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

Worth a read.

Yes in islam we believe in the bible, torah, quran, and the book of david. Although most books have been tampered with we still regard them as sacred.

Sunnis follow the Sunnah while the Shiites (and there many sub-sects of Shiites) follow separate secondary books with the Qur'an.

Most Shiites believe in one person or the other has been the Mahdi (similar sort of to the Messiah, however not the same as non think Jesus has returned).

Shiites and Sunnis both have very extremist adherents and sub-sects while by large they have many who are not.

Shiites have many super holy people (similar to Catholics and the various Saints) and therefore many other holy sites than the three main ones in Mekkah, Medinah, and Jerusalem.

Each sect prays slightly different.. but the daily count and observation times are the same... as well as other five pillars of Islam.

It really comes down the the same reason they split... leadership of the religion/people. They have disagreed over the generations on who is who and who is qualified. Sunnis stick to more secular path... even democracy in its originality while Shiites stick to more of a patriarchal path based on religious control. Given this difference is why people titled Mahdi's and others similar to catholic saints and popes have been created and honored in various ways.

The core beliefs of the religion both share the same book and therefore are still quite similar. They are closer to similarity like Protestants and Lutherans than they are like Mormons and Catholics.... however like Mormons to Christianity they've added other religious figureheads... not prophets.. just religious leaders.

Personally, I think it should all be abolished and a focus solely on the Qur'an as it forbade the division into sects like has happened to Christianity. Had the Qur'an been followed and not allowed any other book before it, this wouldn't be an issue. But people have chosen these Hadiths at a higher guidance and allowed in the many sects that Islam now contains (as there are many others beyond these main two).

All of the books of God are considered Holy and should be honored in Islam. However, Qur'an teachs that these other books have been corrupted by men and do not contain the original truth but only parts of it. Therefore we don't follow their teachings but respect them individiually.

I have TaNaKhs, Bibles, Qur'ans, and other works all together in my bookshelfs. I don't let people trash them or missuse them. They are for study and reading.

Bible and others are still holy because parts of them are still original. We just are not positive which parts. Therefore you have to respect its whole.

It sounds to me like the Shiites are the Catholics and the Sunnis are like the Eastern Orthodox, if parallels need to be drawn

Very informative, thank you.

Hey wait a second I never said I threw it at the ground. Its just I have no room on my shelves and stuff is all over my apartment (Fairly messy) I tend to loose my Bible often. So I set it on the ground by my bed so that I know where it is at all times. I didn't think it would offend anyone especially a Muslim because I couldn't understand how the Bible is seen as a Holy text.

Its still hard for me to understand. But I guess if Muslim's believe the Bible was the word of God and was tampered with and such maybe it could still be a holy text in their eyes.

Sorta confusing for a Christian to understand. Especially since my friend quotes the Bible.

Another funny thing I don't get is. He at least believes this, that the Quran shouldn't be translated. As such he has never actually read the Quran as he only knows english. He also believes in praying in arabic despite not knowing arabic, he memorises prayers his Imam teaches him and prays them.

I can't see how someone could believe in a Holy Book they can't read. Theirs english versions availible but he thinks that its blasphemy to read them. He believes anything his Imam says. I find that weird, as even I have read parts of the Quran. I just can't see how anyone can have faith based on a holy text they themselves have not read or know much about.

I guess thats why some extremists Imam's can so easily brainwash some believers. If they can't read the Quran themselves and believe what ever their Imam tells them. Thats sorta dangerous.

Do all Muslim's believe you can't translate the Quran? Or is it a belief only shared by certain sects?

No, that's probably just insecurity over there being some verses lost in translation. The Qur'an I study has the original Arabic text, an English translation next to it, and an explanation of the verse's meaning in English.

And your friend is horribly misguided. It's IMPERATIVE that Muslims achieve their faith through educating themselves instead of listening blindly to their imams.

Now then, to explain your confusion (since I didn't do so when I answered you in the other thread): It's as superchunk said. We respect them individually as the books of God, but that mankind distorted/corrupted them through time. We believe they (the Gospel, Zabur, and Torah) only contains some parts that are true to the original message, but there are also details that have either been removed or added.

Basically, us Muslims believe that all the original holy texts taught the exact same morals and way of life as the Qur'an, with only some minor differences here and there. Then it became corrupted through time, particularly when Islam came into the picture.

Make of it what you will. This is just what we believe.

Cool thanks for the explanation. I'm glad to know not all Muslim's believe the Quran shouldn't be translated. At least then they aren't blindly believing everything that their Imam says. I think knowledge of your Holy texts are really important in people's faiths. If you can't read your own Holy Text how can you call yourself a follower of that religion.

My Muslim friend also has a very bad outlook on Christian's and Jews which he says is founded in the Quran. However like I said he hasn't read the Quran. I'm not sure what his Imam is teaching but its sorta scary some of the stuff this guy says. Freaks me out, especially since he doesn't actually read the Quran.

Agreed with everything you said except the last part. The Hadiths aren't the reason the Sunni-Shia split occured (followed by the many offshoots of Shia Islam).

I would send you a link that explains the roots of the divide, but it's in Arabic (unless you can read Arabic).

Personally, although I live in Saudi Arabia at the moment, a country that follows the Hanbali way, my thoughts are more closely aligned to the Hanafi school. The Hanbali math'hab is too extreme for me.

Yeah, the second part is a tough one. While it is anti-Quranic to take such an outlook (you're not supposed to judge people based on their religion, ethnicity, etc.) on people who don't follow Islam, there are controversial verses that reference the other Abrahamic religions. But this is where not only is historical context important (in other words, the verses can't be nitpicked just like that), but also to note that it's referring to the wicked amongst the non-Muslims rather than all of them as a whole.