Understanding Islam? Help

[TxDeluxe]

I am sorry for asking a question so basic on the forums, but I have run aground slightly. I have been trying to find information on the basic ideology and practices of Islam. I have been unsuccessful in finding an unbiased source of information. If I am unable to get sufficient help here I will just continue trudging through the thick by myself, but I figured someone could direct me to source material or a book that would expedite my journey. Does anyone know of, or would be willing to recommend, a site/book/video that would help me to understand Islam?

 

I purchased a book on Amazon recently, but I quit reading as it was clearly intended to only show Islam as a religion of extreme peace and understanding. I am not looking for a book that does the opposite. I am merely looking for one that takes into account that Islam has justifiable reasons for killing or warring with others. I am looking for objective Truth, not a story.

[Anuojat]

Read the quran or Hadith yet?

[A4E]

You say that you want objective truth, not a story. However, how do you suggest that you will find objective truth in what is inherently a story?

 

Even if you did read the Quran, you will interpret it in your way from your past experiences, just like everyone else who have read it, which means that your goal of objective truth will also rely on your own ability to suppress your biases.

 

Religions abuse humans natural sense of tribalism, just like a lot of other things in society. That is what is used to 'justify' actions. This tribalism is a major obstacle for clear open minded thinking. And indeed a reminder that we are not such special or perfect creatures as many tend to promote, since various forms of tribalism is common throughout the animal spectrum.

[aviet]

This is a good site as it give you direct references from Islamic texts, categorised by topic. A few to get you started:

https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Qur%27an,_Hadith_and_Scholars:Racism
https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Qur'an,_Hadith_and_Scholars:Homosexuality

Other topics available from the menu on the right.

[Dylan Lawrence Moore]

Try finding some lectures over at the Teaching Company.

 

https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/show/great_world_religions_islam

[Goldenages]

I would suggest that you read the Koran. Do not get scared by those who claim that you need to be an expert to interpret or undestand it correctly. I mean its a book, written by man, with a certain intention.

 

The Koran is the issue of orders for the Muslim.

 

The Koran starts nice and ends bloody, so basically it reflects the vita of Mohammed, who started nice as a preacher, but nobody wanted to listen. So he became a criminal, chief of a gang of thieves, later a military leader, and pushed the religion of peace with violence.

 

As said, you find nice and deadly instructions in the Koran. But all written is claimed to be the will of god, and there is no room for discussion wether some statements are still appropriate today or not, or can be interpreted in a more peaceful way.

 

 

regards

Andi

[jimofflorida]

My approach to such broad topics is to always go back to the beginning...

History of a religion can yield much greater insight into the actual religion than studying any of the current dogma.

study what was happening around 500-600AD and get a real interesting view from the end of Rome and chaos that any societal collapse caused with what, as always, pops up in the vacuum.

 

FYI, spoiler alert... in the end it is always about power and resources hehe

[Mister Mister]

I would suggest that you read the Koran. Do not get scared by those who claim that you need to be an expert to interpret or undestand it correctly. I mean its a book, written by man, with a certain intention.

 

The Koran is the issue of orders for the Muslim.

 

The Koran starts nice and ends bloody, so basically it reflects the vita of Mohammed, who started nice as a preacher, but nobody wanted to listen. So he became a criminal, chief of a gang of thieves, later a military leader, and pushed the religion of peace with violence.

 

As said, you find nice and deadly instructions in the Koran. But all written is claimed to be the will of god, and there is no room for discussion wether some statements are still appropriate today or not, or can be interpreted in a more peaceful way.

 

 

regards

Andi

That's an interesting way to look at it.  I couldn't help but notice that the Bible is in many ways the opposite.

[Goldenages]

 

I couldn't help but notice that the Bible is in many ways the opposite.

 

Shure, the Bible was the result of an evolving process. However not driven by reason and evidence, but by the interests of groups struggling for power.

Many councils were held back then to evaluate what should be content of the bible. In the absence of any reasonable claim those "holy" councils were often violent, full of intrigues - monkhood has its origin there, the first monks were nothing more than the personal security of the Bishops, literally fighting for the point of view of their masters.

 

Mohammed, some centuries later, wanted a more uniform and streamlined tool of power.

So no ambigous stories.

Just a "do this" and "do that". No questions allowed.

 

regards

Andi

[A4E]

Here is another thing muslims like to do apparently.

 

[TxDeluxe]

I just wanted to say thank you all for responding! I appreciate the assistance!

[Soulfire]

TxDeluxe, I just took a half-course on Islam (only three months long), and though it is MUCH more vast than this, it can largely, in terms of its theology, be boiled down to the Five Pillars.

1. The absolute singularity of God: God has no equal, nothing can be compared to God, God is beyond human understanding entirely

2. The pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, wherein the Prophet (PBUH) established the House of God around the Black Stone at the Ka'ba

3. Five daily prayers, facing towards the Ka'ba

4. Almsgiving (2.5% of surplus income throughout the year to be given to the poor)

5. Fasting (from sunup to sundown) during the month of Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar

If you can remove the faith from all of the politics, as I highly suggest you attempt to do, those are the absolute bare-boned basics.

[Donnadogsoth]

 

[jimofflorida]

I certainly agree with those that advise that the study of any religion needs to start with a study of history. Even reading the founding documents really does not help as you need to understand the context in which that document was created. So look for an unbiased "history" from around 500AD to 1200AD (that will be much harder than you think). This will cover the start where Muslims basically attacked and took over everything in the middle east, then the crusades kicked in after 500 years of that (they always seem to leave out in "modern" discussions of history that the crusades were a "response" to aggression not the start of it). Looking back you see that islam was spread by force and a purging of those that did not convert unlike other modern religions that did not have such a powerful "convert or die directive".  Actually, now that I think about it, a detailed study of history from 600-700 may be quite enlightening, I may give that a whirl myself to see how the ball got rolling.

[RichardY]