Islam

In the name of Allah; The most Gracious, the most Merciful

(In the Name of Allah; The most Gracious, the most Merciful)

What with ignorance reigning supreme; I thought I’d fight it with a little bit of information. Why am I a Muslim? Let us start from the beginning.. What does the word ‘Islam’ mean? Bush, says Islam means peace. Islam is submission. To submit one self to the wills of Allah (God.) To accept that there is [NO deity worth worship (La illaha.) Except Allah (il Allah.) And Mohamed is His messenger (Muhamadun Rasoul Allah)]

That is the basis; the essence of Islam. Every messenger from Adam, to Abraham; From Moses, to Jesus, to Mohamed (May there be peace upon them all) came with the same message. But don’t get it twisted. The Shahada (accepting that there is no deity worth worship except Allah) comes with conditions. The first condition being Olim, or knowledge.

If you do not know about something, then you cannot accept it. You cannot act on what you are unaware of. If you didn’t know how to speak Spanish, I wouldn’t expect you to be much of a conversationalist in that language. Knowledge is power. God, Himself, wants you to obtain as much knowledge as you can. Educate yourselves not only in academics, but in deen.

As a Muslim, I found it necessary to do a bit of research on Christianity and Judaism. I’ve been to Church on Sundays; I’ve attended youth groups. I have even gone to Synagogues. Why? So that when I’m faced with a difficult question I can say that I was prepared. I can’t tell you why I’m a Muslim and not a Jew if I don’t know what the differences are between them. I couldn’t tell you that I chose Islam.

Just because I’m born a Muslim doesn’t necessarily mean I’m an excellent candidate for Islam… What I believe makes me a good candidate is my thirst for knowledge and my hunger for wisdom. Reading is the only way to satisfy my cravings.

I’ve compiled a few links below.. These are sites I’ve gone through before to better educate myself. Never take anything verbatim. Cross reference! Always. Not just on Islam, but on anything you may research on the internet. CROSS REFERENCING IS YOUR FRIEND! Not everything posted online is true. There is a lot of slander across the web, so be cautious. And remember, extremism is not a good thing. Not in Islam, and not in America. Yeah, don’t think I forgot about the whole “WHITE POWER!” deal.. Again, extremism in any form is not a good thing.

-edit May/08/2008-

I’ve added a link up above, to Sultan.org; this site is probably the one most useful and truth-filled site on Islam that I’ve ever come across..