...We seek to cultivate in every Muslim the desire to strive for greatness and fulfill high ambitions in accordance to the teachings of Islam. “As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths (i.e. Allah’s Religion). And verily, Allah is with the Muhsinoon (good doers)’ [al-‘Ankaboot 29:69] In molding ourselves to aspire to inspire people to the fold of Islam the best human we could possibly emulate is our beloved Prophet Muhammad . As an illustration we could narrate examples of life changing stories from Prophet Muhammad life. The Garbage Thrower (a heart touching...
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...portray a Pakistani who would be on the favourable side of every controversial issue (face least opposition) under the existing conditions in Pakistan. Such a citizen would be an "ideal Pakistani" in today's Pakistan. The "ideal Pakistani" shows the following characteristics: 1. Is a Muslim 2. Considers Urdu to be the sole National Language of Pakistan. 3. Accepts the history Pakistan Studies Textbooks present as fact. 4. Says "Thank You Raheel Sharif" and looks towards India as a grave external threat. 5. Is affluent and influential. 1. IS A MUSLIM: Being a Muslim...
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...derived from the Arabic root “asalama” it means peace, purity and submission. Islam means “surrender to the Almighty” and Muslim means “one who is in a state of submission”. It is understood that this submission is to the will of God, as is stated in the Quran. 2. Explain the basic concepts of Islam. The most basic concept of Islam is that there is only one God (also known as Allah in Arabic). It emphasis the existence of one God, his prophet Muhammad who is the Last Prophet in a long line of prophets sent throughout time and to every civilization, and the Quran as the word of God revealed to Muhammad through the angel Jibrael. Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of life is to worship him and to adhere to his word, as laid down in the Quran and in Sunnah, as closely as possible. 3. Describe the practices of Islam. Muslims accept as true that all requirements that God asks them to do or avoid doing are for their own good. Muslims believe that following the teaching of Islam, and with prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, charity, purification, and animal sacrifices, is the only way to achieve real happiness in this life and afterwards as well. 4. Describe the goals of Islam. The most important goal of Islam is to benefit from eternal life, both physical and spiritual. It is the sacred duty of Muslims to convert others to the Islamic faith. Islam...
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...Explain the meaning of the name, Islam. The name Islam means, submission or surrender expressing heartfelt surrender to God, and a Muslim is one who submits to God. The words Muslim and Islam are connected to various words for peace, for instance the Arabic word Salam and the Hebrew shalom. They propose the inner peace that is achieved by surrendering to God. Islam also involves the community of all believers, proposing inclusion in a large family. Shiite Islam gets their name from the word Shia, which means fraction. This group followed Ali, who is the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad. By most early Muslims the first four successors of Muhammad (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali) were accepted. Shiite Islam’s believed that the legitimate succession was hereditary, descending from the immediate family of Muhammad. The Light of Muhammad was a God-given, hereditary spiritual power it was thought by most Shiites to have passed to a total of twelve successors or Islam’s. The first legitimate Imam was Ali. The Sunnite or Sunni Islam, is another great division of Islam, and takes its name from the word Sunna which means example or tradition it refers to the whole body of traditional teachings that are based on the life and teachings of Muhammad, and given in the Qur’an and the authoritative hadiths. There is such a great amount of Muslims that belong to the branch of Islam that the history of Islam is powerful Sunni. Sufism is the...
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...Winston Churchill once said that “we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Every Puritan or Humanist in the world uses this philosophy to fight for their ideals. Puritans, who lived in the 1600s to the 1750s, thought that the only way to be rewarded was by God in heaven was to work hard in life now, and reap the rewards later. Humanists, who lived later from the 1750s to the 1850s, believed that their happiness should be taken in this life, not the next. The Puritan idea trumps in today’s world as people work for their salvation, not their pleasure. Religious...
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...Winston Churchill once said that “we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Every Puritan or Humanist in the world uses this philosophy to fight for their ideals. Puritans, who lived in the 1600s to the 1750s, thought that the only way God would reward them was to work hard in life now, and reap the rewards later. Humanists, who lived later from the 1750s to the 1850s, believed that they should take their happiness in this life, not the next. The Puritan idea trumps in today’s world as people work for their salvation, not their pleasure. Religious groups...
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...name, Islam. In explanation, the meaning of the Islam means that in their religious beliefs, which are known as Muslims, to simply surrender or perform complete submission to their God. Muslims refer to their God as, Allah. Islam is a word that is also related to words for peace. For example, Islam in Arabic is called Salam. In Islam, Muslims surrender or perform submission to God by prostration of the entire body. As oppose to other religions surrendering to God in kneeling, standing, or other postures. 2. Explain the basic concepts of Islam. The concept of Islam is in order to practice this particular religion you must believe that you must surrender to God, which in Islam is Allah, wholeheartedly. Also, to become Islamic, people are called for prayer several times a day by a muezzin, which is a chanter who announces that Allah is greater than anything else. Muslims pray five times a day. Muslims believe that Allah, which is known as their God, speaks through human beings and prophets. Muslims have to believe and practice the Five Pillars of Islam. Muslims have rituals and celebrations such as; the day of Sacrifice, the day of breaking the fast, members must remember the migration of Muhammad, Muhammad’s birthday, and the birthday of other holy men and women. In Shiite Islam, Muslims believe that the legitimate succession was hereditary. Shiite Muslims believe that the religious leaders are guided by the last Imam. 3....
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...Islamic Worksheet Elisa Gil World Traditions II Teacher April 14, 2014 When studying Islam, it is important to understand the essential elements of the faith, how they are practiced, and the distinctions among the three branches: Shiite Islam, Sunni Islam, and Sufism. Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following directives and note where there are differences among the three branches of Islam. I. Explain the meaning of the name, Islam. The Muslim’s tried to introduce Islam as a religion. Islam is an Arabic word, which they tried to make people believe that this word means peace and that it rejects violence with compliance and obedience to their God. In this religion they established violence, it’s like they need violence in their life. When talking about the total submission to Allah and complete obedience to their law, their connection between the original religious words is strong and obvious. Because only to the submission and obedience to Allah his Law of peace can be achieved. As for the word Salam, it has nothing in common with the word Islam. Islam means submission, or compliance. Islam originated from the infinitive of Salama which means to be saved or escape from danger. Salam also means peace. II. Explain the basic concepts of Islam. The Islam’s have fourteen basic concepts. The Concept of faith (Iman), The Concepts of Righteousness (Birr), The Concept of Piety (Taquwa), The concept of the...
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...they are practiced, and the distinctions among the three branches: Shiite Islam, Sunni Islam, and Sufism. Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following directives and note where there are differences among the three branches of Islam. 1. Explain the meaning of the name, Islam. The word “Islam” is derived form the Arabic root “asalama” which literally means peace, purity and submission. Thus Islam means “surrender to the Almighty” and Muslim means “one who is in a state of submission”. It is understood that this submission is to the Will of God, as is laid down in the Quran. This tenet is unequivocally accepted by all sects of Islam be they Shia, Sunni or Sufis. 2. Explain the basic concepts of Islam. Islam is an unerringly monotheistic religion. It enjoins the existence of one God, his prophet Muhammad who is the Last Prophet in a long line of prophets sent throughout time and to every civilization, and the Quran as the Word of God revealed to Muhammad through the angel Jibrael. Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of life is to worship him and to adhere to his word, as laid down in the Quran, and in Sunnah , as closely as possible. They believe that Islam is the final, completed and universal version of a faith revealed too many prophets before; most notably Abraham, Moses and Jesus, but whose message has now been distorted. 3. Describe the practices of Islam. The practices of Islam are based on the...
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...Muslim investors appear quite happy to send their money into the non-Muslim economies, where greater profits are available and the political and social circumstances are much more settled. In other cases, where people are trying to help their communities they often encounter problems from unlikely sources. The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has been lending small sums of money, mostly to rural women so that they can engage in small enterprises, but also to collective groups. The sums are small and the interest is fixed, with the principal being repaid first and the interest calculated on the diminishing principal. Twenty per cent interest per year still seems high, but it is tiny when compared with the twenty per cent per month or ten per cent per day demanded by the traditional money-lenders, or the compound interest at Bangladesh's commercial banks. The Grameen Bank lends money to people who would not be eligible in the normal commercial sense. People are helped to determine the best way to satisfy their needs and are helped by the bank's officers in the villages. The Grameen Bank goes out to its clients and it permits the good sense and honesty of its clients to prevail: it has a recovery rate of some ninety eight percent. The bank faces conflict from the traditional money-lenders, the commercial banks which claim that the scheme is too small to create the economic growth necessary in Bangladesh, and from the Muslims who see the scheme emancipating...
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...there are nearly five million Muslims living in America. These Muslims face persecution by Americans as a result of the country’s present state of affairs. In their own communities Muslims are forced to defend themselves against their enemies. To be a Muslim is not just an individual activity it is a community identity and responsibility. Islam is considered a total way of life for the religious community. For many in America who are raised with the idea of the separation of church and state and the sense that religion is a private affair, Islam can seem confusing, especially since Islam does not have a “church” to preserve and promote its beliefs. There is a great diversity among Muslims as there is among other religious communities in America. Because America is predominantly Judeo-Christian it is sometimes easier for Christians and Jews to practice their faith. American schools do not recognize Muslim holidays. Even such a simple task as attending Friday congregational prayer and taking a break to perform the salat during working hours are often difficult. Muslim culture has become prominent in coutries other than Islam. Countries that have a large Muslim following include Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. Accepting Cultural Differences in Muslims Since the tragedy of 9-11 a portion of American citizens are under the beliefs that all Muslims are terrorists. There are...
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...that have in one way or another changed how I view society and the world around me. The three main components that help to form my worldview are Ethics, Human Nature, and God, because they moulded my thoughts, experiences, education and life decisions. I feel the strongest aspect of my worldview is my tremendous sense of ethics. They help to guide my actions and decisions every day. Ethics to me lay the foundations of a person’s character. I feel that a person with good character will by default have a strong set of moral values and their morals will help that person to make ethical choices in their lives. My moral values have been learned from many different influences throughout my lifetime. Numerous influences in my life have been strong Muslim examples that have given me a good foundation of Allah like values. These loving examples have inspired me to live a life of compassion, service, and teaching. I strive to live ethically because I want to please God and lead others by my example. In my experience the ethical choice may not always be the popular choice, but it is the one I can live with. Human Nature has always been interesting to me. It helps me to understand why I and others tend to do the things we do. My definition of human nature is the way we as humans react to situations or stimulus by default. I do not believe that all humans respond in the same way. I feel that we each act or react differently depending on our worldview, background, moral values, and personalities ...
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...brought up for debate in Western feminism, but seldom do we witness a conversation that is free of the intention to define the identities of these third world women (in the family construct) (Amos & Parmar ). Family holds a different weight in every culture, therefore by seeking to define the role of the third world woman, Western values are automatically imposed and are considered the “ideal”. This approach, by default, forces the third world woman to silence her thoughts and throw away her experiences in living a certain type of structure, instead of freely acknowledging the evident flaws in the structure and utilizing those experiences to transform the familial relationship herself (Amos, Parmar & Spivak ). Mohanty writes: “The critical assumption that all of us of the same gender, across classes and cultures, are somehow socially constituted as a homogeneous group identified prior to the process of analysis. . . . Thus, the discursively consensual homogeneity of ‘women’ as a group is mistaken for the historically specific material reality of groups of women.” (Mohanty 1984) Although the “ideal” would be that all women experience the exact forms of oppression and face the exact forms of discrimination, thus able to form a unified group; the reality is that women from different areas around the world, different cultures and/or different subalterns have unique situations and are tied down by varying shackles. That only thing that is unifying these women is subordination in general...
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...continent, where the western and the Middle Eastern powers have played a pivotal role. Discussion The European Influence The initial European influence in the African culture was initiated by the Portuguese, who arrived in the continent in the middle of the 15th century. Ever since the arrival of the Portuguese, the region became the sole target of the majority of the European countries, who sought out to exploit the vast resources present in the continent. The European countries were experiencing several dilemmas, concerned with the excessively over growing population, and the resources available in the national perspective (Comaroff, 1985). In this scenario Africa represented an ideal venture for these countries, to attain the vast resources which would be required to fuel their growing economies and complex societies. This was the era in which the European countries formally began the African Imperialism and defined the Southern African regions as a part of their states. The...
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...Muslim Women and the Veil For this critical review analysis paper, I have chosen to do set four of the project. I will begin to analyze and break down the fundamental themes in each of the articles from the sources provided by the professor. My examination of the texts, Islamic and Body Politics by Asma Barlas and Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil by Katherine Bullock, will be purely academic. Both these articles share similar views of the concept of veiling and portrayal of the female body by opposing the monolithic and secular views given to the veil by the majority of the world. The view given to the veil is simple and is explicitly cited in Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil, it is that "the popular Western notion that the veil is a symbol of Muslim women's oppression is a constructed image that does not represent the experience of all those who wear it." My stance on the subject of veiling will be in support of: those who wear the Veil (or as I will interchangeably mention it in this paper, "Hjiab" - Arabic term for head scarf) do it so by their own will and not to represent the view of oppression that has been deemed on it, also, to reiterate that the Qur'an or any other Islamic text do not support the views of oppression of women. Through my investigation of the two given articles, I will support my view with the help of three different articles that share the same type of commentary on the issue of Veiling. My inclusion of the article Eastern Veiling, Western Freedom...
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