Hi everyone. I have been lurking on here for a while but thought I would introduce myself so I can participate a bit. I have always been interested in religion, I was brought up as a Catholic but I couldn't make sense of the trinity and the idea of original sin so that hasn't been something I have perused in my adult life. I had looked into most religions and had got especially interested in Buddhism...I like the Buddhist philosophies but then I felt that it was missing something because I DO believe in A God. Also I believe in an afterlife where our soul is the exact soul we have now, here on earth...so Buddhism doesn't really fit in that respect. I had never really looked into Islam and I admit I was slightly prejudiced against Muslims because my only knowledge about Islam was media portrayal. Then I decide to change my degree modules to study Religion and Philosophy and needed to pick a extra module...for which I chose 'Islam in the West The politics of co-existence'. As background reading I bought several books on Islam and bought 'The Meaning of The Holy Qur'an by Abduallah Yusef Ali'. I have been entranced by Islam. Everything I believed before I found out about Islam is what Islam is! The only things that didn't make sense to me were the Hadith...it seemed that to follow the Hadiths was to take partners?...but then I found this site! bravo So I think I'll be sticking around here to learn a bit more....so, pleased to meet you all peace Peace and welcome GSmode.