Christians don’t have complete freedom to practice their faith. For us, encouraging people to follow Christ isn’t just a nice thought, but the very last command Jesus Christ left to us. It is an obligation, as it is with Judaism. It would be like asking a Muslim not to practice one of the five pillars. But we submit.

We don’t have complete freedom to explain misconceptions about our faith. The trinity does not include Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and never has, but because it is in a Hadeeth somewhere, people insist I
worship 3 Gods including Jesus mother.Istagfirallah.

I think asking for the freedom to approach people with the intention to convert them is really unreasonable, what would you think if Muslim scholars or even just Muslim people started to knock your door everyday or approach you, your kids, relatives, friends, people you know with the intention to convert them from Christianity? I doubt you’d like that. While you know why do you want to be a Christian, I’m sure many have a weaker faith, and you have also children and young people who are easily manipulated. It’s funny how you want to ask people to follow Jesus but will call that extremism and manipulation if a Muslim does it. It’s what everybody says when a Muslim tries to tell another how to be a good Muslim actually, Muslims will call that person an extremist and a brainwasher, and non-Muslims will think the same too. It doesn’t matter what method you choose to change the way someone thinks or acts, in the end of the day, it’s all manipulation. But I bet our minds will tell us that there’s good manipulation, and that can be called marketing, and bad manipulation. It all depends on what we want to believe in and so we’d like to consider is “right”.

What do you mean by you’re not allowed to explain the misconceptions about your faith?

What we were told in the Qura’an is that Christians worship Jesus, that they believe he’s the son of God. That’s two Gods, and we Muslims believe in one God only, has no sons, no wife and no father.

It is difficult for Christians to have the whole school curriculum that contradicts their faith and makes them memorize from a holy book that is not theirs. Even Christian schools have to use it, they cannot have a Christian curriculum. If a Muslim visits a church, and someone greets him, the person who ‘keeps and eye on things’ will have the greeter called in for ‘tea and interview’. We can’t have events in hotels anymore, no more Christmas parties of Mother’s Day brunches at the Hyatt, we were told.

I thought that Christians can go to Christian schools if they want to? I don’t know how things are done here but in the UAE, Christians were allowed to skip all the Islamic classes! which I think is the right thing to do, it doesn’t make sense to make them memorize and force them to study for the exam too.

I know nothing about this. But I’ll ask my Christian friends and get back to you! I know however, that Muslims and Christians do show up in each other’s wedding parties, it’s a common scene to see Muslims attending a Christian wedding in a church.

Shaden, I know you are a thinker, a deep thinker. I think what Susan may have meant is that freedom to speak against basic tenants of Christianity (as Nas did) is OK in Islam, as it is Islamic doctrine. But, for a Christian to speak out against the basic tenants of Islam just can’t be. Higher criticism of the Bible, by unbelieving Protestant ‘theologians’, is usually what I hear quoted by Muslims to point out ‘errors’ in our Book. But the same manner of scholarship isn’t allowed to be applied to the Quran. This is what Susan may be meaning by freedom of ‘thought’. Christianity got through that period, and is still growing, I think people would take Islam more seriously if they allowed that kind of study and debate.

Hope you still like me! I know you do, and I really value your opinion and views.

Islam encourages dialogue between religions, believe me Islam is not that different from Christianity, it has more in common with it than non-Muslims would think. If that is not exactly welcomed now, it’s because of extremism on both sides as well as for what I think is political bullshit, but mainly extremism. I might not be the most religious person in the world, but don’t accuse Islam of things only stupid and/or extreme people do. How would react if I told you Christianity encourages violence and discriminate against women and people of color because some of the most powerful -supposedly Christian- groups in history were murderers and humiliated women in the name of religion? Not to mention that you have an old book and a new one, something I don’t know much about but I keep reading about how Christianity, a religion, changed or improved. You’d hate it if I quoted something from the old book! Yet, I don’t see Muslims attacking random Christian people because they think they have the wrong religion, we don’t have this obsessive need to change the world and make it embrace our own belief system, a need the majority of literate Americans tend to have especially towards Muslims. A need I’m sure is driven by delusions and fear of what they think is Islamic terror. The fact is, Americans are dealing with people not with a religion, so they should stop wasting their time insulting Muslims’ intelligence, we’re doing just fine. You know, it’s as if humanity didn’t go shitty periods before, weren’t those who killed black people and refused to be equalized to them in rights, even refused to consider them human Christian? how come it didn’t mean Christianity is wrong? maybe because they were both the oppressors and the oppressed.

All I can say is that we have only one book, and despites of the slightly different interpretations of Qur’an still, what you’ve just complained about is the exact opposite of what it preaches. As long as you criticize respectfully, Islam urges us to listen and answer all your doubts.

Ofcourse I still like you! a blonde Arabish speaker, what’s not to like

Maybe I’d like to say that oppression of minorities isn’t as transparent as you might think, because Christians are very afraid to even discuss it. Muslims think we live in peaceful co-existence, but if you really hear what Christians say, it is living in fear of rocking the boat and losing what rights we do have. I say ‘we’, meaning Jordanian Christians, even though I’m not Jordanian. It is very hard to live with a constant level of condescension and patronization, you can feel it from one post, for us we deal with it every day.

I’ve been lived in the Arab world my entire life, I’m sure I need to be Christian to fully understand what they go through as a minority, but as someone who has Christian friends and is aware of the rights they have, I know for a fact that we do live in peace. I do acknowledge that in the Islamic world, Islam is the dominant, it’s the religion of the country, something understandably sounds unfair to the Christian minority but I disagree that they are afraid to “even discuss it”. I personally, see how trying to convert people to what you think is the only true religion is dangerous and I can’t blame religion and politics to try and prevent it. On the other hand, I’m not happy with what is taught at schools, how we learn to accept the existence of others but not how to live, really live with them. In fact, in an ideal world, I’d want to see Muslims and Christians learning in the same schools but that’s only in an ideal world, because we all know that it’s never gonna work.

You also talk about patronization and condescension, I’m really interested in knowing more about this. Give me examples of daily situations you go through as a Christian in Jordan. I find it interesting, because I think it’s not about being Christian or Muslim, people have the tendency to think they have the absolute truth to everything, that they are right and everyone else is wrong. But in the case of this post, with all due respect to the commenter, I can not tolerate ignorance, but what I can not tolerate even more is a self-righteous ignorant. Again, with all due respect, but no one should tell others that they’re wrong while he/she does not know what he/she is talking about, what is it that is wrong.

Maybe I’d like to say that oppression of minorities isn’t as transparent as you might think, because Christians are very afraid to even discuss it. Muslims think we live in peaceful co-existence, but if you really hear what Christians say, it is living in fear of rocking the boat and losing what rights we do have. I say ‘we’, meaning Jordanian Christians, even though I’m not Jordanian. It is very hard to live with a constant level of condescension and patronization, you can feel it from one post, for us we deal with it every day.

Christians don’t have complete freedom to practice their faith. For us, encouraging people to follow Christ isn’t just a nice thought, but the very last command Jesus Christ left to us. It is an obligation, as it is with Judaism. It would be like asking a Muslim not to practice one of the five pillars. But we submit.

We don’t have complete freedom to explain misconceptions about our faith. The trinity does not include Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and never has, but because it is in a Hadeeth somewhere, people insist I
worship 3 Gods including Jesus mother.Istagfirallah.

It is difficult for Christians to have the whole school curriculum that contradicts their faith and makes them memorize from a holy book that is not theirs. Even Christian schools have to use it, they cannot have a Christian curriculum. If a Muslim visits a church, and someone greets him, the person who ‘keeps and eye on things’ will have the greeter called in for ‘tea and interview’. We can’t have events in hotels anymore, no more Christmas parties of Mother’s Day brunches at the Hyatt, we were told.

Shaden, I know you are a thinker, a deep thinker. I think what Susan may have meant is that freedom to speak against basic tenants of Christianity (as Nas did) is OK in Islam, as it is Islamic doctrine. But, for a Christian to speak out against the basic tenants of Islam just can’t be. Higher criticism of the Bible, by unbelieving Protestant ‘theologians’, is usually what I hear quoted by Muslims to point out ‘errors’ in our Book. But the same manner of scholarship isn’t allowed to be applied to the Quran. This is what Susan may be meaning by freedom of ‘thought’. Christianity got through that period, and is still growing, I think people would take Islam more seriously if they allowed that kind of study and debate.

Hope you still like me! I know you do, and I really value your opinion and views.

Please don’t come and throw around baseless accusations of a religion and millions of follower unless you know what you’re talking about. The oppression of religious minorities in the Islamic world is being dealt with as much transparency as possible, but as far as I’m concerned, except for some painful personal accounts of a very small number of people who experienced discrimination or oppression, we live with non-Muslims in peace and love as true Islam teaches Muslims.

It would be interesting if you share with us why do you think Islam is incompatible with freedom of thought, because as a Muslim, I’ve been ordered to think of everything, it’s the only to believe in God actually. It’s all a matter of personal choices and personal differences amongst individuals of any religion.

I don’t appreciate your patronizing tone, but thanks for your input.