Corrections & Question

Submitted by Ahmed Kamel (United States), Oct 25, 2008 at 17:49

Correction: a child born of either parent being Muslim, is considered a Muslim according to "shariah". However, if they never practice Islam once coming of age (puberty), and practice another religion instead, then they are considered of that religion.

The distinction is important for practical issues (inheritance, burial, etc...), but does not reflect on what the person actually believes. According to shriah, prepubescent "Muslims" are not expected/required to practice Islam.

Which brings me to the question: when you are 8 or 9 years old, do you really know what religion you are following? Or do you really believe it? Or are you really just doing what your family is doing? When a person reaches an age of understanding, and knows what religion they are following, then we can say the person follows that religion. And I assume that is the sense in which Mr. Obama made his statement of always being a Christian.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".