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Welcome to the Islam thread. It's purpose is to educate, not convert, although that would be nice :v:
Here goes...
[b]Basic Islamic Beliefs and Duties[/b]
In order to become a Muslim, one must take the shahadah, the basic creed of Islam that states that there is only one God and that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the messenger of God. Then there are 4 basic things (part of the 5 pillars) that every Muslim must do. First is Salah, meaning 'prayer'. It is obligatory for every Muslim above the age of 10 to pray 5 times a day, within reason, of course. Many people start at 7 or 8. Next is Sawm, which is fasting during the month of Ramadan. This is one of the months of the Hijri/Islam Calendar based on the moon, each year lasting 354/355 days. During this month, it is said that the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). During Ramadan, every Muslim above 10 (I think) has to fast from dawn til dusk, refraining from eating, drinking and sexual relations. The next 'pillar' of Islam is Zakat, alms giving. Every Muslim earning a certain amount of money must give a percentage of it to the poor and needy. The final necessity is Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah, which every able bodied Muslim who can afford to do so, must do.
[b]Halal and Haram[/b]
In Islam, most things are put into 1 of 2 categories. Halal and Haraam. Halal means 'lawful', and is commonly used in reference to halal food (which will be discussed later) but applies to everything, not just food. Haraam means 'forbidden', and again, applies to everything, not just food. There is a third category, Makruh, which are things that are discouraged, but not sinful.
[b]Halal Food[/b]
Halal slaughter applies to all meat except fish. For a mean to be halal, it must not be of a forbidden animal (such as pig) and the slaughter must be done by a sane adult muslim. Several conditions need to be satisfied before the slaughter: the knife's blade should be extremely sharp (but not sharpened in front of the animal), the animal shouldn't be slaughtered in front of other animals, and the animal should be given water to quench its thirst before the deed is done. Once those conditions are satisfied, the animal should be laid down on the ground gently, so as not to hurt it, and then the blade should be swiftly passed over the animal's throat, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides together with the trachea and esophagus but leaving the spinal cord intact, in one 'swipe'. This leaves the connection between body and the brain, allowing the blood to drain out of the body. The animal will often make involuntary jolting movements as a result of this. It is necessary for the blood to drain out so it doesn't soak into the meat, infecting it.
Now this sounds very cruel and painful for the animal, but beloved science has proved that it is a very humane method of slaughter. The animal feels no pain for the 3 seconds after the cut has been made, just as we don't feel pain as soon as we've had a paper cut or such, but a few seconds after. The following 3 seconds induce a deep-sleep like unconsciousness brought about by loss of blood, and after that, there is no pain for the animal as the blood drains, yet the heart is still beating and the body convulsing vigorously as a reflex reaction of the spinal cord. This has all been scientifically proved by a group of German scientists.
[b]Sharia Law[/b]
"Muslim or Islamic law, both civil and criminal justice as well as regulating individual conduct both personal and moral." Sharia Law deals with almost every aspect of life, with rules and guidelines on how one should live his/her life. Sharia is a very detailed area of Islam, which I myself don't know much about so I can't tell you much, but if you do want to know more, feel free to research or even get a degree in the subject!
One part of Sharia which I do know some stuff about is women:
[b]Women in Islam[/b]
Islam is often criticised nowadays for the way it treats women. The majority of this is misconception and exaggeration, which I hope to clear up here. Firstly, God favours both men and women equally. Next, women aren't stoned for getting raped. Islam's view on everything is that it is the intent that matters. A woman who is raped clearly has no intent to have sex as she is forced into it, and she is therefore completely innocent and should press charges against the rapist. Stressing this, the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said, “Allah has forgiven my Ummah (people) for their mistakes, what they forget and what they are forced to do.” Next, it is true that women receive half the inheritance of men, but there is a very good reason for this. Firstly though, both the father and mother of a childless decedent receive equal inheritance, and both a brother and sister from the same mother receive equal inheritance. In most other cases, women receive half the inheritance because a man is legally and morally obliged to provide financial support for his family and a dowry for his wife, whereas a woman has no obligation to do this at all. Another misconception is that a woman gives up all her possessions to the man when she gets married. This is completely untrue, since a woman keeps all her possessions and receives a dowry from the man. Women are also fully allowed to be employed in any lawful job. A lot of people say that women are forced into marriage etc. but again, this isn't the Islamic way. Under Sharia, marriage cannot be forced, both parties have to agree. There may be a few other cases in which women seemingly have less rights than men, but in addition to rights comes responsibility, and a man has much more responsibility to do things such as support the family etc. than a woman.
[b]Hijab / Veil[/b]
This is perhaps the most controversial part of Islam.
Islam instructs both men and women to dress modestly. Women are required to cover their body, face and hair when in public and when praying. Some say that it is optional to cover the head and face. It is also recommended that clothing isn't tight and revealing, so as not to 'give too much away', so many less religious Muslims wear long loose skirts and loose tops, and more religious ones choose to wear a jilbab, a loose robe covering their body.
Men are also required to dress modestly, and part of this includes something extremely difficult - lowering your gaze. That means no staring at boobies or pretty faces. I'm currently working on this.
Now a lot of people say that hijab is bad and dehumanises women etc. but personally, I disagree. Nowadays women are extremely objectified and many girls/women are ignored from the 'market' because they dress modestly. Most girls/women feel that to be noticed they must lose all self respect and dress revealingly. Hijab prevents this objectification because it stops men from looking at women sexually. This stops people from being judged based on appearance. It also makes rape a lot less likely for a woman, since a man would rather take an 'easier' target, someone who is wearing next to nothing, rather than someone who is covered up.
I'm tired after all that typing so I'll update the thread in a couple of hours.
Please feel free to post any questions you have about Islam or add any contributions to the thread, and they will be answered.
tl;dr: convert to islam
that was a joke
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Didn't read the sticky" - Craptasket))[/highlight]
All religions must be stopped
end.
What happens when an islamic child converts to another religion?
Why does everyone hate Islam?
[QUOTE=sporface;27430193]All religions must be stopped
end.[/QUOTE]
Not all religions have to be cults.
wait-....
By Allah's grace why the fuck would you make this thread, it can only end in shit.
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