an effort to bring peace between different faiths,beliefs and lifestyles

**muslim brother** · 12-17-2016

we need to post examples where a different religion or differing lifestyles has not been a hindrance to our humanity.

ill start,
we had a hindu guest for 2 days..she prayed how she wanted in my house
when we went to her aunties to drop her off ,we prayed salah their..

ill let allah taala be my judge

**piXie** · 04-28-2017

Originally Posted by Eric H

And if Allah wanted all of us to be Muslim, then we would be, we cannot fight against Allah.

I just wanted to clarify that there is a difference between what Allah wants and what He wills. Allah does want that we accept the truth that the Prophets came with and reject the deviations which occurred to the original message. He gives us many chances n opportunities. But He has willed that everyone be given a choice. Allah didn't choose you to be a Christian or me to be a Muslim, rather it is us that have chosen our paths.

There are four scenarios;

1) Allah wills something but He doesn't like it e.g. murder
2) Allah wills something and He likes it e.g. marriage , mercy, love etc
3) Allah doesn't will something but He likes it e.g. For everyone to believe in His message.
4) Allah doesn't will it and neither does he like it e.g. For everyone to disbelief in His message

In the spirit of searching for a greatest meaning of 'One God'

Please forgive me but I do not understand what is meant by the greatest meaning of One God.

**Silas** · 04-28-2017

It always depresses me to see Muslims cataloging the injustices done to them by the west

I am lucky enough to live in an area where there is a relatively large Muslim population that is very prosperous and happy: these people are doctors and lawyers, professionals with nice homes, and they get along great with the community. Their kids attend good colleges, and they receive good medical care. By our constitution they are granted freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

There is interfaith dialogue and cooperation here towards common social and political interests. Even refugees from Syria come here.

Just as a Muslim does not want to be stereotyped as a radical and dangerous person, the American doesn't want to be stereotyped as an imperialist butcher.

I would also invite anyone to look and see what places like Germany and Sweden are doing for Muslim immigrants. These people receive generous public assistance, help with housing, etc.

But in western nations, I think we need to go beyond interfaith dialogue and try to see where we agree in terms of ideology. I suspect most Muslims would agree that

1. Private property is a right
2. Freedom of political expression should be guaranteed
3. Freedom to practice religion should be guaranteed
4. We should be free to educate our children as we see fit, in the schools of our choice, or at home
5. There should be equality under the law

Now I am not an Islamic scholar obviously, but from what I have read, I don't see any of those points as being inconsistent with Islam.

(As a side note, Communists reject all of those points 1-5)

Areas in which some discussion or disagreement might occur are

6. The right to free elections
7. The separation of church and state
8. Polygamy (I actually do not have an issue with this, but western law generally forbids it)
9. The right to create separate courts of law for specific people (Sharia for instance).

Many Muslim countries have free elections, so that isn't typically a big issue. Point #7 is one of contention. Point #9 runs up against the idea of equality under the law, and objectivity of the courts.

**muslim brother** · 04-28-2017

Originally Posted by Silas

It always depresses me to see Muslims cataloging the injustices done to them by the west

.

that is why i wrote this

http://ahmeddewsbury.blogspot.co.uk/...knowledge.html

**muslim brother** · 04-28-2017

Originally Posted by sister herb

What makes this discussion a bit of unusual is that many of those bigoted opinions about Islam and how it treats non-Muslims (or kafirs or some stronger expressions) are more of less copied from the speech of the far-right extremist islamophobics. They too claim that Islam has been spreaded by sword and sword only, and the main aim of Muslims is force all people to follow their rules. They see that Islam is bloodthirsty religion what encourage it followers to harass all others. That´s why they have to warn their supporters (or possible followers) about Islam and Muslims and prepare themselves to the fight against Islam.

As one members here wrote before: he writes like he does because he must to do so. Well, that´s exactly what those far-right islamophobics say too. They too must to warn and spread their hate against others. Interesting how similar they speeches are, isn´t it? They are like the two branches of the same tree, roots pushed deep into hate, generalization and prejudices.

agree

its sadly as if without hate some people would have no reason to get up in the morning
each hater..muslim or non muslim needs each other in a sick way ,so they can organise marches,events and show there perverse machismo in public
quite pathetic and puppet like really.
its as if you already know what buttons to push to make the idiotic puppets jump.

raison d etre

but to be honest, i now feel some muslim orgs/activists are also getting too reactive

**muslim brother** · 04-29-2017

'We're all Muslims': How Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists united against Donald Trump in Detroit

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7708781.html

Christians, Jews and Muslims have come together for rallies. Congregants from a Latino catholic church marched to a local mosque, while Muslims came out in solidarity with people from Mexico and Central America.
“You have 120 languages in Detroit.

**Search** · 04-29-2017

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

Originally Posted by Silas

It always depresses me to see Muslims cataloging the injustices done to them by the west

First and foremost, welcome to the board; I have been observing you on the board, and I want to thank you for your posts because I liked them.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

As a fellow American, I sympathize with your words. I have in the past opposed the cataloging of specific Western injustices because I find it a magnet for the extremists (few though they are) to come out of the woodwork to express negative radicalized opinions that these same individuals inevitably try to veer into the dubious direction of support for terrorist organizations or terrorist actions. Both are unacceptable, and should you see the latter occurring on this board, report the individuals by clicking on the black triangular icon below the post; I say this so that you have a heads-up.

I am lucky enough to live in an area where there is a relatively large Muslim population that is very prosperous and happy: these people are doctors and lawyers, professionals with nice homes, and they get along great with the community. Their kids attend good colleges, and they receive good medical care. By our constitution they are granted freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

There is interfaith dialogue and cooperation here towards common social and political interests. Even refugees from Syria come here.

Just as a Muslim does not want to be stereotyped as a radical and dangerous person, the American doesn't want to be stereotyped as an imperialist butcher.

Americans, you'll inevitably find on Muslim majority forums, being stereotyped - it is unfortunately a symptom of style of thinking that has been adopted by the type of theists who tend to rather have black-and-white views of the world. Having said that, we as Americans also have to be honest about the harms of specifics of bad foreign policy decisions made in the past and the imperialistic ambitions that has resulted in specific harms; acknowledging this in no way means that Americans or any non-Muslims or any human being living in the West deserves even an iota of harm of terrorists or would-be-terrorists.

I would also invite anyone to look and see what places like Germany and Sweden are doing for Muslim immigrants. These people receive generous public assistance, help with housing, etc.

But in western nations, I think we need to go beyond interfaith dialogue and try to see where we agree in terms of ideology. I suspect most Muslims would agree that

1. Private property is a right
2. Freedom of political expression should be guaranteed
3. Freedom to practice religion should be guaranteed
4. We should be free to educate our children as we see fit, in the schools of our choice, or at home
5. There should be equality under the law

I can honestly and unequivocally state that the Constitution and shariah (Islamic law) converge and agree with one another on innumerable points; and you are obviously right on Muslims agreeing with the aforesaid listed points.

Areas in which some discussion or disagreement might occur are

6. The right to free elections
7. The separation of church and state
8. Polygamy (I actually do not have an issue with this, but western law generally forbids it)
9. The right to create separate courts of law for specific people (Sharia for instance).

In Islam, the governance which decides leaders is known as shura (council) which is how pious Muslims of the past how to elect specific leaders; it is a democratic and egalitarian process, but it is not the electoral college and individual voting system to which we're used to here in the U.S. Having said that, as you know, Muslims too vote in elections in the West, and that is because shariah (Islamic law) allows for any person to vote in a Western democracy with the intention to avert harms or evil.

By the way, it is true that Islam envisions a theocratic state rather than a secular state, but shariah (Islamic law) enables and advocates for Muslims living in Western countries to respect the laws of the land.

Polygamy is not required in Islam - it is only a permissible action granted to men; one of the the wisdom of this allowance is providing protection to women, namely those who might have become widowed, poor, orphaned, divorced, or otherwise remain single so that they do not have to feel compelled to seek to financially support themselves if they're either unable or unwilling to do so; it is also one of the ways in which Islam envisions a stronger community existing so that women don't have to fend for themselves by turning to things like prostitution or working for an employer when instead they might have children which they might want to prioritize as mothers. I do emphasize that Islam forbids deception and men are encouraged to obey the law of the land. However, practically, there have been and continue to be instances of Muslim men marrying in an informal ceremony another wife while only one wife remains registered under Western law; personally, I am not generally in favor of men doing acts like this because presently Western law does not guarantee equal protection of any wife not formally recognized under the law and so in the case of a divorce the other wife will never receive any state protection in terms of being able to be the recipient of any estate or monies should the husband die intestate or should there be a divorce. And to be honest, I have heard on Muslim majority Internet boards like this about the ways in which Muslim men have abused the allowance of polygamy to deprive women of either or both their Western legal and shari (Islamic legal) rights.

I don't know how much you know about shariah (Islamic law) courts but this should in my opinion not be an issue for the reason that there are already rabbinical courts in the U.S. alongside some ecclesiastical courts in the U.S.; moreover, this does not run against the idea of equality under the law or objectivity of courts, because any such setups work only to provide an optional route for those practicing who want faith-based courts to give judgment; and any of the aforesaid do not operate as rivals to the current operating legal court system in the U.S.

Many Muslim countries have free elections, so that isn't typically a big issue. Point #7 is one of contention. Point #9 runs up against the idea of equality under the law, and objectivity of the courts.

I hope I've clarified some issues; and if you have any questions or concerns or would like further clarification, I would be happy and honored to be of any assistance.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and peace.

Sincere Regards & Best Wishes,

**Silas** · 04-30-2017

Search: thank you for the excellent and illuminating response. I have most certainly learned much since I have been on these forums.

I think in the US and some western nations there is a certain dogmatism when it comes to concepts such as representative democracy. Many cannot conceptualize or imagine governments that operate differently. I do, however, sympathize with the idea of representation (which is what caused the American revolution): people must feel connected to the political process, at least in some degree. But democracy has its problems, such as the ability of leaders and politicians to blame others when things go wrong, or implement bad policy with the excuse that "it is the will of the people".

As the Muslim population in the US grows, they will have a greater voice within the political system, and I think that is a good thing. The same is true for many parts of Europe, and I think the feeling of isolation or disenfranchisement will gradually vanish. I suspect that some of our foreign policies may change dramatically (at least I hope so).

**Eric H** · 04-30-2017

Greetings and peace be with you AHMED PATEL;

Christians, Jews and Muslims have come together for rallies. Congregants from a Latino catholic church marched to a local mosque, while Muslims came out in solidarity with people from Mexico and Central America.
“You have 120 languages in Detroit.

The greatest hope for peace starts in families and communities and with prayer. Can we pray together, can we pray for each other?
Prayer can break down division, last week I attended a prayer meeting for Street Pastors, where we had Christians from many denominations. Each person took a few minutes to talk about the concerns of their own community, then everyone else in the room prayed for that person and the concerns of their community.

After the prayers, there was a great sense of bonding.

In the spirit of searching for a greatest meaning of 'One God'

Eric

**Eric H** · 04-30-2017

Greetings and peace be with you piXie;

Please forgive me but I do not understand what is meant by the greatest meaning of One God.

How do we search for a greatest meaning of 'One God'?

Could the greatest meaning of God be, that he is the creator of all that is seen and unseen?

Could the greatest meaning be, he is the God of Islam? Or the God of mercy? Or the God of Forgiveness? Or the God of unity?

Whatever we deem to be the greatest meaning of 'One God' to be, is this then something that we should strive to become ourselves?

To me it seems that the greatest meaning of One God, is that somehow we are all connected to each other in some way. That God is a God of justice, compassion, peace, unity, love, mercy and forgiveness. So I see the oneness of God in the oneness of humanity, this is what we should be striving for ourselves.

In the spirit of praying to a just and merciful God,

Eric

**piXie** · 05-06-2017

Greetings Eric & thank you for your reply.

Originally Posted by Eric H

How do we search for a greatest meaning of 'One God'?

How do we search for the 'greatest' meaning of One God when we don't even accept the 'basic' meaning of One God n made this most important and fundamental part of the message into a whole mystery. Hear oh children of Israel , the Lord thy God is One. Qul huwa Allaahu Ahad.

**Insaanah** · 05-06-2017

Originally Posted by Eric H

if Allah wanted all of us to be Muslim, then we would be, we cannot fight against Allah.

Greetings Eric.

We have been created with free will. Free will to accept Islam, or reject it. This world is our test as to what we do in that regard. This is the whole point of our creation.

Allah created the angels without free will - they obey Him and never disobey Him. He could have created us the same, but that defeats the wisdom that underlies the creation of mankind. You've been exposed to the message of Islam many times on this forum, and it is your choice that you remain Christian.

"And say: "It is the truth from your Lord." Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. ..." (Qur'an 18:29, part)

You can't blame God for being a Christian. There's a passage in the Quran regarding those who hold back in spending on the poor and destitute: "And when it is said to them, "Spend from that which Allah has provided for you," those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Should we feed one whom, if Allah had willed, He would have fed? You are not but in clear error."" (36:47)

Applying your line of thinking, say to a situation where there's famine, one could say, as some are quoted as saying in that verse, "God chose that for them, why should we try to feed them when that is what God chose for them, and if we do try to feed them, we are fighting God." (God forbid). This just an example, I'm sure you wouldnt do that. Similarly, what you're saying, is God wished for me to be Christian, and your conveying Islam to me, is fighting against what God chose for me. I hope you can see the futility of this argument with that analogy.

Peace.

**Eric H** · 05-06-2017

Greetings and peace be with you Insaanah;

I hope you are well, I don't recall seeing much of you recently.

The thread title is about finding peace between different faith groups, so this seems to accept that we are all different in some way. I love the quote, 'You will never look into the eyes of anyone who does not matter to God'. So if everyone matters to God, this should also mean that everyone should matter to me, I should have a care and concern for all people.

I see you as a wonderful Muslim sister chosen by Allah, despite our real and obvious differences, I still believe there is a path towards peace between all of us. We are all created by the same God, and the same God hears all our prayers.

In the spirit of searching for a greatest meaning of 'One God'

Eric

**Silas** · 05-06-2017

When people discuss the issue of free will, or when they question its existence, I like to point to a funny scene from a movie that illustrates exactly why we have it

A long time ago, there was a silly little movie called "Oh God", where God comes down in human form to interact with humanity. At one point, he is put into a court room and asked to identify himself. He says he is God, but the judge does not believe him. So to appease the judge, God performs a couple miracles in the court room. Still, the judge cannot bring himself to believe.

In a deterministic universe where there is no free will, it would be impossible for that judge to sit there and deny that God was before him. But we do not live in such a universe.

An atheist can say there is no God, but he cannot say that he has no free will, because it is that will that allows him to make that statement

And once he realizes that he is free, he can begin looking for Allah

There is a saying among the early Christians that "once you begin searching for Him you have found Him"

**ZeeshanParvez** · 05-07-2017

Originally Posted by frabgas27

Interfaith is a ridiculous idea. Thst completely throws, al wara wal bara out of the window.

Well, said. May Allaah bless you. Good to see we have orthodox Muslims who do not fear to speak the truth regardless of the 'popular opinion' on a given medium even it means the ignorant will ridicule them.

May Allaah continue to help you to speak the truth.

**azc** · 05-07-2017

Originally Posted by ZeeshanParvez

Well, said. May Allaah bless you. Good to see we have orthodox Muslims who do not fear to speak the truth regardless of the 'popular opinion' on a given medium even it means the ignorant will ridicule them.

May Allaah continue to help you to speak the truth.

They're not ignorant.

Why you forget " qul ya ahlal kitabi ta'alaw ila kalimatin sawa'im baynana wa baynakum..."

**Eric H** · 05-07-2017

Greetings and peace be with you frabgas27;

Interfaith is a ridiculous idea. Thst completely throws, al wara wal bara out of the window.

My understanding of interfaith relations is this, if you are a Muslim, you strive to be a better Muslim, you keep your faith, and you try and get on with people of other faiths. We share One God, One World and we need to get on with each other despite all our differences.

In the spirit of searching for a greatest meaning of 'One God'

Eric

**ZeeshanParvez** · 05-07-2017

Originally Posted by azc

They're not ignorant.

Why you forget " qul ya ahlal kitabi ta'alaw ila kalimatin sawa'im baynana wa baynakum..."

You do not understand the Verse. No good putting up transliterations when you do not even understand what it says.

That Verse calls them towards a word which is same between them and us. That word is that they do not worship anything but Allaah.

It has nothing to do with interfaith love and peace. Please learn something first next time before you put up a transliteration you do not understand.

**sister herb** · 05-07-2017

Originally Posted by ZeeshanParvez

Good to see we have orthodox Muslims who do not fear to speak the truth regardless of the 'popular opinion' on a given medium even it means the ignorant will ridicule them.

They don´t speak the truth but their own opinion. Just like we others.

**azc** · 05-08-2017

Originally Posted by ZeeshanParvez

You do not understand the Verse. No good putting up transliterations when you do not even understand what it says.

That Verse calls them towards a word which is same between them and us. That word is that they do not worship anything but Allaah.

It has nothing to do with interfaith love and peace. Please learn something first next time before you put up a transliteration you do not understand.

What's interfaith in your eyes.. ?

**piXie** · 05-08-2017

About Interfaith dialogue, do the Muslims that promote this idea understand what this actually means today, it's guidelines and the connotations it implies?

Originally Posted by Search

.....I'm assuming on account of you championing the brother's idea that you also think the life of Prophet