...Islam is highly criticized in Western media and Muslims are often portrayed in movies and TV as violent terrorists. These portrayals are usually not accurate and are unfair representation of Islam. Not all Muslims are terrorists just like not all Americans are overweight. It's a prejudice that many believe to be true even though every religion has some terrorist groups or extremists. The Qur’an promotes peace and the few groups that commit violence are looked down upon by most Muslims. They view it as a misinterpretation of the Qur’an and Islamic tradition. Taking of innocent life like civilians, and including war, is strictly forbidden in Islam. The Qur’an also states, “Humanity is but a single Brotherhood: So make peace with your brethren”...
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...Islam Is More Cult Then Religion Composition II 01/16/2014 Islam Is More Cult Then Religion 1 Islam - A Religious Cult Islam is usually portrayed in media as a religion of peace. In reality Islam is a cult of millions of people with a goal of complete world domination through terror and a strict adherence to a 6 century code of conduct and values. The image of the peaceful religion is a façade used to spread its twisted message and ideals. Islam was started in the 6th century by the last prophet Mohammad. The fundamental difference between the idea of a religion and a cult should depend on the influence the sect has on government and ruling of peoples. In the dark ages in Europe, the Catholic Church began to become more of a political entity and less of a religion. This went on for hundreds of years peaking when any new monarchs of the various kingdoms had to have papal approval to rule. The power of the church had grown to such an extent, that if rulers tried to go against the churches wishes he or she faced a possible revolution and expulsion from their own subjects. While there are many horrible things that can be laid at the Catholic churches feet, the church evolved to understand it is to be more of a spiritual guidance than a physical earthly power. Islam is different than most modern religions by trying to set itself up as a governing Islam Is More Cult Then Religion 2 body instead of a spiritual guidance. In the renaissance era of Western Europe...
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...RPW 110 Spring 2011 Response essay The misinterpretation of Jihad, as a form of violence. Words: 2000 Our society today faces the greatest challenge in the form of terrorism threatening countless lives and shattering those very ideals that sustain humanity. The misinterpretation of jihad is the primary cause behind many terrorist activities in the recent times. The misinterpretation of this word was first started by Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami, He was a Damascene jurist and a pious Muslim who was the first to preach jihad against the crusaders in the aftermath of the First Crusade. He was one of the first to misconstrue jihad and preach the misinterpretation of jihad .He wrote the book Kitab Al- Jihad which means “book of the holy war”. In this book he proposes for the first time Jihad as a means of warfare against non-believers. “If he did not undertake the sending of enough troops to fight, those who are absent (must) go out, and consider as an obligation that which God (who is praised) said.” The above excerpts explicitly prove the aggressive nature of his ideology and the eventual misinterpretation of Jihad. The above statement suggests to Muslims if god didn’t send enough men to war against non-Muslims then it is the obligation of every Muslim to fight this war against non-believers. This concept was shouted through speakers in mosques and had a lot of audience hence the impact it had on Muslims was much...
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...have descended from their abrahamic ancestor (Pullella). In the realm of Judaism and Islam, the religious moral compass’s magnetic north is weighted based on the definitions of...
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...Book Review on Karen Armstrong’s Islam: A Short History and Stephen Tomkins’ A Short History of Christianity Religion is a set of beliefs followed by a group of people and it usually involves a set of moral codes and devotion to a greater force. The vast amount of religions allows individuals to identify themselves within the values of certain doctrines. By analyzing two books whose main subject is religion, it was possible to learn and comprehend two of the most popular religions in the world. Stephen Tomkins’ A Short History of Christianity is a non-biased text where he carefully and meticulously explains the rise of Christianity as well as taking in consideration some other beliefs. On the other hand, Karen Armstrong’s Islam: A Short History, is a text that aims to diminish existing misunderstanding and misinterpretations of one of the world’s most important religions. For people who do not know much about the history of Christianity, Stephen Tomkin’s book is an excellent starting point, since it goes back to when Christians were Jews and both religions were considered the same yet “just one more new version of the faith of Jesus”(Tomkins, 76). It is important to say that people, who already know the Bible can also read this book for it gives specific details, and it accounts some historical limitations as well. For instance, he talks about Paul, one of Jesus’ apostles, and the letters he wrote to the church, telling and reminding people of God’s son’s miracles...
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...bound by the vulgar misinterpretation of Islam and the Quran and should eliminated. Understanding this is will hopefully incur more compassion for the Afghan and Pakistani people fighting to live their religion in peace with the rest of the world. The Formation of the Afghan Taliban...
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...Nigerian girls) seems to be the most prominent issues which face the world today. Evidently it is highly apparent that religion has an immense role to provide peace amongst various people and cultures. The idea of peace cannot dwell amongst society unless the adherents of the religion exhibit the nature of peacefulness. The religion of Islam tries in many forms to promote peace. Through its founder Muhammad and the message he tried to depict regarding respecting others and treating the less fortunate with kindness. "But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is the One that Heareth and Knoweth (all things)." (Surah 8, Verse 61). This is an imperative scripture as it depicts the way in which Islamic adherents should apply peace in their daily lives. It is also a model for all adherents to follow as it promotes a peaceful, non violent society. This is turn is the words in which Islamic adherents can pertain to in search of peace within religion and hence others can gain a sense of peacefulness and kind relationships through the way an Islamic adherent treats his brother/sister in Islam. Peace then can not be seen as the total absence of violence, because this is far from it. Peace in essence the concept of “trying” to achieve harmony amongst people and for common good to prevail in society but to others this view mary vary. In our 21st century society we are often faced with the challenge to be peacemakers as religious...
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...“A Silk Road Legacy: The Spread of Buddhism and Islam*” is written by Xinru Liu, a professor at the College of New Jersey. Xinru Liu is an associate professor of history on that campus. He has written many other peer reviewed history journals in his past. This specific article of his that I chose was a part of The Journal of World History in 2011 and was published by The University of Hawai’i Press. It was first presented at the 2009 Numata Conference “Buddhism and Islam,” in May of 2009 at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. A professor by the name of Lynda Shaffer has been Liu’s coauthor and the first reader of his writings for the past decade. She also edited, revised this article as well. This article endeavors the challenge of examining...
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...If the Central Asian Society exists and is meeting in fifty or a hundred years hence, Afghanistan will be as vital and important a question as it is now1 Lord Cuzon, speaking at the annual dinner of society, London, 1908 Governance of Pakistan is to God alone, it is up to Pakistan to carry out God’s commands2 Qazi Hussain Amhed, leader of Jamiat-e-Islami, Islamic political party in Pakistan INTRODUCTION 1. The rise of Islamic militancy or the jihad culture in Pakistan was directly sponsored by the security forces of Pakistan and is a legacy of Pakistan’s creation as an Islamic state and Pakistan’s involvement in the creation of the Taliban and its rise to power in Afghanistan. Since the arrival of the United States in the region post-9/11 and its support for Pakistan in its fight against Islamic extremism, Pakistan’s home-grown insurgent forces have turned its fight against the state itself in its resistance against a stable and democratic government. This conflict has led to a growth in Islamic extremism in Pakistan’s border regions which have turned into safe-havens for fighters in Afghanistan in their war against the US and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA). Evidence shows that these fighters still receive covert support from Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and elements of the Pakistani military. 2. Scope. This essay will first explain the roots of Islamic militancy in Pakistan including Pakistan’s involvement in the rise...
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...World Religions Darlene Lovely Hum/130 August 3, 2011 Charles Hall World Religions Islam is one the largest and fastest growing religions in the world, second only to Christianity. The Islamic faith believes that there is only one God, who is named Allah. The Qur’an is the holy scriptures of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the words of God revealed to the great prophet Muhammad for the purpose of educating Muslims on how to live spiritually, mentally, and physically pure lives. An interview on the religion of Islam was conducted with Lonna al’ Moctar, a thirty-nine-year-old administrative assistant at The Muslim Community Center of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. The Muslim Community Center of Louisville is the newest mosque in Louisville and is the “boldest architectural expression of Islam to date in Louisville” (Smith, 2010, para. 2). The Muslim Community Center of Louisville is a mosque “intended as a place of interaction for all faiths” to learn about Islam, and is also home to an adjacent school, the Islamic School of Louisville, for pre-school, elementary, and middle school students (Smith, 2010, para. 7). Not unlike the construction of other mosques across the nation, The Muslim Community Center of Louisville had its share of opposition; however, its neighbors never complained about the construction of the mosque itself. Shortly...
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...perspective about education of girls. It is a well-known fact that generally muslim countries except for countries, which don't become westernized, have lots of biases about females' education. In this essay I shall analyze girls' education in Morocco. First of all the statistics show that around 60% of women in Morocco are illiterate and also in some rural areas more than 90% cannot read. These numbers are incredibly terrible. However many educated women in Morocco also they are spiritual leaders, who are called Morchidats, have a mission to teach “true Islam” to girls and women. They believe that Islam based on compassion tolerence and equality. They are trying to seperate its true teaching from bias, misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Simply their aim is that they are striving to build a better society with gender equality, acsess to education easily. By the way they against early marriages that is to say underage marriage, because many women are still forced to marry older man. Morcidats has important role in society; their work takes them into mosques, schools, homes and also orphanages. They give lots of advice and speech to females about how to be better...
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...participation has very poorly observed in Bangladesh. Therefore, I decided to do my ethnography to assess how my mother’s education influences her household decision making participation. My mother was born in 1959 in a Muslim family in a small city in Bangladesh. In her period of time, women were confined within the four walls of the house. Her parents did not allow her to receive education and participate in any outside work. My grandparents thought it was waste of time and money to educate their daughter. Early marriage, religious misinterpretation and the narrowness of their outlook were mainly responsible for this. Due to strict seclusion or pardah, enjoin by Islam my grandparents were not ready to send their daughter to the male teachers. Moreover, the prevailing norm of the Muslim family and society are only to teach the Holy Qur'an during the early age of girls. So, my mother went to Madrasa, a religious institution for the study of Islam, up to 5th grade. On account of the structure of the society and set...
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...Unites States-Centric Views Comparison Mark D. Pacheco Axia College University of Phoenix Unites States-Centric Views Comparison The table comparisons show distinctive characteristics synonymous with the categories of descriptors identified for both individuals listed as Christian Americans and or Muslim Arab Americans. It is uniquely and formally identical in some categories as well as substantially different in other categories, yet still; some characteristics are open for discussion as to their identification to both parties involved. Based on results of independent surveys taken which was not scientific, substantiated or verified by any governmental agency of the United States, or Christian or Muslim Arab American groups or societies. The results are taken from ordinary American citizens not associated with either group of individuals, nor affiliated in any religious capacity, nationality, race, color, or ethnic background as identified as Christian American and Muslim Arab American. In this survey, one could say this is wholly independent and un-biased in the results given. Popular to contrary belief, most Americans give their opinions on subjects based on a few characteristics enveloped primarily with their up-bringing, moral and ethical values instilled in early childhood, their personal belief in governmental policy and societal values. As young children, teenagers, and young adults of parents and communities across this nation, individuals may...
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... millions have to live and suffer in misery because of religious misunderstandings, disputes and conflicts. A great example of such misinterpretation in the day and age is the most widely discussed issues in the Muslim community is the negative image of Islam in the global media, an issue that was cause for concern even before 9/11. Nevertheless, “in this light it is wholly understandable that, in the aftermath of the brutal attacks of September 11, many in the west and in the Muslim world are appalled by the fact that the mass-murderer perpetrated on that day is being hailed by some Muslims as an act of Jihad”1. While appeals to the media for accuracy and fairness continue, newspaper headlines regularly print the words “Islam” and “Muslim” next to words like “fanatic,” “fundamentalist,” “militant,” “terrorist” and “violence.” Uses of the term “Jihad” in television programs and films are also illustrative. Therefore, this problematic subject leads to a subsequent question; what really is Jihad? After all, there is a great deal of confusion in the West regarding the meaning of Jihad and the role it is playing in shaping the Muslim world. Indeed, it has acquired a pejorative connotation in the minds of many Westerners. The purpose of this discussion is to present an accurate understanding of the concept of Jihad. 1. Joseph Lumbard , In Islam, Fundamentalism and the Betrayal of Tradition (Bloomington, IN.: World Wisdom Books, 2009), 119 Jihad is frequently confused with...
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...faith they most associated with, but it can be unequivocally stated that Jackson’s claim is more correct than Morgan’s for the Mongols only chief concern involved homage to the great Khan, be it through shamanism or any other religious faith. The first major religion to be evidenced in support of Jackson’s claim would be Islam, most notably described by Juvayni in his text, The History of the World-Conqueror. In particular, one of the more notable and interesting aspects of Juvayni’s text is towards the end where Chingiz-Khan comes into a house of God in the Islamic city of Bokhara. What is notable about this passage is how the Islamic religious officials note how they brought “the cases in which the Korans were kept out into the courtyard of the mosque, where they cast the Korans right and left and turned the cases into mangers for their horses” (Juvayni 104). Later, the Mongols would ride out the camp and leave the city where the “leaves of the Koran were trampled in the dirt beneath their own feet and their horses’ hoofs” (Juvayni 104). This is significant to Jackson’s claim because here we see a certain Mongol disdain for organized religion, specifically Islam. Had the Mongols been more tolerant towards the religion, as Morgan claims, Chingiz-Khan and his army would not have been placed higher concern for their horses and would not have trampled the central text in the Islamic faith. Consequently, the same case can be made with another major religious faith of the time: Christianity...
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