A Question

[AlsoAnima]

Hello,

I'm AlsoAnima

I am doing a speech for my class on how religion effects communication.
A significant portion of which will be dedicated to Islam.
I ask you (followers of Islam) to share with me an experience where you were treated better or worse than a non-follower because of your beliefs. Or a time where you treated someone better or worse because of your beliefs.

I also would appreciate it if anyone can tell me what Islam is all about in a single sentence, my current summary for my class is as follows:
"Power corrupts, absolutely power corrupts absolutely. Muslims believe that the inverse is true, submission purifies, absolute submission purifies absolutely."

 

[Fatihah]

[QUOTE:AlsoAnima]Hello,

I'm AlsoAnima

I am doing a speech for my class on how religion effects communication.
A significant portion of which will be dedicated to Islam.
I ask you (followers of Islam) to share with me an experience where you were treated better or worse than a non-follower because of your beliefs. Or a time where you treated someone better or worse because of your beliefs.

I also would appreciate it if anyone can tell me what Islam is all about in a single sentence, my current summary for my class is as follows:
"Power corrupts, absolutely power corrupts absolutely. Muslims believe that the inverse is true, submission purifies, absolute submission purifies absolutely."

Response: I can't think of a time in which I was treated better or worse by a non-muslim. In islam, we are to treat everyone the same no matter their beliefs. But it is quite natural for a muslim to feel more compassion for a muslim than a non-muslim. This is due to the root of brotherhood and sisterhood of love that is established in islam between muslims. To each other, islam is the most beautiful way of life, so those who follow it become the most beautiful of people. And like anything that is beautiful and precious to you, you find yourself more drawn to protect it and care for it than anything else. But this should not be looked at as discriminatory to non-muslims.

It's like when you meet someone for the first time. Let's say that you've met someone new at work. Think of how much love and affection you would feel the moment you met this person you don't know. Have you done it yet? Now think of the love and affection you feel for the person when you discover just a few minutes later that you are actually related? Have you done it yet? Now your love and affection has changed hasn't it? Would you call yourself being discriminatory because your feelings only changed when you found out you were family? Of course not. It's natural.

Well this is the same in islam. We don't treat each other differently than we do non-muslims. However, we feel more compassionate to each other.

As for what islam is all about in one sentence, that's pretty hard. However, I do know of one verse which explains islam the best in the qur'an to me and quite surprisingly, it's one sentence.

"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or West, but righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Book and the Prophets and spends his money out of love for Him (Allah), on the kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and those who ask and for the captives and observe prayer and pays the (Zakat) and those who fulfill their promise when they have made one and the patient in poverty and afflictions and in time of war; it is these who have proved truthful and it is these who are God-fearing." (Ch.2:178)

Hope that helps.