...Modern Challenges Today Islam is facing challenges from the wider world and from within. Muslims feel that Islam is the way of life. They feel Islam is the way due to their system which controls and governs more than 1.2 Billion lives of women and men around the world (http://answering-islam.org/Nehls/tt1/tt1.html). Islam’s goal is for all people to submit to the Islamic religion. With Islamic religion spreading over counties across the globe, they are now facing challenges within their own religion and throughout the world (http://answering-islam.org/Nehls/tt1/tt1.html) The commonality between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity is that they are sometimes called “Abrahamic religions” due to their history being traced back to Abraham in the Bible. These three religions also share their theism which is of strict monotheism faith. These religions also share common characteristics which are that they believe there is only one God. Each religion also believes that in good afterlife there is eternal heaven or paradise and bad afterlife results in damnation or eternal hell. The people is another commonality and that each person soul is important and the need to be saved and do have a choice to be a good person or not (http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm ). Islam response to the challenges in the modern world is to implement what they have seen and to embrace it. The starting point of changing Islam from being a simple religion of only...
Words: 1106 - Pages: 5
...Contemporary Issues in Buddhism Team D REL/133 May 21, 2013 Prof. Joseph Pirelli Buddhism is considered one of the oldest forms of religion dating back over 2,500 years; which originated in Thailand and has spread throughout Asia and begun to spread in Northern America, with over 125 million practicing Buddhists today. Siddhartha Gautama the founder of Buddhism became Buddha, his teachings and philosophy of selflessness and love towards others, modest and meek lifestyle, karma and reincarnation, education, and total submission and control of the mind and body are the basics of this religion. Buddhism has similar characteristics with other major religions that include practices, rituals, scriptures, and believes such as the belief in a deity or higher greater power. It has a doctrine accepting teachings of salvation and a code of conduct. The Buddhism religion maintains an essential qualities or religious practices that are passed down from generation by sources such as authorities and or their followers are accept as sacred. The Buddhist teachings consist of the Noble Eight Fold Path: 1.) Right View- full understanding of life. 2) Right of Intention- selflessness and good will towards all. 3.) Right Speech- always watching words 4.) Right Actions- always in control of ones actions and the results or impact of them. 5.) Right Livelihood-live upstanding example nothing illegal or unethical. 6.) Right Effort- always displays effort...
Words: 2302 - Pages: 10
...Contemporary Issues in Western Religions Contemporary: Current, modern, popular, progressive, present-day, fashionable, and up-to-date. Can this definition apply to a religion that is more than 2000 years old? Christianity struggles within its own religious borders to be contemporary and remain relevant in today’s ever changing landscape of religions and beliefs. The question must be asked regarding when is too much. How far can the Christian faith push its borders without losing its core and traditional meanings and foundations? The appeal of the Christian religion has to compete with the social world in which it exists. The traditional Christian is viewed by many as stagnant, stiff, and out-dated. The youth today need to be challenged mentally and spiritually to stimulate their interest in a religion that can be interpreted as boring and seen as a relic of their parents and grandparents. To explore how Christianity as a religion can grow, one must first explore its past and past struggles to include those with Judaism and Islam. According to a book entitled the first Christians, attention is drawn to archaeological discoveries and modern social science scholars that have sharpened their focus on that first generation of Christians. It has shown early Christians saw themselves not as founders of a new religion but as reformers of Judaism. They did not want to abandon Judaism, but to rejuvenate it. The early Christian message was not a uniform creed; it changed in important...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...Modern Challenges XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX REL/134 March 23, 2015 Professor XXXXXXXXXXXX Modern Challenges Out of the many religions of the world and that were focused on during this class, I chose to focus on Christianity, specifically Catholicism. As the oldest Christian religion and notably the most unique and specific, Catholicism is revered throughout the world. It is the most talked about, both in society and religiously and the most controversial among the different Christian religions. As a world religion, there are some similarities that are shared with the other religions. The first similarity is the deity God that is worships. Among the Christian, Jewish and Islam world, God is the only deity that is worshipped. How he is viewed and worshipped is the only difference. The second similarity is between the Jewish, Islam and Catholic religions. This similarity is the traditions and rituals. Even though these traditions and rituals are performed in different ways and for different reasons, they are the foundation that holds our religions together. Finally the last similarity between the Christian, Jewish, Islam and Catholic faiths is that they originated from the same genealogy. In the Bible the reader gets to the story of Abraham. It is during this story that two faiths emerge, Jewish (Hebrew) and the Islam religion. The rest of the Bible focuses on the Jewish history and leaves behind Islam. However, it is during the time after Jesus’ death that the reader is introduced...
Words: 1385 - Pages: 6
...Islam today is facing challenges from within and from the wider world. The critical problems are the fundamental tensions within Islam. The attitudes and criticisms common in the outside world can be ignored as misguided or hostile, but the tensions within Islam throughout the world must be confronted. In a simple geographical sense, Islam has to come to grips with its changing centres. The religious centres define the heartland: Saudi Arabia maintains its guardianship of the shrines at Mecca and Medina, and the conduct of the hajj, against the claims of Shii Iran, the Shii tradition, and other sects disillusioned with Saudi Arabia's credentials within the ummah. Saudi Arabia enjoys much of its strength to repudiate other claims because it...
Words: 1582 - Pages: 7
...Fundamentalist Islam. Last year, a Kingstone colleague of mine stood before this debate to challenge the audience about the power of words and initially I’m going to do the same. However, my challenge is not about the power of words plural, but the power of only one word and the effect that it inevitably brings. When mentioned, the power of this word and the feelings that surround it, can change an upbeat atmosphere like ours tonight into one less gregarious and for this I apologise in advance. I can see you all bracing in anticipation, so here goes ……………………Fundamentalism. What image just sprang to mind? Was it women dressed in hijabs, young, teenage boys standing with guns or the appalling image of tortured soldiers? Whatever image it is, I expect the connotations to be associated with a religion that has become synonymous with death and revenge. There is little doubt that Fundamentalist Islam is seen by many as a threat to our society, but I stand here tonight to challenge you to consider something a little closer to home - that it is actually Fundamentalist Christianity that is more of a threat to our society rather than Fundamentalist Islam. To explore this radical concept with you, I’m going to focus on three objectives: first, I’m going to discuss the meaning of fundamentalism, second, what is fundamentalist Christianity and third, why I feel that fundamentalist Christianity is more of a threat to our society than fundamentalist islam. Let’s start...
Words: 1714 - Pages: 7
...1 HISTORY OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION PART II: 1258 C.E. TO PRESENT SPRING 2012 (21:510:288) M.W. 4:00-5:20 (MW6) CONKLIN HALL 446 Dr. Nükhet Varlık varlik@andromeda.rutgers.edu Office Hours: M. W. 5:20-5:50 pm and by appointment Office: Conklin Hall, 310 TEXTBOOK: o Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., A concise history of the Middle East, Westview Press, 2002. o Marvin E Gettleman & Stuart Schaar, The Middle East and Islamic world reader, New York, 2003. o Additional primary source readings will be posted on Blackboard. o Also see: Internet Islamic History Sourcebook (compiled by Paul Halsall) COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of the history of the Islamic civilization. In this course, we will study social, economic, and cultural aspects of the history of the Middle and Near East region, from the dramatic arrival of Mongol armies in the mid-thirteenth century up to the present era. The treatment of the subject will be roughly chronological, though social and economic life, culture, and arts will be discussed thoroughly throughout the course. In addition to lectures, the course will heavily draw upon discussion sessions, which will give students a hands-on approach to history. In these sessions, we will discuss in detail various historical problems presented in the text, lectures, and audio-visual materials. 1 2 COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: - name and identify individuals, events, themes, and issues of major...
Words: 2080 - Pages: 9
...978-983-44372-3-7 (pbk.) 1. Islamic religious education--Southeast Asia. 2. Islam--Education--Southeast Asia. I. Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad. II. Jory, Patrick. 297.77 First Printed 2011 © 2011 Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad & Patrick Jory Publisher: Yayasan Ilmuwan D-0-3A, Setiawangsa Business Suites, Taman Setiawangsa, 54200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – for example, electronic, photocopy, recording – without prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed review. The opinions expressed in this publication is the personal views of the authors, and do not necessary reflect the opinion of the publisher. Layout and cover design: Font: Font size: Printer: Hafizuldin bin Satar Goudy Old Style 11 pt Gemilang Press Sdn Bhd iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T his book grew out of a three-day workshop jointly held by the Regional Studies Program, Walailak University, and the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Copenhagen University, in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand, in 2006. The theme of the workshop was, “Voices of Islam in Europe and Southeast Asia”. Its aim was to gather leading scholars in the fields of Islamic Studies from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to discuss contemporary developments in the study of Islam and Muslim societies in...
Words: 104903 - Pages: 420
...and Director Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding Georgetown University islamic leviathan Islam and the Making of State Power Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr Islamic Leviathan Islam and the Making of State Power Ú seyyed vali reza nasr 1 2001 3 Oxford Athens Chennai Kolkata Nairobi New York Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Paris São Paul Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated comapnies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 2001 by Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza, 1960 – Islamic leviathan : Islam and the making of state power / Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr. p. cm.—(Religion and global politics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-514426-0 1. Malaysia—Politics and government. 2. Islam and politics—Malaysia. 3. Pakistan—Politics and government—1988 – 4. Islam and politics—Pakistan. I. Title. II. Series. DS597.2.N37 2001 322′.1′095491—dc21 00-064968 ...
Words: 112674 - Pages: 451
...Islam and Human Rights Course Islam and Terrorism April 2016 Introduction: Terrorism has become one of the outstanding features that marked the twenty-first century, as its acts and threats have been in existence for millennia, and because it acts as a real danger facing the human existence. Terrorists have widened their activities and increased their practices in many regions of the world in recent times, such as Turkey, France and Belgium. Terrorist groups have used violence as a mean to achieve their goals and they did not adhere to any religious principles or moral, and they have showed us how they have used advanced weapons and equipment’s in their attacks. The core principle of terrorists is that the aims justify the means, which carries with it the destruction of human civilizations. Muslims are being exposed by campaigns of slander and distortion, waged by western countries, politicians and media, and these campaigns have seen an increase of ferocity after the emergence of the (ISIS) terrorist group in the Arab countries, and specially after the terrorist attacks on some Western countries. Some Arab and Islamic countries participated in awareness campaigns about the thought of the new emerged terrorist group (ISIS) extremist on the Islamic religion, but violence and extremism is no longer mentioned in Western countries, but they became attributed to Muslims, Arabs. Extremism and terrorism has become Islamist, and all this is linked to Islamist groups. I...
Words: 2332 - Pages: 10
...Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 13 (1): 33-40, 2013 ISSN 1990-9233 © IDOSI Publications, 2013 DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2013.13.1.1756 Postmodernism Approach in Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) 1 Ahmad Badri Abdullah, 1Mohd Anuar Ramli, 2Mohammad Aizat Jamaludin, 1 Syamsul Azizul Marinsah and 3Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor 1 Department of Fiqh and Usul, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2 Halal Product Research Institute (HPRI), Universiti Putra Malaysia 3 Department of Islamic History and Civilization, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract: The history of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) has gone through various phases. From the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), it has continuously become a dynamic force in fulfilling the contemporary needs of the Ummah. After the period of imitation (taqlid), Islamic jurisprudence enters the renewal process (tajdid) in order to rejuvenate Muslim society to the practice of Ijtihad. The emergence of new approach was caused by the changes and developments in human life that spark to the existence of new issues, which their answers cannot be traced in the works of classical fiqh. Accordingly, some would prefer to utilize the postmodernism approach in the process of interpretation of the divine texts in order to get the ruling (hukm). Some of the thinkers and scholars seem to neglect the normative guide in classical Usul al-Fiqh (the principle of...
Words: 6039 - Pages: 25
... October 11, 2012 Stephanie Cripps Contemporary Issues in Western Religions This paper will reflect research on contemporary issues in Western Religions. The main objective is to elaborate on Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The other key focus is to uncover the struggles within its historical and modern times. Islam is an interesting subject because it has plenty history surrounding Islamic cultures, and the contrast between Judaism, and Christianity. Nevertheless, revealing how time has change from than to now also captivate some attention. Exploring the foundation surrounding Islam such as Abraham, and the other forefathers is rewarding when searching the history of these three religions. Historical connections Islam and Judaism share connections starting very early in history with the patriarch Abraham. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael, and Isaac, who eventually went on to lead two different groups of people. Ishmael led the Arabs who later became known as the Muslims and Isaac led the Israelites who later became Jews. These two different groups of religions grew and traditions known today in modern religion. Each religion shares a monotheistic belief and has similar belief in prophets. The Tanakh tells the story of Exodus that God chose Moses to lead the Jews out of slavery into freedom (Molly, 2010). Muslims also believe that Moses and several other historical figures, including...
Words: 2215 - Pages: 9
...Juan L. Costa S 1229656 1 December 2013 Words: 1629 Course: Globalization and Cultural Studies Mr. Looi van Kessel, M.A. The English language in Turkey – A case study of linguistic imperialism English is considered to be the world’s lingua franca. It is the most extended language in all kinds of international interactions, including trade, culture, and academia. This is considered to be a factual statement and not a normative one. Certain scholars have considered the rise of English as a positive process in normative terms, while others have critiqued it as a form of imperialism. However, both sides of the argument agree on the principle that English is indeed the global language (Lin and Martin 116). The effects of English linguistic imperialism can be found in a plethora of countries, but they are mostly evident in countries that adopt official language policies to encourage the use of English in order to position themselves closer to the Western world. That is the case of Turkey which has favored English teaching and usage since the late 19th century (Doğançay-Aktuna and Kiziltepe 254-257). Furthermore, this official language policy and its consequences are most noticeable in academia, an environment where English has become an essential tool for participating in the international scientific community. This essay will discuss the case of Turkey as a country that has been directly impacted by English linguistic imperialism, resulting in a struggle between the economic benefits...
Words: 1974 - Pages: 8
...Running head: ISLAM : GLOBAL CONCEPT AND PRACTICES 1 Islam : Global Concept and Practices DeVry University Sociology – 350N – Cultural Diversity in Professions Spring Semester 2013 Introduction The history of Islam, its’ concepts and practices is one of the most intriguing yet controversial religions known today. Worldwide, Muslims make up about 23.4 percent of the population, while Christianity makes up about 30 percent (Goodstein, 2011). A study published in 2009 by the Pew Research Center to get global concept of the Muslim population found, “Of the 232 countries and territories included in this study, 50 are Muslim-majority” (p. 5). The Center also found “While 80% of the world’s Muslims live in countries where Muslims are in the majority, significant numbers – about one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population – live as religious minorities in their home countries” (p. 7). With so many countries adhering to Islam and the growth of the Muslim population here in America and worldwide; how will this affect how non-Islamic countries communicate and interact with Islamic countries and how we communicate right here in the United States? If Muslim fundamentalists were not at the forefront of controversy in the war on terrorism, would Islam be a religion that sparks so much debate? Even before September 11th, there had been much controversy related to Islam. However most of it occurred on foreign soil. With significant bombings and terrorist attacks in Europe...
Words: 3389 - Pages: 14
...The religion of Islam is quite intuitive in that the Qur’an predicts that people will intentionally skew the sacred word of the Qur’an to fit their message. The Qur’an states in 3:7 that “Some of its verses are definite in meaning -- these are the cornerstones of the Scripture -- and others are ambiguous.” Additionally, in Islam it holds true that if Muhammad did not address a certain issue, it is left to an individual’s discretion. Contemplating all the common misinterpretations of Islam due to extremist Muslims who use the Qur’an and Hadith to justify their actions, in our modern world we don’t .do enough to acknowledge the truths in Islam, rather focus our attention on extremist interpretations. Considering how many issues and controversies...
Words: 1447 - Pages: 6
