Understanding Religion and Islam
Reading the book, Heretic, Why Islam Needs A Transformation Now, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, I have been thinking of religion: why it exists and why so many are threatened by religions' attempts to develop a code for living in a society, given man's free will to do good or evil, or, as I see it, to act according to God or the Devil.
The Christian response is that man is good, but sometimes does bad things, and through devotion to love (of self and others) can be redeemed. Christianity acknowledges the after-life but concentrates on the living.
Islam, by contrast, comes from a belief that man is inherently bad, and that the risks to the tribe of one doing evil are so great that the tribe has therefore removed any thought of choice, opting instead for rigid devotion or punishment by death or banishment.
Accordingly, the Qu'ran is a book of commands (unlike the Torah or Bible story books) that is regarded as the literal word of God. Because of this, no interpretation is possible. Any thought of alteration is immediately punished.
Islam essentially says that life is so horrible that a man's only hope is in the after-life (little or nothing is said of a woman's after-life). It is in the after-life that men are rewarded in paradise by the "dark-eyed" women (72 virgins). Death is often regarded as little more than "keeping an appointment." It is for this reason that some mothers have seen no issue with strapping bombs on their own children's bodies and sending them out to kill and die. And add to this the belief that martyrs for Allah are sent to their own special corner of paradise.
Which is another curiosity: Muslims that kill others (including those of other sects within Islam) regard their killing acts as defensive in nature, since they are defending the faith, Mohammed and Allah. 9/11 was a defensive act, in their minds.
This brings up a logical disconnect. Why would Muslims kill each other if there is no allowance for interpretation of the Qu'ran? The sects of Islam came about because of disagreement as to who would succeed Muhammed after he died. A tribal war ensued and the religion was split. But the essential elements of belief never changed.
These very foreign notions are why westerners can't seem to get their arms around what Islam is about, and why so many, despite the violent, antagonistic writings in the Qu'ran and Hadith, refer to Islam as a "religion of peace."
Religion matters little to me, personally, but I find it an interesting topic of discussion, and would be interested in others' thoughtful comments.
The Christian response is that man is good, but sometimes does bad things, and through devotion to love (of self and others) can be redeemed. Christianity acknowledges the after-life but concentrates on the living.
Islam, by contrast, comes from a belief that man is inherently bad, and that the risks to the tribe of one doing evil are so great that the tribe has therefore removed any thought of choice, opting instead for rigid devotion or punishment by death or banishment.
Accordingly, the Qu'ran is a book of commands (unlike the Torah or Bible story books) that is regarded as the literal word of God. Because of this, no interpretation is possible. Any thought of alteration is immediately punished.
Islam essentially says that life is so horrible that a man's only hope is in the after-life (little or nothing is said of a woman's after-life). It is in the after-life that men are rewarded in paradise by the "dark-eyed" women (72 virgins). Death is often regarded as little more than "keeping an appointment." It is for this reason that some mothers have seen no issue with strapping bombs on their own children's bodies and sending them out to kill and die. And add to this the belief that martyrs for Allah are sent to their own special corner of paradise.
Which is another curiosity: Muslims that kill others (including those of other sects within Islam) regard their killing acts as defensive in nature, since they are defending the faith, Mohammed and Allah. 9/11 was a defensive act, in their minds.
This brings up a logical disconnect. Why would Muslims kill each other if there is no allowance for interpretation of the Qu'ran? The sects of Islam came about because of disagreement as to who would succeed Muhammed after he died. A tribal war ensued and the religion was split. But the essential elements of belief never changed.
These very foreign notions are why westerners can't seem to get their arms around what Islam is about, and why so many, despite the violent, antagonistic writings in the Qu'ran and Hadith, refer to Islam as a "religion of peace."
Religion matters little to me, personally, but I find it an interesting topic of discussion, and would be interested in others' thoughtful comments.
You say that Christianity teaches that, "man is good, but sometimes does bad things". That counters actual teachings that all men are born guilty of original sin and must be baptized, even prior to full consciousness and cognition.
Religion is essentially anti-life and anti-man.
In another thread you say radicals hold so much sway in Islam because they claim they're taking orders directly from God and will kill their critics. The claim God is telling you to kill your critics is very old. You're saying those countries reject modernity, which I think is completely true.
I do not have a solution, but my thought is religions should put effort into their youth programs and reach out to kids who've moved into another country, are caught between two cultures, and at risk for being radicalized. I also wonder if they could get some moderate authority like the Pope to weigh in on modern issues or maybe some sort of council of leaders to provide exegesis clarifying what the texts mean.
I don't believe a lack of exegesis is the problem. It's this vague thing I'm calling "modernity". I know people from all traditions whose faith reminds them of their loving grandmother and the sacred text she gave them as a child. If the text has bizarre stories of rape and murder, they know they're writings from antiquity that don't apply literally to the modern world. Islam has more people who don't embrace modernity and want to operate with the murder-and-rape values from antiquity.