What's your experience been like with Christians?

format_quote Originally Posted by Timi Scar

He is the one and the same, yes, my little bro Ahmed. MashaAllah.

Well how about that, good to know, thank you. I've been watching a few videos.

format_quote Originally Posted by AhmedGassama

Yes i'am, it's my channel and it's Ahmed not Amed

Ok, thank you. My mistake, I saw it the correct way in two different places and still missed a key while typing.

I'm just now noticing you're from Damascus, I know a guy who's originally from there. He was raised Muslim then became an atheist, his wife is still Muslim but she didn't leave him or anything. He's in the US now, it was interesting talking to him about the decision to leave all religion while living in a city that's so important to all the Abrahamic religions.

He did a radio interview about that decision and about his life experience in the middle-ish part of the US. Of course he's aware of how Islamic law prohibits apostates from speaking publicly about this type of thing but it's not against US law and he figured no one would give him trouble within the listening area. He did get some death threats though, from Muslims who apparently feel that they've been appointed as law enforcement on behalf of Islam with universal jurisdiction....he was a bit surprised and not at all happy about that.

Do you have any comment on this sort of situation, specifically when it comes to the Muslims who phoned in their death threats? Do you have anything negative to say about those threatening people, or is this a situation where you overlook that and chide an atheist for refusing to pay much attention to Islamic law?

There's also some question as to whether he will ever be able to safely make plans to return to Damascus for any length of time. Apart from the instability from the actual war, do you think he'll ever be able to make such plans? Specifically, if the terrorist threat is brought under control and it's not an active war zone on account of there being a civil war....if the only people he might have to worry about are regular civilians that are also devout Muslims (for example, you and almost everyone you know in Damascus)....will he ever be able to safely travel in and through Damascus without worrying about being targeted? Again, I'm asking you to set aside any type of terrorist threat and just evaluate the threat from regular Muslim residents of Damascus, exactly like you and including you. I've never been there and the only person I know from there is now an atheist, so I'm in no kind of position to evaluate.

On a separate topic, thanks for the work that you put into your YouTube channel. I've looked at some of your uploads and you seem to have some nice access to some people who have impressive Islamic expertise along with being English-speakers. I'd be interested in finding out how a Muslim from Damascus winds up putting together a YT channel geared toward the Anglosphere. In the entirety of the MENA region, there can't be all that many people who are doing this- not that there's so few English speakers there, I'm talking about English speaking Muslims who also have consistent access to English speaking experts on Islam. I'm curious about something, actually- is there anyone else that you look to as a role model, someone who's been doing this type of thing for some time and you're following their example? Or is this pretty much your own idea, without having much of that to go on?

From my atheists perspective Christians (the real ones, those who actually believe, go to church, whatever, not the "Well, christian I suppose type") are less open minded, less willing to think about the real world and generally much more obviously deliberately ignoring reality than Muslims.

format_quote Originally Posted by AhmedGassama

Well, first of all, i thank you for your interest. But i want you to know that i'm from Tunisia, i don't live in Damascus, i have lots of friends there though and i love Syria a lot and i will always support its people.
I'am a student, and i study everything which has a relation with the west (Language, history, literature...) especially France, England and Usa...

As for my work on Youtube, yes i have a role model and a leader and a hero and someone that i look up to, he inspired me and helped me for five years and he always supported me, his name is Scimitar.

Hi, I am a UK citisen, white, atheist etc, and when I vist Islamic lands and talk to people I find that there is a great gulf of understanding beteen us.

This is not exactly a religious or even political distance but just a lack of knowledge about our different cultures and lives.

If you are doing these videos please have a look at this;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNV4t6-JDG4

It's a 1980's British TV programm which was the Rough guide to the world where the "Back packing" style traveling thing was done. The above is for Vietnam but you will get the idea.

I would like there to be a similar-ish, not a junkie presenteer etc., version for the Muslim world as to what the rest of the world is like. Just a what goes on in Brazil, for example, how people work, what is it about etc.

This is partly after I was asked by an Egyptian if there were deserts in Britain. And a Palisinian family had the idea that the Americans don't work hard, they do.

Should you want to do anything at all in this direction please give me a PM or whatever and I would love to help.

format_quote Originally Posted by Scimitar

There will be no need for the planting of new trees, as the Arabian sands already hold the seeds of ancient trees, which, when the Phison is rediscovered and the aquifer damn broken - will see the Phison run once more in sha Allah, and all those seeds buried and preserved under the sands, since the time of Noahs (pbuh) flood will once more - grow, in sha Allah.

Scimi

Or maybe the real world will be better understood and us humans can make the desert bloom.

Wow, this really got discursive lol.

format_quote Originally Posted by LaSorcia

I know a lot of folks here live in the UK or USA, where Christianity is practiced as well. I'd like to ask some questions! I'm sticking to Christians, because that's what I know most about.

What has your experience been like with Christians (only if you know they are Christian, far too many people are unbelievers nowadays, even in so-called Christian countries)?

Do you think they have a true understanding of what Muslims think and believe, their faith and practices?

Do you think you have a true understanding of what Christians think and believe, their faith and practices?

Would you be interested in a church or mosque sponsoring an interfaith meeting to promote unity and understanding between the faiths?

Any other comments or thought?

I mean this thread with the best of intentions; I'm not trying to debate, argue or say Muslims or Christians follow God the wrong way. Let's keep it friendly.

I live in a city that is mostly atheist, the churches are mostly empty here I met only a few in my years I guess. I don't tend to engage in religious discussion much but one much older woman and I were talking...she didn't know much about the Bible and didn't attend church but had much to say about Jesus. I enjoyed that discussion a lot, we agreed on many things.

I think I understand Christianity from a Catholic perspective because a lot of material I've viewed in the past promotes that sect of Christianity, moreso than Unitarians, Protestants, Lutherans, etc. In terms of Jesus, I think I understand their views but as to practices, etc I have a long way to go before I can fully claim to understand the doctrines of most of the main sects. I find the bit I know about the Lutheran faith, and history to have many similarities to Islam, many in regards to foundations of belief, etc.

I think young believers, regardless of faith should support each other. If you go to school or university these days, other people will try to make you feel lowly, or less of a person for believing in a higher power and it can really have an effect on you sometimes. I saw a guy preaching Bible outside my school a few times and ppl were giving him a hard time. He was really nice, didn't deserve that treatment at all.

Just my two cents