Just more generally, I was wondering if people might share their experience of Islam? I'm quite ignorant honestly.
How did you come to find the religion? What impacts (positive and negative) does it have on your life?
One thing which has made me uncertain, is the praising of martyrdom throughout the Quran. How is this aspect reconciled within peaceful societies? I mean no disrespect through this question, and recognise this may not be the best place to ask.
Martyrdom in literal terms is death by any means other than natural. So if a building collapses on a person, they are called martyred. I am not sure which one you are referring to but if you mean the martyrs of battle, they get a special kind of salvation on the day of judgement.
Your fourth question is funny. Peaceful societies are transient. When push comes to shove, no society is “peaceful”. Islam works upon an order of laws that command action and discipline at all times including during persecution and battle. The first physical battle is one for your defense. The second battle is one for the liberation of another. Anyone who dies in this cause is given a certain kind of salvation different from any other. But to be honest, the salvation is not the highest of salvation that one could get. There are higher magnitudes.
Islam gives a person structure (as all religion do?), an absolute perfect guidance, and an order of hierarchy that puts God above all, and the worshiper as His slave. From this point on, the worshiper struggle and strives in the path to establish his prayers, pay the charity that is due, and fast.
My journey is one of successes and falls. And persistence. It helps me discover personal flaws, work towards eradication, and then discover deeper truths and more concealed flaws. And upon an endless cycle that I hope by the time I meet my lord, I am free of any and all imperfections. Without Islam, I am a slave to my desires and intellect, which is self driven, and misleading.
Last note: A Muslim is one who submits to God, follows the religion of Abraham called Islam as conveyed by Muhammad, peace on them both, who was gifted with a miracle called the Quran. It is the only religion that specifically came by design for all of mankind. And though this is a challenging statement to make, the Quran is bold enough to make it. I cannot imagine a book or making such high claims, and not fail them even after so many centuries, without being a miracle itself.
I recommend checking out this documentary series [0]. I also don’t think a comment thread is an appropriate place to get to know Islam. Religion of Islam is maybe the heaviest of topics to discuss, with the depth of philosophy, yet simple in its fundamentals which even a child can understand, with a knowledge load and literature comparable to material sciences, offering a comprehensive explanation to the life we came to perceive and a complete solution to our problems.
As for my experience, suffice it to say I’m more in peace more I live according to Islam, and I see the same in everyone else around me. I’m Muslim and live in a muslim country btw.
How did you come to find the religion? What impacts (positive and negative) does it have on your life?
One thing which has made me uncertain, is the praising of martyrdom throughout the Quran. How is this aspect reconciled within peaceful societies? I mean no disrespect through this question, and recognise this may not be the best place to ask.