What kinds of things should be included in a Basics of Actual Islam course for liberals?

[Pedro de San Patricio]

I'm thinking about trying to build one. It would try to balance giving them a solid understanding of Muhammad's life, the Qur'an, shari'ah, and Islamic history with being readable and not too overwhelming. What specific things should I include? What should I leave out for further reading? What kinds of things would the liberal regulars want it to include? I know I'm at least touching on Muhammad's general biography, the orthodox version of the same, the original order of the Qur'an and why it's important, the Wars of Apostasy, and the first three caliphs. I may also give a brief summary of our wars with the believing Muslims from the Barbary pirates to the Taliban and the rise of the new caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Would it be easier on the intended readership to be blunt and to the point about all of this, or try to soften it with frequent comparisons to Christianity and references to the stark differences between real Islam and cultural Islam?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Wiki beat ya to it,
Five Pillars of Islam - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Religion Facts has a good side-by-side comparison chart with Islam and Christianity too,
Comparison Chart Christianity vs. Islam Religion Facts

 

[Jesse Booth]

No eating bacon. That is an essential crime of Islam that must be kept in mind at all times.

 

[Pedro de San Patricio]

Wiki beat ya to it,
Five Pillars of Islam - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Religion Facts has a good side-by-side comparison chart with Islam and Christianity too,
Comparison Chart Christianity vs. Islam Religion Facts

You are aware why Wiki isn't considered a reliable source, right? If not, then you should probably play around some with that shiny edit button. Your chart is good for a quick and dirty comparison about the very bare bones basics, but it's horribly incomplete and gives almost no context. It doesn't say what "corrupted" means in regards to the Jewish and Christian scriptures. It doesn't mention that the ahadith are of questionable authority or any other supplemental authority to the Qur'an, like the sirah. It doesn't explain what an imam is and why a sunni imam is totally different than a Shi'a one. It doesn't explain anything about Islam's version of the cruxifiction except that "a disciple" died in his place. It doesn't explain exactly how predestination works or detail any of the debate about predestination vs free will in Islam. The "views on other religions" section is appallingly lacking and doesn't even tell you who the "people of the book" are besides Christians. It literally only mentions imams as religious leaders. All of that is just from a quick skim through it. If that and Wiki are your only sources of information about an extremely important topic, then... Yeah. That definitely explains your need for a post like this. Can you tell me more about what you'd like in it? It's you and liberals like you I'll be doing this for.

 

[onefour1]

I'm thinking about trying to build one. It would try to balance giving them a solid understanding of Muhammad's life, the Qur'an, shari'ah, and Islamic history with being readable and not too overwhelming. What specific things should I include? What should I leave out for further reading? What kinds of things would the liberal regulars want it to include? I know I'm at least touching on Muhammad's general biography, the orthodox version of the same, the original order of the Qur'an and why it's important, the Wars of Apostasy, and the first three caliphs. I may also give a brief summary of our wars with the believing Muslims from the Barbary pirates to the Taliban and the rise of the new caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Would it be easier on the intended readership to be blunt and to the point about all of this, or try to soften it with frequent comparisons to Christianity and references to the stark differences between real Islam and cultural Islam?

I would like you to be blunt about the wide spread problem of Bacha Bazi in many Islamic nations and how this is any different from homosexuality? Also why was it right for Muhammed to wed a 6 year old girl and have sex with her? See "The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan Documentary" on youtube as well as "The Muslim Agenda - Full Movie Documentary".

 

[Lipush]

Wiki beat ya to it,
Five Pillars of Islam - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Religion Facts has a good side-by-side comparison chart with Islam and Christianity too,
Comparison Chart Christianity vs. Islam Religion Facts

Wikipedia? Hardly a reliable source.

 

[Steven_R]

No eating bacon. That is an essential crime of Islam that must be kept in mind at all times.

Nonsense. Supply and Demand is a cruel and unrelenting Bitch-Goddess of an Economic Law. Imagine just how much more expensive bacon, glorious bacon, would be if another 1.5 billion people started craving BLTs.

No, my friend, Muslims not wanting bacon is a good thing. It means more for us at reasonable prices.