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Spiritual symbolism in Islam
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Elements of the MST
Every religion has certain practices or elements that are unique to their teachings and make them different than the rest. The Moor Science Temple is no different. The Holy Koran was presented by Ali in 1928. This text served as the primary religious material for the MST and It consisted of 64 pages total. The first half of the Holy Koran was copied from Lewis H. Dowling’s The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ written in 1908. The second half of the Koran talks about Ali being the final prophet and the Asiatic origins of black people in North America. The Holy Koran states that Islam is the true religion of the Moors and that they needed to return Christianity to white people. MST offered an affirmation of life experiences
In the Moorish Science Temple of America. The Turban is predominantly worn by Women. According to text, “To the Moslems of the west, it represents purity and is consider a crown. It is truly a symbol of Modesty and respect for self” . Additionally, turban patterns or cloth determined social status. Men weren’t allowed to shave their beards and had to wear red fezzes. According to the MST website, “The Fez represents a Pyramid without a capstone; it is a storehouse of knowledge . The Fez is the extension of a man who knows himself thus making a man complete. The Fez is the National Headdress of the Asiatic Moorish Nation of North, South and Central Americas, including the adjoin Islands. It’s literary symbolic of power, authority, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. When one views the Fez from the inside, one sees circles of 360 degrees. This is the unseen. Viewing it from the outside, one sees only 2 circles. This is the seen. The unseen is the spiritual side that rules the physical, the seen is the manifested . Each cord represents the laws of Allah that man has to live by and in some cases the battles that he has
All Moorish Americans– members of the Moorish Science Temple of America (MST of A) – must keep their hearts and minds pure with love and their bodies clean with water. They are to treat men with friendship and have a great appreciation for womanhood. They must lead a life of love, and live the teachings of Islam. Moorish-Americans are required to attend congregational worship services on Friday, the Holy Day, and Sunday School classes on Sunday. Worship in congregation is very important for Moslems because the Prophet Mohammed said that it is 27 times more valuable to worship in congregation than to worship alone. Holy Day Service opens traditionally with the saying of the Moorish-American Prayer all together by the congregation, led by the Chairman of the Temple. Sunday School opens the same as a Holy Day Meeting, then the Chairman turns the class over to the Sunday School teacher. The class is taught from a booklet called the Questionnaire, and goes into the teachings of the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America. After the class, there is a reading of the “Warning,” and the audience is led in reciting the Moorish-American
“Mariam had never before worn a burqa...The padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull, and it was strange seeing the world through a mesh screen.” (pg 72). The burqa in this book is a symbol of how Mariam, Laila were forced against their will to wear a piece of cloth that stole their identity from them. Burqas are a way to hide women so that husbands are reassured that their wife is not looked at by other men. It is a way for men to control their wives and become dominant. This is not always true for all women, but for the women in this book it is.
The spiritual development of a community is a component absent in western formulations of modernity. For Deeb’s interlocutors the process of spiritual modernity is manifested in public piety and “authenticated Islam.” Deeb argues that women are essential participants in the construction of piety and “authenticated Islam” within the enchanted modern. Forms of public piety and social participation, including veiling, community service, and hosting Ashura majlis are necessary components in shaping this enchanted modern. Deeb further examines women’s roles in shifting away from a perceived religious backwardness towards a modern society throughout the second part of her book. Her discussion of the Ashura festival commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Husayn illustrates the shift from a traditional (taqlidi) form of religious worship to “authenticated Islam.” Deeb discusses how latam- self-flagellation- is considered backwards and according to pious Shi’i women the authenticated practice involves learning the lessons from Ashura and applying them to everyday life. The differences in traditional verses authenticated Islamic practices of Ashura reflect the increased participation and roles of women in the commemoration, and in the process of developing public piety and “authenticated
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) ...
“Exploration of Similarities in Religious Texts: A Further Look at the Koran, the Tanakh and the New Testament”
Understanding Islam gives a broad outline which could help to erase American misconceptions about this religion, and could be helpful in easing global racial tensions. The book is not top of the line scholarship about Islam; it is for the uninformed or otherwise unaware beginner. After reading this book the reader has a basic understanding of Islam, devoid of many American or western misconceptions. However, Lippman explains that the holy book is not spelled "Koran," but rather "Qur-an," though he uses the first spelling throughout the book (56). The real version is written in arabic, but I would have rather him used the more authentic spelling. In this way I see that this book was beneficial, but not the final word. It is a good book because it lays a positive foundation for Americans, and hopes to inspire them to continue their study of a fascinating religion.
Islam and Christianity have different scriptures, with Christianity using Bible and Islam the Quran. An account of works and life of Jesus are offered by both texts. Islamic theology’s important part is belief in Jesus, and Muslims consider the Christian Gospels as changed, while Christians view Gospels to be commanding and the Quran to be a late, apocryphal or fabricated work. Though the two religions believe in Jesus’s virgin birth, the Quaranic and Biblical accounts differ.
When New West began to investigate The Peoples Temple, it shook the members of the group and they attempted to fend it off by messaging the media group with several letters and calls saying “We hear New West is going to attack Jim Jones in print; don’t do that. He’s a good man who doesn’t good works.” After a bit of time passed, ex-members of The Peoples Temple
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.
Both Christianity and Islam mirror Judaism. From Judaism, Christianity and Islam took hold of the concepts of monotheism, prophecy, resurrection, and a belief in the existence of heaven and hell. Both religions also have a sacred text; Christians consider the Bible the inspired word of God, His words written and spoken through his followers. However Muslims hold the belief that the Koran is the literal spoken breath of God. Mohammed was merely transcribing the words of Allah, much as a court reporter does. With this knowledge they hold to be true Muslims hold the Koran and Islam at a higher level of truth and authenticity then the beliefs held by Christians and the Bible.
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.
During this time, Mecca was mostly populated with polytheistic followers. In 610 C.E, Prophet Muhammad, had his first revelations that advance the Islamic culture. His revelations became a way of life for his followers. When the religion started rising in numbers, Muhammad and his followers was exiled from Mecca. When the followers migrated to Medina, Islam began to spread. This religion had much influence in the locations it was practiced in. The Quran is the way of life to its people. The five pillars expressed in the Quran were the religious laws Muslims were expected to follow. They were expected to only accept there is one God and one messenger, Muhammad, pray five times a day, give the poor 2.5 percent of their savings, fast during the month of Ramandan, and pilgrimage to Mecca, where the Holy Ka’ba is located. Besides the religious impact, Muhammad also created a political empire. He united different tribes and customs. Muhammad was very influential that after his death, the religion faced a challenge. They did not have a successor or leader, so many followers left the religion, refused to pay taxes, and wars begun. In the mid- seventh century, the Muslims started wars with the Byzantine and Persian Empires and conquered them. Muslims ruled over many religious groups including Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians. As the Muslims became powerful, they created laws that taxed other religious groups to practice their faith. In the “Pact of Umar”, Christians agreed under extreme circumstances in order to practice their faith. They agreed to not fix the damages done to their churches, to not display any religious ornaments, to not spread the faith, and many more. The Muslims conquered and progressed in
However much Islam and Christianity would seem to share common ground, the discussion is not complete without noting the parallels between this two that have taken center stage. Some of the remarkable differences as they try to answer deep life complexities arise in the areas of religious practices by both their adherents and the clergy (Dorothy 13-28). “There is also a stark contrast to the belief system subscribed to, means of salvation, scriptures”. The most prominent difference present concerns the belief of life after death and practices of depicting the metaphysical
F. Hasan, Asma Gull (2000). American Muslims; The New Generation. New York. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.
A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam. 2nd ed. of the book. Houston: Darussalam Books, 1997. The Holy Bible: giant print ; containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the original tongues ; and with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's special command, authorized King James version ; words of Chri.
In conclusion, throughout the book "Islam the Straight Path", many understandings come about by looking at the many struggles of any particular community. For the purpose of this book review, I went through the book to grasp an understanding of the title "The Straight Path". For many centuries Muslims around the world have experienced the transformation of their society. The important forces that build Islam and Muslims together are the religious life, faith, beliefs and practices. Today Muslims around the world face many challenges of leaders that build the community whether it is a secular or an