LOL going back and reading these postings after nearly two years has me laughing.

The personalized attacks lodged at me by my “pious” brethren for questioning the logic in turning this man into a poster child of conversion and my subsequent questioning of support texts still shocks me.

I am reminded of a lecture an estate attorney gave on proper Islamic inheritance laws.

During the lecture he told us of a story in which a wealthy Muslim man from Southern California came to him seeking his advice on how to properly draft his will in accordance with the Shariah.

The attorney informed him that it was obligatory for him to give his estranged son a portion of his estate.

The man replied, I haven’t seen my son in 30 years, I haven’t even heard my grand children voices, I am not leaving him a dime, “Alhamdillauh I live in America and do not have to do this.”

The man decided instead to will all of his millions to the local masjid (a sinner in the eyes of literalist no doubt, giving money to community comes second after your blood even if they have fallen into vice and would use such wealth for vice …)
Bottom line, Alhamdillauh, we have the freedom, good or bad, to not follow the twisted crap shoot of randomness after we come in this world (we don’t have a choice on where we are born however).

The laws and system proposed by these brothers is one that is complex, confusing, and easily exploitable for the benefit of the soulless.

Alhamdillauh that I live in America!

This statement ”There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet” is not the Shihadah.

I agree akhi. The above way of translating the shahadah is not only confusing, but almost meaningless.

see the relevant article by saqib saab :) :
http://muslimmatters.org/2008/11/07/islam-islaam-or-islam-romanization-confusion-of-the-arabic-language/

The Islaamic Shihadah is:
‘Ash-hadu ‘an laa ‘ilaaha ‘illallaahu
wadahu laa sharika lahu
wa ‘ashadhu ‘anna Muhammadan
‘abduhu wa Rasuuluhu

ALLAAH SUBHANA WATA A’ALA created all the exists, the Heavens (galaxies) and the EARTH, of Jinn, woomen, children, and men.

It’s ISLAAM, not Islam.

I hv already written not to follow any particular muslim like me or others. Because many Muslims by name don practise Islam now-a-days. So if u ask someone whether he can read Quran is redundant in a sense that he himself doesn know wt to do.

So if u wanna know Islam, u gotta read books written on it. If u don like the “Translation” of the Quran on the basis of mere assumptions that translation and The Quran are not same, how u gonna learn it? Even many Arabian people don know how to read the Quran, let alone others non-practising muslims. So, u can not learn anything without mother tongue. So if gotta understand the concept in ur mother tongue first.

Moreover, Allah(SWT) says in the Quran to argue in the best possible way avoiding any kind of harsh words. So we had better try our best to spread the message since the prophet(pbuh) says,”spread the message even if it is one verse”. then pray to the Most Compassionate and the Omniscient to show the right way to our beloved brothers and sisters. if u see around the world, u will find most of the best contributions for DAWAH are done by our most beloved and respected new-Muslim brothers and sisters.

So, let us pray for them those who ponder over creation to know the real DEEN. May Allah bless us all with His infinite mercy and forgiveness.

If I was condescending then I do apologize as that was not my intention.

As for the issue of Arabic, the only reason why I was emphasizing that the solution to Frank’s problem was learning Arabic is because he said that this was what made him stop practicing islam, because according to him, you need to know Arabic to be a muslim. I never meant that learning Arabic is something obligatory on all muslims, but if Frank wants to use the excuse that he doesn’t know Arabic therefore he can’t practice islam, then if that was the real problem he could have simply learned Arabic. That was all what I meant.