#also i just want to clarify i grew up muslim but i am not currently an observing muslim

[gentil-minou]

So, I have this one friend who's Jewish, and pro-Israel. They're not thrilled about the civilian deaths in Gaza, but not overly bothered by them either, since according to them most of them support Hamas, and to blame Hamas for all the civilian deaths in Gaza for using Palestinian civilians as human meat shields, and that almost all humanitarian aid to Gaza is just going to go to funding Hamas. That doesn't really sound right to me, and I've tried pushing back a little, especially on the "blame Hamas for anyone the Israeli government kills in Gaza while trying to destroying Hamas" front, though honestly most of it sounds pretty off, especially with how dismissive it is of Palestinians' plight and just seems to write them off as acceptable collateral damage to get at Hamas. So I'm trying to push back on those talking points without pissing them off too much, though I don't know enough about the humanitarian aid part to counter it.

It's just really weird right now, because I know several people who are Jewish and even some with Israeli relatives, and then several who are Muslim like yourself, and I'm getting VERY different narratives from both. Though uh. The pro-Israel stuff tends to be really dismissive of Gazans caught in the crossfire to the point that I'm pretty suspicious of it. I feel bad for the Israelis impacted by Hamas's initial attack last month, they didn't deserve to have their loved ones kidnapped or killed, or to have their homes and community attacked so they don't feel safe returning. But that doesn't mean doing that to Palestinians is justified either, and that's the narrative I tend to be hearing from the pro-Israel side of things.

My advice to you is do your research. Look into what's going on, and not just what's going on now but what has been happening for the last 75 years. That's your best tool right now to figure out what you believe because this is the nature of narratives, they are in essence a story and a story is told through different perspectives.

By researching yourself and gathering information by yourself, you can form your own opinion.

Israel is banking on people sticking to the narrative that "it's too complicated" and that people will fall back on that instead of researching and learning more.

And the more you research this, the less complicated it becomes and in actuality the answer becomes really really obvious. A lot of it revolves around ugly truths about humans, but we need to see the ugly to challenge ourselves to do what's right.

I made this post a while back with some of the videos I watched at first just to get an idea of what was happening.. I want to STRESS that these are not the only things you can research for more info. There are documentaries and books and all sorts of information from people who are living through this. This is just where I started a month ago when I was like "Is it actually that complicated?" I learned within half an hour that no it really isn't.

But the one fact I keep going back to through out all of this that no narrative can deny is that this has been happening since 1948, not the October 7th Israel wants you to focus on. For me, that seals it.

Re the humanitarian aid: Israel controls the borders and crossings where humanitarian aid can go through. Israel is bombing the aid that does go through (including trucks of water this very day). If Israel were really concerned about humanitarian aid, could they not follow the trucks and deliver it themselves in their big fancy tanks? Or are they only going to use those big fancy tanks to bomb civilian vehicles that are trying to retreat?

Also important: this has never been a Muslims vs. Jews issue. There are Palestinian Jews and have been for centuries living with Muslims and Christians alike in peace. Some of the biggest protests have been organized by Jewish groups. Western Media wants you to think this is about antisemitism and they want Jews vs Muslims, but that's simply not the case. This is colonizer versus indigenous people issue. This is a US-funded and approved Israel committing genocide because of vested interests in the resources that Palestine provides issue.

I will say you questioning it at all is a good thing. Because your gut is telling you something isn't right. Listen to that gut. Let it guide you in learning for yourself rather than what they want you to believe.

And keep pushing back.

#also i just want to clarify i grew up muslim but i am not currently an observing muslim #i don't want people to think i'm the best source for all things islam i havent been muslim in over 10 years but you dont need to be #muslim to realize when this is wrong #palestine #gaza #free palestine #gaza genocide #free gaza #ceasefire now #israel #social justice #asked and answered #Anonymous

[creepingsharia]

Kansas: Muslim sorority arrives at Wichita State University; first mission is dawah on non-Muslim community

Ahmed said @mudeltaalpha’s current mission is to focus on educating the community. [about Islam and sharia]

Greek sororities don’t abide by the sharia, so assimilating and joining a kufr sorority is not an option for devout Muslims.

Lindsay Smith, Reporter

Five years after Mu Delta Alpha was first introduced at the University of Texas at Dallas, the Muslim-based sorority has arrived at Wichita State.

Saniya Ahmed, a junior studying health science at WSU, started the endeavor to bring Mu Delta Alpha to Wichita.

Ahmed grew up in Wichita. As an young student who went to all of the university’s elementary events, she said she saw WSU as her second home. But when she began college, she had trouble reestablishing that second home feeling.

So, Ahmed did what many college students do. She looked into joining Greek life. But as she went to the informationals and did her research, she said she couldn’t find one that called to her personally.

“I really wanted it, but I just felt like I would have to compromise a part of myself to fit in,” Ahmed said. “A part of Greek life is about finding your home, and you can’t really be at home if you feel like you have to compromise a part of yourself.”

Instead of giving up, she took matters into her own hands.

After doing her own research, Ahmed discovered Mu Delta Alpha. It was exactly what she was looking for.

“I said, ‘I have this idea. I’ve been researching, I found that this organization exists. How do I bring it to campus?’” Ahmed said. “In fall 2017, I kind of started this endeavor knowing that I wanted to create a space for Muslim women to benefit from a lot of the things that Greek life emblemizes, like sisterhood [and] service.

“It was just creating that space and creating that avenue for us to gather strength in ourselves and having our faith as our foundation.”

Ahmed said that foundation of faith is the most important aspect of her day-to-day life.

“That’s what I was really missing with all of these organizations,” Ahmed said. “I felt like at the end of the day, if you ask me who I am, with all my hyphenations of what I identify as, my first identification will always be a Muslim before anything else. For me, that was kind of [what] gave birth to this idea that I could do this.”

The Student Government Association recognized Mu Delta Alpha as a registered student organization in February of 2018. It gained its official chapter status in October of this year.

Mu Delta Alpha is not only the first Muslim sorority at WSU but also the first non-Texas Muslim sorority in the nation.

“We’re a lot of different firsts. It’s super exciting, but it’s also really daunting,” Ahmed said. “Because we know we have eyes on us. We know that people are watching.”

The WSU Muslim Student Association is currently inactive, which makes Mu Delta Alpha the only active Muslim-identifying organization on campus.

Ahmed said that distinction comes with a fair amount of pressure.

“It’s hard sometimes to distinguish, you know, is this what the campus needs or is this what we need?” Ahmed said.

“Mostly right now, it’s figuring out what our responsibility is. We know that people are watching and we know that important conversations need to happen.”

Ahmed said Mu Delta Alpha’s current mission is to focus on educating the community.

“We took that upon ourselves to make sure that we have an educational piece at every event that we host,” Ahmed said. “We are providing that opportunity for other students who might not know a lot about Islam, or might not have ever engaged before with the Muslim — to be able to utilize the resources we offer, but also ask us questions to clarify what they’ve understood.”

[CS: In Islam this is known as dawah and is used to recruit converts to Islam. As for clarifying what someone else has understood, that is called taqiyyah in Islam. Or lying. And will typically center around the meaning of jihad, the second class status of women in Islam, and the brutalities of sharia. All to be whitewashed as “misunderstandings”.]

Ahmed said that while Mu Delta Alpha is a Muslim-based organization, students do not have to be Muslim to join. The organization is open to members of all different faiths.

Currently, Mu Delta Alpha has seven members. Ahmed said she hopes to see that number grow in the future.

She also wants future Mu Delta Alpha alumni to be able to serve as mentors for younger generations, she said.

“A lot of us right now don’t have the mentors. We don’t have the people that we can look up to that are Muslim women in the fields that we have chosen,” Ahmed said. “One of the questions we always start out with each semester is, ‘Who is the Muslim woman that you look up to in your field right now?’ And usually the answer is ‘I don’t know.’

“It’s time we change that.”

That’s where Mu Delta Alpha alumni could factor in, she said.

“We’re incredibly powerful [and] strong women, so it’s about time we begin that visibility,” Ahmed said. “Because a lot of that, for mentorship in particular, is until you see it, you don’t really believe that you can do it. I hope we, as women right now, 10 years down the line, become the women that then current members say, ‘They did it. They’re there. They’re successful.’”

Ahmed said she hopes to see Muslim women unapologetically reaching for their goals and living out their faith.

“We know that discrimination does exist,” Ahmed said. “But 10 years down the line . . . I hope to see women who are so unapologetic in their faith, in their beliefs, [and] in their ambition. Never should they feel like, ‘Can I make it?’ It should be, ‘Okay, this is what I want, I’m going to get it.’ Period. No questions, no doubts, no fears.”

---------------------------------------------------

So unapologetic? Like Ilhan Omar?

How long before Wichita State’s Mu Delta Alpha supports a BDS movement on campus? Or protests the killing of Iranian terrorists.

Related:

Texas: First Muslim (only) sorority opens at UT-Austin

The growing list of Muslim Student Association (MSA) terrorists

#Education #Islam #Muslim #Sharia #Immigration #News #Politics #Travel

[mixedfeelingsproject]

Anonymous

Where are you from? Seattle, WA

How would you describe your race/ethnicity? Biracial white/Japanese-American

Do you identify with one particular aspect of your ethnicity more than another? Have you ever felt pressure to choose between parts of your identity? When I was little I wanted to know more about my Japanese side. I think this is because my father, who is a third generation Japanese-American, didn't talk about his heritage a lot if at all, but my white mother pressed that that part of my family history is important. And even though I grew up in a rural white community, I was always told that my Japanese ethnicity was "cool" or "different"(in a good way), so I felt comfortable exploring it. But I also felt compelled to explore my white heritage too because my maternal grandfather constructed a family tree leading back to Norway, Germany, England, and Wales. In my teenage years I really embraced this and did Norwegian folk dance alongside taking Japanese Language lessons. But I always felt like I had to carefully balance the amount of attention I allotted each side of myself - not because of external pressure, but rather because I didn't want to make one side of myself feel more important than the other. I wanted them to be equal because I felt that was important. But as I've become more aware of issues like racism, cultural appropriation, and privilege, I've had times where I've waned in identity - on both sides. I remember being heartbroken and not wanting to continue studying Japanese because of how Japan conducted itself in China during WWII and race issues in the country today, I felt ashamed. But I've also been upset at the vicissitudes of white privilege and violence against POC (I was sheltered from that growing up). Whether I strongly identify as one or the other isn't fixed for me, it waxes and wanes depending on context and what I am feeling at the moment.

Did your parents encounter any difficulties from being in an interracial relationship? Lol, not that I know of? My dad is pretty Americanized in a heavily Asian area, so none of his behavior would come off as "different". I think that helped them blend in a little. But my mom told me that when she announced to her dad (my grandfather who happens to be pretty damn racist) that she was getting married, my grandpa asked what his last name was (this was over the phone): Mom: "It's Watanabe." Grandpa: "Whatta-what?! Janet K, what the hell are you getting yourself into!" At this point my mom was used to this kind of response from my grandfather as he was kind of a raging mess and didn't really deserve her attention anyways, so she just laughed.

How has your mixed background impacted your sense of identity and belonging? I grew up really damn white. And by that I mean really damn whitewashed. This is not only due to the location in a rural area outside of Seattle, but also that my dad is whitewashed, and my mom is white, and I'm white-passing (we were also very very Christian). But I always knew I was Japanese. I just never - NEVER - experienced racism because of it. Only until recently have I experienced any aggression towards me on the basis my race and most of it was online. I think something that helped preserve my Japanese identity in the face of all this whiteness I grew up around is the fact that my family hosted Japanese Exchange students, a total of seven from when I was a child and have no recollection to high school. I'm close friends with the two we hosted when I was a teenager. And they all marveled at the fact they were in America staying with ethnic Japanese, even though we were Nikkei (ethnic Japanese outside of Japan) and didn't speak Japanese (by the time the second Japanese student came along I had visited Japan and my Japanese was pretty good). And yet I knew I didn't really belong in Japan after I had gone there for the first time, since they called me Amerika-jin (an American), and not Nikkei-jin. But the Japanese people I do know are warm and welcoming towards me, and consider me a part of their culture, just not a part of their society (and that degree varies depending on the person and how well they know me). But I never felt this way in white circles - unless I brought up my last name. Then I was suddenly the Asian one, or at worst, the "exotic" girl. But this didn't really bother me much as a lot of that stuff flew over my head; I didn't realize how that could be damaging not just to myself, but to others and the community at large. Now I'm more sensitive to it because of that. In all honesty where I belong doesn't trouble me as much as others because I'm okay with just being myself. But lately I've realized that's part of my white-passing privilege, and furthermore I'm feeling alienated by my country because of the way it's moving.

Have you been asked questions like "What are you?" or "Where are you from?" by strangers? If so, how do you typically respond? Haha so many times! It never bothered me because they left it open-ended for me to answer. It was the rare that they were more rude about it, although I don't think people should keep asking us "what are you" as that's pretty demeaning and there are better and more nuanced ways to ask us about our background. The more far-flung guesses I more so laugh at because they are so off the map, and in all cases I just say I'm Japanese and White. However, now that I'm a full grown woman, I've been privy to the issue of Yellow Fever (which I have very much been a victim of), which when I'm talking with men makes me more keen on withholding my ethnicity as from experience I get the instant "ooooh you're an Asian woman" vibe. Bleh. At one time when I was living in the city I was debating on converting to Islam, and in my more serious phase I was wearing hijab more and more often. I got asked by one man who was from East Africa where I was from, and he was surprised (and a little embarrassed lol) when I told him I was from here. That's why I decided against wearing the headscarf at all unless I decided to take Shahadah and become a Muslim (that's another story for another place and time). Also, another story, a friend of mine who is French-Canadian and Alaskan Native often gets mistaken as my sister and vice-versa. We used to work together at a small store so we'd always laugh at this and joke that we were very very very very very very very very distant cousins from back during the age when the ancestors of the Native Americans crossed the Ice Bridge from Russia/Asia to Alaska. Lol.

Have you experienced people making comments about you based on your appearance? Nope, because most people assume I'm white through and through or if they have a suspicion, they typically keep it to themselves. UNLESS I'm wearing kimono; I hate Yellow Fever so much man... I also have a hair loss disorder and that's more noteworthy in gossip about me than anything else.

Have you ever been mistaken for another ethnicity? The most common guess is Chinese, Japanese being the second, Native American third. I've even had someone ask if I was Turkish (which makes me roflmao now because my current boyfriend is Turkish)! And no, that latter question was not while I was wearing hijab, and the lady (Fatima was her name) was super nice :)

Have you ever felt the need to change your behavior due to how you believe others will perceive you? In what way? In Japanese circles I change my behavior a lot, but I think this is due to how the study of the language has created a separate identity within me. This is really common for multilingual people, to have, say, a "Spanish" presentation of themselves alongside their "English" presentation, and even a "Turkish" presentation of themselves while speaking any of those respective languages. But I know I try harder to blend in when I speak Japanese. I don't pass as Japanese in Japan for the most part, but the minute I start speaking I do (I don't have an accent when I speak Japanese and hence I sound native lol). So that helps and I want that, but at the same time it's the potential of eliminating my white side and my American upbrining that makes me say "Hanbun Nikkei-jin" (half ethnic Japanese) instead of "Hanbun Nihon-jin" (half Japanese). If any experience I had in white/non-Japanese circles, I would have to say that I have to clarify that I am a Japanese-American, not strictly Japanese; the fact I have a Japanese last name makes this distinction difficult for the non-Japanese/Japanese-American. No, my mom isn't from Japan, she's white as hell and my dad is a third generation full blooded Japanese-American whose only voluntary tie to Japan is grilling mochi over the stove. This in turn makes the other (including my boyfriend's mom lolol) believe I'm somehow "less Japanese", not because I'm half, but because I'm not a direct import from Japan (see what I did there? No? Haha okay). To me that's not okay, so then I start speaking Japanese and they're like "oh you're really Japanese!" Which, okay, thanks, but I had to learn this - which leaves me back at square one. Honestly this is where I get pissed off, but it's an incredibly complex issue that most people - even the "woke" ones - aren't familiar or even open to discussing. So then I frame it as "I want to reconnect with my relatives in Japan someday," which makes the other party respect me more because of the noble aspect of it (and I do want to reconnect, that's one of the major reasons I have undertaken the language). But funny how I have to be a hero in order to be taken seriously and not be seen as a weeb.

What positive benefits have you experienced by being mixed? I love being mixed! I wouldn't have it any other way. I've always loved being different somehow, mainly different in mind and spirit, but I do enjoy the complex - albeit sometimes frustrating - experience I have because I'm mixed. I love my Japanese side and my white side, even though my Japanese side is more fraught with scars from the Internment and subsequent poverty/second-class citizen mindset from my father, I still prize it as a unique history apart from Japan and apart from white America. But I also know that that part of my family extends back into Japan in some fashion and that the history there is long even if it's undocumented - it's in our genes. Likewise with my white side. In a way being mixed has given me not one, but two paths of history to explore, connect, and learn from. It has made me more open minded and paved the way to understand that people don't have to be one or the other, they can be both. I love diversity. If I'm in a mono-racial/cultural/religious place, I get hella bored and even depressed. Diversity makes me alive. The fact that I'm racially and cultural diverse in my very existence makes me feel alive.

Have you changed the way you identify yourself over the years? I've realized that I don't need to "appease" any side of me internally. That also goes for externally. I've come to identify myself more as a human with a more interesting experience than some; the more you get to know me the more I'm apt to tell you my story as a biracial disaporic. So in a way I'm more conservative about how I identify myself to strangers, especially men. But I'm still proud of my Japanese heritage, specifically my Japanese-American heritage. And I'm still proud of my white heritage, the Norwegian (gimmie that krumkake), German (omg my grandma's apfelkuchen will forever be my downfall), English (I still see them as shitty colonialists sorry lol I leik tea and Jane Austen at least), and Welsh (the dragon is pretty damn cool not gonna lie) side no matter how much I knock white people, I'm proud to be part of that heritage. I think learning more about the bad parts of history on either side of my background (Like the xenophobic Japanese attitude and then the English colonial rape and pillage of Africa) has given me a more clearer picture too on how I identify with these parts of myself. Do I cherry pick? Absolutely. But I still acknowledge the wrongs of each side in history. We're all human. Let's identify as that first.

Are you proud to be mixed? Hell yes!

Do you have any other stories you would like to share from your own experiences? I want to share two stories: one about how my Japanese side holds me accountable, and then the Yellow Fever one. I'm gonna start with the latter as I want to end on a high note, but also because I think it's important for people to realize the impact of Yellow Fever has on Asian and Asian-American women, including those of us who are not fully Asian.

At my first job in a huge corporate company away from home, I felt kind of lost in a lot of ways. A company veteran who I will call James was always willing to help me, and in the beginning it was great. By the way, James was 12 years older than me, married (to an Asian woman), and was expecting a kid when this all started to go down. I told him I liked video games, to which he invited me over to meet his wife and play games. this was fun and dandy, we complained about work when we needed to and whatnot. He was overall a good friend, except when he started to send me texts with "you're my little angel" and some really suggestive picture of a nude angel. He also would talk about how hot Kpop and other Asian stars were, having photos on his computer and phone. He was also very crude and constantly talking about how what a cute little Asian girl I was. I got a lot of attention at that job - it was a male-dominated company as it was - but James was by far the most vulgar. He would even whisper "jokes" about fucking me and how he was sick with Yellow Fever shit into my ear. Being young and inexperienced, I was scared and felt that if I told someone, I'd be going behind this back. I now know that I should've done that from the get go. It all came to a head when I began dating a man I'll call Leo. Leo was the same age as James and I met him outside of work. When James learned about Leo - and the age thing - that's when the sexual advances became more lewd. By then James's child was born, a boy, and he would send me pics of his genitals saying "look it's just as big as mine". James eventually confessed he had feelings for me, despite everything he had in his life. "You like games and you're a cute little Asian girl!" He kept wanting to know about Leo and I's sex lives. One day I was called to the Manager's office: corporate was on the phone, asking me about James and his behavior. Soon after, I was whisked into the office next door to write some paperwork up, and there is a opaque sliding window in the wall that connects the two offices. I got to listen to James respond to corporate's questions. He denied all. The manager took pics of his texts on my phone as proof. Good thing I left soon after - I learned later he was fired. After more than a decade with the company, James was gone. Apparently I was not the only one; I didn't even file the complaint. But how James talked about me in the Asian fetish context not only made me feel scared but also that I couldn't trust men to not be attracted to the "Asian" part of me. TL;DR - Douche of a man helps me at my first job, but then makes sick, sexual jokes about Yellow Fever and how hot I am because I'm Asian, I was too afraid to speak up, but then someone else files a complaint and I give enough evidence that gets him fired after I leave the company. Yellow Fever has real consequences and they're all bad.

The second story will be shorter, it's basically how since I was young, I was obsessed with "gypsy" culture. I now know better to call it Romani culture. Before I realized the implications of how Romani nomad culture has been appropriated in the West, I eagerly latched onto the Boho embroidery on dresses, bangles, and crystal balls in an effort to be a "gypsy". I didn't realize the oppression these people faced and that the word gypsy is a slur, even though I still greatly respect their culture. Once I learned that the Romani were lumped into the Concentration Camps of Germany during WWII, and that the discrimination against them was bloody, horrific, and compounded by recent cultural appropriation, I realized what I was doing - and that I remotely knew how it felt. My grandmother was incarcerated in Minidoka in an Internment Camp during WWII, and the modern day cultural invasion of Japanese pop culture in spaces like Hanami made me realize how harmful my wanton taking of Romani culture was. In short, the struggles felt from my Japanese side help keep me accountable to other groups. I no longer say gypsy, or dress like their revered witches, or claim to be Romani simply by the way that I dressed - and to all Romani people, I apologize for appropriating your culture. I know better now, and I respect your history even more. Next time I want to partake in your culture, I will ask first, and respect you if you say "no". Because I know what it feels like when a group says "no" and the other party doesn't respect it. TL;DR - Young girl appropriating Romani culture realizes her wrongful actions because of how the oppression of the people mirrored her own Japanese-American family struggle, girl apologizes and now is more sensitive and respectful of the culture that she still is keen to learn about. Being mixed is awesome, I wouldn't have it any other way.

#mixed #japanese #european #identity

[specialchan]

I am a non-Muslim with questions about your faith and its history via /r/islam

I am a non-Muslim with questions about your faith and its history

I apologize, this is an extremely long post.

I’d like to start by saying I studied history in university so I am approaching this with a fully secular, historical viewpoint, and I do not have much personal experience with Muslims or Islam in general, as there were simply no Muslims in my community growing up. I may unintentionally be a typical American with little exposure to other cultures. Please forgive me if something I say goes against your faith or makes you feel uncomfortable. Though I’d be greatly appreciative if you still answered my questions despite those feelings. (American Muslims, please chime in however you wish, as you are the ones I am most likely to meet. I would like your input on what topics to avoid and what kinds of things are okay to ask.)

I’d also like to add that my parents are Christian and I did go to church every week growing up, but now consider myself an agnostic atheist (agnostic in that I don’t think there’s any way to determine which god, if any, exists or what role they play in the universe, and atheist in that I do not subscribe to any particular religion.) I simply try to be a good person in my own way by examining various faiths and schools of philosophy to form my own worldview. (I ordered a free copy of the Quran from a website that gives them to non-Muslims, but it never came.) I never had much respect for Christianity until I started studying Roman history.

This is where I’m afraid I might say something that will offend someone. I’m very passionate about Roman history, which extends through the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire, which is so fully linked to Christianity and its various complexities and arguments that I had no choice but to learn a lot about these complexities as well as the history of the early Church, if I wanted to truly understand the Roman history I was reading. Learning about Rome has made me grow much more respect and appreciation for Christianity than I ever thought I would have, if only for its impact on the world, the way it changed Roman society, and because I find philosophy and theology interesting.

I’d also like to add that I’ve had similar conversations with a deeply Christian coworker of mine, and that went great. He said he did not feel disrespected and fully understood the angle I was approaching this from. I hope you can see the same.

Rome is the only civilization I feel this deep of a passion for, therefore I have not looked that thoroughly into other topics. However, Islam and the various Caliphates obviously have a very prominent role in the final 700 years or so of Rome’s existence, (Mehmet II named himself Kayser-i Rûm, Caesar of the Romans, and saw himself as continuing Roman civilization,) and so I’d like to learn more about it, preferably from a historical point of view at first rather than from the scriptures, if anyone is familiar. Though obviously both inputs are valuable and will help me to better understand the topic from both sides, which is why I asked my Christian coworker questions about his faith and beliefs, etc. The purpose of that conversation was to compare his beliefs with Byzantine beliefs to see how much they differed, and also to teach him about the civilization that made Christianity what it is. The purpose of these questions is to learn the same about Islam; how much belief has changed over time, if your beliefs line up with the older/original Muslims, and also just to become better informed myself so I can hopefully better inform others who may not be as open to learning these things.

So some questions I have are:

Is the Ottoman role in taking Constantinople talked about much? Celebrated?

How do you feel about the Byzantine Romans, if at all?

Is the history of Islam prominently taught, or do you tend to focus more on the religious side?

How do you feel about the various Caliphates? Why isn’t there one currently and do you think there should be at least one? Would it be in Saudi Arabia, as they control Mecca and Medina?

Is Sunni and Shia still a prominent split? Is the split so deep that either side has serious resentment for the other, as I have often seen in Christian schisms? Did it used to be that way but change over time? Do you associate with people of the other sect, and are there other sects? (I believe I have heard of an African sect that incorporates magic? Maybe Mali because they used to practice magic and had sorcerers on the field during battle. Perhaps it grew out of that?) Please provide a brief statement about how the sects differ in their beliefs.

Is Muhammad ever talked about much as a person and historical figure, or more solely on his role as Allah’s prophet? (I’m afraid to expand upon this one. I listen to a history podcast about the Byzantine Empire. The host has a premium for-sale episode on the origins of Islam, and from what I understand, some of the things he says and some of the ideas that secular historians have put out there about the potential “real” origins of Islam contrast heavily with your beliefs and traditional history. I’m genuinely afraid I will upset someone by repeating some of these ideas, but will do so if you all feel comfortable with it.)

Is the Muslim conquest of Sassanid Persia celebrated? (I will say that personally, I find their victories absolutely incredible. I could not believe that they toppled the whole thing so quickly.) Do you know much about Persia, and if so, do you notice any cultural holdovers from the Persian Empire?

How differently do you view Persia and Rome? From what I understand, later Muslim writers were confounded by Rome’s continued survival after they had defeated Persia so quickly, and I believe they had to come up with some kind of justification as to why Rome managed to survive the initial Muslim expansion. Does anyone know anything about this? (I apologize if this offended anyone, and would like to say that I am not 100% sure on everything after the question mark.)

Is it true that Islam views Christianity as polytheistic, because they worship three gods? (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit)

This is a more cultural shift than religious one, I think, and again, I apologize if it offends anyone or if I am misinformed, but it seems to be growing more common to view Christians and Jews as.. not quite enemies. Maybe just as Others, or as people not to be tolerated? I’m struggling to express this idea but the Caliphates generally respected People of the Book, correct? Treated differently than Muslims, yes, but allowed to openly discuss their beliefs and normally live out their lives without being specifically targeted for their beliefs (outside of said preferential treatment). Has this changed or am I completely wrong? I just see clips occasionally of imams or Muslim politicians demonizing People of the Book and I’m wondering how this happened. (Again, truly sorry if I offended you with this question. I am open to hearing your side.)

Is secular learning discouraged in any way?

I have heard that traditionally, it’s said that Islam was essentially birthed in an instant. That the initial followers of Islam perfectly understood the facets of their new religion almost immediately. Is this true? I find this interesting because no other religion in the world makes a claim like that one.

I understand that the Quran is written in a very unconventional way. That it goes in starts and fits, sometimes sentences have no endings, lines have no context, something is intentionally vague, etc. Is this right? How do you feel about that? Does the style of writing make it difficult to interpret what is being said?

What are Hadiths and how are they different to the Quran? Why do they need to be separate? Did god bestow the Quran while hadiths are Muhammad’s teachings?

Is Muhammad supposed to have written all of the hadiths? If I’m not mistaken, there is historical evidence that one of the early caliphs may have written most of them. (This is another question that I’m worried about offending someone.)

Is Arabic looked at as the holy language for Islam? Is it okay to translate it? For example, for several centuries it was taboo to translate the Bible into anything besides Latin or Greek, because those were the only holy languages to early Christians. It was a big deal when it was translated into Slavic, and then German centuries later. Was this feeling shared with the Quran? Were any languages besides Arabic okay? Is this still the feeling or has it changed, and if so, when did it change?

Lastly, this may only apply to Turks, but would anyone in Istanbul be offended if I went there and referred to it as Constantinople? Would it be uncomfortable of me to ask them about the Byzantines and Christianity while there? (I do wish to go there someday, as I’ve been to Rome and Ravenna, the capitals of the western Roman Empire, so I would love to visit the capital of the East and look upon the greatest city ever built.)

If you took the time to read all of that, thank you so much. And thanks in advance for your answers. If you have any questions for me or want me to clarify something, please let me know, and again, I apologize if I have offended anyone.

I hope everyone has a good day.

Ma’a as-salaama (I totally just looked this up and hope it comes across as respectful. Apologies if I used it wrong.)

Submitted September 09, 2020 at 04:41PM by LostGundyr via reddit https://ift.tt/3m6ReiX