(June 6, 2011 at 12:20 pm)Cinjin Cain Wrote: Thank you Rayaan. My view of you is often mixed, more so than the other religious members on this site, but then again, my views on many people and things are often mixed. You were actually the source of my original OP, I just decided to cast a wider net. I was not aware that you use to be an atheist. That fact does indeed change my initial conclusion ... somewhat. It would seem to me that there still seems to be some doubt in you about the validity of Islam. Am I wrong in this assumption?
Do I have a slightest doubt about the validity of Islam? Yes, but I don't think it's my doubt that brought me here. Rather, I think it's my sense of faith that motivated me to come to this forum. And ironically, my faith in Islam has been getting more and more re-inforced while participating in this forum during the past nine months (though it may sound a little strange to you). Plus, I've been learning more about Islam because the discussions compelled me to learn more about the religion.
I did talk about why I believe in Islam in bits and pieces, in different threads, and here are some of the earlier topics:
this,
this, and
this.
There are other things about Islam which I haven't posted yet, and those are things which you guys have never heard from other Muslims before, and I feel that those are the things which were the main reasons for me coming back to Islam (and it doesn't have anything to do with things like "personal experiences" or "love for Allah"). I'm going to save them for a later time, though.
Obviously, it's not that easy for a theist to explain his beliefs to an atheist, and even after I do it, it turns out to be almost 100% ineffective. The same is true vice versa (or an atheist talking to a theist). However, I think that atheists have it much easier when it comes to debating, since they are not required to give any evidence unlike a believer. But, I still enjoy discussing my faith regardless of whether people think that I'm deluded or not. Some will like me, some will hate me, and others will have mixed feelings, but none of that is a problem to me, because ultimately, what matters to me is that I know myself and the reason for my beliefs better than anyone else.
Anyways, you got the answer to your question in the original post. You caught the main fish that you were looking for. And I think I'm quite an easy one to catch.