Nasty Guy

Hi

I should say, don't be afraid of my nick. I just like it, that's why I use it, but I hope I am not nearly as nasty as my nick says I am.

But then again, if you think I am nasty, you would have been warned by my nick, so you can't reproach me anything.

I currently live in London.

I am fascinated with the hadiths, the biographical elements of the life of Mohammed (pbuh), and I've read lots of stuff about the Companions, including the most interesting accounts of the life of Ali, his wife Fatima, Abu Bakr, Uttman, amongst other literature on the web.

I haven't been able, however, to sustain reading the Koran long enough to finish it from the beginning to the end. I'll do it, one day, however.

I must say that I also visit sites from the other side, you know, the people who expend themselves in vilifying islam. Let me assure you that their arguments are not convincing. What's more, instead of countering my arguments, they tend to get pissed off with rational explanations.

I was more or less raised as a Christian, but amongst a majority of unbelievers in my environment.

I haven't converted to Islam, in spite of my fascination with Islamic literature. I can, however, very much agree with the tenet that there is no God but God. I believe it's true, purely on rational grounds.

The second part, that says that Mohamed is his Last Messenger, I would like to leave blank for the time being. I am investigating this, however, by reading the references. Up till now, I haven't encountered anything in Islam that I would object to.

I have completely read the Torah (Pentateuch), that is, the five books of Moses, since they are really short to read, and about fifty percent of the Bible too. The Bible too, is very large, and written in a non-trivial style, and therefore not easy to read from beginning till end.

The number one benefit of the muslim way, in my eyes, is the fact that moslim women seem to be way more chaste than Christian women or unbelievers. They tend to refrain from engaging in premarital sex (zina); and the low divorce rate of muslim marriages is certainly highly praiseworthy.

To tell you the truth, if I ever convert, it would be in an attempt to seek a muslim wife and reduce the risk of a horrible family life with an unbeliever or with a Christian wife. Another advantage would be the fact that muslims seem to be more successful at keeping the children within the creed, while children born to Christian parents become almost systematically atheists, and that would be horrible in my book.

Sounds very practical, maybe? Well, if I want to serve God, that is because I believe that He will shower me with blessings, advantages, and benefits for doing so, in this life, and in paradise. If I did not believe this, I would not bother serving God, because then doing so would simply be stupid.

The reason not to convert, would be, the fact that muslims are increasingly singled out, vilified, and even unjustly persecuted in the West (where I live now). It would require quite a bit of courage to join such a group.

Another reason is the fact that I was raised by a Christian primary school, secondary school, and university, reading uncountable hours of Latin and classical Roman culture, including the history of the Roman Empire, with which I feel very familiar. They are more or less my cultural roots. Islamic literature is vested in Arab roots and feels often unfamiliar.

I am not going to make a decision this year, however. I am taking all my time, if you see what I mean and keep reading up.

NastyGuy wrote: Hi I should say, don't be afraid of my nick. I just like it, that's why I use it, but I hope I am not nearly as nasty as my nick says I am. But then again, if you think I am nasty, you would have been warned by my nick, so you can't reproach me anything. I currently live in London. I am fascinated with the hadiths, the biographical elements of the life of Mohammed (pbuh), and I've read lots of stuff about the Companions, including the most interesting accounts of the life of Ali, his wife Fatima, Abu Bakr, Uttman, amongst other literature on the web. I haven't been able, however, to sustain reading the Koran long enough to finish it from the beginning to the end. I'll do it, one day, however. I must say that I also visit sites from the other side, you know, the people who expend themselves in vilifying islam. Let me assure you that their arguments are not convincing. What's more, instead of countering my arguments, they tend to get pissed off with rational explanations. I was more or less raised as a Christian, but amongst a majority of unbelievers in my environment. I haven't converted to Islam, in spite of my fascination with Islamic literature. I can, however, very much agree with the tenet that there is no God but God. I believe it's true, purely on rational grounds. The second part, that says that Mohamed is his Last Messenger, I would like to leave blank for the time being. I am investigating this, however, by reading the references. Up till now, I haven't encountered anything in Islam that I would object to. I have completely read the Torah (Pentateuch), that is, the five books of Moses, since they are really short to read, and about fifty percent of the Bible too. The Bible too, is very large, and written in a non-trivial style, and therefore not easy to read from beginning till end. The number one benefit of the muslim way, in my eyes, is the fact that moslim women seem to be way more chaste than Christian women or unbelievers. They tend to refrain from engaging in premarital sex (zina); and the low divorce rate of muslim marriages is certainly highly praiseworthy. To tell you the truth, if I ever convert, it would be in an attempt to seek a muslim wife and reduce the risk of a horrible family life with an unbeliever or with a Christian wife. Another advantage would be the fact that muslims seem to be more successful at keeping the children within the creed, while children born to Christian parents become almost systematically atheists, and that would be horrible in my book. Sounds very practical, maybe? Well, if I want to serve God, that is because I believe that He will shower me with blessings, advantages, and benefits for doing so, in this life, and in paradise. If I did not believe this, I would not bother serving God, because then doing so would simply be stupid. The reason not to convert, would be, the fact that muslims are increasingly singled out, vilified, and even unjustly persecuted in the West (where I live now). It would require quite a bit of courage to join such a group. Another reason is the fact that I was raised by a Christian primary school, secondary school, and university, reading uncountable hours of Latin and classical Roman culture, including the history of the Roman Empire, with which I feel very familiar. They are more or less my cultural roots. Islamic literature is vested in Arab roots and feels often unfamiliar. I am not going to make a decision this year, however. I am taking all my time, if you see what I mean and keep reading up.

Hi NastyGuy,

Welcome to the forum. Hope you would enjoy your stay here, and wish that Allah makes it easy for you to reach your destination and you succeed in your search for truth.

Peace