EthidiumIodide

Salam, it's been a few years, yes! I'm on my phone so excuse the poor formatting, but I think what has been said here shows that it is *not* wajib to be circumcised as a Shia Muslim, rather it is wajib for tawaaf specifically. By extension, since Hajj is wajib, circumcision is wajib. However, one could imagine a uncircumcised Muslim who never had the funds to go to Hajj all his life. As such, his foreskin was no barrier to Jannah, assuming he led a pious life in other areas.

Salam all, I am well-aware that Muslims (Shias for sure) circumcise their male infants. However, I am confused why a male Muslim cannot make tawaf around the Kaaba without being circumcised. This seems like an arbitrary requirement. Can anyone explain how this ruling is derived?

To add to this, it is not easy to meet Shia women in the US if you don't live in a big city. You end up having an entirely verbal "relationship" over the course of a few months with someone who lives 300 miles away. Then you discover you're not compatible after a while and cut it off. Add that to everything else, and I'm under the impression that getting married in the West as a Shia is more effort than it's worth.

Thank you for the words of wisdom Abu.

Some days, I re-consider the God question, and then I read that someone came back to religion! @.@ Wow! Oh... This person went back to their old religion, the comfortable one... The one they always knew. And he reverted to the one that Muslims think is off the Straight Path. Catholicism. The thing is, to me, these sorts of stories show how many years of what I assume is genuine searching can lead to nothing of value. It's not about Islam being true, or Christianity being false. It's about this person settling on bad evidence for theism.

I smell confirmation bias. Stem cells = sperm? Stem cells = eggs? What about the stem cells in our bones and intestines? Do they count? You guys are way too quick to jump on any science as supporting Quranic verses when they are stretches at best. Leave the tafsir to the pros ;)

Alhamdulliah, all trace of kafir belief(human rights, freedom of conscience, other man-made ideologies) has left your heart.

Significantly stupid comments from Ethereal: 1. Physical matter and energy are not observable, but cats and trees are. <-- contradiction. You're smarter than that. 2. "Hard Science" is what we can see in the present based on observation. So "observational science"(science in the present) and "historical science"(science based on past events, inferences, conjectures, etc) are two separate sciences? What a joke! This is the sort of argument used by people who think the world is 6,000 years old to defend that false belief from any sort of scrutiny. http://www.skepticblog.org/2014/02/26/observational-vs-historical-bunk/ Who is to say the earth is a billion, or a million years old, or 6,000? We have to rely on the Quran to determine past events? :P Come on. Same with a crime scene. We wouldn't want to risk making an inference on the past, right?! We didn't see the crime, so we might get the wrong guy if we apply science. What you are saying is totally false.

People who believe in jinns get possessed and see exorcisms take place, while skeptical folks don't believe in jinns and attribute mental abnormalities to illness. Take your pick with what feels better. I definitely do not think that jinns, even if they exist, are capable of controlling humans.

Then hijab has no basis in reality and is solely a spiritual exercise that women are commanded to perform in public. If it has no utility, it's just an arbitrary commandment from Allah.

Things like this make me realize that Islam is not a revealed religion by any means.

It's clear that when it comes down to it, hijabis will be harassed, and non-hijabis will be harassed. Any anecdote by a hijabi saying that they were respected in the West due to their hijab is illusory for two factors: 1. Muslim men know that they can't flirt with hijabis because the hijabi thinks it's haram. She won't be receptive to flirting. 2. Men on the street wouldn't want to confront someone who wears a hijab because the hijab is a rare and uncomfortable sight in most cities. You should expect as the Muslim population increases and hijabis become more visible, harassment will also increase. You should ask hijabi women in Dearborn how much harassment they get. It's probably getting up to the normal rate.

You are definitely not ready to leave Islam. Just remember: 1. Logically there is only one God. There can't be two gods, or ten. Only one. 2. This God created the universe and by extension you. 3. This God would not create you and leave you alone. Therefore he brought a Holy Book called the Quran which calls upon you to follow Islam. End of story. I mean man, you haven't even mentioned the problem of evil, or the Epicurean Paradox, or archaic modesty doctrines, or anything that would make you doubt the veracity of Islam. You just need to pray more and remember Hussein.

Archaic cultural behavior reinforced by Islam. Not even once.

She might have cooties. Might want to stay away.