Child rearing emerged as the single most important theme in identity crises facing
Muslim-background Arabs who choose to embrace a Christian faith. While facing
personal challenges confidently, such as those that we have already discussed, many expressed a sense of inner torture when talking about raising their children. Because of the strong patrilineal source of identity in Arab countries, children of converts are generally expected to be Muslim, not Christian, and therefore the child of a convert to Christianity is actually a Muslim being raised as a Christian. At the very least, s/he may be a Christian who knows that s/he is different. Most of the challenges that converts face, their children also face. In addition, parents are concerned because their children are facing those challenges without any personal conviction that Christian faith is better than Muslim faith or that a different identity is worth fighting for. One couple, who was expecting their first child when I met them, said that they are afraid for their child's future, and had actually prayed that the wife might not be able to have children.
Kathryn Kraft, Community and Identity Among Arabs of a Muslim Background who Choose to Follow a Christian Faith, 2007, PhD diss, p 190.
10 comments:
Wow. Could you please email that thesis to me? That looks like an awesome and needed dissertation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Abu Daoud,
Tell them not to worry and bring children as much as they want, hopefully soon their children will be much smarter than their parents and return back to Islam, it's prophet Muhammad prophecy: there will be no single house anywhere on Earth, unless Islam will enter..
Currently, in UN last report about religions Islam moved from 1/5 to 1/4 of all world population, and soon it will be 1/3 and then 1/2 and then all inshalla.
It's God "Allah" command, the Satan is already defeated the day prophet Muhammad was born, he can't stop Allah’s command, the story is reaching its end..
Warrick: I emailed it to you, did you get it?
Abdullah: You and I agree on one thing, they should have children and welcome new lives into the world. As to the claims about Muhammad for himself, God will judge him. On the day of judgment you and I and the pope and the King of Saudi and your prophet will all stand before God, and he will judge each man. As to the fate of Muhammad, only God knows.
Dear Abu Daoud,
Don’t worry about the prophets, they will NOT be judged on the Day of Judgment, they will be witnesses on their people. Allah said in Quran:
“And (remember) the Day when We shall raise up from every nation a witness against them from amongst themselves. And We shall bring you (O Muhammad SAW) as a witness against these. And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur'an) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allâh as Muslims).” (An-Nahel:89)
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told us, that each prophet will come with his followers, some come alone means no body responded to him and his message, some come with 1 or 2 men or few group, some come with huge number of people like Moses and Jesus (PBUH), but when prophet Muhammad (PBUH) comes with his followers (Ummah), they will cover all the horizon we will be the last and the largest, but the first of the nations to set for the judgment.
Each prophet will be asked and his people if he did delivered his message, some will lie and say NO he didn’t to save themselves from the Hell, but Mighty God will ask the prophet who witnesses for you, he will said Prophet Muhammad and his people and we will witness with him: Yes he has delivered his message but his people didn’t follow him.
Tell the question reaches Jesus (PBUH) which is mentioned in Quran, I will be pasted to you below to read it carefully.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) give us example why we will be the last nation and the most people to be rewarded, like a farmer who asked workers to work on his farm since the morning and to give them 1 Dinar for their work each, then at noon he asked other team or workers, then afternoon he asked other team, and when day ends he gave each team 1 dinar but the last team he gave them 2 Dinars “because they finished the work completely”, when the first teams asked why we worked more but get less paid, he replied to him didn’t I agree with you from the beginning on 1 Dinar, and I gave you what I promised for you. Prophet Muhammad commented on this, that the first group were the Jews, then the Christians, then the last will be the Muslims.
The question of Jesus (PBUH) is mentioned in Maa’eda:
And (remember) when Allâh will say (on the Day of Resurrection): "O 'Īsā (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: 'Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allâh?' " He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden (and unseen). (116) "Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allâh) did command me to say: 'Worship Allâh, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole world). (117) "If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All¬Mighty, the All¬Wise[]." (118) Allâh will say: "This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) - they shall abide therein forever. Allâh is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise). (119) To Allâh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein, and He is Able to do all things. (120) [Al-Maa’eda]
Dear Abu Daoud,
I want to ask you something, hope you know Arabic, which you will be so Lucky that you can read many Islamic resources in their original writings including Arabic.
I would like to ask you to search for a book about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Biography, called As-Syra An-Nabaweyah for Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Salabi in 2 parts, if you can find it and dedicate like a week to read, I am sure if you catch the first pages, you will not be able to leave it so easily and you will always trying to finish it all, during your reading you will be smiling, laughing, astonishing, angry, afraid, worried, happy, sad, and even crying.. believe me you will experience all different emotional states that you may know..
I wish that you are lucky and courage enough to decide to go and buy it and read it, it may change your life, you will know a lot about the life of prophet Muhammad (PBUH), you will know how Islam was developed from day one, how muslims think, you will know most of prophet’s life in details more than maybe 99% of muslims..
Hope you’ll take my advice seriously, at least you will have a huge amount of subjects that you can talk about in Islam.
Salam brother,
Salam ya Abdallah,
I prefer the sirat al nabi from Ibn Ishaq. Have you read it?
Abu Daoud
Dear Abu Daoud,
I never heard about such book and I searched for it on the net, I couldn’t find it, (unless you are sarcastic now!! )
The book that I told you about is the newest, most authentic, using only the correct Hadiths and connect the life time of prophet with progress of Islam, I thought you are someone who may be interested to search for such subject …
Hope that you are so lucky and get the book soon..
Abdullah, I am surprised you have never heard of it. It was the first biography ever written!
http://www.onlineislamicstore.com/b3828.html
AD
Salam Abu Daoud,
You wrote Ibn Ishaq, and it's Ibn Is-haaq, yes it's one of oldest copies about the Syra, but I advise you by Dr. Al Salabi book, he's using modern Arabic language in writing with events analysis, and second important point for you as expert in religions, the correlation of Islam developing as religion and the biography of the prophet.
Believe me, you will read it and you will thank me later on...
Note, you will not become a muslim from reading this book, so DON’T worry..
Hi Abu Daoud, and Warrick Farah, can you send me the above PhD thesis too as i'm doing research on conversion from Islam to Christ is the UK and round the world. My email address is arabicstudent@generalmail.com.
Warrick, a few years ago I found your research report from one country in the Arab world very helpful! Thanks! I know they used that report for the prayer guide and i do wish that the prayer guide could be updated at some point. i'm planning to move there soon, so perhaps i can be involved in making it happen!!
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