Hello "True Beings"

Hello all,
To start with, I am a Hindu. But what brought me to this stupendous site is just curiosity. I have been reading about cruel and inhumane torture and annihilation of human beings in Iraq and Syria lately, so I wanted to know more about islam and if really thats what Quran teaches. I read testimonies of so called apostates (I would rather call them skeptics) and stumbled upon this site.
I must tell you that I am so relieved that there are people in Islam who question their beliefs and faith. Its good to know that human beings can rise above religion.
In short, keep up what you are doing…to serve mankind selflessly is to serve God.
Best regards and wishes.

Hello all, To start with, I am a Hindu. But what brought me to this stupendous site is just curiosity. I have been reading about cruel and inhumane torture and annihilation of human beings in Iraq and Syria lately, so I wanted to know more about islam and if really thats what Quran teaches. I read testimonies of so called apostates (I would rather call them skeptics) and stumbled upon this site. I must tell you that I am so relieved that there are people in Islam who question their beliefs and faith. Its good to know that human beings can rise above religion. In short, keep up what you are doing...to serve mankind selflessly is to serve God. Best regards and wishes.
Welcome, db, I consider myself to be relatively informed about Islam, but that is relative to most Americans, so it isn't, necessarily, saying a whole lot. In my understanding, however, I would say that some of the most heinous actions of members of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, would be difficult to align with any fundamentalist interpretation of Islam (which is a function of belief in the Quran and the hadith). But some of their heinous actions could be consistent with, some interpretations of, the Quran and the hadith. It is important, I think, to not speak of Muslims in generalities, as there exists a very broad and varied spectrum of interpretations of Islamic doctrine, and I think that there is a broad and varied spectrum of the importance of Islamic doctrine (in individual's own lives) among all of the persons in the world who self-identify as being Muslim. That, being said, it seems to me that, basic Islamic doctrine has a pernicious, anti-humanistic, flaw, in that it can lend itself, somewhat readily, to being interpreted in ways that can promote some believer's engagement in human rights-denying, destructive, and even murderous behaviors.

Welcome dbanerje, looking forward to hearing some of your thoughts.
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