(April 20, 2015 at 12:54 pm)Dystopia Wrote: I missed the part where you are a reputed scholar that knows perfectly how the quran works and how to read it. Have you even bothered to read the quran and at least watch a few youtube videos to see how divergent opinions can be?I have a copy of the Quran on a bookshelf and I mentioned this in my post above. Opinions are diverse but the term Immam has traditionally referred to simply a "knowledge person", if I remember correctly. You don't need any formal qualifications to declare yourself an Immam, or even a Sheikh it seems. Some really ignorant people (e.g. Yusuf Estes) are often referred to as Sheikhs.
Believers are always trying to make excuses for the religious texts. Christians try and explain away the violence of the Old Testament in the same way that Muhammadans are saying the Quran doesn't really advocate violence. Muhamadans agree the Old Testament is extremely violent in same way that Christians say the Quran is full of violence.
