A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Muslims, & the Quran

October 13, 2001 8:13 AM

A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Muslims, & the Quran
"This Islamic guide is for non-Muslims who would like to understand Islam, Muslims (Moslems), and the Holy Quran (Koran). It is rich in information, references, bibliography, and illustrations. It has been reviewed and edited by many professors and well-educated people. It is brief and simple to read, yet contains much scientific knowledge."
posted by quonsar (16 comments total)

When I am told a religious book contains much scientific knowledge I know I am about to confront utter nonsense.
Fact is that Muslims were not supposed to kill fellow Muslims, ever; only non-believers. This ended when Bein Laden's guys (suicides) killed the opposition chief in Northern Alliance (Afghanistan)...now all Muslims, like religious folks all over the world, simply declare so and so is not a true this or that and do whatever the hell they want. He is a muslim. You can not kill him. Well he is not a real Muslim (he varies from what I believe, feel, want) so it is ok to kill him.
posted by Postroad at 8:35 AM on October 13, 2001

Postroad, I think what the quote meant was that the web page contains much scientific knowledge, not that the Quran does.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 8:42 AM on October 13, 2001

my least restrained guffaws came while reading what is the status of women under islam?.
posted by quonsar at 8:42 AM on October 13, 2001

"my least restrained guffaws came while reading what is the status of women under islam?."

Do explain why.
posted by Saima at 8:55 AM on October 13, 2001

"peaceful submission" ehh. then they should submit. nice link, like some religious reading room were i have to eat crackers and read while waiting for the bus. One should read the Koran. like alot of things, i dont buy it and i want nothing to do with the religion. Posty, these mad clerics would sanction the use of rat poison on their mothers if it would further Islam.(or the 72 virgins) This guy is playing Sabbah-in-the-hills. he wants to topple the moderate Islamic states then topple who is left (with someones help) restudying 1000 years of Islamic culture and History, there is nothing brief to it. I do not trust Islamic fundamentalists as i dont trust falwel or uncle Pat. I will never trust them as long as religion remains the criteria of cultural exchange. (which is being conducted with bombs and lies right now) ((I love Dr. van IMPE though, he and rexella rock. He is the original Dr. Detroit))
posted by newnameintown at 8:58 AM on October 13, 2001

fatwahs can be delivered to my mailing address in Langley or directed in person to arni's mosque (dont mind the dog, father mike and my mp5)
posted by newnameintown at 9:00 AM on October 13, 2001

p.s. What's the point of presenting a link to "Understanding Islam, Muslims, & the Quran" when you're going to going in with your own pre-conceived ideas of the religion with no willingness to even try to understand or banish your own misconceptions.
posted by Saima at 9:05 AM on October 13, 2001

That second 'going'hould have been 'go'...Tired, need sleep.
posted by Saima at 9:16 AM on October 13, 2001

Ugh

What an ugly website.
posted by delmoi at 9:52 AM on October 13, 2001

Holy books are plain silly to me. Sorry. On the other hand, some have passages of great literary merit, both poetic at times, and wonderful prose and nice narrative. I have to say--and I hope not to be offensive--that I find the Koran containing much less of these qualities I like in texts than in a number of others.
And for those who would like to see what sometimes is not right up front, or smothered a bit:
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/hell.html
posted by Postroad at 10:09 AM on October 13, 2001

no doubt post. Koran is full of prosaic genius. no doubt. But i question a man whom needed Jerusalem as the third holy city(a trinity for which Islam abhors?) in his "deck". So he is taken to Jerusalem in one night and returned. Little or no reason to why and not much in the way of description. I can understand someone wanting to adhere the monotheists(they had been trying for 600 years) and to expose corruption. Intercine warfare is the result.
posted by newnameintown at 10:55 AM on October 13, 2001

i know to question is...a sin? but i question Islam and there is no pretty way to do that.
posted by newnameintown at 10:56 AM on October 13, 2001

This is my favorite:

A man came to the Prophet Muhammad and said, “O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?”
The Prophet said: {Your mother.}
The man said, “Then who?”
The Prophet said: {Then your mother.}
The man further asked, “Then who?”
The Prophet said: {Then your mother.}
The man asked again, “Then who?”
The Prophet said: {Then your father.}

Ok, Muhammad was totally fucking with this guy! Yo mama!
posted by UrbanFigaro at 5:17 PM on October 13, 2001

This is a good site for looadsa info on Islam : Islam: The Modern Religion.


The Qu'ran does contain some rather startling insights into science actually - when you consider that Mohammad (pbuh) was illiterate most of his life (if you're rubbishing the fact that Allah sent down the words, and it was just a guy in a beard writing it), and yet there are references to occurences such as the big bang centuries before these theories were postulated.. Anyone who wants to is free to argue about that with me - my ICQ is in my profile..

postroad: just out of curiosity, can you actually read arabic and thus appreciate the poetic form and continuity of the language in the Koran? And if you want a translation, use one of the three Here, rather than one of those odd ones from those Hindu sites you seem to love. Looking through them, the wonderful way in which passages (having had funky translations) have been taken out of context has been used to prove a pre-defined position from the anti-muslim authors. And try and open your mind a bit..

And quonsar, what's wrong with giving women rights centuries before they were given them over here in the West? Yeah, I know, a woman's place is in the kitchen, damn my memory..

finally, to question is not a sin - its the only way you learn, so feel free to question away..
posted by Mossy at 9:17 AM on October 14, 2001

I thought that site was great, and reaffirmed my acceptance of Islam as a practicing Christian. Just because a culture adopting a religion doesn't fit with your worldviews doesn't mean that the religion (or the way they choose to live their lives) is wrong.

This is not to say that I don't hope that the countless human rights abuses carried out by the Taliban in the name of Islam shouldn't be paid for tenfold. But if the Muslim world could get it right, we would be living in a great world.
posted by MarkO at 9:07 PM on October 15, 2001

A rabbi I know reads Islam to be, in many ways, closer to Judaism than Christianity. Ha Ha!
posted by ParisParamus at 9:15 PM on October 15, 2001