What are the good things about Islam? [W:39]

TheDemSocialist said:

Any religion is the opium of the masses. It can be used to do great things and be used to do terrible things. All religion has been used to do good things and negative things and all religions continue to be used to do so.

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How would you say 20th century dictators have used Marx?

JC Callender said:

What kind of charity? I always hear about what churches are doing in the U.S. like food drives, Habitat for Humanity, et...what charities do most Mosques get involved in? Or individual Muslims, how do they like to give?

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The third pillar of Islam is charity. Many mosques have food drives, bring in the homeless, etc. Part of the Red Cross is the Red Crescent, which is a relief organization.

JC Callender said:

How would you say 20th century dictators have used Marx?

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What do you mean? How do I think some have interpreted Marx and his theory of the "dictatorship of the proletariat"?

JC Callender said:

So you would say a food drive held at a church to serve those less fortunate is useless? What's useful to you then?

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Food drives are absolutely worthless, especially canned food drives. Just give them money, no need for faith there:


Also, the utility of a faith has nothing to do with its truth value.

MaggieD said:

It would have been nice to have learned about the largest religion in the world in school...I'd have enjoyed it in that setting.

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The secular left would have a cow if Christianity were taught in schools.

Unless of course you were referring to Islam, in which case I would remark that you should have been taught math in school.

Paleocon said:

The secular left would have a cow if Christianity were taught in schools.

Unless of course you were referring to Islam, in which case I would remark that you should have been taught math in school.

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No, not at all. I should have been taught that Christianity was the largest religion in the world.

le bouffon said:

The third pillar of Islam is charity. Many mosques have food drives, bring in the homeless, etc. Part of the Red Cross is the Red Crescent, which is a relief organization.

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Thanks, I didn't know that.

JC Callender said:

What do you find positive or attractive about Islam, i.e. beliefs, charities, etc...?

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The most obvious, if we're trying to be objective, would be its stern emphasis of an egalitarian message which allowed the creation of a trans-continental, multi-racial, society.

Sherman123 said:

The most obvious, if we're trying to be objective, would be its stern emphasis of an egalitarian message which allowed the creation of a trans-continental, multi-racial, society.

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I think some people believe that Muslims are anything but egalitarian, esp. concerning the Jews. Do you have anything from the Koran that supports that?

JC Callender said:

What do you find positive or attractive about Islam, i.e. beliefs, charities, etc...?

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I love when they blow themselves up by accident. That's positive and attractive.

Only two positive things:

1. alcohol not allowed, smoking frowned upon
2. against racial discrimination (even though many Arabs e.g. are quite racist)

JC Callender said:

I think some people believe that Muslims are anything but egalitarian, esp. concerning the Jews. Do you have anything from the Koran that supports that?

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The equality is racial; Islam is explicitly against racism (consider that both white Bosnians and black Somalians practice Islam), and it was progressive in regards to women's rights at the time. Not that there isn't widespread racist anti-Semitism across the Muslim world, of course.

Zakat. Charity. One of the 5 Pillars of Islam
It is like a flat tax. Custom is 2.5% of wealth. And all should pay it in some fashion-if one doesn't have money, then it is "paid" in good deeds or something. Everyone owes charity to others. 2.5% is less than the Christian 10% or as high as 50%-as when the fisherman gave 50% of his catch to the poor. A person's primary financial responsibility to toward his family, not society, beyond the 2.5%

Jizla is the tax for non-Moslems and can be as high as 50%. Maybe they got that from Christian customs. Not good. But the 2.5% is good.

I also like the Islamic view on insurance. They see it as morally wrong since all it does is spread out risk among many, which is OK, but then the insurer takes a cut. There is financial gain, greed, for nothing. Why allow people to get rich simply by spreading out risk? Like health insurance is primarily profitable to insurers and little to do with health care.