For anyone even remotely interested finding out more about Islam.

[Pa'li Makto]

As mentioned this is for anyone who has no doubt read all sorts of things written about or preached for muslims in the paper but who really wants to get down to the nuts and bolts of the belief system so to speak.
This site was put up here in Australia after many muslims were so frustrated that their say was represented by extremists and media alike so they made their own information site about what they believe and how they behave.

This is a great read for anyone who is confused with this whole Islamaphobic pie slinging media and Government spin and wants to know more about the religion that everyone seems to be talking about.

MyPeace.com.au

[Advent]

As long as you're impartial, there's no need.

[Pa'li Makto]

It's just there for people to get information so they can make up their own minds.

[ISV Venture Star]

I'm no more against Islam than I am Christianity.

[Theorist]

I remember in my government class, we were watching a video about extreme conservatives who wanted to ban the (I don't know if this is the right term, but) 10 commandments of the quaran from being legal.

I asked a muslim kid I know "Aren't your rules pretty much the same as the 10 commandments in the bible?"

And he said "Yeah, they're almost exactly the same."

I wouldn't be against a religion, only the followers ISV. All major world religions have very strict moral codes. If people followed those codes, the world would be great. It's just people don't follow them sometimes, and so they do bad things. But this is the person/people, because the religion does not say. No holy scriptures anywhere say to kill Americans, or cause terror, people just get power hungry.

I think of it like this. Do I like America? As a country, no, I'm not really proud to be an American or anything. As an idea? I think it's a great idea. America was founded upon a great idea so in that respect I do like America.

Much like religion, almost all religions I know I think they're good ideas, about peace, love, and tolerance. But the people who kill in the name of religion are generally just using it as a copout, and not actually following the religion

[stdout]

Originally Posted by Theorist

Much like religion, almost all religions I know I think they're good ideas, about peace, love, and tolerance. But the people who kill in the name of religion are generally just using it as a copout, and not actually following the religion

Thing is, the peaceful majority can legitimise and empower the malevolent minorities simply by their existence.

Also, the 'good ideas' presented by every religion I've encountered are just common sense!

[Human No More]

If people should get the information, it should be about both sides.

Read some of the quotes here for another side to it:
Violence
Rape
Domestic abuse
Forced 'conversion'
Women
Slavery
Execution of critics
Democracy
Homosexuality
Treatment of others

Also, remember that 'phobia' is literally 'irrational (or obsessive) fear' and does not extend to actual dangers. Certain parts leave absolutely no ambiguity in the statements about performing genocide, or the removal of equal rights for individuals. Remember that the individual who created the word was none other than Khomeini.

Originally Posted by stdout

Thing is, the peaceful majority can legitimise and empower the malevolent minorities simply by their existence.

Also, the 'good ideas' presented by every religion I've encountered are just common sense!

Exactly.
Most religions have parts like the ones above even if the amount there is exceptional compared to other comparable ones, but they pick and choose what to follow - it doesn't change the fact of the existence of parts that call for actual, literal genocide in a book that people consider completely true and infalliable.

[Vawm tsamsiyu]

I think it's extremists causing problems for all religions, they come upwith the strictest most oppressive rules they can and try to make all of us follow those rule. Without them there would be no problems with any religion like this.

[Moco Loco]

I think extremists are inevitable in any religion. I also think religion promotes ignorance, fuel for extremists, but that is just my opinion.

[X.,.Pandora.,.X]

Islam: Why not, its their life.
Islam extremists who kill innocent people: Where I draw the line.

[ISV Venture Star]

I do like some of the aesthetics of Islamic culture. Calligraphy, beautiful mosques, all of that stuff.

[Ashen Key]

For the history of Islam, I strongly recommend Reza Aslan's book No god but God. It's excellent, and I also find the author's theory about Islam currently being in its own version of the Reformation to make a lot of sense.

[Cyvaris]

I took a class on The Middle East/Islamic faith last fall. Awesome class, especially since the professor was from Jordan and Islamic. I really respect the religion and when it is practiced "correctly" I think it may actually be a much more "peaceful" religion then my own Catholic faith.

[Pa'li Makto]

Originally Posted by Cyvaris

I took a class on The Middle East/Islamic faith last fall. Awesome class, especially since the professor was from Jordan and Islamic. I really respect the religion and when it is practiced "correctly" I think it may actually be a much more "peaceful" religion then my own Catholic faith.

Great stuff!!
Seriously, that's how the religion is meant to be. Of course the Qur'an is interpreted by whoever reads it much like the bible but in the purest form Islam is meant to be peaceful.
The site I put up is a peaceful interpretation of the Qur'an much like how it i supposed to be.

[Human No More]

Considering the fact that over 2/3 of it is not about its own followers but about other people, that is hard to believe. Certainly, books like the bible contain their fair share of parts calling for unacceptable acts and any such book is extremely detrimental to society, but even other similar books do not universally condemn everyone who does not follow it or calling for executions of non-followers and describing people such as homosexuals as 'worse than animals'. Certainly, it's even harder see the 'peaceful' lie with the existence of continual terrorist attacks.