The Big Picture
Is your Islam better than mine?

Is your Islam better than mine?

After years of Islamiat, a Canadian university opened my eyes; religion is as sacred as you make it.

Maida Amir April 10, 2011

Growing up, I studied about the history of Islam, religious battles and tales of bravery in our compulsory Islamic Studies class at school. I was taught to learn and believe in the religion - and so I did.

Then, I went to college.

My romanticized opinions were shattered when I took a course on religious studies. As I entered a new discourse, one that compared Islam to Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, I found myself questioning my preconceived notions of righteousness.

The class taught us the difference between "rational thought" and religion. When I looked around my class I felt orthodox, but certainly not superior.

By comparing rationality to different religions, I was required to question the validity of religion. This was difficult for me. A voice in my head kept saying

“Hello? This isn’t what you are here to learn. You should believe - not question!”

But I continued and completed the courses.

At the end of the semester, I started questioning some old beliefs. When I heard a professor talk about Islamic history I realised reverence was personal. Islam was sacred to me only because I believed in it.

I learned that other religions – which earlier lessons had taught me to regard as ‘false’ - are sacred too. Not for me, as a Muslim, but for those who believe in the sacredness of their respective religions.

We spend our lives protecting our religion, trying to maintain its sanctity, while we miss out on the most vital part that Islamic history can teach us: universality.

Tell me, is your Islam better than mine? If no human is created superior than another, there should be no better sacredness; after all spirituality is personal.

To the contrary, Islam in Pakistan is being misused to control and to deprive.

Personally, I choose to remain confused...

WRITTEN BY:
Maida Amir The author is a digital media and communications professional based in Toronto. She holds a masters degree in Communication and New Media from McMaster University.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (108)

sars | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right If you do not exalt your religion by your thoughts and actions, the likelihood of "spreading" Islam effectively is unlikely.Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but a more tolerant approach is more welcome. Being a Hafiz e Quran is a noble achievement, but understanding the spirit of the message and applying it to our lives, is on many levels, a bigger challenge

Nobody | 13 years ago | Reply @Hamid from Lucknow: But it allows you to generalize an entire population and judge an entire country? Yes, anyone can pick up on the heavy condescension in your words (unless that was your only intention...?).... However, as you are entitled to post your opinion (or whatever that was) with respect to your point, I'd like to say that no well-educated Pakistani will disagree with the fact that the mullahs have hijacked Islam to pervert it into some unrecognizable concept in Pakistan, spewing bigotry, intolerance, violence and hatred, but by exposing the holier than thou attitude, you've done no favors to yourself. Are you here just to let us know that YOUR Islam is better than Pakistan's Islam, or are you going to offer a suggestion/solution, or rather anything of value? I live abroad and MY Islam allows me all that YOURS does, but it doesn't allow me to condescend another's situation or flash a holier than thou attitude, as that is the very problem with today's Islam in parts of the world. Cheers!

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Nobody | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: I'm disgusted by your take on Islam. Islam doesn't need followers like you. Learn to respect everyone's pov and religion as you want yours respected. You don't have to believe what others believe but you do need to respect it.

Nobody | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: I'm sorry, are you serious? I hope not, because if you are I think you should crawl back under your rock. All other religions are corrupted?? Fabulous, that's exactly the type of thinking Pakistan needs, and muslims all around in general....Oh woops, that's already plaguing the "jihadis" and so called "defenders of Islam" who, might I add, are the worst possible representations of true Islam. Let's get real here, as much as I HATE to further the stereotype against muslims we have come to hate, much of the ugliness (NOT all of it) is being committed in majority muslim nations, TO muslims and non muslims alike, BY muslims(and yes, I'm not one to deny the atrocities committed against muslims by non muslims but that's not my point here). Let's not pretend we are a perfect bunch. Oh, and a "well informed" muslim such as yourself should also know and has already stated that yes, we only answer to Allah not "sinful human beings" so do yourself a favor, start by understanding the humanity, respect, and tolerance expected from a TRUE muslim as commanded by Allah, and stop disrespecting all other religions; you are only insulting Islam by doing so.

Nobody | 13 years ago | Reply @hassan: "men will submit to Allah..and women will submit to men and Allah and non-muslims will submit to men, women and Allah…" Correction, men and women alike will SUBMIT only to Allah. Humans do not surrender or submit to other humans. That, my friend, is shirk.

Kesav | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: What is the criteria for claiming that Islam is the only true religion?

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: What took you so long to reveal yourself? and why hide behind the X name, when you do understand the problems facing the Muslim community specially since 1980s.

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: You say: " A bunch of bloody cynical nihilistic qasi-racist materialist plagiarists." You are a super plagiarist yourself !! haha !!! Look who is talking about plagiarism !! Gotcha !!

Sundus | 13 years ago | Reply On some points in religion,Allah has told us to believe without questioning.As the Creator himself knows the best. He has given us Sense and Rationality ,for which we will held answerable on the last day.Indicating; it is a big deal that if we are sensible creatures,we must be questioned for our actions. Islam is logical.There are explanations to everything.The sense of reasoning leads itself to the Creator.But Allah has also restricted us and commanded that we believe certain things without questioning,as when man starts to trespass his limits,he goes astray.He forgets his purpose of creation. If you believe that you follow Islam just to please Allah and not compare your sacredness to those of the others,but only in the case you want to improvise yourself for Allah.Then yes indeed this point is valid. As for sacredness of other religions,well,do not ever forget to thank Lord for being merciful to you and opening your heart to the truth.For those who do not have that,their sacredness or sacredness-less will not help them in the hereafter.

Mister X | 13 years ago | Reply @hasan the jester There is no such as an "islamist" you uneducated white washed parrot. That preposterous word was invented by the French while they were colonizing North Africa, labeling any local resistence "islamists" while praising their puppets as "civilized." This colonial era nomenclature is used to slander any Muslim who resists western domination. Gandhi said it best when asked his opinion on western civilization : "I think it would be a good idea." The Mahatma nailed it right there, because he like many other critical thinkiers recognized the fraud of western "civilization," a force of death, destruction and decay. I know slave minded brown sahibs worship the white European like trained monkeys. You have no dignity, self respect or intelligence. European philosophers you say? A bunch of bloody cynical nihilistic qasi-racist materialist plagiarists. I'm familiar with Schopenhauer, and I wasn't impressed. Schopenhauer was an extreme example of one path within philosophy--accepting a transcendent reality and construing freedom or salvation as dissociation from the perceived world and any interest in it. The only man who the west has produced with some intellectual capacity worthy of respect is Noam Chomsky, if he was Muslim he would be roundly dismissed as an "islamist." As for their decadence, this isn't even debatable unless you think legalizing prostitution, p0rn0graphy, h0mosexuality, bestiality, and practically every other evil under the sun is of great social redeeming value. Such vile creatures are in position morally or intellectual to lecture anyone. Your online scribblings are a dime-a-dozen in the right wing loony bins in the west. You think you've brought something new to the table regurgitating failed Orientalist tripe and missionary propaganda about the nature of the compilation of the Qur'an(you can't even spell in right)? Where did you learn Islam from boy, FOX news and Bollywood? Both you and Khurram demonstrate your ignorance of Islamic history, no doubt a result of kindergarten level Islamic studies taught to you in the American republic of Pakistan. I'm sure both you brainwashed cretins know stellar classical Arabic as well. Uthman (ra) didn’t burn the original copy of the Qur'an, rather he burnt those copies which people from different regions with different Arabic dialect wrote according to their own dialect . Observe the objection of Hudaifa (ra): “Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) DIFFERENCES IN THE RECITATION OF THE QUR'AN,…” You can see that the differences were in recitation, not in text. No chapter was more or less, nor even a single word. At that time there were 07 different Arabic dialects existed in Jaziratul Arab. Quraish was the dialect of Qur’an and in that dialect the original Qur’an was written. Hence people from different dialects wrote their own Qur’an in their own dialect . This must differ from the original Qurasih Qur’an . For example, i the word ‘COLOR’ is American English dialect can be recited ‘COLOUR’ in British English dialect. Hence there would be a different in the recitation of COLOR or COLOUR though they are same word with same meaning . Moreover hundreds of prophet’s close companions were alive at that time . What was their reaction after the official copy prepared by Uthman ? Check the following records : Zaid ibn Thabit is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad (going about) saying,'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, Uthman has done well!" (Naysaburi, al-,Nizam al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ghara'ib al-Quran wa-ragha'ib al-furqan. 4 vols. To date. Cairo, 1962). Ibn Abi Dawud records Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas to have testified: "I saw the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the proscribed copies; not a one spoke out against him." ((Ibn Abi Dawud, p.12) Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and the fourth successor to the Prophet commented: "If I were in command in place of Uthman, I would have done the same". ( Zarkashi, al-, Badr al-Din, Al-Burhan fi-ulum al-Quran, Cairo, 1957, Vol. I, p. 240.) With the expansion of Islamic lands, different Arab tribes came into being Islamic nation . They had different Arabic dialects. Hence they wrote the Qur’an in their own dialect which differ from the original dialect of Qur’an i.e., Quraish. Qur’an was written by the time Prophet (p) in Quraish dialect and it was compiled in Qursiah dialect in one square book which was kept by Hafsa (ra) the wife of the prophet (p). Uthman simply took that Qur’an from Hafsa and copied it in thousands and distribute it so that there remained only the original copy of Qur’an and he burnt the others. So put your mendacious conspiracy theories to rest, losers. Try fooling someone else, clowns. If speaking the unvarnished truth in times of deceit is radicalism, so be it. Malcolm X got it right with house slave and field slave analogy. I'm in the field and bloody proud of it. The world has nothing to fear from truth tellers, but from mass murdering, lying, deceitful, scum who you proudly worship.

Anoop | 13 years ago | Reply Excellent thought, man. Well done.

Grace | 13 years ago | Reply @Hamid from Lucknow: I am glad that you and your family live in India and will be mixed into that mass of people who will be just Indian. Cheers. I prefer to be Pakistani. We are people with a different destiny. You need to accept that your destiny lies with India and not worry about writing on Pakistani papers. And it shouldn't surprise you that Indian Muslims have more in common with other Indians- Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. Enjoy your destiny.

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Khalid Rahim: The amount of noise which anyone can bear undisturbed stands in inverse proportion to his mental capacity* That was terrific, Rahim! I feel happy to see a kindred soul in you. I am sure there are many of us; only we need to come out without fear and drown the voices of indoctrinated people like Mister X. Otherwise, it will be too late. By the way, that was a terrific insight !!!

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply @Wajeeh Uddin Tariq: We call them Sufis, westerners call them eastern philosophers. From El Ghazali to Allama Iqbal their Religious Thoughts are based on the fundamentals of Philosophy. To understand their thoughts we have to use Inductive reasoning and not Deductive.

Wajeeh Uddin Tariq | 13 years ago | Reply @Khurram I hold common fact about religion that every religion is based on philosophy without that no religion exist and logic is only inbuilt faculty to understand philosophy and logical mind keeps the faith only.

Pragmatist | 13 years ago | Reply Every religious book has to go through many revisions in keeping with the times - including the Quran. Have the courage to do a dispassionate research before claiming things like "not a single word has been changed". Societies change and edicts based on a particular time and place have to change too. This is just common-sense and the only way that a religion can stay relevant. Otherwise the society will stay in that age forever and progress would be impossible.

Dodo | 13 years ago | Reply @Khurram Faith is believing in something without evidence or rational thought. Faith/religion is an insult to human creativity, ingenuity and rationality. Yemen incident, as you mentioned, proves that the religious leaders will do anything to keep their faiths and religions held high no matter how many truths they end up sweeping under the carpet. In true definition, divinity has to be perfect, but no text in the world (when i say no text i mean absolutely NO TEXT be it Bible, Torah, Quran, Origin of Species whatever) is perfect, hence man made! But just for arguments sake there isn't anything perfect anywhere anyway. Look at galaxies, stars, asteriods, super novae, black holes etc. Take Earth; there are earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, diseases, famine to name a few. The cosmos is a haphazard mess! There is no such place as a utopian perfection anywhere. Its high time humanity realizes this and moves on!

Khurram | 13 years ago | Reply Hassan brother you are right Uthman almost succeeded in destroying most of the copies of the Holy Koran which differed from his version with the passage of time most of the faithful accepted it as the true copy although many scholars did not agree with its authenticity of being the only true copy dictated in verbatim to the Holy Prophet. Their views were fully endorsed by the find of old copies of the Holy Koran behind a wall in the Great Mosque of Sana in Yemen in 1972. This was a faith shattering incident for many but the authorities kept this find a low profile for the fear of that it would ferment turmoil in the Muslim world because we Muslims have this belief that everything between the two covers of the Holy Koran is Allah's unaltered word. We like to quote the textual work that shows that the Bible has a history and did not fall straight out of the sky, but until now the the Holy Koran has been out of this discussion. This find has proved beyond doubt that the Holy Koran has a history too. The Sana'a fragments helped accomplish this. These parchments have been carbon dated they were written in the eighth century and there is conspicous difference not only of the arrangement of Suras but also in the Ayats. Therefore to cut my comment short I would like to say that the only thing we can resign to without any trouble within ourselves is the simple faith and only faith because we humans are incapable of producing anything perfect at least not yet.

Uncle J | 13 years ago | Reply It is uncannily ironical how ALL of the commentators have missed that Progressive right is being sarcastic and ironical. Uncanny. :D

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply @hassan: Why have you disturbed the sleep of one of the greatest philosopers of the West? In 1936 in Berlin University my granduncle Kazi Mohammad Wali and Milton Eisenhower wrote their doctoral dissertation of Schopenhauer. Dr Wali died in 1959 after living and teaching in Paris Ankara and Cairo. As a young student I would sit and listen to his discussion on the works of Schopenhauer,In the beginning it was hard to comprehend,but slowly learning from some marked passages of Principles of Sufficient Reason I began to grasp. To day in a small notebook along with other great thinkers I keep selected quotations that I often try to place with the situation that confronts me; In the case of Mr X there are two quotes that pertain to his path, you may agree or not. * Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world* * The amount of noise which anyone can bear undisturbed stands in inverse proportion to his mental capacity*

Khurram | 13 years ago | Reply Fahad Raza Saheb thank you for responding to my comment I appreciate you for posting a site for me to broaden my horizons regarding my faith and my knowledge of the Holy Koran, but I wisht to keep my knowledge limited within the confines of Hadith and the Holy Koran my whole argument was based on the information I collected from there thus do not stand in need to look anywhere else (jitne muh utni hi bataain) rather I would like you read them in original Arabic, I am sure after few years of hard work like I did, you too will find a different reality than what has been fed too us. Please believe me I place all my faith in my Holy Book for therein enshrined if not all atleast part the Universal Truth that was revealed (ipso verba) to my Beloved Prophet (pbuh) the added ons I simply tolerate but donot take them as words of the Almighty Allah. In the end I would also suggest if you have time to read Kitab al-Muasahif it deals with the Uthmanic text, its collection and orthography.

Danish S. | 13 years ago | Reply Islam is the only "true" and "non-corrupted" religion (as one puts it) for those who've been taught to believe so. Enough said!

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: "Muslims are a spiritual identity which supercedes race, and borders, and most importantly have the only scripture in the world free of error, human tampering and corruption." Do you know the Holy Book you read now has been compiled many many years after they were revealed first? Do you know someone thought previous versions were useless and had them destroyed and got a brand, new version for you? This is parroting at its best !! One of the dangers the world faces does not come from a poor, uneducated islamic supremacist, but an educated islamic supremacist like you. I am sure you are not exposed to any of the major philosophies, since you have no need for them. Ever heard of a guy called Arthur Schopenhauer?

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: You may not find Zakir Naik or Zaid Hamid impressive, but, you are exactly parroting their islamist supremacist ideas. So there. There is no loss of dignity or self-respect in acknowledging the fact that western civilization and philosophies have contributed a lot to the progress of mankind. It is a disgrace when you deny that. I know you can back up your stance of western supremacy, but then, once you form a hypothesis, you can always find evidence to back up anything. Like Jews bombing World Trade Center on 9/11. Or Bing bang theory foretold in hadiths. From your contempt for Baywatch and towards the alleged 'decadence' the west represents, I can see a puritanical streak in you. I would dread to live in your neighborhood. or travel with you. Because, whether you are aware of this or not, inside you, is a diabolic radical waiting to come out at the slightest provocation. Mister X, you are just a few sermons (or a few provocations) away from becoming a full-blown radical !

Mister X | 13 years ago | Reply @hasan, you shouldn't assume you know me when you haven't faintest clue what you're babbling about. I don't find either Zakir Naik or Zaid Hamid particularly impressive. In fact I think you spend too much looking for answers navel gazing. Regardless of where I live, my views and opinions on western supremacism are my own, and unlike you white wannabees I can back up my stance. The mental slavery amongst Indians and Pakistanis is a national disgrace. No self confidence, no knowledge, no dignity, just a bunch of copy cats looking for validation from an uninterested white father. In order the navigate the sea of thoughts clearly, one must have knowledge and the wisdom which comes with time, something most of you amatuer theologians have no idea about. I'll respond the rest of the buffoons later. I suggest you go watch some Baywatch reruns to enrich your fresh unfilled mind.

a.tayyab | 13 years ago | Reply @ Silas Me living in Pakistan and calling allah the great satan; are you out your mind?

SKChadha | 13 years ago | Reply All religions are colourful strong pillars providing guiding light to human race. The guiding light (teachings) emitted from these shining pillars help us to co-existence in love and peace. These pillars provide us to see right path anywhere on this earth. The problem is that there are number of donkeys those are tied to a particular pillar. They are blinded by the beautiful strong light emitted by that particular pillar. They are either not willing to venture in wild or think that light of only one pillar is sufficient to show them the path everywhere. The beautiful light of these pillars are so strong that continuous looking in that light only is blinding their otherwise normal vision. T he religious intolerance shakes the conscious and pride of any social fabric. Introspection is required that radicalization only creates fissure in society and tarnish the image of any religion in the eyes of others? The world would like to see Pakistan as guiding light of Islam through religion’s teachings of love, peace and tolerance. A beautiful and largest religion known for love and peace is being dragged in controversy just because of intolerant behavior of few its followers.

Ahmed Aziz | 13 years ago | Reply Fantastic Maida!! Respect! You writing contains a message of tolerance and that is whats needed in our country the most.

seeker | 13 years ago | Reply @Jeddy: you explain the whole theme in one line ----well done

seeker | 13 years ago | Reply @Raj: A muslim scientist can definitly offer his namaz according to other schedules of sleep and wake, he knows very well that his ALLAH is very generous, and secondly he does not need a statue in front of him.

seeker | 13 years ago | Reply @Ravi: your comments not only show your ignorance but a typical narrowmindedness as well , not worth a counter dialogue even.

cosmo | 13 years ago | Reply @Mehwish: You just picked the easy way out and said- Religion is both and recommended me to read books. Well, what would you recommend for someone who cant read or write? What would you recommend for someone who cant see or hear? What do i only see all the negativity surrounding the religion and its preachers. Why don't we feel any positivity around it? Look around you, is this how religion supposed to have molded our society, with so much confrontation and distrust. Isn't it time for us to realize that that their should be provision in religion to adopt with changing times, to reassess and weigh in social values. I feel the biggest mistake that humanity has done is trying to take religion at face value. If religion is so adamant to not change with time then why should we give it so much importance.

Hamid from Lucknow | 13 years ago | Reply Yes. My Islam (Indian) is better than yours (Pakistani). Because, it is willing to live with others and let them live peacefully. And though, in my family Sunnat is held uppermost, we don't consider Ahmediyas and Shias as committing kufr. It also does not limit me from acquiring a broader outlook on the world. It does not force me to conform to fundamentalist interpretations of obscurantists. Therefore, my Islam (Indian) is better than yours (Pakistani).

Fahad Raza | 13 years ago | Reply @ Khurram so you reckon Quran has been changed and since Prophet Mohammed (SLAWsLM) didn't do or ordered to do it and "political necessity" demanded it. Please go through this link if you have an open mind. 1.http://www.quran.org.uk/articles/iebquranhistory.htm and What made you say that can you elaborate? Please O yeah one more thing about collectors found many variants and you as say ammended it then, like finalized some "God forbid" any academic text book, well please do see that same page heading 3rd "Method of preservations of The Holy Qur'an after the demise of The Holy Prophet" @SWT I said “We need Islamic law that is why we wanted Pakistan in the first place a place to practice the law Allah gave us…” You said the concept is what come out of your backside when you digest what you devour. And you cant chew what is shoved in your throat by any one including any Islamic political party. firstly I ain't no political rep dude and wake up its what Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted, he said On 23rd March 1940 when he took the final step leading to autonomy and separation. At the annual session of the Muslim League at Lahore the next resolution was accepted:- “No constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principles, viz. that geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial adjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in the north-western and eastern zones of India, should be grouped to constitute Independent States in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.” Also in Peshawar he said “We do not demand Pakistan simply to have a piece of land but we want a laboratory where we could experiment on Islamic principles.” (Islamia College Peshawar 1946).“ “The constitution of Pakistan will exactly be in accordance to the Islamic Principles”. “Allah almighty has told us that our decisions regarding to the state will be governed under the light of Quran and Hadith”. Were also what he said on various occasions. Is it not enough to prove that Mohammad Ali jinnah had firm faith in Islam that in England, to study law, he chose Lincoln Inn university just because at its door, he read it written that Muhammad (S.A.W) is the greatest law maker of this world. These are just misconceptions and conspiracies. Its just that the words of Quaid are interpreted wrongly. His intellectual thoughts are not easily understandable. The way he talked to different kind of peoples and the things he said have deep meanings a sing of a good politician and not a racist. Now in an Islamic state religious minorities are free to practice religion and are not persecuted on religious ground that is why he said which some try to sear him it was in August 11th 1947 he said "Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make. I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation. Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State. " – presiding over the constituent assembly. Some people took the temple part only. and @seeker Thank you

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Khurram: Yes, the Holy Book was written and re-written many times and finally during the period of Uthman, he destroyed the old versions and compiled the version which we have now. By any chance, could any error could have crept to the versions compiled later? Humans are not infallible and prone to errors you know.... as you say, the belief in Koran is an act of faith and not a matter of logic and reasoning!

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply @ashok sai: I do not hide behind false name, like Mr X who thinks I utter nonsense, A great sage from Balkh who died in Konya had these to say and if X could comprehend; * Two reeds drink from one stream.One is hollow, the other is sugar-cane. * Intelligence is the shadow of objective Truth. How can the shadow vie sunshine? Have you studied Shibli and Junaid and The Revelation of the Veiled, You Mr X will have better understanding of Islam, rather then listening to a Mullah whose concept of Islam is narrowed to the Wrath of Allah, And not to His Forgiveness and Justice. I will repeat for MrX what I learnt from the wisdom of the sage; * To your mind, I am mad. To my mind, you are all sane. So I pray to increase my madness And to increase your sanity. My madness is from the power of love; Your sanity is from the strength of unawareness--- Mr X as an Islamic scholar perhaps knows the 99 names of Allah, but does he know that Allah has 3000 names, 1000 known to Angels, 1000 only by Prophets, 300 in Torah, 300 in Zabur, 300 in Bible. One name is hidden but only the pious who has no iota of arrogance and internally comprehends humility. the hidden name is revealed in three Suras Al Baqara Al Imran and Al Taha. We are taught to repeat La ilaha illa'llah( there is no god but God) yet the same prayer defines God as present and absent, how would X interpret Allama Iqbal Khuda tujeh kisi toofan seh Ash e nah kar deh, keh teri moh joh meh ast r ab nahi Tu kitab kho ahn hei magar sahib e kitab nahi. Aay Musalman! apney dil seh pooch. Hogaya Allah keh bando seh kyon khali haram. I thank Mr X for letting me know my Ignorance an hope that he being near to Allah then most of us will ask Him for salvation of our soul.

Khurram | 13 years ago | Reply @ Fahad Raza: "The unique advantage Islam has that Allah himself promised to protect His last book Holy Quran so if you take the first Quran ever written which is in Turkish museum to the recent printed, a word wouldn’t be missing nor it place neither it position in entire book and above all it is the most heartily learnt book, word by word. As young as kid of 6 years “Hafiz” to 60 Year old scholar cant miss it." Sir, there is no historical and theological basis that the Prophet (PBUH) and his earliest followers intended the Koran to be treated as the inviolable word of Allah. On the contrary there is strong evidence that suggests that the Prophet(PBUH) and his disciples did not take a literalist view of the Koranic text, otherwise the Prophet(PBUH) himself would have complied into a Book in his own life-time and we all know He(PBUH) did not do it. The collecton of the Koran started many years after the Prophet's(PBUH) death, because the political necessity demanded it. The collectors found many variants of the Koran at different places with different people thus some Ayats and Suras were chosen and some were discarded changes were made and the Koran which is with us today was written and re written more than few times in the times of Uthman(RA) including adding of the Araabs. As I said in my earlier comment the belief in the Koran as a divine text is not matter of logic but an act of faith and this goes for all the Holy Books of all religions.

Jerry | 13 years ago | Reply @cosmo: Hi Cosmo! Jerry here buddy!

Sohail Saleem | 13 years ago | Reply From start there has been only one religion. That was man who corrupted religion. Then different messengers and words were sent to realign the modified beliefs. How better the history and reality of religion could be told by the Quran itself than any other source material? These are the realities which are evident in Ayat 213 of Surah Baqara. And this one is for the writer: a "confused" state of mind is an extremely fertile land for sowing falsehood seeds...and this state of mind together with creativity and attention seeking urges of humans open the passage towards new ideologies, new norms and, in effect, modified religions. So stay put...believe in the Almighty and His words i.e. the Quran. Please study the Quran diligently to grasp realities and to get firmness in your belief. At the end it's all about "belief"...whether you believe or....you don't...it's as simple as that.

Jeddy | 13 years ago | Reply Contrary the mullahs want us to believe - Islam is an extremely liberal religion.

amoghavarsha.ii | 13 years ago | Reply really funny to read Mister X and other guy saying....Islam is better than other religions. Unfortunately we have to go to basics for them. I think Mister X & others of his ilk should first clarify, why Islam (or any religion) is there. It is there to lead us to GOD. It is upto the follower how he takes up his religion. So religions will never be good better or best. They cannot be judjed. Followers will be and they are judged. OK mister X, how do u judge yourself? have to start from you ofcouse.

umar | 13 years ago | Reply @author I do not want to write an opinion as i my self is not a scholar. If you talk about the rationality of mind than my first question is below have you read holy quran with its essence by studying arabic languageatleast arabic language of that era when holy quran is descended to mankind and arabic language of holy quran atleast. Definitely your answer is in no than what kind rationality and what kind of intellectualism, all you write is nothing just another version of confused mind state. You are confused and you are confusing others. Please do not confuse yourself and other just indulge in deep research on religion what is its history how religion become a part of mankind why it is needed and what are the implication caused by and what are question answered by the religion. Last thing but not the least do not jumps on conclusions first raise hypothesis than do some works on its and augment your hypothesis by some research and than reach on any conclusion do you know what is basic test for any social problem or implication conduct falsification test on it that is all what i have to say Thanks for the patience of studying my word thanks again

Hope | 13 years ago | Reply I think the author has not understanding of Quran, we all Muslims to understand the basic lesson and philosophy of Quran, then these stupid questions will not come in or mind.

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: I forgot to add in my previous post. Mister X, whatever you and people of your ilk, say, one thing is certain: they are not original views. Because, as your post shows, you have been expressly told to follow and obey and NOT to question or challenge existing beliefs. You heard someone saying it and you are repeating it here !!

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: I can very well understand your distaste for secularism and your hatred for western supremacists and for those who bow to US consulates. You have watching TV shows too much or listening to Zakir Naik or Zaid Hamid. I have quarrel with either of that. But, what I fail to understand, is that, being English educated, and with the whole, wide world of rich literature and deep philosophies available to enrich yourselves, you choose to remain an indoctrinated parrot. The difference between the author and you, Mister X, is that, she has chosen to think for herself. Whereas, you have mortgaged your grey cells, if any, to a 7th century book written in stone, which someone interprets for you, and whom you don't dare question!

John | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: In anticipation of all your questions and others like you I wrote a a better comment before, but the blogger censored it, which I anticipated. Islam claims Abrahamic traditions only with regard to Ancestry of Arab. The origin, writings, and history of Islam starts with Jewish, Coptic, and gnostic scriptures. Anything more I can not say, because muslims never agree because they refuse to read other scriptures. I am glad that this author opened the question, because of her comparative religious studies. Yet she censored my comments. Try answering my questIons. Regardless of being biased to Jews. If you answer Yes or No, then in both cases my comment says it all. Quran and Hadith are full of contradictions, both in theology and in narratives. As long as one reads only this, everything seems perfect.

ashok sai | 13 years ago | Reply @Mister X: Sir, I am not confused and not going to confuse any one, all I am saying is religion should not be a factor in judging a human. In my humble opinion there is a Super Power above us humans and the religions are acting as a bridge between us and the Super Power for the humans to get enlightened . Its simple as that it is, 'religions are made for people not the otherway around'. P.S. My first comment was posted before the one from Mr.Khalid Rahim got published.

Mister X | 13 years ago | Reply @Ashok Sai, Don't get too excited by Khalid Rahim's nonsense post.The poor fellow is ignorant and does understand the difference between religions, and application. All religions are NOT the same, this is a lie which the ignorant entertain without looking into the details. You on the other hand are a confused individual. Seculaism is the complete opposite of religion. It is replacing the worship of the one true Creator with the whims of arrogant men who have outlawed the natural way of life. Spirituality(ihsan) takes took in the heart, it then grows from the internal to the external where the soul fully submits to the Allah(swt) practices the "rituals" i.e. faith in action Simple saying that one must just "follow the heart" is childish notion of self worship and selfishness. It's also a very convinient excuse by lazy people to justify their non-complience i.e. just words devoid of action. Pakistan's problems are rooted in its corrupt secular elite, and the fact that it is not a free country but an America owned state. The true application of Islam would free them of these problems, including vanquishing religious extremists who are reactionaries to the current state of affairs.

Mister X | 13 years ago | Reply @John The premise of your post is deeply flawed and dare I say, stupid. How in the world did you come to the conclusion that "Muslims are Jews," because Allah(swt) and Yahweh are the same" Jews are a tribal entity who perverted their favored status during revelation into a qasi-racist doctrine of chosenness and exclusivity. Muslims are a spiritual identity which supercedes race, and borders, and most importantly have the only scripture in the world free of error, human tampering and corruption. Other religious make their monotheist claims, yet all of them practice varying degrees of polytheism. Understanding the difference between literalism and symbolism is important but not a license to make a mockery of faith and reduce it to a bunch of rituals devoid of spirituality. Go learn some basic theology, and a few history lessons before polluting this section any further with your ignorance.

Pragmatist | 13 years ago | Reply @Khalid Rahim: Thanks for a truly enlightening comment. You sir, really do understand religion and what it stands for.

Mister X | 13 years ago | Reply The secular fanatics themselves have no understanding of religion, they are too busy worshipping the west like hapless drug addicts. While religious fanatics are distasteful, Pakistani secularists are a cancer. Most of the people commenting on religion on this site are ignorant morons who worship at the altar of a US visa, whose world views are shaped by Hollywood and a deep seated inferiority complex. Western supremacism has no place in the civilized world, its about time brain dead Pakistanis and other colonized minds learn to develop serious critical thinking skills. If all it took was one college course to turn the authors world upside down, that means she never truly understood her religion. "Humanism" is shirk, replacing the worship of the creator with human beings i.e. secularism. Islam is the truth from the Creator, and it is the failure of the ignorant to understand and realize it's principles, and then translate them into action to move forward. @Raj, In answer to your silly question, Muslims are exempt from prayer when travelling exceptionally long distances. But I do remember reading an article about how Muslim astronaughts prayed in orbit, you ought to google it. Ofcourse you're trying to be funny in your foolish attempt at mockery. Typical hindu fanatic(in this and other "incarnations")

ashok sai | 13 years ago | Reply If you place your religion intact with your heart, there will be no word called 'Blasphemy' in any dictionaries !!!

ashok sai | 13 years ago | Reply @ Author Dear madam, perfect writeup revealing how a sane mind reacts. I am a Hindu but when it comes to choose a person, its humanity and love that comes first. Being a citizen of secular country till now I had the freedom of choosing sane people in my life without being affected by religion. I think you must be confused because being tied up by strict hands of religion to lead a sane life according your heart. I wish you overcome that. Ultimate aim of all the religions is to make a man with values of humanity, sacrifice and love, but I see a failure in Pakistan because you people take religion above your head whereas it has to be kept intact with the heart.

John | 13 years ago | Reply Is one god Concept of JAWEH Vs Allah is same or different? This is the central conflict, between Muslims and non Muslims and also between Muslims. If Abraham and Jesus were prophets of Allah, the Allah and JAWEH are one and the same. Then Muslims become Jews. Muslims are split from Jews only on concept of theology as christians were from Jews. Islamic religious council said JAWEH and Allah are different. Islamic history confirms that. The Concept and theology of One god is the same for all religions, except in Islam All religions claim monotheistic principle, including Hinduism (Bhrama). Rituals vary. Islam shuns all other religious concepts of monotheism Is your Islam better than mine? Question is ambiguous. Better than my religion? Islam says so. Is your Islam (literalists) better than my Mine (my Islam, contextualist)? Literalists think they better than contextualists and in their view contextualists are apostates.

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: The Koran is guide just like the Torah, Psalm and the Bible. Each teaches us to behave and live like Humans, practice humility both before Allah, God or Jehovah as the Omnipotent is known to you. Your five times prayer daily is meaningless if you carry hate and jealousy in your heart for others, Your fasting during Ramadhan does not carry any weight if you fail to provide one square meal to a family that live on scraps, Your offering of Alms(Zakat) has no value if you avoid paying your taxes and duties as a citizen, Your Pilgrimage can only be performed when you are free from debt and have left sufficient funds for your family so that they do not fall in debt. Merely reciting the Kalimas is vague unless there is humility in your heart. No religion is greater or lesser than the other, we do not live and hunt as in packs, so as howl or roar our strength of superiority. If only we learn to comprehend the spiritual essence of the Koran as it states of Yesterday(past) Today(present) and Tomorrow(future) it is all there; We are the singers and how we interpret the song depends on how we look at the world and those around us whims. '' You have learnt so much,and read a thousand books. Have you read your Self? You have gone to mosque and temple Have you ever visited your Soul? You are busy fighting satan, Have you ever fought your ill intentions? You have reached into the skies, But you have failed to reach,whats in your Heart! -------------- Bulle Shah. I am sure if you studied the works of Dag Hammarsjkold who was an ardent follower of sufism, which perhaps you may look down upon. ' Is life so wretched? Is'nt it rather your hands which are too small, your vision which is muddied. You are the one who must grow up.

Jibran T. Siddiqui | 13 years ago | Reply Very nicely written, its something that has been debated earlier too. Islam is not an extreme religion which either is fully rational or fully faith-based, its beauty lies in the middle of rationale and faith. There are a few which we need to know and analyze on the basis of rationale and also few things which are to be followed blindly. Your last sentence where you've said that Islam is misused is itself a vast topic. Keep writing.

seeker | 13 years ago | Reply if written sincerely, Its a good piece of writing,lets try to end the confusion Islam never states that other religions were not sacred or untrue rather a QURANIC VERSE STSTES THAT no matter whether they are jews(sabee)or christains, who so ever will believe in the oneness of ALLAH and do good deeds has no point to be fearful The only point differing us from others is that we believe, and there are historical evidences too, that books that came before, were ammended.Secondly it is a general observation that if we rewrite something we try to make it better than the previous one, every new edition of a book always carry something more enlightening than the old one. so same is true for HOLY QURAN .It is a best version of din-e-Ibrahimee, Read all the heavenly books and find that even some portions of their rammanants carry the same grace that is particular of the words of God.Similarly none of the faith is a complete thrash, a bit of it definitly carries the grace of a religion and each religion teaches humanity----so it is respectable for its followers and the people around them.Islam very clearly seperates Muslims from infidels but it does not allow us to abuse them or forcefully convert them but we are ordained to ponder where we differ from them, without being shameful or opologetic. Cosidering religions,Remember! all of them are a matter of faith.And what is faith? in the words of Karen Armstrong "it is believing on the unseen" and I believe on the unexplained as well. Religion can never be proved like scientific theories.they will be as scared/true as your faith is about their sanity and truthfulness. One can definitly search the answers, but how comes we search 10 shops to find the CD of our CHOICE but when it comes to religion, we want Mullah to answer all the questions so let them go their way and you follow yours , with the faith that is required to follow any religion and ask yourself a question that "if I had been following ----------- religion , would it have satisfied all my questions? So

Maida Amir | 13 years ago | Reply @yaarku: This in specific refers to the concepts of righteousness ingrained in our frames of thinking. By downplaying opposite/other forms of sanctities, we tend to uphold our faith and religious belief. Hope this helps. Many thanks to everyone for giving my thoughts a read! Regards.

Shahbaz Younis | 13 years ago | Reply @Neeraj, India, Progressive Right I think humanity comes first before religion, So plz stop fighting and respect all religion beliefs.

Raj | 13 years ago | Reply When and facing what direction a Muslim Space Scientist should perform the Namaz.

yaarku | 13 years ago | Reply @author plz explain a bit the line below written by you, are u talking about islamic history point of view or islamic rules/sharia point of view. My romanticized opinions were shattered when I took a course on religious studies.

seeker | 13 years ago | Reply @Fahad Raza: Excellent piece, could not be carried out more appropriately.

Mister X | 13 years ago | Reply Islam is not anyone's property, however that doesn't mean we take our knowledge from the retarded notions of moral relativism coming out of the west, and its academia. Islam doesn't come from you or me, its comes Allah(swt) through his Prophet(s.a.w). Seems to me the author and many of ignorant commenters never understood their deen. All religions are NOT equal, just like there is a clear difference between right and wrong. Western insitutions produce confused athiest idiots like Sanford Aranoff who worship themselves and are dedicated to falsehood. Christianity and Judaism have been corrupted, this is evident from textual errors of their scripture. Islam is based on the purest definition of tauhid, pure monothiesm. Believers should not fall into the trap of so called "rationality" which imposes a materialistic understanding of the world ONLY devoid of any spirituality which is the backbone of faith. @Neeraj Progressive Right is correct, you however are not. He could say it better but is not a bigot for standing up for the true path. Hindus like you are petty runts, that's why your lot fares so poorly in debates.

Pragmatist | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: Sadly, you are a poor advertisement for the 'greatness' of Islam - if indeed that is the case. Organized religion is the biggest scam perpetrated on mankind and the minions buy into it by the millions. It is a means to control the hordes; and it works splendidly. There isn't another concept that needs so little proof. You can attribute just about any cockamamie miracle to religion and people will buy it with no proof required whatsoever. It is always left to the detractors to prove that the 'miracle' did NOT happen! How does one go about proving a negative is just one of the contradictions that sits comfortably in religions.

Pan Mat | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: Islam has nothing to fear but followers like you. Keep it up and hopefully pious souls like yourself will bring Islam to its logical conclusion within our life time!

SWR | 13 years ago | Reply @Fahad Raza "We need Islamic law that is why we wanted Pakistan in the first place a place to practice the law Allah gave us..." That's complete BS that JUI and other islamic parties have shoved people down their throats. Pakistan was created to protect Muslim minority, so they can enjoy equal rights with other minorities namely Sikhs and Christians. Now it's up to a Muslim however he wants to practice Islam (or chose not to). Your views paint Pakistan as a place where if you want to live, you HAVE to practice sharia and it should be enforced by state. That couldn't be farthest from what Jinnah imagined Pakistan to be. Pakistan is a diverse place of many religions/ethnicity and calling it a monolith state is an insult to his dream. Please leave majority of us from your twisted theories about the creation of Pakistan.

silas | 13 years ago | Reply @a.tayyab: do you live in pakistan?

Arsalan | 13 years ago | Reply I agree completely with Progressive Right that Islam has indeed been chosen by Allah SWT Himself for mankind as said in the Quran and we need no further proof to be convinced about the reality and truthfulness of this religion..

Mehwish | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: totally agree

Mehwish | 13 years ago | Reply @author...living in confusion is no escape..because Islam is the Complete religion.with no Question of doubt or confusion.we al just need to study and practice it.lifes confusions will automatically evaporate. @Said Chaudhry: Confusion is no answer....Study ISLAM AND SUNNAH. believe me.not an atom of confusion wil remain in ur mind. @cosmo:it IS both...u just need to study and contemplate more on Quran and Sunnah ....u will find ur answers. Believe me , Start from reading The Sunnah. u all will find answers. :) May Allah SWT guide us all

Neeraj, India | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right, Islam is not a true religion because it produced a bigot like you. You proved it yourself by writing derogatorily about other religions. Have some shame and stop insulting your own religion!

Bahrain Islamic Revolution... | 13 years ago | Reply mine islam is best.........but i m not best....

Said Chaudhry | 13 years ago | Reply Great read, I share the exact same sentiments...and at the end of the day, just as confused as you are :) and I suppose I choose to stay confused too.

Disco Molvi | 13 years ago | Reply @Author: Superbly written and comments by "Progressive Right" goes to prove what you've said in your article.

Progressive Right | 13 years ago | Reply Islam is the best and the only true religion. All other religions are corrupted. A few Muslims go wrong because they don't follow Islam. A few followers of other religions may be good because they follow Islamic principles (only the true God of Islam can judge them). Allah has said so, and I don't need to listen to any lesser authority of sinful human beings.

Dr. Sanford Aranoff | 13 years ago | Reply One must not confuse religion with reality. If you want to practice religion, keep rituals, pray, and such, fine, as long as you do not kill another person because the other person has a different religion. Reality is not religion. See the chapter, "The Big Lie of God's Existence" in "Rational Thinking, Government Policies, Science, and Living". Rational thinking starts with clearly stated principles, continues with logical deductions, and then examines empirical evidence to possibly modify the principles.

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply The essence of Islam...in not to believe...but to SUBMIT. men will submit to Allah..and women will submit to men and Allah and non-muslims will submit to men, women and Allah... Like Dr Zakir Naik says, you have to believe because The Books says so..and I say so... Imagine what will happen if everyone starts thinking and questioning the core beliefs?

khurram kaleem | 13 years ago | Reply we are confused because we are ignorant of the ideological foundation of islam.The rationality of tauheed and the teaching of allama iqbal. Allama iqbal poetry has so much for the youth i wish we had teachers who could translate iqbal concept of a musalman.

Bambayya | 13 years ago | Reply Very well thought off and very well written to the point ... I wish all the religions should be thought off the way u have ... and i think ... HUMANITY comes before anything and everything ...

atts | 13 years ago | Reply We spend our lives protecting our religion, trying to maintain its sanctity, while we miss out on the most vital part that Islamic history can teach us: universality. I wish more people would think like you, the problem with certain individuals is that they foster their own beliefs onto others.... its like my way or highway

a.tayyab | 13 years ago | Reply One can choose to remain confused and one can choose to remain not confused and that is what I did but it took me more than 60 years to do that and I was almost certain that islam is satanic when I was not even a teenager. The biggest problem was that I had so many good people around me who were muslims; my own father who never missed the optional "tahajjud" between midnight and morning prayer on top of the compulsory five prayers and did not practice law after getting the licence to practice only because he could not lie. Then there was a real or fictional story of a peer(spiritual guide) who was actually a thief but started the peery(spiritual guidance) as a front to fool everyone and based on his guidance some of his followers became very high in spirituality and spiritual knowledge; and the dots started to connect for me that one can believe that satan allah is god and islam is not satanic and can achieve spirituality and spiritual knowledge just on the strength of his or her belief. The real guide, in my opinion/belief is Jesus Christ who did not try to confuse and told his followers only one prayer to pray without any preparatory requirements of "woodoo" or washing of hands/face/feet etc.

Oliver | 13 years ago | Reply @Progressive Right: mate that is exactly what an irrational thinking is ! This talks lead to defense, cross questions, abuse and war.... please avoid it !

Ravi | 13 years ago | Reply Islam follows abhramic traditions. The way koran has been written it seems to all religious scholars and independent religious analysts that its a translated, copy-paste thing from bible, The Hebrew Scriptures (holy book of jews). The only difference koran has from other abhrahmic sculptures is the amount of voilence that has been included into it. So people who are fed from generations the ignorance that koran is the word of god should give their brains a chance……….

No Name | 13 years ago | Reply Poor approach in piece. This is a general confusion found in people who think themselves a little extraordinary. I don't know what this modernism has to do with thoughts of people. Actually you took it totally awry that in school you learnt to regard other religions not sacred. And see now after putting in your own thoughts and understanding religion keenly I bet you don't know anything. These are not frantic remarks I appreciate your piece of work. But Islam with or without our shrewd approach is most sacred religion because of only its association with the most noble man of this World. To understand reverence of any religion you must focus on yourself. If you see purity within yourself than purity will be shown.

Awais Aftab | 13 years ago | Reply @ let us not digress On a side note, I find most Muslims pseudo-intellectuals, most of them.

faraz | 13 years ago | Reply In 99 percent cases, people follow the religion of the family they are born in. 1 percent who convert are those who had the time, intellect and resources to think about their own religion and other religions of the world. I am a muslim, i am sure i am right, so i wont bother to study about religions. Same goes for all other religions. Its funny that muslims expect others to study the Quran and Hadees; did we first study Old and New Testament and other religious texts before choosing Islam for ourselves? If religion is logic, and logic can be understood by reading Quran, then what about those who cant read and write? And Quran cant be clearly understood without going into the purpose behind the revelation of a certain verse, so one must study hadees and fiqh; all this would take years of hard study. If religion is logic then you need to have a certain IQ to grasp the logic. And suppose a person sincerely studies Quran and remains unsatisfied, is this his fault that he wasnt convinced by islam's logic? I am a practicing Muslim, but i really wonder why the illiterate and poor non-muslim janitor working 18 hours a day in inhuman conditions to earn 2 meals for his family, would end up in hell?

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply Ask Shabistari the same question and he would reply: What are I and You? Just lattices in the niches of a lamp through which the One Light radiates. I and You are the veil,between heaven and earth. Lift this veil and you will see, how all sects and religions are one. Lift this veil and you will ask when I and You do not exist What is Mosque, what is Synagogue, what is Fire Temple. He who sows the ground with care and diligence acquires a greater stock of religious merit. Than he would gain by repitition of ten thousand prayers------------- zarathushtra.

Yousuf | 13 years ago | Reply @Babar Khan Javed: kindly elaborate:)...u do realize shes confused...r u?

parvez | 13 years ago | Reply Very nicely written. You are another one who has managed to see the light. Making you a better person and a better Muslim as opposed to those millions whose minds are imprisoned by what they have been told to believe and lack the guidance and courage to break free. You say ' Islam in Pakistan is being misused to control and to deprive.' Very true and very perceptive.

Shanker | 13 years ago | Reply A courageous piece of writing considering Pakistan's state of affairs; and very poignant too.

geelani | 13 years ago | Reply @progress Right . "so many people memorizing the Quran proves Islam’s superiority over all other religions, if any Muslim needed any proof." memorizing quran means it is superior ? .What a faulty logic ! . and you said "Without memorizing the Quran fully, nobody would know how to lead a good and moral life" ,,May I ask how do you know ? .. There might be 1000's if not more hindu or buddhist or confucious or christian good souls in far off land from saudi arabia in 7th,8th ,9th century who does not know about Quran and will allah not accept them ?. Allah is the best judge but you become the judge of all and its blasphemy according to quran.. The moment you learn geography and history and spiritual discourses of other religious groups around the world you will know understand the vast humanity what Allah knows. First fundamentals of Quran " see ,experience ,think " please do these things and then do the believe part ...dont put the cart before the horse..

Maheen Rahman | 13 years ago | Reply Word!

Progressive Right | 13 years ago | Reply Cosmo Islam does not exist for a Muslim's pleasure. A Muslim exists to spread Islam, to proclaim Islam's glory and to please the only True God Allah by following Islam, and not the paths of non-Muslims. You should feel the great privilege - Allah in His great wisdom, mercifulness of heart and infinite justice, allowed all other religions to be corrupted, except the one you are blessed to follow - Islam. I hope you too have fully memorized the Quran. Without memorizing the Quran fully, nobody would know how to lead a good and moral life; and it would become impossible to receive all the benefits in the life hereafter. Besides, as Fahad Raza explained, so many people memorizing the Quran proves Islam's superiority over all other religions, if any Muslim needed any proof.

Progressive Right | 13 years ago | Reply There you go. The perfect religion of Islam in action! See how it is the best religion of all, if you would just believe. Ha!

Noble Tufail | 13 years ago | Reply Look at the universe out there it is overwhelmingly vast .. see the amazing journey of transformation of apes, cats whales etc, spanning millions of years ...note the land masses moved. it is absolutely stunning .. and the more you wonder and question the more codes will be cracked. however lets do'nt forget the elephant in the room called dogmatic/political hegemony .. it is just there .. nothing can be done about it .. but what can be done is 'not to let it belittle our understanding of everything' keep wondering .. keep questioning because you have been designed to wonder!!

Progressive Right | 13 years ago | Reply I am afraid you did not fully grasp Islam's claim. Islam's claim is not that Islam that Maida understands and follows, or Islam that Bin Khalid and Bin Laden understand and follow is the best religion of all - better than the religions of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians etc. Islam that is the best religion of all - better than the religions of all other peoples, better than anything in the past and anything in the future (since the True God of Islam has resolved to create nothing better after Islam) - is the TRUE Islam that Allah had in mind. As you can see, other religions are not perfect. But Islam is perfect (the one in Allah's mind and as per Allah's understanding of the Quran). Just give it enough thought and your faith, too, will be complete, just like the faith of other Muslims. You should also cut down on your interactions with unbelievers or giving their ideas too much importance.

Muzaffar | 13 years ago | Reply Why do u choose to remain confused which is actually the basis of our society being in the present mind set. We are human beings (Ashraf ul Mukhluqat)so>>>>>>>> Start Thinking Original : For a moment think and hopefully you will realize that most of the time what we think and thereby live our lives is based on what we have been told to think since centuries/generations and unfortunately we just go on and on without thinking that are we thinking right or wrong. Try to think on your own based on the guidance of the Supreme Being and you will understand the difference....an not remain confused !!!

Maria | 13 years ago | Reply Islam is used in each and every Muslim country to control and deprive- not only Pakistan. Look at what the rulers of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain and the Gulf Rulers are doing. One is worse than the next. We still haven't added in Somalia, Afghanistan and the Central Asian states which are ranked as the most corrupt in the world.

Sajad | 13 years ago | Reply The articles like this will unite the muslims.

MastMaula | 13 years ago | Reply May Allah help all muslims to think like you i.e. rationally.

Amaar | 13 years ago | Reply Agreed to some extent. But instead of remaining as confused one can revere one's history without reviling the history of others. If we agree on a fundamental principle that God chose to have different faiths tailored for each tribe and era perhaps this could account for the confusion. As for the doctrinal issues, the blame can be given to mullahs, pandits and priests for imposing rigid and inflexible interpretations to their faiths that render them irrational.

Khurram | 13 years ago | Reply The most rational lines I have read so far here in the Express Tribune. All Religions are only a matter of faith not logic thus none is superior or inferior to each other.

Cautious | 13 years ago | Reply If you believe your religion gives you a free pass to discriminate, abuse, or murder people then your religion isn't better than mine.

Talha | 13 years ago | Reply "My romanticized opinions were shattered when I took a course on religious studies." I want read more about this. Please expand.

cosmo | 13 years ago | Reply O MY GOD !! exactly my point. I too question, is there any more sacred religion than Humanity? Is religion supposed to serve us or are we supposed to serve it? and am sure that it cannot be both, coz if it were to be then religion should be dynamic, adopting and changing with time, which in today's, world is a big no no (eg. blasphemy law). So then what is the purpose of Religion, why is it creating so much attrition in our society? My question, is religion for me or am I for it? and am sure it cannot be both.

Fahad Raza | 13 years ago | Reply Its the flawed approach with has bee taken in this case. I quote “Hello? This isn’t what you are here to learn. You should believe – not question!”. The very essence of Islam is see, experience, think and then believe. Allah SWT say on numerous places in the Holy Quran to think about sign of His presence and then believe. Islam is a universal religion as it teaches us to live individually as well as socially. Doesn't tell us the rights of poor, our family how to be as a nation, along with telling us that Allah is watching you when you are alone. The truly remarkable thing about holy Quran is when you read it it feels someone is talking to you and telling you as an individual and as a society. Its not a question of my Islam better than yours or vice versa. In the eyes of the world it doesn't and nobody except Allah can judge that after all He made us sent us to earth and many "instructors" (P.B.U All) came and taught what they were told to, by Him in the end came the last and the best of this line Prophet Mohammad (SLAWSLM). Almighty sent us commandment as well didn't He 4 through them for us. The Last of which Holy Quran is the complete manual. So basically we all were cerated equally and have the same instructions only way a person gets better is when he truly seek knowledge from the Holy book to get close to Allah and practices it. As for the pre-existing religions like Judaism Christianity and Hinduism. They were corrupted by humans for the fact, as humans for the sake of their ambitions liked the religion to give them liberty or to give concession. Therefore human created commandments of their own for their own benefit even if they didn't existed. and quoted only those parts which benefited them. The unique advantage Islam has that Allah himself promised to protect His last book Holy Quran so if you take the first Quran ever written which is in Turkish museum to the recent printed, a word wouldn't be missing nor it place neither it position in entire book and above all it is the most heartily learnt book, word by word. As young as kid of 6 years "Hafiz" to 60 Year old scholar cant miss it. In Pakistan Islam is not used at all, as we don't have Islamic law if the real point is this. We need Islamic law that is why we wanted Pakistan in the first place a place to practice the law Allah gave us and practically implemented only in time of prophet and his followers. Now come the question if your Islam is better that mine? Well lets wait till the results come at the end of time, meanwhile keep on practicing and praying.

Babar Khan Javed | 13 years ago | Reply So glad you decided to join us in the real world

Let us not digress | 13 years ago | Reply Excellent piece. This piece portrays my thoughts exactly on the subject. But before those college classes, I did not devoutly believe in the inferiority of other religions. Besides that, those arguments were never strong enough to question my religious beliefs. I hold one fact of life. Humans are equipped with an array of senses and a level of intelligence. However, this intelligence is necessarily not enough to uncover all that we don't know about the universe and its workings. So no matter how much logic, morals and philosophy you apply to the question of religion, you'll always be left with futile answers. On a side note, I find most atheists pseudo intellectuals, most of them.

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