Greetings,
I think the rise in interest in Islam (we don't know exactly how much of a rise we're talking about here; no figures have been given, and statistics on religious adherence are notoriously slippery anyway) can be attributed to two main factors:
- The increase of so-called "Islamic" terrorism must be significant. As soon as 9/11 happened, Westerners wanted to know what Islam was all about, and whether it really did call for terrorist attacks. Many of them liked what they found out, and so joined the religion.
- The best advert for Islam (and it is obviously successful) is the conduct of Muslims themselves. I can think of no other major religion whose adherents are so devoted. This shows outsiders how content Muslims are with their religion, and so many of them will want to convert. As an aside to this, I should mention that I have known many Muslims in my life (well, about 100), and the first characteristic I think of regarding them is generosity - I'm convinced this comes from the Islamic requirement of
zakat.
And now for something completely different...
I saw this little test on the thread, and I thought it was excellent, so I'd like to put my own belief system through it:
CRITERIA FOR TRUTH
How do you know if your belief system is true? Take a moment to look at the following list.
. Are the teachings of your belief system rational? Do they conform to the norms of human reason and intellect?
Yes. Atheism in its modern form is a product of the 18th century, known in the West as the period of the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason.
. Is the creator of your belief system perfect? Allah, the creator of Islam, is. .
The creator of atheism is unknown. It is a product of philosophical reasoning, which is the work of many people.
Does your belief system contain superstitions or myths? Islam presents humanity with only true knowledge.
Atheism contains no myths or superstitions. It simply contains the assertion that there is no god.
. Can your belief system withstand the discoveries and claims of modern science? Islam can and does.
Absolutely. Many (some would say most) scientists are atheists - exact figures on this are hard to come by.
. How accurate are your belief system's prophecies and predications? Islam's are always completely accurate.
Atheism makes no predictions, although given its materialist foundations, one prediction could be that no god or other supernatural being will appear before us and announce his presence. As far as we know, this has not happened yet.
. Could a person have devised your belief system? No one has ever been able to imitate the Qur'an, although many have tried over the centuries.
An interesting question. It is conceivable that one person could have devised atheism, since it consists of but one simple proposition. Historically, though, it was arrived at through the ideas and consensus of thinkers such as Epicurus, Sextus Empiricus, Diogenes the Cynic, Baron d'Holbach, Hobbes, Voltaire, Diderot, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Marx, Wittgenstein, Sartre, Camus and Russell. It is with Hume that the atheist position really begins to gain strength.
I do not think that the fact that a person could have devised atheism is a weakness of the position. Humans have devised lots of things that help us all, and which are very successful. In the atheist worldview, of course,
all ideas have come from humans, so we cannot expect any others, but I accept that this is a circular argument.
The fact is that among scientists and philosophers, the proportion of atheists is far higher than among the rest of the population. Why should this be?
Peace
