[continued from previous message]   
      
   O you who believe, you shall be absolutely   
   equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses, even against   
   yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is   
   rich or poor, GOD takes care of both. Therefore, do not be biased by   
   your personal wishes. If you deviate or disregard (this commandment),   
   then GOD is fully Cognizant of   
   everything you do.[4:135]   
   7. Thou shall not kill.   
      
   ....anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or   
   horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people.   
   (5:32)   
   "You shall not kill any person - for God has made life sacred - except   
   in the course of justice. If one is killed unjustly, then we give his   
   heir authority to enforce justice. Thus, he shall not exceed the   
   limits in avenging the murder, he will be helped."(17:33)   
   8. Thou shall not commit adultery   
      
   You shall not commit adultery;   
   it is a gross sin, and an evil behavior.   
   (17:32)   
      
   9. You shall regard the parents, the relatives, the orphans, the poor,   
   the related neighbor, the unrelated neighbor, the close associate, the   
   traveling alien, and your servants. (4:36)   
   And do not covet what we bestowed   
   upon any other people. Such are temporary   
   ornaments of this life, whereby we put them to   
   the test. What your Lord provides for you is far   
   better, and everlasting.[20:131]   
   10. Thou shall keep the Sabbath holy.   
      
   *the Sabbath was relinquished with the   
   revelation of the Quran. We are told in   
   the Quran that the Sabbath was only   
   decreed for the Jews. (16:124)   
   God, however ,ordered us to make every   
   effort and drop all businesses to attend the   
   equivalent congregational  (Friday) prayer. This difference in day is   
   to distinguish Muslim belief from other beliefs.   
   O you who believe, when the   
   Congregational Prayer (Salat   
   Al-Jumu`ah) is announced on Friday,   
   you shall hasten to the commemoration   
   of GOD, and drop all business. . (62:9)   
   If you wish to find out more about Islam, I would suggest posting your   
   questions to "mainstream" Islamic websites (sunni) to avoid dangerous   
   sects which promote shirk and miss information.   
   Placing questions in Google newsgroups is not always the best idea   
   since the various faiths in the world go to great lengths to spread   
   miss information about each other in the replies you will   
   receive….much of which will be Qur'anic quotes taken completely out of   
   context and twisted to give different meaning from people of other   
   faiths. If you come across such quotations that seem to imply   
   imorality I would urge you to consider the following question: Is it   
   likely that a prophet teaching love, peace, forgiveness, etc would be   
   at the same time be teaching people to act in a unethical way?….or is   
   it more likely that such quotations such as speaking of lawful tactics   
   of warfare or law system are to be used in only a last resort   
   situation in the protection of Gods message?….If you study the Koran   
   you will notice that Koran does talk about law and punishment which to   
   a Muslim are a necessary way of bringing about a just society and   
   protecting fundermental beliefs…It must be noted that such laws have a   
   strict legal framework for deciding when enforcement becomes the last   
   option available much as people understand the concept of self defense   
   in Christianity in certain curcumstances.  Such chapters in Koran are   
   easily miss understood if taken out of context and missing the   
   relevant information that accompanies them. Much of the information,   
   which is taken as being harsh by other faiths, is in actual fact   
   describing historical events rather than describing legal rulings   
   which apply to modern times. Islam is a religion of peace and not a   
   religion of hate as many will try to promote. If Muslims were to Judge   
   Christianity's message by the standards of a few people called the Klu   
   Klux Klan WHO BELIEVE ITS Gods work to burn black people alive at the   
   stake we would be fools, ignorant, and unjust to do so, much the same   
   as those who associate Islam with the actions of a hanfull of   
   misguided fanatics are fools and unjust. I think it is much smarter to   
   judge a religion through its text rather than through those who show   
   the worst example as well as judge people on an individual basis   
   rather than as a group. I would suggest avoiding all teachings that   
   contradict the above principles of mono worship if you want to learn   
   more about authentic mainstream Islamic beliefs.   
      
   PS. A FINAL NOTE: If this article has offended you in any way I would   
   like to point out this was not my intention to cause offence. I have   
   received a number of scathing attacks from those following various   
   Christian theologies accusing me of posting miss information about   
   Christianity. If my opinion does not conform to the same ideas you   
   have yourself about how to interpret bible scripture then this is   
   because each individual has his own mind and capability to understand   
   concepts in different ways…. Only God knows which translation of   
   scripture is true and so I suggest we leave it up to him to put things   
   right when we all reach the big upstairs instead of attempting to   
   insult and attack. I have no interest to engage in religious debate   
   with other faiths since I don't believe this is Gods will and the only   
   reply you are likely to get is "Your God is my God, And My God is Your   
   God" also this article is mass posted by multiple people and the   
   poster is probably not the original author anyway…The intention of   
   this article was to point out the many things Christianity and Islam   
   have in common as well as highlight that much of the dispute between   
   the different faiths is due to the limitations of understanding each   
   other, which can be found in the communities of all world faiths. I   
   invite you all to do the same as I have done and publish your own   
   opinions on what scripture means to you in the newsgroups of your   
   choice.   
      
   Kind Regards…and hope my article inspired you with new ideas……...A.   
      
   KUR'AN   
      
   In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful   
   [3:64]   
   Say, "O followers of the scripture, let us come to a   
   logical agreement between us and you: that we shall not   
   worship except GOD; that we never set up any idols   
   besides Him, nor set up any human beings as lords beside   
   GOD." If they turn away, say, "Bear witness that we are   
   submitters."   
   If you have mass mailing software please put it to good use and mass   
   mail this article to as many Islamic and Christian websites and   
   newsgroups as possible to help bring about a greater peace and   
   understanding between the different faiths of this world.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)