Your observation about atheists: I obviously cannot speak for all the different cases but, speaking from an Islamic perspective, it might be that these people have followed their desires and Satan so much in their disobedience of God’s commandments that, as the Qur’an describes it, their “hearts become covered” and they no longer accept the proofs of their Lord or the calls to His guidance. The topic of “diseases of the heart” is really a huge one in Islam that I lack the time (and knowledge) to fully explain.

Peace be onto you.

I still get your message though, but I wish people could see it is that specifically unquestioning faith that has led so many people to follow hundreds of different false religions. So we criticize something while we practise the same thing.

Please clarify something for me. If the upbringing of children and their choice (free will which was given to them by God) is sufficient to turn their heads round the natural inclinations to believe then it makes that inclination a bit useless as it is so liable to change. What is the point of making such a statement? Moreover since babies can not communicate their beliefs it makes it a claim no one can test and no one can verify and, given that it has little impact on the person’s life (compared to social factors) then we might as well not mention it at all!!!

Also many atheists that I know personally or heard on the media have had religious upbringing. Not all say we believe God does not exist (aka positive atheism) they say we lack the belief in God. As if spirituality is a sense that they are born without. Some even struggle to understand how people believe in the supernatural at all.

Peace and please continue the interesting discussion.

Since I believe that the Qur’an contains proofs that could not have been known to people at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, then I believe it to be the word of God. I also believe in the entirety of the Qur’an so, for me, it is I can say that it is right because it says it is right.

Salam.

I think someone else pointed it out to you that you can not say that a book is right because the book says it is right. That is the reason why God gives us signs and other proofs in the first place so we may verify that his book is true independently. Do you agree?

Science has nothing to do with faith issues. My proof is that millions of people are atheist or Zen Buddhism followers who do not believe in a personal deity. You may say they are confused/liars but this would invite all sorts of counter allegation. Peace

I am sure the scholars would not care less if what they say agrees to what science observes. some schoalrs could not take science seriously and the result is relgious dogma that not everyone can take seriously because science builds into us a yearn for reasoning that is so difficult to overcome. moreover just being rigid and forceful does not make you right.

http://gaymuslims.wordpress.com/2006/06/30/memri-qaradawi-the-main-point/

I think the important thing is that the discourse in Islamic LAW (as opposed to other discussions of the religion) should be focused on actions.

This title mentions what I have translated above as “homosexual sodomy” and “lesbian activity”. These are valid topics for discussion, whereas the faulty MEMRI translation of “How should a homosexual or a lesbian be punished?” cannot lead to a direct answer from a mufti: he would have to start by defining those terms.

But as I mentioned in the post, I don’t like the term “liwaat” at all – probably not for the same reasons as yours.

Also: remember to distinguish between what some editor with Al-Jazeera wrote, and what Sh. al-Qaradawi said.