Hakeem is a Muslim and Dwight Howard is a Christian

Good points, thx for the discussion.

 

By the way, I do have insurance. And. I pay a handsome price for me and my family.

 

That's cool, and I didn't mean to insinuate that you or someone currently without insurance is a freeloader. That's the thing when insurance is so costly, or somebody has a preexisting condition.

I would rather there be a single payer system where everyone was just covered.

 

If you don't mind me asking, why do you despise all religions? If you ask bball players who played in Hakeems era they will tell you that he was one of the most humble players. Nowdays you see cocky players like Kobe, KG etc. In Islam, humilty is taught and practiced. That is where Hakeem got it from. Islam is not a threat unless you watch CNN/Fox News. Unless attacked first, Muslims will not attack. It is against our Religon to Kill anyone unless it is in self defense. I am not trying to stir up any trouble. I respect everyone regardless of what they believe.

 

Actually, it is some so called muslims that are the problem. When some muslims do not understand the Quran or Hadith correctly, it leads to problems.

 

If any of you found out that your kid was converting to Islam, you would kill him because of the burning hate that you hold for the religion of Islam. Being born a Muslim is a blessing. Islam tells a person what is right and what is wrong. It gives them a system in which to live their life instead of being confused all of the time. It gives them limits, allowing them to live the way God wants them to live. Do you know who does what they want, when they want? Animals. There is a reason the United States has more rapes, murders, and crimes then any other nation in the world. What the U.S. and it's bully government (just ask other nations) doesn't want is people converting to Islam. Islam does not hold money, wealth, and power highly which is why the U.S. govt and it's people hate the religion. So what the U.S. government and it's allies do is spread false lies about the religon so people will go away from it. Too bad for them, Islam is the fastest growing religon in the world.

 

This is in the running for the single, most r****ded post in the D&D's long history.......I award you no points.....and may god have mercy on your soul.

 

Sadly, many Muslims will perceive even a cartoon as an "attack" and justification to murder people, burn down embassies, run around screaming on streets and just generally going berserk.

So, "self-defense" is a very stretchable term.

 

Reading this makes me cringe. How old are you and what country do you live in? Even the most zealous Christians I know would never kill their children if they converted to a new religion, even Islam. Someone has been telling you propaganda.

Islam doesn't give you morality; everyone is born with morality (except a few who are amoral that are brought into this world to test our humanity, but that's a different discussion). The Quran simply gives structure and an overview to that innate moral framework. I know people of various creeds who largely share the same beliefs as I do regarding murder, rape, theft, war, etc. Very few are 'confused'. They live within limits set by their gut and the culture they live in.

On the other hand, I know several Muslims who are confused, living beyond limits such as buying a new car a month, or throwing away food after eating only a few bites, etc. You may claim they misunderstand Islam. Who said you were the judge if that's the case? I think you have misguided views on Islam, though maybe I'm wrong. Who knows? You see the problem that arises when you judge other human beings even if you are one yourself and not Allah? Live and let live; all will be settled by the true judge on the Day of Reckoning.

According to the Quran, Islam is for all living beings in this universe. For creatures other than humans and jinn, they adhere to Islam completely because they have no free will. It can be argued that the animals which you speak so lowly of are better followers of Islam than you or I might be because we humans have the ability to reject all or parts of the message whereas they can't.

I don't have the time to address your last paragraphs (I dislike the wall of text you originally made) because I have to finish working on a project, but just realize that the Quran is only one holy book drawn from the Umm al-Kitab (a massive tablet with Allah that has all knowledge of the Universe written on it - past, present, future). Other religions and non religions might have other parts of that divine tablet's message. It's up to you to recognize the common features you share with your fellow human beings, rather than empty boasts like "islam is the fastest growing in this year blah blah" which make it sound like some pyramid scheme from Florida (my athiest friends probably think this anyway).

When in doubt, use tawhid as a litmus test. Tawhid refers to oneness, unity. Do your beliefs bring people together or turn them away?

 

Mathloom and several others have boasted similarly on here. Is it something that has to do with an inferiority complex? "Yeah, we might have the most violent extremists, but...we are the fastest growing! Take that!"

 

Islam is fastest growing in first-world developed countries like the US, UK etc. And college educated women are the ones who convert the most, studies have shown. If you learn it the right way, with an open mind and preconceived notions aside, you will see beautiful truths in it and see that it isn't barbaric, backward, oppressive and intolerant but rather simple, virtuous, comprehensive and progressive. Even American figures like Thomas Jefferson and such held Islamic teachings in high regard and even had a Qur'an in the library and even held a Ramadan fast as a show of respect to Muslim guests. And that was in the 1800s.

Where you see the violent extremism bull, those are in poverty-stricken, war-torn countries where illiteracy is rampant. A good chunk of folks can't even read the Qu'ran and Islamic texts much less the newspaper. The governments are corrupt and screw around with religion to fit their agenda and are anything but Islamic. The learned few that are true followers and students of the faith try to be vocal about atrocities and hypocrisy are silenced, ridiculed and outcast.

You get a wanna-be thug type, stirring up emotions of the ignorant and saying God says this and we need to clean this place up with violence etc then you get the idiots that loved to be filmed on CNN being idiots and scaring the heck out of world.

There's a billion Muslims, when an offensive drawing occurs we only see a handful of angry blood-thirsty idiots and the media cameras roll on them making it seem like Islam and its followers as a whole are against it. But if truly their were over a billion people pissed off and bloodthirsty then we should've had World War 3 by now, so come off it.

Islam opposers take Quranic verses out of context and plaster them everywhere as a scare tactic to make Islam look bad but to an open-minded person they can see past the BS and do a little studying and see that what it teaches is the opposite of what the media churns out and what a small percentage of uneducated lowlife idiots spouting in Arabic and cutting off peoples heads are doing.

 

Nope, I saw the posts people made on this forum, too. I see how brainwashed and intolerant they are. Mathloom, who is certainly not illiterate, wished that the cartoonist would live in fear for the rest of his life. And just look at that post by the guy who thinks the death penalty for drinking alcohol is A-ok.

 

Can you site the source for the following: "college educated women are the ones who convert the most"?

Why would any woman want to convert to islam?

 

I know many great people who are Muslim and I do have respect for the religion, after not only working with several Muslims but also visiting Egypt and Jordan.

but of all the religions I've been familiar with, Islam is the one that has the most wiggle room to justify violence. My experience has also shown me that Muslims in Europe have done an atrocious job "fitting in" and becoming functioning members of society. They've done better in the US in that regard, although they're not very prevalent at all in the business world or in any kind of leadership roles.

 

maybe fatties who want to use the burqua to hide their blubber?

yeah the college women thing sounds ludicrous

 

I looked up

The value systems of Western societies will continue to collapse, since they are built on shifting grounds. The Sunday Times of London, in its September 1994 issue, reported about a revolt by women against the values prevailing in Britain: ‘‘British women seek new morality in its religious affairs” correspondent Lesley Thomas stated. According to the report, this is not the case of British women who are favouring Islam. “Thousands of British women are becoming Muslims in a trend that baffles feminists and causes concern to Christians.” The report continues that “of the estimated 10,000 British converts to Islam over the past decade, most are single, educated women, doctors, college lecturers and lawyers.” The educated in the West are beginning to see that the “full” life is found only in Islam, the universal religion

Also another article: "How 100,000 Britons have chosen to become Muslim. The Average convert is a 27 year old White Woman" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...UK-White-women-keen-embrace-Muslim-faith.html

On Youtube there are tons of videos of women of all races and backgrounds (black, white, hispanic, oriental) talking about how they discovered Islam and embraced it.

My wife became Muslim a year before we were married. Caucasian born and raised in Minnesota. She has friends all on her Facebook, friends locally in Houston born and raised in the USA, blond haired, blue-eyed converts. No drinking of the koolaid, no being held at gun-point, just from their own preference.

I'm not going to get into it now. But contrary to popular belief, there is a lot in Islam that attracts women. They are given equal rights, they can work if they wish, they have a say in a marriage and rights over the husband etc. It doesnt take much digging or studying to find out that Islam doesnt oppress women at all and actually promotes equality, and high respect for women.

Of course why would CNN/Fox News and other news outlets educate the masses on this? It's not their job to teach Islamic beliefs and principles. It's the job of the viewer and reader of all this Islamic hate and outrage reports to go and pick up a book and read for yourselves. Not scan on the internet for a verse out of context on a Islamic hate site and think you know all about Islam.

Heres another video that I'm sure will give you folks heart attacks.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UGoLIh4juvU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

That's all anecdotal evidence, which is the least convincing type. Sorry.

 

According to "The Plain Truth" (A US Based Christian Magazine) February 1984 issue, in its 50 Year Anniversary Issue, quoting from the "World Almanac and Book of Facts 1935" and "Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook 1983", between 1934 and 1984.

Christianity increased 47%
World Population increased 136%
Islam increased 235%

100,000 people per year in America alone, are converting to Islam. For every 1 male convert to Islam, 4 females convert to Islam. And that study was 20 years ago. The post 9/11 era, reports and studies have shown that it has gone up even higher with American women converting more than men.

"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people..."
HILLARY RODMAN CLINTON, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1996, p.3


Already more than a billion-people strong, Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion. ABCNEWS,
Abcnews.com


"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the country." NEWSDAY, March 7, 1989, p.4


"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States..." NEW YORK TIMES, Feb 21, 1989, p.1


Moslems are the world's fastest-growing group..." USA TODAY, The populationreferance bureau, Feb. 17,
1989, p.4A

"There are more Muslims in North America then Jews Now." Dan Rathers, CBSNEWS


"Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America." TIMES MAGAZINE


"Islam continues to grow in America, and no one can doubt that!" CNN, December 15, 1995


"The religion of Islam is growing faster than any other religion in the world." MIKE WALLACE, 60 MINUTES


"Five to 6 million strong, Muslims in America already outnumber Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Mormons,
and they are more numerous than Quakers, Unitarians, Seventh-day Adventists, Mennonites, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and Christian Scientists, combined. Many demographers say Islam has overtaken Judaism as the
country's second-most commonly practiced religion; others say it is in the passing lane." JOHAN BLANK,
USNEWS (7/20/98)

 

talking growth in percentage terms is misleading, since Muslims make up <1% of the US

 

I can't speak for them, but I have heard this many times from people I've met in South Asia, the ME, and Europe, and I do think it's an inferiority complex.

Since the sacking of Baghdad in 1258 CE or the Battle of Vienna in 1683, it can be argued that parts of the Islamic world (North Africa, ME) have been in a state of rut. Since the end of the Second World War, there has been a resurgence of some sort in the ME due to billions of petrodollars coming in.
Yet, rather than create robust nation-states with strong civil societies and social justice for the people, Arab countries have mostly had rentier economies (using natural resources for all of GDP to external countries).

What I see in the majority of Muslims are what I see in most Christians and Jews. People who have a weak grasp of what their religions exactly say in their holy texts, their history, and so on so forth. They are members of their faith in name only and 99% of them are born into it. Unsurprisingly, the athiests they work with are no less or more kinder, though they are more open-minded, so I agree with anyone who says religion as a whole is receding in the G20. Most of the G20 can become athiest and nothing would change.

Anecdotally, I will agree that I've seen a surprising number of men and women convert to Islam - maybe since most college courses on Islam seem to teach it the "right way"? By right way, I mean showing how the Quran says men and women are equal, and all the implications that stem from that statement.