Posted on 02/05/2008 6:46:37 AM PST by 2banana
November 10, 2007
Muslim Issues
AMERICAN ISLAMIC FELLOWSHIP
By Melissa Robinson
ATLANTA -- Four years ago, while studying French, Italian and women’s studies as an undergraduate at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, I accepted Islam by taking “shahada,” or the declaration of faith, during Ramadan, proclaiming that there is one God and Mohammad was a prophet of God. I had spent three years studying various religions and belief systems before taking this important step in my spiritual journey. I was moved by Sufi poets and the beauty of a faith that allowed for pluralism. I enjoyed the sense of unity that came with performing rituals alongside other Muslims. I was thrilled to discover a belief system that was not at odds with scientific knowledge. The Islam I came to know allowed for diversity in interpretation and encouraged the pursuit of knowledge and critical thinking. I have grown so much in my faith since that time and am proud to call myself Muslim.
Earlier this year, I moved to Atlanta with my husband and was excited to visit the various mosques in the area. I had hoped to find a supportive and open-minded community in which I would feel at home. However, like everywhere else, it seemed the extremists were always the loudest and carried most of the weight. It did not bode well that every mosque I visited practiced strict gender segregation. As a feminist with a minor in women’s studies, I have never found this sort of restriction necessary or beneficial. During a study circle called a ‘halaqa’, at a mosque in north Atlanta I was told music was ‘haram,’ or forbidden. As a fan of bluegrass, classic rock, reggae, hip-hop, jazz, folk, pop, opera and just about any other musical style, I found this edict impossible to swallow.
I was also told that because Arabic is not my native language, I was not qualified to interpret religious text. Finally, on one of the holiest days of the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Fitr, the day celebrating the end of the month-long fast during Ramadan, my good friend, Kelly Wentworth attended the congregational prayer at of one of the largest mosques in Atlanta. The sermon vilified the ‘West.’ The imam, or religious leader, told the congregation that Islam is incompatible with ‘Western’ values, and the ‘West’ is a corruption. My friend returned home that night incensed. After all, she and I are the 'West' and were inspired by our 'Western' ideas to choose Islam. In all of my studies, Islam was the one faith most compatible with so-called ‘Western’ thought. It is because I live in the ‘West’ that I have the freedom to practice Islam. I do not feel the need to choose between my spiritual path and 'Western' values. Both Islam and the 'West' are integral parts of who I am. Needless to say, I was disappointed and frustrated.
I don't know what kind of "wacky weed" you were smokin', lady......
But.....
I'll bet you can make a fortune selling it.....
Someone with a good heart and no preconceived notions reading the Quran can get this pretty kumbaya Islam from it. The problem is that it's almost never practiced that way.
“I’m much calmer now,” she admits. “Life is simpler. I’m happier and healthier.”
Just so long as it isn't Mommy's and Daddy's religion, liberals will put up with anything.
ping
She sounds about as bright as a member of “Jews for Hitler.”
:)
((Blessings to you from a Jesus freak!))
re: post 23
AMEN!
Islam acts with planning and intent.
I’m retired military and have lived all over the world. I’ve spent a good bit of time in muslim countries. Wherever I ended up I always tried to get to know the people and to understand how the locals view the world. Usually the locals are “up” on what is going on in the world and I could fully understand their positions and perspectives. I would not always agree with them but from their prospective their views were logical and understandable. This was never true when talking to the locals in muslim countries.
Islam has its own reality and it has nothing to do with true/factual history or true/factual world events. The muslim authorities make up their own truth and the people drink the Kool-Aid as if their life depends on it. Most of them believe that if we could all live by the social standards of 7th century islam that the world would be a utopia.
As uneducated, wrong, and ignorant as these people were standing up and telling the factual truth about the world is not tolerated and is at times a capital crime in their countries.
In general, Americans do not understand that the people living in Islamic theocracies and monarchies are not “just like us.” They are not even “a little like us.” These people are brainwashed followers of the cult of islam and will instantly kill us, themselves, or even their own children if that is what they are instructed to do in the name of islam.
The homicide bombings last week in Iraq where the muslim’s used two unsuspecting adults women with downs syndrome was the last straw for me. These two women did not choose to be homicide bombers, they had downs and were not capable of making that choice. The explosives they carried were detonated by remote control. Other muslims pushed the buttons that blew them to pieces. In my mind by committing these murders islamics have removed themselves from the roles of being human.
Nowhere in the Islamic world did I hear one word of contempt for this act. In our country if I had blown up a stray dog in this manner I would be in jail awaiting trial. The lives of two women with downs in the muslim world are not equal to that of one stray dog in our world.
We are very different.
It is because I live in the ‘West’ that I have the freedom to practice Islam.
Sigh. Someone needs to think harder. She presents herself as a thoughtful intellectual, and then shows her absolute lack of scholarship and critical thinking skills in her "findings" regarding islam.
That freedom she speaks of comes from a "West" which is heavily influenced by a Christian worldview. Christianity is based on the need for inner change, which cannot be forced.
As soon as that is said, I hear echoes of "crusades", and "inquisition". I believe that I can make a reasonable argument that both the crusades and the inquisition came not from a Christian worldview, but from the influence of islam on Christian Europe.
I believe that islam, which has always practiced forced conversions, in spite of modern claims, brought these practices to Europe, and I believe history backs me up on this.
PC indoctrination states that the muslims were living in peaceful coexistence with people of other faiths until the evil White Christian started all the conflict with the Crusades.I like to ask people who believe this what a muslim army was doing in France 300 years BEFORE the first crusade. Most times, the answer is "huh?"
Yeah, PC states that we were the cause of it all.
I highly suggest this book to all who want to know, and argue, the truth.
http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Crusades-Guides/dp/0895260131
Jesus can still forgive you.
I was just listening to a Muslim PLO terrorist turned Christian talking about the Muslim Mahdi. Every characteristic of the Mahdi matches the Christian description of the Anti-Christ. Food for thought...
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