Welcome to Gaia! ::

Umm.. my only grip with it is that... people like Osama Binny Laden practice it.. and they misconstrue what jihad means.. Then again.. a lot of religious people screw up their religion.. Like a lot of catholics... and christians.. I just dont like that they can use the religion to justify causing terror and killing poeple whether they think they're innocent or not.

I never really thought killing could be justified as a good deed by a religion.. :/

AHAHA. If they are our sister religion, G-d help us.

Their beliefs, which I don't know much about, seem very radical, but whatever floats your boat, as long as you aren't killing people in the name of G-d.

Unfortunately, some of them are, and I find it disturbing.

You'd be surprised how similar their beliefs are to our owns.

And to darkphoenix: The 40 virgin thing is a myth. No where in the Qur'an have I ever read that. It's like when Christians claim the OT talks about how everyone who doesn't worship God will go to Hell. It's a nonexistent thing that is used by radical fearmongers to cow the masses.

I never said that Islam and Judaism aren't alike, I realize they are, but so are all religions in some aspects.

And still, it's Islam. Most of them hate us. What kind of sister hates you? I know it happens, but they're more like the jealous STEP sister or something.

Not jealous because of religion, but jealous because we have it together. Unlike them. They're still working out kinks in the system. And blaming us for everything.

This is true, and I'm sorry I sounded so stupid. Of course I don't think most Muslims hate Jews, that was a stupid thing to say.

I'm thinking that there's a lot of talk, without much knowledge.

The Quran begins, "In the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate."

A devout Muslim prays five times a day for peace. Jews pray three times a day for peace. I'm not saying Muslims are more peaceful by nature, but I will say that according to their prayer cycle, we pray for peace 40% less often.

Islam is staunchly monotheistic, like Judaism. Christianity claims to be monotheistic, but in fact pray to a triune deity, much like Pagans and Wiccans, who pray to Mother Earth, Father Sky, and the Sun Child.

"Jihad" means spiritual struggle, not killing people -- One of my good friends who's a Muslim says his personal jihad is against laziness, because every morning he struggles to wake up in time to say the dawn prayers.

Ever heard of the Noachide religion? It's what Judaism teaches that non-Jews should ideally practice, in a perfect world. Islam meets every single qualification of the Noachide path, adhering to all seven of the Noachide Laws. You could Google it.

The Muslim way of slaughtering animals, known as halal ("lawful") or zabiha ("humane") is almost identical to the Jewish way which is known as kosher shechita ("lawful slaughter"). The only difference is that Muslim slaughter doesn't require removal of ALL the blood from the animal, and there are a few more parts of the animal that are permitted under the laws of zabiha slaughter. Also, while a shochet (Jewish kosher slaughterer) must say a blessing before entering the slaughterhouse, a Muslim slaughterer must say a blessing before every single animal that is slaughtered.

The laws of hajaba (modesty) in Islam are extremely similar to the laws of tzniut (modesty) in Judaism. The only difference is that Muslim women cover their necks and ears as well as the other body parts that Jewish law requires to be covered.

Our religions are extremely similar. Our cultures are extremely similar. We are sisters. Muslims, too, are worshippers of the one and only God. Show them some respect; their path is to bring monotheism to the non-Jewish world and show them how to live a righteous life as children of Noah.

Well you know, if there's one thing I want to learn to do, it's to make decisions based on logic. I understand that not all Muslims like killing Americans and infidels and yadda yadda. In fact, I happen to be a sympathizer for those in Iraq and other middle eastern countries who are having their homes destroyed and be treated unfairly by some of the American soldiers who think it's funny.

I guess you just have to remember that not all Muslims are as silly as the media makes them out to be.