According to the Muslim’s beliefs, before the last hour, there will be a new character reffered to as Ad-Dajjal. Ad-Dajjal in Arabic means a liar or a deceiver. It is also referred to as antichrist. This is similar to the meaning of Christ in Islam and Christianity. In the bible, the descriptions of antichrist and the description of Ad-Dajjal are so different. However, in order to avoid confusion, the same character is referred to as the Dajjal, the antichrist, and Ad-Dajjal.
According to Bane (2012), Ahmadiyya teachings provide prophecies on Dajjal or antichrist appearance and Gog and Magog in the eschatology of Islam as foretelling of the emergence of two aspects or branches of similar trial or turmoil that will be experienced by Islam during the latter days and the same will emerge from Christian nations or Christianity. Consequently, it is evident that the aspect of Dajjal relates to the perversion and deception of religious belief while at the same time it is an aspect will not only challenge realm of politics but also the shattering of the world peace that has been referred to as Gog and Magog. Therefore, according to Ahmadis, the widespread of Christian missionary activities that were present during two centuries i.e 18th and 19th are part of the widely prophesied Gog and Magog and antichrist that exist in the present society. Furthermore, the emergence of USA and Soviet Union as superpowers as well as the existing conflict between capitalism and communism are perceived as happenings in accordance with some of the prophesies pertaining to Gog and Magog. Therefore, Ahmdis holds the belief that the sayings as well as the prophecies concerning antichrist should not be literally interpreted. This is because there exist a...
... middle of paper ...
...t whom Christians as God and came to earth so humble however, He never sinned and He is a perfect prophet portrayed by Muslims in the Koran. Furthermore, the existing difference in the beliefs contributes to the manner in which each side perceives the same challenge. Therefore, Ad-Dajjal inadequacy is a clear indication that he is not a Muslim prophet. It is important to note that according to Muslim teaching all Allah prophets are free from any form of moral and physical defects.
In conclusion, Islam scholars argue that Ad-Dajjal is not a Muslim. This is because its character and physical appearance describe by earlier prophets are against Muslim. The antichrist will also be regarded as a leader in infidels and according to Muhammad teachings; he will have letters kafir or kfr in his forehead an aspect that all Muslim will not only recognize but also appreciate.
In Revelation 6:1-8, Four Horsemen are introduced. The first Horseman rides a white horse. This has led some to suggest that the Horseman is Christ, perhaps symbolizing the triumph of the Gospel. A white horse does symbolizes victory, and Christ is said to return on a white horse. However, this interpretation seems unlikely. Even a cursory reading reveals that the other three Horsemen bring terrible judgements. Thus from the context one would expect the first Horsemen to bring judgement as well.1 Furthermore, Christ is said to return not with a bow but with the sword of His mouth.2 This is not the only difference between riders, however. Christ is exalted with many crowns, but this Horseman receives a crown. In addition, Christ wears the diadema, or royal crown, whereas the First Horseman wears a stephanos or victor’s wreath.3 Thus from the context it seems that the First Horseman is none other than the Antichrist. This explains the similarities between the Horseman and the triumph return of Christ, for Satan can only imitate God. The First Horseman, the Antichrist, will conquer the world peacefully, for he carries an empty bow.4
Race and religion are two concepts in American culture that can really tie people together, or clearly separate them apart. A group forged by strong common roots in both race and religion can be a powerful societal force, if it wants to be. The Nation of Islam is a small but growing religion in America that has become somewhat of a social movement because of its strong and radical ideas on race. In this paper, I will try to explore the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, and the ramifications it could and has had on racial relations in America. The Nation of Islam, or NOI, is a relatively new religion. The first temple of Islam was established in Detroit by Master Fard Muhammed in 1930. Much of the theology was based on the simple facts that: "Allah is god, the white man is the devil, and the so-called Negroes are the Asiatic black people, the cream of the earth."(1) And, in accordance with their bizarre view of creation, involving a mad scientist creating the white race from the black race, the twentieth century represents the time for black people to regain their rightful position as god¹s chosen people. (1) The Nation of Islam was spawned from Orthodox Islam, an age-old religion. However, Orthodox Islam has openly denounced the NOI as a heretic sect for three main reasons: the NOI¹s rejection of the belief in an afterlife, its tendency to view human leaders as deified figures, and its strong racist attitudes. (2) For a brief time, during the seventies, Wallace Deen Muhammed became the leader of the NOI and tried to take it in a new direction, more conforming to "true Islamic beliefs." This group is now called the American Muslim Mission and still exists in small numbers today. (1) ...
...taken the form of universalization of those same structures across the world through reforming measures or through discourses in the Muslim world, thus creating conflicts as noted by Majid. The main weapon of this power relationship is observing and differentiating between good and bad, thus ingraining binary oppositions with the western values at the superior end. Thus, the western hegemony is like a beauty myth which is an unattainable western standard which is not only undesirable but harmful for the non-west. Still, they are coerced to adopt this standard due to a constant gaze and pressure from the West. Therefore, there is a need to revert this gaze and dismantle the western hegemony and power structures through the proliferation of ideas; ideas that take root not merely from the power elite or existing structures but stem from individual and provincial needs.
...all, W. The Sources of Islam. Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark Sivan, Emmanuel. Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics. Enlarged Edition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001 Spencer, H. Islam and the Gospel of God: A Comparison of the Central Doctrines of Christianity and Islam, Prepared for the Use of Christian Workers Among Muslims. Delhi, India: S.P.C.K., 1998 Stott, John R. & Coote, Robert, editors. Down to Earth: Studies in Christianity and Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000 Sweetman, J. Windrow. Islam and Christian Theology. Part II Volume II. London: Lutterworth Press, 1999 Vander Werff, Lyle L. Christian Missions to Muslims. S. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2002 Zwemer, Samuel M. Heirs of the Prophets: An Account of the Clergy and Priests of Islam, the Personnel of the Mosque and 'Holy Men'. Chicago: Moody Press, 2002
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Clifford Geertz has focused more on the symbolic power of religion. He has talked about the fact that it is the symbolic power of religion that has a strong influence on the people. It is the religion, in accordance to Clifford that helps the people in understanding the place that the people have in the world. The actions that are undertaken by the people are also defined by the religion. Based on the arguments that have been given by Clifford, it can be added here that there is a great effect of religion and the religious values on the kind of politics being observed in the nations (Pals 309). When we talk about the religion, it can be added here that we are talking about the set of beliefs as well as the ethical values, which are used in the creation of the world and the ways in which the world is managed. So where does the symbolic state of religion stand in the modern political world. One of the main facts that need to be mentioned here is that politics is related with the development certain motivations in men. These motivations need to be powerful and long lasting. It has been found in the case of the definition of religion by Geertz. He has added that religion provides a set of symbols that develop long lasting, modulations in the people. There is no doubt about the fact that the politics and democracy has more to do with the development of strong states and nations. There needs to be a general order of existence in the nations and states, which leads to strong nations. Nations that are more democratic are the ones having strong order of existence. This is the order that has been mentioned in the definition of a ‘symbolic’ religion by Geertz (Pals 313). Thereby from here, it would not be wrong to add that the religion and ...
Through day-to-day knowledge of what is happening in the world there is observable evidence that Islamic followers have employed different techniques to proclaim ‘power’. The techniques being employed are basically inflicting pain in the opponent by methods of kidnapping, hijackings, and recruiting members (such as Al-Qaeda in the Middle East) in order to make them a more powerful and a more appealing group in their societies. According to Mandaville, Islam is directly linked to politics (they cannot be separated); Muslims wanted to challenge new technological innovations as well as new institutions without forgetting about their religious values. Mandaville proclaims an important aspect of the Islamic religion. During the Ottoman Empire many Muslims gained important power and began to interact with Europeans in order to move into a more modern system; but times have changed.
Mohammed believed that “Jews and Christians had deliberately distorted the original messages. Mohammed claimed that the Koran was the most perfect guide for worshipping Allah.” This is understood to mean that Muslims believe Jews and Christians to be less righteous than themselves.
Centered around revelations of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam was founded thousands of years ago. According to Mary Fisher, author of Living Religions, followers of Islam are commonly referred to as Muslims (Fisher, 2008 p. 381). Very similar to the structures of both Christianity and Judaism, Islam is a monotheistic religion, where worshipers believe in a single God, commonly referred to as Allah, according to Mary Fisher (Fisher, 2008 p. 386). In fact, many Muslims recognize some of the prophets from Judaism and Christianity, such as Moses and Jesus, as messengers of God, according to Mary Fisher
The Antichrist will be backed up by a great religious ruler, known as the false prophet. Together, the Antichrist and the false prophet will establish a worldwide social, economic and religious system that dominates the whole world. The only thing opposing them are the people of God and two prophets known as the two witnesses, who appear in Jerusalem and begin to speak out against the Antichrist and his rule. This is a passage from the book of Revelations from the 11th chapter starting at verse 3.
Muslims believe that the absolute deity is Allah. However, they also believe that there was a string of prophets sent by God to teach his word. The last of these prophets was Muhammad. His life is used as a foundation for Muslims to see how they are supposed to live and to help explain the teachings of the holy book of Islam, which is called Holy Qur’an. These teachings are said to have been revelations that Muhammad received that confirmed the God’s unity and the direct life in the world.
...edieval times. Moslems leaders claim that the title of the novel The Satanic Verses disrespected their god, because it refers to their god as Satan. Even though Rushdie was raised as a Moslem, and claims he follows no religion, the Khomeini mentions that Rushdie rejected the words of his former religion, therefore, joined the enemies of Islam, and committed a crime.(Phillips 18) In the Islam tradition, the Koran is factually the word of God, transmitted by the Archangel Gabriel through the Prophet Mohammed. The result of Rushdie's novel is viewed as mocking wordplay.(Phillips 19) Socrates gained enemies for his speculations on philosophy. Socrates had young rich men followers who viewed him as an inspiring leader, therefore, was also blamed for teaching the youth his ideas. Both Salman Rushdie and Socrates were held responsible for religious insult. (Plato 20 - 24)
In this book , Esposito provides a succinct, up-to-date survey of the Islamic experience, an introduction to the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from its origins to its contemporary resurgence. He traces the emergence and development of this dynamic faith and its impact on world history and politics. He discusses the formation of Islamic belief and practice (law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism), chronicling the struggle of Muslims to define and adhere to their Islamic way of life. Equally important is the essential information Esposito provides on the contemporary world of Islam, from Muslim responses to the challenges of colonialism and modernization to the reassertion of Islam in politics and society.
The word Muhammad is known as the praised one. His mother heard an angelic voice while she was pregnant and he was born covered in light. He was born to Hashim clan of Quraysh tribe in 570 CE. (Fisher 176) Muhammad was visited by two angles at the stage of infancy and they removed sin from his heart by using a pure white snow. He have a birthmark in his back which is surrounded by hair and Jews identified this as the mark of godliness. Muhammad’s father died before he was born. His father was doing a trading journey and after his father’s death his family fell on hard times. Muhammad was sent to a Bedouin tribe to be wet nursed as per the custom and a poor woman took him in so Muhamm...