Posted on 11/29/2001 10:30:57 AM PST by EclipseVI
Myself included, there are over one billion humans on earth who call God by his Arabic name, Allah. Out of that billion, over seven million of us call America our home. Many of us are born as Americans, study in American institutions and go on to work and pay American dollars to our tax system. Like everyone else, we eventually find our better half, have chubby babies, go to zoos, get season tickets to the Chicago Bulls, go on our childrens' field trips and fix the leak in our roofs. With all the growing pains in the life that we lead as normal Americans, everyday we turn our face to Mecca to pray to what our Christian brothers call God, our Jewish sisters call Yahweh and whom we call Allah.
Islam, Christianity and Judaism have exactly the same origin. We each believe in the monotheistic deity of Abraham, who was the father of all three of these noble religions. Islam's moral and ethical standards are equivalent, if not more stringent, than those of modern day Christianity and Judaism. We, as Muslims, believe in every prophet of both Judaism and Christianity. We believe the world began with Adam and Eve and great prophets, namely Moses, Aaron, Jacob, Joseph and Jesus (peace be upon all of them) were all divinely inspired by God.
We revere Jesus as a great prophet and the messiah of God. He is mentioned by name in the Quran 33 times. We equally revere the Virgin Mary as the mother of the Messiah. She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran and she is mentioned 34 times. Anyone who says Muslims don't respect women, read the entire chapter dedicated to Mary (peace be upon her). How many times was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned by name in the Quran? Five.
In Islam, a woman receives a monetary dowry from her husband, of which he has no legal claim. A woman is not obligated to change her maiden name. CNN happily broadcasts women being oppressed by the Taliban regime. Islam abhors the oppression of women. The Taliban says women are not allowed to work, yet the Prophet Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, was one of the most successful merchants in all of Arabia. Should we base our belief on a bunch of tribal warlords or the teachings of our Prophet?
In Islam, both men and women have to dress modestly. One aspect of this modest dress for women is the hijab (head covering). This is a religious mandate, but whether a woman decides to wear it or not, is an issue between her and Allah, because as the Quran categorically states, "there is no compulsion in religion." The hijab symbolizes empowerment, not oppression of women. It allows women to be judged on the content of their character, rather than the physical features that we men today objectify onto them. When we see a nun covered from head to toe in her habit, we commend her on her devotion to God. But when we see a Muslim woman wearing hijab, she is oppressed. In how many likenesses of the Virgin Mary, sculptures or paintings, is her hair not covered? Not one. Was she oppressed? Hardly.
Muslim American is not a paradox. As Muslim Americans we currently live in a diaspora having to deal with an attack on our, yes, our, country. We also have a dual anxiety because our way of life, which is not far different from our Christian and Jewish counterparts, is under attack.
I am a law student. I study international human rights. I have been to U2, Sarah Maclachlan, Dido and Outkast concerts. I have been a ball boy for the Chicago Bulls. I have owned a Ford Mustang. I pray for peace and have read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech ninety-six times. I may be a dreamer, but I promise you, I am not the only one.
I am a Muslim and I am an American. I am proud of both and will compromise neither.
I don't know what Bible you read, but mine talks about God creating mankind on the sixth day, then resting on the seventh. It then goes back and gives DETAILS about His creation of mankind (which He created on the SIXTH day).
The Bible isn't saying Adam and Eve were created on the EIGHTH day---it is just referring back to DETAILS of their creation on the SIXTH day.
The Rabbis of the Jewish tribe in Yatrib (400 AD) prophesied that according to Torah a messenger would come for the Arabs.
Thought this might interest you.
The commentary has one really salient point, overlooked by many of us, the attackees on September 11: as I've been telling everybody all along, there are a lot of plain Muslim Joes in the Islamic world, who struggle with the same every day things the rest of us do. I'm not sure exactly how many of these plain ol' Joes actually kneel in prayer five times a day, but few will admit such a herasy, so there are no actual numbers on that.
I said as much myself in the post - the Holy Spirit is found throughout the OT as well. Except I would disagree about anything being "before Jesus." John 1 denies that clearly. In scripture, the Spirit of Truth and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. Your narrative states at the end that the Spirit of Truth is in fact Mohammed, who has never been around before. The two concepts therefore cannot be reconciled.
The Rabbis of the Jewish tribe in Yatrib (400 AD) prophesied that according to Torah a messenger would come for the Arabs.
Please elaborate. Where in the Torah does it say that a messenger would come specifically for the Arabs? I do think it is pretty clear that the Torah (definitely the Tanakh) points to Jesus coming for all mankind.
You have not addressed the fact that Mohammed and Jesus were in no way similar in teachings or lifestyle.
I would love for someone to address this point - as I read through the entire thread, I saw that it has been mentioned by about 4 other people besides myself.
Based on the fact that the Koran denies that Jesus is the Son of God, the logical conclusion can be drawn that according to the Koran, Jesus lied about who His is. If the Koran holds that Jesus was a liar, how can Islam desire for people to be like Jesus? Are we to emulate a liar, and how would such actions please God? What does the Koran say about liars?
Have you ever read a book, such as an historical account, that starts out with an overview of the facts, then goes back to delve deeper into the story? Chapter 1 gives an overview, and Chapter 2 details the origins of God's relationship to man specifically as it began in the garden.
Seems like literary common sense to me.
No, not so. Some have. Why not all?
I will not stand up and be a suspect.
Nobody wants you to do so.
You misread, yet again.
The only things folks want you to do are:
separate yourself from the terrorists.
understand that because our nation is under attack, we are obviously far more suspicious of likely enemies within our borders (hence #1 above).
stop whining and acting a victim, you are not a victim.
Take some action to help Muslims and America. Whining does neither, indeed it works to the detriment of muslims.
Dan
Did you mean to misspell my screenie, in a post faulting me for my spelling?
You (and many other people) drive me CRAZY!
Appears to me it's more of a putt than a drive. (c;
dictionary.com says "Moslem" is "Variant of Muslim." Merriam-Webster says the same.
Why not get worked up over something more substantive... like this Moslem claiming first that all gods are the same, that everyone prays to the same God, and then claiming that Allah is different from all gods and is the only true God? Or to his disruptor-like behavior?
Dan
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