone, but these books that are the "word of god" seem to suspiciously reflect the cultural attidudes of the time more than a devine wisdom.:wtf:

[Oneironaut]

all those verses on that website have been changed

Well, duh. I'm assuming most of the readers of this thread are not very familiar with Classical Arabic.

and are not correct as for the one above the correct one is men have a degree of RESPONSIBILITY above them.

First of all, that's still condescending and sexist. Men do not have responsibility over women. Women have responsibility for themselves, because they are free and equal individuals. Second of all, I can't find any translations of the Qur'an that say "responsibility" here. Can you tell me what translation you are using? Do you know Classical Arabic? If so, can you tell me what the original Arabic words are and how so many translators could have fucked them up that badly?

Men are told to be care takers and providers for their families and that is why is it said like that. Why dont you do alittle more ACCURATE research before you go around posting links to inaccurate sites.

Why don't you open your eyes and see how often Muslim societies treat women like shit? What do you think is the reason for that? I think it might have something to do with the Qur'an not once saying that women and men are equal and should be treated equally.

By the way, the Qur'an says if women are captured in battle as men are taking over their town, the men are allowed to take them into their "possession" (just like in the Bible). The very concept of kidnapping women and taking them into possession is horrifying, and the fact that this is just a euphemism for rape is downright disturbing. How could a real God have said something so hateful and so obviously immoral?

"And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess." -Surah 4:24

[jamstigator]

Well, I will admit that when in Turkey, probably the most secular of Islamic nations, the women were not treated as equals. They tended to be more servant-like. I almost had to marry one (entrapment scheme), and that was basically her goal: to marry a rich American like me (*cough*), and take care of my every need at home, whilst I went out into the world and made money to support us. It was sort of tempting too, because in addition to *wanting* to be my sexual slave and servant, she was, in fact, hot. Their women, for the most part, seem to *want* this to be the way life works.

However, after due consideration, I decided that when I did find a mate, I wanted a peer, an equal, a partner -- not a servant/maid/sextoy, so I figured a way out of that dilemma, and bribed her family with three grand of good ol' U.S. dollars to have the wedding (this they insisted on) but for her to say *no* to marrying me at the wedding, in public. This was to shame me, apparently. Unfortunately for them, I felt no shame and whooped with happiness when she said no. Heh. The alternatives were Turkish prison or marriage...or bribery. So I am content with my choice there.

Just shows how deeply they've brainwashed their women to be servants. That's what they expect from life and, for the most part, that's also what they seem to *want*.

Makes for an interesting wedding story anyway.