More Education
I got up today still curious and read some more Islamic sites. Oy. Most sites say that the only way a Muslim may keep a dog is if that dog is necessary for farming or for hunting and then the dog may not stay in the house and if the dog licks you, you must wash yourself numerous times because a dog is even farther down on the no respect list than are pigs. Muslims, however may keep a cat for a pet. It is common about the time of Ramadan that Muslims want to clean up their act and many of them who have slipped and got a puppy for the kids will take the dog to the pound to be put to sleep. In fact this is so common that even very strict Imams have said that this is a scandal that makes for bad public relations re. Islam in the West, that animals must be treated well, i.e. get the dog a home with a Christian.
Gradually the light dawns. When I went to bed last night I was so confused about this religion. Why there are so many converts. Now I think I understand. This is Religion For Dummies. Every last speck of life is prescribed and frequently proscribed as well. It isa narrow, narrow life with no choices at all. If you just follow the umpteen, detailed rules, you will get to heaven. Every single thing relating to food, every single social situation, all matters relating to how both men and women must spend their working time, all family relations, every last fragment of possibility having to do with leisure time, all aspects of education for both sexes, exactly how to perform each necessary religious duty, it's all there with no room for doubt. For those who learn all of this but who still manage to have questions, there are the Imams who exist simply to lay down the law.
The world is full of people who find it too hard to BE something although they are willing to do anything they are told to do. Islam is for them. Christianity tells you what to BE and you must work out for yourself how to go about becoming that person. Islam is easy. Christianity is hard. Islam is for those who like to be told what to do, who like to follow orders, who do not want to discover, to explore, to struggle.
One Imam site complained that in the eyes of the non-Islamic world, this is a religion of those who have not been educated very well and/or who have a pretty low IQ...and he agreed. He said that this is pretty much true, with exceptions who have kind of a hard time living the life and frequently run afoul of Islamic law. What you almost never see in sites where Muslims ask an Imam for advice is this question..."Why?" Where asked, sometimes there is an answer rooted in middle eastern history and culture, but usually not. Usually the answer is just that Allah knows best.
Westernized Arabs get pretty good at invoking all the Muslim excuses for doing things they aren't allowed to do, like "necessity". Some Muslims are ashamed of the hadiths and say that the religion should consist only of whatever is found in the Koran but that won't work. Only in the hadiths do they find HOW to practice the religion. Some highly educated Muslims try to live by their understanding of the "spirit" of Islamic law but that doesn't work either because the hard-liners hate these people at least as much as they hate Christians.
Gradually the light dawns. When I went to bed last night I was so confused about this religion. Why there are so many converts. Now I think I understand. This is Religion For Dummies. Every last speck of life is prescribed and frequently proscribed as well. It isa narrow, narrow life with no choices at all. If you just follow the umpteen, detailed rules, you will get to heaven. Every single thing relating to food, every single social situation, all matters relating to how both men and women must spend their working time, all family relations, every last fragment of possibility having to do with leisure time, all aspects of education for both sexes, exactly how to perform each necessary religious duty, it's all there with no room for doubt. For those who learn all of this but who still manage to have questions, there are the Imams who exist simply to lay down the law.
The world is full of people who find it too hard to BE something although they are willing to do anything they are told to do. Islam is for them. Christianity tells you what to BE and you must work out for yourself how to go about becoming that person. Islam is easy. Christianity is hard. Islam is for those who like to be told what to do, who like to follow orders, who do not want to discover, to explore, to struggle.
One Imam site complained that in the eyes of the non-Islamic world, this is a religion of those who have not been educated very well and/or who have a pretty low IQ...and he agreed. He said that this is pretty much true, with exceptions who have kind of a hard time living the life and frequently run afoul of Islamic law. What you almost never see in sites where Muslims ask an Imam for advice is this question..."Why?" Where asked, sometimes there is an answer rooted in middle eastern history and culture, but usually not. Usually the answer is just that Allah knows best.
Westernized Arabs get pretty good at invoking all the Muslim excuses for doing things they aren't allowed to do, like "necessity". Some Muslims are ashamed of the hadiths and say that the religion should consist only of whatever is found in the Koran but that won't work. Only in the hadiths do they find HOW to practice the religion. Some highly educated Muslims try to live by their understanding of the "spirit" of Islamic law but that doesn't work either because the hard-liners hate these people at least as much as they hate Christians.
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