Muslim Tropers, Join Up!

Happy Eid-ul-Fitr, everyone!

Don't stop, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need-proceed, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need!

Crossing over from the Christian side for a second to ask a question:

Have you seen the "jihad comedies" that seem to be coming out of mainly the UK (I haven't seen any from other countries yet) like Four Lions and The Infidel? If so, what did you think of them? Were you entertained/offended, do you think they gave an accurate portrayal of Islam/life in Muslim families and so on. Inquiring minds and all that.

Wise Papa Smurf, corrupted by his own power. CAN NO LEADER GO UNTAINTED?!

Nope but they look amusing.

Read my stories!

Ehh..fine with me.

Don't stop, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need-proceed, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need!

Hello? Anyone? No other Muslims here?

Don't stop, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need-proceed, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need!

Most of the Muslims don't post here regularly, unfortunately.

Hi.

Read my stories!

Happy Eid-ul-Adha, people! Not that anyone would reply to this...

Don't stop, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need-proceed, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need!

Maybe because it isn't here :D

(Eid is tomorrow in Pakistan)

Anyhoo, Eid Mubarik! So...what did you sacrifice?

Herald of the Literature Sub-Forum. Share me your favourite book/series/author!

A goat. Cows here in Indonesia typically have 8-digit price tags, so yeah.

Don't stop, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need-proceed, just proceed, 'cause this is what you need!

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Another Muslim troper, from Saudi Arabia.

... Man, I couldn't resist the urge to type that greeting in Arabic. Should I include a Latin-letter phonetic transliteration just in case someone's computer doesn't support Arabic-language characters?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Waalaikumsalam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. A Saudi Arabian? Nice.

If a chicken crosses the road and nobody else is around to see it, does the road move beneath the chicken instead?

Random question: how does Islam deal with the relationship between God's omniscience and the free will of human beings? In other words, how is it possible for human choices to be truly free if God — being omniscient — knew what people would have done even before the creation of the world?

This is one of the major theological problems within Christianity, with a number of different proposed solutions; so I was wondering how Muslims deal with the issue...

edited 20th Feb '13 2:53:53 AM by Carciofus

But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

This might be a good summarized answer to your question (and some related questions).

Also, keep a few things in mind whenever you tackle a problem involving Allah/God:

1. He is outside the realm of Space and Time, as we mortal humans (and any of His creations) understand them. Logical, as He is the one who created those concepts ex nihilo in the first place.

2. He is unbound by human understanding of morality, ethics, and "good/right vs. evil/wrong", because — again — He is the one who created those concepts ex nihilo.

3. Just because He knows everything does not mean that His prescient knowledge forces you along a specific course; it would be like saying that a parent's knowledge that their infant child is curious enough to try touching a hot kettle and would be burned for his/her trouble equates to forcing the child to touch said kettle and get burned (assuming that they are too far to stop him/her physically).

edited 20th Feb '13 6:32:56 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Above is a good answer.

If a chicken crosses the road and nobody else is around to see it, does the road move beneath the chicken instead?

Random question: I'm drafting a historical fantasy novel that is set in a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Algeria during French colonialism, and has a young Bedouin chieftain as its protagonist. Is anyone here familiar with Algerian culture, and willing to check the details? I'm worried I might be unintentionally exoticising, as it is inspired by an old and horrifically stereotypical 1926 operetta called The Desert Song.

edited 1st Mar '13 12:41:25 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

The road goes ever on. -Tolkien

Even though I started the thread, I haven't really been here. I wanted to say something regarding the conflict between science and religion. Islam, in particular, is frequently thought to be anti-science/anti-intellectual, but science, engineering and medicine were all thriving throughout the Muslim world centuries ago, even helping influence the European Renaissance. Algebra, algorithm, alkaline are among the many terms and concepts derived from the Muslim and Arabic worlds.

The way I see it is if God is all-knowing, then we should strive to be all-knowing ourselves, or at the very least, knowing as much as we can about ourselves and our world in mortal life, if we wish to be one with God. So religion should encourage scientific pursuits.

The Handle is from Morocco. He might be able to help.

From my one and only foray into the Evolution OTC thread, it seems the biggest problem pro-science detractors of Islam have is that traditional Islamic teachings about human origins are incompatible with the modern theory of human evolution.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

To know more of God's creation, is a basis for a greater appreciation of God. The pursuit of this, is a worship to God.

If a chicken crosses the road and nobody else is around to see it, does the road move beneath the chicken instead?

Just thought I'd share this for those who might be interested. One of my favorites so far: Niqabinja.

... And why do I think that this looks utterly awesome? Oh, and there's "Understanding Islam 4 dummies", too.

edited 6th Jun '13 8:08:14 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

I'm not a Muslim, but my ancestors are, who have converted recently (20th century), so if anyone here is interested in lore on Polish Muslims, I can provide the info. I'll start from mentioning that Polish Muslim minority's degree of assimilation into Polish culture is so high that you cannot really discern them from other Poles. We all love alcohol and pork, and even back in 14th - 18th century our Muslims were pretty flexible about finding excuse to have similar diet as their neighbors.

Other distinct feature of Muslim community in Poland is that they have long tradition of serving in Polish military as professional soldiers. They started as mercenaries hired against Golden Horde and Ottomans after all. Why train local military from scratch if you can import experts? Nothing different from hiring Germans or Cossacks, other common practice of the Commonwealth of Two Nations.

Other notable thing about that period is that we were the only country whose nobility was so religiously diverse: Not only Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox nobles, but Muslim and Jewish nobility as well. If we conquered Kalmuks maybe Buddhism would have been added to the list.

My President is Funny Valentine.

Those are very good guides, Marq. I have two questions about one of them, if that's okay. Understanding Islam for Dummies #2 says "Islam is different from so many religions. It is not confined to a certain place or act of worship." But... doesn't that go against the idea of set prayers and compulsory pilgrimage and so on? Or is is that those are required but you also have the freedom to worship elsewhere and in other ways?

That guide goes on to say "[Islam] guides people in every aspect of their life; as such, there is no difference between secular and religious life." I don't understand that — it seems like the guide is saying that if your whole life is guided, then none of it is. However, if someone is a practising Muslim, they are living a religious life, and their life will be different to an atheist who does not practise any religion.

I hope it's okay for me to ask questions. I don't learn about Islam very often.

That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.

Nah, it's OK. Questions for the sake of understanding are always welcome.

Pretty much hit the mark on the head. For example, it's better for a Muslim to seek the nearest mosque ^note not necessarily a buidling; could be a specific open area set aside for such purposes when prayer time comes, but nothing says that he can't do it at home, or in the middle of a desert/forest (e.g. if he's out camping), or even in a prison cell; the only catch that the ground that he's praying on is sufficiently clean of any filth (e.g. excrement).

Ah, that's an interesting question. I don't know what gave you the "if your whole life is guided, then none of it is" impression, though. In any case, what that part is trying to say is that in Islam, one's life is not divided into "religious" and "secular" parts — Islam is to be practiced at all times, by all Muslims, and every act can be a form of worship, no matter how simple, trivial or mundane (just smiling at a complete stranger out of simple good will counts!). That's why, incidentally, monasticism is heavily frowned upon as "un-Muslim"; while it's true that some highly-notable early Muslim figures renounced pretty much all of life's luxuries, restricted themselves to the bare essentials, and may not have even married (to avoid potential distractions), they didn't seclude themselves from most if not all of society and turn into reclusive hermits like Christian monks and many Christian clergymen do.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Okay, that makes sense — I thought it meant a secular person's life versus a religious person's life, instead of explaining how there's no difference between religious and nonreligious parts of a single religious person's life. Thanks!

That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.

How much drinking alcohol and eating pork is un-Muslim? Assimilated Muslims in Poland don't obey dietary restrictions. They are probably most secularized Muslim minority in Europe, if not the world (Of course, Turks are not counted because they are majority in their country).

My President is Funny Valentine.