Thursday, June 10, 2010

Islam As Understood By An Agnostic.

INTRODUCTION
=============
Although the news coming out from the Middle East,especially from the website of Al-Jazeera(www.aljazerra.net)can keep this website busy just commenting on the news being reviewed,I have chosen to start a series of reviews about Islam that may prove more productive and beneficial to those who have already expressed genuine desire to learn more about Islam.

In order to develop an acceptable comprehension of the essence of Islam,one may have to study the various topics or units amout Islam as an integrated whole,not as seperate units perse. In other words,one has to,at least,be familiar with all topics touched by Islam or caused by Islam,in order to understand one topic as it is connected to other topics.

Therefore,the following topics will be outlined and possibly discussed in the next few weeks,hoping a degree of enlightment will be the end result for everyone following these reviews:

(1) Arabia Before The Appearance Of Islam.

(2) Early Life Of Muhammad Before Becoming The Messenger Of God.

(3) How Islam Appeared.

(4) The Five Pillars Of Islam.

(5) The Escape Of Muslims From Mecca to Yathreb(Medina,now).

(6) Al-Muhagireen(The Immigrants) And Al-Ansar(The Supporters).

(7) Muhammad's Triumphant Return To Mecca.

(8) The Language OF The Qura'n.

(9) Interpretation Of The Verses Of The Qura'n.

(10) The Greatness Of Islam.

(11) The Meaning Of Jihad In Islam.

(12) The Status Of Women In Islam.

(13) Islamophobia.

(14) Recommended Reading/References

I shall attempt to be as brief as possible,except where it is necessary to dwell on the topic for badly needed elaborations. I hope I need not do that. I shall see.

If one single,sincere and honest reader or follower of this blog extracts some benefits from the above series,I will be content and will be satisfied,indeed. If no such a reader or follower exists,I will regret the waste of time.

4 comments:

  1. As I have indicated before I am interested in learning more about Islam, not an easy thing to do in our environment. Number 12 especially interests me. There would not be too much discussion as my knowledge about such matters is minimal. America and the Christian religion does not encourage this.
    elisa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not a waste of time at all! I'd be interested in your input regarding item 13. Although Islamophobia is very real, and often ruthlessly unjustified, it's sometimes difficult to gain a genuine sense of the nature of Islam since it is so tied to the Arabic language. Therefore it ceases to be truly accessible to the average non-Arabic speaker, and this in itself encourages the phobia behind Islam. It is quite natural to fear the unknown, or in this case, the unattainable.
    Bint-Mileh

    ReplyDelete
  3. Elisa,

    Thank you for your interest in learning about Islam. I will try to be as brief as I possibly can as long as I provide you with some correct knowledge in,unfortunately,a sea of hatred toward Islam and bigotry against Muslims,in the West. It will take me some times to prepare for each topic. I ask for your patience and to bear with me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bint Melih,

    Thank you for your interest in learing about Islam.

    It seems to me that you have already known something about Islamophobia. I agree with your statement and I quote it:"It is quite natural to fear the unknown,or in this case,the unattainable."

    But,I ask: Does the fear of the unknown justifiy the sea of websites whose main function is preaching hatred towards Islam and bigotry against Muslims day-in,day-out,seven days a week,in the West,especially in the United States?

    I understand how the Islamophobia has taken control of the small and decadent mind to develop such extreme views against all Islam and all Muslims after the tragic events of 9/11/2001. If a small number of Muslim fanatic had done such horrible crimes,what justification there is to wage a campaign of terror and hatred toward all Islam and Muslims?

    Timothy McVeigh,a Christian American who was an Ex-Marine killed 169 innocent Americans,
    including women and children,in his terrorist act in Oklahoma City in 1995. Can I justify to develop a hatred toward Christianity and bigoted hatred toward all Christians? Of course,NOT. The same NOT should be applied about Islam and Muslims. Unfortunately,that is NOT the case about Islam and Muslims.

    Double standard? Yes,iundeed.

    ReplyDelete