Islam..the least huggable of faiths

Submitted by Steven Jacobs (Pakistan), May 21, 2004 at 06:48

Surely there are wonderful things in Quran. But all the world religions do have something nice to contribute to the world, don't they?

Religions die if their followers stop practicing the religion in the manner prescribed, or usually the religion is reformed to some extent. Ideologies change with time. Islam being the most conservative of all religions, is based upon NOT CHANGING. If you have any idea of Islam, you would notice that according to Muhammad, god sent down the Quran for the whole humanity, and to people of the book, so they can follow the right path.

Their scriptures being corrupted now, it is the duty of Muslims to teach them the right way. That doesn't mean that every Muslim ought to be a missionary though. Just become exemplary, and they will follow you. Now keeping that in mind, Muslims believe that Quran is the final word of god till the end. There can be no reforms or changes. God has promised the Muslims to preserve the Quran. They take it literally, and the best among them is the one who completely implement Quranic teachings in his life.

Like all other world religions Islam has its share of contradictions. Muslims I am sure will argue against this, but I am in no mood to argue with them at this forum.

My conclusion is that Islam cannot bend. Either it breaks completely or become more and more fundamentalist. Muslims as a whole are no different than Christians, Jews, or any orthodoxly religious people for that matter. There are peace loving Muslims all over the world. Your next door neighbor can be a Muslim extremist. Sure. But don't prejudge him. He might be more liberal than you think.

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