I will start this off with the best example we have in our media.. of Islam meaning peace.. This was Ali closer to his prime...
On the opposite side we have terrorists attacks all over the world. and we have this partial history...
so the questions I am going to research are: 1. What are the tenants of the religion 2. What did their prophet say? 3. What did their prophet do? 4. What do today's Imams teach? 5. Can we draw comparisons with other religions
Q http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703369704575461503431290986 A Symposium: What Is Moderate Islam? The controversy over a proposed mosque in lower Manhattan has spurred a wider debate about the nature of Islam. We asked six leading thinkers—Anwar Ibrahim, Bernard Lewis, Ed Husain, Reuel Marc Gerecht, Tawfik Hamid and Akbar Ahmed—to weigh in. Updated Sept. 1, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET Editor's Note: The controversy over a proposed mosque in lower Manhattan has spurred a wider debate about the nature of Islam. We asked six leading thinkers to answer the question: What is moderate Islam? •Anwar Ibrahim: The Ball Is in Our Court •Bernard Lewis: A History of Tolerance •Ed Husain: Don't Call Me Moderate, Call Me Normal •Reuel Marc Gerecht: Putting Up With Infidels Like Me •Tawfik Hamid: Don't Gloss Over The Violent Texts •Akbar Ahmed: Mystics, Modernists and Literalists The Ball Is in Our Court By Anwar Ibrahim Mr. Ibrahim is Malaysia's opposition leader. Skeptics and cynics alike have said that the quest for the moderate Muslim in the 21st century is akin to the search for the Holy Grail. It's not hard to understand why. Terrorist attacks, suicide bombings and the jihadist call for Muslims "to rise up against the oppression of the West" are widespread. The radical fringe carrying out such actions has sought to dominate the discourse between Islam and the West. In order to do so, they've set out to foment anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. They've also advocated indiscriminate violence as a political strategy. To cap their victory, this abysmal lot uses the cataclysm of 9/11 as a lesson for the so-called enemies of Islam. These dastardly acts have not only been tragedies of untold proportions for those who have suffered or perished. They have also delivered a calamitous blow to followers of the Muslim faith. These are the Muslims who go about their lives like ordinary people—earning their livings, raising their families, celebrating reunions and praying for security and peace. These are the Muslims who have never carried a pocketknife, let alone explosives intended to destroy buildings. These Muslims are there for us to see, if only we can lift the veil cast on them by the shadowy figures in bomb-laden jackets hell-bent on destruction. These are mainstream Muslims—no different from the moderate Christians, Jews and those of other faiths—whose identities have been drowned by events beyond their control. The upshot is a composite picture of Muslims as inherently intolerant, antidemocratic, inward-looking and simply unable to coexist with other communities in the modern world. Some say there is only one solution: Discard your beliefs and your tradition, and embrace pluralism and modernity. This prescription is deeply flawed. The vast majority of Muslims already see themselves as part of a civilization that is heir to a noble tradition of science, philosophy and spirituality that places paramount importance on the sanctity of human life. Holding fast to the principles of democracy, freedom and human rights, these hundreds of millions of Muslims fervently reject fanaticism in all its varied guises. Yet Muslims must do more than just talk about their great intellectual and cultural heritage. We must be at the forefront of those who reject violence and terrorism. And our activism must not end there. The tyrants and oppressive regimes that have been the real impediment to peace and progress in the Muslim world must hear our unanimous condemnation. The ball is in our court. A History of Tolerance By Bernard Lewis Mr. Lewis, professor emeritus at Princeton, is the author of "From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East" (Oxford University Press, 2004). A form of moderation has been a central part of Islam from the very beginning. True, Muslims are nowhere commanded to love their neighbors, as in the Old Testament, still less their enemies, as in the New Testament. But they are commanded to accept diversity, and this commandment was usually obeyed. The Prophet Muhammad's statement that "difference within my community is part of God's mercy" expressed one of Islam's central ideas, and it is enshrined both in law and usage from the earliest times. This principle created a level of tolerance among Muslims and coexistence between Muslims and others that was unknown in Christendom until after the triumph of secularism. Diversity was legitimate and accepted. Different juristic schools coexisted, often with significant divergences. Sectarian differences arose, and sometimes led to conflicts, but these were minor compared with the ferocious wars and persecutions of Christendom. Some events that were commonplace in medieval Europe— like the massacre and expulsion of Jews—were almost unknown in the Muslim world. That is, until modern times. Occasionally more radical, more violent versions of Islam arose, but their impact was mostly limited. They did not become really important until the modern period when, thanks to a combination of circumstances, such versions of Islamic teachings obtained a massive following among both governments and peoples. From the start, Muslims have always had a strong sense of their identity and history. Thanks to modern communication, they have become painfully aware of their present state. Some speak of defeat, some of failure. It is the latter who offer the best hope for change. For the moment, there does not seem to be much prospect of a moderate Islam in the Muslim world. This is partly because in the prevailing atmosphere the expression of moderate ideas can be dangerous—even life-threatening. Radical groups like al Qaeda and the Taliban, the likes of which in earlier times were at most minor and marginal, have acquired a powerful and even a dominant position. But for Muslims who seek it, the roots are there, both in the theory and practice of their faith and in their early sacred history. Don't Call Me Moderate, Call Me Normal By Ed Husain Mr. Husain is author of "The Islamist" (Penguin, 2007) and co-founder of the Quilliam Foundation, a counterextremist think tank. I am a moderate Muslim, yet I don't like being termed a "moderate"—it somehow implies that I am less of a Muslim. We use the designation "moderate Islam" to differentiate it from "radical Islam." But in so doing, we insinuate that while Islam in moderation is tolerable, real Islam—often perceived as radical Islam—is intolerable. This simplistic, flawed thinking hands our extremist enemies a propaganda victory: They are genuine Muslims. In this rubric, the majority, non-radical Muslim populace has somehow compromised Islam to become moderate. What is moderate Christianity? Or moderate Judaism? Is Pastor Terry Jones's commitment to burning the Quran authentic Christianity, by virtue of the fanaticism of his action? Or, is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual head of the Shas Party in Israel, more Jewish because he calls on Jews to rain missiles on the Arabs and "annihilate them"? The pastor and the rabbi can, no doubt, find abstruse scriptural justifications for their angry actions. And so it is with Islam's fringe: Our radicals find religious excuses for their political anger. But Muslim fanatics cannot be allowed to define Islam. The Prophet Muhammad warned us against ghuluw, or extremism, in religion. The Quran reinforces the need for qist, or balance. For me, Islam at its essence is the middle way in all matters. This is normative Islam, adhered to by a billion normal Muslims across the globe. Normative Islam is inherently pluralist. It is supported by 1,000 years of Muslim history in which religious freedom was cherished. The claim, made today by the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia, that they represent God's will expressed through their version of oppressive Shariah law is a modern innovation. The classical thinking within Islam was to let a thousand flowers bloom. Ours is not a centralized tradition, and Islam's rich diversity is a legacy of our pluralist past. Normative Islam, from its early history to the present, is defined by its commitment to protecting religion, life, progeny, wealth and the human mind. In the religious language of Muslim scholars, this is known as maqasid, or aims. This is the heart of Islam. I am fully Muslim and fully Western. Don't call me moderate—call me a normal Muslim. Putting Up With Infidels Like Me By Reuel Marc Gerecht Mr. Gerecht, a former CIA operative, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Moderate Islam is the faith practiced by the parents of my Pakistani British roommate at the University of Edinburgh—and, no doubt, by the great majority of Muslim immigrants to Europe and the United States. Khalid's mother and father were devout Muslims. His dad prayed five times a day and his mom, who hadn't yet learned decent English after almost 20 years in the industrial towns of West Yorkshire, gladly gave me the impression that the only book she'd ever read was the Quran. I was always welcome in their home. Khalid's mother regularly stuffed me with curry, peppering me with questions about how a non-Muslim who'd crossed the Atlantic to study Islam could resist the pull of the one true faith. Determined to keep their children Muslim in a sea of aggressive, alcohol-laden, sex-soaked disbelief, they happily practiced and preached peaceful coexistence—even with an infidel who was obviously leading their son down an unrighteous path. That is the essence of moderation in any faith: the willingness to exist peacefully, if not exuberantly, alongside nonbelievers who hold repellant views on many sacred subjects. It is a dispensation that comes fairly easily to ordinary Muslims who have left their homelands to live among nonbelievers in Western democracies. It is harder for Muslims surrounded by their own kind, unaccustomed by politics and culture to giving up too much ground. Tolerance among traditional Muslims is defined as Christian Europe first defined the idea: A superior creed agrees not to harass an inferior creed, so long as the practitioners of the latter don't become too uppity. Tolerance emphatically does not mean equality of belief, as it now does in the West. Even in Turkey, where authoritarian secularism has changed the Muslim identity more profoundly than anywhere else in the Old World, a totally secularized Muslim would never call a non-Muslim citizen of the state a Turk. There is a certain pride of place that cannot be shared with a nonbeliever. Wounded pride also does the Devil's work on ecumenicalism. Adjusting to modernity, with its intellectually open borders and inevitable moral chaos, is brutally hard for monotheisms, especially for those accustomed to rule. But it happens. When I told Khalid's father that his children—especially his daughters—would not worship the faith as he and his wife had done, he told me: "They are living a better life than we have lived. That is enough." Don't Gloss Over The Violent Texts By Tawfik Hamid Mr. Hamid, a former member of the Islamic radical group Jamma Islamiya, is an Islamic reformer and a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. In regards to Islam, the words "moderate'" and "radical" are relative terms. Without defining them it is virtually impossible to defeat the latter or support the former. Radical Islam is not limited to the act of terrorism; it also includes the embrace of teachings within the religion that promote hatred and ultimately breed terrorism. Those who limit the definition of radical Islam to terrorism are ignoring—and indirectly approving of—the Shariah teachings that permit killing apostates, violence against women and gays, and anti-Semitism. Moderate Islam should be defined as a form of Islam that rejects these violent and discriminatory edicts. Furthermore, it must provide a strong theological refutation for the mainstream Islamic teaching that the Muslim umma (nation) must declare wars against non-Muslim nations, spreading the religion and giving non-Muslims the following options: convert, pay a humiliating tax, or be killed. This violent concept fuels jihadists, who take the teaching literally and accept responsibility for applying it to the modern world. Moderate Islam must not be passive. It needs to actively reinterpret the violent parts of the religious text rather than simply cherry-picking the peaceful ones. Ignoring, rather than confronting or contextualizing, the violent texts leaves young Muslims vulnerable to such teachings at a later stage in their lives. Finally, moderate Islam must powerfully reject the barbaric practices of jihadists. Ideally, this would mean Muslims demonstrating en masse all over the world against the violence carried out in the name of their religion. Moderate Islam must be honest enough to admit that Islam has been used in a violent manner at several stages in history to seek domination over others. Insisting that all acts in Islamic history and all current Shariah teachings are peaceful is a form of deception that makes things worse by failing to acknowledge the existence of the problem. Mystics, Modernists and Literalists By Akbar Ahmed Mr. Ahmed, the former Pakistani ambassador to Britain, is the chair of Islamic studies at American University and author of "Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam" (Brookings, 2010). In the intense discussion about Muslims today, non-Muslims often say to me: "You are a moderate, but are there others like you?" Clearly, the use of the term moderate here is meant as a compliment. But the application of the term creates more problems than it solves. The term is heavy with value judgment, smacking of "good guy" versus "bad guy" categories. And it implies that while a minority of Muslims are moderate, the rest are not. Having studied the practices of Muslims around the world today, I've come up with three broad categories: mystic, modernist and literalist. Of course, I must add the caveat that these are analytic models and aren't watertight. Muslims in the mystic category reflect universal humanism, believing in "peace with all." The 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi exemplifies this category. In his verses, he glorifies worshipping the same God in the synagogue, the church and the mosque. The second category is the modernist Muslim who believes in trying to balance tradition and modernity. The modernist is proud of Islam and yet able to live comfortably in, and contribute to, Western society. Most Muslim leaders who led nationalist movements in the first half of the 20th century were modernists—from Sultan Mohammed V, the first king of independent Morocco, to M.A. Jinnah, who founded Pakistan in 1947. But as modernists failed over time, becoming increasingly incompetent and corrupt, the literalists stepped into the breach. The literalists believe that Muslim behavior must approximate that of the Prophet in seventh-century Arabia. Their belief that Islam is under attack forces many of them to adopt a defensive posture. And while not all literalists advocate violence, many do. Movements like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the Taliban belong to this category. In the Muslim world the divisions between the three categories I have delineated are real. The outcome of their struggle will define Islam's fate. The West can help by understanding Muslim society in a more nuanced and sophisticated way in order to interact with it wisely and for mutual benefit. The first step is to categorize Muslims accurately. UQ
Interesting series of disingenuous articles attempting to whitewash the horrors of islam. It's particularly interesting that the most logical and straightfoward interpretation of islam, the so-called "literalist" approach, is the most problematic. I didn't read a lot of condemnation of jihad either. You can see how the majority of muslims may not commit terrorist acts, but they are not all that upset about it either. They are far more upset that we might criticize them. The idea that islam is pluralistic and tolerant is absurd, but it illustrated the historical cherry picking that dishonest academics use. They point to periods before mohammed became a powerful warlord, when he was basically a street preacher. As he grew more powerful, he grew increasingly intolerant. He personally cut off the heads of over 600 members of a jewish tribe in his home town. Every muslim knows this fact, but few will bring it up. Under islam, you are not forced to convert, but if you don't you have to pay a tax and live as a second class citizen. Kind of like the blacks in South Africa before the world refused to accept it any more. Saudi Arabia, they don't have a problem with however. Christians and Jews are not allowed to practice their religion in public, kind of like liberals want it here.
Q http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/11/eight-portraits-of-muslim-americans 'This is who we are': eight portraits of Muslim Americans Muslim Americans are feeling targeted and misunderstood after comments by Donald Trump this week. Here are eight perspectives on what life is like for them On Monday, Donald Trump issued a statement calling for “a total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the US. To many in the United States and around the world, his were the words of pure hate: the banning of an entire religious community, stereotyped, homogenized, erased and criminalized. Muslim Americans, who make up around 1% of the American population by conservative estimates, are feeling targeted and grossly misunderstood. What defines a Muslim in this country? What makes a Muslim American? The answers to the question are endless. Here are eight perspectives. Sabiha Basrai, 33, graphic designer – Oakland, California Basrai grew up in California’s Silicon Valley, the daughter of a graphic designer and video producer who emigrated from India. Being in an overwhelmingly white environment at the time, Basrai says the mosque played a big part in her childhood, serving a comforting, community-center role, that she and her family could not find elsewhere. “There, I could feel confident learning to read Arabic. I could eat the food that was part of my heritage, I could celebrate festivities like Eid and Ramadan.” Basrai remembers a painful conversation with her parents when she was just eight years old. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait. In events that were later branded the Gulf war, the United States led a coalition of countries to war against Iraq. “My parents told me to not tell anyone at school I was Muslim.” “I cannot imagine how hard that was for my parents to sit me down and say that to me that all my best friends – all those people I who came to my birthday parties and where I went to their birthday parties – that I had to be careful and cautious of them.” By the time she was 19 and 9/11 hit, she was a student California State Polytechnic University, a very white campus where the Republican club was quite powerful, she says. “They [members of the Republican club] put up posters making fun of Muslims, calling for the nuclear bombing of Afghanistan, making fun of people with scarves and turbans.” It was a formative time. “I was put in a position of having to claim my Muslim identity as a political act.” “Anyone who believes that Muslims are one evil, foreign monolithic thing, they are denying that I exist. And they should take a look at themselves, and ask themselves, why it is that they cannot see me.” Tahanie Aboushi, 30, attorney – New York, New York Born and raised in New York City, Aboushi’s father owned a grocery store where her mother helped out. There was plenty of work to be done at home too; Aboushi has nine siblings. Some of her sisters have chosen to wear the veil, she says, others haven’t. “We were taught this is your religion, this is your culture. But then there was always an understanding that then, this is your free will.” Hers was not the easiest of paths to success. While the first part of her childhood was spent in a very diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn, the last few years of her adolescence were spent in Staten Island, where most families and fellow school attendees were white. “It was nothing like I’d ever seen in my life. Everything was very cookie-cutter. Everyone looked the same.” “I would dread going to school. Kids would ask me are you Saddam’s daughter? They would tell me I was a terrorist, to go back to my country.” That difference could breed such hate was difficult for her to conceive. “All the time, I couldn’t understand. Why are you so angry that I don’t look like you?” Nauman Akhtar, 38, orthopedic surgeon – Reston, Virginia As Akhtar speaks to me after coming home from his day at work, our conversation is very briefly interrupted by his three-year-old son, knocking on the door to his study. The toddler wants to spend time with his father. “I love my job, but my family is my priority,” he says, explaining that he takes Friday afternoons off to be with his family of four, and makes sure to have his weekends free too, in as much as that is doable. Akhtar was brought up by two doctor parents in a small town in Michigan. His parents met in medical school in Pakistan and recently moved to Virginia to be close to their grandchildren. The greater Washington DC area has a vast and diverse Muslim community, Akhtar points out, many of whom are serving the United States. “They care deeply,” he says. “They are in every sense American. This is what we do, this is who we are, this is everything we know. Being American.” Bashirah Mack, 32, program coordinator – Chicago, Illinois Bashirah Mack’s parents, African American converts to Islam, fled South Carolina before she was born because of racism. They were in search of fellow members of the African American Muslim community, which they found in Atlanta. “They migrated in search of a better opportunity.” In Atlanta, she learned about the deep roots of Islam in this country. “This history has been passed down to me not just through academia, but through my own family’s oral history,” she says. “Many Africans went through this forced migration,” she explains, talking about the men and women brought to the United States to be enslaved and coerced into brutal forced labor between the early 17th and 19th centuries. “I come from that experience. Sometimes I feel like we are Americans by force. But we’ve been here. We’ve been making enormous contributions to the country in many ways. Slavery built this country.” “I am a Muslim and my ancestors have been here for hundreds of years,” Mack says. “My Americanness cannot be denied.” Jabril Ahmad, 22, tech supporter – Detroit, Michigan Jabril Ahmed says he likes the job, because he likes helping people one-on-one, but ultimately he would like to go back to school and get a degree in nursing. As a boy in Detroit, Ahmed says he attended the Islamic school and was exposed to a variety of cultures from around the world. “Throughout school it was a beautiful experience. It definitely gave me a chance to get to know a lot of people I would never have had the opportunity to get to know.” Ahmed doesn’t understand why Muslims are expected to openly condemn acts of terror supposedly committed in the name of Islam. “Those people [committing terrorist acts] aren’t real Muslims, they claim to be, but they aren’t,” he says, pointing to the fact that making one billion or so Muslims worldwide accountable for the acts of violent individuals acting against basic religious principles is absurd. “I don’t see the wider Christian community coming out and condemning Christian acts of violence,” he says, referencing America’s epidemic of mass shootings, overwhelmingly committed by people who would be categorized as white and Christian. “There’s a really big double standard as far as that goes.” Atiya Hasan Mohiuddin, 31, engineer – Chicago, Illinois Brought up in a small Pennsylvania town called York, in a relatively white, and what she describes as a largely tolerant community, Atiya Hasan Mohiuddin, 31, figured out at an early age she wanted to be an engineer. The next step, she says, was finding out which was the best school to go to. The answer may have daunted a few: it was MIT. What happened next? “I worked really hard,” she says. She got in. Today, Hasan Mohiuddin works in the architecture engineering industry in Chicago, Illinois. There are times where her faith feels stronger, and times when it feels less strong. But her Muslim identity is definite. “I identify as Muslim and was brought up as Muslim,” she says. Hasan Modiuddin also identifies as “a classic nerd.” “I love books and I love Star Wars,” she says. “I am less weird about my love of Star Wars now than when I was young,” she says. “But I will definitely be dragging my husband to see the movie.” Syed Mohiuddin, 33, consultant – Chicago, Illinois Syed is preparing for a very important race he will be running in over Christmas, when he goes back home to Troy, Michigan, for the winter break. His opponent? His 13-year-old nephew who beat him “soundly” in an impromptu one-mile run last time the family all got together over Memorial Day weekend. He vowed to not let the losing experience happen again. So this holiday season, Mohiuddin will be challenging his nephew once more, as generations young and old of his family cheer them on. “It’s also a good excuse to get back in shape,” the management consultant explains a little self-deprecatingly. Before moving to Chicago, Mohiuddin lived in Detroit where he built ties among various Muslim communities. In 2014, his efforts culminated in bringing 20,000 people to Detroit having convinced the Islamic Society of North America to hold their national convention there. Mohiuddin says his faith has given him “an identity and a set of values”. “It has been character building, helped me believe in democracy, equality, and trying to create good people in good societies,” he says. Sara Jawhari, 25, storyteller – Kansas City, Missouri Sara Jawhari’s passion is visual multimedia storytelling done for a good cause, she says. The journalism-trained 25-year-old writes, produces video and takes photos, having traveled to the Middle East to interview and help craft stories of Syrian refugees. She is happy, she says, as long as she feels she is being a “loving, active member of the community”. “My parents instilled the importance of giving rather than expecting a gift. Charitable giving is a foundation in our religion.” Growing up, her mother was a teacher at the Islamic school, which Jawhari also attended, and her father was a handy man. Jawhari says her mother, who is now also a professor of Arabic at a Catholic university in Kansas City, was very clear with her children that they should be proud of being able to speak multiple languages and identifying with multiple cultures, including the American one. “It was never this or that,” Jawhari who identifies as Muslim, American and Palestinian says. “It was about accepting our culture of being here in America and staying true to our background.” “I am a visual Muslim because I choose to wear my headscarf every day,” she adds. This is a way to show people her humanity, she says. “I allow my character to speak for myself.” UQ
UQ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim_scientists This is a list of Muslim scientists who have contributed significantly to science and civilization. Contents 1 Astronomers and astrophysicists 2 Biologists, neuroscientists, and psychologists 3 Chemists and alchemists 4 Economists and social scientists 5 Geographers and earth scientists 6 Mathematicians 7 Physicians and surgeons 8 Physicists and engineers 9 Political scientists 10 Other scientists and inventors 11 References Q
In attempting to determine the tenants of Islam.. I thought I would start with Sharia law and build from there... To those who might now... is this a fair representation of how Sharia would work in a country like the USA if it were instituted? https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharia_law Marriage[change | change source] A Muslim can only marry a Muslim or Ahl al-Kitāb. He/She cannot marry an atheist, agnostic or polytheist.[1] A Muslim minor girl's father or guardian needs her consent when arranging a marriage for her. A marriage is a contract that requires the man to pay, or promise to pay some of the wedding and provisions the wife needs. This is known as the dowry. A Muslim man be married to up to four women at a time, although the Qur'an has emphasized that this is a permission, and not a rule. The Qur'an has stated that to marry one is best if you fear you cannot do justice between your wives and respective families. This means that he must be able to house each wife and her children in a different house, he may not give preferential treatment to one wife over another. Crime and punishment[change | change source] Sharia recognizes three categories of crime:[2] Hudud: crimes against God with fixed punishment. Qisas: crimes against Muslims where equal retaliation is allowed. Tazir: crimes against Muslims or non-Muslims where a Muslim judge uses his discretion in sentencing. Hudud crimes are five:[3] theft, highway robbery, zina (illicit sex), sexual slander (accusing someone of zina but failing to produce four witnesses), and drinking alcohol Sharia requires that there be four adult male Muslim witnesses to a hudud crime or a confession repeated four times, before someone can be punished for a Hudud crime.[3] Murder, bodily injury and property damage - intentional or unintentional - is considered a civil dispute under sharia law.[4] The victim, victim's heir(s) or guardian is given the option to either forgive the murderer, demand Qisas (equal retaliation) or accept a compensation (Diyya) in lieu of the murder, bodily injury or property damage. Under sharia law, the Diyya compensation received by the victim or victim's family is in cash.[5][6] The penalty for theft[change | change source] Theft (stealing) is a hudud crime in sharia, with a fixed punishment. The punishment is cutting off the hand or feet of the thief. The penalty for zina[change | change source] Sharia law states that if either an unmarried man or an unmarried woman has pre-marital sex, the punishment should be 100 lashes.[7][8] There are some requirements that need to be met before this punishment can happen. For example, the punishment cannot happen unless the person confesses, or unless four eyewitnesses each saw, at the same time, the man and the woman in the action of illicit sex. Those who accuse someone of illicit sex but fail to produce four eyewitnesses are guilty of false accusation and their punishment is 80 lashes.[9] Maliki school of sharia considers pregnancy in an unmarried woman as sufficient evidence that she committed the hudud crime of zina.[10][11] The Hadiths consider homosexuality as zina.[12] The penalty for apostasy[change | change source] The punishment for Apostasy is thought to be death by several schools of Muslim thought, though the Qur'an has not advised such a punishment and in fact details that there is absolutely no penal punishment for apostasy. One example of the popular law of apostasy which unfortunately exist in several Muslim countries is that of Hashem Aghajari, who was sentenced to death for apostasy in Iran (in 2002) after giving a controversial speech on reforming Islam. His sentence was reduced to 5 years in prison, but only after international and domestic outcry. Festivals[change | change source] There are two festivals that are considered Sunnah.[13] Eid ul-Fitr Eid ul-Adha During these festivals, specific rituals are used: Sadaqah (charity) before Eid ul-Fitr prayer.[14] The Prayer and the Sermon on Eid day. Takbirs (glorifying God) after every prayer in the days of Tashriq (see footnote for def.)[15] Sacrifice of unflawed, four-legged grazing animal of appropriate age after the prayer of Eid ul-Adha in the days of Tashriq. The animal must not be wasted; its meat must be consumed.[16] Dietary laws[change | change source] Main page: Halal Islamic law lists only some specific foods and drinks that are not allowed.[17] Pork, blood, and scavenged meat are not allowed. People are also not allowed to eat animals that were slaughtered in the name of someone other than God. Intoxicants (like alcoholic drinks) are not allowed under any circumstances. While Islamic law prohibits (does not allow) dead meat, this does not apply to fish and locusts.[18][19][20] Also, hadith literature prohibits beasts having sharp canine teeth, birds having claws and tentacles in their feet,[21] tamed donkeys,[22] and any piece cut from a living animal.[17][23] Sacrifice[change | change source] There are some specific rules regarding the killing of animals in Islam. The animal must be killed in the most humane way: by swiftly cutting the throat. The animal must not be diseased. The animal must not have been exposed to feces, worms, and other impurities. All blood must drain from the animal before being packaged.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_in_Islamic_philosophy Q https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacifism_in_Islam Pacifism in Islam is the tradition of nonviolence within Muslim theology. Contents 1 Quran 2 History 3 Recent movements 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References Quran In the Islamic telling of Cain and Abel, Abel tells his murderous brother that "If thou dost stretch thy hand against me to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against thee to slay thee: for I do fear Allah".[1] Some scholars, such as Jawdat Said,[2][page needed] have identified this an example of pacifism.[3][page needed] Prior to the Hijra travel Muhammad struggled non-violently against his oppressors in Mecca.[4] It wasn't until after the exile that the Quranic revelations began to adopt a more defensive perspective.[5] From that point onward, those dubious about the need to go to war were typically portrayed as lazy cowards allowing their love of peace to become a fitna to them.[6][page needed] History The Ahmadiyya sect is one of the most outspoken Muslim groups regarding the message of Islam to be a peaceful one although violence is not rejected outright (see: Ahmadiyya view on Jihad). One of the sect's mottos is "Love for all, hatred for none". The Ahmadiyya international HQ is presently located in London, UK. Previously the Ahmadiyya HQ had been centered in Rabwah, Pakistan, however due to persecution by local extremist Mullahs (clergy), the decision was made to move the center to the UK. Ahmadiyya propagates the message of worldwide peace. Sufism has traditionally tended more towards interpreting the love of one's fellow man as an extension of one's love for Allah, and has thus been historically seen as a fundamentally pacifistic movement.[4] Despite the fact that Sufis put the greatest emphasis on spiritual struggle, or internal Jihad, they do not absolutely reject the concept of external Jihad or military struggle. Some examples of Sufi leaders who did engage in "external Jihad" include the 19th century Naqshbandi Imam Shamil who fought a Jihad against Russia in the Caucasus. Also, the Qadiri Emir Abd al-Qadir was the leader of the Algerian resistance against France during the early 19th century. In the latter half of the 19th century, Abd al-Qadir was honored by both Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon III for his pacifistic protection of the Christian community in Syria. Shi'a thought endorses the concept of peace and advocates inner peace within one's self. Shi'a communities preach on Islamic unity as well as inter-faith dialogue despite being persecuted historically.(See Persecution of Shia Muslims) As of September 2014, mainly Shi'a activists continue to lead peaceful protests throughout Bahrain demanding the overthrow of the royal family (whom they accuse of practising Apartheid against the Shi'a majority) and in place implementation of a democracy. Amadu Bamba, Sufi founder of the Mourides In 19th-century Senegal, Amadou Bamba founded the Mourides, a sect of Islam dominated by his "profoundly pacifist" teachings.[7] Within Islam in general, in some ways similar to the Christian Just War theory as first proposed by St. Augustine, many Muslim scholars and clerics have attempted to set rules limiting Muslim warfare, including that it must be waged with good intention, only caliphs can declare a war, and that non-combatants should be spared unless directly aiding the enemy.[8] There have been many cases of Muslims, whether or not totally pacifist, engaging in nonviolent action. Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a contemporary colleague of Mahatma Gandhi, helped lead the Pathans in non-violent resistance of British rule. This movement became known as the Khudai Khidmatgar. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. Upon his death, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, both sides declared a ceasefire to allow his burial to pass peacefully.[9] In Iran, the 1979 Islamic revolution was the result of a popular nonviolent campaign of civil resistance which had started in 1977.[10] There have been many other movements of nonviolent resistance (also often called civil resistance in Islamic societies.[11] Recent movements Some scholars, such as Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, Mahmoud Mohamed Taha and Kamil Husain have tried to re-visit the Quran and Sunnah and apply a pacifist undertone.[6] Taha managed this by arguing that the Medinan suras of the Quran, the only ones dealing with warfare and legalism, were valid only pertaining to Muhammad himself, and the Meccan suras were the only ones intended to guide future generations.[12][page needed] Movements headed by Said Nursî and Fethullah Gülen emphasized the need for religious dialogue, education and service to the poor as the backbone of Islam.[13] The Palestinian activist Nafez Assaily has been notable for his bookmobile service in Hebron dubbed "Library on Wheels for Nonviolence and Peace",[14] and hailed as a "creative Muslim exponent of non-violent activism".[15] UQ