ORONO, Maine — The Islamic Center of Maine, 151 Park St., will hold its 3rd annual open house at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4.
The topic will be “The Quran: Learn It or Burn It?” Dr. Mohammed Mir will lead the discussion to explain the revelation, composition, context and basics of Muslims’ holy book. The Quranic view of women, war, Wall Street and the world also will be presented.
The title is intended to be provocative, but not in the way most Americans would define that word.
“Questions provoke thought,” he said earlier this week in an e mail response to questions. “They take us out of our shells, stereotypes and comfort zones. The title is meant to clarify certain misconceptions about Quran and will not focus on recent ‘Quran burning’ events. It is meant to present a panoramic picture of Quran to a curious audience.”
Mir said the word burn was used as metaphor for the hatred of Islam that can flow from ignorance and phobias and not as a jumping off point to discuss recent calls to burn Muslims’ holy book.
“Quran is a universal message of humility and humanity,” Mir said. “Learning Quran is a lifelong endeavor.”
He recommended two English translations of the Quran for people interested in reading it. One is by Dr. Farooq Malik, the other by a Jewish convert named Leopold Weiss, who also is known by Muhammad Asad.
“The former is recommended for ease and contemporary language and the later for deep linguistics and commentary,” Mir said in the email. “The only prerequisite is to study it with an open mind. You cannot judge a book by its cover.
“If you already have an opinion, the pride and prejudice will distort images. Even pure white light divides into colors when viewed through a prism,” he continued. “Ask, do not assume. Reading Quran will generate questions. Most answers are only an email [or] call away.”
The Orono mosque holds classes at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and all are welcome, according to Mir.
“The talk is geared to open doors, heal wounds and not resurrect controversies,” he said. “Quran is not to kill for or die for. It is to be lived by.”
Visitors to the Islamic Center of Maine are asked to observe the following mosque etiquette:
• Remove footwear upon entering the building.
• Bring no food or drink into the prayer hall.
• Place cellphone ringers on silent.
• Both men and women should wear modest, nonrevealing clothing.
• Avoid handshakes or physical contact with the opposite gender.
The open house is part of the mosque’s community outreach efforts, according to Jenan Jondy, outreach coordinator for the center. As interest in learning about Islam has increased, so have education efforts by the Muslims living in Greater Bangor, she said last year.
For more information on the open house at the Islamic Center of Maine, call 866-3410 or visit theicmo.com.
I follow no religion. I feel religion of all natures are cults. Not to say I am not spiritual, I just choose not to follow one. All forms of religion are wonderful, until their views become extreme. The Quran has great ideals to live by, as does the Bible. But no contact between genders, show no skin? Why does that matter, no matter the religion? (as fat as we’ve become, the human body is still a beautiful thing) Why can’t we put religion aside, and remember we are all just people trying to make it in EXTREME world?
Why don’t you take those questions and go to the open house and ask them. I’ve been to the open house before and people ask more daring questions than those that you posed. You might actually learn something.
Did you go to the Christian pray in, in Augusta the other day?
Good title. Can I fire up the wood stove now?
Why don’t you go to this open house… are you afraid your preconceptions and prejudices might be challenged? The least that could happen is you could eat some good food, dust off your brain and learn something. Worst case scenario, you could leave exactly as you came.
“Can I fire up the wood stove now?”
Why fire up your stove, when you should be goin’ out to learn something ?
I dislike the the Christian ayatollahs worming into in our American politics,
like Perry and Bachmann , who claimed to be “called” by God, to be the POTUS.
(Or at least “called” by some voices in their heads … Oh, my goodness !) .
So I have studied the Bible to be able to use their own ultimate source to point out when their actions are not goodly.
I recommend Matt. Ch. 5, 6, 7 … ( only about three short, one screen, computer pages, BTW) … where you can read WHAT Jesus did say, instead of guessing what would Jesus say.
Those who do not live up to that, or at least try to, might be wolves in wool suits,
who might not really be known by him, Jesus says.
So given our common interest in opposing intolerant religious extremists, ALL those false teachers, that you can know by the fruits that they bear: GovernmentIStheproblem,
you really should just bank your fires, and go to that meeting, Pilgrim.
Strategically speaking, shouldn’t you know your opponents game book ?
Especially if and when one of their coaches invites you to come ask questions about it ?
Insha’Allah, AND PTL
… given we are talking about the same One, the same unexplained and unexplainable singularity, after all ?
Jesus never sinned, and even Islam teaches this, but… Mohammed sinned. Muhammad admitted he needed forgiveness from God (Qur’an 9:43)! He led raids on unarmed caravans, slaughtered whole towns and raped the women, and even assassinated people who opposed him in his own camp. Most notable of his sins though, is this:
Why did Mohammed marry a 6 year old girl when he was about 51 years old, and then consummate (had sexual relations with) the girl when she was 9 years old?
(Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64).
And:
Sahih Bukhari 7.18
The Prophet asked Abu Bakr for ‘Aisha’s hand in marriage. Abu Bakr said “But I am your brother.” The Prophet said, “You are my brother in Allah’s religion and His Book, but she (Aisha) is lawful for me to marry.”
As if her being a 6 year old girl wasn’t enough, she was his brother’s daughter! And what’s more is:
Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 37:
It was said to the Prophet, “Won’t you marry the daughter of Hamza?” He said, “She is my foster niece (brother’s daughter).”
But a foster niece wasn’t good enough for Mohammed? Why?
Sincerely and truthfully ask these questions… But don’t ask them in a Mosque, you’ll get kicked out or worse. Islam is as far from Christianity as East is from West. There are no similarities between the two. Mohammed lived a life of evil, sinning continually… Where as Jesus taught love and caring for those who can’t care for themselves, and forgiveness of sin – Even to his dying breath!
Luke 23:34 (KJV)
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. …”
Well put. If you look in thetomb of Mohammad or Budda, you will find dry, dead bones. But the tomb of Jesus is empty, because he is risen.
If you research into Islam, open a Quran, you will see that Muslim’s too believe that Jesus was taken up to God and is with God and that he will return. He is the Messiah.
You mean Jesus is a Zombie?
Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie, who was his own father, can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh, drink his blood, and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat magic fruit from a forbidden tree.
Seems legit…
Sorry, you have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about and this lecture at the Mosque is something you should think about going to. Bring your questions… you won’t get kicked out, this lecture is for people like you who have misconceptions and hold onto untruths about Islam. Abu Bakr was not Muhammad’s brother… he was his best friend. Muslim’s call each other “Brother” and “Sister” in Islam, like Christian’s call nuns “Sister” and Priests “Father” Go read a history book on Islam, there are many great ones by NON MUSLIM’S if you would rather.
I think SOMEBODY needs to read the guidelines for posting on this site.
Know what else Luke said? “Never. I’ll never turn to the Dark Side. You’ve failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
interesting that people would rather post negative remarks to this article, hold on to their prejudices and preconceived ideas about Islam rather than make an effort to get off their bums and go learn about Islam from real Muslim’s. Are they too scared, afraid the Muslim’s are going to be mean giants with one eye? I’ve been to all the Open Houses… Muslim’s are warm and friendly and open to ALL questions… even the blatantly racist and ignorant ones. And with all the non-Muslim guests that go for the lecture, you may find someone you know!
Most of the members of the Jim Jones or the Branch Davidian cults were warm and friendly and open to all questions as well. How do you think they recruited new members? Do you think they started out by telling new people that they planned to rape their daughters and they would be expected to commit suicide?
Yea, but you gotta remember, the negative comments are an improvement. The Christians used to just outright slaughter the Muslims.
And now the radical Islamists outright slaughter Christians. Don’t believe me? Check out the Sudan, Kenya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and several other Islam ruled countries.
And the atheists used to feed Christians to lions. And I’m not sure as to why an article enlightening folks on Islam turns out to become an attack on Christians. Funny how that always happens.
The Quran has never been proven to be true, while the Bible has never been proven to be false. I think I’ll stick with the real deal.
Wait… what? When was anything in the Bible proven to be true? I believe that many things in the Bible have been shown to be, at best mistaken, and at worst ought right lies.
Typical Christian, ears in fingers screaming “LALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU”.
Many learned individuals have set out to prove the historical records in the Old Testament to be wrong. Many have failed miserably. And many have been converted through their own quest to debunk this book.
As for the New Testament, that, too, has been proven historically accurate.
MANY things in the Bible have proven to be false, but I do not expect you as a Christian to be able to see beyond what your priest tells you. It is always easier for the “enlightened” to control the masses, if the masses remain ignorant to the truth. It’s no coincidence that when Christianity rose to power, the following 500 years are known as “The Dark Ages”.
I don’t have a priest. I’m not Catholic. And the Dark Ages were the result of man’s ignorance, not Christ.
Which part? The one where 3 asian guys follow a star that isn’t in that part of the world in December? Unless your saying Jesus’ birthday isn’t Dec 25, and Christianity’s Holiest of days is being misrepresented, like say to make it fall on the same day as another religions holy day in order to get mass converts? And since you brought it up, your Bible wasn’t compiled until well after Jesus’ death, like a few hundred years, and in those years he wasn’t considered superhuman walking zombie, he was a man with a message of peace, mostly taken from Buddhism, he was granted super human powers in the revisions.
You must have taken a course in religion from a major university. They got it all wrong, too. But, don’t feel bad. You’re certainly not alone. And you won’t be alone for eternity.
“mostly taken from Buddhism”? Now that’s funny.
The Bible says the Earth is 6,000 years old… but don’t let things like the fossil record keep you from making statements like the Bible has never been proven wrong…
Actually, the age of the Earth is not addressed in the Bible. Specific time lines are attached to certain people and family life spans, but nowhere in the Bible does it state, or even infer, how long it was between the creation of the earth and mankind or how long that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden. Some have speculated an age of between six and ten thousand years, but an actual conclusion has not been made. Same with evolution and cosmology, too. The evidence is NOT there to conclude millions or billions of years, only calculations based on man-made baselines.
You might wanna tell Biblical scholars that, they all seem to agree with Archbishop James Ussher that creation (i really tried to type that without laughing, didn’t make it tho) happened in about 4004 B.C. Speaking of creation, how did it happen, i mean did god cross his arms and blink like Jeanie, or twitch his nose like Samantha on Bewitched?
First of all ,
Please check your facts. All the references you gave are invalid. The interpretation matters a lot. The History of Islam starts from Adam. Jesus was a prophet of Allah and it was an obligation to follow Christianity until the revelation of Holy Quran started. Those Who learn and read Quran thoroughly knows truth. So i would recommend everyone to Read Holy Quran to see whether it is relation with Christianity or not.
http://www.equraninstitute.com/quran_learning.html
The question is not to learn it or burn it, but to reserve the right to do either……
The question is not to learn it or burn it, but to reserve the right to do either……
Right on point, Dude.
But traditional American values, like that, are not so popular since the TEA Party/”christian” right wing “values voters” got control of the Governah’s Office, it seems.
At first I was worried that, with this title, the mosque would fill up with overbearing, undereducated people who would come flapping their jaws about things they didn’t understand but were morbidly afraid of. After reading these posts, I highly doubt anything of the sort will happen. It seems as if the most hateful and outspoken individuals are too scared to come and face what they think they know all about.
Whats that, death? Your so afraid of death that you have to make up humpty-dumpty and unlimited virgins? C’mon! Do what you can right now, do it the right way, and don’t count on playing a harp in a cloud or meeting back up with old uncle George. If you do the right thing now, you should end up in the place you believe in, if it exist.