Conversion To Islam One Result Of Post-9/11 Curiosity

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/24/post-911-islam-converts_n_935572.html

This is certainly a strange phenomenon. On one hand, you have right wing nut jobs (there are many littered on this forum) who get their religious/historical information from bigoted hate sites. They tell us Islam is evil, that it's cruel to women, violent towards non-Muslims, etc. On the other hand, you have individuals who sincerely want to educate themselves about the religion of Islam. They actually read the Koran (unlike certain users here who read snipped verses taken completely out of context), and go to Islamic websites to receive information.

A strange phenomenon indeed.

 

20.000 people out of 240 million is not a lot, not to mention most of them will be convicts fro jail anyway

 

Back troll, back I say! Step any further and I shall smite you with knowledge!

 

He's a hopeless case Mr Fingers.

The Clog is full of Gouda and bango smoke

 

I haven't read the Koran, but i have read a few books about Islam. It has a fascinating history. There are extremists of course, but they are
misinterpreting the religion. Most Muslims are decent people who want to get on with their lives peacefully. There are some aspects of Islam i disagree with, just as there are aspects of Christianity and Judaism i disagree with.

 

20,000 americans (mostly female hispanics and african-americans according to the article) a year convert to Islam? Wow that's 1 in 15,000! LOL

 

How many converted to your lot then ?

 

Well said, I also learnt that Jesus is held in high regard/respect by all muslims ,while many Jews do not hesitate in being disrespectful + ridiculing Jesus.

cheers.

 

Well, an order of magnitude more than that. 1 in 15,000 americans converting to Islam is not even statistical noise, it's so tiny that it's nothing. A much higher percentage of Americans (or any other nationality) end up in mental institutions than in mosques. LOL

 

Bliar's sister-in-law converted recently. Very nice woman she is, too! Only one of her, of course, but most beliefs are about people rather than statistics, which is what the bullies and liars favour, since they hate people.

 

That must explain while the only state in the Middle East with rapidly growing Christian population is Israel, the number of Christians in the Muslim world has dwindled to almost nil.

 

I expect the Office has written that up in Wikepedia already. Probably peasants imported from South America on the grounds that they aren't natives of Palestine. Wonders of modern propaganda: Dr Goebbels would turn green with envy!

 

How are they "misinterpreting the religion"?

Serious question. Let's see if you actually know enough about Islam to justify that statement.

 

Muslims believe in the "Islamic Jesus" who is not the same Jesus as the Biblical Jesus.

For example, Muslims believe that, when Jesus comes back, he will tell all Christians that they have been deceived by the evil, tricky Jews, and that they need to convert to Islam. If they refuse, Jesus will kill them all.

 

A lot of Muslims have become ex-Muslims as well. This, of course, is a capital crime in the Muslim world. Good thing they are in the US.

 

That's what's the matter with you! I did wonder!

 

Well, like i said, i haven't read the Koran, but i do know that the word 'Islam' itself means surrender and is related to the Arabic word salam, or peace. So that tells you something right there. Muhammad brought peace to Arabia, which in pre-Islamic times was a hotbed of war and violence. Because the Koran was revealed in the context of an all-out war, several passages deal with the conduct of armed conflict.

Extremists, both Muslim and Non-Muslim, like to quote passages such as "slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" But always 'forget' to add the exhortations to peace which follow the more ferocious passages in the Koran. Exhortations like 'Thus, if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm them.' Bet you ain't heard that one, eh?
What i am basically trying to say is that the Koran only permits war in self defence. So, that kinda shoots your argument down in flames, doesn't it?

 

What does that tell me, other than the fact that they have words that mean things?

Islam means submission, or surrender, to God. You're right. "Salam" means peace, and is a standard greeting to other Muslims. "Peace be upon you" is the more common phrase, and is not used for non-Muslims. To them, the greeting is "peace be upon those who follow guidance", which does not include non-Muslims.

It's really scary how someone could be so clueless about history. Have you ever studied any of the large scale wars of conquest that were waged by Muslims, starting with Muhammad? Within 150 years of Muhammad's death, Muslim armies already conquered all of the Middle East, parts of North Africa and Southeast Asia, and even areas in modern day Europe. This conquest continued off and on, right up to the present. It is estimated that more than 270 million people have been killed during the major jihad waves that have taken place over the past 1400 years.

So much for "peace".

Yes, I have, but I heard it properly quoted and explained, so excuse me if it takes a minute to decode your version.

Muslims offer non-Muslims 3 choices in a Sharia society. The first choice is that they can convert to Islam. The second choice applies only to Jews and Christians who do not wish to convert. They can agree to live as "dhimmis" under the rule of Muslims, and pay a special tax that affords them protection in the society. They have to obey Islamic rules, which includes no proselytizing, no building new churches or other houses of worship, no repairing existing houses of worship, showing deference towards Muslims at all times, and many other rules. If these rules are broken, the protection ends, and they could be killed without penalty. This keeps them in a permanent state of decline, and is meant to humiliate them. The taxes they pay finance the Islamic army's wars of conquest, so that other Jews and Christians can experience how great it is to live as 2nd class citizens under the rule of Muslims.

You exhibited absolutely no knowledge on the subject, whatsoever. So, no, I would disagree with your question. And how would you know what the Qur'an permits, since you never read it?

In any case, you're wrong. The Qur'an does not only permit war in self defense. The caliphate has the ability to declare offensive war against anybody. For about 100 years, there hasn't been a caliphate, so Muslims had to start calling everything "self defense". And, thanks to the worldwide identity that Muslims share, an attack on a Muslim land anywhere is an attack on Muslims everywhere. There's a reason why Muslims in this country travel overseas to fight against infidels with their fellow members of the ummah. They aren't in any danger here, yet they feel they must "fight back" elsewhere in the world.

Once the caliphate comes back (they're working on it), we'll see some actual offensive jihad, which won't look any different from the current defensive jihad.

 

This is just the same old tired propaganda that has been shown to be false countless times. Islam did not impose itself by the sword. The Koran insists, "There must be no coercion in matters of faith!" Muslims are, at all times, told to respect Christians and Jews, the 'People of the Book'. Muhammad said, "O people! We have formed you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another" and that Muslims were not to conquer, convert, subjugate, revile or slaughter but to reach out toward others with intelligence and understanding. The actions of 'islamic' terrorists violates some of the Koran's most sacred precepts.

 

Keep drinking the jihadist Kool-Aid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests

 

Yeah, i know all that. And The Crusades were a series of military conflicts conducted by European Christian knights for control over the lucrative trade routes running through the Middle East, and establishment of European, but not necessarily Christian, influence in the region. So it's six of one, and half a dozen of the other.

 

A good friend of mine was inspired by 9/11 to research more about the Islamic World in general. He eventually ended up moving to Turkey, but he doesn't personally believe in Islam.

 

Conversion of some Westerners to Islam is not at all surprising. The West is hollow. Post-modern Western societies believe in nothing.

However, people nevertheless look for meaning in their lives. Some people find joy in the systemic beliefs of Islam. A generation ago the fad was Buddhism.

Similarly, people in Korea, China and Sub-Saharan Africa look for meaning in Christianity. None of this is surprising.

 

Only America hating leftists could get "inspired by 9/11" to research Islam. What a sick mindset.

 

No, it was retaliation against the Muslims who, after many bloody years, seized 2/3 of Christendom through violence. The Christians weren't going to allow them to take the rest of their land.