Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Mr. Dalton
- Mr. Dalton is an instructor in the Upper School at Beaufort Academy. He is inept at car repair and home or lawn maintanance of any sort, but is an accomplished philosopher. In his spare time he enjoys throwing darts while listening to old Duran Duran cassettes.
Islamic scripture is said to only have its true meaning when recited in Arabic. This differs from other religions, especially Christianity, which are available in countless languages. Is the lack of use of vernacular why Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world? Maybe because its true meaning was never totally twisted because the orginial language was and is still used. Is this also why Islam took widespread control relatively quickly?
ReplyDelete-unlike the believers of Yahweh, Muhammed did not kill the other Gods. He simply showed that al-Lah was far more powerful, omnipotent and more deserving of spiritual appreciation.
- the major point of contention/ difference between Christianity and Islam is that Muslims do not believe God can beget a son and that Jesus Christ is rather his messenger. Christians believe Christ is the son of God, if not God himself.
1. Several great empires resulted from the creation of Islam. In this, it is nearly unique among religions. In fact, Christianity did just the opposite and brought about the fall of one of the greatest of all empires.
ReplyDelete2. As previously stated, several empires resulted from the creation of Islam. However, no Islamic nations of considerable power exist today. Why?
3. The last several centuries have seen a collapse in the power of Islam. On the other hand, Islam is growing rapidly. Is Islam still a practical religion in the modern world?
1. In the History of God, it mentions how they were ready to assasinate the Profit. How does it relate to the Christian story of Jesus being in danger and about to be put on the Cross?
ReplyDelete2.In both Armstrong's and Smith's book, it states the importance of monotheism for the Muslim religion. Why do you think it is so important? And what is the difference of importance in each book?
3. What does the hajj do? And what is it similar to and its actions are similar to?
1)According to both Armstrong and Smith, God was not to be described by human characteristics. Muhammad was merely his messenger who did not possess omnipotent powers. Is it possible that Muslims have a stronger faith because their leader was a flawed human being? As opposed to Christianity in which Jesus was an omniscient figurehead?
ReplyDelete2)The Koran is a spiritual and majestic book according to the Muslims. Armstrong argues that most Christians find the bible “dull and obscure.” What is the cause of this discrepancy between the two?
3)In the past, Muslims had to pray facing Jerusalem, much like the Christians and Jews did. Muhammad’s clan started to disintegrate and many stopped following this righteous leader. Christians had strong leaders, according to the bible, so why is Christianity’s influence waning?
Ok so I find this part about Islam very interesting. Armstrong claims that, this is on the bottom of page 151, Muhammad never tried to get Christians or Jews to convert to Islam because he knew they both had their own legitimate prophets that were sent to them. Therefore, Islam was incredibly tolerant of other religions, which we have gone over and it shown through many areas of the reading. Why then, do Christians feel the need to spread their religion so much when Muhammad was against it? I also find it interesting that the religion that is looked so badly upon, at least in our culture, is the one that is most tolerant. That is probably because (this is a bold statement) we have mostly Christian ideas of life which has shown in the past and today to be very intolerant of other ideas. The people who are portrayed to be the bad guys in our society are actually the good guys. Tragic.
ReplyDeleteAnd another thing about the intolerance of what seems to be one of the most tolerant religions (although I'm sure they wouldn't be tolerant of my beliefs seeing how they believe atheists are people who are simply too ungrateful to commit to God), is that they got it from the people who have been fought against the most in history: the Jews. Apparently the Jews rejected Islam and started fighting against it after they realized they weren't prophets. This could, however, be a bias of Armstrong considering her strong feelings for Islam.
A difference between Armstrong's and Smith's work is that Armstrong goes into detail about all the connections behind Islam. What I mean by this is how she tells about the connection to Ishmael. Smith makes it seem as if Ishmael was connected to Islam at the beginning of the religion, but Armstrong shows that it wasn't until Muhammad learned about the different prophets from Jews that he connected the two.
Originally, Islam was much like Judaism in that it did not actively seek converts and was tolerant of other religions. While this view still exists among many Muslims, could the increasing intolerance be the result of increased interaction with Christians?
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, most Christians hold Judaism in higher esteem than Islam. Is this the result of impressing Christian beliefs on Judaism's other offshoot, interpreting Muhammad to be the equivalent of Jesus, thus increasing the perceived differences?
Christianity used the Roman empire to expand, before bringing it to its knees, after which it failed to produce anything comparable. Islam started off without any unified empire, but eventually created them, though they failed as well. Did this difference forge the religions, or the religions this difference?
I think it is odd that Islam, Christianity and Judaism have so many characteristics in common. For example, Christianity and Islam, in the beginning, both were originally positive for the equality of women. If they are so close to each other, why is there so much strife between them?
ReplyDeleteArmstrong talks of Muhammad trying to convert the Jews. "Muhammad's rejection by the Jews was probably the greatest disappointment in his life" (pg 154). Do you think this could have been the beginning of the religious issues between the two religions?
I think it's interesting that Smith focuses more on the positive points of Islam and Armstrong talks about the issues and problems Muslims had during the beginning of the religion.
The Muslims relate more readily to the Jews because of their similiar attitude toward the Torah, and the importance of recitation. Armstrong reasons that experiencing the Torah in the Jewish faith and the Koran in the Islam religion, is significantly different from the way Christians read and experience the Bible. The Koran had the ability and beauty to reach through the hatred and prejudice prevalent in the Arab region, and past mankind's level of rationale.
ReplyDeleteIslam was extremely attractive to the younger generations, unsatisfied with the newfound capitalistic aspirations of Mecca. Muhammed also found many followers in the underprivileged groups of people, such as women, slaves, and members of the weaker clans. What about Islam was appealing and
inspirational to these subordinate groups?
In the beginning of Islam, "Muhammed did not emphasize the monotheistic content of his message". Many people loved the idea of al-Lah and the Islam religion when they could continue worshipping their traditional, paganist deities alongside "the High God". Muhammed lost many of his followers overnight. Why was the belief in only one God demanding, or threatening to these people? Armstrong explains that it demanded a "painful change of consciousness". The early Muslims were even regarded as "atheists", which is somewhat ironic, because atheism, or disrespect or disregard for al-Lah, is chastised strongly in Islam, a relgion who claims its tolerance for people of other faiths.
1. "The religion of allah introduced the compassionate ethos which was the hallmark of the more advanced religions: brotherhood and social justice were its crucial virtues. A strong egalitarianism would continue to characterize the Islam ideal". What are examples of this from history and current events?
ReplyDelete2. "Islam makes it clear that we only see God in his activities, which adapt his ineffable being to our consciousness of the Face or the Self of God that surrounds them on all sides: "Wheresoever you turn, there is the Face of al-Lah." Related to current events??
3. While reading this specific chapter (with Smith), I find that Armstrong favors this particular chapter because this is her religion that she practices. It seems that it's more of her opinion and her thoughts, with facts because the chapter in lengthy than the others. Is it possible that Armstrong is speaking for Islam for the whole the world to know and understand compared to the chapters and Smith's book? (B/c she is well known and she converted to Islam)
ReplyDelete