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Throughout the teachings of Islam in Comparative Religion I found myself viewing Islam differently. I have always had an open mind about religion and respected the differences throughout world religions. However with Islam, I found myself challenged when trying to respect their beliefs. I had felt like I knew everything that I needed to know about Islam and what I did know was taught to me through media and various people who were scared of the religion because of what little they knew. I had no motivation to learn anything different from what I had already been taught. Before this class I was extremely ignorant in believing that Islam as a whole religion, was a religion that is based in violence and hatred. Throughout this course, Comparative …show more content…
I was taught that Muslims want to kill westerners because their faith told them too and that they were so scared of the leaders of their communities that they felt like they had to strap bombs to their chests and kill people. I had thought that Muslims were monsters for forcing or allowing women and children to die for their cause. I also assumed that it was widely supported in Islam. Before this class I had no idea how big Islam actually was. To learn that there was 1.6 billion Muslims blew my mind. Then to fatherly learn that only 2 percent of Muslims were extremists and that only a small amount of Muslims are located in the Middle East wiped my existence away. A majority of Muslims do not support extremism and only want to be viewed separately from extremists. Comparative Religions showed me their views differ greatly from extremists. I now have a deeper understanding of the views of Islam and how they just want to be safe and …show more content…
I learned that there are women who are very conservative and believe they should be only seen by men such as their own husband or father and when they see another woman who is not covered they look at her in the same way her male counterpart would look at that woman. This can also be said for more liberal Muslims who still believe a woman should cover her head. However, many Muslims also believe that it is the woman 's choice to wear a headdress. This is the same in the Western world, as a westerner I know conservative women who look down at other women who wear very revealing clothing. I understand that the nature of Islam is not there to suppress women. Muslim women do have many freedoms. An example of this that I learned in Comparative Religions is that women can divorce their husbands if they wanted
Through the years the idea that Islam is an aggressive religion has been developed. This is mainly due to the fact that the word "jihad" -- a very important concept in Islamic faith -- is often misunderstood or its initial meaning is intentionally misrepresented. From the very beginning of Islamic invasion in Europe a sense of devotion to the religion was instilled in the Muslim soldiers and believers. Religion was a really important part of their lives. The soldiers were taught to die for Allah in their holy war against unbelievers -- this was the so-called jihad. However, if one examines thoroughly the Quran, the saint book for Muslims, he/she will find that jihad carries a completely different meaning -- this is an internal struggle with oneself for achievements in a certain filed or, simply, for self-improvement. Even though most Islamic believers know what jihad really is, there are zealots that still look for excuse for their appalling and inhumane deeds in the abovementioned word. Nowadays, this is still a major problem, especially concerning the...
...mbers have used the same words before they committed their suicidal actions. The connections between terrorism and Islam are pointed out clearly when the extremists say that they are waging a “holy war” against their enemies. Extremists have used Islam as a justification to attack churches, Hindu and Buddhist temples. Due to the fact that the terrorist who carried out such criminal and inhumane acts associate himself or herself with Muslim religion, the public comes to view Islam as a severe risk. In reality, only 15% of the 1 billion Muslims are extremists and out of that 15%, only a few engage in terrorist activities. However, most news stories do not focus on the places where things are going right, but on the places where things are going wrong. Due to all this, it is clear that the extremists play a large role in pinning the scarlet letter on Muslims in the US.
Burns, Thomas J. "Islam." Religion and Society. OU Campus' Dale Hall, Norman. 14 Apr. 2014. Lecture.
Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.
The constant smear remarks from media headlines are chiseled into the minds of Westerners and no amount of “educated [and] articulate women fulfilling the modest conditions of the hijab can do little to dispel the myths” (Stacey). She writes how even when these women are simply placing their focus on the spiritually constructed values rather than socially constructed ones they still may be labeled as oppressed. Indeed, the majority of the women in the world have the free choice to where a hijab or not. The Gallup Poll mentioned earlier actually concludes that that “most women in the Muslim world are well aware that they have the same capabilities and deserve the same fundamental rights as men”
Christian faith and Ethos is the class I am taking this term. The professor 's name is Reverend Leroy Leach Jr. The class is about God, the creation, and how to read the Holy Bible.
World Religion is an important course of study, because people have the opportunity to learn from an insider, as well as outsider, concerning different beliefs, practices, deities, and perspectives of other religions. The Bible records the deities and religion practices in the Old Testaments, which concerned the Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Babylonians. The New Testaments, on the other hand, populated with “many gods and lords.” Paul’s letter written to the Corinthians express the understanding of knowing that the idols did not represent a real God. Paul writes, “For although there may be so-called gods in the heaven or on earth- as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”-yet “for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and from whom we exist and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through who are all things and through who we exist” (1 Cor. 8:5-6, EVS). In other words, the sovereignty of God is what rules the heavens and the earth concerning the humanity of different religions.
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
In the Muslim community, a strange phenomenon has been occurring within the last couple of years due to religious ignorance. Scores of Muslim men and women around the world have become apostate due to many problems and faults within the global Muslim community. One of the most prominent faults and problems within the global Muslim community is the up rise of deviant groups who have caused despicable amount of damage to the world under the name of a religion, which does not tolerate such actions. Never the less, the unique part of this global situation is that many Muslim youth are being attracted to this deviant propaganda that they believe is apart of Islam.
Today, when many in the West think of the Islamic religion, the immediate thought that follows is terrorism. There are several reasons for this, none the least the amount of media attention that circulates in the evening news. These show Muslims hijacking planes or trains, committing suicide bomb attacks, capturing yet another prisoner who dared question their authority, or pledging war against Israel or fellow Muslims who do not believe after they do. In Islam: The Straight Path, John Esposito attempts to address many common misconceptions that those looking from the outside have regarding this great world religion that counts more than one billion people as its followers.
...he concept of confession is also a foreign topic to Muslims. Forgiveness is a central part of the Islamic faith, however they believe that when a person seeks absolution it is between that individual and God. Muslims do not believe a third party needs to be involved. In fact they believe that forgiveness is Gods power alone, and no mortal has the right to forgive people on behalf of God. The word Islam means “submission to the will of God” Islam is a faith that few westerners understand. Many people from a negative opinion of this religion without investigating what it truly stands for. Muslims do not want to hurt or kill everybody, they want a world where people are free to choose their own beliefs and practice any way they choose. As we enter into the next millennium and cultures are drawn together people need to learn about and experience each other’s religions.
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
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.
As a Christian, I go to church on Sunday and I believe in heaven as a holy place where I can meet God after my physical body dies. Every day I follow the Holy Spirit inside me, and I know I am forgiven for all of my sins as long as I act by the teachings of God. But besides all of these benefits for my spiritual body, what are some effects on my physical and mental health from religiosity? There are definitely effects on my well being from religiosity according to a study conducted by Yoshiomi Imamura and his colleagues researching the relationship between the belief after death and the well being in a group of elders in rural Japan. Many studies have been done in the Western hemisphere to show the beneficial relationship between religiosity
I think form many this religion is difficult to grasp because of the events done by some people who are/claim to be a part of this religion. Similar to Judaism and Christianity, Islam believes it is the one true religion of god. However, the prophet for this religion is not Jesus, similar to Judaism. The prophet is instead Muhammad who taught from the revelations given to him by Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad even had his own book called the Hadith that explained his life and his choices. This book is not a divine scripture but it looked at for answers if the Qur’an does not provide what a person seeks. Once Muhammad’s new successor came about the people of Islam split into two groups Sunni and Shi’a. Today, this religion is seen as a very violent religion because of terrorist attacks around the world but there are followers out there that live their lives without a single drop of blood on their hands. I think people forget that we should not judge an entire religion based on who claims to be a part of that religion. Even in Christianity people fought and they killed over land for their God. It is not fair to the sincere followers of this religion to be judged. It is unacceptable when a person of this religion comes to the United States, and is treated less than dirt. I myself am not a very religious person but even I have proper moral to respect another person’s