Ok, so I'm starting a class in 2 weeks called "Intro to Islam" and...

[toey]

I have one small, teeny tiny problem. The syllabus says for one of my projects I need to describe "similarities to own faith." Problem is...I'm athiest. What to do?

[SlackJawedYokel]

1. Describe what it means to be human?

Just a thought.

Or you could tie in the intellectualism of Islam/Persia to the age of reason?

Cletus

[Book Lover]

2. You cant; be the first student with this issue

I would compare and contrast what you know of Islam to the tenets of reason and the scientific method.

[Taxloss]

3. A very good approach.

Muslims were among the first to apply something like the scientific method, during the early medieval period.

[toddaa]

4. Bad idea

In my experience, anytime you try to bring reason and science in a religious discussion, the theists always end up calling you a science worshipper. Like I'm sacrificing goats to Keplar's Laws or something.

[trotsky]

5. Exactly.

It feeds their misperception that somehow we worship science. We don't worship any damn thing.

To the original poster: do you consider yourself a secular humanist? You could compare it with that philosophy.

[onager]

6. If you believe in freedom and democracy...

...contrast that to life under Islam since roughly the 15th century.

;-)

A good start: Azar Nafisi's great book, Reading Lolita in Tehran : A Memoir in Books. It's an incredible look at life in a modern Islamic theocracy, from a woman's point of view.

There's a great bit where Nafisi, a college professor, has to submit to a humiliating inspection each day before she starts work. One day, the female inspector comments that Nafisi isn't wearing much under her chador. Nafisi responds that it's none of her damn business what she might or might not be wearing under her chador.

BTW, beware of the Islamic Apologist websites, which are many and growing and tell just as many lies as the Xians about history.

They all brag about things like the famous Moorish library in Spain, which is true.

And this is also true:

And in Islamic History, who else was granted a place in paradise? Omar Al-Khattab. He invaded our beloved Persia, destroying, looting and raping.

Like the Taleban and the Pakistanis in their invasion of Bangladesh, Omar forced non-Muslims to identify themselves with humiliating badges, and he forced the "people of the book" to pay their taxes in a most disgusting fashion.

He destroyed our libraries and burned the books, labelling them "kufer" (i.e. something that he has no understanding of).

http://www.faithfreedom.org/Testimonials/pirouz.htm

("People Of The Book" is the Muslim term for Jews and Xians, i.e., people who have a written moral code. Or as we atheists like to call them, Big Book O' Fairy Tales. Officially, Muslims will tell you that the Koran forbids them from even arguing with a Jew or Xian, let alone harming them. In real life, that's not the way it usually works out...)

[WMliberal]

7. simple: ask the professor.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, they're there to do more than get published.

If you know what this person wants from you (especially since it's not the standard tripe he;ll have dozens of copies of from the Xians), the more likely you are to ace the assignment.

[trotsky]

8. Great point.

Yes, get some clarification so you can present the prof with something s/he has not had much chance to read before. Most profs are intellectuals first, and love to be exposed to different ideas and points of view.

[shrike]

9. Don't know which college you're attending

But if it's a public university I'm sure the prof has encountered atheism before.

I agree with the poster who says you should speak with the professor. I applaud you for taking the class, BTW. You'll bring an interesting -- and valuable -- viewpoint to the discussion. Hopefully, your classmates will be intellectually open enough to accept your ideas. Sorry to say, though, this doesn't always happen.

[toey]

10. I found that out in my Intro to xtianity last spring

It was a very diverse group, a Jew, a morman, a few catholics and several protestants. I ended up fighting with the professor on several occasions and I personally feel it was because I didn't believe in anything.

I should clarify that I'm not much on science. I have never been religious and within the last 2 years have labeled myself an athiest. Its mostly because I just can't believe all the crap people take as "faith."

I'm 30 years old and going to night school taking accelerated courses and I don't think this class has been offered in our program.

I guess my problem is that I don't want to have to do more research to discuss this topic because of the accelerated format. My class is 5 weeks long and we only meet once a week for 4 hours. The regular 18 week course material is all covered in 5 weeks and this is a 400 level class which already requires A LOT of reading and researching. We have to read parts of the Koran and I have to admit that from what I've already looked at, I just can't get it through my pea brain.