Hassan
You're right in some ways but the article doesnt say "all muslims lie or can lie", or anything like that (did a quick read). It just says "Muhammad allowed lying e.g. lying to the enemy". Maybe the article could be trimmed to that only. The quotes at the top might appear "extreme" too and that takes the article away from the "factual" stance it should have. These kinds of problems exist in a lot of articles and I have yet to implement quality control. Other stuff needs to be fixed too. I just havent had the time but I know one day all this has to be fixed. And yes, thats not one of our best articles and its definitely not my favourite. The best articles stay away from racist opinions and state or quote the facts. Its a continuation of something from the time we started. Thanks for the feedback. I can tell you some more problematic articles or page titles I know of and I know one day I'll fix them. Getting this feedback from you confirms to me how important it is to get stuff fixed.
edit: Ok I saw your video now and dont have time to respond to it and go in a long debate but let me just say these few key points. What is true Islam? The Islam practiced by Muhammad. That you'll agree on. That was a violent Islam (beheading of 900 Jews etc). True Islam is this, when you really adhere to its teachings:
- cut off a thief's hands, 5.38
- wife beating ofcourse, 4.34
- stoning to death, in hadith
- being kind to a neighbour (and other good things in Islam)
True Islam = following and believing in the teachings of the Quran and hadith. The more teachings you follow and do, the closer you get to being a true Muslim.
Peaceful, moderate muslims who really dont know about/believe in/adehere to the teachings of Islam (praying on a friday and uttering a few Islamic phrases a day doesnt count) are also to blame for passively supporting terrorists or hateful Imams and not doing enough in the war against terrorism. A lot of them hate the west and that helps the terrorists so they're not completely free of blame. I can tell you the vast majority of muslims in Muslim countries oppose any help from America to fight terrorists in their own countries - Pakistan for example. Only lately that changed when they were getting bombed left and right. I can understand your disgust at right wing "all muslims are terrorists" attitudes and it disgusts me too. But saying that moderate muslims are all goody goody, is not correct. They hate the west and they support their Imams and they sit in silence and do nothing. For all those things, they are fully to blame, 100%. The Imams wouldnt be there without their support.
A few days ago one Imam FINALLY gave out a Fatwa against suicide bombing. It took them 9 years and a few years of bombings in their own countries otherwise they would never have given a fatwa. Who is behind the Imams? Thats right -- the "peaceful moderate" community of Muslims, who else? They have the power to support them or oppose them. If they stay silent they're wrong and they're responsible. Hear it from the horse's mouth, the son of the Hamas leader who apostated from Islam:
"It is not a religion of peace," said Yousef, who converted to Christianity. "The biggest terrorist is the God of the Quran. I know this is very dangerous and this will offend many people. The more you follow the steps of the prophet of Islam and the God of Islam, the more you get close to being a terrorist."
And thats what its all about. That doesnt mean "all muslims are terrorists" and stuff like that.
Quoting from your book:
Ibn Kathir includes an interpretation that says it is ‘allegorical’ and means only that they were ‘humiliated’ and made ‘lowly’. Such interpretations don’t suit the literalist Salafi creed; they prefer to believe that the Jews were literally transformed into monkeys and pigs
If you're depending on Ibn Kathir for everything, then a lot of other stuff he says should also be accepted. Yes ofcourse Islam means they were literally transformed. When hadiths report the moon being split and tonnes of other ridiculous stuff, all that is literal. When they believed an angel came to Muhammad and Allah sent crows to defeat an army with stones and other stuff, transforming a group of people into apes and pigs isnt a big deal. It was meant to be literal.
Anyway forget all that, I wont be going into debate, we both dont have enough time. Its aite, people can differ over stuff and I'm ok with that.
BlackDog
I also like WikiIslam, certain articles there are very interesting… but it worries me that it might not be honest scholarly work. Is this really the case?
We try our best.
I'm done here I guess. If anyone needs to work for the wiki please PM me. I've contacted Nour already. Best of luck to all of you here at CEMB forum and I wish you guys lots of growth! Would like to stay here and blah-blah but dont have time.
Topic: Hi from WikiIslam