Talking Objective!

I'm going to cut to the quick here. The thing that concerns me most at the moment – overlooking school and all the mundane worries of life – what concerns me, just as a person living in the world, is the way people see Islam.

I've had a lot of interaction with people of different faiths (predominantly Christian or people) and while most of them treat me as just another person in the world to get along with, some – while having no personal objection to me – feel the urge to "explain" my faith to me, or "expose" it.

Let me elaborate on this.

Have you noticed how all of a sudden there are so many people who sell themselves as "experts" on Islam? This in America or otherwise; they are people who, without naming names, quote authoritative-sounding passages in the Qur'an or in the examples of the Prophet Muhammad that are to the average non-Muslim or even a less knowledgeable Muslim quite frightening.

For example:

Islam is violent.

Muslims are ordered to kill/maim/subjugate/enslave/not live peacefully with non-Muslims.

Muhammad was a filthy human being who lied, cheated and lusted his way to the top and happened to be a pedophile.

Islam's Shariah law is primitive, degrading, demeaning and unfair - especially to women: who deserve a category to themselves in speaking of smears against Islam. Let's give them one.

Women are seen as objects (incidentally, a point that one could definitely make about the treatment of women in today's pop culture); they have no rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc.; they are punished for being raped - I once talked to someone who thought that women are LEGALLY RAPED as a PUNISHMENT in Shariah law; and are just in general treated extremely unfairly.

Of course, we also have the barbaric and primitive nature of the Qur'an. But then that's a given isn't it.

So. God willing, I'll be discussing...

OH, I nearly forgot. Now THIS, ladies and gents, is just priceless...

'Al-lah' is not OUR God! Not the merciful, just Judeo-Christian God, ho no. Allah is nothing but a moon god that the ancient Arabs used to worship. And Muhammad, um, how shall we say it? 'Stole' the god and basically made him the main one to kinda ease the transition for them pagan Arabs... Kind of like Zeus over all the other Greek gods. Must have something to do with all the other cultures that influenced Muhammad - like how he practically copied the Bible word-for-word. Yeah.

:)

To get back to a few sentences up, I will, OUR God willing, be discussing each of these points. Next post will hopefully be about just how I will go about doing that.

DISCLAIMER:

I just want to assure everyone here that I am by no means an absolute word of authority. Pretty much nothing I'll say here will be original; I'll try to go back to sources in trustworthy books and websites whenever I can. I just hope that my contribution might help whoever might read this.

Peace to you all.