When visiting a mosque, it matters if the imam is really a Muslim. Otherwise, why would one listen to his speeches? When celebrating an important islamic day, it matters if the people around you are Muslim. Otherwise, why would you celebrate with them? However, not being a Muslim has consequences. In some countries, such as Indonesia , it is mandatory for adults to choose some religion which makes islam an obvious choice but it does not necessarily make someone a Muslim. People in such countries who are actually atheist need to pretend being religious in order to prevent negative legal consequences. In addition, in countries with a higher level of religious freedom, there is a similar problem. An imam who stops believing in god, can loose his job when he admits that. In some families, admitting not being religious anymore can have negative consequences too. People who are relegious may be shocked or angry. As a consequence of this all, there are atheist who say that they are Muslim. So there is a problem. Like I explained, it is important to know who around you is Muslim. However, people who say that they are muslim may not be a truely believing Muslim. How should Muslims deal with this discrepancy to know who around them is Muslim or not?

Salam Aliakoum Newly I got an atheist friend and she want to get answers for her concerns: Where is your God when Muslim women get r***d, or forced to merry violent men, get killed by stones and whip in public??? Omosexual men get biten and killed because your God says Omosexuality is wrong. Who are you to judge them? Who are you to hurt them in the name of your God?? More over: when children back passage is r***d by old men... Where is your God?? She said: Don't waste my time with boring stupid religious answers which includes : 1)God plans for a better life afterwords. 2)god is testing us in this life. 3)is was not God it was the devil. 4)I have got an sheikh who just said 1 and only simple question: WHERE IS YOUR GOD WHEN MUSLIM WOMEN AND CHILDREN GET R***D BY MUSLIM MEN. WHERE IS THEIR GOD??? I’m really stucked with her because she seems already won’t to believe in this points above, so what the best and fully answer would to share with her? Appreciate your answer Thanks in advance Kind Regards

Does the Qur’an and/or hadiths address beliefs such as atheism (statements like ‘there is no god’)?

All other religions such as Christianity are believed to have their books altered (as we believe in Islam) and other religions such as Hinduism are seen as false due to the ideas of demi god. However, atheism hasnt really been addressed in the Quran or hadith because the prophet didnt encounter atheists. What does Islam think is the problem with atheism? Edit:If clarification is needed for this question please ask. By what is wrong I meant part of the reason we arent christians or hindus is because there are flaws with those religions which is why we go to Islam.

So I have been reading some things recently by people like Bill Flavell and others. I Recently I've been thinking about all the stories about Islam like splitting of the sea, making a stick into a snake etc. What's different between these stories and those of like Greeks they all seem fairytale like. How are these stories of splitting Oceans any different from throwing Lightning bolts etc. If you want to convince someone to believe in these stories it's like trying to believe in the tooth Fairy and so on. What is the difference? I just find it weird how now that there are more modes of passing evidence even in the prophets time when you could write on pages etc then it was easier to preserve things all these stories have kinda died down. For example the splitting of the moon was seen as more literal but now it's interpreted as an eclipse. I don't want an answer like "it's all just a test" etc that's not satisfactory.

Atheists claim everything came into existence without a divine creator such as God. Muslims or other contemporary religions claim that something cannot come to an existence without a creator since it defies the principle of creation. If we take this argument a little further. One can also argue, If NOTHING can exist without being created Where does GOD fit into this rule? The idea that everything must have a creator is recursive and seems to go all out into an infinite loop. Atheists have broken this loop on Laws Of Nature, which they cant fully explain or understand but do believe in. Theists have broken it on God which is again something they cant fully explain or understand but do believe in. Therefore, Fundamentally, Atheists and Theists agree that SOMETHING were created without a creator,..., but the only difference of opinion between them is that they disagree on what is the stuff that has no creator. For atheists the thing that was created without a creator are LAWS OF NATURE. For Theists its GOD. To make it more simple: Muslims or theists claim God had no creator and that he was there with no beginning and apparently created the universe. Atheists claim Laws of Nature had no creator and that they were there with no beginning and apparently created the universe. My question is: **Is there any Verse or Hadith which makes this argument a little simpler? So that we may understand that since everything must have a creator then how come God cannot have one? and if a God cannot have a creator then why The Laws of Nature must have one?**

How do you answer the argument by atheists that you are religious because you have been born and raised as a religious person and you believe in the stuff religion has told you because it has been embedded as such a major part of your life. If you were born atheist and then looked at religion you most likely wouldn’t convert to religion. Your culture and surroundings are the result of your religion and not your understanding and knowledge itself. I find this to be true pretty much everywhere where I live and even within my own family. And taking into consideration the fact that conversion from religion to atheism is a lot lot higher than the amount of conversion from atheism to religion it seems that culture really may have an impact on religious background and when they gain an understanding/knowledge people tend to leave.

BASED ON THIS QUESTION WHICH I ASKED BEFORE: if islam is the universal truth why is christanity still the largest religion on Earth? We know that not every non muslim has read quran or has got this message of the quran. well i agree that many may have heard of quran but the message in it will not be known by all of them. well its sad to say that, even many people who are born to muslims dont even know this message. well on adding the above data its seen that nearly 3996.9 million followers are non muslims who may be living with us right now. well more or less its clearly seen that a minimum of quarter of these people (999.225 million followers) may not have reached the true message of islam. well for our discussion lets consider that only 1 million in those people have not the real message. even if that's the case how could 1 million people remain to be people who has not recieved message? if u are teacher will u let go of those 1 millions students who doesnt even know that u will conduct a test in the end? if u really want to keep a test to test them and if u have the real power to gather all those million student, wont u gather them and instruct them? isnt it wierd to hear that you will let them go and put for them grace marks for not attending the test even when you had the power to gather? ***Well SOME QUESTIONS may seem defend yourself type to them who don't know what to answer. For example this question ,"Who created God? or Can God create God?" may seem defend yourself type to some people. Since the reason someone couldn't answer, It doesn't mean no one can't. Well I think I know how to answer it. And devoting for such a reason is really not fair.***

If I'm in a debate with an atheist and then it comes to the point when he says "Then who created God?", how should my response or answer be?

If someone was born a Christian, but decides that God doesn't exist, Jesus was an ordinary human being, and that the Holy Spirit doesn't exist, and becomes an atheist, are they still perceived as Christians by Muslims? Someone tweeted today > Atheists who've repeatedly insulted Christians draw a cartoon of > Muhammad, so Muslims burn down churches. Go figure. > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30863159 … and I wanted to know if the categories of "Christians" and "Atheists" make sense. Related question: https://islam.stackexchange.com/q/11400/301

Should you continue to live your life as false Muslim or you should confront your family and friends and confess your situation? What does Quran say about that situation? What are the proscribed punishments if any?

I had a small discussion with my friend Marc (here ), and I thought of asking this in a separate question. Notice that I am asking in context of *Islam*, as the definition of religion is broad. In Quran, there is this verse (Quran 45:23 ): > Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah ? Then will you not be reminded? What I understood from it is that you don't need to have a God to be in a religion, and that even by not having God, you are still in the religion of desire. Where am I wrong? Besides, is there any discussions or any verses that mention this topic?

I'm a Catholic and I'm stuck with an atheist in [a discussion](https://plus.google.com/b/103989487441001641495/103989487441001641495/posts/bqXF4TKgtLm) regarding, according to the atheist folk, illogical result receiving the consequences of choosing not to believe in something, as in: *I can't fly out of my car if I don't fasten my seatbelt, because I don't believe I'll get in a crash.* Basically, he thinks that I would spent eternity on *Islamic* Hell because I don't believe in its existence or I don't believe in the *Islamic* God. In Catholicisms, we have very good defined teachings on these regards, about what is Hell and how you get there (to put in some way), But for the sake of our conversation, **I would like to know what actions or reasons will put you to spent eternity on Hell, according to the Islamic Tradition?** I have tried to explain to him that Muslims profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us [The Catholic Church] they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day. But he keeps using the distinctive. Pax et bonum.