MCGH held a public forum co-sponsored by the Hamilton Spectator on Thursday, February 5, which featured panellists Imam Hosam Helal of the Hamilton Mountain Mosque, Imam Sayed Tora of the Downtown Mosque, and Dr. Hamid Slimi, Imam of the Sayeda Khadija Centre based in Mississauga. Many questions were asked during the live Q&A session, but there were many questions that were sent as part of the SMS (text messaging) system. Following are the questions that were asked via text messaging and their corresponding answer by Sheikh Arafat Elashi, Advisor – Shariah & Fiqh Matters.
- Can a Roman Catholic man marry a Muslim woman? If not, why?
- Caholic men cannot marry Muslim women as men are heads of the family and children follow them so to prohibit such marriage is to keep children of a Muslim woman stay Muslims;also a Catholic is not ordered by his religion to give his wife the freedom to practice her religion.
- What do you say to those Muslims who have a hard time condemning incidents like the recent barbaric killing of the Jordanian pilot. Why do some justify ISIS acts?
- Islam condemns barbaric killing of any person like burning a person alive;that is totally unislamic ;and so the barbaric crimes of Isis to slaughter innocent people like they did is an ugly crime in the sight of Islam.
- How did the Prophet view the teachings of Jesus?
- The Prophet of Islam viewed Jesus Christ as the Holy Quran, the Scripture of Muslims ,did. He is called the spirit of God, the word of God which He delivered to virgin Mary and the Messenger of God;but not the son of God.
- Could you explain why women are separate from men in prayer areas in Mosques?
- Muslim women pray in separate areas in the Mosque so that there concentration in prayer can be maintained and no one would be distracted by worldly attractions.
- Can I get the name of individuals to connect with to visit with my organization to learn more about Muslim Faith, culture, family and community? […]
- I and Imam Hosam can be helpful in teaching any group interested in holding a dialogue about Islam. You can contact the Muslim Association of Hamilton directly as well to arrange accordingly by emailing contactus@hamiltonmosque.com
- Why do women wear scarfs/hijabs and at what age should they start?
- Hijab, being the complete cover of the head as well as the cover of the full body of the Muslim women is first and foremost a command from God in the Quran. Two verses in the Quran decide that dress. The age for that dress is adulthood.
- I’m a girl who wears a hijab, many think that women r forced to wear a hijab can u please clarify that we are not forced but choose to wear the hijab and why.
- Muslim women are not forced by men to wear their decent dress that should cover the whole body except their faces and hands. By doing so they only obey God.
- Sharia law is considered by non Muslims and I believe many Muslims to be very barbaric and extreme in the punishment for various offences. Also the treatment of women under Sharia diminishes their human rights. There is no equality between men and women. Is the pursuit of Sharia law to govern Muslims an objective Muslim leaders in Canada.
- Sharia punishments are not barbaric but just;their goal is to protect people’s lives and property.In Islam a killer has to be killed and the goal is to protect other people’s lives;a thief’s hand has to be cut when he is a serial thief to protect people’s properties.So it is wrong to call these punishment barbaric; for to do so is to sympathize with criminals and forsake peoples rights.Men and women are absolutely equal in Islam as humans but each has a different role in society.
