Muslim and Islamist----What's the difference?

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   Brenda Durhamposted 14 years ago

   I wanted to try to pin down some actual FACTS about this subject, but my ability to do research is limited 'cause I'm pretty much homebound right now....and in looking online, the info I find there is very confusing.
   
   There are definitions of "Muslim" and "Islam" that seem to be the same, like on Wikipedia,  but then there are definitions of "Muslim" being the same as a "member of the Nation of Islam" (which is, according to what I found, simply a vengeful "black liberation" theology group!)
   
   Is there a difference between the two?
   And if so, what are those differences?
   
   Opinions are welcome.
   Facts are even moreso welcome.

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      pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Islam word literally means submission...Islam is religion which believes in god (which they call allah) and its prophets..they consider jesus christ to be one of their prophets..while muhammad being the last in lineage of prophets... muslim is one which believes in allah as being god and muhammad as being its messenger..their main book is quran while they have references like hadith...

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      skyfireposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      In asia followers of islam are known as - Muhammadian, Musalman (muslim), islami. There is no difference in it. But islamics have some code to identify true muslim.

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         Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         So....what, then, constitutes a "true" Muslim"?  Do you mean that true Muslims are Islamists?
         
         So where does that leave the people who claim to be Muslims, but are against the dress requirements and other requirements of Sharia Law?
         ...I'm assuming they wouldn't be "true" Muslims, correct?

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            paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Not correct

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            paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Dress reqirements should be observed but is not among the essentials of a Muslim; one would still be a Muslim

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         paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         No correct

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            skyfireposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Paar, i'm talking about some people nearby who claim about being "saccha muslim" and all that part. For that they have some of their codes. I'm sure you're aware of them because you know indo-pak region for this religion.

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               paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I understand

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      dutchman1951posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      A more literal translation of Islam would be its root word salam (peace) but figuratively it means submit to the will of God.
      Muslim means one who submits to the will of God.
      
      When I was in Saudi, it was explained to me  that it has similar meanings as in Christian Beliefe.  The Kingdom of God, thats Islam where a Muslum is a member of the Kingdom. Like The body of Christ is his Church and a believer is a Christian, (a member of the Body-Church);  Like that.
      
      Thats all I know about it, hope it helps.
      
      I do know that the above over simplfies it, because they have various sects, views etc just like we do in the US with Baptist, Methodist, Chrch of Christ, Catholic, Morman. on and on and on....they do the same and just as us, they  get very indignant as to which view is closest to God. And who is a member of what.
      
      A Humanised pasionite mess I think.

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   Jim Hunterposted 14 years ago

   I believe a Muslim is simply a follower of Islam.
   
   But, I could be wrong.

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      pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      no you are absolutely right...

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         Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I cannot find where the word "Islam" was first used.

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            pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            you can't ..because according to muslim..islam was religion of adam..first religion of the world..

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               Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               If they believe that's true, then...there should be some historical reference of the word "Islam" to show a basis for it, correct?

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                  pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  logically yes...The word Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m, and is derived from the Arabic verb Aslama, which means "to accept, surrender or submit." as stated in wikipedia...

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               paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               1.Islam means 'submission' to the Creator - God Allah YHWH or to be in 'peace' with the attributes of the Creator - God Allah YHWH ; and with His commandments.
               
               2.Muslim or Islam as a terminology is used for Muslims from the time of Muhammad.
               
               Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Jacob and Jesus were Muslims in the first sense mentioned above. It is more of a 'generic' sense.

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      paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      No, you are right. We call ourselves Muslims; but there are people who for their own reasons ( of course they are not Muslims, in my opinion) don't want to call us by this name and they prefer to call us Islamists.

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         Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Wait a minute please.
         
         So...you're a Muslim but not an Islamist?
         But you just said previously that a Muslim IS an Islamist....

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   Brenda Durhamposted 14 years ago

   But who first coined the word?
   Who first made it into the "religion" that it is?
   Or, if it's a "culture" or "Nation", how did that first originate?

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      pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      now that is what paar can answer...it is like who coined god word?..now i dont know..i merely know it is used by most all across globe...

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         Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I see.
         So its basis is obscure?
         Comparably, since you mentioned "god" (God), it is the Bible from which we get the term "Christian", so we know the origin of that, and that's not obscure.
         
         Go Google "Nation of Islam", if you will, and tell me what you see.

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            pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            ...thats crazy...nation of lslam and islam are two different things...i m sure muslims reject this nation of islam...yes muslims believe christ would be back with mahdi...but they need dajjal too to fit the equation...

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               Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               So...if that particular "Nation of Islam" is false,
               what about the Nations where Islam is the actual State religion, where laws of the land are strictly Islamic?
               In other words, in those cases, doesn't Islam become a "culture" or a Nationality instead of just a "religion"?

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                  pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  important point...now first let us see two different things one by one...Muslims believe what is written in quran...and quran states that christ, mahdi thing...there are many who have tried to use this claim ..most successful can be said to be ghulam shaab whose sect paarsurrey belongs to...but largely muslims are still waiting  ,like christians are waiting for return of christ or hindus are waiting for kalgi avatar..so that makes nation of lslam false...
                  
                  Islam has set of laws to govern society and state..they believe they are divine laws ...they call it sharia...so islamic nation means either they have laws derived from islam or laws which are not in violation with islam or sharia being implemented as it is...do islam become one nation..well if that could have been the case arab world would have been one...which when islam expanded was the case..but now it is not there and highly unlikely to be one...

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                     paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     I would like to make certain corrections:
                     
                     1. The name of the Promised Messiah or Imam Mahdi 1835-1908 is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
                     
                     'Hazrat' or 'shaab' or 'Sahib' are titles of respect in vogue in India, Pakistan; not part of his name.
                     
                     2.Quran us is the first source of guidance of Muslims; whatever the denomination. Its text in Arabic original is the same ; with absolute no change in any part of the world; often when a translation is provided (which is never thought to be perfect and is not an alternative of the original in Arabic); text in Arabic is also given, so that if there is any doubt about the translation, one could refer the original text in Arabic, conveniently.
                     
                     Thanks

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   earnestshubposted 14 years ago

   No difference in what they read and take as the only truth.
   
   Qur’an 5:72 “They are surely infidels who say; ‘God is the Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary.
   
   See! Just as tolerant as christians!

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   FranyaBlueposted 14 years ago

   I think the difference is that an Islamist can be a Muslim by faith but essentially they are those Muslims who push the Islamic political agenda within the world as opposed to simply being a Muslim within the world.
   
   I don't think it's a term that has been used for very long, although I could be wrong.

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   skyfireposted 14 years ago

   I'm sure that this code for true muslim will vary from geographical location and extreme religious belief. Here is what i have collected so far - True muslim visits holy place at least once in life, follows religious traditions without fail, never speak/write lie(even if it comes to death), Attempts to keep peace even in the conflicts with other religion.
   
   But i could be wrong because there is huge difference between muslim in asia and other staunch islamic countries.

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      Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Okay...so...this is what I'm trying to pin down----there ARE "Islamic countries" as you said, correct?

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         skyfireposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, there are.

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         paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Religions have no boundries; so it is not correct to label countries like such.

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            Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Seems to me that Islam isn't just a "religion";  seems to me it's a "culture" and a form of government!
            So what do you say to that?

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               dutchman1951posted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Brenda, I believe you have it spot on.

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               paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Islam is a path/way to the Creator-God Allah YHWH; you can see it from its first chapter which is a summary of the Quran:
               
               [1:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
               [1:2] All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,
               [1:3] The Gracious, the Merciful,
               [1:4] Master of the Day of Judgment.
               [1:5] Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help.
               [1:6] Guide us in the right path —
               [1:7] The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, those who have not incurred Thy displeasure, and those who have not gone astray.
               
               http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/sh … r.php?ch=1

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               paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Islam is a religion also as mentioned in the following verse of Quran:
               
               [5:4] Forbidden to you is the flesh of an animal which dies of itself, and blood and the flesh of swine; and that on which is invoked the name of one other than Allah; and that which has been strangled; and that beaten to death; and that killed by a fall; and that which has been gored to death; and that of which a wild animal has eaten, except that which you have properly slaughtered; and that which has been slaughtered at an altar. And forbidden is also that you seek to know your lot by the divining arrows. That is an act of disobedience. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of harming your religion. So fear them not, but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion. But whoso is forced by hunger, without being wilfully inclined to sin, then, surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
               
               http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/sh … mp;verse=0

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               paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Muslims can and they do live in all parts of the world; they must be a peaceful member of the region or the country they live in, faithful to the state they live in the Temporal realm; while following Quran/Islam/Muhammad in their private lifes in moral spiritual realms.
               
               Muslims could be from any culture and or may be or may not be the part of the govenrment if elected as per the constitution of the country they live in.
               
               Thanks

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                  Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Okay. So there are some "Muslim" countries that don't HAVE to abide by Sharia Law, correct?
                  
                  hmm.
                  What about those that do?
                  Isn't the penalty for adultery....death?
                  Isn't the penalty for homosexuality...death?

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                     Rajab Nsubugaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     The last I heard it is not only the Koran that condemns adultery or homosexuality. I am quite familiar with the word 'Sodom and Gomorrah' 
                     
                     
                     The difference between 'Muslim' and 'Islam' lies in the Western dictionary. The latter identifying the 'actors' and the former; the 'act.'

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                        Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                        Ah!  But modern Christianity in America doesn't impose the letter of the Law against immorality, while Sharia Law does.

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   mikelongposted 14 years ago

   Actually, sodomy in this nation is still illegal, though such laws are not enforced...
   
   But "America is a Christian nation" Brenda would probably want to change things......
   
   As long as it is a Christian theocracy Brenda doesn't care.....
   
   And what of those homosexuals that you are "close to"?
   
   Have you called them perverts to their faces yet, or do you simply live in the world of anonymous backstabbing?
   
   
   Where is Jesus?

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