What non-Christian religions and cultures have traditions comparable to Christmas carols and caroling? [more inside]
posted by small_ruminant on Dec 23, 2009 - 11 answers

I am looking for some truth about honor killings...and some insight or clarification rather on Obama's agenda concerning Islam. [more inside]
posted by madmamasmith on Jun 11, 2009 - 24 answers

Why would a Muslim man use henna to dye his beard orange? [more inside]
posted by The Straightener on Apr 6, 2008 - 15 answers

In Islamic discourse, how harsh a pejorative is the term "kafir"? Is it necessarily a pejorative at all?
posted by stammer on Aug 28, 2007 - 8 answers

What are the functional and modern differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam? [more inside]
posted by scaryblackdeath on Jul 26, 2007 - 7 answers

Do the majority of Muslim women in the world wear the hijab (head covering)? What percent do wear hijab?
posted by airguitar2 on Apr 10, 2007 - 14 answers

How do they tell if you're a Muslim if you want to go on the hajj or umra to Mecca and Medina? [more inside]
posted by champthom on Apr 5, 2007 - 20 answers

The Burquini thread got me to thinking about fetishes among Muslims. There is [more inside]
posted by Ynoxas on Jan 12, 2007 - 35 answers

What is the significance of the number 9 in Islamic culture? or perhaps, what is the significance of said number with relevance to "Radical Extremism" (dude! Extreme and Radical! This is in reference to 9 a.m. on 9-11 and 9 p.m., 11-9 and so on. . . [more inside]
posted by punkbitch on Nov 11, 2005 - 15 answers

The Christmas holiday is fast approaching as we all know. My fiancee is Muslim, and we have always celebrated religious holidays separately. This year, I would like him to be a part of the family celebration. For my family it is more of a family bonding time (and become more of an American Tradition) than a religious event. If I'm correct, the celebration of Christmas is for the birth of Jesus. From what my fiancee has told me of Muslims, they believe in Jesus as a prophet, but have many differences in beliefs from Christians overall about who he was.

So would there be a debate between the two religions over the actual birth of Jesus (how he was conceived, is he the son of God....etc.) that would be conflicting for him to join us for dinner and this particular holiday itself? I want to be well informed when talking to him about it, and try to find a way to celebrate the holiday.
posted by Gooney on Dec 8, 2004 - 20 answers

The Koran. I read it long ago. I found it confusing, odd, hard to understand, in dire need of unpacking. I'd like to try reading it again. Can anyone recommend a superlative translation, or perhaps even better, a great paraphrase. Or at the very least one with decent annotations. I'm not averse to a version that does intelligent re-arranging of the sequence, as I recall chapters on cows following stuff on love. There are a number of current translations so pointers to informed reviews of them would be welcomed too.
posted by kk on Nov 15, 2004 - 11 answers