I dont disagree at all. I said as much. In Iran women have actual legal protections that women in Pakistan dont. My point was that if you have money and power you can live a free life and you have freedoms that women in Iran dont have. Pakistan is virtually lawless and money buys you freedom. I wasnt getting caught up in the dress code but I cited it as an example of a legal rule in Iran that is an example of the state restricting women's rights. There are plenty of examples to the contrary. It is a clear example of the state's ability to restrict the rights of women. That said I would never want to be a woman in Pakistan unless I was part of the elite.
How much time did you spend down south? Lebanon is very religious I think. If you take into account Christians, the Muslims in the South and the Druze as well, I think it's very religious compared to Iran. Obviously Beirut is not religious at all, but the same can be said of Tehran. I think a key difference is that Beirut is profusely non-religious whereas Tehran as a whole is extremely indifferent to religion. At the same time, you have to take into account that the non-Hizbollah Lebanese don't consider themselves Arab, they consider themselves Phoenician. This has been a running joke for centuries now among the rest of the Arab world lol. With women like that, they can call them whatever they want!! :grin: lol
True. The state can restrict the rights of women very easily if they wanted. If I was part of the elite, I'd probably still not live in any of those two countries lol.
NMS, what exactly do you disagree with? Are you suggesting that this Mufti is right? Or are you saying that the problems with the education system and the corruption are more important than the problems with Muftis like this?
Split about 10 days between Lebanon and Syria. We had a rental car and drove all around, spent 5 nights in Beirut, took a few day trips around Lebanon to the mountains, the Bekaa Valley to check out Baalbek, etc. Spent a day in Aleppo, and the rest of our time in Damascus.
Neither her or the Mufti are the problem in terms of the bigger picture. Pakistan is so cluster *****'d that them trying to portray this lady as an insult to Pakistan is a joke....and that's exactly what made Veena Malik's statement so great. BTW, when you don't have jobs and opportunities for people, then they will cling to the one thing they do have, that's their religion. Education and corruption are holding that country down, they have quite a few resources to be a successful nation. Problem is they are being run by thieves and thugs.
The Sunni's do make up the majority of Muslims however there are people who are Shiite in all Muslim nations. Iran is one of the few if not the only majority Shiite nations. It is really not that big of deal, I was mostly curious how Sunni and Shiite Muslims get along in general and if Muslims openly profess their beliefs(Sunni or Shiite). I know there has been a lot of conflict between the two sects. So do most Muslims keep their (Sunni or Shiite) beliefs to themselves? It is my understanding that for the most part, the main difference in the two sects is in regard to the Mahdi(sp?) and when he will come however I admit I have limited knowledge of the differences. As a devout Christian, I admire the strong faith of the most Islamic people even if I don't agree with them.
There are many disagreements, at the root of them is that Shiites believe that Ali should have been the first Caliph rather than Abu Bakr. They believe that Muhammad PBUH hinted/said that the leadership of the Islamic empire should remain with his bloodline, whereas Sunnis believe that the leader should be elected from among the Sahaba (which is basically anyone who saw and was around Muhammad PBUH, contrary to popular belief which says that it's only his close friends). Today everyone is fairly open about it, but Shiites are less open about it because they hate each other and Sunnis are usually in control.
You couldn't be more wrong. You need to google the event of Ghadeer. Prophet Muhammad put Ali on his shoulders and declared him as the first Imam. Over 100 historians site this event/sermon including trusted Sunni sources such as Bukhari. Some people choose to live in denial. Also, look up Saqifa. While the Prophet's family was burying him, the caliphs were conspiring against him. Quite sad actually. Anyways, you left out the part that the fourth and final Caliph within the Sunni sect is Ali. They elected him after the first 3 didn't do a particularly well job. The blasphemy that has been put out about Ali and the other family members of the Prophet for over a thousand years is disappointing. This was after Ali defended the Prophet in the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khaybar, Hunayn, etc with the MOST valor.
What are you talking about? Religion has been what has brought people of different races and cultures together for peace throughout history! It makes us put aside our differences and has brought prosperity to the world am i rite!?
that is another thing, with respect to whoever believes in whatever, sharia law is a man made law. It was made not in the quran, not even in the time of the prophet, btu way after and the belief is that it references those times and beliefs. That said, since it is not in the quran, you can still be a muslim and not believe in the sharia. But it becomes more about your beliefs and your connection to god, however that is. You can find these 'ultra religious' mullahs spending their time just being exclusivist, judging who is and isn't righteous rather than just focusin on their own spiritual journey and they seem to be oblivious on how contradictory that lifestyle and mindset is to waht they are supposedly preaching
