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Relation between religion and politics
Chapter 7 history of the islamic world
Relation between religion and politics
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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.
Intolerance, reluctant to welcome beliefs, views, or behavior that contrast from one's own. It has not been dissolved and may never be resolved. In the last several decades, we have seen our world look down on those who are different. It could be as little as they dress differently to a different ethnicity. We make assumptions that those who alter our views are the evildoers, and those are monsters. Monsters don't stay the same; they change as times do. When a new fear is created, the monster than shifts.
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.
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.
Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.
Muslims have been facing propaganda by media of the western world since many decades. Western media spreads any negative incident in which Muslims are involved very quickly. Many people have developed such an understanding due to this stigmatization that they normally think of terrorism, violence and other extreme things when they hear about Islam and Muslims. One major incident behind such stigmatization is the 9/11 attacks on America.
The Middle East – a region of One Thousand and One Nights, but also a place of the religion of Islam, which has spread into many European countries over the past few decades. The United Kingdom is one of the countries, where the religion of Islam plays a major role. According to the census in 2011, 4.8 per cent of people living in The UK reported to be Muslims and what is more, nearly half of them were born there. The largest increase of this religion was in the age groups under 25. These figures reveal, that the religion of Islam is the second most widespread religion in the United Kingdom, right next
While the events of September 11, 2001, cast the Islam religion in an unfavorable light, this has not dampened the enthusiasm of the Muslim members, nor has it stopped the Islam religion from growing. Obviously, with over one billion members worldwide, Islam is one of the largest religions in the world today.
Islam has been characterized by the media as a religion of violence. Images of Islam have been translated through several means such as media and cartoons causing several conflicts and controversies all over the world. One terrorist attack and an over exaggerated media characterization changed the face of Islam today causing it to be victim to stereotypes and generalizations.
There are many misconceptions regarding Islam and Muslims. In reality most Muslims are non-Arabs and most live outside the Middle East. There are five million Muslims in the United States. There are an estimated 10,000-15,000 Muslims in the area.
differences, it is easy to see each religion as a monolithic entity existing separate from
The division of the globe based on superior and inferior cultures due to Islamophobia is evident in the fact that Western countries, especially the Britain and America consider Islam as inferior. The countries also consider themselves superior to the Islamic religion and any individual associated with it.
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.
Jeremiah 28 stands at a crossroads of sorts within the book of Jeremiah. The prophet was in a season of maturity and growth in his ministry. Up to this point, he had sent forth many prophetic messages in the name of the LORD, with virtually little to no opposition, at least physically and in content, to his message. In this passage, however, we begin to see the personal conflicts that begin to arise because of his seemingly “hopeless” message regarding the exile of Judah to Babylon; conflicts with the people themselves, with the prophets in Judah, and with the prophets in exile. Jeremiah 28 details his personal conflict with a prophet in Judah.
The religion of peace, the religion of terror—both titles have been associated with the Islam religion. Islam is the second most followed religion in the world, only second to Christianity. Therefore, for it to have two contradicting title associated with it prompts a need for deep exploration. The world has been closely watching the religion for little over a decade now and yet even with its large following, much of the world—primarily western populations—remain uninformed. Additionally, many that are informed do not often inform the uninformed properly thus resulting in more confusion and ambiguity. A large quantity of people are aware of the beliefs in Islam that have received attention like Jihad, its view on homosexuality and its view
Muslim civilization played a significant role in the history of the world and continues to have quiet an influence on the modern world . Today, there are over 1 billion Muslims all over the world: more than 40 countries are members of the organization of the Islamic Conference. There are many Muslim diasporas in Europe, around 15 million people , and around 6 million people in the United States. Unlike other modern civilizations, Islam is not directly linked to any region, but covers almost the entire modern world. Where people belong to different cultures, races, traditions and languages. And despite the fact that it is difficult to speak of a common historical destiny of the Muslims, Islam still acts as a unity in diversity.