How to explain our lives and culture to everyone else?

On a completely unrelated note (although your comment about where Jesus came from was priceless), I love the new look in the header and Entrecard!

People celebrate Christmas even though they are not Christian because it is their family tradition and culture they were brought up in. December 25 is probably not the real date of Jesus’s Birth. Orthodox Christians for instance celebrate Christmas in January. Nobody knows for sure when Jesus was born because there is no actual date recorded for his birth. Christmas in December is actually an ancient pagan celebration called Winter Solstice which the early Christians preempted for their own celebrations to make Christianity more palatable to the pagans at that time who they were trying to convert. We also celebrate Halloween a pagan celebration even though most of us are not Pagan and our ancestors haven’t been for over a thousand years. It is tradition that drives most people.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

No for some it has a religious significance but for others it is just a cultural celebration and a time to be with family.

he very well could be a moon child…hah

I thought halal meant the animal was treated humanely and slaughtered by slitting the throat and draining the blood. In effect this means being a vegetarian these days because factory farming is definitely cruel and therefore haram.
The real meaning of Christmas – We celebrate the birth of Santa!
Fasting – for most festivals we do exactly the opposite of fasting,
The Pope – definitely some kind of extremist religious fanatic.

catholics do not fast at all before easter. yes, it is only for the tree and presents, and sometimes not even that.

grow up and lose your imaginary friend.

Yea that’s kinda sad..on the contrary, I know a lot of Christians that don’t eat pork because as what we both agree on ” pigs eat their own fices and they roll around in mud” and etc..
That’s right a lot of long term relationships don’t lead to anything..I say that if u are not physically, emotionally, and financially able to be in a committed relationship then it would be nothing more than having fun and games or in other words “passing time” Thus I would have to say that it’s different for every case scenario.
For religions I find them to be 100% the same..but it’s the fanatical leaders that make it different, and at one point altered it. For instance, the revelation of new scriptures! I mean come-on WTF..
Also I find that these “leaders” only like to practice what I call “one sided religion” in the sense that they would read the Quran, Bible, Torah pick up the bits and pieces that they want to follow and disregard the rest of the book, stupid; but it’s true.

Sorry for my comment…kinda blah..but I needed to post something asap I missed ur blog even-though i’ve been keeping up with it

Mona,

You bring up some very valid points, however, you and most everyone else miss some very important facts.

What is a Muslim? What is a Christian? What is a Jew? Here I’m about to get some people angry. Most people that claim the name “Christian”, “Jew”, or “Muslim” are simply NOT.

This would narrow down a lot of your questions:

It goes without saying a Christian is a follower of God, that believes in Christ Jesus as part of God descended to Earth as Man, died for our sins, and resurrected. The Bible, Old and New Testament are believed to be the inspired word of God, but ONLY the New Testament is to be directly applied to our lives.

It’s also plain to see that a Muslim is a follower of Muhammed the prophet whom believes in God. Muslims believe that Jesus was merely a prophet and have much of their origins in the Old Testament. Explaining many similar beliefs and laws.

Jews origins are exactly the same as the previous two, however the religion itself is quite awkward. The purpose of Judaism according to the Old Testament is that they are the chosen race. God will send a Messiah, a Christ to them. They do not believe that Christ Jesus was that Messiah, so they continue to believe that God is still waiting to send them a Saviour. Problem here is, if that is correct, all Jews should be following Old Testament law, and nothing else. So by their own beliefs a Jew should still be engaging in sacrifices as well as a very structured priesthood.

Problem is many aren’t, just as many Christians do not gather all together and worship God on the first day of the week as a remembrance of our Christ’s sacrifice. Likewise many Muslims do not follow all their beliefs. Many CLAIM to be a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Jew, but have simply arrived to that name by birth, and do nothing to adhere their lives to their beliefs.

What am I getting at? If you believe as a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, you should truly believe, practice, and behave like one, adhering to your scriptures and examples. If you don’t, then simply, you are NOT.

Just because I read a book once about how to play a guitar, and looked at one, and maybe picked one up once and strummed the strings, does not make me a guitarist. Likewise, just because I once was able to play some diddies on a piano as a kid, I am not a pianist.

So you ask these questions about habits and traditions and clothing. To all Christians: Show me where we are to fast before “easter.” Show me where we are supposed to pray to other men in special clothes. Show me the place in the Bible that teaches us to celebrate the birth of our Christ.

Mona, they can’t. Simple as that, there is nowhere we are supposed to. They are all strange traditions created over the years, intermingled with other pagan religions for a sort of diplomatic purpose. People practice traditions for the sake of practicing them, religious or not.

Oh, and final answer to your question about why do we think Muslims are strange because they dress oddly. Simply enough, people in general are uncomfortable with what they do not know.

I have strong faith in Christianity. I know the Bible well enough right now to know I’m living my life properly, and I continue to study it to ensure I’m doing it right. Mona, I have studied a bit of what Muslims do, and I see your origins in our Old Testament. What perplexes me is that it is plainly obvious that the Old Testament teaches we are going to be saved by the Son of God, It is very clear to me at least, that that occurred. I don’t understand how 600 years later a man who with all good intentions to bring proper religious belief back to God, instead created a new religion with him as prophet.

Maybe you can answer that for me.

Take Care.. Joe

1. I am was raised Christian and yes I celebrate Christmas and Easter.
2. Just like there are different sects of Muslims-there are different types of Christians. Most Christians fast on some level during lent (the 40 days prior to Easter). Most of us give up something that we love to eat like french fries or chocolate. Many Christians also eat fish on Fridays during lent.
3. There are different but not extreme looking anyway.
4. I am Protestant so I recognize the Pope as a member of the clergy but Catholics seem him as their holy father.

Can I have a cookie now?

So what�s the difference?

1. We Arabs/Muslims don�t live with someone if we are not married to them. As with any religion, some do.
2. We don�t do anything that is considered sinful before marriage. As with any religion, some do.
3. Most Arabs/Muslims don�t even kiss if they are not married. As with any religion, some do.
4. There is no such thing as love. Look at me for example. I am a living example. I’m sorry byou feel that way.
5. Not all Arabs/Muslims have arranged marriages. Good, however, some do.
6. Because you know an Arab/Muslim who�s life is the same life as yours, doesn�t mean he/she represent the rest of us. So don�t be surprised. As with any religion, some people live differently.

Religion

1. We believe in yours! We believe in the prophet Jesus and prophet Moses! Why do you go in shock when we tell you that we consider them prophets too? In Christianity Jesus is more than a prophet and it could surprise and offend some that he’s been downgraded. Imagine is Mohammed (pbuh) was downgraded how offensive that would be.
2. We believe in the same God! We just call him Allah. Same thing. We just speak another language. That�s all. I doubt anyone has a problem with that.
3. A true Muslim must believe in Christianity and Judaism. You would be surprised how much of those two religions are mentioned in our holy book, the Quran. Hmm, I think almost all of it! As above, you believe in Christ as a prophet, not as a son of God or Allah, and therefore do not believe in Christianity.

My Questions to you (Non-Arabs or non-Muslims)

1. If you no longer call your self a Christian or go to Church, or believe in it at all, why do you celebrate Christmas? Just for the presents and a tree? The festival has roots in pagan lore, as many religious events do.
2. Aren�t Christians supposed to fast before Easter? I think Catholics do. Yes. but times change and all religions should too.
3. Why do you think Muslims are extremist and dress oddly with huge long beards? Some religious Jews have long beards too. Yah.. go check. Extremists do not need long beards, only to believe that following their religion requires eradication of non-believers. At this time, there are few Christian extremists.
4. Have you seen what the Pope and other religious leaders wear? Robes? Big huge hats? Carry a scepter or it is a long cane? I could never tell. What do you make of that? That all religions are anachronistic.

One of the most biased, ignorant posts I’ve come across in a while.

It’s called Context. You’re opinion is shaped by your context, as is anyone else’s. Let people do what they want, just because they do things differently, they aren’t “backwards or still live in the 19th century.”

You may also have heard of the world “library.” It’s a building with lots of books in it. Maybe you could go there sometime. Ask for the “sociology” section.

Good points. When you said ’scepter’ I immediately pictured the House of Commons, with all the superoldschool stuff they got going on in there. And do judges still where wigs?

Firstly, any decent blogger would have tried to maintain objectivity in their post, and not labelling people you didn’t know anything about as “backward.” Perhaps “Different” would be a more suitable term.

One must retain objectivity to ensure professionalism. If you wanted to post a specific viewpoint, you should have done a little research first (to refine your position.)

The whole point about a library is that you can read through people’s views, but all non-fictional works have been verified by the editorial staff, so there isn’t too much factual “invention.”

Maybe you should try it before you diss it.

You say that you believe Jesus to be a prophet. You don’t, however, agree with Christians that he was the son of god/messiah. So to say you believe in the Christian religion is not exactly true. It’s still all a matter of semantics though.

For me it’s not that I think Muslim/Arabs have strange beliefs. It’s that all religions are a bit crazy when followed too closely.

“Don�t you think it is weird that 2 out of the 3 main religions in the world don�t eat it?� Not particularly. I’m surprised the third doesn’t have some rule as well but only because all three religions originated from the same general location. That’s not exactly proof that god mandated these laws. It’s more likely a common consensus that pigs are dirty animals for the most part. It’s also a pretty good indication that people of the time (and in that particular location) had problems handling and preserving meats and other foods. Which is where most of the kashrut and zabihah stem from.

Why is identity so important to you?

@Mona
You say you believe yet you don’t believe in the cornerstone of the religion. That Christ is the son of God. As I said though it’s a matter of semantics. I’m a non-believer (if you couldn’t tell from my post). So I’m not offended in anyway by what’s been said here. I think anyone that take any religion to the extreme are no better than what people think of extremist Muslims.

Now on the subject of why people think Muslims are backwards. Sharia law comes to mind rather quickly. If you were to live in Saudi Arabia you may not be writing this post. I am not one to judge but as an outsider looking into the Muslim world this seems rather insane. Your own son (if you had one) would have more rights in a lot of Arab countries than you would. Not to say that I don’t think fundamentalists Christians and Jews are any less insane.

@Mona
I see your point as well. That Muslims are no different from any other religious group. That people should not judge all Muslims based on the actions of some extremist groups. You are exactly right.

By the way I’ve got four rug rats myself

It doesn’t have fixed labels.

I think what shocks me most is that people will look down upon women in Hijab, yet would never say anything to a nun. It is virtually the same thing. I was in Jordan with a bunch of Caucasian American students and one of them asked me what was more Haram alcohol or pig? And I never really thought of it that way. I told him that there are equally Haram (to my knowledge atleast) but somehow it has become more socially acceptable to drink alcohol than to eat pork. How that happened? I’m not so sure

I know most of the information you mentioned having lived in the middle east for a while, was hopping that you cover some other points which we really don’t understand about Islam, I read the marriage part with excitement hoping to find explanations for polygamy and if you feel it is fair for one man to have 4 wives ??
I’m also curious about Islamic sects, and how big is the gab between Sunni and Shia ??

I disagree with the idea that people who are not Arabs and not Muslims have a really different perspective on life. I do empathize with your point, but I think it is important to remember that one country which host the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia, is extremely sensitive to the current fate of Gazans for instance; yet, those people are not Arabs, rather Asian Muslims. Same is true of the Western Chinese Muslims.

How about people who are not Muslims but Arabs? Well, the evidence here are less crystal clear, but if you dig deep enough, I think you will find plenty of Christian Arabs who are sympathetic to Muslims. I quite agree with you that their own religious customs differ but I do not think it makes them people with “really different perspective on life”. There are still Arabs after all and their lifestyle quite overlaps with Arab Muslims in other respects than religion.

I think the same is true from many people who are neither Arabs nor Muslims; black community from Africa to America have a strong sens of community and moral conviction of a kind in my own view rather similar to the one of Arabs, at least in its deepness. I think the people who have a really different perspective on life as you say are Europeans of Western Europe; their everyday lifestyle is not made out of the same goals( actually money is often a goal in itself rather than a mean; a widespread problem in Europe) and their own sens of community and everyday interaction is unfortunately not based on the sort of compassion, conviction and altruism found in many other communities around the world. I think this is one of the root problem of the Jewish occupation. In other words,going back in time 300 years ago with
Spaniards in Palestine instead of Jews as fictive example would yield the same results. So why are Jews still colonialist ? Because they rely on the intellectual American elite which constitute the remaining power house of European colonialist mentality of the last five century.

Thanks for replying.

Mona this is why I left religion, too many people getting amped up over their imaginary friends (sorry, my inner atheist is coming out).

Many of the cultural things that you mentioned for Muslim Arabs goes just the same for Christian Arabs. Dating before being engaged is haram in Palestinian culture. Eating out we aren’t as picky, but feal more comfortable in foreign eateries (like the local greek diner v red lobster). As for the pork thing, people who take a strict view of the bible would not eat pork either, but Christianity outside of the middle east is a seperate animal. Most Christians in the middle east eat a beef and lamb mix, or whatever the hell the mystery meat (shawerma) is.=D

Jose “Muslims believe that Jesus was merely a prophet”
What are you talking about? WE don’t “merely” claim that Jesus is a prophet…he is a prophet.. we give full consideration to his being.. and we don’t degrade him one bit.

s mcleod

“One of the most biased, ignorant posts I�ve come across in a while.”
hahahah..well don’t u think she’s entitled to her own opinion? I mean come-on…On the contrary, I don’t think it was “biased” she was asking for other people’s opinions about certain issues that she just couldn’t tap her finger on..that’s all..

dan
“You say that you believe Jesus to be a prophet. You don�t,”

Dan: I have to note that these days religion (in which ever form u pro-claim it to be) seems to be built more solely on cultural/traditional values then of anything else. What ever happened to the originality of religion?

Erick: Same things that have boggled ur mind have at one point and to a certain degree boggled mine also..but after research I have found that the Sunni and Shia’s in Islam…are considered to be “like” the Protestants and the Catholics in Christianity (to a certain degree)
Mona..even-though they may seem to be the same..the majority of their fundamental values differentiate quite a bit. For instance, lets take the Marriage issue…in Islam, a man is allowed to marry mroe than one wife if he was qualified for the previous points sated by Mona above..however, looking back on the prophet hood days, the only reason why Prophet Mohammad married more than one wife wasn’t because he just felt the need to marry so many girls at a time..but there were various reasons, one of his wives was married before but lost her husband in battle (if I am correct) and he ended up marrying her because he felt the need to help her because firstly she was a widow and secondly she had needed help with her kids (If I am correct) anyways if u were to look it up u would find that he married these women for reasons like protecting their honor and etc…On the contrary, some sectors of shia-ism believe in something called the mutta marriage (that is the belief that u are able to test your spouse on a sexual level) before you actually conceal the marriage, It’s more of a contract thing that can last from one week up to years at a time..so if one of the two parties doesn’t fulfill your sexual fantasies then you are able to leave each other (and other factors that are set into toll, that I haven’t stumbled upon as of yet)
Sunni Muslim’s pray 5 times a day while shia Muslim’s s prayers can range from 1-3 prayers a day..Shiaism has all these sectors that branch out to other shia sectors that are very complicated…but an example can be “Ismael shia’s” That have very different fundamental rules, as was stated in the Quran…i’m not going to get that far..but ye, even-though both sunni and shia may sound the same..trust me they are two worlds apart.

Mona: the problem in a pluralistic society is that people are allowed to be different. Because we’ve been conditioned for thousands of years to prefer folks who look like us, we are in this predicament of having Western people look down on Arabs or Muslims.
It would be better if the West had not colonized Arabs and Muslims and didn’t have this complex of superiority.

I guess we should admit also that the Arab world hasn’t shown the rest of the world the beauty of its heritage … possibly because it is dominated by regimes that are the opposite of the ‘free society’ that the West enjoys (for better or worse).

I liked your comments about food. I’m nearly vegetarian, because the food industry is so harsh on animals…

But about religion: the one thing that you might have missed is that, in Christianity, there really isn’t supposed to be any “holy days”, “rules” or “commandments” other than, acknowledging your need of Jesus for salvation and guidance, and loving your neighbor. If you love your neighbor, it’s ok to eat his porc . But it is pretty hard to cheat on your wife and consider that loving her… Christmas or Easter are great times to remember what God did when he sent his Son into a humble shape and to die for our sins.
Personally, I fast to tell my body that I’m at war and praying hard hard hard for my friends’healing of cancer or salvation of my family etc.
It would not cross my mind to fast as a religious duty — Jesus did encourage his followers to fast, but to keep that (basically) a secret between us and our Father (God).

Yes, I’ve seen how the Pope dresses. Freaky !

By the way – I have seen the sick healed. I have seen a friend with a bad burn on his hand (he is a cook) having his hand healed the next day miraculously. I have seen my foot healed (a sprained toe was not hurting suddenly anymore). I have seen my son’s tooth healed (went from black/dead to white) . My stage-4-colon-cancer friend is now cancer-free (odds = miracle). I once prayed for a lady with terminal cancer – that’s 2 years ago, the cancer is still there but doesn’t grow at all anymore.
This is done through prayers in the name of Jesus and God is gracious to confirm the power of His name and heal us.

Christianity is not religion – it is God with us.

Of course, the West has turned that into some kind of political machine, and a measuring rod — but that’s not what I’m talking about…

Wow thats a lot of comments.
One thing I don’t get is that some Chritians call Jesus God and some call him son of God. I personally don’t believe God has children but I’m like ok they believe he has a son, that’s their beliefe. But when they call him God that just sounds really strange because we all know the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, and Mary was a human.

@Lela

LOL..true dat!

@Lela – well, yes, the Trinity thing is the most bizarre thing to earthlings.
You see glimpse of it in the Old Testament and some more in the New Testament.

The Incarnation of the Son of God into a human is one thing. Mary was a human and no sperm was used to make the incarnated Son of God. That’s odd, because Mary could not have given a Y chromosome to her child … well, duh! that’s a miracle.

I think for Muslims the main obstacle to the Trinity (on top of the mindboggling that it is) is the assumption that if there are more than one god, they’ll have disagreements, competitions and even fights.
Not so – the early Christian writers explain a complete communion and love between the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit…. God loved before creating anything — since the Father was loving the Son and the Spirit, the Son was loving the Father and the Spirit and the Spirit was loving the Son and the Father…

There are a few “images” used to explain the Trinity, but none of those images are really good. Eg: Water is ice, liquid or vapor. (and you can have the 3 forms in a bottle)…
See the section “God in three persons” in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity

Hey Mona,

Once again – excellent post! I constantly am trying to explain pretty much all of the above, on a regular basis, to my work colleagues (especially the haram and halal food issue).

It’s amazing that Islam has been around for 1430 years, yet the vast majority of non-muslims do not know much about Islam. I think the main cause for this is (and this is not a biased opinion) that when we are taught about Islam we are taught from all angles and with comparisions to the 4 holy books (Quran, Psalms, Torah and Injil). Outside of Islam, it -may be possible- that the approach is not the same, or not as ‘thorough’ (this is opinion based on my experience so far).

One or two of the commenters have tried to “state facts” (S McLeod and Dan in particular) from a ‘logical’ point of view. My suggestion in general would be – guys, before you go all guns blazing on opinions on religion (religion is written down on paper (the holy books) – you may find these in a decent library), I would suggest reading up on neutral and religious sources, and comparing the commonalities in the major religions (if you have the time ofcourse!). It is a well known fact (and I have orthodox and practicing religious friends who practice Judaism, Christianity, Hinduisnm and buddhism who concur) that major religions have drifted off the original said path, whereas Islam has not; the reason why it has not is because the principles set 1400 years ago apply in todays day and age i.e the principles of Islam are simple, although the interpretation is open to discussion.

Finally – (and this is me losing my neutrality here… but again my OWN opinions!)- A blog is a medium of stating opinions. Show me a rule book of “how to blog for dummies – with all the rules to be followed ever”, and all bloggers around the world can then change opinions and stay on the straight and narrow. It is ridiculously stupid that commenters have issues with how a post is written! May I suggest this post – http://www.rebelliousarabgirl.net/2008/12/29/whats-wrong-with-disagreeing/
Ofcourse… the smart ones amongst you won’t comment fighting back…. or will you?!

Finally – Ignorance is bliss… don’t ya think? Have a great new year one and all!

Hello,

I celebrate Christmas even though I don’t consider myself Christian (or part of any religion, for that matter). It’s a tradition. It’s one of the few times where I get to see some of my relatives who live in other parts of the countries. The meal, tree, and presents are fun, too.

@Lela According to mainstream Christianity, Jesus was both the son of God and God. Catholics often call Mary “The Mother of God.” The trinity is God, comprising the father, son [jesus], and the holy ghost. They are three parts/aspects of one god. Confusing, eh? Nobody’s really supposed to entirely get it. It’s really not discussed much in the New Testament.

I’ve always been curious about the pork thingy. Technically, the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament ban the consumption a lot of things other than pork. Other banned foods include shellfish and rabbit. I don’t understand why Muslims picked up the anti-pork stuff from Judaism, but not the anti-shellfish/rabbit/etc. Pork has always been the highlight of Halal/Kosher dietary restrictions for reasons I’ve never understood.

I’m also confused as to why some Muslims find it acceptable to eat non-Halal slaughtered food (assuming it’s not pork). You say that it’s ok to eat meat that was handled by a Jew or Christian. However, while Jews use a similar slaughter technique to Muslims, Christians do not. There is no “Christian slaughter” technique, and there really are no Christian dietary restrictions in general. Does it really make a difference if meat is slaughtered by a Christian, atheist, or pagan?

Just a minor quibble: Judaism and Islam are not “2 of the 3 major world religions.” There are more than 3 major religions. There are more Hindus and Buddhists than Jews, for instance. The Chinese, who are 1/6 of the world population, most of whom are not Jewish/Christian/Muslim, eat lots of pork.

@Lela
It’s stated many times in the bible that Jesus was god.

“I and the Father are one”

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

Which is a problem in some other religions. The Jews did not believe Jesus to be god incarnate. Neither did the Muslims.

@jade
Dan: I have to note that these days religion (in which ever form u pro-claim it to be) seems to be built more solely on cultural/traditional values then of anything else. What ever happened to the originality of religion?

You are exactly right. Religion is nothing more than a cultural/traditional value system. What originality of religion? It’s already been said that most religious holidays are actually taken from pagan rituals. Mona herself stated the Quran contains many things talked about in the bible and the old testament. Religions aren’t original because it’s easier to convert followers when you simply explain to them that they are celebrating the correct date just for the wrong reason. Thus the pagan holiday of winter solstice became Christ’s birthday.

@Jose
Amen!

for most, religion has become “traditional” or a set of rigidly practices “customs”. however, in fairness, there are still true Christians, Jews and Muslims out there.

I am as evangelical Christian. There was a time that I read up on the 3 main religions: Christianity and its sects, Judaism and Mohammedanism. That period of my life opened my eyes to the many possibilities of God, the Messiah and the promise of an everlasting life. Because of what I learned about the main 3 religions and its various sects, I have complete faith in my beliefs and the outmost respect to other religions.

WOW… I love how people get all crazy about your comments. I say AMEN and DITTO to everything you have said. Have a Happy New Year!

@jade
hey jade, I believe i heard somewhere that chickens eat their own crap too. haha soon we won’t have any meat to eat! But i think that pigs are off limits becuz of something to do with worms in their insides! not sure but it makes sense…. salam

I think it has everything to do with ignorance and respect. If people paid attention to the fact the 3 are brother religions, they might not freak out so much. With all religions, there are people who interpret it in a way that justifies their own hate towards others and they become the symbols of that religion to those who already fear that which is different.

I have a few Muslim friends, but they do not follow the rules strictly, so I can’t say I’ve seen anyone not go out to eat, but your explanation makes a lot of sense. A lot of Jews don’t go out to eat because they don’t know that it is Kosher.

I’m Christian, but I don’t eat pork and people think I’m weird. The first question is, are you Jewish? No, I just don’t like it, it stinks. And I grew up around pigs on my grandpa’s farm and I can’t eat them. It makes me nuts that they put bacon on everything in restaurants. I know there is a large population that does not eat pork, not just me, you’d think they’d consider this.

your question to those of us that celebrate christmas. for me, I don’t go to church because I have issues with the church and organized religion. I need to find a church that I feel comfortable with. but I pray regularly and have my faith. there are those that celebrate the commercial aspect of it and not the religious side. they forget what we are actually supposed to be celebrating. santa took over and jesus got the boot. It’s the same idea as many of my friends/family who baptize/christen their children but never take the to church or teach them anything about that religion after the ceremony. it’s tradition without any foundation.

You did a great job explaining those issues. By the way, I love the new look of your blog!

~Kelly
http://www.30somethingandsearching.today.com/

jose!!!!
DUDE!!! what u said was wrong on so many levels?! I’m not angry tho. just want to enlighten u.

we do not “follow” Mohamed sal Allah alaihi wa salam, we follow his Teachings as he worshipped Allah Suhanahu wa ta’ala.
second thing is that it is true that not everyone worships the way they are supposed to anymore… however, that doesn’t mean that they are no longe of that faith and can’t call themselves a Muslim, christian, jew and so on!
U are Muslim if u believe that there is NO OTHER GOD, BUT ALLAH and the PROPHET MOHAMED IS HIS MESSENGER! that is rule #1 and that alone with nothing else makes u muslim. i don’t know about the other religions so i speak on what i know. if u do nothing else it makes u a bad muslim but a muslim none the less. enjoy and i hope i have enlightened u a bit! SALAM @Jose

@desperateblogger
it’s not mohamedianism…. it is islam! we worship as Mohamed (SAW) did. we do not however worship Mohamed (SAW)

@malikat al arab

hahahah that’s true my bad…but any-how they are dirty animals…

@ Jade: I’m not sure if you completely understand what your argument is towards me. I stated that Muslims believe Jesus was merely a prophet because you don’t believe he is He is our Messiah. You tell me you give full consideration to his being, so if that is the case
then to you he is not your Savior. Therefore, in comparison to me, you consider him as merely a prophet.

@ Desperate: I’m glad to hear you have such faith. I’m happier to hear that you take,serious what is presented to you in the Bible, and you don’t, for the sake of tradition, change it.

@ Malikat Al Arab: Everything I stated was my opinion and my belief. To me and many others, what I said was nowhere near wrong.

And you stated that “we do not �follow� Mohamed sal Allah alaihi wa salam, we follow his Teachings as he worshipped Allah Suhanahu wa ta�ala.”

Okay, that is like me saying I don’t follow Paul (aka Saul of Tarsus) I only follow his teachings as he worshiped God. If I’m doing the same things as my teacher, I’m “following his lead” Therefore I am a follower. Also, some clarification, just because I follow Paul, does NOT mean I worship him.

You also stated, “second thing is that it is true that not everyone worships the way they are supposed to anymore� however, that doesn�t mean that they are no longe of that faith”

That’s exactly what it means. Just because you follow a few facets of a faith, does not mean you are of that faith. A faithful person is one that dedicates themselves to their beliefs. If your beliefs come from the Bible, or the Koran, then follow them, wholeheartedly.

I don’t believe there is a such thing as a good Christian and a bad Christian, or likewise Good/Bad Muslim’s, Jews, Hindu’s etc. You are either Christian/Muslim/Jew/etc. or you are simply Not.

You can’t just pick what you like and pass on what you don’t The person that does is a hypocrite. Faith requires absolute obedience, not partial. This isn’t a cafeteria line!

So I’m sorry, but you haven’t “enlightened me a bit” You’ve only confirmed to me that I must ensure that my behavior, actions, and faith are not only appealing to God, but that my actions and strength of faith can help edify persons like desperateblogger to become stronger in their own faith, and not be allowed to believe that doing a little is good enough.

@Mona Very interesting blog. I’d love to have a study with you about this very topic. I have many questions I’d like to ask you about Islam. Thanks for the food for thought.