Islam/Religion and questioning?

Filan

I don't want to limit this to Islam....as I expect that it's relevant to all religion...but as there isn't a 'general' religion forum...and my experience was with Islam, I'll post here.

For a while now I've been posting on Islamic discussion sites....just politely asking questions..

.........and while a lot of members were fine about this... I stressed that I was only questiong in order to assist my understanding of Islam...which is true...

.........many participants took huge offence at me questioning at all....which in turn encouraged others to voice their anger.... The emphasis was on blind acceptance without discussion.....That one must simply accept and should not question.... As a teacher ( formerly), questioning was considered a major tool in learning as if one simply unquestioningly accepts...learning by rote...one will struggle to truly understand. I can understand now how cartoons can cause such chaos.

Yet questioning was on this forum viewed with hostility...In my opinion nothing should be beyond question...as there is many people who claim to be Jesus ..Only a fool accepts without question..

None of which means that I am denigrating Islam or casting any doubts on it's validity.

I suspect that this mentality is probably true on other religous forums too... But it is somewhat disappointing.

wes

Well you have a valid point. From a personal perspective, some Muslims do feel a bit on the defensive, so you will see aggressive responses (i know I have been guilty of this sometimes) to reasonable questions.

Xhristy

This post has been deleted.

blackthorn

I've also stopped posting on several forums that cater to Muslims because there is a level of immaturity in the membership. The kind of people who can have the type of discussion you are looking for simply aren't hanging out at most forums! I've found there is a limited amount of time I can spend online with hotheads and kids who can't even spell before they do my head in.

wes

blackthorn wrote: »

I've also stopped posting on several forums that cater to Muslims because there is a level of immaturity in the membership. The kind of people who can have the type of discussion you are looking for simply aren't hanging out at most forums! I've found there is a limited amount of time I can spend online with hotheads and kids who can't even spell before they do my head in.

So no different than 99% of Internet forums .

Medina

Hi Filan,

Its a shame you encountered such responses , I have seen it myself also.

I would like to point out that contrary to examples you have encountered, in Islam it is an obligation on everyone to seek knowledge, and also its good to very what you are told by seeking evidence from the Quran and the Sunna Hadith.


He said in a hadith (Book 3 Bukhari: hadith 69 - Narrated by Anas bin Malik)
The Prophet said "Facilitate people concerning religious matters and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away from Islam"

Filan

Thanks Medina....as always your devotion and knowledge is endearing to me...

I suppose by the nature such sites do attract many of the more fundamental elements.... and again I don't restrict this to Islam...I'm sure that a Christian or even an atheist site would be similar...

I'm a natural debater...a natural analysist...too much in fact...I'm drained much of the time!:)...however debate isn't always welcome....can undermine people's closely held beliefs....which destabilises their sense of security..which to an extent I can understand.

I was however extremely polite on the Islamic sites...

InFront

There is a time and a place for everything, and the time and place for challenging Muslims on our beliefs is not on a forum which deals with issues dealing with the inner workings and personal circumstances of faith whereby the faith is presumed to be true.

Faith, and reason for faith, is a broader issue and needs to be dealt with in a broader forum, such as humanities, which does not assume a personal religious involvement or interest, but faith from a neutral standpoint.

With all due respect Filan, I don't think that Islamic websites (whether truly Islamic or not is irrelevant) are the places for discussion of the most basic tenets and axioms of Islam and while it is always better to deal politely with people, I am not overly surprised at how posters reacted.

af_thefragile

Islam is anything but Blind faith.
Islam is not about blindly accepting what is told in the Quran and following it without any knowledge or understanding.

What Islam is, its a test of faith.
God has given all the evidence for the belives through the teachings of the prophets and the holy books including the Quran. Now if you accept those evidences or reject them is a test of your faith. The Quran itself is a test of faith.
Check out Chapter No. 55, The Merciful from the Quran.
http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/QURAN/55.htm

In this chapter God states out all that he has created and basically all the evidence to his existance and questions the disbelievers on why they still deny him.

Thats just one example out of the many similar that can be found all across the Quran and Islamic teachings.

And if you really wanna confirm everything, then you can go and research out everything God has stated in the Quran and see for yourself how true they are. For the Quran is the evidence for Islam.

So, Islam is not about blindly believing in whats said to you. It gives you all the reasons to why you should believe in whats being said to you. And then believing or not believing in it is entire upto you.
But life is a test of your faith. You either fail, or you pass!

Filan

I didn't challenge Islamic beliefs...I merely asked for them to be explained.... But I was told that I shouldn't questions or ask for explanations...merely accept... Any questions I had were seen as a questioning of Allah's wisdom....not by a majority I stress....but by a vocal minority..

Only the insecure are afraid to explain or answer questions...A lot of people are clearly very insecure about a lot of things... I mean this in a general term and not specificly in relation to Islam

For the record explanations actual;y strengthen 'memory trace'...one is very unlikely to retain what one does not understand....In my humble opinion rote learning is - blind-.....

af_thefragile

Whoever told you not to question and just accept is not very wise.

Only from questioning and seeking for explanations did people manage to solve the biggest of mysteries and gain all the knowledge we have today.

Questioning and seeking for explanations is a good thing. It shows interest, it shows a will, hunger for knowledge rather than apatheic ignorance.

Hero Of College

Hello Filan, you shouldn't be surprised.

The very word "ISLAM" means "to submit".

It is organised, from the ground up, on acceptance. Blind acceptance, or otherwise, is still acceptance.

Clearly there are Muslims in Turkey who drink, fornicate freely, show their hear, show their ankles, keep dogs, eat pork, etc.....and I should have felt they feel as Muslim as some looney in a cave in Afghanistan.

Perhaps the Turkish way is indicative of the fact that Islam is not based on blind faith.

DinoBot

Filan wrote: »

I didn't challenge Islamic beliefs...I merely asked for them to be explained.... But I was told that I shouldn't questions or ask for explanations...merely accept... Any questions I had were seen as a questioning of Allah's wisdom....not by a majority I stress....but by a vocal minority..

Only the insecure are afraid to explain or answer questions...A lot of people are clearly very insecure about a lot of things... I mean this in a general term and not specificly in relation to Islam

For the record explanations actual;y strengthen 'memory trace'...one is very unlikely to retain what one does not understand....In my humble opinion rote learning is - blind-.....

Its a common problem with people who dont understand islam IMO. They are brought up with the idea that questioning will lead to disbelief. Of course some things you have to accept when your part of a religion because it cant be proved at the end of the day.

It stems from a well known but little undertood hadith:

the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wherein he mentioned that the Shaytan (Satan) will come to you and trouble you with questions like: “Who created this or that?” To which you would logically respond: “Allah.” Until he would come to the question: “Then who created Allah?” At which point the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed us to say: “I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil.”

people use that as a reason why questions should not be asked.