Fashion

Hi all, I really appreciate participating in your forum and will start my posting with new information.
After the tragic attack on 9/11 and the war on terrorism, Islam remain the fastest-growing religion in America and in the world although religion is no longer dominates everyday life in Western society.

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/14/egypt.islam/
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2001/n10042001_200110043.html

"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people..." Hillary Rodman Clinton, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1996, p.3
http://www.themodernreligion.com/convert/am.htm

Famous people too: Singer "Cat Stevens"   Oh, baby, baby it's a wild world,  story as told him:
http://www.mountainoflight.co.uk/talks_journey_4.html

Errrrr, yeah....

So islam is the fastest gowing religion.......

not much to say bout this.....

I have fish in my pockets! 

Worst first impression evarInfinite-Zr0

Agreed.

From what I've read from different people who have converted to Islam, there are a few main reasons for most conversions:

1. Muslims and Christians agree that God is self-existent.  This means that He does not derive his existence from anyone. Also they believe in Jesus, love him, and honor him. In fact, no Muslim can be a Muslim unless he or she believes in Jesus, on whom be peace.

The Quran teach that Jesus is prophet or messenger from Allah and not a God so Quran denies the divinity of Jesus. The Qur'an says that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he spoke while he was still only a baby, that he healed the blind and the leper by God's leave, and that he raised the dead by God's leave.

2. Islam is a religious life**** not just a quick Sunday morning church visit and a label. Although some Christians do pray before each meal and spend much time with their Bible, etc.many don't in the USA. Islam is something that can't be shunted into a few spare hours. You pray five times a day. Your dress code is affected; even your food choices are explained in the Qur'an. Many converts like it because they feel actively involved and as if they are truly religious. Some people also studied Buddhism, flirted with Roman Catholicism or spent time with Quakers, but ultimately found them lacking.

3. For women, it is a big and welcome change from the "in your face" se*uality of western culture. Women are not required by the Qur'an to veil. They are required to dress modestly and it is *recommended* that they cover their hair. However, most do veil and some go farther with the face screen or other traditional clothes. Women dressed like this consider themselves marked as religious women, not easy dates. They don't get hit on. No one gawks at their bodies. They are clearly off limits se*ually and many that I personally know say it is liberating not to have to conform to western standards of sexy dress, makeup and spending so much time and money on appearance. You buy a five-dollar hijab, put your hair in a ponytail and cover, wear long skirt and a tunic shirt -you're set.

4. Islam is also growing because many people are not satisfied with Christianity. They feel it is too liberal, too fluid and changes for the culture. Islam on the other hand is more rigid and does not as a whole allow much for modern changes and the whims of society. Many like it because they feel other religions have loose standards.

A person like me who is unfamiliar with Islamic teachings might be surprised to hear that Islam is not a "religion" in the narrow sense used by secular humanists and does not rely upon blind faith to make its case, but rather, encourages to use minds and For example, the Qur'an invites to ponder upon the wonders of creation, and challenges with intellectual arguments. Further study of the Qur'an demonstrates that sound reasoning and scientific knowledge confirm rather than contradict authentic revelation and its ability to satisfy the intellect whilst bringing peace to the soul. Also Islam deals with every aspect of life, spiritual and physical; its jurisprudence is based on a creed, instruction on worship, and ordinances regarding social, economic, and political aspects.

That's what I got from Islam-online & Islam way women's board and a few other friends of mine. Stats taken by many college groups say that women convert 4 times more often then men.

WOMEN are taught from early childhood that their worth is proportional to their attractiveness. We feel compelled to pursue abstract notions of beauty, half realizing that such a pursuit is futile. When women reject this form of oppression, they face ridicule and contempt. Whether it's women who refuse to wear makeup or to shave their legs, or to expose their bodies, society, both men and women, have trouble dealing with them. In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it's neither. It is simply a woman's assertion that judgment of her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social interaction. Wearing the hijab has given me freedom from constant attention to my physical self. Because my appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed. No one knows whether my hair looks as if I just stepped out of a salon, whether or not I can pinch an inch, or even if I have unsightly stretch marks. And because no one knows, no one cares. Feeling that one has to meet the impossible male standards of beauty is tiring and often humiliating. I should know, I spent my entire teenage years trying to do it. It was a borderline bulimic and spent a lot of  money I didn't have on potions and lotions in hopes of becoming the next Cindy Crawford. The definition of beauty is ever-changing; waifish is good, waifish is bad, athletic is good -- sorry, athletic is bad. Narrow hips? Great. Narrow hips? Too bad. Women are not going to achieve equality with the right to bear their breasts in public, as some people would like to have you believe. That would only make us party to our own objectification. True equality will be had only when women don't need to display themselves to get attention and won't need to defend their decision to keep their bodies to themselves.

Naheed Mustafa graduated from the University of Toronto last year with an honours degree in politics and history. She is currently studying journalism at Ryerson Polytechnic University

I really don't like misunderstanding of my intentions in this post .It is not an assault on Christianity or any other religion.  It is indispensable for me to look for the truth and study comparative religion because if I would like to know whether a religion is true or false, I should not depend on my emotions, feelings, or traditions. Rather, I should depend on my reason and intellect. When God sent the prophets, He supported them with miracles and evidences, which proved that they were truly prophets, send by God and that the religion they came with was true.

We cay say there are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which claim to be the right way or the only true path to God. How can one determine which one is correct or if, in fact, all are correct? The method by which the answer can be found is to clear away the superficial differences in the teachings of the various claimants to the ultimate truth, and identify the central object of worship to which they call, directly or indirectly. Can we either claim that all men are Gods or that specific men were God or that nature is God or that God is a figment of man's imagination.
It may be argued that all religions teach good things so why should it matter which one we follow. I made some searching and I couldn't find a sharp answer but I found something interesting stated in the Koran:
Creation-worship is the greatest sin that man can commit because it contradicts the very purpose of his creation. Man was created to worship Allah alone, consequently, the worship of creation, which is the essence of idolatry, is the only unforgivable sin. One who dies in this state of idolatry has sealed his fate in the next life. This is not an opinion, but a revealed fact stated by Allah in his final revelation to man

"Verily Allah will not forgive the joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive (sins) less than that for whom so ever He wishes"(Soorah An- Nisaa 4:48 and 116)

Buddha was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles to the religion of India. He did not claim to be God nor did he suggest to his followers that he be an object of worship. Yet, today most Buddhists who are to be found outside of India have taken him to be God and prostrate to idols made in their perception of his likeness.

God revealed a holy book to Jesus called the Injeel, some parts of which may be still available in the teachings of God to Jesus in the New Testament. But this does not mean that the Bible we have today because it is not the original scriptures that were revealed by God. They underwent alterations, additions, and omissions. This was also said by the Committee charged with revising The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version). This Committee consisted of thirty-two scholars who served as members of the Committee. They secured the review and counsel of an Advisory Board of fifty representatives of the co-operating denominations.

 The Committee said in the Preface to The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version), p. iv, "Sometimes it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission, but none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text.
 
The Committee also said in the Preface, p. vii, Notes are added which indicate significant variations, additions, or omissions in the ancient authorities (Mt 9.34; Mk 3.16; 7.4; Lk 24.32, 51, etc.).

Question: Is the information declared in below sites correct or not:

THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS
http://sultan.org/articles/Jesus.html

Who Was Jesus According to Jesus?
http://www.islaminfo.com/new/jesus.asp

IS THE BIBLE GODS WORD?
http://www.jamaat.net/bible/Bible1-3.html

The Bible - A Closer Look!
http://www.islamtomorrow.com/bible/

The Islamic and Christian views of Jesus: a comparison
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/Jesus/inIslam.asp

Christ in Islam
http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-20479/Christ.htm

Mary & Jesus in Quran
http://www.islamworld.net/

Is Jesus the Same as God?
http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-20479/Samegod.htm

None of the Bible's Writers Believed That Jesus is God
http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-10-1.htm

Jesus Will Descend at the End of Time
http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=77