RE: Understanding Islam
February 22, 2015 at 11:59 am
(This post was last modified: February 22, 2015 at 12:09 pm by ReptilianPeon.)
This is very good but I have a few points I'd like to make. Firstly, Ibadis predate the Sunni-Shia split but I see no mention of them. They have their own sets of Hadith which are distinct from the Sunni and Shia collections. Speaking of which, I personally try and avoid Hadith as much as possible. Often people will quickly dismiss Hadiths they don't want to address as "unauthentic" and also because, unless a person has specifically stated which branch they adhere to, I don't know which of the three Hadith collections they use (if any at all because they could be a Quranist).
Not all Ibadis live in Oman. Nouri Abusahmain, the current Libyan head of state is apparently an Ibadi, for example. Some Berbers are Ibadis and there are small groups of Ibadis in East Africa too, particularly those areas that were once under the influence of the Sultan of Oman - e.g. Tanzania/Zanzibar. Given that Tunisia and Tanzania are both popular holiday destinations, it's not impossible that you'll encounter an Ibadi.
So an obvious question is: Who has the correct stories about Muhammad? The Ibadi branch of the religion is older than both Sunni and Shia.
Finally, please look up the definition of the word pedophile. I don't think Muhammad fits the (widely accepted) definition. Quran 65:4 may add credence to the theory that Muhammad supported marrying children but doesn't say anything about sex.
If somebody wants to have a meaningful discussion with a believer then they can't straight away start saying "Muhammad was pedophile". This is going to invoke a negative repose and you'll never get anywhere with them. There are much better arguments anyway (in my opinion) - such as highlighting the historical inaccuracy of the Quran with verses such as Quran 2:127 (Mecca is thousands of years old because Abraham apparently built the Kaaba of Mecca) and Quran 11:42 (which basically says Noah's Flood was global in the Quranic story too).
What needs to be mentioned is that when defending Muhammad's relationship with Aisha, the believer is forced to admit that Muhammad was influenced by secular morality. When they say "the relationship was of its time" they are admitting that marrying somebody who is nine years of age is no longer acceptable.
However, some people today maintain that it's fine to marry children, if it is "the norm" in a given society:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZlDvdtaQrw
Not all Ibadis live in Oman. Nouri Abusahmain, the current Libyan head of state is apparently an Ibadi, for example. Some Berbers are Ibadis and there are small groups of Ibadis in East Africa too, particularly those areas that were once under the influence of the Sultan of Oman - e.g. Tanzania/Zanzibar. Given that Tunisia and Tanzania are both popular holiday destinations, it's not impossible that you'll encounter an Ibadi.
So an obvious question is: Who has the correct stories about Muhammad? The Ibadi branch of the religion is older than both Sunni and Shia.
Finally, please look up the definition of the word pedophile. I don't think Muhammad fits the (widely accepted) definition. Quran 65:4 may add credence to the theory that Muhammad supported marrying children but doesn't say anything about sex.
If somebody wants to have a meaningful discussion with a believer then they can't straight away start saying "Muhammad was pedophile". This is going to invoke a negative repose and you'll never get anywhere with them. There are much better arguments anyway (in my opinion) - such as highlighting the historical inaccuracy of the Quran with verses such as Quran 2:127 (Mecca is thousands of years old because Abraham apparently built the Kaaba of Mecca) and Quran 11:42 (which basically says Noah's Flood was global in the Quranic story too).
What needs to be mentioned is that when defending Muhammad's relationship with Aisha, the believer is forced to admit that Muhammad was influenced by secular morality. When they say "the relationship was of its time" they are admitting that marrying somebody who is nine years of age is no longer acceptable.
However, some people today maintain that it's fine to marry children, if it is "the norm" in a given society:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZlDvdtaQrw
