Muslim

A Muslim is an adherent of the religion of Islam. Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God.

Quotes

A

• At the beginning of the twentieth century, every single leading Muslim intellectual was in love with the west, and wanted their countries to look just like Britain and France. Some of them even said that the Europeans … were better Muslims than they themselves, because their modern society had enabled them to create a fairer and more just distribution of wealth, than was possible in their pre-modern climates, and that accorded more perfectly with the vision of the Quran.
  Then there was the experience of colonialism under Britain and France, experiences like Suez, the Iranian revolution, Israel, and some people, not all by any means… have allowed this … these series of disasters to corrode into hatred.
  • Karen Armstrong, in NOW Interview with Bill Moyers, at PBS

• A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God.
  • Ibn Arabi, Commentary on the Qur'an, Razi, I, p. 432, Cairo, 1318/1900

C

• Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.
  • Winston Churchill, The River War (1899), first edition, Vol II, pages 248-250, London

• I'm a Christian, But Muslims are misunderstood. Intentionally misunderstood. We should all be more like them. They make sense, especially with their children. There is no other group like the Black Muslims, who put so much effort into teaching children the right things: They don't smoke, they don't drink or overindulge in alcohol, they protect their women, they command respect. And what do these other people do? They complain about them, they criticize them. We’d be a better world if we emulated them. We don’t have to become black Muslims, but we can embrace the things that work.
  • Bill Cosby, "Bill Cosby: A plague called apathy". New York Post. (June 9, 2013). 

I

• “Existing peacefully with non-Islamic beliefs is an essential Islamic principle that is clearly stated in many Qur’anic verses, and that has been practiced by Muslims throughout their history. It is not something that Muslims impose on their religion or something that they have to resort to because of exceptional external circumstances. It is a requirement demanded by the nature of the religion."
  • [www.jaafaridris.com/an-islamic-view-of-peaceful-coexistence Jaafar Idris,]

M

• "....While apologists create mendacious claims of the “New Atheist” threat that is persecuting Muslims – very little attention is given to how atheists have been a persecuted minority for centuries. Both in historical and present-day context – atheists and secularists are scorned and dehumanised by society worldwide...."
  • Aki Muthali in Atheistophobia: It’s time to talk about the most persecuted minority in the world, nation.com.pk 2015 September, 27.

P

• The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
  • Pope Paul VI, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-christian religions - Nostra aetate, October 28, 1965.

R

• Given that the majority of Americans have never met a Muslim and know little of Islam makes them vulnerable to a false national narrative about Muslims... Islam calls people to promote peace. Even when someone harms us, Islam teaches, we are to respond to hate with love. Sadly, people of all wisdom traditions fail to live up to their teachings. Rejecting collective blame for the actions of a few, let us work together for a peaceful future based on mutual respect and compassion.
  Shariah is a term for Islamic teachings like caring for parents, feeding the hungry and obeying the law of the land in which you live. In the United States, this means obeying the US Constitution. Those who seek to “ban Shariah” are tearing down our constitutional rights. Fourteen states in have passed anti-Muslim bills, adding institutional and structural force to bigotry and taking away the rights of Muslims and Jews to seek court-authorized mediation. Standing for the rights of religious minorities is how we protect the rights we all enjoy.
  • Facts Over Fear Campaign: Releasing 'Islam and Peace' and 'What is Shariah? Countering the false witness against our American Muslim neighbors, Religious News Service, (25 February 2020)

S

• It is difficult to be called a Muslim; if one is truly a Muslim, then he may be called one.
  First, let him savor the religion of the Prophet as sweet; then, let his pride of his possessions be scraped away.
  Becoming a true Muslim, a disciple of the faith of Mohammed, let him put aside the delusion of death and life.
  As he submits to God's Will, and surrenders to the Creator, he is rid of selfishness and conceit.
  And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim.
  • Sri Granth Sahib. Attributed to Guru Nanak, 'Sri Granth Sahib,' page 141 line 11

• Ever since I became a Muslim … I've had to deal with attempts to damage my reputation and countless insinuations seeking to cast doubt on my character and trying to connect me to causes,"someone help me with my biography about ibn arabi, it is taking to much time of my daily life, but i respect him he is a good man. BUt i cant be spending time on someone who is already did." concepts or sayings which I do not and would never wilfully subscribe to.
  • Cat Stevens, as quoted in The Guardian (29 March 2005)

T

• That is a simple rule, and easy to remember. When I, a thoughtful and un-blessed Presbyterian, examine the Koran, I know that beyond any question every Mohammedan is insane; not in all things, but in religious matters.
  • Mark Twain, Christian Science: Book I. Chapter V

Z

• 'Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 CE and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.
  • Zion Zohar, Sephardic & Mizrahi Jewry, New York, 2005, pp. 8 – 9.

See also

• Islam
• Quran
• Muhammad
• Muslim world