In this day in age, there is much misunderstanding and controversy that surrounds the religion of Islam. From the beginning, this article starts off by describing the definition of Islam: Peace, Obedience, and Submission. The article then goes through the history in Arabia referencing groups such as Bedouins and the Sabians and kind of the journey they took to arrive at the point of acknowledging “Allah.” It talks about the Prophet’s struggles in Mecca and his migration to Medina and the eventual success that rose out of that. With the rise of Islamic legal and theological thought in the eighth century CE, a framework had to be created and that was one based on the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet. The Quran states five basic constituents of faith, which include belief in God, in angels, in revealed books, in God’s messengers, and in the Last Day. The five pillars include reciting the ‘Kalima’ (statement declaring you are muslim), praying 5 times a day, fasting, paying alms to charity, and making a Hajj once in your life. Does not force people to convert. The article goes briefly into the split between Shiitie and Sunni and to my surprise touched on the Sufi’ a lot more than I expected it to. In regards to Nature, Islam believes that nature is autonomous but not autocratic since it did not bring itself into being, rather God did.
The Quran also provides the community with the instrument of Jihad, which is defined as a struggle in God’s cause, including peaceful means. Throughout the history of Islam, Muslims were known to be tolerant and humane to the people they conquered; there was no policy of converting non-Muslims to Islam. There is so much dispute today around the term ‘Jihad’ as holy war. According to this reading, it seems that Islam is a pretty peaceful religion. There are extremists in every religion. They commit acts everyday but these acts are just are not publicized as much. Why do you think that Muslim’s have been targeted by the media as the main religion of extremists? What is your opinion of the Islam-o-phobia that has plagued our nation, and do you have any suggestions on how Islam-o-phobia can be solved and tolerance can be created?
One noteworthy feature of the moral teaching of the Quran is although every prophet has initially come to his people and addressed them “in their tongue” (14:4), the import of all messages is universal. If you follow your own religion and do good deeds, you will still make it to heaven. Despite the identity of divine messages, moreover, the Quran asserts that on the Last Day every community will be judged by the standards of its own book and under the witness of its own prophet.
As parts of Islam are trying to modernize, a new phenomenon of international Islamic conferences in modern Islam is to be noted since there seems to be an absence of political unity in the Muslim world. The article quotes how “Islam is the name of a total way of life and does not merely regulate the individual’s private relationship with God.” Do you think all religions are like this?
I think that they have been targeted for a few reasons; in comparison to many other religions in the United States, Islam has never (from what I’ve experienced) had a major presence in comparison to Judaism or Christianity for example. This leads to a lack of understanding of the basic teachings of the religion and what it stands for and represents at its core. Politically, in the United States, there has typically been a very frantic response to anything that seems wrong or harmful – for example in my Human Sexuality class my teacher has mentioned multiple times that if there is any sort of defect with a certain type of contraception or birth control that the U.S. has typically just pulled the entire product off the market, rather than doing more studies about the side effects and adjusting the product to make it better. There is a sense of frantic rush when it comes to fixing a problem that would hurt the citizens, and I feel as though when there are acts of terrorism or violence we will be quick to jump to a conclusion and place a label on something that we may or may not have fully studied (I certainly do not think that acts of terrorism or violence are okay in any way, but to answer this question that might be a possible explanation). I think that tolerance can begin to be created by teaching about religion in school and trying to explain that a small group of people who want to do harm does not reflect the entire group of people who might also be part of the same religion. Overall I like this reading because it provided good basic background information and explains about traditions practiced on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article, I did not know much at all about the distinctions between different groups that emerged from the same basic Islamic beliefs, especially the Sufi. Thus, it covered a lot more than I thought it would, but in a good way. Through this and previous readings in encyclopedias, I am definitely learning to appreciate the rich histories of world religions as they illuminate its many misunderstood aspects. I think Islam has been targeted as a major extremist religion, most obviously, because of terrorist attacks, such as the 9/11 hijackings and bombings around the world, claimed by Muslims under jihad. The reason such events has caused people to view the religion as extremist is because many in the mainstream do not know enough about Islam to realize its true beliefs. If they did, they would be able to identify these events as uncommon, and not a general Islamic practice. Like Anum said, there are extremists in every religion and it is an unfortunate mistake to judge an entire religion on the basis of radical acts by individuals.
ReplyDeleteI think we would be surprised to learn that a startling change can occur if we simply took the time to read an article like this one more often. It absolutely emphasizes the importance of seeking out the truth rather than formulating opinions based on emotion and spectacular, yet singular events by a minority.
In regards to the environment, some of their views reminded me of those found in the religions we previously read about, while others were more unique, such as the idea that God gives “inheritance of the earth only to good people.” I thought that the fact that we even have a universe at all, as opposed to chaos, as an attestation of God’s existence and mercy was particularly interesting because we do not tend to think about the universe as a whole when addressing nature. It made me think that we are much more small-minded than we consider ourselves to be.
I agree with the previous comments on the notion that most people are not taught an in-depth analysis of Islam. People make judgements on this religion based on what they hear in the media. A few unfortunate events are blamed on the entirety of the Muslim population, which consists of about a billion people. The actions of a very small group of Muslims is exacerbated by the media and a stigma is created around the entire population. I think the only way to overcome this stigma is to educate the Western population on not only the beliefs of Islam but also of it's history. During the Dark Ages, Muslims were flourishing with new knowledge and discovery. These innovations laid the foundation for new European discovery. It is unfortunate that the Western World does not emphasize the good of Islam but focuses all it's attention on the negative. Islam has a lot to offer but the stereotype associated with it needs to be broken in order for people to understand its vibrant history and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, there is a general lack of understanding of Islam in this country. As it is not that prevalent and the most experience people have with the religion is what they here in the media, it's no wonder why we have these misconceptions of Islam being an inherently violent religion. From the reading and my prior knowledge on the subject, the teachings on the Qur'an are very peaceful and in my opinion islam is a beautiful religion. Its just some extremist group's interpretation of this that taints the public's opinion of Islam. Even science tends to have this feeling, as many of the technological advances that came from europe were originally from the middle east. And I agree with what Zohra said, that this stereo type needs to be broken to understand the rich history, many contributions made, and beautiful teachings of Islam.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you have already noted, I myself did not know a great deal about Islam before reading this article. This lack of knowledge on my part is one of the main reasons I decided to write my paper on Islam, specifically the Islamic view on peace and violence, and its subsequent relation to the environment. While reading the article and the comments on the blog, I was reminded of the first piece of environmental/theological literature that we read in this class: Prothero's "Religious Literacy: What Every American Should Know." I was reminded of this article especially while reading Catherine's comment. Prothero alluded to the fact that the higher ups of our government, who are charged with achieving critical international policy goals, many a time have no knowledge of the people, cultures, and religions they have to deal with. Islam is a far-reaching religion: there are 2.2 billion Muslim faithfuls around the world. Because of the religion's scope, I believe that it is vital to examine Islam's tenants and its views on people, peace, violence, and the environment. Just as we were discussing Dobb's observations of bias in others' accounts of the religion-environment relationship, I believe it is extremely important that we separate the truth from the bias that is often geared towards Islam and Muslims. One of the coolest things that I discovered when reading this article is the meaning of Islam itself: Peace, Obedience, and Submission. As far as the Islam-o-phobia controversy, I feel that educating people on what different religions stand for is the first and most important step we, as a society, can take. Plain and simple: people are ignorant, and this lack of knowledge often leads people to make hurtful and (most importantly) inaccurate observations about the different religions around them.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this section, I knew very little about Islam except for the brief lesson I was given on it in seventh grade. Unlike Christianity and Judaism I never went to school with anyone who practiced Islam. Unfortunately, I think there are many others like me who do not very much about it and as a result make uneducated assumptions. I was surprised to learn about how the large the Islamic population was as well as some of their policies that come straight from the Qur'an. It was interesting to read about how the Qur'an assures the people that "God will provide". In addition, another thing I found surprising was that in comparison to Catholicism the Islamic religion allows for the use of contraception because they feel no one should have to "fear hardship as a result of having too many children".
ReplyDeleteThe reading was very insightful and gave way to many truths I never thought about. Prior to my reading, I knew little about the Islamic faith. And unfortunately, due to the biases developed in our nation, whatever I thought I knew was actually mistaken. Our nation perceives Muslim people poorly due to a lack of proper education and severe racism. Although extremists can be found in any religion, it just so happens that some events like 9/11 have affected our nation critically. Unfortunately as a result, it has become almost second nature for us to stereotype the entire culture. Without learning about the history of this culture, it is impossible to appreciate anything about the faith.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the environment, I was slightly confused while reading this article. Early in the passage, it is emphasizes that by birth, "Islamic lifestyle will "naturally" be environmentally sensitive. However, the author contradicts this point when he describes that the culture follows a hierarchal system that puts humans at the top. Overall though, this passage helped me learn more about a culture I knew little about.
Like most people here, I also did not have an extensive knowledge of Islam before reading this article. There views on the environment seemed very similar to the Judeo-Christian view. They also believe that the natural world was given to man, but they seem to avoid the "dominion" idea that is so prevalent in Christianity.
ReplyDeleteI found their view on contraception particularly interesting since I am writing my paper on the Catholic Church's views on contraception. It was surprising to me that Islam has almost the exact same view as Christianity, when the religions are so different. I thought it was very interesting that Muslims do not view overpopulation as a problem. There are a ton of scientific facts that support the claim that overpopulation is a growing problem, but the Muslim people believe that "God will provide".
In response to the discussion about "Islam-o-phobia" I agree that the Western world's views on Islam are born mainly out of a lack of understanding. Terrorist attacks, like those on 9/11, cast a negative shadow on all those who practice Islam, even though it was a very small and radical sect of Muslim extremists that carried out the attacks. It is completely wrong to judge an entire religion on the acts of a few extremists. From my limited knowledge of Islam, it seems to be a very beautiful and peaceful religion. It is unfortunate that it has been given such negative connotations in the Western world.
I think that a large part of the (and I say this loosely) hatred towards Muslims is the 9/11 attacks and the terrorist attacks that Islamic extremists have endorsed. The media plays an extremely large role in fueling the impact that they have, and also creates more of a problem than what actually exists. I come from the South, so anything that is not Baptists is “unholy,” however for the most part I think the media and Hollywood is to blame for the negative connotation that comes with Islam and Muslim. I also think that because traditional Muslim dress is so different from our own, that it scares the American public, and in turn we reject them. I think that integration and public acceptance are the ways to integrate a more moderate opinion of the Muslim population into the American mixing pot.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the last question, I do not think that all religions are like Islam. I respect this religion so much due to the level of dedication it requires, and look forward to learning more about it. I think it is interesting that there are so many similarities to Christianity that Americans tend to look over and ignore. I hope to learn from Islam and to possibly incorporate some of its theology into my own life.
I too did not know much about the Islamic faith. Islam is not the only religion that has extremists who use religion as a deadly weapon. I dont think that religion was meant to be that way. Not just Islam but any religion for that matter. I believe religion to be a peaceful, self advancement process. Because of these extremist groups, they bring negative stereotypes to the relgions that they practice. For example the 9/11 attacks that really gave Americans a bad impression of muslims, and created our "Islam-o-phobia". In reality Islam is a very peaceful and tranquil relgion. Once I learned read the article and was informed of what the Islam faith is truly like, it gave me a better view of a major religion that plays a vital role in our world. In order to live together peacefully I think it is necessary to be informed of the different relgions and cultures so that we can interact and advance our knowledge together.
ReplyDeleteThere is obviously a radical end to any religion, but to America and the developed West, Muslim radicalism is more noticed because of how different it is from our culture. The radicalism we may find in western religions goes mostly unnoticed comparatively to the attention that Islam gets, because many radical Christian, Catholic, Jewish, etc views are already embedded in our culture. Just because Islam is foreign to us, we are quicker to call it extremism. While we are wary of the fundamentalist parts of Islam, we should not blame extreme acts on the religion itself. Many acts committed by terrorist organiztions are debatably sanctioned by the Qu'ran. The people who do bad things are a small group in relation to the the entire Muslim population, and should therefore not be representative of the religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the general consensus that the lack of understanding of Islam has led to the issues today. The stereotypes derived from the small extremist sect have ruined the overall image of Islam. Reading articles like this definitely needs to become a more widespread act to help us learn about the innovations and history of Islam. I thought the moral teaching Anum mentioned from the article was really interesting. Most other religions seem to support the idea that you have to pray to their specific god and listen to their prophet to go to heaven, but Islam seems very open and peaceful in letting everyone believe in their own religion’s book and prophet, while still believing that they can go to heaven.
ReplyDeletePosted by Helen Gaynor
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Islam is typically considered a western religion due to it's monotheistic nature. The religion actually has a lot in common with christianity and judaism when compared with eastern religions like Hinduism, Confucianism, Sikhism, Jainism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Americans don't really realize this all the time due to radical groups that attract major media attention. Some do not realize that all Muslims are not like that. And like everyone else has been saying, there are radical groups in all religions. For example, the Westboro Baptist Church does a lot of despicable things, but they do not represent christianity. There are also places in the in the US with large Muslim populations, like in Michigan and DC, so it really depends where in the US you come from when discussing the views of Islam. People all over the US and all over the world need to realize that everyone is entitled to have their own beliefs, and Islam is just another religion like Christianity and Judaism, with a deep history and culture and set of morals.
I love that this issue has come up in our readings/discussions not only because I have strong personal beliefs about religious bias, but also because I feel that more Americans need to be educated about religions in general. The "Muslimophobia" as Anum called it is baffling. I feel that most of what Americans know about religions can be traced back to the media. As a result, many people stereotype Muslims as self-sacrificing, worshiping terrorists who have no morals. What people fail to consider is that the news highlights events that are atypical; if the event was average, then it wouldn't be news. The Muslim extremists in the media truly are the extremists in the group and should not be viewed as any kind of representation. A situation in which many people neglect to draw connections is the Westburo Baptist Church. If a third party looked at the WBC and Muslim extremists as sufficient representatives of their religions, Christians and Muslims would be insulted. What people need to remember is that there are always minorities within religions and until one takes the time to understand a religion's beliefs, he or she cannot make judgment against them.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this I knew most of what I was reading but obviously I knew that not many people are as informed about Islam as they are about the other major religions. This always confuses me as to why the history of Islam isn't taught more in schools. I remember always learning so much about Judiasm and Christianity and then just going over Islam in like one to two powerpiont slides. Islam may be part of the three "biggest" religions but it is not gone over enough in schools and therefore because people are so uneducated about it they watch the media and it's portrayal of extremists and then they ignorantly stereotype muslims as things like "terrorists". Who else feels like they should teach kids more about Islam in school and that if they do it will change the public opinion and stereotypes about muslims?
ReplyDeleteLike a vast majority of you have said, I did not know as much as I should have about the Islamic faith before reading this article. Coming from a Christian family and attending schools of the like, I was never truly exposed to Muslims before attending GW. I now have good friends of this faith, and this article was very helping in informing me of some of the basics of the faith. The vocabulary listed helped me learn not only some of the terminology of the religion, but also helped establish the stance on environment of the different sectors of the faith. Overall, this work helped fill in a gap that I was always very interested about, but was never given time to learn about and understand.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and questions Anum. This is really interesting, especially because I just attended GW's Eid Banquet yesterday, even though I am not a Muslim. I attended on behalf of Satyam, the Hindu Awareness Organization and because I am interested in learning more about other religions. The key note speaker related to some of the ideas presented in the reading, such as peace, obedience, and submission.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the Islam-o-phobia questions, I think Islam has become targeted so much is because of the media's attention to the more "eye-catching" events and people's ignorance. In general, people tend to simplify and make ludicrous assumptions. History has revealed how there is always a religious scapegoat for every event. In this case it was Islam and 9/11. I think that the solution in bridging this religious divide, between any religions, is personally acknowledging the fact that we are truly better together and have much more in common in terms of faith and morality, not necessarily what this specific faith is. A huge component of this understanding comes with spreading these of religious understanding and tolerance.
I think religion can be a way of life, though it does not necessarily need to be. Religion provides us with a platform to express ideas. It gives us, as a community, an opportunity to come together. Religion unites. But of course as we know from history, from our own experiences, from all we witness around us, ideologies are fragile. Trouble brews when we fail to recognize the constructive nature of these thoughts. Human race, since the beginning of its existence, has essentially been a divided lot. There are differences based on nationality, societal status, creed, or even matters as trivial as the color of one's skin. In such a scenario, can religion be far behind? Tracing the origin of these disparate factors, we realize that there is one fundamental similarity: they are all created. I feel that nature did not intend it that way. We were created as humans, distinct in our formation and capacities from animals, not from each other. God is essentially one, only we know him by different names.
Islam has always been one of the more interesting religions in my opinion and like everyone has said before the west has an ignorance associated with Islam. The media has created this bias/ignorance with Islam by only showing the radicals and extremists because that is a more interesting story even though these radicals and extremists represent an extremely small proportion of Muslims, and these extremists are not even considered Muslim by other Muslims. This ignorance from the media has flooded our society and left us ignorant about Islam as we are not properly educated. Even in our school system Islam is a subject that isn't really brought up or taught which is ridiculous as it is one of the largest and fastest growing religions in the world and with the U.S. heavy involvement in the middle east it is ignorant of us not to teach our society the proper understanding of Islam.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a stigma placed on the Islamic faith in this day and age and because of this people do not really take the time to understand their practices and traditions. However, reading this article, I was able to gain a basic knowledge of Islam. By looking past the initial stigma that is placed on the Islamic faith, I actually found the principles of the Islamic faith very interesting. In America I don't think that we take the time to learn about the Islamic faith due to the stigmas placed on the particular religion, however we must separate the Islamic religion from "terrorists". While these terrorists may be a part of the Islamic faith, their acts were not "Muslim" acts and we must separate terrorists from people of the Islamic faith to really understand the Islamic religion
ReplyDeleteA few of you have covered this already, but I wanted to throw my hat in the ring by agreeing--I think that the information presented in Ecology of Religion is not at all well known throughout America, and perhaps other parts of the world (I wouldn't know though, since I've only ever lived in America). Even today, ten years after 9/11, people still hold on to their biases and either refuse to believe or haven't been informed that those events were orchestrated by extremists, and they have nothing to do with the rest of the people who practice Islam. Discussions like these make me think back to an an article we read earlier in the semester, when we discussed whether there should be a mandatory World Religions class in schools--if such a class existed in American schools today, then everyone would A) have a better understanding of the religions of the world, especially Islam, which a lot of people are misguided about, and would B) know that there is nothing at all "terrorizing" about this religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what most people said about 9/11 being a main contribution to the negative stigma around Islam. I think that it is also mostly due to a lack of knowledge. A student form Pakistan that I work with, says that people ask him questions as if Pakistan is full of barbarians. He says that it would be very surprising for students here to see how similar the two environments are. Although there are extremists in every religion, people need to realize that this is not a representation of everyone. There are most likely people of their own religion that do things they do not agree with. Having a class in school would be a very good way to teach teenagers about other religions and cultures. This way they were have real facts as oppose to learning from the prejudice of others.
ReplyDeleteReligion is definitely more than just an individual's private relationship with a deity/God. People often try to limit religion to that because they like the ease it allows, to be able to oscillate from the secular world and religious/spiritual worlds at convenience. However, I think most religious doctrines do enforce a complete submission/change of one's lifestyle to the teachings and beliefs of the religion, one that may or may not include converting others or acting in a certain way in daily life.
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