Islam & the Muslim faith- banishing myths

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Heart

Efforts at understanding are important. De-mystifying and un-demonizing is crucial.

That said - I do NOT grant Islam, or any religion, a pass when it comes to patriarchal, oppressive beliefs about girls and women. I do not abide by any religion's conviction of their supremacy or "chosen-ness." I do NOT accept cultural relativism when it comes to abuse or violence-in-the-name-of.

Most of all, I hate the hypocrisy of traditional organized religions, including Islam.

Islam is no worse, and no better, than any global, organized religion, but it does currently gets "othered," in ways that are clearly the result of fear, ignorance, racism and bias.

Like other religions, there exists in Islam a continuum from secular to reform to moderate to conservative to fundamentalist. We are living in times when ALL kinds of fundamentalism is on the rise, coupled with an ever-shrinking globe, the proliferation of weaponry, and information and mis-information that travels at lightening speed. It is a time of extremes and extremism. That, not religious beliefs and not Islam, is the danger.

Heart

Yes, the one most significant reason I cannot be a part of organized religion is this very thing.... all (including what I grew up with) of the major religions of the world have this patriarchal oppression of women and girls within their ideological foundations.

My main interest here is about current US demonizing of Islam and the Muslim faith. As with most things, I do gai9n some hope when seeing what you describe as more secular to reform to or even moderate movements within major religions. Yet, I don't know that the patriarchal foundations of any of them will ever be shattered.

Throughout my life I have had a difficult time with being able to find a spiritual path that I could integrate into my life as a balancing influence and for me this is just important. The hypocrisy factor has always been the major stumbling block- I even felt this way as a young kid. I also did have mother that was not afraid to voice her inability to accept much of the Catholic doctrine that she was reared within even as a woman born in 1917 to a very devout Latin background. At age 7, I remember her marching up to a nun that had scared the shit out of me about mortal sin saying, children do not sin! She took me out of the school afterwards and just gave me her side of Catholicism as she utilized it for herself. Thank you, Momma! I know she met with a lot of wrath my grandparents over this. Although, her own mother became Pagan in later years. And what is interesting is that I believe she was a very faith-based woman in some ways. That base was one of questioning and only applying what she could follow as a human being.

It is possible to find a spiritual, or even what I believe to be faith outside of patriarchy, but a struggle. And one not everyone even wants to be part of.

No, I would not be any more inclined to become Muslim than Christian again, or Jewish, but, I do see the current hate about Islam to be very destructive.

Oh and cultural-relativism! My days in child protective services with Southeast Asian populations certainly put me at odds with it in many ways. And I have a very strong sense of ethnic culture personally. Then there was a bout with working with child sexual abuse and having perps cite various religious doctrines to deny their actions as being wrong!