The Modern Library has attempted to stage a comeback by launching a large and ambitious series of handsomely produced volumes, most of which are indeed by leading authorities. Not so this slim work on Islamic history, a scandalously apologetic and misleading account written by a former nun with an ax to grind. The apologetics start with the Prophet Muhammad and conclude with the present day. Armstrong goes out of her way to soften every hard edge, explain away every unpleasantness, and hide what she cannot otherwise account for.…
This is a gargantuan topic in today’s current events and it seems that in news broadcast they mention the contentious situation happening in the Middle East. However, these religious conflicts are nothing new. On the contrary, they have a long history that is rooted into many cultures. One religion that has grabbed many current headlines is “Islam”.…
Christianity vs. Islam The religions Christianity and Islam both share many differences. With both of these religions emerging from the Middle East, they have created a great impact on this world. Like most religions, they both claim to be the one true way to God. Their differences include their view on Jesus, how the religion had originated, and also their practices.…
Judaism vs. Islam In this essay I will review my understanding of the major beliefs and practices of two of the great Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Islam. I will attempt to take the position of proponents of each religion, and delineate areas of agreement and disagreement. What makes this comparison so compelling, and relevant, is the great human suffering that has resulted, and continues to result, from those who cloak their aggression and hatred under the veil of each religion. Judaism is quite liberal on the issue of the exact nature of God.…
The events of September 2001 had a significant impact on shaping the image of Islam in the west. This picture went beyond the pre-September distortion of the possibilities of exclusion. The thought of the conflict began again, and old ideas emerged from abyss to create an imaginary clash with Islam. To consider…
Fred Donner’s Muhammad and the Believers: at the Origins of Islam presents itself as an interpretation of early Islamic history geared towards “nonspecialists” that attempts to take on a new paradigm of thought not conventionally held among his fellow historians. He prefaces his primary thesis with the context of paradigms of thought that were once held or were presently held at the time of the writing of his book. From the start, Donner asserts his belief in Islam’s beginnings taking root in a religious movement - not a “social, economic, or nativist” (pg xvii) movement. Through Donner’s lense, viewers are allowed a holistic overview of all events relevant to the Islamic movement as well as his thesis.…
In “Early African American Muslim Movements and the Qur’an,” Herbert Berg seeks to evaluate the usefulness of the Qur’an in the Moorish Science Temple of America and the Nation of Islam movements, both having different interpretations of what it means to be a black Muslim. Berg argues that the Qur’an was used in these early African American Muslim organizations because of its independence from Christianity and “its ability to confer Islamic legitimacy on their movements and thus authority on themselves,” themselves being Drew Ali and Elijah Muhammad. Drew Ali formed the Moorish Science Temple of America and established the Circle Seven Koran, which bears no obvious relation to the Qur’an or Islam.…
American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion In the book, American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion, author Paul Barret introduces the reader to the hardships and hurdles of 7 different Muslims. Barrett is able to capture the voice of different views and life experiences, and open the eyes of the reader to what exactly it is to be an American Muslim. Having been published only 5 years after the 9/11 attacks, Barrett digs deep to show the world, that we have plenty to learn. Americans know near to nothing of Islam in the Middle East and even less about Muslims in America. It would be wise for both American Muslims and Christians to better understand each other, as Islam will undoubtedly the biggest religion in the…
The author indicates how dissimilar the commonly written books about the Crusade war by most Western writers are in regards to that war. The book summarizes almost 200 years of the Crusade war into 293 pages by noting and quoting different sources from the Arab authors and eyewitnesses. It is not only detailed but also mentions different perspectives, hence a significant revelation for the general audience. The aim of this paper is to discuss and remark on these diverse viewpoints as explained by Amin Maalouf, including reviewing the book and showing how it influences the readers. At the beginning of the Crusade, Arabs were caught unawares by the religious zealotry by the Christians.…
Identifying Islamic Ideas By: Mitchell J. Kirschbaum “In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful,” (The Quran, al-Fatihah 1.1) this is how every chapter in the Quran begins, similar to many other religions which shows their submissiveness to an all mighty power named God. While Islam is an Abrahamic tradition and shows many similarities to other monotheistic religions it has a unique way of teaching the message of God and it can be seen as the most inclusive. Although Christianity, Judaism and Islam all have their differences they all do still believe in the same God, so what makes one better than the other?…
Conclusion Before this research paper, I had no clue of Arabs language, religion or any aspect of the Arabic world. Fortunately…
Early Christianity in Roman VS. Early Islam I am writing about early Christianity, the traditional Roman religious practices, comparing to the Islamic beliefs and science and mathematics in early Islam. This essay mainly focuses on the contents of the primary source to compare and analyze the selected excerpts in order to provide the different religious beliefs and practices and how that had effects on the people’s view and how did let the different nations to grow and develop their views. In the first excerpt, “On the Separation of Mathematics and Religion, 1058-1111”, Al-Ghazzali who is one of the greatest early Muslin theologians, philosophers and jurist, believes in the separation of Islam and mathematics from each other’s. He believes…
Competetion exist because of interest, values, actions, status, objectives and other needs. Sometimes competetion is purposly created because of job specification needs (Bisno, 1988). But more importantly is with every problem, crisis, or conflict, there is a possiblity of success and failure. It is important to identify, nurture and harvest the success seeds as it is the responsibilities of the crisis management (Augustine, 2000). Conflict is natural, not positive and not negative, and it is an effect which cannot be avoided as a result of a natural process for change and development (Messman & Mikesell, 2000).…
15=== Holt, Peter Malcolm, etal., eds. The Cambridge History of Islam. 15. Holt, Peter Malcolm, et al., eds. The Cambridge History of Islam.…
It was found that the ideological teachings of Islam continue to have an impact over the minds of hundreds of millions of people in Asia and Africa. It is obvious that the development of Islam as one of the most important factors in world politics in the processes of globalization will be one of the trends of the 21st century. This is due to the fact that possessing Muslim consciousness and religion is something fundamentally contrary to the modern model of globalization. In contrast to the various Christian faiths, Buddhism, and Hinduism, Islam requires following certain lifestyle, a globalist incompatible values and concepts of the world order.…