Publish your opinion here...
So everyone, this is your big chance. If you read through my posting below, I want to find out what YOU most want to raise as an issue in the Muslim community? What do you think most needs to be changed? What do you think needs to be addressed? Post your comments here or you can email them to shelina@spirit21.co.uk
posted by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed at 09:50
3 Comments:
Welcome, hope you find a happy home here...
what YOU most want to raise as an issue in the Muslim community? What do you think most needs to be changed?
As a Kaffir looking at Islam from the outside, it seems that Koranic literalism is a big problem. That is to say - Muslims who take the Koran to be the word of Allah dictated via the angel Gabriel to Mohamed verbatim, without flaw.
Given this premise and the content of the Koran, this would seem to be a recipe for producing bigoted people intolerant of non-Muslims seeking to (at best) subjugate them as second class citizens, with an imperialistic outlook, that look down on women as inferior and have a simply visceral hatred of Jews. Additionally Muslims in general seem to have a complete inability to introspect and take criticism without becoming rabidly angry. In short, a recipe for hate and violence and a sure formula for strife and conflict. Indeed, this is what seems to be happening all over the world as literal interpretations of the Koran seem to prevail in Islamic Jurisprudence in the Sunni and Shia traditions. These literal interpretations seem to be eclipsing more benign, tolerant and peaceful manifestations of Islam. Possibly this is as a result of modern communications and travel and Saudi proselytising underwritten by petro dollars.
To my mind, Islam is well overdue a reformation to produce a mainstream that is pluralistic, tolerant and compatible with modernity and capable of introspection. Sadly I see little sign of this, such genuinely moderate Muslims as one hears from seem to be indifferent Muslims or apostates.
I’ll be convinced things are seriously improving when I see churches, temples and synagogs in Mecca, Medina, Jeddah and Riyadh, when people can renounce Islam without fear for their lives – as they can most other religions, when Muslim women can marry outside their faith without fear, when ‘honour killings’ are not commonplace in the Ummah, when Islamic inspired terrorism drastically abates.
I'd be interested in your take?
Nick (South Africa)
OK, so you want to find out what we most want to raise as an issue in the Muslim community, here's a few idea's to throw into the pot.
1. As you mentioned elsewhere on this blog, we hear a lot about terrorism and veils when Muslims appear in the news, what stereotypes do Muslims consider when they think about white British people? and why?
2. I consider myself a very open and unbiased person, that's why I take an interest in cultures and religions other than my own and like to know what other poeple think about my culture, religion, country etc. As I look through sites like this, I see a firm side taking with Palestinian cause and Lebenon (as expected), and on Jewish sites a firm side taking with Israel (equally expected). Both groups consider their own views to be unbiased. Do Muslim people take time to consider that many Israeli's had no more choice about where they were born than Palestinian people?
3. Back to veils - sorry. While fully supporting the right of Muslim women to wear a veil, who ever listens to or promotes the opinions of those Muslim women who wear a veil because they are told to and not by choice? If any such women read this - what are your views?
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