Bruce comments, the cure was worse than the disease Theodore Edward McComiskey, ed. Babylon was brutal and persecuted righteous Judahites alongside the wicked v. Just as the fisherman brings in a full catch of fish with his net, the Chaldeans would capture all the nations vv. Habakkuk could not understand how this was possible, for He knew that God never tolerates evil v.
How, asked Habakkuk, could the holy Lord use such a wicked instrument to judge His own? To ask questions of God in faith means asking Him with the willingness to be content with His answer or even if He never appears to give us an answer at all.
To ask questions of the Lord in a faithless manner is to demand an answer or to find certain answers unacceptable. As we wrestle with God in prayer, let us take care that we always come before Him in faith, trusting in His goodness and willing to be content with whatever He gives us. Teaching Series. Third, God explains that those seeking power and wealth are outwardly manifesting an internal drive for security which is illusory.
Power and wealth do not produce security; they produce envy in others and dissatisfaction and guilt in the acquirer verses Fourth, God states the obvious — all material gain eventually decays. Only the glory of God endures verses Fifth, God introduces the principle that how you treat others will rebound in the way you are treated. In this case, God gives examples of how aggrandizing material goods at the expense of others will have negative consequences verses Lastly, God explains that those who worship idols, including material goods, are morally and spiritually bankrupt.
God is on His throne, He is the Judge, and only He will speak with authority. We know that in the future, all the earth will wonder at the glory of the Lord realized during His peaceful and righteous reign. Alexander Answer Dear Alexandar, The Was there a prophet on the earth when the Savior was born?
Elizabeth Answer Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your question. The answer to your question is — yes. One can read the account of the prophet, on Why do we need a prophet if we can receive revelation on our own?
What would God reveal to the Prophet that he could not tell me directly instead? My first guess is How can I explain that modern prophets have modern revelation over their predecessors?
The vast majority of Muslims unequivocally condemn terrorism. Terrorism, defined as the use of violence and threats to intimidate, coerce, or exact retribution, especially for political purposes, flagrantly violates at least three interrelated Islamic principles: respect for life, right to due process, and individual responsibility.
The principle of respect for life prohibits the targeting of innocent civilians even during a state of war. They also ignore principles of the interpretation of texts followed by legitimate scholars of religion, above all the principle that a text must be understood with reference to the time, place, and situation in which it was given.
The specific cannot be made to apply universally, while the universal always informs the specific. Ignoring this principle leads to arbitrary interpretations tailored to fit political agendas. Most of the terrorism committed by people claiming Islam as their motivation is justified by a methodology that bypasses the bulk of classical scholarship.
Various legal issues that pertained to the majority of the Muslim community were often left to the discretion and judgement of qualified scholars. ISIS and other similar groups, however, discount the role filled by traditional scholars. We believe that Islamic teachings clearly prohibit killing innocent civilians.
While there are obviously extremist Muslims who disagree with this stance, the position of the Muslim majority is clear, as demonstrated by repeated condemnations by Muslim scholars and leaders across the world. This question rests on a misconception, as Muslims have consistently and repeatedly denounced terrorism since September 11, For a large sampling of such condemnations, see this list.
Another sampling is on our website. Unfortunately, these statements are rarely noted in the mass media in the US, leading many people to think erroneously that Muslims have not denounced terrorism. This question, however, could also be answered with another question: why should Muslims be expected to repeatedly condemn terrorism? Are Christians or Jews expected to denounce violence or every irresponsible or destructive statement or action made in the name of their religions?
The question seems to assume that Muslims support or condone every act committed in the name of Islam unless they specifically state otherwise.
This assumption is clearly unjust and unreasonable. Out of a total world population of around 1. A CNN article estimates the total number of members of Muslim terrorist groups as around. What is true is that Muslim terrorists are very much in the public eye, especially in the U.
There are several reasons for this:. There appears to be a clear media bias which highlights terrorism committed by Muslims over that from other groups—even when terrorism from other sources poses a clear danger to people in the U.
A database compiled by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute examines a nine-year period, from through and finds that far-right plots and attacks outnumber Islamist incidents by almost 2 to 1. There is no reason to assign a special role to Muslim Americans, who are overwhelmingly opposed to terrorism.
Muslim Americans do, however, have a responsibility to educate Americans of other faiths about Islam, increase Islamic literacy in the Muslim American community, and clarify that terrorism is prohibited in Islamic teachings.
In addition, it is important to keep in mind the following:. Verily, God is capable of aiding them. The Arabic term jihad literally means striving or exertion of effort and encompasses both the internal struggle against harmful impulses and desires and the external struggle against injustice and oppression. Thus, the word can refer to military action against an aggressor, but this is by no means the only meaning of the term.
It should be noted, however, that violent revolution was often seen by classical scholars as the absolute last resort. The social chaos and mayhem that often ensue from overthrowing an oppressive leader were commonly viewed as much worse than the reign of an oppressor. Muslim peacemakers are working throughout the world, building bridges between people of different faiths.
We believe that the work we are doing at ING to increase religious and cultural literacy and promote engagement and understanding among Americans of diverse backgrounds is the best antidote for conflict. Which Arabs and Muslims and which Jews are you referring to? Throughout the world where Arabs, Muslims and Jews are living as minorities in Christian-populated countries, they tend to be allies with shared interests and concerns, such as the promotion of religious literacy and the fight against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans are also often allied on domestic issues of social justice. Where Jews live today as minorities in Muslim majority countries, such as Iran, the views are mixed. Some say they live in harmony with their Muslim compatriots, and others say that Jews are discriminated against. Historically, Jews and Muslims generally lived in harmony in many Muslim-populated countries, such as Morocco, Iraq, and Egypt and, at least until the mass migration of Jews to Palestine in the early s, in Palestine itself.
Jews refer to Muslim rule in Spain in their history books as a period of renaissance for Jewish life. During the Spanish Inquisition, when both Muslims and Jews in Spain were forced to convert or leave, many Jews fled to Muslim countries where they lived for centuries in security and prosperity. These Muslim countries, with rare and short-lived exceptions, never propagated the anti-Jewish sentiment that resulted in pogroms and other forms of persecution that occurred in Europe.
If the question is about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, then this is a recent conflict which began with the twentieth-century mass settlement of Jews in Palestine, and the subsequent creation of the state of Israel. In the eyes of most Muslims, this is less about religion than about the displacement and dispossession of many Palestinians—both Muslim and Christian—as the state of Israel was formed, which is why Christian Palestinians such as Edward Said and Hanan Ashrawi have been outspoken about this issue.
Today, the evils of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have brought Jewish and Muslim communities in America together in a mutual effort to denounce bigotry and prejudice against religious minorities, as exemplified by the fundraising efforts of Muslim Americans following the attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue.
In this way, Jews and Muslims are increasingly uniting in response to a common threat that targets both communities. This question makes two assumptions: first, that there is more conflict among Muslims than among followers of other religions, and, second, that conflicts involving Muslims result primarily from their religion.
The first assumption is a false perception. Of the fifty Muslim-majority countries, the vast majority are at peace.
Furthermore, many countries with non-Muslim majorities are involved in conflict. The two largest world wars in history were fought mostly between Christian-majority countries i. The second assumption is likewise misleading. While religion is sometimes invoked by parties to support a war, religion is at most one factor among many in producing conflict, and usually not the most important one.
Economic and political issues are generally the underlying causes behind most conflicts, including those involving Muslims. Additionally, in many of these conflicts Muslims are the victims rather than the perpetrators of violence and conflict. Some current examples include: Myanmar, where close to a million Rohingya Muslims have been persecuted and driven from their homes by the Burmese army and militants in what has been called a genocide; in China, where one million Uighur Muslims have been detained in concentration camps; in Kashmir where a brutal crack-down has resulted in the oppression of all its Muslim residents following decades of repression; and ongoing conflicts over land and rights in Palestine.
This has also been the case in previous conflicts in Iraq, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, where others instigated conflict to the great detriment, loss of lives, destruction, and suffering of the Muslims living in those countries. Normative Islamic teachings view women and men as equal on the grounds that all human beings are equal before God because they share the same God-given nature or fitra , dignity, and innate humanity. Both are servants of God, worthy of respect, endowed with a soul and intellect.
The Prophet Muhammad taught his followers to treat their sons and daughters the same, and, if anything, to show extra kindness and love to daughters. They are both called upon to seek knowledge, develop their potential, and work together to create a just and righteous society. On an individual level, they enjoy the same rights, including the right to choose their spouse and to own and keep their property and income.
While through much of history and still today Muslim women have been viewed and treated as lesser beings in various cultures and societies, this is due to patriarchal interpretations and cultural influences rather than specific scriptural teachings. They include the following:.
You are from each other. There are over fifty Muslim-majority countries in the world. So, while some Muslim women are mistreated due to the factors mentioned above, in many Muslim-majority countries women are involved at the highest levels of education, employment, and politics, with growing numbers of physicians, engineers, lawyers, and other educated professionals.
Muslim women have even served as heads of state in a number of countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, Kosovo, Mauritius, and Pakistan. Many Muslim women also elect to nurture their children and families with dignity, which remains a respected choice in these countries.
According to the Gallup World Poll, majorities of Muslim respondents surveyed believe that women should have the right to hold any job for which they are qualified outside the home. Increasing numbers of Muslim women throughout the world are employed in diverse professions, including those that are male dominated, such as medicine and engineering. However, many women of young children, like women everywhere, choose to be full-time mothers, which remains a respected choice in these countries.
Domestic violence and spousal abuse violate Islamic principles of security, safety, and respect for human dignity; if severe enough, they may even violate the principle of respect for life.
According to classical Islamic law, spousal abuse, even if non-physical, is grounds for a Muslim woman to initiate divorce. The extant biographies of Muhammad record him as never having hit a woman or even a child and as condemning those who did.
In recent decades women have served as heads of state in several Muslim-majority nations, including some with the largest populations:. While most rulers in Muslim history have been male, as in most societies, there have been a few female Muslim rulers in past centuries and in modern times. According to historians, there have been thousands of female Muslim scholars throughout Islamic history, many of whom were teachers of renowned male scholars.
Some notable examples include:. There are also many female Muslim scholars of Islam as well as renowned academics in related fields at leading universities today, including these examples:. On the contrary, there are many. Hadith prophetic sayings encouraging the seeking of knowledge that have led numerous Muslim women in history to become scholars, writers, and teachers of both men and women, as noted in the previous question.
Keep up with all the latest news! Sign up for our newsletter. Introduction ING has been delivering educational presentations about Muslims and their faith for over two decades. We affirm the right to freedom of thought, religion, conscience, and expression. We believe that God created us all with the diversity of race, religion, language, and belief to get to know one another, respect one another, and uphold our collective human dignity.
We believe that Islam is above all a religion of peace and mercy and that as Muslims we are obligated to model those traits in our lives and characters and to work for the good of our homeland and society, wherever that might be. What do Muslims believe about angels? Some of these values include: Respect for the earth and all creatures Care and compassion for those less fortunate The importance of seeking knowledge Honesty and truthfulness in word and deed Striving continuously to improve oneself and the world.
The actual age of Aisha at the time of her marriage to Muhammad is disputed, but the marriage could not have been consummated until she reached puberty. In many cultures, women are or were married years before a marriage is consummated. The custom of early betrothal and marriage continued until the late 19th and early 20th century in much of the world, including Europe and North America, where there are still many states that allow for underage marriage.
The following are some of the ways that Muslim Americans and their allies are working to combat Islamophobia: Since Islamophobia is based on ignorance, education about Islam and Muslims is one of the most potent weapons against it.
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