...Understanding Islam Christy A. Goff Dr. Thornton REL 212 September 8, 2012 In this paper, I will be reporting on my religious field research of Islam. The research that I have conducted has afforded me the opportunity to speak with, listen, and develop a stronger understanding of the Islamic faith. My research has also helped to dissolve some of the misconceptions that surround Islam. I will cover four major points throughout this paper. First, I will discuss preexisting misconceptions held against Islam. Second, I will analyze how my prior understanding of Islam was altered, or not, upon completion of my field research. Third, I will discuss whether or not I believe misconceptions of other people’s religions are common and explain in detail why or why not. Fourth, I will recommend at least one step that could be taken to help minimize misconceptions that people have in regards to other religions. I hope, through the reading of my field research report, to provide a stronger sense of understanding and receptiveness that I now have for other religions to the reader. Misconceptions of Islam In order to discuss the misconceptions that surround Islam, we must first delve into understanding what the word “Islam” actually means. “The word "Islam" means peace and submission. Peace means to be at peace with yourself and your surroundings. Submission means to submit to the Will of God. A broader meaning of the word "Islam," is to achieve peace by submitting to the...
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...Project – Islamic Religion. Name: Oluwatosin T. Ajibola Institution: DeVry University The only way one will be able to have much knowledge about the Muslims is through the researching from different sources, academic research, traveling, knowing what is going on around you, and reading – accepted books or journals that talks about Islam. Gale says the meaning of Islam as the submission to God. He also talks about the history of Islam that the founder/restorer of Islam is Prophet Muhammad. Newberg misconception of belief towards Islam is that Muhammad is God fearing but Muhammad did not know how to escape the future vengeance for the Muslims. Malik argues the Islam cultural diversity and thinks there is no democracy in Muslim societies, but still Islam societies are modernizing and developing economically and their literacy rates are increasing steadily which makes the democratic movements in Islam societies to be picking up at different speeds in different countries. Teachings about Muslims teaches by Gale when he said there are two main branches of Islam; Sunni and Shia, there will be further clarification of the two main branches. Islam is one of the types of religion that the worshippers are very good believers, very submissive, and there are some words in Islam that really means a lot to the worshippers of Islam. Islam means submission to God. Muslims express their submission to their God by following the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars of Islam are; Shahada, formally...
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...THE EARLY ISLAMIC ERA Name Institution Introduction The start and spread of Islam is a broad body of knowledge that has been explained extensively by religious scholars and philosophers alike. Despite the presence of Christianity from the ancient times, Islam has had a tremendous growth particularly in the Middle East where up to now it is still the leading religion in the region. The early Islamic era is a fascinating study for historians who seek to understand the dynamics that gave birth to one of the biggest religion in the world; and with such a strong faith base. Islam is characterized by a unifying component that places all the Muslims across the nations in one category of identity. According to Khan (2011), it is very easy to recognize that an environment belongs to Islam than it is to identify the other religions. The early Islamic era, if it is anything to believe, was stronger than the crystallized Islam we have today. There is a concept that Islam spread rapidly because of the use of the sword in one hand and the Quran on the other hand. This is believed to have been done by the Jihadist among other substantial members of the Muslim faith. This notion forms the controversy that further catapults this study and makes it more interesting. This paper thus, focuses and explores the reasons that underpinned the rapid spread of Islam beyond Arabia. It also seeks to establish the understanding of the motive behind the early Islamic conquests. More importantly it sought...
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...100 Facts about Islam 1. "Islam" means "surrender" or "submission". 2. "Salam" (wh ich means "peace") is the root word of "Islam". In a religious context the word "Islam" means "the surrendering of one's will (without compulsion) to the true will of God in an effort to achieve peace". 3. "Muslim" means "anyone or anything that surrenders itself to the true will of God". 4. Everything in nature (trees, animals, planets, etc.) are "muslims" because they are in a state of surrender to God's will. In other words, they are fulfilling the purpose for which God created them. 5. Islam is not a new religion or cult. It is a universal way of life and civilization 6. Studies show that between 1.5 and 1.8 billion people in the world identify their religion as Islam. Along with Judaism and Christianity it traces its roots through Prophet Abraham and back to the first humans Adam and Eve. 7. Islam is a complete way of life that governs all facets of life: moral, spiritual, physical,intellectual, social, economical, etc. 8. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. 9. "Allah" is an Arabic word that means "God". 10. Muslims also believe that "Allah" is the personal name of God. 11. Allah is not the God of Muslims only. He is the God of all people and all creation. 12. The Islamic concept of God is that He is loving, merciful and compassionate. 13. . Islam also teaches that He is all-knowing and the perfect judge of affairs...
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...representing 84% of the world population. Over 1.6 billion of these people identified as Muslim, this is 23% of the world's population. This makes Islam the second most followed religion in the world behind only Christianity which has 32% of the world’s population. Islam was able to spread so quickly due to prevalent trade, their raids on other civilizations, and because they allowed other monotheistic peoples to continue practicing their religions for a small tax. The religious center of Islam is the city of Mecca, which is located in Western Arabia. Mecca had access to direct trade routes to all major cities throughout the Middle East which allowed culture (namely religion) to spread through trade. Some of these land trade routes included Damascus, Petra, and Constantinople. These routes were able to spread religion so efficiently due to their high volumes of exchange, all goods headed to China, India, and East Africa had to pass through Mecca. This can be seen on Document A on the included map, the solid lines clearly connect to many major...
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...World Religion-Islam Lanise A. Middleton HUM/130 12/07/2014 Marc Rhoades What is Islam? The word Islam comes from an Arabic root word meaning, “Peace and Submission”. The religion instills that one will discover peace by submitting to Allah totally with all your heart. Islam is the 2nd largest religion in the world. There are over 1.6 billion followers. Islam is a monotheistic faith along with Christianity and Judaism. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. And as followers of Islam, Muslims have basic beliefs that they believe in: Faith in unity of Allah (God) Faith in Angels Faith in Prophets Faith in the books of Revelation Faith in the afterlife Faith in destiny Faith and good deeds go hand in Islam. Belief in Allah makes obedience a duty. Everything in life has to be an act of worship. This is known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The first pillar is the Testimony of Faith or Shahaadah. This is believing and professing God’s unity. There is no god but God Muhammad is the messenger of God. Second, is Prayer (Salat). A daily ritual of praying five times per day. This is done to strengthen belief in God, purify the heart, comfort the soul, encourage the good and get rid of the evil in a person, and develop the mind. Next, Almsgiving (Zakat). This is known as charity. At the end of the year Muslims must donate a small portion of their wealth to needy Muslims. The fourth pillar is known as fasting (Sawm). Frequent fasting is recommended, however the mandatory...
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... The Islamic World Islam and Terrorism: How do you see the relationship between Islam and terrorism? Many of us Americans do impulsively equate Islam with terrorism. I can’t say that this has always been true for me. Even before I started educating myself about the Middle East and the Muslim religion I would think twice before making those knee-jerk judgments. Being an African American women in a Christian based America, I have learned about racism 1st hand, the hypocrisy of the Christian church and that things are not always one sided. Growing up in the Heart of New York City also showed me how many races of people from different cultures and religions have lived amongst each other relatively peacefully. Islam is said to be the world’s second largest religion. If Islam equaled terrorism the U.S. and other parts of the world would have been under tremendous fire by the Muslims for many years. I don’t feel that Islam equates terrorism. We all have our differences but we are all human. With that said there are moral and immoral humans, there are moral Muslims and immoral Muslims. The violence we see today stems from a radical form of Islam and I believe this to be different from the mainstream beliefs of the Islamic community. There are differences between Islam and Islamism. Islamism is said to be a complex ideology of Islam. This ideology is often identified as radical and political. Islam is a religion and associated...
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...contribute to the spread of one of the major religions, was born. Muhammed was a merchant who became a prophet and started Islam. Muhammad had gone to a cave to meditate when he received God's words. He received this message in 610 CE and he received it at Mount. Hira. This event was important because it was the start of one of the major religions. Islam spread rapidly among places not related to Muhammed because of raids and military campaigns, trade and trade routes, and the appeal of the message. Perhaps the first major reason for the spread of Islam was raids followed by military campaigns. Raids were redirected to different communities after the Ummah had their wish of not attacking fellow Muslim communities. Karen Armstrong stated, "The obvious answer was a series of Ghazu raids against non-Muslim communities in the neighboring communities" (Document D). Therefore, the unity of the Ummah was protected as the raids were no longer directed against...
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...Suzette Beaudoin Professor J Latta HUM 1024 February 25, 2014 Transcendental Religion The Shia seems to be the most transcendental religion. It is one of two major denominations of Islam. About ten to twenty percent of the world’s Muslims are Shia’s. Majority of the Shia lives in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and a politically significant minority in Lebanon. Shia comes from the Arabic word meaning a supportive party of people, also known as followers of Ahl-al-Bayt.("Shia and Sunni Muslims ") During the prayer, the Shias places their forehead onto a piece of natural occurring material, something like a clay tablet, soil from Karbala; this was where Hussein ibn Ali was martyred. They pray with their hands open at their sides. They don’t use a prayer rug. Most of the Shia’s belong to the Twelver tradition, also known as the Ithna `Ashariya.("Who are the Shia? ~ Shia Sects ) This tradition seems to recognize a sequence of 12 imams. Imams are believed to have superhuman powers and were the descendants of Muhammad, and they were the sole interpreter of the Quran and Islamic faith. These descendants started with Ali and went to his sons and ended with Muhammad al-Mahdi. These imams can speak all languages, and they had knowledge of the future. Shia’s believe that Mahdi will return as the apocalyptic savor.(Halm 216) The Shia’s believe that the Imam is sinless by nature and that his authority is reliable since it comes directly from God. They think that Imams as saints so they perform...
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...present time the third millennium and are problematic include violence (drive by shootings, school shootings), terrorism, slavery (the 250 Nigerian girls) seems to be the most prominent issues which face the world today. Evidently it is highly apparent that religion has an immense role to provide peace amongst various people and cultures. The idea of peace cannot dwell amongst society unless the adherents of the religion exhibit the nature of peacefulness. The religion of Islam tries in many forms to promote peace. Through its founder Muhammad and the message he tried to depict regarding respecting others and treating the less fortunate with kindness. "But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is the One that Heareth and Knoweth (all things)." (Surah 8, Verse 61). This is an imperative scripture as it depicts the way in which Islamic adherents should apply peace in their daily lives. It is also a model for all adherents to follow as it promotes a peaceful, non violent society. This is turn is the words in which Islamic adherents can pertain to in search of peace within religion and hence others can gain a sense of peacefulness and kind relationships through the way an Islamic adherent treats his brother/sister in Islam. Peace then can not be seen as the total absence of violence, because this is far from it. Peace in essence the concept of “trying” to achieve harmony amongst people and for common good to prevail in society...
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...The world we live in is surrounded by many faces of different colors, separate beliefs and values that makes the essence of one’s life. Throughout our day to day life it is impossible to not come in contact with someone that does not believe and share the same practice and religion base as you do. There are several different religion but the main three are Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. In the beginning Christianity, Judaism, and Islam was somehow connected, unfortunately due to disobedience what was first one end up becoming three, in which caused different beliefs followed by different gods. Along with these beliefs came may struggles to obtain and carry out the very thing that they were proven to be right, pure and true. The Islamic religion believes that Allah “was the creator and sustainer of life” (Molly, M., 1999, Page 425.) Christianity believes that God is the creator and sustainer of life. Judaism also believes that God is the creator and sustainer of life. All three religion believes there is a higher power. Islam describes Jesus as a prophet as described here, “He encountered angels and the great prophets of the past, including Abraham and Jesus,” (Molly, M., 1999, Page 428) Judaism also describes Jesus as a prophet as well because Jesus, in their opinion, did not save the Jews. They believed that the real Messiah was going to become their military leader on earth and create an Eden in Jerusalem. They had expected the real Messiah to expel the Romans and rule...
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...Though two of the world's most populated religions, Christianity and Islam, have much in common, they do have quite a few differences. Both Christianity and Islam have one creator, God. Islam claims that their founder was given laws by Allah just like Christians received their Ten Commandments from God. Also, Christians believe that God is made up of three persons- the Holy Trinity- and that Jesus is the Son of God and savior of humanity while Islam believe Allah is only one God and He is the creator of all things and has no offspring, race or gender. All in all, these two religions, though having a similar origin, have different views on Jesus Christ, teachings, and scriptures. Islam was founded by a prophet named Mohammed in the approximate year of 610. At the age of forty, he was supposedly visited by the Angel Gabriel, who presumably told him the fundamentals of Islam, while in a cave near Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia.1 Corinthians 15: 1-4 states that Jesus Christ preached the gospel and we are saved by it. It was he who sent out apostles to spread God's word throughout the world, it was he who died for the world; and it was he who founded Christianity. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Mohammed, a prophet...
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...Terrorism Scapegoating Islam for Terrorism Name: Maryam Khalil Class: Social Science HSP3U1 Date: May 30, 2014 Essay Most of the westerners today see Islam as a religion of hate and violence. This is due to the events of the terrorist attacks that have been happening around the world. Islam has been associated with terrorism more and more often due to few extremists who are doing terrible crimes in the name of Islam (Islam Way). The whole world knows what has been happening to Muslims in America after 9/11, but blaming 1.6 billion Muslims for the crimes of less than 10,000 people is not ethical. Those people who have never read the Quran and know nothing about Islam says that Islam teaches to kill people and to commit act of terrorism. The purpose of this essay is to resolve the misconception that Islam teaches terrorism. Islam teaches us to practice peace in every area of our daily life. The real reason why people really become terrorists is hidden from most of the people in world. Today’s media is also misrepresenting Islam and Muslims. Tragic events such as attack on World Trade Centre in New York and bombing of London and Madrid are supposed to be justified by Islam in the minds of some people (Islam Way). The actual origin of terrorism was from the Cold War between Russia and America and the place of its origin was Afghanistan. Islam is a religion of peace. To understand Islam’s point of view on terrorism one must refer to its original source which is definitely...
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...The world religions of planet Earth contain fifteen major religions, but for my report, I focused on the top three religions to represent Earth’s population. Together, Christianity, Muslims, and Hinduism represent nearly sixty eight percent of the planet’s religious beliefs. According to Mary Pat Fisher (2011), the definition of religion is a particular response to dimensions of life considered sacred, as shaped by institutionalized traditions. The criteria used to determine if people on earth are religious involves understanding what they believe in regards to the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, the way that they observe rituals, and the way they live their lives according to the moral code established by their specific religions. The first criteria that I felt needed to be met for the planet to be considered religious was what the population believed in regards to the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe according to their beliefs. Christianity, the planet’s most common form of religion, believes that there is one single, almighty god. This god created the universe and all organisms that inhabit it in seven days. Christians believe that god created the ultimate organism (humans) to live in his divine view of perfect love and justice. The purpose in life of Christianity for these believers is to love and serve God throughout their lives (Christianity Human Nature). I examined the Muslim religion to understand how these believers observed rituals in accordance...
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...Kayla Marshall 2012-09-REL-275-OL009: INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM Semester 1 Enrolled 2012 Islam as a religion started with the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The word Islam stands for “submission” seen as the total surrender of self to God or Allah. A Muslim is the believer of Islam and means “one who submits to God”. Submission of God is established by following moral standards of everyday life. Muslims trust that God conveyed the Quran to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel and regarded the Quran as the fundamental source of Islam. Muslims do not see Muhammad as the founder of Islam but as the reestablishment of monotheistic faith of Jesus and other prophets. Muhammads revelations held great meaning, “The message Muhammad received in these revelation was a warning that only through devotion to the one and only God and through righteous observance of the revealed law could people attain salvation in their afterlife”, and the revelations accentuated the importance of the devotion to the one and only God. Believers are made to perceive the Five Pillars of Islam, Islamic law has made a custom of rulings that take part in all aspects of society. Muhammad greatest victories could be seen as the conquest of Mecca in 630 C.E. By “Muhammads death in 1632, his community had expanded- more by religious persuasion and political alliance than by force- to include all of western Arabia, and he had made fruitful contact with some groups in the northern Hijaz, Nejd, eastern Arabia...
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