|
|
Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
|
posted February 12, 2006 10:45 PM |
|
|
Poll Question:
Islam
For some time now I have been considering writing a post about Islam. To my regret it's a majorly misunderstood religion, which makes me really sad. (To my even greater regret, there are a lot of Muslims who misunderstand Islam too, but that's a different topic.) To many many people Islam is a violent, blood-thirsty, barbaric kind of faith. I do disagree but I have to admit that in the light of recent terrorism, it's a rather logical conclusion.
Terrorism as we saw it in NYC has as much to do with Islam as much as the Spanish Inquisition has to do with Christianity. It's not true that all Muslims approve of extremism and mass murdering. As a matter of fact, such acts are a great disgrace to Islam, once because they have very little to do with the core of the religion, and second, because it smears the name of *all* Muslims.
This is why I may write several very long posts about Islam. They would include: 1. Mohammed's life as portraided by various sources 2. What Islam is about - beliefs and principles with quotes from the Quran. I would like to include quotes concerning more interesting topics such as women, children, charity, food and drinks 3. (Which I'd like to see the most) Truths and un-truths about Islam, again supported by quotes from the Quran. A great deal of hideous practices are attributed to Islam - in fact they are cultural traditions.
It would take me me hours and hours and hours to write such posts and I'd like to know they would be desired and welcome to begin with. My intention is to be more informative and less critical. I don't pretend I'm an expect in Islam - I would like to share my knowledge, as much as I know, from the sources I've learned it. Maybe then those not acquainted with this odd, alien to the western world religion, would get a better understanding of it.
I'll give the poll 3 days and then I'll count the votes.
So, how would you feel about such a post? Would you like me to post on topics mentioned above?
|
|
Trogdor
Legendary Hero
Words in a custom title
|
posted February 16, 2006 07:10 AM |
|
|
I agree
There needs to be more education about Islam and that people should not judge a whole religion by a catastrophe. As a whole people have accused Islam of being pro-genocide. Events in recent years have not helped the true, non-violent, non-benevolent meaning of Islamic culture (9/11, Bali bombings, the torture of Iraqi insurgents in Abu Gharib prison, bombings in Spain, London bombings, Sydney race riots, Anti-Mohammed political cartoons).
Where I live, in Australia, there is a large Islamic community and not all Arabs are violent people. A few of these people happen to be my friends. I cannot let this religion burn to the ground because of prejudice.
____________
"Through the power of the dollar you can communicate with the dead." - Artu
|
|
Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
|
|
posted February 18, 2006 12:41 AM |
|
|
Part one
Before I start, I would like to set a few house rules for the thread.
1. It took me long hours to put everything altogether and even longer time to research from various sources. Please, respect that. If you think this topic is not worth your attention, just do NOT read it.
2. I have tried to support most of my statements with evidence, mostly quotes from the Quran. If you'd like to dispute/argue about anything, you're welcome to, but I would expect you to back it up with SUBSTANTIAL evidence. Please, "I heard it on TV a few years ago" or "I just know it's so" is not persuasive in the least.
3. I need to point out that I am emphasizing on the principles of Islam. I am perfectly aware that Islam is abused by many just because it's convenient for them, not because it's prescribed to them. I've seen enough terrorism and extremism, I find it applaling, disgusting and an overall disgrace of some of the teachings of the Prophet. As I have said before, I totally repudiate what many Muslim men do because it suits their purposes, as hiding behind the mask of religion has always been most convenient.
4. No flaming please. This thread is most of all educational. I understand more than a few members are prejudiced when it comes to Islam. If you want to stay that way no matter what, that's your business. NO FLAMING, PERIOD. Should you disagree with me, see point 2.
5. I do understand I might be somewhat incorrect with the wording of the explainations. Do correct me if I make a mistake but please, don't nag.
6. And no, I am not Muslim. I'm Unitarian Universalist and my faith teaches that all religions are worth being acquainted with, even if we totally disagree with them. Being a steadfast follower of UU, I made the effort to put aside my prejudice for a little while and see how many of the myths and legends concerning Islam are actually true. I'm not Muslim, I'll never be, I'm not trying to convert you.
===========================================================
Nowadays around 1.2 - 1.4 billion people are Muslim, or a total of around 20% of the world's population. ((This is an approximation, of course)) Between 80 and 90 % of the Muslim are Sunni and the rest - Shia. These are the two main branches of Islam plus the Sufi mysticism but there is a percentage of other minor currents. Even though Sunni and Shia have their differences, they all identify themselves as Muslim just like Catholics and Eastern Orthodox define themselves as Christian.
And this is how it all started...
=====
The main sources we have about Mohammed's life are the Quran, the Sira biographies, and the Hadith collections. Even though the Quran is not a biography of Mohammed, it does provide information about his life. According to traditional Muslim biographers, he was born c. 570 in Mecca and died on June 8, 632 in Medina. Both Mecca and Medina are cities in nowadays Saudi Arabia.
Before the revelations
Mohammed was born into a well-to-do family settled in the northern Arabian town of Mecca. His father Abdullah died before Mohammed was born and his mother Amina died when he was six. The boy was reared by grandfather until the age of 8. After his grandfather's death, Mohammed came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, the most powerful in Mecca. Just like his uncle, Mohammed became a merchant and one of his employers was Khadijah, a widow then forty years old. The young 25-year old Mohammed had impressed Khadijah and she proposed to him in 595 and they were married.
The Sunni believe Mohammed's first wife bore him 5 children, Shia claim all but Fatimah were by Khadijah's previous marriage.
Revelations
Mohammed had a reflective turn of mind and routinely spent nights in a cave near Mecca in meditation and thought. Muslims believe that [c. 610], while meditating, Mohammed had a vision of the Angel Gabriel. His wife Khadijah and her Christian cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal were the first to believe Mohammed was a prophet. She was soon followed by his ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Abu Bakr, whom Sunnis assert to have been Mohammed's closest friend. Until his death, Mohammed reportedly received frequent revelations. However, a long period passed before his next revelation. Mohammed began to spread his message amongst the people. Most of those who heard his message ignored it. Some, however, believed and joined his small group.
As the ranks of Mohammed's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city. Their wealth, after all, rested on the Kaaba, a sacred house of idols and the focal point of Meccan religious life. If they threw out their idols, as Mohammed preached, there would be no more pilgrims, no more trade, and no more wealth. Mohammed’s denunciation of polytheism was especially offensive to his own tribe as they were the guardians of the Kaaba, the sacred stone. Furthermore, Mohammed and his followers, bypassing the rulers, forged a relationship Ethiopia, a nation traditionally considered an enemy of Mecca. In 619, both Mohammed's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died which was a tough blow to Mohammed. Meanwhile his own clan withdrew their protection of him. Muslims patiently endured hunger and persecution. By 622, life in the small Muslim community of Mecca was becoming not only difficult, but dangerous. There were several attempts to assassinate Mohammed. Mohammed then resolved to emigrate to Medina, a large agricultural oasis where lived Muslim converts. By breaking the link with his own tribe, Mohammed demonstrated that tribal and family loyalties were insignificant compared to the bonds of Islam, a revolutionary idea in the tribal society of Arabia. This Hijra or emigration marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The Muslim calendar counts dates from the Hijra, (After Hijra).
Mohammed came to Medina as a mediator, invited to resolve the feud between two Arab tribes. He ultimately did so by absorbing both factions into his Muslim community, forbidding bloodshed among Muslims. The non-Muslims in Medina were not persecuted; however, they were to pay more tax than Muslims. While this wasn't unheard of, it wasn't a customary practice back in those days. Open hostility or persecution were the usual means of dealing of religious minorities.
Meanwhile, the conflict between Medina and Mecca deepened. Meccans confiscated all the property that the Muslims had left in Mecca. To retaliate, Mohammed raided a caravan bound to Mecca with the help of the neighboring tribes allied with him. Secular scholars add this was also a matter of survival for the Muslims. They owned no land in Medina and if they did not raid, they would have to live on charity and whatever wage labor they could find, both of which were in short supply in the small oasis.
Encouraged by the success, Mohammed and his followers raided another caravan but this time they were overthrown by the Meccans. The latter decided to retaliate in turn and lead an army of a thousand warriors to defeat Mohammed. In the clash that ensued in March 624 the 300 hundred Medina defenders not only managed to overthrow the enemy (even through they were more than three times outnumbered) only 14 of them were slain in battle. Four times as many Meccans died and a good number of them were taken as hostiges for ransom.
This in fact was an unusual practice back then since it was customary to kill the enemies instead of keeping them alive. Many scholars say it was a very inspired and clever move of Mohammed's. Some of the captured Meccans converted as a result and Mohammed's popularity grew immensely. Now virtually all Medina adopted Islam.
Meanwhile Mohammed had married Sawda as he needed a companion and someone to take care of the children. It is said that in 622 he also married Aisha, the daughter of his friend Abu Bakr (who would later emerge as the first leader of the Muslims after Mohammed's death). In Medina, he married Hafsah, daughter of Umar (who would eventually become Abu Bakr's successor).
In 625 the Muslims of Medina went on war with Mecca but both cities gave a lot of casulties. Only in 627 did the Meccans led by Abu Sufyan raid back Medina but the Muslim defended themselves successfully. Many of the Muslims believed that Abu Sufyan had been aided by sympathizers among the Medinans, the Jewish tribe of the Banu Qurayza. As soon as the battle was over, the Muslims turned upon the Banu Qurayza. After the Banu Qurayza were defeated, all the adult men were beheaded and the women and children taken as captives but not harmed. This is a controversial event in the history of Islam as the act was indeed cruel but the Muslim claimed it was necessary. Many other tribes converted to Islam as well.
By 628, the Muslim position was strong enough that Mohammed decided to return to Mecca, this time as a pilgrim. In March of that year, he set out for Mecca, followed by 1,600 men. After some negotiation, a treaty was signed at the border town of al-Hudaybiyah. While Mohammed would not be allowed to finish his pilgrimage that year, hostilities would cease and the Muslims would have permission to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in the following year.
The agreement lasted only two years, however, as the Meccans broke the treaty in 630. As a result, Mohammed marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number more than 10,000 men. The Meccans submitted without a fight, and thus, there was no bloodshed. Mohammed promised a general amnesty to all the Meccans, regardless of religion, and ensured that no harm will be done to them. As a result of this most Meccans converted to Islam, and Mohammed destroyed the idols in the Kaaba. Henceforth the pilgrimage would be a Muslim pilgrimage and the shrine a Muslim shrine.
Mohammed united most of Arabia until the end of his life. Almost all of the tribes inhabiting the peninsula converted to Islam - by means of treaties, alliances, marriages and of course, the power of persuasion. Mohammed himself died in Medina at the age of 63; supposedly he sought the company of his favorite wife Aisha and passed away with his head in her lap.
Scholars are not unanimous on the number and status of Mohammed's wives. All of his wives but Aisha were widows; at least two of them he wed for political reasons. Some scholars remark that marrying at least two of his wives was done to save them from danger and extend his protection over them. The Prophet had 11 wives, Maria the Copt was most likely only a concubine. The latter gave birth to a little boy but he died in infancy. Thus the only descendants of the Prophet are the children of Fatimah (his daughter by Khadijah). In the Quran Mohammed ruled against his wives remarrying after his death - his wish was respected as none of them did.
To draw the line here, I would like to make a few comments on my own. To understand why people believed Mohammed and followed him, you have to be aware of the history of Arabia prior to his revelations. To say that there was no bloodshed and violence in the foundations of Islam is a lie. However, people were used to living in a constant state of war and there was no quarter for the defeated. A lot of what Mohammed did during his life time seems barbaric and brutal now but back then it was accepted and appropriate. Islam united the tribes of Arabia and relative peace ensued as it is considered apostasy to slay Muslims. It is my own personal opinion that the Muslims later turned their aggression to the "infidels" (ie the non-Muslim, especially polytheists) simply because they were hsitorally and culturally used to wielding war. Nowadays non-Muslims resent the status of women in Muslim society but it's crucial to understand that this is a contemporary point of view. Do not forget that some of the first followers of Mohammed were indeed women. The truth is that while oppressive to women from modern POV, Islam actually improved their lives at the time. I will speak at lenght about this later, have patience. As for polygamy, it was me outdated now but back then it was necessary for survival. As I pointed out above, Arabia was in a constant state of war and men died constantly; many women were widowed and they greatly outnumbered men at times. Polygamy is another topic that needs further discussion of course. However, I want to remind you people that Paraguay, a Catholic country with a capital Asuncion (literally Ascension) allowed polygamy after it lost more than two thirds of its male population in the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance.
So when you analyze Islam it is essential to have in mind the circumstances of its "birth", the political situation and cultural traditions at the time. It starts making a LOT more sense when you take into consideration that Islam was not hatched in 21th century.
THE QURAN
As mentioned above, the Quran is the holy book of the Muslim. It consists of 114 Sura (chapters) which contain around 6,300 verses (ayat) [I do not remember the exact number]. It is originally written in Arabic even though now it has translations in a lot of languages. I have heard of 6 translations of the Quran in English. I have the entire translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali only, thus I will cite him when I need to refer to the Quran.
Scholars divide the verses into two groups: revealed in Mecca and Medina. The Surah are not arranged by order of revalation. Medinan Surah usually deal with laws and regulations, that's why they are generally longer.
When I started on the Quran, the first thing that struck me was that it was quite disorderly and was nothing like the straight narrative in the Bible. It's a fine blend of prose and poetry which indeed makes the Quran unique. The Quran is indeed a little hard to read. It is most commonly recited - in fact every Muslim must memorize and be able to recite parts of the Quran. Many scholars and devoted Muslims know all of it by heart.
This in fact is a tradition tracing back its origins to the Prophet himself. Mohammed himself never wrote the Surah as he couldn't read or write but he would recite to his companions and believers. It is them who wrote the verses down, before and after Mohammed's death. Supposedly, the Quran contains everything that the angel Jibril revealed to the Prophet.
Since with time disputes arose concerning the entirety of the Quran, caliph Uthman called forth a committee to compile, unify and standartise the Quran. This is the very version that is still accepted by all Muslim.
While followers of Islam have their differences, all of them completely agree on two things: 1. God is the only God and Mohammed is his prophet 2. The Quran is their holy book. It has the weight of supreme law and ground of beliefs. Any statement on Islam could be proved true or false by quoting the Quran.
The Quran is by far the most revered source of information for the Muslim but not the only one. The hadith is a voluminous collection of traditions relating to the sayings and doings of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and his companions. The hadith is the result of the careful compilation of the stories told by different sources, then compared and written down. Even then scholars were aware some may be authentic and others - made up for political and religious reasons. The more sources telling the same story they had, the more likely it was it was authentic. This is why the hadith became divided into 3 levels of reliability - reliable, moderately reliable and weak.
The Sharia is the law of the Muslim and it's based on the Quran and the hadith. I will pay more attention to it later but it's worth mentioning here that some countries still hold true to it while others - such as Turkey for example - have replaced it with secular law.
To sum it up, my impression of Islam is that unlike Christianity, it does not preach to "turn the other cheek" but rather seeks justice and retaliation. Of course, the latter have always been a point of dispute and sometimes conflict.
==========================================
I intended to make a few neat posts on Islam but as when I started on the project, I realized the topic is as big and deep as an ocean. I want to apologize for bad grammar and typos but I can't see them all, the post is around 3k words. :-)
Next topic: pillars of Islam, traditions, laws and the wisdom behind them. :-)
____________
God does not need exist to save us...
|
|
Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
|
|
posted March 02, 2006 09:58 PM |
|
|
Once again, I'm extremely busy with RL. It's taking the better of me and I can hardly come to check email. Now this means I can't write my lecture on Islam ... so fast. I beg your pardon for this. I'll come back with a post but it may take me a little while. :-)
____________
God does not need exist to save us...
|
| |
|
|
