Islam RP 1 (Q1)

Before I studied Islam I was not very aware of the religion, and what it was like to be a Muslim. I would say that the biggest misconception I had about Islam is that I though it was a strict and demanding religion that was specific to the Middle East and I would not be able to fully understand the religion. These false pretences about Islam came mainly from images I saw of Muslims. For example, picture of thousands of Muslims with their covered heads to the ground, praying towards the Ka’ba lead me to believe that this religion must be a very thorough one because of the fact that all these people have to get together to pray like that throughout the day, a strict one because of their dress and because of how serious every seemed to take their praying, it seemed so foreign because of the language and dress. This image, along with the knowledge that the Qur’an is not translated, leads me to believe that Islam is a very culturally different and intense religion.
Learning about Islam has opened my eyes to see how unaware I was of the beliefs of such a universal religion. Islam is a young, major world religion; this may be credited to its wide appeal. I have now learned that in the Islamic belief, “All people were created by God and all are accepted as Muslims.”(Hopfe 336) There is no discrimination by race or nation in Islam, and the main belief in Islam is a very universally understood concept “There is no God but God”. Though it may seem from an outsider’s view that Islam is a very extreme religion, in fact the “Five Pillars of Islam” are all that is needed to be a good Muslim. Profession of faith, daily prayer, pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and charity are all the commitments needed to making one a Muslim. This religion does not require group worship; the main focus in Islam is just belief. The profession of faith is simply to say, and believe, “There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet”. Through my studies of Islam, learning about the Five Pillars and the profession of faith, I have learned that the basic belief system behind the religion is very straight forward and the demands to be considered a good practicing Muslim are not extremely extensive, it and focuses mainly on the belief in God.

Islam Response Paper (Opt. 3)

Between Muhammad and Jesus, as founders of two major world religions, there are many similarities. Both were prophets, said to have brought the word of God to their people. Their preaching was a response to existing religion and society, and the problems they saw within each. In promoting societal change, both figures had their primary support from the lower class, although the message each brought was appealing to all or Christianity and Islam would not be world religions today. Part of what made each of their messages so appealing was that both men came from the lower, working class themselves. There is enough historical evidence to say that both men did indeed exist, and they even came from the same part of the world, separated by several hundred years.
At the time of their deaths, each one left behind some problems for their followers. As a new religion, Muhammad left his followers without clear leadership and Jesus left his followers struggling to make sense of his death and how to live in the spirit of his preaching.
The biggest discrepancy between these two figures in how their followers viewed them, as one was believed to be divine while the other insisted upon his humanity. Jesus is thought to be the son of God, both fully divine and fully human. He rejected his Earthly family and did not have one of his own. Muhammad, however, claimed his role was merely to be the mouthpiece for God and nothing more. He had a family of his own, marrying multiple times and having several children. Muhammad lived a much longer life than Jesus, and this may have contributed much to this discrepancy as he actually had time after he began preaching to enjoy the earthly realm.

Muhammad vs. Jesus

Muhammad and Jesus are both major figures in the religion they belong to. Their prophecy not only include similar concept- God and morals, they also underwent some struggles throughout their life devoting to spreading God’s words. While they were similar, they processed different experience and believe in God in different ways. Jesus’ life had been a miracle since he was born because his mother was a virgin. He started missionary at young age and performed many miracles throughout his life. Muhammad was different because he had always been a common man who was given mission to recite Allah’s words. Jesus was considered son of God and savior of all human beings who are sinful; Muhammad was thought to be the final prophet of God. As stated in the Profession of Faith in the Five Pillars, “there is no God but God, and Muhammad is the prophet.” People did not worship Muhammad but admired him, since he had undergone some dreadful experience to be able to recite God’s words directly. Both Muhammad’s and Jesus’ words were recorded and collected into books. Muhammad’s words were recorded at the time and it later became Qur’an. In contrast, Jesus’ words were recorded a lot after Jesus’ death by the four Gospels and collected into Bible. Although Islam and Christianity are fundamentally derived from the same origin and they both pray to the same God, the differences in between Muhammad and Jesus have had great influence on the development of the two religions. 

Islam RP 1

My biggest misconception about Islam was the concept of jihad. The American media has construed it in a way that is confusing and misleading. When 9/11 happened the media blamed Osama bin Laden and his quest for a jihad. The way the media portrayed jihad in general and hostel way caused the public to think that many Muslims were working for the same jihad as Osama bin Laden. In the following years there was a significant amount of discrimination against Muslims. The media then proceeded to portray many of the suicide bombings at the same attempt at a jihad. The media portrayed it as one continuous war. The media failed to talk about the actual jihad, and how it can mean a conflict but usually is not. The media also emphasized the idea that if a Muslim fought in a jihad that they would go to heaven, and used that to explain the reasoning of the 9/11 terrorists.

The way the idea of jihad was presented to me confused me more than anything else. I knew it was not the way the media portrayed it, but until this course I had left it as an ambiguous concept in Islam. It is interesting that some Muslim scholars say jihad is only a defensive war. The way the Muslim scholars teach is completely opposite of how the American public views jihad. The most interesting thing about jihad is that it does not necessarily mean a war. It can be any struggle either physical or emotional. The American media manipulates jihad to mean what they want it to, much like Osama bin Laden did. Jihad has become a tool to Muslim leaders and reporters alike to help them explain or justify an event.

Islam Reponse Paper

Respond in a 2-3 paragraph essay to one of the following prompts:
1. Knowing what you know now about the origins and fundamentals of Islam, what was the biggest misconception you had about Islam before you studied it and what do you think contributed to that misperception?
2.Discuss how 'the power of place' contributed to the development of Islam. In other words, how did the location, environment, and pre-Islamic traditions of the Arabian peninsula influence Muhammad's ideas?
3. Compare and contrast Muhammad and Jesus, being sure to stick closely to their historical roles and identities.
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