[blah__x]

happy eid to any muslims on this site.. i dont know if it's today or tomorrow but have a good one!

[(JD)]

I'm sure you will enjoy your Eid Fitr!

[Perna]

Tomorrow is the eid Al-Adha.

http://www.islamonline.net/English/h...article2.shtml

[KathyM]

Thanks for the article Perna

Take away and name and specifics on ceremony, and it sounds similar to the spirit of the Christmas holiday season - i.e., "focus on God and care for each other."

[Abby]

thanks blah!

I agree Kathy, the foundations in every religion - peace, kindness, justice, and love.

[Rapunzel]

Happy Eid to those who celebrate it, or wish to share in the greeting. Perna, thanks for the link. I am not familiar with Eid and hesitated to post, not knowing what the customs are. If anyone here follows this tradition and would like to share about it here, I would be interested in knowing more.

[recluse1]

yes, i agree. no matter the name we give our creator, fundamentally we are all aspiring to reach the same goals. i, for one, am thankful that people in all walks of religion are beginning to post here. i love to see how we are connected in our beliefs.

Happy Eid! i hope the day is a joyess one!

[blah__x]

no muslims here? anyone? i'd like to hear some more about islam ......

[Abby]

hey - sorry guys i wanted to post earlier but i was scared as i didn't know where to start and what to explain plus i'm only learning myself! So i thought i'd wait to see if anyone else posted...guess not! I converted to Islam a few months ago and i would love to answer any questions - in fact it may help me learn more about it myself!

Blah - i have read your post about going to a mosque and entering the wrong door...i wanted to say hi then too but again i was scared. Such a wimp here! Don't worry i have done that too, i have been blessed with meeting some truly wonderful muslims who have helped me learn more. (oh and btw i like the goth look ).
Also i wanted to say for your other post - the devil scares me whatever name you call him but i have lots of psychological issues surrounding that topic and so i kinda wimped out again of reading it. sorry!

Ok, now that i sound as though i'm scared of my own shadow - although to be fair God is an awesome topic so i would be scared if i wasn't scared... - i'll say bye.

I hope i can be of some help. I like this site. It provokes thought and that is very important for everyone

ps - Merry Christmas eve!!

[blah__x]

wow youre a muslim? i have one muslim friend but i dont see her often...

i'd love to talk to you sometime! try posting more, its ok i wont eat you

tc

[Abby]

yeh i'm a muslim. I took my shahada about 3 months ago after spending a year or so researching the Islamic faith. I was brought up Catholic, and my mum is a practising catholic although the rest of my family are not.

I will try posting more, but i am still learning and i would not like to say the wrong thing. But i could give you books to look at though - of course starting with the Quran.

feel free to pm me anytime with questions. Or ask questions on here. If i don't know the answer i will ask others.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas if you are celebrating

[KathyM]

Hi Abby

I'm moving my welcome and and question here because I'm not comfortable with having it in a thread with "devil" in the title. Seems a little disrespectful to your faith, so I'll start over, lol

Welcome to the Sanctuary Abby. Do you consider yourself Sunni or Shia Muslim - and what is the difference between the two denominations?

[Abby]

Hey Kathy, thanks appreciate that!

To be honest i don't really consider myself to be either. I guess it is not really one of the areas i have learnt much about, or felt to be that important to me at this point in my journey. To be truthful i mainly hear about the two sects on the news, and believe that is politically driven not due to the differences in religious beliefs. So i have to say it is not something i have come across much so far.

But i'll try and answer your question from my limited knowledge, - i guess i would be a sunni muslim if i really had to give an answer but that is mainly just because 90% of muslims are sunni muslims whilst obviously 10% are not, so i assume that most of the people i know in UK are sunni and i have learnt a lot from them etc.

The main differences between the two are that sunni muslims do not believe that Mohammad designated a successor whilst shia muslims do, Therefore the first successor for each sect is different. Furthermore, Sunni muslims believe that their imans are just humans who are well versed in the Quran and have a lot of religious knowledge whilst Shia muslims believe that their imans are infallible. At the present time i don't really know about whether this changes how they pray - i do believe i read somewhere about slight differences but i can't say with any real certainty.

Sorry i don't think i have been much help. Can i ask why you asked this question - purely out of interest.

Hi Abby.... thanks for posting about your faith. I've recently included the Quran among the sacred books I feed on every day. I read the Christian Bible as well as the Jewish Torah and Talmad. I follow the teachings of the Medicine Wheel and along with the Quran I've been studying the verse of the Tao. I find the same light in all of the sacred teachings and ceremonies. I welcome diversity and unity.

Thank you for trusting us with your ways that we might grow together in faith and love.

Blessings....

[(JD)]

This is what I've found, and thought to be so, do you know if this is what you also believe?:

CENTRAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM

Revelation

Islam is based on a belief in revealed truth. The revelations through Muhammad are not seen by Muslims as instituting a new faith. Muslims therefore affirm belief in the Torah of Moses and the Injil, or Gospel, of Jesus.
Muhammad is seen as the "seal" of the prophetic succession, bringing a revelation in the Arabic language which both called people back to the original teachings of the previous prophets and fulfilled them.
The core of Islam's revealed message is seen as "submission" to God. Islam has seven fundamental beliefs, as follows:
the oneness of God
the books revealed by God
the prophets
the angels
the Day of Judgement
life after death
the omnipotence of God
The Qur'an

[KathyM]

Thanks Abby

I was just wondering about the difference between the two and never had the opportunity to ask outright. I agree the strife we see on the news is politically driven, much like we've seen with Protestants and Catholics.

I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad your faith gives you comfort.

[Abby]

Hey Sky,

Over the past year i have been learning alot about Christianity and Islam. Having been brought up Catholic and been taught that Jesus is the Saviour it has been a long, and confusing internal battle. However, logically the more i have learnt about Islam and its beliefs and teachings the more sense it has made to me than Christianity, but it was my affinity with the whole encommpassing way of life that Islam provides and an innate feeling after awhile that Islam is correct that lead me to be able to finally say that i do not believe Jesus is the Son of God. (I did not say this lightly.)
I believe that everyone is born in a natural state of submission to God. (Islam means submission you're correct) but are taught by their parents their religion and so become a jew, christian, hindu etc. Therefore it is not really a new faith as everyone is 'Islamic' at birth, the problem is over time generations of people have gone astray from the universal teachings of both Moses and Jesus and other prophets (e.g the 10 commandments given to Moses say - you shall worship no other Gods before me). I believe both Moses and Jesus were 'Islamic' but it was Muhammed that brought the Quran and formalized and clarified the faith by purifying it of foreign ideas that had been added in errorrevelations from God.
I believe in some of the Torah and Gospels but i don't think that they are 100% correct as i just think over time they have been corrupted in one way or another. For me, just reading the Bible brings up lots of contridictory messages and facts.
Yes i believe in all the seven fundamental beliefs you stated especially the oneness of God. It makes sense to me but more than that it 'settles' well with me.

I hope this is what you wished to know. If not, i apologises! Obviously all the above are my beliefs.

[Abby]

Thanks Chocolatelover - your post meant a lot. I think it is fantastic that you are reading the Quran. And yes i think that reading other religious books can bring further understanding.

Kathy - i'm glad i can be of some use, although i have to say - not much! I will try and find out more about the differences and maybe then i will be able to answer better.

I hope you both are well.

[nowheretorun]

(((Abby))))