Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #30 - July 05, 2010, 06:00 AM

Fantastic second post Michelle

You definitely are quite a thinker and it's quite obvious that you ponder on human nature and behaviour quite deeply. Welcome once again to the group. I think pretty much all of us have asked ourselves the same things that you do. Maybe that's what sets us apart from the average believer. Our minds tend to question and analyze and it's like opening one can of worms after another. In depth analysis of a particular concept leads to more loopholes and puzzling questions.

I find the 'converts' just as bizarre too, especially atheists turned hardcore believers, not some happy fuzzy easy going religion like buddhism or something. But hey, the human mind is a very complex and strange thing
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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #31 - July 05, 2010, 06:01 AM

Quote from: michelle on July 05, 2010, 05:56 AM
The music I was refering to is on youtube here, watch?v=EAvlimEYEpQ

is there a reason i cant post links?

Go to the YouTube video, copy the URL in your address bar and paste it in your post. That usually does the trick!
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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #32 - July 05, 2010, 08:49 AM

Quote from: CocoPop on July 05, 2010, 06:00 AM

I find the 'converts' just as bizarre too, especially atheists turned hardcore believers, not some happy fuzzy easy going religion like buddhism or something. But hey, the human mind is a very complex and strange thing

It's not surprising. Most of those atheists are people who do not care about their religion and did not have a religious upbringing. Islam is like an ideology, it gives a sense of purpose, misguided but simple and powerful and a set of rules to live by. The whole community spirit and the identity is also a pull factor.
Some people convert because it is seemingly a simple religion from the outside. There are no trinity doctrines one has to believe in...

"Modern man's great illusion has been to convince himself that of all that has gone before he represents the zenith of human accomplishment, but can't summon the mental powers to read anything more demanding than emoticons. Fascinating. "

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #33 - July 05, 2010, 08:59 AM

Quote from: ras111 on July 05, 2010, 08:49 AM
It's not surprising. Most of those atheists are people who do not care about their religion and did not have a religious upbringing. Islam is like an ideology, it gives a sense of purpose, misguided but simple and powerful and a set of rules to live by. The whole community spirit and the identity is also a pull factor.
Some people convert because it is seemingly a simple religion from the outside. There are no trinity doctrines one has to believe in...

hmmmm I suppose many 'newer' religions (to the west anyway) like islam, buddhism, hinduism etc are romanticized by lots of people. They find the rituals and lifestyles fascinating since it's all so different from their own.

Many evangelical religions deliberately target vulnerable people too... those who are depressed or have some major issues going on in their life. In such times, people can be easily led into anything since such proselyting folk appear very benign and comforting.
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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #34 - July 05, 2010, 10:04 AM

Quote from: CocoPop on July 05, 2010, 08:59 AM

hmmmm I suppose many 'newer' religions (to the west anyway) like islam, buddhism, hinduism etc are romanticized by lots of people. They find the rituals and lifestyles fascinating since it's all so different from their own.

Yeah that too in a way, especially among Northern Europeans and Americans. I was familiar with sunni Islam and Muslims since an early age and therefore never had a romantic picture of it. Especially given our history and everything. Yet I always thought that in certain respects it seemed to be simpler than the Catholic faith of my people, given that it had no concepts like the trinity or priests, or that annoying 'meek will inherit the earth' and 'turn the other cheek' bollocks.

"Modern man's great illusion has been to convince himself that of all that has gone before he represents the zenith of human accomplishment, but can't summon the mental powers to read anything more demanding than emoticons. Fascinating. "

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #35 - July 05, 2010, 10:22 AM

Welcome, Michelle!

Quote from: Abood on July 03, 2010, 03:47 AM
Slavery doesn't exist any longer, of course, which goes to show how everlasting the message of the Quran really is.

I'm not sure it's true to say that "slavery doesn't exist any longer" since there are places where 'old style' slavery still exists, but has more often been replaced by modern forms of slavery such as debt-bondage. I'd recommend checking out Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. A Muslim might say that Qu'ranic slavery would be preferable as it would guarantee minimum rights to those people. I disagree with their position but wouldn't want to start that debate on the footing that slavery no longer exists in any form.

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #36 - July 05, 2010, 11:19 AM

Slavery is still rampant and always will be. Human trafficking is one form of modern slavery.

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #37 - July 05, 2010, 11:22 AM

Quote from: michelle on July 05, 2010, 05:56 AM
Also, No i haven't seen the documenatries on Jesus in India... are you refering to the old myths that the myth of Jesus was built on, because I've heard about that.

The music I was refering to is on youtube here, watch?v=EAvlimEYEpQ

is there a reason i cant post links?

cheers again

Michelle

its a safetey feature to prevent spammers - new joiners need to have a certain number of posts before they can add links

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #38 - July 05, 2010, 12:45 PM

Quote from: IsLame on July 05, 2010, 11:22 AM
its a safetey feature to prevent spammers - new joiners need to have a certain number of posts before they can add links

Whoops, didn't know that! You can ignore my suggestion then michelle
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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #39 - July 05, 2010, 04:16 PM

michelle.. on my intro thread, there are some really good videos and references
to support how heinous the bullshit is re: islam. Discussions about slavery and the
huris and pearly boys.

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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #40 - July 05, 2010, 05:57 PM

Welcome, Michelle.
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Re: Hello, Been lurking, thought I'd say Hi and ask a Q
Reply #41 - July 05, 2010, 07:01 PM

Quote from: michelle on July 05, 2010, 05:19 AM
To be honest I'm not entirely sure about this myself, perhaps I think that religion is an unhealthy mindset, i mean no offense, it's just my opinion, and i'm trying to work out what's going on in peeps heads.

I don't think many people here will be offended if you say religion is harmful to society. The vast majority of us are anti-theistic.

Quote
And in all this im interested in the mindset of the muslim that leaves Islam, what has happened to you beautiful few that got you thinking that maybe there is no God.

Simple. I was not dogmatic by nature, so when I had doubts about the truth of Islam, I decided to investigate them and think for myself to reach the truth, and soon realised that Islam is just another man-made religion. In fact, I realised that everywhere on this planet, even remote tribes have a set of superstitions and rituals to explain various phenomena and to hope to control them through prayer, sacrifice etc.

What you have to realise about Muslims today is that because of crowd psychology (and other cognitive biases) people can't seem to see through their delusion. Also, nobody wants to be a social pariah, because that's what happens to open apostates in most Muslim communities, so they stick with the group no matter what.

Quote from: michelle on July 03, 2010, 03:29 AM
This may sound really crazy but I really like the singing Muslims do about allah, but i always feel guilty listening to it and I wondered if there is such a thing as atheist arabic song in the style of Muslims singing to Allah?

Quote from: michelle on July 05, 2010, 05:56 AM
The music I was refering to is on youtube here, watch?v=EAvlimEYEpQ

I still listen to beautiful Quranic recitation and adhan occasionally. Here are some beautiful adhans (call to prayer): Mecca, Jerusalem, and here is a beautiful recitation of the Quran by a child which you might have seen already.

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