Declaring something Sunnah means we are attaching a specific religious importance to some act/deed. It is only the prerogative of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to institute something as Sunnah.

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) has done so many things in his life which are not Sunnah. We cannot include something in Sunnan solely on the basis that he did this. Can we?

I agree on the point that if you love someone and idealize them, you will be copying them too. Keeping this in mind, one may show his love of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) by keeping beard. But they should not say that they are doing this as Sunnah; rather as a manifestation of their love of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

A moustache can also differentiate between male and female. Would it be okay if a man has a moustache and not a beard?

It is interesting that a beard can stop a person from going to cinema; how? I do not know. Could you please tell me how?

You say:

Theorectically, having a beard should refrain one from doing certain acts such as going clubbing, going to the cinema etc etc simply because when one chooses to have a beard, society seems to categorise them as someone who is pious.

This point is well appreciated. Something which is supposedly percieved as a religious symbol can potentially stop people from doing inappropriate things. However, there is a great danger that if people adorned with such symbols resort to evil means, they will also destroy the image of the religion they are representing as you yourself have also alluded to.

You then say:

then there is a chance of those Non-Muslims categorising Islam and all Muslims based on that person's behaviour, hence giving Islam a bad name. Not everyone will judge Islam based on its teaching (i.e. the Qur'an and Sunnah), but some will base it on what they see other Muslims do and say.

I also agree on this point. Muslims should live a responsible life; they should know that they are the representative of Islam, whether they accept it or not; the world evaualate Isalm on the basis of their actions and words. They ought to become a good representative of it or openly declare that they have left the bounds of Islam.

My first question however remains unanswered. The question is:

A moustache can also differentiate between male and female. Would it be okay if a man has a moustache and not a beard?

At the same time, I think it would be ok if a man has a moustache and not a beard simply because, we shouldn't really judge a person based on their appearence, for it is emaan and taqwa that makes one better than the other.

This is the point that we the Muslims need to appreciate not only as regards the matters which have some outward manifestation or appearance but also about the matters which are related to opinions and beliefs. A Muslim should not be codemned to eternal damnation merely because he has a different viewpoint about Jihad, triple divorce or Rafa Yadain etc.

However, there is one point about beard that I would like to share with you. Beard is something with which nature has adorned men. There is no denying the fact that that moustache does differentiate between male and female yet nature has also blessed men with beard to draw such a differentiation. We need to honor what nature has endowed us.

I am not attaching any importance to beard in the religious context. what I am saying is that when Allah created man, he created him with the ability to grow beard and moustache. Since it is bestowed upon men by nature, they should honor it. I repeat again that there is no attempt to sancitfy beard in the religious context yet a desire to honor what is given to us.

Nice!

However the question remains: what can we do to let people see that we are not the judge; we can indulge in dialogue; we can criticize viewpoints on the basis of sound arguments but we cannot/should not judge other people?

The point that we must not make the other person feel small is of crucial importance.

No message can be put across if we put the other person on defence. A friendly dialogue can resolve matters peacfully. I do not imply that dialogue will always lead to agreement . However, dialogue will help you appreciate the difference of opinion; respect the differing viewpoint and get along with the dissident person peacfully and respectfully.

Having said that; I again raise the question. What can we possibly do to let people see that we should indulge in dialogue instead of passign judgments long before hearing out the other person? The general mentality that I see in the Muslims is that they are secluded in their separate cocoons and they are saying that other factions are utterly wrong; what they themselves are professing is actually the truth. What should be done to bring them to the dialogue table? What can we do to let them see the importance of dialogue?