I have a question for you gals

[iceyspots 0]

isn't it against islam to force people to convert??

the way i learned it is that it spread very quickly without force also....

Can I ask where or from who you guys learned this?

Here's the way I see it: In just about any situation where you are learning from someoene who feels very passionate about their beliefs, they are probably not going to tell you the more negative aspects of what they are teaching. I am not saying this happens only in Islam, but in anything! If someone wants you to play soccer real bad, they're not going to tell you about how you could get kicked or fall down and break your neck.

I learned from a world religions professor (who is currently writing for an encyclopedia)... he is also a devout catholic .. i dont feel he had a slant when he taught but he could have omitted that info.. Not sure.

he portrayed islam in a light because the class was focusing more on the religious aspect and only went into some detail on history...

we did get into arguments tho talking about the concept of jihad. lol that's the only part where i felt he was taking it into the wrong light.

he also met and talked with the ayatollah of lebanon

[sarah and hicham 3]

Well maybe it wasn't taught because it's more of the history of Christianity and not Islam?

[jordanianprincess 0]

isn't it against islam to force people to convert??

the way i learned it is that it spread very quickly without force also....

Can I ask where or from who you guys learned this?

Here's the way I see it: In just about any situation where you are learning from someoene who feels very passionate about their beliefs, they are probably not going to tell you the more negative aspects of what they are teaching. I am not saying this happens only in Islam, but in anything! If someone wants you to play soccer real bad, they're not going to tell you about how you could get kicked or fall down and break your neck.

I learned from a world religions professor (who is currently writing for an encyclopedia)... he is also a devout catholic .. i dont feel he had a slant when he taught but he could have omitted that info.. Not sure.

Is this the same world religions professor you told me about? The one that called Jesus a ####### and Mary a Jezebel?

[iceyspots 0]

isn't it against islam to force people to convert??

the way i learned it is that it spread very quickly without force also....

Can I ask where or from who you guys learned this?

Here's the way I see it: In just about any situation where you are learning from someoene who feels very passionate about their beliefs, they are probably not going to tell you the more negative aspects of what they are teaching. I am not saying this happens only in Islam, but in anything! If someone wants you to play soccer real bad, they're not going to tell you about how you could get kicked or fall down and break your neck.

I learned from a world religions professor (who is currently writing for an encyclopedia)... he is also a devout catholic .. i dont feel he had a slant when he taught but he could have omitted that info.. Not sure.

Is this the same world religions professor you told me about? The one that called Jesus a ####### and Mary a Jezebel?

Not as his own views, but as those being the views of Jesus in Judaism.

[jordanianprincess 0]

When answering any question in Islam, you have to answer it from a trusted source. There is no "in your opinion" because you can lead people astray there. Becarful which site you learn from because not all are legit.

I agree with you and appreciate your answer. Whenever people just post websites, I tend to not even look at them. These days there are websites about anything and everything and who knows who wrote it or who that person is and why should someone take what they say to be truthful?

I do not use the sites that are posted.

Thank you for doing research and not just posting quickly with little thought or knowledge I appreciate that.

Rahma said that his marriages were not normal they were different etc. Since marriage is a holy union it seems like Muhammed shouldn't have been marrying women for "political" reasons. What were those reasons?

Is it true that most people in the Middle East are Muslim because they were forced to convert long long ago? I heard that if you wanted to remain Christian you were required to pay a fee?

Not true.. if you take a world religions class you'd be surprised to find out that Islam spread very quickly throughout the middle east and some surrounding countries, without force.

Christians and Jews that didn't want to convert had to pay a tax and were allowed to practice privatly. If you were not Christian or Jewlish you had 4 months to which you could decide from the following: conversion, exile, execution.

Later in history under different rule and dynasties, forced conversion which is generally prohibited in Islam, became easier and many converted out of fear.

[Bosco 1]

Is it true that most people in the Middle East are Muslim because they were forced to convert long long ago? I heard that if you wanted to remain Christian you were required to pay a fee?

Jizya was not a fee to remain Christian (or Jewish). It was a tax on adult male non-Muslims only. In return, they did not serve in the military but were offered full protection from the warfare that was going on. In the cases were Christians participated in the military, they were not made to pay. Muslim males who received exemption from military were also required to pay. There are also cases when the Muslims were unable to protect, the jizyah was returned.

Keep in mind that while Muslims did not pay jizya, they did/do pay zakat, which includes their property, harvest and jewelry. The non-Muslims did not pay zakat.

[iceyspots 0]

http://judaism.about.com/od/beliefs/a/jesu...s=Jesus+Judaism

A story about a man named Yeshu can be found in the Talmud. There is debate whether this Yeshu in the Talmud is the same Jesus who later became a Christian divinity.

According to the Talmud, Yeshu was the son of a Jewish woman named Miriam who was betrothed to a carpenter. "Betrothed" means she was legally married to him, but she was not yet living with him or having sexual relations with him. The story says that Miriam was either raped by or voluntarily slept with Pandeira, a Greek or Roman soldier. Miriam than gave birth to Yeshu, who was considered a "mamzer" (#######), a product of an adulterous relationship. The Talmud describes Yeshu as a heretic who dabbled in sorcery and lead the people astray. Later, the Sanhedrin (the Jewish "Supreme Court") ordered Yeshu stoned to death and his dead body was hung from a tree until nightfall after his death, in accordance with the ancient Jewish punishment for heretics.

Hmm.. now the question is, are they referring to the same person??

[Together4ever 1]

[hollyw 0]

isn't it against islam to force people to convert??

the way i learned it is that it spread very quickly without force also....

Can I ask where or from who you guys learned this?

Here's the way I see it: In just about any situation where you are learning from someoene who feels very passionate about their beliefs, they are probably not going to tell you the more negative aspects of what they are teaching. I am not saying this happens only in Islam, but in anything! If someone wants you to play soccer real bad, they're not going to tell you about how you could get kicked or fall down and break your neck.

i learned in classes i took last semester in college... a took a women and gender in islam class and a islamic civilizations class... i am not muslim and i have not done much research into this specific subject on my own, thats just what i remember hearing in class... and i am pretty sure that it is against islam to force people to convert.... someone can correct me on this if i am wrong... but i know that from conversations with my husband and other muslim friends...

[Nagishkaw 510]

[Veiled Princess 1]

When answering any question in Islam, you have to answer it from a trusted source. There is no "in your opinion" because you can lead people astray there. Becarful which site you learn from because not all are legit.

Excellent point

Always always always -I can not stress this engough- ALWAYS ask for proof and not opinions!

[iceyspots 0]

yeah im waiting for it! LOL

[Nagishkaw 510]

me too, icey.

[Veiled Princess 1]

Since marriage is a holy union it seems like Muhammed shouldn't have been marrying women for "political" reasons.

Marriage is not a 'holy union'.

I heard that if you wanted to remain Christian you were required to pay a fee?

I can try to explain this tax but I'm at work so I can't find a website to link right away LOL

Muslims are required to give charity to take care of the poor within the community yearly after Ramadan. We are also strongly encouraged to do so throughout the year for no other reason but to seek Allah's pleasure.

Unfortunately, in other religions, there is not always something which compells them to take care of the poor and needy in the community so if a non-muslim wants to live in a muslim community, he/she must pay this tax to cover his/her share of 'charity'. This is fair for all parties involved so that any and all members of the community are equally responsible for taking care of the needy.

I hope that makes sense.

http://judaism.about.com/od/beliefs/a/jesu...s=Jesus+Judaism

A story about a man named Yeshu can be found in the Talmud. There is debate whether this Yeshu in the Talmud is the same Jesus who later became a Christian divinity.

According to the Talmud, Yeshu was the son of a Jewish woman named Miriam who was betrothed to a carpenter. "Betrothed" means she was legally married to him, but she was not yet living with him or having sexual relations with him. The story says that Miriam was either raped by or voluntarily slept with Pandeira, a Greek or Roman soldier. Miriam than gave birth to Yeshu, who was considered a "mamzer" (#######), a product of an adulterous relationship. The Talmud describes Yeshu as a heretic who dabbled in sorcery and lead the people astray. Later, the Sanhedrin (the Jewish "Supreme Court") ordered Yeshu stoned to death and his dead body was hung from a tree until nightfall after his death, in accordance with the ancient Jewish punishment for heretics.

Hmm.. now the question is, are they referring to the same person??

Subhanallah!!!

[Together4ever 1]

I am going to respectfully offer up a suggestion. If you want "proof" and "answers" and want a pure source, open the quran and read it. I did this long before I chose to become Muslim. I had questions and I didn't trust "opinions". The more scholars' hands you drag the truth through, the more likely it is to become muddied. If you want the "real" answer, just read it and decide for yourself.