Islam Project
1. When I hear the word “Islam,” I at once receive two images in my mind. First, I receive the imagery that corresponds to my personal feelings about Islam, as a religious and cultural representation and identification of the Arab peoples, in much the same way Christianity traditionally corresponds to Western culture. As a religion, I see Islam as bringing a message of peace and love, as the religion truly is, from its sacred texts. I have not read much of the Koran, but what I have seen has led me to the personal conclusion that Islam is not about terrorism. This brings me to the second image that comes into my mind, that being the conventional bias against Islam. This will be addressed later.
2. The image of an Arab is ultimately connected to the identification of a particular person (who happens to be Arabic) with the general Arab culture, which happens to be Islamic. This is not an attempt to broadly classify all Arabs as Muslims, in much the same way that not all Americans can be said to be Christian, or all Indians as Hindu. However, it is ascertainable that, by and large, many Arabs are in fact Muslim, so, my imagery is not entirely without realistic grounds. When I think of an Arab person, I envision the practice of Islam, in both its inward and outward manifestations. I see the traditional garb, including the turbaned men, or the veiled women, although not all Arab nations require these vestments. Undoubtedly, though, I also see the “negative” attributes which popular media has forced into my psyche, as an American, such as the dependence of women upon men, or some “repressive” ways women are treated. Although I am aware that some of these “negative” attributes are, in fact, not “negative” so much as misunderstood by Americans, and other non-Arabs, at times it is difficult to be discerning rather than judgmental.
3. http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp : This site is what may be perceived as being anti-Islamic. For the purposes of this assignment, it will serve as such, although I do not interpret it as such. The Gospel tract, a common tool used to promote Christianity, is indeed rather flat in its portrayal of the Islamic man, but its intent is not malicious. As I have not been assigned the task of defending this “anti-Islamic” site, I will not do so, although I will say that it is not, indeed, “anti-Islamic,” rather than being merely “pro-Christian.” The overarching commandment of Christianity is to spread the Gospel narrative of Jesus, and, as this is the objective of this site, it is not a traditionally “anti-Islamic” source. Nevertheless, the points of the site are that Allah is a false god, and that those who put their trust in him are, inevitably, going to discover that they have been deceived.
www.islamicvoice.com : This site serves as an effort to be informative about Islam and its traditions, bringing current news events of interest regarding Islam and the Muslim world. The site is large, so it stands as an informative archive. It is pro-Islam, in that it supports the mission of getting the truth of Islam into the public consciousness, rather than the malign stigma many Westerners attach to Islam. The site does not appear to be negative, or biased against predominately Western Christian culture, so much as it strives to be more objective and open involving the struggle between the two cultures/religions.
4. The information taken from the internet focuses more directly upon the religious side of Islam, whereas the textbook focuses more on the social aspect. The "anti-Islamic" site seeks to explain the fallacy of Islam, as seen by the Christian perspective; the "pro-Islamic" website seeks to explain Islam as it exists in its contemporary manifestations, whether of society, culture, or otherwise. The textbook, though, goes in depth into the origins of Islam as a society, not just as a religion. Its treatment of the religious side is rather light, as it does not seek to explain in great depth the theological doctrines of Islam. What the book does, though, is explain the development of Muslim society from its local origin in Mecca, through its expansion as one of the premier social empires in the world.
5. Aside from being able to more readily recognize the importance of certain key cities in Islamic tradition, such as Mecca and Medina (recognizable as holy cities, although the reasons for their importance are more ambiguous without direct historical background), having background allows more understanding of the social traditions of Islam. For example, the practice of women wearing veils might be understood in purely dogmatic terms (of patriarchal dominion), if not for the fact that the practice had been adopted into the Muslim tradition as a result of its previous use in areas which became integrated into the Muslim empire. In light of current media discussion, though, a prominent theme deals with violence. From Islam's inception, violence seems to have been necessary at times, in order for Islam to survive, or expand. Whether considering Muhammad's attack on Mecca, or subsequent expansions of territory, the idea of warfare dates back far into Islam's history. However, this has nothing to do with the religious aspect of Islam; Jews fought wars to expand their territory, as did Christian kings of Europe, often in the name of God. The point is that war and/or violence appears to be a necessary evil, regarding the operation of government and society, but this does not suggest that a religion coming from a warring society is based upon violence or war.
6. In recent times, Islam has suffered the effects of disparaging opinion by many people, not the least of whom are Americans. Terrorism and Islam seem to be synonymous to many people, and this is a regrettable occurrence. Terrorists who claim to be Islamic are akin to Klansmen who claim to be Christian; while they may support the tenets of their faith, they conveniently disregard decrees as they see fit, in order to validate their points of view. Such a practice led to the longstanding "Christian" acceptance of slavery in America's own history, and the same kind of practice today allows "Muslim" terrorists to carry out their agendas of destruction. The problem for Islam, as far as reputation among many Westerners goes, is that many people are not discerning enough to see that the actions of a very small percentage of the general Muslim population are the only people responsible for the terrorist acts which lead so many people to abhor Islam as a whole. Although Islam does not agree with my personal beliefs, it cannot be said that hold Muslims in contempt for the actions of a regrettable minority of their people. Nor should the same be said of anyone, despite personal belief or disbelief.