[eemaan]

Hi! I don't know anything about Buddhist mandala, although my parents are both SGI buddhism followers.
Yes Gattaccia, all the prophets were contacted by God, sometimes through the angel Gabriel (Jibreel). We were never given an angel as a messenger, because the angels perfectly follow Gods comands, where as humans make errors and mistakes. God would not ask us to be like a being such as an angel as it is impossible for humans to be perfect like them. How can we follow the example of an angel as humans, it doesn't make sense, so God in His wisdom sent us with great human examples to follow.

In Islam there is so much wisdom, some of which can only be understood with faith. I say this first as for someone who is not Muslim, Islam can come across as unfair in some respects towards women, however with a deeper understanding of Islam we come to understand the wisdom of Gods laws, as I did (I am female too, and was not Muslim until 7 years ago so I know where you are coming from!)
Islam freed women and gave them a high status. At the time in Arabia, when Muhmmad became a prophet, the Arabs would bury female daughters alive as they wanted sons all the time! How dispicable! When Islam came this awful crime was ended.
Islam gave women rights to vote and own property where as in the UK in only the last 100 odd years was this possible for women! Islam gave women these rights over 1400 years ago!
In Islam men and women are equal, they differ in their roles and responsibilities. God tells us we are all equal, the only things that raises us in rank over one another is our piety.
Typical Islamic roles are what you might call 'traditional roles', where the man is the supporter of the family, while the woman is a homemaker taking care of the children. This does not mean the roles are exclusive, of course men help with the home and if necessary women can earn money also. In Islam a womans money is her own and can not be touched by her husband, but a woman can take what she needs of her husbands money! Ii nee!
I guess the issue of hijaab will come up soon so I'll start it now.
Why do Muslim women wear hijab?
The first answer is because God says so. Not our husbands or fathers or brothers. Muslim women wear hijaab because it is a command from God and therefore an act of worship. The reason God says in the Qur'an is so that women will not be harrassed by men. And if we look at some well known common sense facts this is certainly the case. If a woman is sexually harrassed in some way, it is most likely because she was 'displaying her goods' or acting in an unladylike manner. Honestly, I know, I foolishly used to wear clothing that 'asked for trouble' and then I would complain and say 'why is that guy whistling at me, he's so dirty'. Well I've grown up and come to realise well, if it's on display, someone will want to buy it no? And it's not because men are evil, it's just natural for a man to be aroused when he sees certain things. So if a woman shows herself off, she will no doubt attract some attention, wanted or unwanted. This is why in Islam a womans beauty is only for her husband, not for just any man to stare at her, this is what I think is a beautiful thing about hijaab. If people were more careful with the way they act around the opposite sex, you'd find there would be far fewer cases of adultery or rape. Why is it that the man in the office cheats on his wife? Because he has too many opportunities to be tempted, being alone in the office with a pretty girl, for whatever reason this is just a random example (as they all are) so in Islam we remove the temptation in order to protect the individual and then in turn the society. If the family unit is secure, then the community would in turn be secure.
I think Islam makes soo much sense, it does so much for the family unit and the society to make it harmonious.
Sorry if what I said hasn't made much sense!
Any questions welcome!