Monday, January 26, 2004
Mohammad’s Social Reformation
A Humanistic Perspective of Mohammadand Today’s Islamic World
It is somewhat perplexing that it's more of a formidable task to locate authoritative information on Mohammed and the Qur'an than it is to ferret out nonpartisan eruditions concerning Christianity. There is an endless array of Christian scholarly sources that report in great detail about academically researched Christian “histories." Similarly, there's a countless divergence of trumpeters communicating a diversity of traditionally acclaimed Christian abstractions; nonetheless, identifying misleading derogatory or fanatical testimony derived from the aforesaid prevaricating scripters usually requires only minimal effort.
The same cannot be said of Mohammed and the religion of Islam. Although much has been written about Islam, it requires considerably more thought to decipher a writer's biases. It appears that too many documents, both affirmative and negative, were not written dispassionately, leaving the impression that some of the "facts" were modified to support the writer's own beliefs. The ensuing dissertation is an endeavor to convey an unbiased analysis of Mohammad and the religion created around his philosophy. Every attempt has been made to employ authoritative objective sources that were neither trying to discredit or embellish the merits of Islam.
Contrary to popular thought, it’s conceivable that Mohammed's mission was not to found a new religion or establish a theocratic Arab state, but to bring about a social revolution through teaching that encompassed political and social as well as religious principles. His objective was to unite the Arabs who were a divided people, broken up into various tribes who were constantly at war with each other.
Life of Muhammad (various disseminated spelling of his name: Muhammed, Muhammad, Mohammed,
Mohammad, Muhamed, Muhamad, Mohamed, Mohamad)Muhammad appears to be one of a multitude of figures of our past whose legend has grown so greatly that the actual facts of his life seem difficult to discern. Partly as a consequence of this, many scholars today seem utterly at odds with one another over who this man was and how we should regard him. Yet still the vast majority of the non Muslim world appears to be unknowing about Muhammad, his life and teachings.
By and large, there is a belief among Muslims that we have accurate eyewitness reports for every aspect of Muhammad's life. It is not unlike similar beliefs among conservative Christians regarding Jesus and Orthodox Jews regarding Moses. However, the "fact" of a complete historical record lies more in a need to believe than in a sound foundation based on confirmed historical evidence.
The earliest accounts we have of Mohammad date to 750 C.E. with the book about the Life of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq, more than one hundred years after Muhammad's death. We don't have any original copies of Ibn Ishaq's work - we only have a later recension by Ibn Hisham (a recension is a critical revision of a text which incorporates plausible elements which can be found in varying sources). Because Hisham died in 834 C.E. that means that our earliest sources appear to be around two hundred years after Muhammad died.
Given that, gnaw on a grain of salt when you read the following few paragraphs - a description of Muhammad's life derived primarily from excerpts of Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.
Muhammad was born in Mecca. His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six. Mohammad was then raised by his uncle. Pensive and withdrawn in temperament, he displayed an acute moral sensitivity at an early age, and he was known as al-Amin (“the trusted one”). Like his fellow tribesmen, he became a trader and made several journeys to Syria, where he may have met and conversed with both Christians and Jews. He then began to manage the business of a rich widow, Khadija. She was greatly impressed by both his honesty and ability, and she shortly offered him marriage, which he accepted at the age of 25.
Muhammad probably heard Christians and Jews expound their religious views at commercial fairs in Mecca. In order to contemplate the questions they raised, he periodically withdrew to a cave outside Mecca to meditate. During one of these retreats he was said to have experienced a vision of the archangel Gabriel, who reportedly proclaimed him a prophet of Allah (which means "the God" in Arabic). His wife and his cousin Ali became his first followers, and eventually he began to recite in public the verses of his revelation. Throughout his life he announced other, similar revelations, many of which were ultimately collected and came to be known as the Qur'an (Koran). He gained some prominent converts, but the
movement grew slowly. His coverts came to be known as Muslims. Today, the word Muslim means one who submits and implies complete submission to the rule of God. Historically, of course, it is entirely possible that the earliest Muslims did not have a clear notion of the religious implication of the term, although its later theological development is entirely consistent and logical.Insisting on the necessity of social reform, Muhammad advocated improving the lot of slaves, orphans, women, and the poor as well as replacing tribal loyalties with fellowship among all Arabs. This egalitarian and reformist tendency quickly aroused the enmity of the rich merchants who dominated Mecca. They also feared that his preaching would threaten to eliminate the profitable pilgrimage to the pagan shrine of Kaaba. As time progressed, he became more unpopular with the so-called important people of Mecca and at one point they plotted his murder. No longer welcomed in Mecca, he was approached by a delegation from Yathrib (later Medina), a city about 300 km (about 186 miles) to the north that was divided by tribal feuds. They asked him to arbitrate the feuds, offering him considerable authority. After careful negotiations, Muhammad accepted and asked his followers to emigrate from Mecca to Medina. Muhammad was soon given supreme authority in Medina, and he began to carry out social reforms and establish ritual practices that would eventually become known as the religion of Islam. He promulgated a charter that specified the rights and relationships of the Muslims, Jews, and other groups of the city.
The Meccan’s, meanwhile, persisted in their hostility toward Muhammad and demanded his extradition along with his Meccan followers. In 624, the first major battle occurred between the supporters of Muhammad in Medina and the people of Mecca when the Meccan’s assaulted the territories of Medina. Despite Medina’s inferiority in numbers and weapons, the Meccan’s were not victorious. In the next major battle a year later, the Meccan’s once again had the advantage but was unable to achieve a decisive victory. A Meccan army of 10,000 besieged Medina in 627 but failed to take the city. Some sources report that following each of the first two battles Mohammad expelled two of the three Jewish tribes in Medina, and after the third major battle he had the males of the remaining tribe executed because they had sided with the Meccan’s. In 630, the Meccan’s, who were unable to conquer Medina after years of fighting and were crippled by the severing of their trade routes by the Medians, finally submitted peacefully to Muhammad. He treated the city generously, declaring a general amnesty. As tribal delegations arrived in Mecca from throughout Arabia, their tribes soon converted to followers of Muhammad, who then became the most powerful leader in Arabia.
As their new leader, he ordered the destruction of the idols in the Kaaba, a place of pilgrimage in Mecca. He granted Jews and Christians religious autonomy as “peoples of the Book,” whose revelations predated his own. On his last visit to Mecca, at the time of the annual pilgrimage, he gave a sermon in which he summarized his reforms, declared the brotherhood of Muslims, and repudiated all distinctions of class, color, and race. (Even today Islam officially rejects racism). He died suddenly in Medina about a year later on June 8, 632. There are conflicting reports that he was poisoned by a vindictive Jewish matron; however, some say he was poisoned years earlier but survived, and suffered the effects of the poison until his death in 632.
Muhammad's predecessors Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat Umar Farooq devised a system they thought was needed to sustain the religious and political stability of Islam. Accepting the name of caliph ("deputy of the Prophet"), Abu-Bakr began a military exhibition to enforce the caliph's authority over the Arabian followers of Muhammad. While Mohammad only waged war as a defensive measure Bakr went on the offensive moving north, overtaking some of the Byzantine and Persian territory. Abu-Bakr died two years after his succession of Muhammad and was succeeded by Umar Farooq as the second caliph. Farooq continued Bakr’s militant course of action and began military campaigns against other neighboring empires. By the 640s, Arabs possessed most of Syria, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt. Thirty years later they were conquering parts of Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. Islamic leaders who followed would eventually go on to conquer an area greater than the Roman Empire at its peak. These conquests, which were unjustifiable and imperialistic in nature, in all likelihood were characteristically secular and not necessarily inspired by Mohammad or the Qur’an. The inhabitants of these conquered regions were not required to convert to the religion of Islam but could do so if they desired. Jews and Christians in Muslim territories could live according to their own religious law, in their own communities, and were exempted from military service if they accepted the position of dhimmis, or tolerated subject peoples. This status entailed recognition of Muslim authority, additional taxes, prohibition on proselytism among Muslims, and certain restrictions on political rights.
Some sources have also communicated that Muslims perpetrated inhumane acts of brutality upon some captured communities as if this somehow necessarily reflected upon the actual teachings of Muhammad or the Qur'an. Details with respect to these atrocities seem to be inconclusive because the breath of reported information does not appear to be expressed objectively or with supported facts. The same holds true to Muslims efforts to candidly refute such charges without partiality.
Try this link for details on Islam, the early community and Islamic imperialism
Within in a few decades following Muhammad’s demise Islamic leadership became fractionalized resulting in a disintegration of political unity. As a result of this fragmentation a major division of Islam arose over questions of leadership of the Muslim community, not over issues of doctrine. Only later did the sects of the Sunnites (now constituting about 90 percent of all Muslims) and the Shi'ites evolve with divergent emphases in Islamic doctrine and practice. A minority third group, ultimately emerged, who were not satisfied with the outward observances and rituals of religion. They wanted, instead, a religion of inner experience, an asceticism that renounced the luxuries of the world and devoted itself purely to obedience to God. By the 8th century, this group became known as Sufis. This legion of ascetics were similar to the monks who appeared early in the history of Christianity. Yet all three groups have continued to recognize each other as Muslims on the basis of allegiance to Allah/God.
Also subsequent to Muhammad's death, his followers began to embellish the story of his life with mythology, probably derived in part from accounts of the founders of other religions. The story of Muhammad's ascension to heaven from Jerusalem, for instance, seems to have been modeled on the ascension of Jesus. Muhammad's heart, his early followers asserted, was miraculously cleansed of all unworthy thoughts when he was a boy of 12, and he was declared (as were other prophets of other religions) immune from error and able to intercede on the behalf of sinners. Although the Qur'an explicitly denies that Muhammad performed any miracles, many of his followers soon credited him with many miraculous feats. Muslims, however, have always attributed their religion to God alone and repudiate any suggestion of the prophet's divinity.
The fact that Muhammad was a man of strong convictions, remarkable abilities and was a dominating presence seems evident by the establishment and rapid expansion of Islam, which had to overcome the traditional idolatry and tribal jealousies of the Arabs and the opposition of their most powerful leaders.
His influence on world history is unquestionable; many rank him near or at the top of the most influential people in history because he is credited with being the only man to have been both a founder of a major world religion and a major military/political leader. Moreover, he continues to have a dramatic impact on modern life and politics today.
Islam - an interlacing and reinterpretation of Judaism and Christianity
Beginning as the faith of a small community of believers in Arabia at some point in the 7th Century, Islam rapidly became one of the major world religions. (However, many followers of Islam believe that the origins of Islam date back to the creation of the world). Today Islam is the second-largest religion in the world ( approximately 1.2 billion followers) after Christianity, and is also the fastest-growing religion. The core of this faith is the belief that Muhammad (c. 570-632), a respected businessman from Mecca, reportedly received revelations from God (analogous to Christian beliefs about Saul/Paul) that have been preserved in the Qur'an.
A second source of authority for the Islamic religion, which began development approximately two centuries after his death, is known as the Hadith. It’s reported to be the record of the Prophet Muhammad's precepts, actions, and life, which constitute his Sunna, or example. Today it is accepted as a chief source of Islamic belief and practice and is secondary in importance only to the Qur'an. The six canonical Sunnite collections of Hadith, which date from the 9th century, and the corresponding Shiite collections of the 10th and 11th centuries delineate the various relationships among individuals and between the individual and God. They include provisions of law, discussions of theological matters, such as methods of fasting and prayer, and codes of personal, social, and commercial conduct.
Hypothetically it appears that the evolution of the religion of Islam in many ways parallels the development of Christianity.
Like Christianity, Islam began with a positive message, and it was only later that parts of the religion were hijacked by well-meaning patriarchs by means of fundamentalist interpretations and beliefs. This is not to say the religions were consciously corrupted, but that they were altered from their original abstractions by pious dignitaries with good intentions.
By way of illustration, following the crucifixion of Jesus, Biblical patriarchs developed what they decided should be the foundational truths of Christianity (The Atonement Doctrine and the Salvation Doctrine).
Likewise, sometime during the first three centuries after the death of Muhammad Islamic patriarchs determined what they perceived were to be the most fundamental obligations of all Muslims (Five Pillars of Islam) and began to strictly regulate these practices through Islamic law. Each of these pillars (1.Testimony of Faith 2. Prayer 3. Charity 4. Fasting during Ramadan 5. A Once in a Lifetime Pilgrimage to Mecca.) are alluded to in various sections of the Qur’an, though none are described in any great detail.
It's conjectured Mohammed, much like Jesus, never envisioned he was laying the foundation for a new religion. What he was merely trying to do was bring his particular understanding of the religion of the Jews and the Christians to the Arabs. The Qur'an, the Sacred Scripture of Islam, repeatedly explains that Mohammed did not want to expunge the revelations brought by Adam, Abraham, Moses or Jesus. The Qur'an mentions the Torah and the Gospel as scriptures revealed by God to Moses and Jesus. Most of Mohammed's teaching conformed to the teaching of the bible including the concepts of heaven and hell in the future life, the existence of Satan who drives people to sin and that the world will come to an end in a great judgment day. The Qur’an also says that punishment is the fate of those guilty of hypocrisy (false religion), murder, theft, adultery, luxury, dishonesty, and other sins, which corresponds with the doctrine of the Christian and Judaist Ten Commandments. Additionally, like the Bible, the Qur’án gives accounts of the creation of the universe by God, the creation of Adam and Eve, Noah and the great flood as well as Moses and the exodus. Various Quranic rituals also identify closely with Old Testament practices such as circumcision, fasting and dietary restrictions. Moreover, contrary to common belief by some Westerners, the Qur’an also expressly forbids suicide.
Conversely to Orthodox Christian and Judaic beliefs, the Qur'an indicates that over time changes were made to the actual Biblical texts because of commentary blended with the original text, as well as losses to the texts through transmission, and other causes. Mohammed’s notation about the likelihood of numerous evolutions of the Bible is consistent with most Western scholarly assessment today, but is ridiculed as blasphemous by conservative Christians and Jews.
Abrahamic Monotheistic Religions
A major sore point with respect to these Biblical changes is that Jews, Christians and Muslims all consider themselves as Abraham's (the Old Testaments patriarch) spiritual offspring. However, Abraham's message was divided into separate religions as a direct result of his two sons Ishmael and Isaac. Muslims claim the first born son, Ishmael, was an apostle, prophet, and the legitimate successor. Christians and Jews believe it can only be Isaac the son resulting from conception within the marriage of Sarah and Abraham. Muslims, who consider themselves to be the descendents of Ishmael, view Ishmael’s mother, Hagar as the true wife of Abraham, and Ishmael as his favored son. In the Muslim version of the unrealized sacrifice of his son by Abraham, it was Ishmael, not Isaac (as the Old Testament states) who was offered for sacrifice. This dispute has served to deepen the division between the religions.
This division is further exacerbated between Muslims and Christians by the failure of Muhammad and his followers (as well as Jews) to accept the divinity of Jesus. Muslims believe God is spiritual, not flesh, and never had any human attributes. However, this belief was not unusual even for many early Christians, and is still applicable to a great number of modern day believers of the Christian faith.
For more detailed information about the basic beliefs of Islam try this link.
On the surface Judaism and Christianity appear far more closely linked to each other than either is to Islam. As the term "Judeo-Christian tradition" implies, these two faiths share deep bonds and a long history; in contrast, Islam seems alien. The reason for this is theologically, the Old Testament is central to Judaism and Christianity, while Islam respects the Bible, it highly favors the Qur'an.
Notwithstanding this position, Judaism and Christianity differ profoundly in religious terms; the real resemblance is between Judaism and Islam. Most basically, Judaism and Islam emphasize correct action and Christianity stresses correct faith. Jews and Muslims are more concerned with fulfilling God's commandments while their Christians counterparts concentrate on attitude and feelings for Christ.
Muslims today believe that Islam proclaims a practical synthesis of Judaism and Christianity for all humanity. Overcoming the incompleteness of Judaism and the incongruity of Christianity, Islam brings to fulfillment all that Judaism and Christianity anticipated. For the Muslim believer, Islam is perfected Judaism and perfected Christianity.
What seems to be difficult for Westerners to comprehend (besides the language barrier) about the Islamic religion is that the doctrine implemented by Muhammad was through his perceptions as an Arab in the 7th Century, much like the Old Testament was compiled through the breadth of view of the Hebrews thousands of years earlier. What we need to be aware of is that people of ancient times, from completely different cultures, had considerably different sets of values and belief systems than those we hold today. Mohammad inaugurated a social reform movement utilizing what he conceived as divine revelations he received from God, as well as 7th Century Arab customs and traditions. Many of these customs and rituals may seem repugnant to Westerners today. However, these same Westerners should not forget the many repugnant Hebrew customs and events that were socially acceptable by the patriarchs of the Old Testament, like stoning people to death for things such as blaspheme or adultery, and were most likely common practices at that point in time.
In unison with this concept of archaic ritualism, another important element of Islam that outsiders should be cognizant of, is that over the centuries most Christians and Jews have abandoned many of the customary rituals that their respective religions practiced for centuries, whereas, a majority of Muslims remain committed to a great deal of their early religious culture and ritual rites. A case in point is the discontinuance by Christians to embrace the 2nd commandment of the Ten Commandments “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images”, (pictures or figurines) whereas; this commandment continues to be faithfully adhered to by Muslim today. Another illustration is the time-honored principle in Islamic law that everything harmful to human mind, body and soul is prohibited in Islam. Thus, modern day Orthodox Muslims adhere to this age-old right and are proscribed from drinking alcohol, taking illicit drugs, gambling and eating pork. (The doctrine of not eating pork comes from the Old Testament).
Unfortunately, many of these customs, because they are ancient, sometimes seem inane to a large measure of the modern day western population. As a further example, most Westerners have difficulty in accepting the venerable Muslim posture with respect to women wearing veils (a veil is anything that covers or conceals). Albeit, most are unaware that the veil is not a uniquely Islamic convention; the practice has a long history in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Catholic nuns still engage in the practice and there are several references to the practice in both the Old and New Testaments. Ironically, the representations of veiling in the Bible are much more problematic than those in the Qur'an or the Hadith, because some of the Judeo-Christian sources imply that women should be covered because they were viewed as not being equal to men. (a case in point, I Corinthians 11: 2-16).
Even though many Muslims are faithful to numerous archaic rites, that’s not to say there has not been a modernist movement within the Islamic religion, however, the obvious conflict between traditionalists and modernists is unmistakable. Traditionalists are committed to the original beliefs and practices of Islam, including faithfulness to a literal understanding of Qur'anic law and its applications to contemporary life. Modernists believe that the principles, goals, and fundamental purposes of religious law are unchanging, but the specific forms in which the eternal truths are expressed must change constantly in the face of changing human circumstances.
A Clinical Assessment of the Islamic World Today
As an endnote about the Qur’an/Koran, (literally, Reading, or Recitation) it is regarded by Muslims as the Word, or Speech, of God delivered to Mohammad by the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last Prophet, following Moses (the Torah) and Jesus (the New Testament), to received Divine Revelation from God. It reputedly contains religious, social, civil, commercial, military and legal codes. It was supposedly composed at various times in the last 23 years of the life of Mohammed. It is believed he dictated some fragment of his revelation and they were written upon parchment, leather or palm-leaves. Other revelations were memorized by his followers. The fragments were not collected into a single document (the Qur’an) until after the death of Mohammad. Only years following his death was a search ordered to collect all fragments, both written and oral, that were presupposed as part of Mohammad’s Qur’an and to bring them together. The fragments, says tradition, were made into a manuscript. Even though it is considered that each passage taken separately fulfills an intelligible purpose, we cannot be sure that Mohammed wanted all these fragments gathered into one book. Many of them may have been arguments to the man or the moment; and like the Bible they can hardly be understood without the commentary of history and tradition.
The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths. Each chapter possesses a title, usually a word mentioned within the chapter itself. In general the longer chapters appear earlier in the Quran, while the shorter ones appear later. As such, the arrangement is not connected to the sequence of Muhammad’s revelations.
The Qur'ān retells stories of many of the people and events recounted in Jewish and Christian Bible although it differs in many details. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Heber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Ezra, Zechariah, Jesus, and John the Baptist are mentioned in the Qur'an as prophets of God. Muslims believe the common elements or resemblances between the Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings and Islamic dispensations is due to the common divine source, and that the Christian or Jewish texts were authentic divine revelations given to prophets.
The Qur'anic text assumes familiarity with many events from Jewish and Christian scriptures, retelling some of these events in distinctive ways, and referring obliquely to others. It rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events; the Qur'an's emphasis is typically on the moral significance of an event, rather than its narrative sequence.
Generally it is believed by many, if not all Muslims and in particular by non-Muslims that there is one authentic interpretation of the Qur'an. It is far from true. Even the closest companions of the Muhammad differed from each other in understanding various verses. Also, since there is no concept of official church in Islam no one interpretation can command following of a majority of Muslims, let alone all Muslims. There is hardly any major issue on which the Muslim ulama (community of legal scholars of Islam) does not differ. These differences, more often than not are due to different interpretations of the Qur'anic text.
It is because of this that every sect or school of thought has its own orthodox and liberal followers. There is Shi'ah orthodoxy or Sunni orthodoxy, Isma'ili orthodoxy or Bohra orthodoxy, Hanafi orthodoxy or Shafi'i orthodoxy and so on. It is not only this, there are now scholars who are modern and liberal thinkers and are looking at the Qur'anic text from modern liberal perspective.
To complicate matters further most Muslims belief the Qur’an has concealed meanings. The existence of the Qur'anic initial letters (letters placed at the beginning of 29 chapters of the Qur’an) is often mentioned in connection with this belief. The authority of the person or persons who can extract these meanings is the matter of debate.
The Qur'an's teachings on matters of war and peace have become topics of heated discussion in recent years. Some critics allege that some verses of the Qur'an in their historical and literary context sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after. In response to this criticism, some Muslims argue that such verses of the Qur'an are taken out of context and claim that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Qur'an prohibits aggression and allows fighting only in self defense.
The Qur’an certainly speaks about war and jihad. But when we consider all statements in the Qur’an about war, and also take into consideration the circumstances prevailing at the time of the revelation of each, we could very well conclude that the annotations mentioned in the Qur’an were about war for defensive purposes. But we have to add here that being defensive does not necessarily mean that one must wait until they are attacked before taking to arms. It means that they may take measures to remove the threat of aggression. There are widespread movements of spiritual and cultural revivalism in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Many of them are critical of Western influence and seek a return to the authentic roots of their own traditions. A small number of these movements use violent means to achieve political goals. These are what are usually referred to in the West as fundamentalists. Like many Christian and Jewish fundamentalist they believe in what they construe as a literal reading and strict application of their holy books, but in practice they emphasizes those portions that suit their needs. More mainstream Muslims consider such movements as deviations from authentic Islam. The violence and terror perpetrated today in the name of Mohammad’s Qur’an are at the hands of very dangerous religious radical fundamentalists that have made their own personal elucidation of what they feel the Qur’an says. They also seem to make up their own moral and ethical codes. Regardless of how faithful these contingents feel they are to the religion of Islam, they can no longer be construed as mainstream followers of Muhammad’s ideology.
By way of illustration, a Mohammedan doctrine that is probably one of the most misunderstood and is both intentionally and unintentionally misinterpreted by a multitude of Westerners and Muslim extremist is the concept of jihad. Muslims are called upon to be engaged in jihad, meaning "striving." The basic jihad is the struggle of the self, to speak about one's faith, to bring it in obedience to God, and to make sure that one is living a holy and righteous life. Another struggle is jihad as "holy war" fought only when the faith is being attacked or when Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith. Very few traditional Muslims that are true to Mohammad call for the "jihad of the sword" even in circumstances they believe to be wrongful.
For more detailed information about jihad try this link.
Correspondingly, few people realize that ancient literature written thousands of years ago such as the Old Testament, the Christian Bible and the Qur’an are extremely difficult texts for a layman to understand in their proper context. These texts are probably misinterpreted daily by most readers. Over the centuries words have evolved and now have completely different meanings. Furthermore, allegorical, metaphorical and parabolic words and phrases which aren't literally accurate are often used in these texts and are open to an infinite number of translations.
It is also extremely difficult to interpret ancient writing systems without knowing the original meaning or context in which any given word or phase was used.
An added challenge to obtaining an accurate interpretation of the Qur’an is that the initial Quranic transcripts, which were written in early Arabic, were like the earliest Hebrew manuscripts (Old Testament), in that the texts were written only with consonants and without vowels. Texts without vowels can be translated in a number of ways. This means word choice is made from a number of candidates. Hence, the same words can be vocalized differently which changes their meaning and thus the interpretation.
The first step toward understanding the intent and substance of such writing as expressed by its author is to gain knowledge about the then developing written language. That is to understand how recorded letters and symbols were used to state the meaning of words, and about the dialects of the time.
The point is, even with the benefit of scholarly research, a somewhat accurate reading of any ancient text is a difficult task. Hence, a total mistranslation or a self-serving interpretation of the Qur’an by extremists (or any one else for that matter) should not be construed as extraordinary.
If the historical information about Muhammad is depicted even somewhat accurately, it is doubtful Muhammad would have shown any compassion for anyone committing unfounded acts of terror. As previously recounted, he did not take up arms against his enemy until he was forced to do so.
It's quiet plausible that the animosity displayed by a significant part (not the majority) of the Islamic nation toward the West is a culmination of many factors, some obvious, others obscure and not easily identified. The most obvious reasons for the anger probably begin with the antagonistic attitude that the Western Christian world has displayed toward Islam since its inception.
Though, for the last few centuries, Christian exclusivism and the Christian superiority-complex in relation to the members of other faiths has been an irritant to people of all belief systems that are not Christian.
For Muslims this problem was even further exacerbated during the infamous Christian Crusades of 1096-1310 AD.
Ill will against the West was fostered even more in the first half of the 20th Century when many Middle Eastern countries suffered under the colonial rule of European superpowers, primarily England and France.
During this same period the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 by Western powers sent shock waves throughout the Muslim world.
Another obvious issue is that many conservative Muslims dislike the risqué lifestyle they perceive as being led by Westerners. Unfortunately, too much of this perception comes from Western television and movies, which often accentuate lewd behavior. However, the same disdain of Western ethics is discerned by millions of conservative Christian Fundamentalist who perceive a great deal of Western moral conduct as lascivious.
An uncertain explanation for some Muslim condemnation may be simple jealousy and envy of Western wealth.
On the positive side, only a minority of Muslims support terrorists and their attacks on the West. Essentially all of the Islamic governments fear bin Laden and similar terrorists as a major destabilizing influence on their own regimes and a major threat to world peace and security.
It does appear, however, that present-day animosity to Westerners by Arabs seems to be on the rise. In all likelihood the principal reasons for this growing proclivity of resentment is a result of U.S. and European policies favoring Israel and a growing fear of a possible reinstatement of some obscure form of Western imperialism. In addition, most Westerners fail to grasp the concept that Islam is not only a religion, but a way of life where moral, spiritual, social, political, economical and intellectual facets of life are inextricably and indivisibly interconnected. Hence, many Muslims unfortunately feel an attack on any Muslim country, no matter how corrupt it may be, by a non-Muslim country is seen as an attack on the religion of Islam.
Furthermore, the religious intolerance exhibited worldwide by conservative Jews, Christians and Muslims seems to be increasing.
As a point of interest, Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities. Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population of the world. There are approximately five million Muslims in North America. Russia has a higher percentage of Muslims than any West European country, reported to be between 13 and 20 percent of the population.
Also of interest, there are an estimated 14 Million Christians leaving in Arab countries or about 5-6 % of their total population.
In closing, it should be cited that the Muslim community enjoyed several centuries of superiority over the Western world. Their civilization was driven more than anything, by invention (not a drive for wealth). Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the future building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined and charted the human body and found cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration.
However, since the 13th Century, the sphere of the Islamic influence as a world power has declined considerably. As a result of centuries of recurring military defeats, the respect they once commanded as a significant global military force has utterly ceased to exist. Virtually every Islamic country’s stature and military capacity has become ineffectual relative to Western powers. Their decent was abetted by extended periods of European colonization in Muslim countries in the Middle East, India, Arabia, Malaysia and a significant part of Africa. This oppressive colonialism coupled with a long succession of non-elective leaders (many who were unscrupulous and exploited their own people) had to have a devastating impact on the lack of economic development in the Islamic world.
Nevertheless, this seemingly was not the absolute decisive factor of their economic stagnation. As the West began to embrace secularism, the Islam community was left behind, especially during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th, 19th and the early 20th centuries, a time when Europe and America reached an apex by means of the development of natural resources and through true laissez-faire capitalism. This was the time in Western history when there was little to no restriction on commerce and an inconsiderable appreciation for the working class. A period when the West had been moving away from its predominantly spiritualistic character toward a more materialistic society and Christendom was evolving from a fundamentally theocratic church/state arrangement to a more temporal social structure of separation of church and state.
In all probability conservative Muslims would have had a different perception of these capitalistic changes, considering them to be motivated by greed and unrelenting ambition, therefore morally and religiously unacceptable to many of the conservative adherents of Islam. Their mindset would have been more in tune with a socialistic society as opposed to capitalistic opportunism. Islamic conservative attitudes looked more to the past and the values of the old days.
During the Industrial Revolution, most Islamic countries did not decline economically but, their economies evolved at only a fraction of the pace achieved by Western economies.
It was the conservative position of the Christian religion that suppressed the sciences, the arts, literature and music in the West for more than a thousand years during the Dark Ages, whereas, during Europe’s Dark period the Islamic world flourished in almost every discipline. In fact what Europeans call the "Dark Ages" was the golden age of civilization for Muslims. The Early Islamic religion encouraged learning and knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself.
Throughout the Industrial Revolution, it well could have been the conservative posture of the religion of Islam that discouraged the Islamic culture from aggressively participating in the revolution. Whatever the reasons, Western productivity during the industrial revolution thrust the West into modernity while leaving behind a once proud Islamic world, resulting in a large Muslim population of impoverished and bewildered people.
Unfortunately, poverty stricken and disconcerted people, many of which feel disenfranchised, are a very receptive audience for radical ideals. They are frequently the perfect target group for exploitation by fanatics and extremists.
We’ve seen such exploitation all through history by political organizations such as the divergent Communist parties that exploited the already exploited peasant classes of Eurasia.
Likewise, we've seen political leaders such as Hitler, who exploited the impoverished and disgruntled German people.
We’ve also seen a manifold of religious leaders in the U.S. like David Koresh, Jim Jones along with numerous televangelist exploit the poor, the elderly and the emotionally distraught.
Even though poverty does not provide justification for acts of terror, we are presently seeing Middle Eastern rebellious organizations, disguised as both religious and political emancipators, exploit the frustrated, the poor and those that feel politically and economically excluded. Regrettably, as has been the case throughout history, a measure of these discontented and disillusioned people can often be manipulate and convinced to do almost anything, including committing suicidal acts and the killing of innocent people. (Especially if they conceive it to be by authority of a religion).
The Curse of the Infidel
This commentary was inspired by an editorial set forth by a special journalist and scholar in this field of study. The article is entitled “The Curse of the Infidel,” by Karen Armstrong. The theme of her discourse is how at the beginning of the 20th century, nearly every single Muslim intellectual was in love with the West and she focuses on the question of why has it all come about-face in a single century.
She has several interesting observation about the history of Islam. She points out that Islam, for example, was not the intolerant or violent religion of Western fantasy. The Qur'an, the inspired scripture he brought to the Arabs, condemns aggressive warfare and permits only a war of self-defense. When Mohammed fought, it was because he was forced to fight against the city of Mecca, which had vowed to exterminate his new Muslim community. After five years of warfare, Mohammed turned to more peaceful methods and finally conquered Mecca by an ingenious campaign of non-violence. After the prophet's death, the Muslims established a vast empire that stretched from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas, yet even these (ill-famed) wars of conquest were secular, and were only given a religious interpretation after the event.
In the Islamic empire, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians enjoyed religious freedom. This reflected the teaching of the Qur’an, which is a pluralistic scripture, affirmative of other traditions. Muslims are commanded by God to respect the "people of the book", and reminded that they share the same beliefs and the same God. (However, decades after Mohammad’s death political unity of Islam began to disintegrate and various Caliphs, Emirs, Sultans, as well as other nobles who had gained territorial power deviated from Mohammad’s original message and were known to implement restrictions and taxes on non-Muslims in occupied territories. In all likelihood these constraints intensified after the nefarious Christian crusades. Additionally sometime beginning in the ninth century some Emirs (lesser princes) oftentimes would behave like rulers and sometimes like pirates. Commanding armies and small fleets of ships, these princes had the run of the Western Mediterranean because there was no Christian power with a fleet. This left the coasts vulnerable to adventurers and left Christian merchant fleets at their mercy as well.)
Armstrong goes on to say the Qur'an gives women legal rights of inheritance and divorce, which Western women would not receive until the 19th century. The Qur'an does permit men to take four wives, but this was not intended to pander to male lust. It was a matter of social welfare: it enabled widows and orphans (as a result of 5 years of war) to find a protector, without whom it was impossible for them to survive in the harsh conditions of 7th-Century Arabia. (The concept of multiple wives was also employed by numerous patriarchs in the Old Testament.)
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In whole, this article should be construed as the opinion of its author; however, in all likelihood it's shared at least in part by a significant number of others. The historical information related in this essay was from Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002, Encyclopedia Britannica 2003, Funk and Wagnall's New Encyclopedia, several documentaries and numerous Internet web sites. The author does not claim to have a commanding knowledge of the Islamic religion but does have a solid knowledge of history and religions in general and has made a discernible effort in the research of information reported in this commentary. Albeit, if you wish to have a more complete and accurate overview of any topic, it’s recommended that you never use any single source of information regardless of how authoritative you feel it might be.
If you wish to share your thoughts on this commentary please feel free to respond through the comment link at the end of this article or e-mail me at (historiography101 AT yahoo .com)
“If we are to respect others' religions as we would have them to respect our own, a friendly study of the world's religion is a sacred duty.”
-------Mahatma Gandhi
