I'm a 25 year old Pakistani Muslim male living in the USA.

Greetings ATS Community,

I have been lurking ATS for years. I discovered the site when I was still in college. I found some of the threads to be quite intriguing and soon found myself returning this site to browse during my free time.

Lately I have noticed a lot of threads about Muslims and Islam and the like. I understand that in light of recent events and prior ones my religion has again been in full view of the public consciousness and that there is a lot of angst and anxiety going around. I want to say that this is completely understandable.

I just want you guys to know that I wish no harm on anybody and am hoping to perhaps allay some fears. I figure that since I am a muslim male living in the West in my mid twenties, I can answer any questions you have. Ask me anything.

Also, I want to be as honest as possible, I am not the most pious person, I mean I go to the mosque every now and again but I'm definitely not the guy thats front and center standing right behind the imam at every single prayer lol.

Ask away...

a reply to: thothful

Welcome! Are you an American citizen? Where did you grow up?

a reply to: thothful

Do you seriously believe in something you have never seen and only been told or read in a book ?

If so, how ?

a reply to: VP740

Greetings VP740,

I am an American citizen, I was born in France and came here when I was almost 5. I grew up in the USA.

Hey. Welcome to ATS.
This is the welcome bit of the forum, typically not meant for anything of substance, but hopefully since its a pretty interesting topic, some mods will throw it into a better forum.

Some questions for you:

1) Do you drink alcohol?
2) Do you believe specifically in the 72 virgins awaiting you as in literal text?
3) When do you believe it is acceptable to kill another human being for faith?
4) How do you think the wahhabist and salafis can be stopped from domination of islam?
5) What comes first to you, your religion or the countries ideology? (aka, would you help remove democracy and self expression in the US if it meant full islamic conversion)

a reply to: thothful

What are your thoughts on homosexuals?

a reply to: scubagravy

Hello,

Yes I do believe in it. How? Personally I believe man's consciousness(rationality) is intrisically limited and always will be. We will never be able to describe reality as it really is, therefore I believe that to better understand truth, or at least if not understand it have some relationship with it, one must venture into the land of the irrational(dreams, or prophecies from a prophet.) in order to have a better grasp on life. I guess you can say I do not accept the old stories literally. Though I believe even a literal acceptance of them will do more good in the long term than outright dismissal of it as something illogical/irrational and thus worthless.

Even Plato had to use the allegory of the cave to explain to us the Idea of the Good, in which he used the Sun to symbolize it.

I tend to look at things that way. I read the Qur'an and even though some aspects of it seem utterly irrational I believe there is a deeper meaning to it and have faith that if I meditate on what the Qur'an(And the bible and other such books) that I can garner wisdom from it.

a reply to: thothful

How long have you been here?

Did any women come along with you when you moved here?

How have you personally been treated here so far?

Greetings and welcome to the site.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Ewww

a reply to: SaturnFX

Oh okay, please move this mods if appropriate.

1. I have drank alcohol a few times before, but I never liked it. I guess I am a real lightweight when it comes to alcohol. So I do not drink. Although I was a groomsmen at a Catholic wedding recently and had a sip of champagne during a toast. Figured it was like smoking a peace pipe in Native American culture.

2. I do not believe specifically in 72 virgins. I tend to look at Hadith as more of secondary sources versus Qur'an as a primary text. Frankly I don't know, and I have never actually given this idea much thought. But in all honesty no I do not. I remember I went to Sunday school at the mosque as a child and the teacher told the class that there was a chocolate river up there. Which I think is ridiculous because chocolate was not around when the Prophet was alive as it is indigenous to the Americas. So there is a lot of weird stuff going around.

3. Only if they attempt to kill you. And even then I really don't want to. I want to be able to sleep peacefully at night.

4. I think the West needs to stop supporting Saudi Arabia, that is where the root of Wahabism lies. I do not agree with them as they are very literal minded. I also believe that we need to have imams that are homegrown in the West at western mosques instead of importing imams from Saudi Arabia, or other foreign countries. But first and foremost the West needs to confront the Saudis, which the West has avoided. I personally think that building an alliance with Iran will serve to undermine Saudi interests.

5. Frankly I like democracy, well, actually I like systems where a King rules, mostly because of my readings of Plato's republic. Democracy only functions well where there is education. Democracy fails in countries like Pakistan where half of the population is illiterate and only derive there world view from the village imam. But my belief in God takes first place and then the country.

a reply to: thothful

Welcome. I am sure all are glad to have you.

I hope you have a good time here, and thank you for being open to conversation.

Have a good one.
Hold it down.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

My best friend as a preteen was a Syrian boy who ended up becoming gay. It was sad because he never told me he was gay and just stopped hanging out with me. Frankly I don't think they are bad. I do believe that marriage is a religious institution, but if we can give them the same rights to "marry" then I wouldn't mind.

a reply to: tadaman

Thank you Tadaman

a reply to: thothful

I think you misunderstand the Cave. It's about ignorance and education. The sun is not a metaphore for good.

While the prisoner is chained to the wall he believes the shadows are reality until he breaks free, escapes and learns what he knew of reality is not real. The sun allegory is from Socrates and it symbolizes the nature of reality and knowledge about it.

My question is

How do you view Shia and their two branches Akhbari and the Ususli as well as the Sufi interpretation of the Koran.

a reply to: Bone75

I have been here since 1994. My mother came with me when I moved. She grew up in the USA but was born in Pakistan.

Well after 9/11 things got a little rocky. But you know in general I don't hold any resentment towards anyone who said some mean things to me, or broke my car windows(but who know why anyone did that, I never got any answers I am just assuming). I have been searched twice every single time I have ridden an aeroplane. But if thats what it takes to make a plane full of hundreds of people feel more confident being in the air with me I can put up with it. One of my best friends is from a conservative Christian family who seem to have a lot of resentment towards Islam, but they have always been kind to me.

Thank you for the welcome

Do you accept evolution, or do you disagree with it?

a reply to: thothful

Is there any honest way you could make a statement that is critical of Islam?

Do you contextualize the text or do you believe it to be the living word of allah?

a reply to: luthier

Hey maybe you are right about that. I will tell you that I was taught that the sun is what gives the freed prisoner the ability to see the objects of the world in full light instead of the shadows on the wall, and this relates the Idea of the Good because the idea of the good is what allows one to fully understand and see the other forms, in the same manner as the sun provides light for the freed prisoner. But you know, hey, its interpretation.

"Through the conversation between Socrates and Glaucon (508 a–c) Plato analogizes the Form of the Good with the sun as it is what allows us to see things." This quote is from a wikipage, and gives the quote in the book as 508 a-c. And again, I respect other interpretations.


Frankly I like the Sufi interpretation, and have read some of the poetry, which is absolutely beautiful.

I don't know much about the Akhbari and Ususli versions of Shia Islam, but the Ususli sounds like one I can relate to more as I do not take Hadith as seriously as others might.

Salam Alaikum, Thothful.

Welcome aboard.

Inshallah you will stick around.

There is a lot of resentment here for Islam, but there is also a lot of understanding from many.


Try not to be disenfranchised by the wild accusations and generalisations you come across...

Remember what the Prophet said about confronting ignorance, bid them Salam and move on to something more productive.


God bless.