Re: That sex stuff again
"kas2eileen" <[email protected]> Fri, 19 Mar 2004 07:50:47 -0500
| Newsgroups | gmane.culture.religion.muslim.progressive |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <003b01c40db0$cdf1d640$55674a43@eileen> |
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0038_01C40D86.E4432180 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable salaam Whitaker, I also came to Islam as a white liberal (female) and = am also a Social worker . My third job is with HIV at risk. Your message = inspired me to look deeper in the Koran which I am still trying to get = to read in a study type way. I would love to know some of the things = that personally helped with the different issues in your life. I need to = make more direct connections instead of just tapping into whatever = spiritual guidance is inside me from a lifetime of seeking and learning. = Eileen ----- Original Message -----=20 From: [email protected]=20 To: [email protected]=20 Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 1:45 AM Subject: Re: [Progressivemuslimsnetwork] That sex stuff again I am no expert in Hadith or Quranic interpritation-quite the opposite = as a matter of fact. But it seems to me from a novice's point of view = that some of the statements in the Quran were revealed within a certain = cultural context addressing certain issues. Slavery was common all over = the world in which Mohammad lived-as was poligamy in his & other = societies. It seems to me that it would be perfectly natural for the = Quran to deal w/ the ethics of marriage in a poligimous context as well = as slavery. I do not personally intend on gaining a second wife or = owning a slave but I come from a cultural context as well. If Allah = speaks to us through Prophets in sacred scripture they (the Prophets & = the revealed scriptures) are bound to reflect a time & place. I believe = that this context has to be kept in mind to avoid anachronistic = interpritations or misinterpritations. =20 I was stumbled across the Quran & Islam as a middle aged white male = liberal. During the last 2 years the Quran & Islam has helped me deal w/ = the illness & death of my father & the challenges of working w/ persons = w/ HIV as a Social Worker. What I like about the Quran is that it deals = w/ so many practical, human, & messy issues; issues such as slavery, = war, poligamy, other faiths, etc. As a married man dealing w/ issues of = daily ethics & compromise I have found that the Quran oddly speaks to = that condition. As for statements in the Quran or Hadiths that bother my = own personal opinions or experiences this is nothing new to someone such = as myself raised in a Christian tradition reading the new Testament. = Personally what continues to draw me to the Quran is that it seems that = it seems to be addressing me. I also love its pure monotheism. Just = because something does not reflect all the details of my particular = society does not mean that I cannot learn from it. I go back to the idea = that each line in the Quran has 7 different meanings. It also seems to = me that as I change I get different things out of it. Ultimately I still = have to trust that Allah will guide me. =20 Forgive me for the arrogance in entering such a discussion when I am = so new to the subjects discussed. Thank you for your honest opinions. = Progressive Muslims has helped me through a lot of tough moments in the = last year. Whitaker. ------=_NextPart_000_0038_01C40D86.E4432180 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1226" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>salaam Whitaker, I also came to = Islam as a=20 white liberal (female) and am also a Social worker . My third job is = with HIV at=20 risk. Your message inspired me to look deeper in the Koran which I am = still=20 trying to get to read in a study type way. I would love to know some of = the=20 things that personally helped with the different issues in your life. I = need to=20 make more direct connections instead of just tapping into whatever = spiritual=20 guidance is inside me from a lifetime of seeking and learning.=20 Eileen</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B>=20 <A [email protected] = href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A>=20 </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A=20 [email protected]=20 = href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">progressivemusl= [email protected]</A>=20 </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, March 19, 2004 = 1:45=20 AM</DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: = [Progressivemuslimsnetwork]=20 That sex stuff again</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica><FONT size=3D2 = PTSIZE=3D"10">I am no=20 expert in Hadith or Quranic interpritation-quite the opposite as a = matter of=20 fact. But it seems to me from a novice's point of view that some of = the=20 statements in the Quran were revealed within a certain cultural = context=20 addressing certain issues. Slavery was common all over the world in = which=20 Mohammad lived-as was poligamy in his & other societies. It seems = to me=20 that it would be perfectly natural for the Quran to deal w/ the ethics = of=20 marriage in a poligimous context as well as slavery. I do not = personally=20 intend on gaining a second wife or owning a slave but I come from a = cultural=20 context as well. If Allah speaks to us through Prophets in sacred = scripture=20 they (the Prophets & the revealed scriptures) are bound to reflect = a time=20 & place. I believe that this context has to be kept in mind to = avoid=20 anachronistic interpritations or misinterpritations. = <BR><BR>I was=20 stumbled across the Quran & Islam as a middle aged white male = liberal.=20 During the last 2 years the Quran & Islam has helped me deal w/ = the=20 illness & death of my father & the challenges of working w/ = persons w/=20 HIV as a Social Worker. What I like about the Quran is that it deals = w/ so=20 many practical, human, & messy issues; issues such as slavery, = war,=20 poligamy, other faiths, etc. As a married man dealing w/ issues of = daily=20 ethics & compromise I have found that the Quran oddly speaks to = that=20 condition. As for statements in the Quran or Hadiths that bother my = own=20 personal opinions or experiences this is nothing new to someone such = as myself=20 raised in a Christian tradition reading the new Testament. Personally = what=20 continues to draw me to the Quran is that it seems that it seems to be = addressing me. I also love its pure monotheism. Just because something = does=20 not reflect all the details of my particular society does not mean = that I=20 cannot learn from it. I go back to the idea that each line in the = Quran has 7=20 different meanings. It also seems to me that as I change I get = different=20 things out of it. Ultimately I still have to trust that Allah = will guide=20 me. <BR><BR>Forgive me for the arrogance in entering such a = discussion=20 when I am so new to the subjects discussed. Thank you for your honest=20 opinions. Progressive Muslims has helped me through a lot of tough = moments in=20 the last year.<BR>Whitaker.</FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_0038_01C40D86.E4432180--