Why is there original sin? That so unfair and ridiculous. It's not even in the Bible.?
“And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: ‘Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth.’ They said: ‘Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, - while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You.’ He (God) said: ‘Indeed I know that which you do not know.’” (Quran 2:30) It is also clear from these verses that God did not create humans as immortal, and that death was prescribed for them from the beginning of their creation. As for the consequences of the sin of Adam, which was his extradition from the Garden, this was felt by those to come after him and this is only natural. If one was to become drunk and have a car accident, and some of the passengers die, the sin of driver effects the passengers in their death, but that does not mean that the passengers are to be held to account for the sin of the driver.
Did Islam build on Judaism or Christianity?
According to the Islamic thought, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the different stages of the same religion: Din-e-Ibrahimi (the religion of Abraham). Allah sent down these stages according to the times and needs of the people, ending on Islam as it covered the entire rules and regulations the people need to live their lives on the personal, social and international stages.Judaism came down to Moses (A.S) , with all its regulations, to form a basic structure on which humans are to move forward. Since the world was not so advanced at the moment, so the rules were just confined to the Ten Commandments, which were basic rules and regulations on how a man/woman is to behave in his/her own life and no more than that.Christianity came down to Christ (A.S) , and encompassed the social circle as well: love for other humans, forgiveness, ending disputes, and several other commandments INCLUDING the Ten Commandments given to Moses. The complete list can be seen here: the complete list. It is believed, however, that Christianity has been corrupted by the introduction of the Trinity, which is completely new to Din-i-Ibrahimi and misleading as well.And the last stage came down on Mohammad (S.A.W.W), completing the 3 phases, including the international sphere as well. Christianity and Judaism have quite few or almost no mention on how to act with/treat people of the other religions (except on how to make them accept the religion), while Islam has special rules on how to take care of the non Muslims living peacefully in a society, how to treat them if they come to war, rules on how to carry out a war or rules on how to make peace etc.Hence, these 3 religions worked hand in hand to bring the complete set of Commandments down to earth, and ended with Islam being the perfected version.
If a bridge is ever built between Christianity and Islam it must be built by the Mormon Church?
The original talk reference: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=826 Two points: 1) The similarities he cites are pretty weak. It basically amounts to: a) "Both the Jews and the Arabs are children of our Father" - This doesn't exclude Jews or even Christians. There's no reason why this should favor Mormons particularly. b) "The purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to bring about love, unity, and brotherhood of the highest order" - Certainly includes Christians and even Jews might agree, since it doesn't require that Jesus be accepted as Messiah. Again doesn't single out Mormonism. 2) This talk is from a fireside speech at Brigham Young university. He's talking to insiders who are unlikely to question him. I would be very surprised if this "cabinet minister" ever really existed. Even if he did, are you going to cite an Egyptian Muslim as an authority on religious matters? Really? This stands or falls with the actual argument and that argument is weak, to say the least. There's no special relation between the Mormon Church and Islam. This was simply an attempt to fire up the rank and file with a load of bull. That's probably the only real similarity between Mormonism and Islam.
Did Islam exist before Muhammad?
Many people have a misconception that the religion Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century CE. They are either ignorant or victims of a false propaganda. However, the universal truth is that Islam is the eternal religion right from the time of our father Adam and will last till Doomsday.'ISLAM' comes from two words: ‘salm’ meaning peace and 'silm' meaning submitting one's will. In a religious context 'Islam' means ‘peace acquired by submitting oneself to the will of Almighty God'. So the religion of all the prophets whether Abraham or Moses or Jesus or Muhammad (peace be upon them all) was Islam. These prophets were not founders of new religions to be named after them. But each of them reiterated the same message of 'Tawhid' (Oneness of God), ‘Risalat’ (Prophethood) and ‘Aakhirah’ ( the Hereafter).After passing away of a particular prophet his teachings used to slowly fade away and the scriptures were corrupted by wicked people who indulged in interpolation and admixture. And the ignorant people used to make statues and follow all sorts of false rituals, thus ruining their everlasting nextlife. But the most merciful God sent one prophet after another so that the misguided people may heed their teachings and thus save themselves from suffering in hell in the life hereafter. And also new scriptures were revealed for their guidance.But just as the saying goes: if Psalms wasn't corrupted then Torah wouldn't have been revealed, if Torah wasn’t corrupted then Bible wouldn't have been revealed, and if Bible wasn’t corrupted then Qur'an wouldn't have been revealed. The authenticity of the Qur'an can be asserted from the fact that more than fourteen centuries have passed since its revelation but not a single word from it has been altered. This itself speaks of the truth and the divine message that it contains.So, in today's time, anyone wishing to attain salvation must have to believe in Allah as the Almighty God and Prophet Muhammad as His last messenger, and follow His commandments as mentioned in the Holy Qur'an.