Well i agree with some of the comments made but not all. here is my 2ps worth of thought. First off i have read the Koran and found it to be very
interesting but hard going as it is not an easy read. I am surprised by how many simmilarities there are to the Bible ie the Koran has it's flood
story as does the Bible. I think in order to understand Islam you've gotta study the religion first! What i quite like about Islamic faith is the
requirement to fast and this is strictly observed. The purpose of fasting is to get you thinking about God more often and your own spritual awareness.
I also like the idea of giving to charity too. Nowe, having said that i have also studied other relgions such as Buddishm and the Jewish faith too.
Again the theme of fasting does come up with these faiths too. Mot much difference really between the world faiths when you study them and comapre the
world's faiths.
OK that's the relgious studies out of the way, now onto the reglious politics !! I can tolerate many world faiths and have respect for the
mainstream relgions of the world, except for cults like the Moonies etc. However i think it is wrong when one reglious order get perogtive treatment
over anyone else and we have to bow to their whims and moaning. In the UK we have made this mistake of giving in to the PC Brigade and in doing so
have created tensions between relgious faiths as it's all "We must take into account Muslim feelings on this that and the other" I can happily take
into account Muslim feelings, i have no problem with Muslims in general, i want to learn more about the faith, however i do object to their needs
being considered more of a priority than everyone else. We must learn to say NO and say let's look at the concerns of other religous faiths too.
Perhaps an important thing to remember is this, if i go to an Arabic country which is predminately Muslim, i have no problem with that, but i must
obey their rules re not drinking etc. Fine i can live with that, got no problem with that i respect other people's faiths and would quite enjoy
participating in other religious festivals. However that respect must work both ways. Someone visiting a Christian country must respect their rules as
well. For one thing it is good manners !!
It can't be one rule for them and another rule for us. That is what is messing the world up to a
large extent.
But i feel what people forget at the end of the day is that the mainstream religions of the world are all worshipping the same Supreme Being at the
end of the day when all is said and done. There surely cannot be more than one God. what we call God, Allah, etc is really a Supreme Being !! It's
just that different faiths have sprung up to take into account different cultures, geographical locations etc. We are all Brothers in the eyes of the
Supreme Being.
However if relgion is going to cause more wars, more jhaids, more beheadings, more terrorism, why not ban it being practiced in public all together
and allow it only to be practiced in the privacy of people's own homes? It might render our world a little less bloody!!.
Thats my 2p woth of thougths on this, sorry if it does not make sense, i just wrote what came into my mind as i read this thread!
