Coach,

“Mohammad in Islam is the model human being on whom you base all your beliefs and practices”

Wrong again. Islam is the message not the messenger. History shows neither prophet Mohamed (pbuh) nor his immediate followers (AbuBakr, Omar or Othman) wanted to collect or teach anything but the Qu’ran. The prophet wanted a grave without a sign. Hadith is a good added bonus but not compulsory to the faith although we can pick and replicate the manners of the great prophet Mohamed if we want to.

I understand your faith evolves around worshipping and replicating Jesus (pbuh) but that’ not our case.

I prayed for you to find $29.95 to buy “Islam for dummies” so you can understand a little more about your ‘obsession’ :-)

Infid,

The 5 major schools you are referring to re apostacy are 1,000 year old schools of thought.
If you research topics by a poster called “Dawood” on olo, you will find references and links to modernisation efforts in this area on the basis that it contradicts the Quran and further action by the prophet (he tolerated apostasy during his life).

Having said that, Muslims convert to other religions everyday including in Muslims countries. I believe the sentencing is carried out only in Saudi and Iran.

Peace,

Dear Infi,

Thank you for raising a very serious point.
The Muslims believe *only* the Qur’an to be the verbatim Word of God. It’s the Qur’an that is Infallible. The Qur’an, as a matter of fact, does not endorse legal sanctions against apostates. On the contrary, one of the last Qur’anic verses to be revealed was “Let there be no compulsion in matters of faith...” (2:256). The Shari’ah (i.e. Islamic Law) sanctioned policy on apostasy was determined by factors of Realpolitik. The nature and evolution of the Islamic Law deserve to be examined here. Shari’ah is not a single ‘law’ to be found in any book, rather it is a concept which has been manifested in a variety of different ways and contexts. The core elements of the Shari’ah Law during the early dynamic phase of Islam constituted an interlocking of the positive law (i.e. God’s Law) and natural law (i.e. the exercise of our inherent cognitive capacity, namely reasoning). For Sunnis, the authority of Shari’ah Law is drawn from four sources: the Qur’an (canonical text), sunnah (prophetic practice), qiyas (analogical reasoning) and ijma (consensus of the community). Triggered by a political context during the 10th century, the primary conflict between Mu’tazilite and Ash’arite schools of Islamic theology was concerning the dynamics of ‘reason’ and ‘revelation’. The more the Muslim community clashed with external enemies and faced internal civil strife, the more conservative and literalistic they became in their interpretations and applications of the sacred texts. A “theoretical impasse” developed over time as the scope of human reasoning in religious matters was narrowed down or deemed inappropriate, and the role of ijma (consensus of the community) in the formulation of the Islamic Law became, in practice, a monopoly of the religious scholars or ‘ulama.

A good discussion on the topic you have raised can be found in the book titled “Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam”, authored by Abdullah & Hassan Saeed, published by Ashgate (2004). ISBN: 0754630838.

Hope it helps a little.

It is noteworthy, however, that in the past, religious “heretics” were commonly executed in the West.

Regards,

Nayeefa and FH,

>>The-Muslims-believe-*only*-the-Qur’an-to-be-the-verbatim-Word-of-God.<<

This I believe is the source of all your problems.

Let's examine that concept quickly. If that statement was right, how do you account for the many conflicting accounts and statements that had to be abroggated so not to cause embarassment to the the prophet who recited them?

The truth I debate is that Mohammad used his power of persuation to influence his followers - it seems up to this day.

The only way a true believer in the real God can fall for this farcical concoction of textual cocktail is to be brain dead or extremenly naive.

It appears to me that you are neither. So what is your excuse for following a set of rules and social conduct that has nothing to do with God's plan for humanity?

God has already dealt with the sin of the world by sending His one and only Son (NOT ISA SON OF MARY) to take a human form and die for you and me on a cross.

By doing He saved us from the judgement of the law that no one could obey (including you guys).

By eliminating that fact from his Qur'an, Mohammad has willingly manipulated historical facts (well known in his time as he had access to Christians and Jews who must have told him) to the advantage of his newlt created "cult".

Terrorism BTW will never fade away because it is fed by a relgious belief called Islam. You can try to sweep that deep into your praying mats - but it is the truth.

To modify, embelish, or even interpret the Qur'an in any shape, school, or culture, will still make it an alien document to the will of God - because it lacks the essential truths that describe the true love and grace of God.

I hope that this ramadan (a pagan tradition adopted by a pagan leader...urr prophet) will make you re-evaluate your blind faith and may God open your mind to the truth, His truth that will set you free from this miserable cult. Amen.

Islam is not a pagan religion coach - you are a bad man

Fasting was a pagan tradition in the time of Mohammad.

His dad was the keeper of the Kaaba - a pagan place full of idols.

Muslems still go to visit the pagan Kaaba to fulfil their Hajj rituals in the hope that Allah is going to bless them and forgive their sins.

Call me a bad man - that's fine - Jesus was called worse names than that - but He remains the only way for humans to be saved from hell.

God proved to human peaople that following laws and rituals can never lead to goodness. It is impossible to try to please God by being good, only redemption through His Son can maky you access Heaven.

God is perfect and He will not allow impurities in Heaven (unredeemed sinners).

Islam's idea of heaven is a paradise, a place of orgy and sinful pleasure. Like most other ideas in Islam it is alien to whatever God through his previous prophets have described and prescribed.

If you care to read the bible - instead of relying on what has been fed to you through centuries; if you can put fear and brain washing aside, you will realise like many thousands daily that Islam is wrong, although it has all the good intentions of being a good religion, it will never please God because Islam has not accepted His Son Jesus as the only way back to Himself.

Islam is no better than Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other ism. They all fail to connect to the real God who layed his life for them on the cross. this act of love and grace is called: "Subtitutional Atonment".

The tradition lamb that you make bleed at your festival has been relaced by Jesus who bled on the cross for all humanity. He has been made the ultimate sacrifice.

So no need for paganistic rituals - just accept God's gift to you.

And remember there is no compulsion in accepting the truth.

- Coach - Go to any dictionary - Pagan is defined as basically as any religion other then the three - Christian, Jew, or Muslim - you only use the word pagan and describe their practices as pagan as you have been swept up Islamophobia - it suits your prejudices - you follo the other sheep in stupid attempts to vilify others - you remain an bad manas I said earlier and a worse chrstiian if you harbour such evil beliefs - if I believed in hell I would recommend you go their.

as it is hell is on earth right now with a bunch of Islamophobes driving this wicked agenda