A Western Approach to Islam

A Western Approach to Islam

Islam is a highly recognizable and one of the most practiced religions in the world. It is a religion that brings hope, a meaning for life, and ultimately peace to those who follow its teachings. The Western world sees Islam as a violent and threatening religion that produces terrorists and radicals. If such a religion brings so much meaning to the lives of those that practice it, why does the West see it with such suspicious eyes?

My research included reading books published by authors that attempt to explain the teachings of Islam to a mostly Christian audience. I also read versus of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. While trying to answer the question of what makes people perceive this as a violent religion, I realized I would have to do some fieldwork and talk to actual Muslims. To accomplish this I went to a mosque in Carmichael.

While people tend to think of Islam as a religion that is specific to the Arab world of the Middle East, it is actually a worldwide religion that is estimated to have about 1.6 billion. It is concentrated in regions such as North Africa, the Middle East, and the south of Asia. While Muslims are a religions minority in places such as India, they are also a Majority in places like Indonesia. There is also a large population of Muslims in North America, with over 2.6 million Muslims in the United States alone according to the 2010 census.

I wouldn’t describe myself as very religious, although I have limited exposure to various Christian beliefs. All the different denominations of Christian focused on Christ being god or part of god. Exploring Islam, I thought, would be completely alien. It would also be so much easier to learn about such a subject without ha...

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...ak free of American domination” (Mousavian 2008 p. 1).

My research has led me to the conclusion that conflict between Muslim groups and the Western societies is purely political, but tinged with misinterpretations of the Quran by Islamic radicals. The false justifications these groups make about the Quran explicitly directing Muslims to attack anyone of a different religion is motivated by a few key instigators political ambitions and want for power. It is because of these few groups of radicals and their own misinterpretation of the Quran that lead Westerners to view Muslims with distrust and suspicion. There is a strong need to practice religious tolerance and identify that the problem lies within a few groups of disgruntled individuals. Islam is a religion that preaches peace among those that follow its guidance and tolerance for peoples of other religions.