By SALVATORE J. VASSALLO
To Elayne Carnegie (Oct. 3): Islam and the Hadith are two separate entities. The Hadiths is a series of documents that acts as a proper guideline for Sunni Muslim who wish to adhere to the orthodox form of the Sunnah (The ways of the Prophet Mohammed). Shi’a and Sufis Muslims are not obligated to follow the Sunnah, hence not all Muslims are exactly the same.
Islam on its own is malleable in order to fit into and meet with different cultural standards. Islam in Saudi Arabia is different from Islam in Albania or in Indonesia or in Trinidad. The Qu’ran does not contain Arabic culture because it is the words of God and God alone. The Jewish Torah and the Christian Gospel is also part of the Qu’ran, so how can the Qu’ran contain Arabic cultures? Islam is also designed to eradicate harsh cultural standards such as female genital mutilation and honor killings.
The whole point my article was to point out there are synagogues and churches in Islamic nations such as Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, etc.
Perhaps it is you who need to take my advice. You don’t even know the difference between the Hadith and the Qu’ran.