Precisely.

I wish Gamma Gamma Chi success and good luck to ATL in her pursuit of this organization.

As an aside, as this organization gets more members it will hopefully not need an aspirant to speak in its behalf. ;)

Thanks for the info about what "committing shirk" means.

I have to point out, though, that here you say "I cannot speak accurately as to these things because I've never been in a sorority to know what goes on in them," yet what prompted me to ask the question was your earlier statement "there are a lot of things in other sororities that goes against Islamic beliefs, such as committing shirk" -- a rather heavy charge to lay from someone who says she's "never been in a sorority to know what goes on in them."

From my vantagepoint, the earlier statement "there are a lot of things in other sororities that goes against Islamic beliefs, such as committing shirk" shows very little understanding of any GLO I'm aware of.

Best of luck to all.

Maybe I don't fully understand what shirk means to muslims because worshipping more than one god is against christian beliefs also. What exactly is the difference? This is open to anyone to answer. Are there greek lettered organizations that require their members to look up to someone as a god? Or is this practice unintentionally done by members of sororities? How is a muslim sorority able to prevent this practice?

I think the example of big sisters being against Islamic beliefs really threw me off. Is it taught that people should not have role models?

check your pm

I "commit shirk" everyday

Although I am muslim, I have heard different explanations for the word shirk. It could be something major like associating something else with God..or minor like saying an oath (pledging your life to that one organization). You also have to understand that muslims have different opinions on just about everything--some are conservative while others are liberal with how they practice the religion.

Quote:

I think the example of big sisters being against Islamic beliefs really threw me off. Is it taught that people should not have role models?

This interpretation of big sister is just absurd. There is nothing wrong with looking up to someone or having a mentor in an organization. If anyone says its unislamic, just ask for proof in the Quran.


At the end of the day, I don't understand why this organization is creating such a stir. Christian and Jewish fraternities/Sororities exist based on Jewish Principles....so why can't an Islamic one exist as well? It's not a big deal, people!

I'd love to know what Jewish fraternities/sororities exist based on "Jewish principles" and what those principles are. I've seen a Christian sorority and fraternity on here and, again, in my opinion those are really not much different from church groups. They are religious. I don't think anyone said this is a big deal either.

-Rudey

I don't know that anyone is making a big deal out it -- just trying to understand it, which isn't always easy for those of us who have limited exposure to Islam and therefore may not know or appreciate what is meant by the "Islamic principles" that would be reflected by this group or might, as can be inferred from ATLG1RL's posts, sometimes be compromised in other GLOs.

Dude, leave your winkie out of this discussion. Keep it in your pants where it belongs.

Maybe she's referring to AEPhi, AEPi and SDT?

SDT has a partnership with Hillel. Just as SDT and AEPhi are often considered to be historically Jewish. In fact, you really could call a lot of other NPC sororities "historically Christian"

My boyfriend's mom was a member of a nationally large NPC sorority (not saying which one) in the early 1970s at a large northern university and they absolutely refused to initiate a Jewish girl. They didn't know she was Jewish when they gave her the bid, and their reasoning for denying her initiation was that she couldn't partake in a ritual with Christian roots.

BF's momma feels bad about it now, of course, but back then she said that everyone just accepted it because their sorority was "CHRISTIAN based."

Obviously I'm not a member of a sorority with ties to the Jewish faith, but I can imagine how if some NPC rituals invoke Christian or Jewish religious imagery that the ladies of GGX would want to form a ritual that left it out or invoked some of their own religious imagery. If the majority of their time spent in the sorority is dedicated to religious purposes (prayer, study, etc), then it's a religious group. From what I've seen so far, they seem like most of their time will be spent in activities that are not really religious just like any other social sorority. That's why I personally don't see them as a religious group. But of course, you're free to disagree :)

Re-read what I wrote. :) Many fraternities and sororities have religious symbols or history. None of those orgs you listed are religious orgs. None of them, to my knowledge say you can't eat pork or drive a car on Saturdays, and all of them are SOCIAL fraternities and sororities.

This is quite different from this sorority. There's nothing wrong with that. More power to them.

-Rudey

There is a difference between being based on Christian principles and Christian-based. The latter, imo, implies a religious organization.

In DST our Christian principles are generally recognized values that when established were values that a Christian (or anyone of good moral character for that matter) would follow. Dr. Collin's daughter must have felt okay with principles, otherwise she would not have sought membership in the first place.

Which adds to the curiosity about this new sorority.

Exactly.

There is also, sadly enough, a difference between being based on or promoting Christian values and being limited to Christian membership, which is what many GLOs were in years past. That limitation rarely had anything to do with furthering Christian principles but was more of a "keeping to our own kind" mentality.