why did they convert to ISLAM ?? why did they accept ISLAM ??

In your opinion ..why did some people convert to ISLAM..

Why did they choose to change their life…and pass all the obstacles to be MUSLIM  ....?

Say your openions frankly ..but without disrespect.. 

Modern abrahamic religions work on two factors:

 1. Promise of a reward:

This reward is a "heaven"- it is said to be a magical place of peace and happiness.  Many people prefer this to death.  Islam and Christianity promise ever lasting life in a heaven, and many people like this promise even though it is not a true one- this place does not actually exist, it is a myth.

Many religious books also promise to answer prayers and give believers anything they want in life- these are also false promises, but many people believe them because they want the promises to be true. 

People want to be important even if they are very small- religion makes people feel special and promises an eternal place and meaning in the universe.  Even though this promise is false, it is a powerful bribe.

2. Threat of punishment:

 This punishment is hell- ever lasting torment.  The major religions have different versions of hell, but they range from torture to oblivion.  Many people are very afraid of hell, so they believe in the religion because they don't want to be punished.  In reality, this hell does not exist, so this is a false threat- superstitious people believe in it though, so it works.

Together with the promise of reward and threat of punishment, many people are bribed into or frightened into believing.

There is also a third reason:

3. Comfort:

Many people feel very afraid in life, and like children who have imaginary friends, an imaginary friend as an adult can be very comforting.  Even though gods do not exist, people like to talk to them and tell them their problems.  Some people do this with friends, some people do it with pets or toy animals, and some people do it with imaginary gods- all of the ways are useful psychologically, because talking about your feelings can help make you happier.

Also, even without the threat of hell, the fear of the unknown drives people towards making up explanations (like gods and spirits)- people feel uncomfortable not knowing things, and those who are curious due to fear rather than wonder tend to accept religious explanations even though these explanations have been discounted by modern knowledge.  Knowing is more comfortable than not knowing, even if the knowledge is false as in the case of religion.

In that last sense, science can also give us knowledge, but math and science are much harder for uneducated people to understand- religion is a very simple concept even a child can understand without advanced calculus, so it appeals to the masses.

 I hope that answers your question,

As far as the origins of "prophets" and "spiritual" experinces used as evidence by most people for religion, you should look into neurotheology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotheology

From Akhenaten, to Moses, to Paul of Tarsus, to Muhammad, to Joseph Smith Jr.  If they weren't con-men, they were probably suffering from cognitive disorders that resulted in 'spiritual' hallucinations.

It's all very interesting. 

   logical  answer

but repeatedly say this is false , myth , not exist  and so on

listen

you say your opinion and I  respect it  even though I disagree with it .

I beleive in all what you deny . so when I die I will never lose either it is true or false . if it is true  I will be in heaven live happily,  and if it is false i will be in grave as every body alse .

what about you 

if it is really false and myth nothing will happen after your death , but if it is true you will be in very hard position where remorse is not useful , you will face some thing you can never endure ,

so be careful . and think again

thanks alot blakerieger for yout comment although that is  not the reply of my question ..but you commented in a very objective way which reflect  your kinda of manner..really i like ur brain…

  but i don't agree with you  ..not just the promise of heaven or the punishment with the hell which lead the people to have a religion …theres alot of people dnt like to embrace religion because  of the idea of heaven and hell which their mind cant accept…

 despite of the existence of this idea ,the majority have religion ….maybe you say ….''this idea is a factor of carrot and intimidation to have a religion..heaven attract and hell terrorize from disbelieving of God''

but ..it is not true ….you have missed the original and the most important fact..which is the deep innate sense of the existence of the God ..the deep feeling inside me which confirms that theres a  right and fault ..bad and good , justice and injustice …the feeling of the existence on the great power the domination…which control the universe…

that feeling lead me to the GOD  and when some one believe in god…he will try to know him ..to know his orders his legislations..to know the straight way to follow..to make my life go further under the words of the God….that what make someone embrace religion…not just the fear from hell or the greed in heaven… 

Monatta, 

You assume that your god, or any god someone asks me to believe in will reward my belief in it. 

Would it not be equally valid to argue: Why not live a good life and try as best you can to improve your own life and that of others. If there is no god, then you lose nothing. If there is a god, and a benevolent one, perhaps it will judge you well for your good life and reward you appropriately.

Just sayin… 

"I beleive in all what you deny."

As is your right to if you wish to.  

A note on English usage though: Deny is not really the right word to use there- disbelieve would be more appropriate.  The word "deny" could be very offensive because it has negative connotations.

A wife might deny a husband her bed if he makes her mad, for example.  It's a more potent negative action relative to an assumed positive- whereas I cannot deny a god anymore than un unmarried woman can deny the husband she doesn't have ;)  "denying god" would best be used for an apostate who defies god because he is mad- not for somebody who merely disbelieves.



"if it is true  I will be in heaven live happily,  and if it is false i will be in grave as every body alse .
...
if it is really false and myth nothing will happen after your death , but if it is true you will be in very hard position where remorse is not useful , you will face some thing you can never endure"

This is commonly known as Pascal's wager:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_Wager


One clear problem with that is it excludes many "possibilities".

What if the Christians are right, and all Muslims go to hell for not believing?

Who is right:__Christians__Muslims__Atheists
Christian:_Heaven__Hell_Hell
Muslim:__Hell_Heaven_Hell
Atheist:__Nothing__Nothing_Nothing


It seems like you have a 50% chance, right?

Oh, but what about Judaism and Hinduism?

Who is right:__Christians__Muslims__Atheists___Jews_Hindus
Christian:___Heaven_Hell_Nothing___PurgatoryReincarnation
Muslim:_Hell__Heaven_Nothing_Purgatory__Reincarnation
Atheist:_Hell_Hell_Nothing_PurgatoryReincarnation
Jews:___Hell_Hell__Nothing_Heaven_Reincarnation

That's a little more complicated… so how about we add a hundred more religions on to that?

Well, I won't do it here, but you can imagine it.

So does that mean that we should chose the religion with the worst consequences and follow it?  We should obey the gods that threatened us the most?  Those don't sound like good gods to me.

Lets evaluate a simpler diagram:


God's nature:___Good_Evil_Nonexistent
Good Atheist__Heaven__Hell___Nothing
Good Theist_Heaven_Hell___Nothing
Bad Atheist_Hell_Hell___Nothing
Bad Theist_Hell_Hell_Nothing


If anything, that's an argument to be a good person no matter what.  A good god will admit all good people into heaven, and an evil god will send them all to hell, laughing.

Even if the evil god let its worshipers into heaven so that it could be flattered by them, I would not worship an evil god.

I can say this for myself, and I'm sure many would agree, but I would prefer torture to worshiping an evil god.

What about you?  Is Allah good or evil?  Would you still worship Allah if he were evil?

 Naturally though, if we abide by logic rather than the fantasy of absolutist ethics, we find that the entire notion of a god is impossible- but assuming you don't, you should at least apply the same rules of comparison to all situations.

"the deep innate sense of the existence of the God…the feeling of the existence on the great power the domination…which control the universe…"

Ah, that has more to do with neurotheology (I provided a link for you before)- it's the feeling in your brain that you get of a 'higher power'.  It's similar to the shiver that runs down your back when you listen to really amazing music.  My understanding is that it's largely a factor of the over activity during meditation and prayer in the frontal lobe.

That "feeling" is explained by science- it isn't a god.  In fact, it can be induced in a laboratory in the same way we can induce people to raise their left hand rather than their right- without them realizing it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will#Neuroscience


Having a feeling- which is a factor of biology, which is a product of evolution, which is a statistical process guided by physics, which is derivative of the relationship of the fundamental nature of energy and basic physical laws, which are formed from super symmetry- does not provide any evidence of a god floating around in the sky putting a feeling in our heads.


The thing that makes people move towards religion is fear of hell, and promise of heaven- or fear of the unknown in general.  Once people are in the religion, the "feeling" arguably helps keep them there- it's a feeling of comfort and belonging, largely.


" ..the deep feeling inside me which confirms that theres a  right and fault ..bad and good , justice and injustice"

That's moral absolutism, which is a misunderstanding of human psychology.  Moral absolutism is normal for most adults and all children, because it is the most simplistic way of understanding the world.

I'll give you an example.


Fact: This food tastes really bad to me.


Simple understanding:  This food has the quality of bad taste, so it tastes bad for everybody.

The simple understanding is obviously false.

Complex understanding:  My taste buds react badly to this food, but other people may react well to it- this food tastes bad to me.

The complex understanding is obviously more correct.




Fact:  This moral is offensive to me

Simple understanding: This moral has the quality of being bad

This is false.

Complex understanding: My personal emotions react badly to this moral, but other people may react well to it- this moral is offensive to me.

The complex understanding is more correct.



Morality is relative.  Yes, many people agree on certain things; for example, murder is offensive.

In the same way, many people agree on many foods; for example, sugar and salt are delicious, but taste bad if a large quantity is used.

Not all people agree with either of them- and neither is absolutely true.


We agree on morals in the same way we agree on many foods- and that is a biological mechanic, derived from evolution.  


We don't eat very salty foods because they would be bad for us- people who ate too many salty foods and drank salt water died, so they did not pass on the genes to like too much salt.

We don't murder people because it's bad for us, because we get murdered back- people who were murderers died, and so did not pass on those genes that made them inclined to be murders.

That's an oversimplification, of course- being a murderer, like liking salt, is both genetic and one up upbringing.  However, parents pass their upbringing on to their children just as surely as they do genes, so by a matter of combined social and genetic evolution, we are the way we are because it works that way.

i don't know the reason exactly, but in my mind, Islam is the best you can get for living in this world in this day. The value of Islam coincide with much of our value today.

There are many peoples confusing about their life, although they can get everything what they want with their money, but the happiness have no price, and Islam is already to fill what they need.

I think Islam is very comprehensive for our life today.

You can learn many discipline that have relations with Islam, from private business till social problems, from mathematics till law science, from mu'tazilah to asy'ariah, from sufi to country matter.

Even who really you are, and what is universe before their exist, can you dig from the treasure of islamic science.

@Blakerieger – I appreciate your comprehensive answers, which coincide with my own thoughts.

@redwana – People who don't believe in God can also have a sense of right and wrong. And, believe it or not, some religious people have a very different idea of what is right and wrong from most people.

My own view is that, if there is a God, he/she should appreciate a person who leads a good life, even if that person is a non-believer. However, almost everyone here seems to think that the worship part is far more important than the living a good life part. I find this kinda hard to believe. If Hitler had been religious, would God really have said at the gates of heaven "Hey, you were responsible for the deaths of millions of people and spreading hatred throughout Europe, but you believed in me, so in you come, my friend!"?

And then, as Blakerieger says, would you really want to worship a God that let evil people into heaven? I mean, that sounds kinda weird to me!

Of course, justic brings us to the real point of the OP – to try to convert more people to Islam, which is a common theme amongst threads here at "Islam Baby".

sorry markchina, i just try to influent my english and fill in the thread with proporsional answers. your word make me disappoint.