Islam's image: reformation and makeover

[Moorkh]

Its the image of Muslims that needs revamping.. or more importantly.. not the image.. their understanding of Islam itself.

islam can never be separated from muslims. no religion can be separated that way. the religion is infact defined by the actions of the followers. so when we say islam needs a revamp in its image we imply that muslims need a revamp in their image.

islam is exactly what the muslims do and believe in. while you may say that the holy quran defines islam, you wont be entirely correct. the taliban follow islam as do the sufis. each interprets the words of the quran in its own way and follows them. it is these actions which are seen by the world and opinions formed.

the world doesnt care what is written in the holy book. it cares what the followers and believers of the holy book do.

 

[Vinod2070]

Some good points by Developero. Interesting discussion.

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

Fine..then plz dont blame non-muslim ppl for their phobia towards muslims...

Could you please explain what part of my posts are you basing that statement out of?

 

[SQ8]

Not the I mind the thread..
there really is no need to worry about Islam's image.. Islam has, is and will be a religion of peace that brings peace.
Islam is safe from all of these things.. we need not worry our heads about Islam..
Islam is not forced.. it is found.. it does not reside in the length your knees show... nor why you keep a beard..
it does not reveal itself just by mundane repetitions of the Quran.. without it penetrating one micron of your intelligence... or by preaching hatred without looking at your own past.
Islam cannot be tainted by Krishan Prashaad's, or Ayaan ali Hirsi's.. nor by the actions of today's terrorists.. in all forms.

Its the image of Muslims today that needs revamping.. or more importantly.. not the image.. their understanding of Islam itself. It is by seeing Muslims that people understand Islam.. so if anything.. its us collectively.. that is at fault for insulting our religion. Muslims that could have.. and should have.. left the interpretation of their religion..to short sighted people..and then sat back as they .. adulterated it with glee.


If I was to tell a person who has seen the world.. and yet knows little of Muslims what a Muslim should look like.
I would tell him to think of a Jedi from star wars.. and then replace the force with belief in god and Mohammed(S.A.W) as the last messenger..
And .. like the jedi in the movie.. Muslims.. are now increasingly rare in the world.
(The fact that I just watched "the empire strikes back" may be involved here :) )

 

[Developereo]

Islam does not need to reform...

I agree with you some sense that Islam has already had a reformation; it is not monolithic and we have a whole spectrum of interpretations from the Sufi all the way to the Wahhabi. Perhaps what is needed is a realization that, in the modern world, coexistance and cooperation is the order of the day and we have to find out which interpretation of Islam is best suited to the modern world.

Perhaps each Islamic country will make its own choice, and it is fallacious to talk of Islam as a bloc, but the important thing to realize is that science and technology are the key. Even in the glory days of Islam, we won our wars because we had superior technology and superior leaders. In the modern world, we may not need to start wars, but we certainly need the ability to deter others from making war on us. And that will only happen when we become technologically competitive with our enemies. And the only way we will remain competitive is by forming alliances and cooperating with non-Muslim countries. Hence, whatever form of Islam we chose, it must be flexible enough to allow coexistance in a multicultural world.

 

[SQ8]

islam can never be separated from muslims. no religion can be separated that way. the religion is infact defined by the actions of the followers. so when we say islam needs a revamp in its image we imply that muslims need a revamp in their image.

islam is exactly what the muslims do and believe in. while you may say that the holy quran defines islam, you wont be entirely correct. the taliban follow islam as do the sufis. each interprets the words of the quran in its own way and follows them. it is these actions which are seen by the world and opinions formed.

the world doesnt care what is written in the holy book. it cares what the followers and believers of the holy book do.

So Hitler's actions at the time would define Christianity as a barbaric religion?

Any Atrocities committed by Israel make Judaism a despotic religion?

The high handed actions of the RSS define hinduism then??

 

[Andross]

So Hitler's actions at the time would define Christianity as a barbaric religion?

Any Atrocities committed by Israel make Judaism a despotic religion?

The high handed actions of the RSS define hinduism then??

How can you compare Rss to Nazis?? when Rss benefits Indian society in so many ways

 

[Andross]

off topic but Rss is a voluntary organisation which helps the poor

 

[kugga]

I thought religious discussions are not allowed on this forum

 

[Developereo]

That is the point I am making, albeit with a rider. When it comes to Islam versus members of other faiths, this does not seem to hold true. You would not have a Pakistan separating from India if that were true would you? Or any number of Muslim breakaway conflicts the world over even today.

I actually agree with Vinod on this, and I think you are misreading the Islamic movements. In Kosova, Burma, Chechnya, southern Thailand and the Uighurs, the issue is as much about ethnicity and culture as it is about religion. I don't know enough about southern Philippines.

If religion were more important than ethnicity, the Islamic world would have coalesced into a bloc long ago. The fact that it hasn't proves that Muslims, like everyone else, view things along ethnic and nationalist lines.

isolationism and intolerance is something that can definitely be improved upon by the Muslim world

This is where the other Muslim posters are right. Islam doesn't need a reformation in that context because true Islam already requires its followers to respect others. The problem is that Muslim leaders have deliberately misinterpreted and misrepresented Islam for their own agendas. If Muslims become true to the spirit of Islam, minorities would have all the rights they enjoy in secular countries. I know there is a fine print when it comes to sharia laws, and that part needs to be reformed to be in line with modern norms.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

The high handed actions of the RSS define hinduism then??

Actually to those lacking thorough knowledge(most of the world) ,it does.

 

[KS]

The high handed actions of the RSS define hinduism then??

Can you explain what high-handedness RSS exhibited for them to be compared with Nazis. ?

This blind-phobia of RSS everywhere without trying to know about them makes me sick.

I can agree to it when it comes from a fanboi but coming from a ex-think tank and mod who is generally un-biased and factual is shocking.

 

[SQ8]

Can you explain what high-handedness RSS exhibited for them to be compared with Nazis. ?

This blind-phobia of RSS everywhere without trying to know about them makes me sick.

I can agree to it when it comes from a fanboi but coming from a ex-think tank and mod who is generally un-biased and factual is shocking.

Shall I bring up the actions on valentine's day?
The ayodhya dispute.. then let me correct myself....
Ill drop the RSS... since it seems to be sacred while Islamic relief organizations are not..
what about those that demolished the Babri mosque?
Or the the Gujrat massacre's??
Do the actions of the Hindu's involved in it..
1. quantify Hinduism as a religion.
2. Quantify Indian Hindu's as a whole?

The Muslims responsible in the Gujrat incident

1.Quantify Islam as a whole?
2. Quantify Indian Muslims as a whole?

most of the comment on this video then represent what Hinduism,Islam or Christianity teaches??

 

[Developereo]

So unless the Muslims stop mixing religion in Politics and stop meddling in other countries affairs claiming Ummah this aversion towards Islam will not reduce.

The Christian West mixes religion into politics all the time and helps out fellow Christians in other lands, e.g. southern Sudan. Similarly, Jews, through their influence on the West, ensure the well-being of Jews throughout the world. The President of France personally apologized on national media when two Jews were attacked in a Paris subway. He never apologized for crimes on other minorities.

Another reason why there is general aversion to Islam is because of its ultra-sensitive nature to any sort of criticism or even perceived criticism.

There are double standards in media speech in the West: it is politically acceptable to criticize Islam and Christianity, but not Judaism.

Women in Islam Versus Women in Christianity and Judaism - A comparative Study

However, I do agree that there is a degree of dogmatism in Islam which has been reformed out of Christianity and Judaism.

Their almost literal interpretation of a book written almost 15 centuries ago. C'mon , every religion has its book. But no one clings to such a rigorous interpretation of the book in the Twenty First century. Surely there are many parts that are relevant even today and will be forever bu that doesn't mean each and every word is relevant today. Read it, and adapt it to the changing world.

Agree that some aspects of sharia law need to be revised.

The concept of Jihad that has been hijacked of its original meaning for the Terrorists own purposes must be made clear to the world that is just a hijacking of the word;s true meaning for self-serving purposes.

True.

Above all if you are new comer into another country live according to that country's rules and not according to the rules of your religion in case both intersect. This non-integration only feeds a cycle of hate whereby the 'Others' hate the Muslims for not integrating and the Muslims hate the 'others' for hating them and thereby refusing to integrate.

Again, Hassidic Jews and Amish Christians live in closed communities with a very distinct culture. Nobody minds them, so why Muslims?

 

[Andross]

Shall I bring up the actions on valentine's day?
The ayodhya dispute.. then let me correct myself....
Ill drop the RSS... since it seems to be sacred while Islamic relief organizations are not..
what about those that demolished the Babri mosque?
Or the the Gujrat massacre's??
Do the actions of the Hindu's involved in it..
1. quantify Hinduism as a religion.
2. Quantify Indian Hindu's as a whole?

The Muslims responsible in the Gujrat incident

1.Quantify Islam as a whole?
2. Quantify Indian Muslims as a whole?

First learn how the Gujarat riots started b4 pointing fingers