Most Common Questions asked by Non-Muslims (MUSLIMS ARE FUNDAMENTALISTS AND TERRORISTS)

Question:

Why are most of the Muslims fundamentalists and terrorists?

Answer:

This question is often hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any discussion on religion or world affairs. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. In fact, such misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination and acts of violence against Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim campaign in the American media following the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the press was quick to declare a ‘Middle Eastern conspiracy’ behind the attack. The culprit was later identified as a soldier from the American Armed Forces.

Let us analyze this allegation of ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘terrorism’:

1. Definition of the word ‘fundamentalist’
A fundamentalist is a person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. For a person to be a good doctor, he should know, follow, and practise the fundamentals of medicine. In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of medicine. For a person to be a good mathematician, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of mathematics. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of mathematics. For a person to be a good scientist, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of science. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of science.

2. Not all ‘fundamentalists’ are the same
One cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush. One cannot categorize all fundamentalists as either good or bad. Such a categorization of any fund amentalist will depend upon the field or activity in which he is a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist robber or thief causes harm to society and is therefore undesirable. A fundamentalist doctor, on the other hand, benefits society and earns much respect.

3. I am proud to be a Muslim fundamentalist
I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practise the fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim because, I know that the fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole. Many people harbour misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam. If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective levels.

4. Dictionary meaning of the word ‘fundamentalist’
According to Webster’s dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ was a movement in American Protestanism that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was a reaction to modernism, and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed on belief in the Bible as the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a word initially used for a group of Christians who believed that the Bible was the verbatim word of God without any errors and mistakes.

According to the Oxford dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ means ‘strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam’.
Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who is a terrorist.

5. Every Muslim should be a terrorist
Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror. The moment a robber sees a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist for the robber. Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial elements of society, such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an anti-social element sees a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the word ‘terrorist’ is generally used for a person who causes terror among the common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people i.e. anti-social elements, and not to the common innocent people. In fact a Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people.

6. Different labels given to the same individual for the same action, i.e. ‘terrorist’ and ‘patriot’
Before India achieved independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of India who did not subscribe to non-violence were labeled as terrorists by the British government. The same individuals have been lauded by Indians for the same activities and hailed as ‘patriots’. Thus two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of actions. One is calling him a terrorist while the other is calling him a patriot. Those who believed that Britain had a right to rule over India called these people terrorists, while those who were of the view that Britain had no right to rule India called them patriots and freedom fighters.
It is therefore important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair hearing. Both sides of the argument should be heard, the situation should be analyzed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into account, and then the person can be judged accordingly.

7. Islam means peace
Islam is derived from the word ‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the society.

CHINESE FESTIVALS

Festivals

Chinese New Year

Celebrated on the first day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, this is the most important annual festival for the Chinese community. Each year is named after one of the 12 animals according to the Chinese Zodiac.Houses are cleaned and decorated to prepare for the big day.

Debts are settled, prayers and offerings are made. New clothes are bought and plenty of food are prepared.

Family members from far come back for the gathering. New year cards are exchanged between friends and relatives. A reunion dinner for the family is held on the eve of the new year.Bad language and unpleasant topics are discouraged.

There are lion dances and small fire works. Red paper showing Chinese characters of prosperity and wealth are pasted either in front or inside the house. Ang-Pow or red packet containing money is given out to children and elderly. Open house is practised for visiting relatives and friends with various ethnic races. The new year is lasted for fifteen days which the concentration is on the first three days. The celebration ends with the Chap Goh Mei on the fifteenth day.
There are 2 versions as to the origin, but both involves the conquest of a legendary beast Nian.

Version 1: The beast Nian (modern Chinese means "year") would come out from the mountains and prey on people on the eve of a new year. People are terrified. Then, an old man said that it feared loud noise and red colour. Hence, before its arrival on the eve, people would put up red paper on their doors and windows and when it comes, all would start to hit drums, pots, light fire crackers to scare the beast away. Indeed the plan worked and from then on, Nian did not
appear anymore. Hence the beginning of red paper decorations, lighting of fire crackers and lion dance.

Version 2: Nian had a very big mouth and would swallow a great many people with just one bite. One day, an old man came and offered to subdue Nian. To Nian he said, "I hear say that you are very capable, but can you swallow the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people who are by no means of your worthy opponents?" So, swallow it did many of the beasts of prey on earth that also harassed people and their domestic animals from time to time. After that, the old man disappeared riding the beast Nian. He turned out to be an immortal. Now that Nian is gone and other beasts of prey are also scared into forests, people began to enjoy their peaceful life. Before the old man left, he told the people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end to scare away Nian in case it sneaked back again.

Chap Goh Mei

In Hokkien dialect, it means the 15th night of Chinese New year. It is celebrated with prayers and offerings to mark the end of the Chinese New Year. Houses are again brightly decorated with lights for the last day of the celebration. Legend as seem young unmarried women throwing tangerines into the sea hoping to Find a good husband.

it probably began as a harvest festival where Chinese agrarian communities celebrate and rejoice over their harvest.

It’s origin goes back to the legend of Chang-E and Hou Yi : the earth once had ten suns circling it, each taking its turn to bring light and warmth to earth. However, one day all ten suns appeared together. The heat was so scorching and unbearable. A strong archer named Hou Yi came out and succeeded in shooting down nine suns. He was later made the emperor but
after that he became a tyrant.

He wanted the elixir of life so that he can continue to rule forever. In order to save the people from his tyranny, his wife Chang-E stole the elixir and comsumed It herself. She then floated to the moon taking along her pet rabbit with her. Hence started the legend of the lady in the moon with her Jade Rabbit.

Zhong Qiu Jie was given new meaning during the 14th century when Zhu Yuan Zhang plotted against the Yuan dynasty started by the Mongolians. The rebels hid their messages in the mooncakes. Zhu eventually succeeded in overthrowing the Mongolian rule and became the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. Although Han rule was taken over by the Manchus in the 17th century (Qing dynasty), Zhong Qiu Jie continues to be a commemoration of the
overthrow of the Mongolians by Han people.

HINDUISM and CASTE

Caste (varna):
Brahmin = Priest Caste;
Ksatriya = Rajanya/Ruler/Warrior Caste;
Vaisya = Commoner Caste;
Sudra = Servant/Slave Caste; and
Avarna = Outcaste/Untouchable/Dalit/Candala/Dog-eater.

There are also many subsets in each caste. Dvija = twice-born (twice-born =upper 3 castes or sometimes just Brahmin caste particularly). Some Hindus have a delusion that caste is not promoted by any of their holy books. Is that really so?

Let's find out:

· "By his very birth a Brahmin is a deity even for the gods and the only
authority for people in this world, for the Veda is the foundation in this
matter." -- Manusmrti 11:85.

· "People here whose behaviour is pleasant can expect to enter a pleasant
womb, like that of a woman of the Brahmin, the Ksatriya, or the Vaisya
caste. But people of foul behaviour can expect to enter the foul womb,
like that of a dog, a pig, or an outcaste woman." -- Chandogya Upanisad
5:10:7.

· "If a man of one birth (Sudra) hurls cruel words at one of the twice-born,
his tongue should be cut out, for he was born from the rear-end. If he
mentions their name or caste maliciously, a red-hot iron nail tenfingerslong
should be thrust into his mouth. If he is so proud as to instruct
priests about their duty, the king should have hot oil poured into his mouth
and ears." -- Manusmrti 8:270-272.

· "If a man of inferior caste tries to sit down on the same seat as a man of
superior caste, he should be branded on the hip and banished, or have
his buttocks cut off." -- Manusmrti 8:281.

· "If in the process of negotiating betrothal there are first ten suitors of the
non-Brahmana varna for a woman (the marriageable girl), all of them lose
their claims of marriage and, only the Brahmin, the learned one, if he
grasps her hand would be her husband and only he. Not even the man of
Ksatriya varna and not even the man of Vaisya varna but only the
Brahmin is the husband of the bride in such cases of claimants of
betrothal, and the sun, as it appears, revealing this fact to the people of
five classes (4 varnas and the fifth avarna) rises up." -- Atharva Veda
5:17:8-9.

· "If someone born in a Ksatriya, Vaisya, or Sudra womb should be unable to
pay his fine, he may absolve himself of the debt by labour; a Brahmin
should pay little by little. The king should have women, children, madmen,
and the old, the poor, and the ill chastised with a whip, a bamboo cane,
a rope, and so forth." -- Manusmrti 9:229-230.

· "The Sudra's duty and supreme good is nothing but obedience to famous
Brahmin householders who know the Veda. If he is unpolluted, obedient
to his superiors, gentle in his speech, without a sense of 'I', and always
dependent on the Brahmins and the other (twice-born castes), he attains
a superior birth (in the next life)." -- Manusmrti 9:334-335.

· "A Brahmin is a great deity whether or not he is learned, just as fire is a
great deity whether or not it is brought to the altar. The purifying fire with
its brilliant energy is not defiled even in cremation grounds, and when
oblations of butter are placed in it at sacrifices it grows even greater. Thus
Brahmins should be revered in every way, even if they engage in all kinds
of undesirable actions, for this is the supreme deity. If the Ksatriyas
become overbearing towards the Brahmins in any way, the Brahmins
themselves should subdue them, for the Ksatriyas were born from the
Brahmins." -- Manusmrti 9:317-320.

· "His (Purusa's) mouth became the Brahmin; his arms were made into the
Ksatriya, his thighs the Vaisya, and from his feet the Sudra was born." -- Rig
Veda 10:90:12.

· In comparison, Sudras are as low as feet & Outcastes (avarna) are even
below that status of course.