We can use the blog to hold "conversations" about reading in Huston Smith's The World's Religions. We'll certainly talk about some of the readings in class, but this gives you another chance to share your ideas. You may respond to one or more of the questions, and you can also react to comments posted by others. I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings.
Assume that each comment is worth 5 points. (5 points for solid or better comments, 4 for comments somewhat short of expectations, 3 or fewer for last-minute, little to no effort postings, and no points for those who have not posted.)
All
posts should be made to this blog entry NO LATER that Friday, January 13th to be considered on time.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
3. "Islam joins faith to politics, religion to society, inseparably," says Smith (p. 249). Can society be wholly secular or maintain itself without some common faith or religious reference point?
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
5. Smith attempts to defend the status of women in Islamic society. Does he make his case? What are your feelings about polygamy (or polyandry)?
6. In what ways is Sufism different from, and similar to, other forms of mysticism we have encountered in Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism? Are all mystics describing a common experience?
These questions are excerpted from Understanding the World's Religions: A Study Guide to Huston Smith's The World's Religions by Gary Kowalski.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
I personally found the Five Pillars of Islam to be most appealing and intriguing to me. I found the Five Pillars of Islam to be more appealing and intriguing because they are the five basic acts in Islam. The Quran has presented them a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They are the buildings to the Islamic religion. They go like this, 1) the Shahada (creed), 2) salat (daily prayers) 3) fasting during Ramadan (sawm) 4) almsgiving (zakat), and 5) the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime. The minority Shil'i and majority Sunni both agree on the essential details of the performance of these acts, but the Shi'a do not refer to them by the same name. Because the Five Pillars of Islam are the basics behind the Islamic religion I find it to be very important, something that if you are studying the Islamic one needs to know and understand.
What I found to be most difficult to understand in not just Islam but in many other religions is the idea of their diets and why they are restricted to eat only what the religion states they can eat. I have never understood that only because I am not accustomed to it. I have always been aloud to eat what I want and I have never been told differently so to hear that many religions are not allowed to eat certain foods it is hard to understand. I do not understand how eating one food group will effect the religion but that is just my opinion because I have been raised in a different way. I find everything about different religion diets to be very interesting and something that I hope to continue to study and better understand.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
I think the obvious answer to this question has to do with terrorist attacks and 9/11. Westerners have placed these fundamentalists in the 'other' category and by demonizing suicide bombers, westerners have demonized Islam. I'm not condoning violence, but Islamic fundamentalists give Islam a bad rep. I bet many people don't even know that Christianity and Islam share some of the same scripture or that the Koran not only mentions Jesus but accepts him as a prophet.
In fact, both religions share the same basic beliefs and some of the same problems. Both Christians and Muslims believe in one god; God or Allah. Both Christians and Muslims also share similar views on sin or forgetfulness and both religions, though basically loving and accepting, tend to get bad press because of their fundamentalist branches.
The Israel/Palestine conflict has lead palestinians to take drastic measures in pursuit of recognition of their plight and possible aid from outside sources. While these efforts have gained them news coverage, they have also caused quite a bit of harm to their image and the image of Islam.If only westerners could see that Christianity is not so different than Islam and that the real obstacles on the way to peace and acceptance are not all Muslims; they are fundamentalists of both faiths.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
To me I feel like Islam is a little more realistic in the whole respect of violence and war. It's easy to say that all war is unjustified and wrong, but that's such a broad statement. It's a little unrealistic to avoid all kinds of violence or to turn the other cheek when the topic occurs. It's more realistic for a religion to preach that if there's violence in the world it must be corrected rather than simply thinking all war needs to be avoided. It's in human nature for human's to fight and to think that pacifism would be the answer is just absurd. There will always be war, violence and fighting in the world, it makes a lot more sense to preach the force of defense and correcting injustice, than to try to rid the world of all violence. Pacifism in my opinion is an impossible thing to have come true. In the world there will always be problems like oil, religion, or rising threats. With these problems come arguments, than some arguments lead to violence its just how life works.
3. "Islam joins faith to politics, religion to society, inseparably," says Smith (p. 249). Can society be wholly secular or maintain itself without some common faith or religious reference point?
Whether or not a society is able to exist without some sort of religious faction supporting their government is very much dependent on the society itself. In the United States, religion and society are so intertwined that it would be nearly impossible to separate the two. Many people base their political and social views based on what they are told in the bible, with notable exceptions being Christians stance on homosexuality and abortion. However, in a society that does not have the same history as United States does, it is possible to live in an almost entirely secular society. In communist societies, where religion was "officially outlawed" and was still able to maintain it's moral and cultural history. Despite the fact that religion still existed within these countries, they were just not openly practiced. Perhaps a better example was the Deist period within the United States near it's independence. With the belief that god did not intervene with the world, many of the founding fathers and people of the time were very strong supporters of separating church and state. Benjamin Franklin stated that "Light houses were more useful then churches," which shows the opinion of the intellectuals of the time. Though this period did not last long, and was not very pervasive within the culture, shows that it has been thought about as a good idea. It is definitely possible to become a completely secular society where religion is entirely replaced by scientific ideas and beliefs, it will just be difficult to replace because of the personal, cultural, and social beliefs that pervade most civilizations of our time.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
I personally believe that as a huge guiding force to billions around the world, religion does not necessarily need to be realistic. As a way of inspiring people to be better than themselves, constantly improving themselves, a religion should be something that teaches every how to be the best version of themselves. I think this includes viewing the state as a moral entity. I don't think it is particularly smart of anyone to give in to promoting any sort of violence. The old adage, if you give an inch, they'll take a mile is especially true here. I think there is something to be said about not giving in to what you know is wrong, but there is something completely different when it comes to giving in to violence as a state.
In response to Anika's post, I think you state very well that the way to understand both religions is to look and understand the fundamentalists of both. I think the way that we start to understand both faiths is by understanding where they came from. The only thing I would argue with would be that they are very similar. I think the fact that Islam condones the use of force to protect the religion and its' borders is extremely different from the Christian view of turning the other cheek.
Nick Frecentese
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
There is really only one answer to this question that (I hope) everyone in our class would be able to explain. Due to various terrorist attacks over the last couple of centuries, Islam has been portrayed in a negative light. It is true that a few extremist branches of Islam (such as Al-Qaeda) have been the masterminds behind various recent acts of terrorism, however, this terrorism does not speak about the religion of Islam as a whole. It only sheds light on the most negative branches of the religion, for the branches that are doing good things, or just staying neutral, have received no press or publicity in the western world. The most known and horrifying attack that the United States has personally been victimized by were the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City and on the Pentagon in Virginia. These attacks have scarred our country and have left a sour image of Islam in our minds. Our country's wound from the events of 9/11 is still open, and that is why we are hesitant to change our views of the foreign religion that we have little contact with besides terrorism. I think that the Western World will eventually be able to get over our harsh feelings towards the minority (extremists) of this religion, however, I am not too sure if that will be in the near future or not. Lastly, it will take more contact and interaction with the religion of Islam for us to realize that they are not all terrorist extremists in Al-Qaeda.
I think that in the U.S, Islam is misunderstood and portrayed as highly dangerous for one main reason: the 9/11 attacks. Preceding the attacks, the media has portrayed Muslims in a very negative light. My personal outlook is that because the terrorist attacks (which were carried out by an extremist branch of Islam) caused so much destruction and loss in the U.S, it made us look vulnerable to the rest of the world. As a result, we demonize those who attacked us in an attempt to preserve and protect our standing as “the greatest country in the world, impenetrable.” Because this extremist branch of Islam made us look weak and like victims, they pose a threat and are scary to us. I think the media is taking this fear of the threat, the fear of the unknown, and totally blowing it out of proportion. The fear has been exapanded to all of Islam as a whole. Does that make sense? Overall, Islam is not a religion of violence, or of terrorism. It is very misunderstood, and the way it is being portrayed by the media is skewed.
No part of the world is more misunderstood by America than the complex culture and religion known as Islam. “Despite this mental and spatial proximity, Islam is the most difficult religion for the West to understand”(Smith 221). Islam and the West share borders and citizen, however, instead of this producing a diverse and accepting community, it produced border disputes, raids, and counterraids. These morphed into blood feuds and in some places, complete war. Smith writes, “Islam and Europe have been at war, and people seldom have a fair picture of their enemies”(Smith 221). If an entire culture and religion is considered an enemy, do we have any chance of understanding it?
The 9/11 Terrorist attacks did add to the tensions between cultures, however, there were surely preceding tensions. Before the attacks, many Americans were ignorant to tensions and conflict present in the Middle East; after the attacks however, America had a new face for evil: Radical Islam. Thus, associating Radical Islam with Islam itself and ergo, all Muslims. Islam is so misunderstood by Westerners, particularly Americans, because they’ve given a violent face to the religion. The majority of associations with Islam in the American press surround the radical aspects of the faith and extreme situations of injustice or prejudice. There are radical sects in all faiths, Christianity exuberantly included. We must push to educate ourselves and the public, in order to bring about change in the way the Western world views and interacts with Islam.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
Recently my uncle and I had an extensive conversation on the status of Islam in the world today. We both agreed that Islam is an extremely controversial religion that the majority of the world sees as one of the main issues in our culture. One thing we talked about is that the people of the world, especially Americans, are scared of Muslims, plain and simple. This is because there has not been a single Islamic person who has come out and said, "we are not all believers in radical Islam and disagree with what they are doing." If this were to happen, I think we would see big changes in Islam. The world would no longer see Islam as "the enemy" and a new understanding would be reached. Unfortunately, no Muslim has spoken out against radicalism. Why? I'm not sure. Perhaps out of fear. While I do believe that Islam is extremely misunderstood, Muslim have not done all that they can to assure the world that they are not all bad. Until they do, little will change, and the war on terror will continue.
4. The status of women in Islam has been a topic of much controversy, particularly in the West. You are being asked to comment on two topics. First, how accurate do you find the typical Western view of women in Islam? Second, what are your own opinions on this topic?
This question initially interested me, but I was not quite ready to answer it until our class spoke to the members of the Islam religion. Muhammad mentioned something that really stuck with me. It was that Islam is more of a lifestyle than a religion. Aziza made it clear that her scarf was going to be an inevitable step in her lifestyle, and it was only a matter of when she would begin wearing it. It turned out that when she began wearing it was reliant on what westerners felt about it. She knew that if she started going to school without it for a year or two and then were to start wearing it to school later on, people would ask a lot of questions and ask her what changed. It seems to me that a woman's scarf is a part of her even before she begins wearing it. Hodan also knows that she will wear a scarf one day, but feels that she can't meet the responsibilities that are associated with it.
Westerners seem to see the headscarf as demeaning symbol. It seems to them that it means women are ashamed to show themselves. If I've learned anything, it's that it represents the opposite. I read a link attached to the blog in the perspective of people in favor of headscarves. It described that Muslim women are not demeaned in society in any way. It turns out that women have just as many rights as men (with the exception of the new rules set into place by the Taliban). Also, the Koran does not say that a woman must wear one, it says that a woman should "cover herself" when in the presence of males whom she may have the possibility of marrying.
Western culture makes assumptions about the headscarves that Muslim women often wear. They judge more about the lifestyle of the woman wearing the scarf, than can be judged. When we see people walking down the street, we don’t automatically know what religion they practice based on how they look. This isn’t the case with women who wear headscarves. Maybe if other religions incorporated methods of showing people what religion their members were from, and everybody knew what religion everybody else was from, less judgment would be placed on women who wear headscarves. This however is not the case, and the purpose of the scarves is not to show people what religion the women practice. It is a personal choice taken by each woman who wears one. And if anything, it gives the women more dignity and more pride in themselves, rather than debasing them. Other women from their religion respect women who wear the scarf. I feel like if more westerners knew about the associations of the scarf and it’s meaning, they wouldn’t judge women so much for wearing it.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
One thing that struck me as very interesting about this religion is that they are the only religion that we have learned about that explicitly condones violence. Even Muhammad fought for what he believed was right. Although their is violence in other religions( such as in the old testament, and the new) you never saw someone who claimed to be affiliated with God go out and physically fight others.
One thing that would be difficult for me to accept is how strict it is and how many rules it involves. Dietary rules, prayer rules, etc. I'm sure that there are more laid back Muslim people who don't follow every single rule (similar to people who don't do lent or people who aren't kosher).
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
I feel that Religions role is not to strictly regulate ones life but guide them to be better people. In this sense I don't think it is right for religions to condone violence, it should try and decrease the amount of violence. Humans have committed violence long enough regardless of religion, so I understand how societal pacifism can be kind of implausible but religion should be a factor that dampens the impact of violence in a culture.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
When I think of religion I always think non-violence. Religion is supposed to help people not harm them. I know that people never get along. I mean face it we've had two world wars and plenty of other major wars as well. We as a nation could never be a non-violence nation. But our religion isn't running our government. Religion and government are two separate things. So religion is the non-violence and all good. I could never image telling a priest or minister that I was having a problem and he would tell me smack them. That just ins't right. Violence isn't needed in religion. Just because it is more realistic doesn't mean it should be in religion. So yes it is more realistic, but it doesn't mean that is right.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
When I think of religion I always think non-violence. Religion is supposed to help people not harm them. I know that people never get along. I mean face it we've had two world wars and plenty of other major wars as well. We as a nation could never be a non-violence nation. But our religion isn't running our government. Religion and government are two separate things. So religion is the non-violence and all good. I could never image telling a priest or minister that I was having a problem and he would tell me smack them. That just ins't right. Violence isn't needed in religion. Just because it is more realistic doesn't mean it should be in religion. So yes it is more realistic, but it doesn't mean that is right.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
Similar to what Jake said, the first thing that probably 95% of people think of when they think about religion would be peace and caring and whatnot. Religion and violence are generally thought of as polar opposites. I do however think that including/allowing violence is more realistic. I'm not saying that it is right, I'm just saying it is realistic. A lot of people who are very religious are also violent people in general and so it only seems logical to allow some of those things to happen since they are going to happen anyway. That being said it is still wrong and there shouldnt be any violence.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
I believe that they are more realistic about the fact that violence will happen, so why not make it allowing or not being fully against it is not how a religion should be. I believe that religion should show someone what they should aspire to be instead of allowing them to get away with a violent acts, which occur for those not trying to find their perfect being. Islam is very realistic because in a way they allow any that is Muslim to get away with a snap moment of anger that could lead to a violent act, so, it allows for people to not be perfect, but allows them to make human mistakes.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
I think for Americans, due to the 9/11 attacks we only see an evil face of Islam: an extremist face, and out of fear, we label every Muslim with that face. Because of this incident, it is hard for many Americans to open up to Islam, and to want to be genuinely interested in the religions because they feel they already know what Muslims are like: violet etc…Obviously, this is not true, and the terrorists on 9/11 represented a small group of Islamic EXTREMISTS. (It's like comparing today's Tea Party,that's only a small party of Americans that are on the extreme right side).
I also think that some of Islam's traditions are radical and surprising to Americans. For example, when women wear the headscarves, I think a lot of Americans/Westerners see it as a forced tradition, when really the majority wear the headscarf because they want to not because they have to. (With exception to the Taliban….again, there extremists). Westerners see it as unjust, where Muslims see it as a natural part of life. I think that in order to improve relations between the two religious groups, both sides need to be open to trying to understand the other religion and ignore all stereotypes. After reading and learning about Islam in class, I was shocked at how similar the two religions are: both have similar moral rules, both believe in the majority of the old testament, both believe in one God etc…
Even before the 9/11 attacks, Islam has always been misinterpreted and deemed "wrong". Way back in the Medieval Ages, there were a lot of Islamic scientist were part of a medical revolution. Many Islamic doctors/scientists influenced the world on how to properly take care of oneself on a scientific basis. However, much of the west which was Christian, found those discoveries as anti-Christian and persecuted and ignored the Muslims.
I hope, for the sake peace, that one day we'll be able to open our minds and attempt to understand each religion.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
Like Ryan said, I found it very interesting how accepted violence is. Usually when I think of religion, I think of the unity it brings to people and the sense of faith. The only instance where I think of violence and religion in the same though process is when I am thinking about the Crusades. I do think that the way Islam looks at violence is more realistic and practical. In the world today, nations cannot simply stand there while a non-religious nation steps all over them. Tibet for instance. They did not have a fighting chance at defeating China, but they did not put up a fight at all because of the non-violence preached by Buddhism. It's simply not practical to let religious denomination to destroy a country or nation. In politics, I believe national defense is more important than religious security. However, the term, "correcting injustice" leave some room to be interpreted. It leaves room for it to be manipulated, as with the case for Osama Bin Laden. The practicality and reality is a double edged sword that leaves the beliefs up to the interpreter.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
I personally find the veil with the women most interesting. When I was in Israel, we went to a mosque and had a frequenter there talk to us about Islam and his faith. I found the talk most interesting when he started talking about why women wear burqas. His comparison was a story; A man asked another man why the women wear burqas, so the man invited him to his home later. At his home, he had 2 bananas on the table: one which was unpeeled, and one which was peeled. He asked the man, "which banana would you rather have? the one that has not been touched by other hands and bruised, or the peeled banana?" The other man quickly chose the unpeeled banana. Though I may not agree or think that is a very PC answer, it makes sense to me and I understand why they do it.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
To me, the most intriguing part of Islam would have to be the Hajj. I think it is extremely interesting how all Muslims are expected to make this pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life if it is possible. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world and is considered the fifth pillar of Islam. It is considered a religious duty. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God, Allah. This Pilgrimage occurs during the 12 and last month of the Islamic calender.
5. Smith attempts to defend the status of women in Islamic society. Does he make his case? What are your feelings about polygamy (or polyandry)?
I feel that my stance on this is different due the ways I have been raised and coming from the United States where polygamy is not really accepted. Although I feel i would never be able to take part in polygamy I can see why it would be accepted by the Islam community and some others. The reasoning for why the women feel it is okay if that their role in society is much less than mens. Therefor the men are expected to take care of the women and if a man has the means to supply for more than one women then why shouldn't he. For those reasons i can understand why, but i still feel that it is weird and takes away from the bond of marriage. It is now no longer between just two people but many 4 or 5 people.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
This would be the case because the Islamic religion is so different and is a minority in the United States. It is the different dress and the treatment of women is so drastically different. I think that when people see a women wearing a head scarf, we look at it as being degrading towards women that they need to "hide" themselves from head to toe. It may be better understood if more were educated on the religion. I also believe that we look down on Islam because of the way they treat women as second class citizens. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to vote, work or drive and if they showed any skin or do not wear their hijab they will be lashed . Their husbands are not what we would think of as a "good" husband, they can beat their wife if she has an affair or misbehaves and treats them more as their servant.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith because of these 2 main points: their degradations of women, and our own ignorant stereotypes of the Islamic faith. Like Azura said, women are so fervently demeaned in Islam that it is hard for us to understand where they see they are justified in their beliefs. Personally, I don't see how beating women resolves any predicaments in their religion. I think that the way they dress is partially understood, but we are so westernized that most of us can only find it strange to dress the way Muslims do. I hope that most of us can understand that they feel modesty is an important characteristic and that is the reasoning behind the dresses and the scarves and the hijabs. (Although I do believe that it also has something to with dehumanizing women.) Taking all of the latter into consideration, I do believe that the misunderstanding of the Islamic religion has recently augmented due to our lack of education on the subject. I think that we tend to stereotype Muslims more now than we did, say, before 9/11. We generalize and although people will try to justify themselves by saying they have good reason, which they might, generalizing and categorizing Muslims is not right. In doing so, it blinds us of what their religion really is, and what it really means because we don't care enough to expand our view on it.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
For many people, especially those living in Western Society, Islam is a very difficult faith to understand. Islam has many similarities to many other religions but it is where they differ that confuses people and may even turn them away from the religion. One of the many things that causes people to question Islam is its concept of violence. For many people, including myself, it was difficult to have faith in Islam considering that it began with war. The prophet Mohammad led an army on a siege of Medina in which many people were killed. Because Mohammad is not a non-violent leader, many people would prefer one of the more peaceful prophets. Islam also promotes other forms of violence in its doctrine, such as Jihad or Holy War. Again, many people would shy away from a religion that encourages violence as it is almost universally avoided. Islam also includes a long set of rules and regulations that many Westerners, especially Americans, wish to avoid. Western culture emphasizes freedom and equality and any religion that requires its followers to abide by certain rules that violate one's sense of being free to do what they wish or to be of equal status of all other human beings. Islam is a controversial religion for many people who were not born into it, but I believe that to each his own. As the Dalai Lama said in "In God's Name," "some men like spicy foods, but for others, it is not for them."
5. Smith attempts to defend the status of women in Islamic society. Does he make his case? What are your feelings about polygamy (or polyandry)?
I feel that my stance on this is different due the ways I have been raised and coming from the United States where polygamy is not really accepted. Although I feel i would never be able to take part in polygamy I can see why it would be accepted by the Islam community and some others. The reasoning for why the women feel it is okay if that their role in society is much less than mens. Therefor the men are expected to take care of the women and if a man has the means to supply for more than one women then why shouldn't he. For those reasons i can understand why, but i still feel that it is weird and takes away from the bond of marriage. It is now no longer between just two people but many 4 or 5 people
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
I think that Islam is definitely more realistic in this respect. Religious persecution is a reality across the world and throughout history. Take the Jews for example. The story of the Jewish people is long and sad with evens including, but not limited to, the Diaspora, the pogroms in Russia, and the Holocaust. While one can make a strong case that such suffering and hardship has benefited the Jewish people in their perspectives and their sense of identity, suffering is still suffering, and very few people contend that the Holocaust and the pogroms were a good thing. That is not to say that all religious persecution will be stopped with violence. On the contrary, our nation's collective understanding of Islam has been diminished and perverted by violence committed by select Muslims, but one has to keep in mind that that violence was not a religious defense, but an offense. When persecution is executed on such a large scale as the Holocaust, I believe that the followers of Islam will give an appropriate response in defending their selves and their religion.
3. I don’t believe faith and politics, religion and society can be separated. That being said, I think that with the division of faith and politics, religion and society being increased would result in a decrease in global conflict. History has demonstrated numerous times that when religion becomes to powerful in society and politics people take advantage of faith and use it to manipulate the population. That being said, I recognize the effectiveness of religion to keep a society functioning. If there is a crime or action with mal intent that someone can get away with, then there is very little incentive to not do something that would result in personal gain. Religion and faith can be combined with politics and society to present people with an inescapable punishment in the afterlife, should they not be apprehended or punished in the flesh.
4. Sometimes the use of force is necessary. Although some religions do abuse violence, for example the Crusades, at some points in time violence must become a consideration. Even on a small scale, (having the self-defense class right now brings this to mind) the first reaction should be politeness and respect; however, once your life is threatened your single concern should be your own survival. When basic survival is put in jeopardy, whether that is food, water, or physical safety, it should become someone’s sole concern to himself or herself and their family with whatever means possible.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
I find it interesting that Huston Smith describes Islam as "Of all the non-Western religions, Islam stands closest to the West - closest geographically, and also closest ideologically; for religiously it stands in the Abrahamic family of religions, while philosophically it builds on the Greeks." I think this description is a very accurate one, and captures exactly what intrigues me about Islam. Of the main Judeo-Christian religions, Islam is the most modern of those, and holds ideals that reflect that. While many American's have a distorted view that all Muslims are backwards, sexist people, I find that Islam is actually very progressive. Islam's recognition of prophets from Judaism and Christianity acknowledges that it derived from those religions, and the vast majority of Muslim's hold a respectful view of those religions.
Another point I found interesting is the concept of submission to God. I may be wrong in this view, but I get the sense that the majority of Muslim's are more devout that the majority of Christians. There is structure and ritual to Islam, as described by the 5 Pillars, but there is also a focus on the personal meaning of the faith to each Muslim.
All these questions were really cool! Good options.
2. Huston Smith suggests that Islam is the most misunderstood of all the world's faith, at least for Westerners (p. 221). Why would this be so?
It definitely is. Honestly, I think part of the reason for this is hugely due to its proximity to Christianity and the defining differences. Learning about Islam in class REALLY opened my eyes--I felt so much less ignorant by the end of the unit--and it shocked me how close Christianity (and Judaism) really is to Islam. I truly do think the fear many less-educated people have (especially here in the US) have of Muslims stems from the 9/11 attacks, but for slightly more educated people, I think the fact that Islam is closely tied to Christianity, the most generally accepted religion (at least to me), adds a level of fear. Say an ignorant American Christian--Bill--learns a bit about Islam. I would guess his reaction would NOT be immediate, or even gradual, understanding and acceptance of the faith, but rather heightened fear upon realizing the religion he has been afraid of shares Biblical figures (Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, etc. etc. etc.!), places, events, and even some beliefs with his own faith. If so many people were not brought up in fear of another faith--here, Islam--such ignorance would most likely dissolve of its own accord.
3. "Islam joins faith to politics, religion to society, inseparably," says Smith (p. 249). Can society be wholly secular or maintain itself without some common faith or religious reference point?
Ooooh, tricky question.....I don't think so. Although I personally don't identify exclusively with one faith, I believe that its prevalence in our societies today is as it is for a reason. Many people like having something otherworldly to believe in. It can be seen as a comfort, a challenge, a guided journey, an unguided journey, a thing of refuge, and so much more. As much as I think certain aspects of this could be beneficial, I don't think a society could survive without any kind of faith simply because people will look elsewhere when things go wrong or when they need guidance, and eventually I believe they would look to God, a god, or gods(/goddesses). It's interesting to ponder, though.
1. What did you personally find most appealing or intriguing about Islam, based on your reading? What was most difficult to accept or understand?
What I found most appealing and most intriguing about Islam was the "rules" of following the Muslim religion or belief seemed, at first look, pretty simple and straight forward. Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to worship God. But when you really begin to study it and dive into it you start to realize that there is way more then meets the eye. Its not as simple as if comes off to be and I thought that was pretty interesting. What I found fairly challenging to accept or understand was the fact of how it states that God is "incomparable" and is truly the only one who should be worshiped, but then at the same time they have multiple upon multiple "prophets" who to me seemed to be revered in a higher stature than that of their almighty God. That was something I had a hard time fully understanding.
4. The Quran does not teach turning the other cheek, or pacifism, but sanctions the use of force for defense and correcting injustice (p. 254). Is Islam more realistic in this respect than some other religions?
I find that with the Quran's teachings is more realistic than other religions. I find this because most religions tell of love they neighbor and treat everyone without false pretenses. But it is hard to say that the Quran's teaching are realistic to the bear minimum, every religion has found ways around their teachings to sow chaos and misery, pain and suffering or war. Though I wont say that Islam has never done this, they have used there teaching truthfully in the past, to day some of Islam is split and it is the fanatics that cause the misunderstanding that it is similar to christianity during the eras of the crusades. So i believe Islam has been more realistic in its teaching then some of the other religions.