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 A recent global survey suggests that Muslims are more religious than Christians and Hindus.
December 3rd, 2011
10:00 PM ET
Conflict, theology and history make Muslims more religious than others, experts sayBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN (CNN) - Every religion has its true believers and its doubters, its pious and its pragmatists, but new evidence suggests that Muslims tend to be more committed to their faith than other believers. Muslims are much more likely than Christians and Hindus to say that their own faith is the only true path to paradise, according to a recent global survey, and they are more inclined to say their religion is an important part of their daily lives. Muslims also have a much greater tendency to say their religion motivates them to do good works, said the survey, released over the summer by Ipsos-Mori, a British research company that polls around the world.
Islam is the world's second-largest religion - behind Christianity and ahead of Hinduism, the third largest. With some 1.5 billion followers and rising, Islam's influence may be growing even faster than its numbers as the Arab Spring topples long-reigning secular rulers and opens the way to religiously inspired political parties. The case against TLC’s “All-American Muslim” But while there's no doubt about the importance of Islam, experts have different theories about why Muslims appear to be more religious than members of other global faiths - and contrasting views on whether to fear the depth of Muslims' commitment to their faith. One explanation lies in current affairs, says Azyumardi Azra, an expert on Islam in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim majority country. Many Muslims increasingly define themselves in contrast with what they see as the Christian West, says Azra, the director of the graduate school at the State Islamic University in Jakarta. "When they confront the West that they perceive or misperceive as morally in decline, many Muslims feel that Islam is the best way of life. Islam for them is the only salvation," he says. The case for TLC’s “All-American Muslim” That feeling has become stronger since the September 11 attacks, as many Muslims believe there is a "growing conflict between Islam and the so-called West," he says. "Unfortunately this growing attachment to Islam among Muslims in general has been used and abused by literal-minded Muslims and the jihadists for their own purposes," he says. But other experts say that deep religious commitment doesn't necessarily lead to violence. "Being more religious doesn't necessarily mean that they will become suicide bombers," says Ed Husain, a former radical Islamist who is now a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. In fact, Husain argues that religious upbringing "could be an antidote" to radicalism. American Muslim women who cover explain their choice The people most likely to become Islamist radicals, he says, are those who were raised without a religious education and came to Islam later, as "born-agains." Muslims raised with a grounding in their religion are better able to resist the distortions of Islam peddled by recruiters to radical causes, some experts like Husain argue, making them less likely to turn to violence. But he agrees that Muslims are strongly attached to their faith, and says the reason lies in the religion itself. "Muslims have this mindset that we alone possess the final truth," Husain says. Muslims believe "Jews and Christians went before us and Mohammed was the last prophet," says Husain, whose book "The Islamist" chronicles his experiences with radicals. "Our prophet aimed to nullify the message of the previous prophets." The depth of the Muslim commitment to Islam is not only a matter of theology and current events, but of education and history, as well, other experts say. "Where religion is linked into the state institutions, where religion is deeply ingrained from childhood, you are getting this feeling that 'My way is the only way,'" says Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters, a conflict-resolution organization in London. The Ipsos-Mori survey results included two countries with a strong link between religion and the state: Legally Muslim Saudi Arabia, which calls itself the guardian of Islam's two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina; and Indonesia, home of the world's largest Muslim population. The third majority Muslim country in the study is Turkey, which has a very different relationship with religion. It was founded after World War I as a legally secular country. But despite generations of trying to separate mosque and state, Turkey is now governed by an Islam-inspired party, the AKP. Turkey's experience shows how difficult it can be to untangle government and religion in Muslim majority countries and helps explain the Muslim commitment to their religion, says Azyumardi Azra, the Indonesia expert. He notes that there has been no "Enlightenment" in Islam as there was in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, weakening the link between church and state in many Christian countries. "Muslim communities have never experienced intense secularization that took place in Europe and the West in general," says Azra. "So Islam is still adhered to very strongly." But it's not only the link between mosque and state in many Muslim majority countries that ties followers to their faith, says professor Akbar Ahmed, a former Pakistani diplomat who has written a book about Islam around the world. Like Christians who wear "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets, many Muslims feel a deep personal connection to the founder of their faith, the prophet Muhammad, he says. Muhammad isn't simply a historical figure to them, but rather a personal inspiration to hundreds of millions of people around the world today. "When a Muslim is fasting or is asked to give charity or behave in a certain way, he is constantly reminded of the example set by the prophet many centuries ago," argues Ahmed, the author of "Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization." His book is based on interviews with Muslims around the world, and one thing he found wherever he traveled was admiration for Muhammad. "One of the questions was, 'Who is your role model?' From Morocco to Indonesia, it was the prophet, the prophet, the prophet," says Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. But while Ahmed sees similar patterns across the Islamic world, Ed Husain, the former radical, said it was important to understand its diversity, as well. "There is no monolithic religiosity - Muslims in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are following different versions of Islam," says Husain. "All we're seeing (in the survey) is an adherence to a faith." Political scientist Farid Senzai, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, raised questions about the survey's findings. "Look at the countries that are surveyed - Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Turkey," he says. "There are about 300 million Muslims in those three countries, (who make up) about 20% of Muslims globally." Islam is "incredibly important" in Saudi Arabia, he says. "But in Tunisia or Morocco you could have had a different result. It would have been nice if they had picked a few more Arab countries and had a bit more diversity," says Senzai. The pollster, Ipsos-Mori, does monthly surveys in 24 countries, three of which are majority Muslim – Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The other countries range from India to the United States, and Mexico to South Korea, and are the same each month, regardless of the subject the pollsters are investigating. In the survey released in July, about six in 10 Muslims in the survey said their religion was the only way to salvation, while only a quarter of Hindus and two out of 10 Christians made that claim about their own faiths. More than nine out of 10 Muslims said their faith was important in their lives, while the figure was 86% for Hindus and 66% for Christians. Ipsos-Mori surveyed 18,473 adults via an online panel in April and released the findings in July. Results were weighted to make the results as representative as possible, but the pollster cautioned that because the survey was conducted online, it was harder to get representative results in poorer countries where internet access is not widespread. CNN polling director Keating Holland also warns that in an "opt-in" survey, where respondents actively choose to participate, results tend to come from "people who are confident in their opinions and express them openly... not good for intensely private matters like faith or income or sex." Online surveys in countries that are not entirely free are also open to the possibility that pollsters get "the approved response" in those nations, "where the people who are most likely to be willing to talk about such matters are the ones who hold, or at least verbalize, opinions that won't get them in trouble if they are expressed," Holland says. That may have been an issue in Saudi Arabia, where respondents were given the choice of not answering questions on religion due to their potential sensitivity in the kingdom. The Saudi sample was the smallest, with 354 participants, meaning "findings for Saudi Arabia must be treated with caution," Ipsos-Mori said. About 1,000 people participated in most countries, but sample sizes were smaller in the three majority Muslim countries and in eight other countries. The survey participants did not reflect the true percentage of Christians and Muslims in the world. Christians were over-represented – as were people who said they had no religion – and Muslims were under-represented. Nearly half the respondents identified themselves as Christian. Eleven percent were Muslim, 4% were Buddhist, 3% were Hindu and 3% were "other." A quarter said they had no religion and 6% refused to say. Fiyaz Mughal, the interfaith expert, argues that even though the countries surveyed might not be representative of the entire Muslim world, the findings about Muslims rang broadly true. Muslims in different countries were committed to their faith for different reasons, he says. "Saudi Arabia is an institutionally religious state. Indonesia has religion tied into its culture," says Mughal. But Muslim immigrants to Europe also show strong ties to their religion, either as a defense mechanism in the face of a perceived threat, or because of an effort to cling to identity, he contends. He detects a link between insular communities and commitment to faith regardless of what religion is involved. It is prevalent in Muslim Saudi Arabia, but he has seen it among Israeli Jews as well, he says. "The Israeli Jewish perspective is that (the dispute with the Palestinians) is a conflict of land and religion which are integrally linked," Mughal says. "What does play a role in that scenario is a sense of isolationism and seclusion in Israeli Jewish religious communities, a growing trend to say, 'Our way is the only way,'" he says. Religious leaders of all faiths need to combat those kinds of attitudes because of the greater diversity people encounter in the world today, he argues. They have a responsibility to teach their congregations "that if they are following a religion, it is not as brutal or exclusive as possible," Mughal says. "Things are changing. The world is a different place from what it was even 20 years ago." Politicians, too, "need to take these issues quite seriously," he says. "In the Middle East there are countries - the Saudi Arabias - where you need to be saying that diversity, while it may not be a part of the country, is something they have to deal with when moving in a globalized area," he says. But Senzai, the political scientist, says that it's also important for the West to take the Muslim world on its own terms. "Many Muslims want religion to play a role in politics," he says. "To assume that everyone around the world wants to be like the West - that they want liberal secular democracy - is an absurd idea." - CNN's Nima Elbagir and Atika Shubert contributed to this report. soundoff (5,459 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Faith is an inversion of intelligence, and that applies to ALL religious faith, including Christians, Jews and Muslims.
this,of course,is just your opinion,for even opinions are interpretations of the brain sensing an idea...
I've always wondered if Earth is the only place in the universe where religion exists. If it is then why so many different ones,did God provide different ones for different locations?,is one better than another? hmmm
Religion is given by God based on the liking of the follower. Suppose if you have 2 kids you might cook 2 different things based on their liking. Otherwise it is not possible that some people like one religion and other like a different one.
But religion itself is not important. But what you learn there is important. No one thinks university is more important than knowledge. But they do the same in the case of religion. It in not a wrong thing to attached to a community with similar beliefs. But it is wrong to hate others.
Religion is like when somebody puts a screen to cover the sun and leaves a small window and makes you pay for looking at it when you could see it for yourself if there was no cover. With other words: putting a price tag on a free product.
Because they are brainwashed
To hell with muslims.
You are an IDIOT!
I just wanted you to know that, just incase no one ever told you that you are an IDIOT, now you know.
But it's ok I am sure your therapist like having around for a steady paycheck.
And in the end we all will end up rotting underground, so what is the difference in what we belief? The truth is that we have no idea if god exists or not.
Actually Paulina, you have no idea that God exists.
Yeah, I am sure he is your buddy.
You have no idea if a god exists? Have you stepped outside lately? Do you not notice all the wonders of creation? Whether it be people, the universe, the trees, the rain, the fruit that comes from the ground? Dont you see how it all works
together? Have you ever watched a child be born? Pray that your eyes will be opened. God is showing you that He does exist and the you are surrounded by the evidence.....
yopu arent sure if god exists or not is one ignorant thing to say.
Who created you?????
who provides you with wealth????
Do you think when we die we just live in our graves for eternity????
Obviously not,we will be judged for our actions.Why do think there is a heaven and hell??
@Julie: I am glad I read your comment, knowing there are people out there that can think beyond book teachings alone, and use their common sense regardless what religion they are makes me really happy.
I slam is my religion and I read the Quran and I read lots of different books from different religions and cultures of the world, but no matter where you come from and what you were taught you should always use your common sense, common sense is the one gift that god gave to all humans.
I think the world will be a better place if we all use our common sense, before anything else, I am not saying religion is not important, but without common sense you got nothing.
You need no religion to be a good person. All you need to do is to see how wonderful life on Earth is and that everybody and everything has the right to enjoy it.
God is not in favor of religionbecause it is of man. He says he wants us to live by faith in Him to be motivated out of your love for him.
Paraphrasing a bit.... Gabriel claim to Mohamed in a vision, explaining that G-d was displease with man's lack of piety and obeisance.
Perhaps this might be a reason.
Just write down God, don't be afraid. If he is good he can't be so stupid that he gets offended by you mentioning him.
You all should spend less time expressing your opinions and more time actually educating yourselves on the true knowledge that all religions are centered on.
And what is it centered on?
Philosophy.
All religion is centered on lies.
Is it because all of these events supposedly happened thousands of years ago that makes it believable? It doesn't make sense.
How often is the average person given a message by an invisible person? Today we call them mentally ill!
Faith is ignoring fact and disregarding reason, if this is what being "more religious" is then that is just sad.
Religion is the biggest scam of the millenium. And I mean all religion. Man what a racket, tax free too. You tell billions of mass ignorant idiots what they want to hear and they pay you for it. And in worse cases they kill in the name of it. Amazing we are in the 21st Century and we still belive this BS in the masses. When will we ever grow up?
You have to be a bit stupid to buy religion as it is fraud on a massive scale. Ergo Islamists are a little bit more stupid tha followers of other religions (with the possible exception of Catholics and Mormons). You will find fewer and fewer religious people the higher up the Stanford-Binet scale you go. Conversely, the mouth breathers are the most pious and easily cowed by religion
If you knew God you would not feel that way. Yes religion is of man and God doesn't like most of that.
you really need to read in religions before making that opinion, specially in Islam, just take few hours to read from honest unbiased source.
Historically they are beaten – or worse – if they don't falla the allah. For most, that's a very good reason for being faithful to their religion.
how ignorant.
Islam is a Works religion. If you don't do the work then you go to hell. Christianity on the other hand leaves everything to God. We cannot work our way into Heaven. We cannot work our way tobe born again, just as we could not work our way into being born in the first place. This puts all the glory with God, as it should be!
Huh? Is that true? I've been a Muslim for over thirty years and never saw that happen. Hmm. What am I missing?
bud,you need to educate yourself.how about reading the Quran and then come back and state your opinion.
LK,thank you..... me too
For those bashing religion... you speak of hate, yet you are exhibiting the very behavior you accuse those of faith with. If religion doesn't matter to any of you pagans and Godless ones, why are you so busy hating and deriding faith?
It must be because you are uncomfortable with your decision.
Only for the those interested in a religious update:
1. origin: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482
“New Torah For Modern Minds
Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation.
Such startling propositions – the product of findings by archaeologists digging in Israel and its environs over the last 25 years – have gained wide acceptance among non-Orthodox rabbis. But there has been no attempt to disseminate these ideas or to discuss them with the laity – until now.
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which represents the 1.5 million Conservative Jews in the United States, has just issued a new Torah and commentary, the first for Conservatives in more than 60 years. Called "Etz Hayim" ("Tree of Life" in Hebrew), it offers an interpretation that incorporates the latest findings from archaeology, philology, anthropology and the study of ancient cultures. To the editors who worked on the book, it represents one of the boldest efforts ever to introduce into the religious mainstream a view of the Bible as a human rather than divine docu-ment. “
2. Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations (or “mythicizing” from P, M, M, L and J) and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a ma-mzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). An-alyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Ludemann, Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, ) via the NT and related doc-uments have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.
The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hitt-ites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
For added "pizzazz", Catholic theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".
Current RCC problems:
Pedophiliac priests, an all-male, mostly white hierarchy, atonement theology and original sin!!!!
2 b., Luther, Calvin, Joe Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley, Roger Williams, the Great “Babs” et al, founders of Christian-based religions or combination religions also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immacu-late co-nceptions).
Current problems:
Adulterous preachers, pedophiliac clerics, "propheteering/ profiteering" evangelicals and atonement theology,
3. Mohammed was an illiterate, womanizing, lust and greed-driven, warmongering, hallucinating Arab, who also had embellishing/hallucinating/plagiarizing scribal biographers who not only added "angels" and flying chariots to the koran but also a militaristic agenda to support the plundering and looting of the lands of non-believers.
This agenda continues as shown by the ma-ssacre in Mumbai, the as-sas-sinations of Bhutto and Theo Van Gogh, the conduct of the seven Muslim doctors in the UK, the 9/11 terrorists, the 24/7 Sunni suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers, the 24/7 Shiite suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers, the Islamic bombers of the trains in the UK and Spain, the Bali crazies, the Kenya crazies, the Pakistani “koranics”, the Palestine suicide bombers/rocketeers, the Lebanese nutcases, the Taliban nut jobs, the Ft. Hood follower of the koran, and the Filipino “koranics”.
And who funds this muck and stench of terror? The warmongering, Islamic, Shiite terror and torture theocracy of Iran aka the Third Axis of Evil and also the Sunni "Wannabees" of Saudi Arabia.
Current crises:
The Sunni-Shiite blood feud and the warmongering, womanizing (11 wives), hallucinating founder.
5. Hinduism (from an online Hindu site) – "Hinduism cannot be described as an organized religion. It is not founded by any individual. Hinduism is God centered and therefore one can call Hinduism as founded by God, because the answer to the question ‘Who is behind the eternal principles and who makes them work?’ will have to be ‘Cosmic power, Divine power, God’."
The caste/laborer system, reincarnation and cow worship/reverence are problems when saying a fair and rational God founded Hinduism."
Current problems:
The caste system, reincarnation and cow worship/reverence.
6. Buddhism- "Buddhism began in India about 500 years before the birth of Christ. The people living at that time had become disillusioned with certain beliefs of Hinduism including the caste system, which had grown extremely complex. The number of outcasts (those who did not belong to any particular caste) was continuing to grow."
"However, in Buddhism, like so many other religions, fanciful stories arose concerning events in the life of the founder, Siddhartha Gautama (fifth century B.C.):"
Archaeological discoveries have proved, beyond a doubt, his historical character, but apart from the legends we know very little about the circu-mstances of his life. e.g. Buddha by one legend was supposedly talking when he came out of his mother's womb.
Bottom line: There are many good ways of living but be aware of the hallucinations, embellishments, lies, and myths surrounding the founders and foundations of said rules of life.
Then, apply the Five F rule: "First Find the Flaws, then Fix the Foundations". And finally there will be religious peace and religious awareness in the world!!!!!
A PowerPoint slide for those who are "reading challenged":
SAVING 1.5 BILLION LOST MUSLIMS:
THERE NEVER WERE AND NEVER WILL BE ANY ANGELS I.E. NO GABRIEL, NO ISLAM AND THEREFORE NO MORE KORANIC-DRIVEN ACTS OF HORROR AND TERROR LIKE 9/11.
SAVING 2 BILLION LOST CHRISTIANS:
THERE WERE NEVER ANY BODILY RESURRECTIONS AND THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY BODILY RESURRECTIONS I.E. NO EASTER, NO CHRISTIANITY.
SAVING 15.5 MILLION FOLLOWERS OF JUDAISM:
ABRAHAM AND MOSES PROBABLY NEVER EXISTED.
Added details upon request.
شريحة PowerPoint لأولئك الذين هم "القراءة تحدى" :
إنقاذ 1.5 مليار المسلمين الضائعين :
لم توجد قط ولن تكون أبدا أي IE الملائكة NO غابرييل ، وبالتالي الإسلام لا NO MORE اعمال القرآنية يحركها من الرعب والارهاب مثل 9 / 11.
إنقاذ 2 مليار مسيحي المفقودة :
لم يعد هناك أبدا أي الجسدية والإحياء لن يكون هناك أي الإحياء جسدي IE NO عيد الفصح ، لا المسيحية.
الادخار 15.5 مليون من أتباع الديانة اليهودية :
إبراهيم وموسى ربما لم تكن موجودة.
واضاف التفاصيل عند الطلب.
Religions...but really dude. Have you any idea of what God really is? Your premise is that Judaism, Christianity and islam are all false and totally made up by some one. That takes out about 2/3 of the world's religions. Then you go after Hinduism and Buddhism as false also. What remain is little pieces of this and that. Just say that you don't follow any earthly religions, then that leaves you with the aliens and their religions...can't escape it man.
REALITY,I dont think you even bothered to comprehend what you posted.Just copy and paste to pretend that your comment makes sense.If you dont beleive in any religion why post all this stuff about it.you're weird.
Some people go to adult book stores religiously. That does not make them anything special. How one lives is how to think about it. I don't like people who go around bombing other people just because they aren't islamists.
Seem you have done your adult book store research.
If you take away oil, what does the middle east produce to make the world a better place? What cars do they make?, which smart phones did they invent? what blockbuster movies did they create? What brand of skis do they make? etc.. .....They have so much oil money but never use it to create anything useful for the world.
the middle east consumes material object with all that oil money. Thats their contribution , once the oil runs out or its value, their toys will quickly loose their value and they will be right back to where they started. Camels and sand.
maybe with the internet and the speed of information moving around the world people will step out of the dark ages as i like to put it and see the light. Our only real chance at living in peace with nature and other humans might be to take responsibility into our own hands and pray lees for divine intervention.
The intervention occurred 2011 years ago. Problem is too few believe it. Satin has the upper hand for now. That will change soon.
What instigated the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon? And what drives today's 24/7 mosque/imam-planned acts of terror and horror? The koran, Mohammed's book of death for all infidels and Muslim domination of the world by any means. Muslims must clean up this book removing said passages admitting that they are based on the Gabriel myth and therefore obviously the hallucinations and/or lies of Mohammed. Then we can talk about "peaceful" Islam, and the safety and location of mosques and what is taught therein.
Until then, no Muslim can be trusted anytime or anywhere..................................
o "Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5:51)
"Believers, when you encounter the infidels on the march, do not turn your backs to them in flight. If anyone on that day turns his back to them, except it be for tactical reasons...he shall incur the wrath of God and Hell shall be his home..." (Surah 8:12-)
"Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme." (Surah 8:36-)
"...make war on the leaders of unbelief...Make war on them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them. He will grant you victory over them..." (Surah 9:12-)
"Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9:27-)
"It is He who has sent forth His apostle with guidance and the true Faith [Islam] to make it triumphant over all religions, however much the idolaters [non-Muslims] may dislike it." (Surah 9:31-)
"If you do not fight, He will punish you sternly, and replace you by other men." (Surah 9:37-)
"Prophet make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home." (Surah 9:73)
"Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them." (Surah 9:121-)
"Say: 'Praise be to God who has never begotten a son; who has no partner in His Kingdom..." (Surah 17:111)
"'How shall I bear a child,' she [Mary] answered, 'when I am a virgin...?' 'Such is the will of the Lord,' he replied. 'That is no difficult thing for Him...God forbid that He [God[ Himself should beget a son!...Those who say: 'The Lord of Mercy has begotten a son,' preach a monstrous falsehood..." (Surah 19:12-, 29-, 88)
"Fight for the cause of God with the devotion due to Him...He has given you the name of Muslims..." (Surah 22:78-)
"Blessed are the believers...who restrain their carnal desires (except with their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them)...These are the heirs of Paradise..." (Surah 23:1-5-)
"Muhammad is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another." (Surah 48:29)
"Shall the reward of goodness be anything but good?...Dark-eyed virgins sheltered in their tents...They shall recline on green cushions and fine carpets...Blessed be the name of your Lord..." (Surah 55:52-66-)
If Muslims were really behind 9/11 (there are many who doubt the official story), then that means that nineteen men perpetrated the attacks. There are more than 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. Believe me, if even half of us were terrorists you would know it.
reality you are one hateful person.please stop with the propaganda and hatred.It will lead you no where my friend.
I lived in a large Muslim city for one year and found the people to be friendly, loving, considerate, generous, and helpful.
And, half the time I wore a US Military uniform. Yes there are extremists everywhere who are harmful and "Reality" you are one of them.
why are muslims more religious? Listen to Christopher Hitchens or Ron Paul on youtube. Islam is a disgustingly backwards religion, its like Judaism but they believe that the Quoran is the word of God exactly, so it cant be wrong. Let's get rid of all religions
Gee, that sounds a lot like Christianity too.
I was in Rafah, Saudi Arabia in the 1990's doing some shopping in a carpet store. As we were spending money, group of about 8, evening prayers started on the loud speakers. Shop owner continued to help with merchandise. One of the religious police drove up and started to beat the shop owner with a stick for not being at prayers. He found his religion again fast and started praying like a good puppet. So there you go all you priests and pastors. If you want more people in church get a big stick and whack them with it.
Wow if what you said is true, then the Muslim starts to act like s bunch of fanatics.
Saudi Arabia is a fanatical country and the religious people often overstep their bounds. I know many Muslims who wish we could get the Saud family out of power and reform that country.
scott why make up fictional stories.what you stated isnt true.Islamically he has his own choice to pray or not.
Scott, in 1947, my father quit the First Baptist Church in Ardmore, Oklahoma because the preacher was not satisfied with the collection. The preacher had the deacons block the doors so noone could leave and passed the plate around again. My father got up, ducked under one of the deacon's arm and never went back to that church - or any other, for that matter. Is that not also coercion. Maybe you shouldn't cast stones (as well as make up stories. I think white nailed it with his criticism of you).
Wasp and the rest of the individuals who posted anti Islam writings should take time to get to know the Muslims, I am a White European Muslim educated in US. I practice my religion and I never would hurt anyone. I do not hate Christians or Jews. I can’t they are believers as well. If I motion the name Yusuf (Jesus) it must be followed by “peace be on him”. The Koran teaches us to love and respect others and never to hate anyone.
remzi,I wish there were more people who will actually take the time to reflect on your comment.Very peaceful.
Not a true muslim then, all muslims are taught to hate and kill jews in the koran. read it.
SoWhat, I suspect Remzi is far more familiar with the Qur'an than you are. Why don't you take your own advise and read it yourself. Your comment shows that you haven't.
No, Islam is extremely violent and hateful. If someone is peaceful they are being secular or lying. That's it.
And before you ask, yes I have read the Q'uran. It has been revised many times and has hundreds of contradictions in it.
Religions use contradictions to cover every angle. Secular people might be pretending, lying, or both, or they might be ignorant and heedless of the religion they follow. Muslims usually lie about their religion. I've seen it so many times.
What about the imam and the mullahs are they " born again" islamist? They are as violent as the thugs.