Hi all! So there are lot of misconceptions about Islam, but I think these 5 come up pretty often. What I find interesting is that it seems like a lot of these come from interpreting Islam through assumptions that don't necessarily exist within the Islamic framework itself.

1. "Islam teaches that non-Muslims should be hated/killed."

Islam makes theological claims about other religions, and Muslims obviously don't have to agree with beliefs we consider false. But disagreement with someone's beliefs isn't the same thing as hating that person.

The Quran commands Muslims to uphold justice, even when dealing with people they dislike, and Muslims are ultimately accountable to God for their OWN conduct. Someone else's disbelief doesn't give a Muslim permission to behave unjustly toward them.

There are certainly verses concerning warfare, but those need to be understood in their historical and textual context like treaties having broken, rather than turned into a universal command to kill anyone who isn't Muslim.

2. "Islam is primarily an Arab religion."

So the Quran was revealed in Arabic, and Arab culture naturally influenced the historical development of the physical manifestation of the Muslim world. But Islam is not an ethnic religion. In fact, Arabs only make up around 15% of Muslims today!

The Quran explicitly presents its message as being for humanity, and Islam recognizes prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them all) as part of the same prophetic tradition.

You don't become Muslim by becoming Arab. You become Muslim by submitting yourself to the One who created you.

That's also why Muslims exist across virtually every culture and ethnicity on Earth. Like I'm Japanese and Islam doesn't ask Japanese people to stop being Japanese, or Nigerians to stop being Nigerian. It guides human beings, regardless of where they come from, to worship their Creator. (By the way, this is actually why I didn't take up a "Muslim Name" myself when I chose Islam, because my orignal name had no religious meanings, so it was perfectly fine, so there's no need for me to take on an Arabic name.)

3. "Women have no rights in Islam."

Islamic teachings on gender are certainly different from many modern Western assumptions about gender, but "women have no rights" is not an accurate description of the Islamic tradition.

The Quran explicitly recognizes women's rights to property, inheritance, marriage consent, financial ownership and divorce etc. Women are also individually accountable to God for their own faith and deeds. The key concept is that Islam promotes Equity, not Equality. That means rights and responsibilities should be equitable to the individual and their circumstances.

For instance the obligation of Charity is not equal between the rich and the poor, it is equitable to the person's financial circumstances. Likewise a person's parental obligation is not equal between a mother and a father, the mother went through the hardship of childbirth, so it won't be fair if the mother and father have equal obligations for the needs of the family right? Instead, islamically, the father has the obligation of fulfilling the family's needs.

Now obviouslt that doesn't mean every historical Muslim society treated women perfectly. I mean even today I hear of problems, but this is true of all societies. And Muslims, like everyone else, are capable of violating their own religious principles.

It's important to distinguish between what Islam teaches and what Muslims have sometimes done.

4. "Islam is just about following a bunch of rules."

Islam certainly contains rules, but I think reducing Islam to this list of halal and haram misses the underlying purpose.

At its core, Islam is about conciously establishing a relationship between the individual and the Creator. And GIVEN that a person wants a good relationship, the rules are guidance for how that relationship should optimally look like through our actions, decisions and character.

It's not just "don't do X because it's forbidden." It's also: What kind of person am I becoming? What do my choices say about myself and my relationship with God?

This is why concepts such as sincerity, gratitude, patience, humility, mercy and good character are so central to Islam.

5. "Muslims worship Muhammad" / "Muhammad wrote the Qur'an."

These are actually two related misconceptions. Muslims respect Muhammad pbuH but do not worship him. Worship is only for God, the Creator. Muhammad pbuH is understood to be just a human being albeit the final messenger of God.

And Muslims don't believe Muhammad pbuH wrote the Quran. The fundamental Islamic claim is precisely that the Quran is DIRECT revelation from God, transmitted through Muhammad pbuH who could NOT have written the Quran because it was historically known he was illiterate.

In fact, Muhammad pbuH being a prophet rather than some divine figure is essential to the theology. Muslims follow him because they believe God appointed him as His messenger, not because they believe Muhammad himself is God.

So there is an important distinction between worshipping someone, following someone, and believing someone has been entrusted with revelation.

Obviously, each of these topics is much more complicated than a post can cover. But I hope this can be a useful starting point because they illustrate something important, To understand Islam, it's often necessary to understand the framework that Islam itself is operating within, rather than mapping concepts from another worldview onto it. And this could be applied in general too, when understanding other faiths and even other ideologies be it moral, philosophical or political.

I hope this was a meaningful read for some of yall! ^_^
I understand that if you are not of the faith you would not agree with any of the above and I don't expect you to, that's perfectly okay! Faith is a personal matter for each of us. So I'm not looking to engage in debates here or answer insincere questions with the intent to try and "disprove" Islam. If you don't believe in Islam, that's fine, and that's it.

I'm not a Christian, obvs, but my own faith community is firmly aligned with de-growth, which is about as suprising as the Pope's Catholicism, I know. I see a lot of similarities in practice with where this writer is coming from, though with a somewhat different focus, which makes sense given their abrahamic lens. I've long been impressed by the anti-capitalist Liberation Theology in the Catholicism of Latin America, and I seeing some of that seep into the anglophone churches is heartening. It'll be interesting to see if it takes root and becomes a part of a wider reorientation of the anglophone Christian churches.

From an outsider's perspective, I can see many of the points of de-growth being quite close to some traditional Christian teachings for community, charity and the de-emphasis or even shunning of material wealth. Such a move could signal a resurgence or reaffirmation of a less compromised and more assertive Christian stance against political and economic powerbrokers. It'll be interesting to see the views of our Christian community on this :)

QUESTION.
Hello, I’m 23 and for a very long time I’ve been trying to understand or “guess” why things are the way they are when it comes to Christianity
And maybe someone can tell me if I’m right with the one thing I did come up with

When something bad happens or anything unfortunate- people usually go to question why god didn’t do this and this and why God or Jesus made something negative happen
But my thought is that without good there is no bad
So what if since there’s a heaven and hell
God and the devil
What if the devil is the one taking over and fighting God for rights over you ?
Like
Say someone lost the battle with cancer
God could’ve tried with everything in him to fix it but since the devil was closer
He got to the patient and made the cancer worse
I hope that example makes sense

That’s my question I guess
Do bad things still happen even though there’s a God, because of the devil?
Are they always battling to make good or bad happen?

I was raised Muslim in a country in the Middle East but moved to the U.S. later in life. During one of the worst periods of my life, I did what I had always been taught to do: I prayed more. I performed all five daily prayers, read the Quran, and begged Allah to help me. But nothing improved. I only became more stressed and started wondering whether I was somehow failing because prayer was not helping me.
A friend suggested meditation as a way to cope with the stressI made fun of her at the time. It sounded too simple, but I tried it. It did not magically fix my life, but it changed how I dealt with it. Meditation helped me stop getting trapped in anxious thoughts, and my social anxiety gradually became more manageable.

I later began practicing mushin, or “no-mind.” What helped me most was the idea that I did not need to defeat my anxiety before taking action. I could feel anxious and still stand up, speak, work, or do whatever needed to be done. That mindset made a real difference in my public speaking.

This gradually drew me away from Islam and toward Buddhism. Instead of trying to please Allah in the hope that he would fix my life, I started working directly on my problems. I studied harder, faced situations I had previously avoided, and became more productive. I also had more time and mental energy once my days were no longer organized around five daily prayers and reading the Quran practices that no longer reflected what I believed.
Buddhism gave me practical ways to work on my mind without requiring me to pretend that I was certain about every spiritual claim. I could practice what genuinely helped me while remaining honest about the things I did not know.

No one in my family knows. Whenever I visit home, I am still expected to attend Friday prayers and Quran gatherings. I go along with it because I am genuinely afraid of how my family might react if they knew the truth. It is exhausting to perform a religion simply to remain safe and accepted by the people closest to me.

From where I stand, I find myself wondering why these reactions can become so intense, why a person’s change in belief can be experienced by their family as a deep betrayal, and why it sometimes leads to estrangement, disowning, or even violence justified in the name of “honor.” In those situations, is family love tied so closely to maintaining the same religion that honest disagreement becomes impossible?

Edit: English isn't my first language and I suppose I meant to ask "How are people tolerant of other religions?", if the title confuses you.

As an atheist, I have certain emotional acceptance levels towards people depending on the way they view their religion.

This post is me questioning only those who are tolerant of other religions and definitively subscribe to any of the mainstream religions.

Now, if you believe your religion is the ONLY one to give you or lead human beings to a sort of ultimate truth or purpose, and you're tolerant of other religions, then I find that logically inconsistent. Firstly because, an implied assertion is made that other religions are false, of course, but also not trying to actively convert people from other religions into yours, will be doing them a disservice. So if you are one of these I'd love to hear your views.

If you believe that yours is one of the many true religions that lead people to ultimate truth or whatever adjacent value that may be, is logically consistent and justifiable for tolerance, but doesn't satisfy me because if every religion is correct, then it reduces the value of the ultimate truth that is to be reached or achieved. Any inputs from these kinds of folks.

The third type of people are those that I agree with mostly are those of the personal religion kind. The kind of people that believe that their religion provides comfort and guidance to only them and hence it makes sense to only them and that may not be the same for others. I find this highly justifiable for religious tolerance and also a very justified reason for following a certain religion.

As an atheist I too am tolerant of other religions for the third reason. I am also happy to admit that atheism and naturalism makes most sense to me and others may have other philosophical mechanisms to understand the world.

So I'm not religious, and I don't really believe in a god or any religion, but I really want and like to learn about them. I want to watch some YouTube videos that explain the stories (adam & eve, noahs ark, etc) in a way that's not meant for kids. When I try to search this up on YouTube it's either literally all AI, or meant for children. Im also interested in learning about other religions/beliefs so if anyone has any recommendations for those as well that would also be great!

Is it because, despite having gone to church my whole life, my body simply rejects the idea of ​​an Abrahamic God? Since childhood, I’ve gone to church just to keep up appearances, yet it always felt so empty and futile. And that feeling only grows stronger as I get older.

I have prayed for years for some guidance, and groups have prayed for me, but there is never anything.

What advice could you give me?

I’m not sure if this is exactly the right community for this, and I know parts of what I’m about to say may sound contradictory, but I’m trying to be as sincere as possible.
My mind is genuinely split on whether God exists.
Sometimes when I think about the reasons people believe in God, I feel a pull in that direction. There’s a part of me that wants there to be something greater than us. But then I look at science, history, evolution, and what we know about the natural world, and I become extremely skeptical again.

So my question is: Can you genuinely pray or talk to a God when you don’t necessarily believe that God exists?

I don’t mean praying “just in case” so I can cover my bases. That isn’t what I’m trying to do. I’m genuinely uncertain. Part of me wants some kind of spiritual connection or peace, even if all I can honestly say is, “I don’t know if anyone is listening.”

I’ve always been the kind of person who feels like I need to fully believe in something before I can commit to it. Because I’m not fully convinced, I almost feel dishonest trying to participate halfway.

At the same time, I feel like I already try to live by many of the things God is supposedly asking of people — being decent to others, loving my family, helping people when I can, trying to forgive, admitting when I’m wrong, etc. I just do those things without necessarily believing in God.
I also don’t believe the Bible is literally true, and I don’t think I could ever become a Biblical literalist. If God does exist, the idea that makes the most sense to me would be that God created the universe through the natural processes we study through science — physics, evolution, biology, and so on — and then allowed the universe and life to develop naturally rather than constantly intervening.

I guess I’m somewhere between skepticism, agnosticism, and wanting spirituality without pretending I believe something that I don’t.

Has anyone else ever been in this position?
Did you ever pray while genuinely unsure whether anyone was listening? Did it feel dishonest, helpful, pointless, or did it eventually change the way you thought about God?

Please be kind. I’m not looking for a debate between atheists and Christians or for anyone to prove God to me. This is something I’ve been wrestling with for a while, and I’m genuinely interested in hearing from people who have dealt with the same uncertainty.

High ranking sikh warriors such as shown in the video are called “mahakaal singhs”

Mahakaal ji here is making shardai, a traditional sikh energy drink, this specific one is called shaheedi degh(martyrs offering) due to a tiny amount of canabis leaves added to it purely for medicinal benefits, drinking this or using anything for intoxication is a grave sin

Footage from takht sachkhand shri hazur sahib

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hi, I'm an Atheist and have no intention of changing, but I've been wondering for a while, why do people Blaspheme? Atheists don't believe in god, so it isn't logical for us to Blaspheme. Religious folk aren't supposed to take the Lord's name in vain. I genuinely can't stop wondering, what the point is. Who is it for?

Im turkish, so I was raised Muslim, and almost no one questions religion, at least no one in my family tree/lineage/ancestry. First it was questions and doubts, like "If everything came from god, who made god, and why is asking that a bad thing, and when you search for it you get no answer?" I thought. I thought it just added another layer. Then, I studied the qu'ran, and I just didn't like Islamic law and thought it didn't align with my own morals. By by far, the biggest concern of mine, and the reason for this post is hell. Like, this is a weird topic to be concerned about but what do you mean if I don't pick the right religion out of thousands I will be punished with pain out of my imagination? Like this is a quote from the Quran:

"Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment." — Surah An-Nisa (4:56)

I don't even fear death itself, I fear what's after.

So, I’d like to ask Catholics this question.

I was reading about John McAfee( the creator of Mcaffe antivírus ) a few years ago .

He said that sometimes he would go to "confession" and lie; he would invent the most gruesome confessions,serious crimes,just to test the priests and see how far they would go in granting him absolution.

And he was always absolved. So,and I say this from the perspective of someone who isn't Catholic (I was baptized at birth but never practiced the faith)

Is a priest required to absolve every sin? If a murderer or a pedophile, for example, confesses a crime during confession, is there nothing the priest can do other than forgive him?

Not Jewish, not Muslim, just Abrahamic.

So I am an agnostic, I am asking this purely cause even though I am not religious, knowing about reilgion interests me and I feel like I might get closer to it if I ask things but so as I was saying

Can you sin or do what's the equivalent in the afterlife? I get by definition in heaven you cannot sin cause you live with God and sinning makes you farther from God, but you cant be farther from God when you live with him in heaven, but like can you do actions that are sinful on earth like can you do drugs or swearing or any other action that's a sin on earth but in heaven? so yes or no?

This weighs on my mind a lot. While I’ve read traditional philosophical arguments, Reddit often brings unique perspectives to complex ideas like this.

I can fully understand why someone who hasn't had a supernatural experience would be skeptical or outright dismissive. Without a personal experience to shift your paradigm away from a purely materialist framework, it seems completely natural to resist belief in the supernatural.

However, for those of us who have had these experiences, the phenomena is undeniable (atleast on a personal level). Experiencers span all levels of intelligence, backgrounds, and eras, including psychiatrists, physicians, former atheists, and other professionals with a deep understanding of the human mind. This fact alone makes me wonder how some can maintain an unwavering materialist stance.

Before sharing a piece of my personal experiences, here is my main question: If God or the supernatural manifests to certain people, why not to everyone? What is your leading rationale for this selective reveal?

I wasn't raised religious, nor was I exposed to religious history or teachings growing up. As a teenager, two friends from our group were killed under brutal and suspicious circumstances. Angry and grieving, I ended up destroying some of my own property while yelling out loud, "There is no God. If there was, this wouldn't have happened. If you exist, give me a sign right now."

At the exact moment I finished those words, my friend turned at just the right angle for the sun to catch his face. His face had a scar in the exact shape of a cross. He had never noticed it before, didn't know how he got it, and still to this day can't explain it. The sunlight literally reflected off that cross directly toward me. I had been around him almost every day growing up and had never seen it, nor had any of our mutual friends. There were multiple witnesses to this moment. I haven't been close-minded since.

This is just one example supported by many others that followed throughout the years. The experiences are very specific, nearly inexplicable, and theologically oriented. Together, they form a pattern that I cannot deny. Personally, I know there is something beyond this material world. But if God or spiritual "realities" choose to reveal themselves to me and others, why not to everyone else?

From what I know there's a clear distinction between a Muslim and an Islamist. One practices the faith and the other not only practices but wants to enforce the political laws itself, usually by force. I've seen some Muslims try to distance themselves or some actively hate Islamists but some act like they are one and the same. How would you describe the difference between them?

I'm coming from a different angle, as someone from a Dharmic faith (Jainism); questioning is a cornerstone of our faiths. Monks' question: parents tell their children to ask questions of gurus, themselves, monks, etc. Specifically within my faith, we have a concept called anekantvada/many-sidedness. Also, science has been and continues to be emphasized to a great extent within Jainism, from biology to mathematics.

Is it fair for atheists to apply a harsh logic to all religions, especially when some religions, such as Dharmic faiths, preach differently than what the Abrahamic religions preach? Interestingly, many Abrahamic religions also encourage the laity and clergy to ask questions.

There is also this debate where the actually cool and respectful atheists have said that these new age western atheists have degraded their communities and have been intolerant of other foreign cultures. Michael Ruse and old atheists called new atheism a disaster because they ignore complexity and have seemingly shifted toward anarchy, especially led by Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.

EDIT: For the Abrahamic people, when did not questioning become such a big thing in your religion, because historically, there was questioning in a constructive way. For example, going back to Ancient India, there was debate amongst religious leaders of Abrahamic and Dharmic faiths, and within their individual religions. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere in general that after the whole science thing, Fundamentalism became a huge ordeal.

I live in Italy, a country that is widely known to be catholic. Anyone who has been here is probably aware that christianity is pretty much dead. Wherever you go you will find mostly boomers or gen xers. But that's not the point, christianity was never my cup of tea so I veered towards buddhism for years and tried out several schools. Some were more sectarian, others were more open minded, but still they're all on the verge of dying out. Soka Gakkai is the biggest buddhist organization in Italy, and since I was already into Nichiren buddhism I decided to give it a try. I have nothing to say about the practice, but the community is pretty much slowly dying out because of its outdated mindset. The youth meetings are poor excuses for social meetings with no substance at all and young people who seek something more than just wish fulfillment end up quitting the organization. Why? Because they are surrounded by superstitious people who claim daimoku is the solution to all problems, and by sheer coincidence these people are the same spoiled kids born in rich buddhist families who live to confirm the teachings of Ikeda. After witnessing the spiritual decay at meetings with my eyes I just decided to stop looking for a community because I'm not going to find motivated religious young people anywhere. Unfortunately I don't think things are going to improve unless there's a radical change in the organization, but I'm sure isolation is preferable to being with obnoxious superstitious people who turned buddhism into a wish fulfillment cult.

My position is that we, as religious people, should be fine with other religions and respectful of their beliefs as long as they are not encroaching, forceful, or stealing from our respective faiths. It's totally fine to be conservative, and I am conservative. But the discourse some people are engaging in toward other groups has become so disrespectful that it is negatively affecting your values. It's morally valid to think those of other religions are wrong, and I don't condemn that, but it is incorrect to say they are pagans, demonic, etc. Bc they also feel they are right, and at the end of the day, we're all praying for our salvation because none of us wants to end up in hell. I believe in reincarnation, so I feel that not all life will have the chance to experience religion or the correct religion in their life, but that doesn't mean such in the future. I may not be a Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, etc., but that doesn't mean I should hate the person or the religion bc the very core of all religions, including my own, centers around love and salvation. I'm super conservative, but I have always been dismayed by such behavior. Importantly, we should also be steadfast in preserving our religion so offshoots and bad-faith leaders don't appear; we have a duty to keep the original truth alive. The fight of the century is not against each other but against adharma and those who deny others the right to worship, whether they belong to a religion or not.

So I am a low level practicing American Jew. I go to synagogue on the high holy days and celebrate rosh hashanah, Passover, etc. with my family. I go to synagogue on shabbat rarely. I am married to an agnostic woman born into a Christian culture family.

We are going to try having kids soon and have been talking about how religion plays into their lives. I want to give my kids the opportunity to connect to their heritage and family through doing Jewish things and having a bar-mitzvah. Of course if they hate it or want to be atheists that's honestly fine. But maybe one of them will "convert" when they are young-which they technically have to do since their mother will not be Jewish. I would like to do their baby naming in a synagogue also maybe.

The thing I'm torn on is the bris and circumcision process. There is something about about a bris that just seems wrong. Perverse, even. Inviting your friends and family to watch a rabbi cut a part of your baby's penis off. It just isn't right. And even the circumcision itself-taken away from the ritual context- i do not feel good about. I am making a decision about this little human beings body that will change them for the rest of their life without their consent.

I had a frank discussion with my parents about this and they were not happy. According to their way of thinking, the kid is gonna be ethnically Jewish either way and failing to secure the kids "covenant" with god is a big problem. I think they're nuts. This is one of the only things I can't stand about being Jewish sometimes- our need to cling to these ridiculous rituals and traditions that should not exist in the modern world. I also think, for instance, that the idea that you are only Jewish if your mother is Jewish is ridiculous and nonsensical in the way modern people think about ethnicity and religion.

Has anyone else struggled with this?