When most people hear Islam, a stereotype might pop into mind. Perhaps you see people who wear turbans, or clothing very different from ours. Some may revert to the attacks on 9/11 as Jamie talked about in her post. For me, I knew a stereotype popped into my head, but I realized that most of what I thought was actually ignorance, lack of knowledge on the subject.
Islam is very similar to Christianity. According to what we talked about in class, they have five articles of faith. 1.) belief in one god, or Allah. 2.) Believe in angels as bearers of Divine revelation. 3.) Belief in old and new testament
4.) belief in validity of previous prophets such as Moses, and Abraham. Finally, Islam believes in the coming of the final judgment day. Like Christianity, they also have a book by which they abide. Where Christians have the bible, Islamic people have the Qur'an which are revelations about what people are supposed to do at certain times. Muslims, people who adhere to the Islamic faith also believe Muhammad, the prophet of Allah, is the seal of God. In class, my professor explained this as such: where the other religions had failed God, the Islamic faith and followers would not, and Muhammad was thus the last prophet from God, because they would not fail.
In the Islamic faith, there are also five pillars. First, there is daily prayer, five times a day. Second, is fasting during Ramadan. Next, is charity (tithe) and last is a pilgrimage to Mecca or Haji.
As much as it is a religion, or a following, it is also a system of social organization. As stated earlier, the Qur'an is a book of revelations of what people should do in certain instances. Along with this, there is the Hadith, which are stories about the life of Muhammad. However, these alone cannot rule or lead a people alone, and so Sharia was created: which is a code of Islamic law. According to my notes, this extends ritual law to all aspects of human life. So, it is essentially how to apply teachings to everyday life.
Within Islam, there are to sects, or types is another way to put it. You may have heard of the Shia, and the Suni. These are basically two different followings of one religion. The split happened when Ali, Muhammad's son in law did not receive the honor of being the first caliph, or deputy after Muhammad's death. It instead went to Ali Bakr. The division begun here. Long story short, Ali was very angry he was not elected as the first caliph. He was later made the fourth caliph, however conflicts arose, and Ali and a vast majority of his followers were assassinated. Those who survived became the sect of the Shia, and follow Ali and the dynastic ideas. (A fancy way to say they believed in the rule of the dynasty, that the successor of an empire should be a son or close relative of the previous empire.
The other sect, the Suni (Which is the majority of the Islamic following) Follows Abu (the first caliph talked about earlier) and the idea that whoever is most capable to lead, should.
Islam in my mind is a different form of Christianity. I find the ideas of Islam, and it's pillars to make a lot of sense, and I have a greater understanding of the faith. I was very intrigued to find Islam is also a social structure, as well as a religion. I hope my post has given you a different idea of Islam, and perhaps changed a stereotype.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Islam Influences in the Western World
When most people of our generation think of Islam, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, the first memory of actually understanding what Islam was happened on September 11, 2001. It is a date that many can easily recall. It was a date where planes did not fly overhead. It was a date where many of us can recall exactly where we were when we heard the announcement either first on the radio (in my case) or watched the events unfold on television. It was an event that impacted our lives forever.
Being from the east side of Michigan, my dad works in Dearborn, MI. Outside of the Islamic Empire, it is said to be the area where there is the most gathering of Islamic people. On September 11, 2001, my dad was sent home from work out of his own protection. When that day happened, I did not quite understand the significance of how this all tied together. I was lucky enough, however, to be in tenth grade at the time. My history teacher thought that his students were old enough to understand what was happening in the world around us and he thought that we needed to understand how the Islamic Empire has effected the Western world throughout history. He took three weeks out of his normal lesson to teach us about the Quran. We covered the Five Pillars of Islam and he explained at length the concept of jihad.
Perhaps one of the most significant memories from that three week long lesson consists of learning about the Battle of Granada. How does a city from Spain tie into the Islamic Empire? First, it is important to understand the geography of the Islamic Empire. Here is a detailed map that highlights the Islamic Empire at its height. Spain was one of the many countries that fell to the Islamic Empire, as early as 750 CE. The Spanish Muslims, known as Moors, dominated the country. Their presence was known throughout the country. Moorish architecture is still found today. Here is an example of the Moorish arches that are famous in Spain. Here is yet another example of the Moorish architecture. This last was as far north as Toledo. It is evident that Spain was completely controlled by the Moorish empire.
However, not everyone in Spain wanted the country to continue to be run by the Moors. As early as 1035, the country of Spain is split into two independent halves: Castille and Aragon. This was the beginning of the religious split between Islam and Christianity in Spain. Here is a map that shows the different kingdoms of Spain. Castille took up the central part of Spain, whereas Aragon controlled the northeastern territory. Portugal was already its own independent country and the kingdom of Granada was in the southeastern section of Spain. By 1212, Christian armies were beginning to dominant Spain. This website informs that Christian forces were already pushing the Muslim influence into just the southern part of Spain, and they were slowly trying to force the Moors completely out of Spain. The religious turmoil continues to effect the citizens of Spain. In 1481-1482, a battle that would last for 10 years began. It was the decisive Battle of Granada and in 1491, the Christian empire in Spain finally forced the last of the Moors to leave Spanish borders, fully reclaiming Spain for Christendom.
So how is this an early encounter with Islam? One of the main reasons why Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain agreed to fund Christopher Columbus' attempt to find a northwest passage to the East Indies is because of this decisive victory. Islam was finally gone from the Iberian Peninsula. They saw it more as an opportunity to spread Christianity to the Western World. But without the Islamic influence, it is possible that America never would have been discovered. Or at least, it would have been conquered at a much later date than 1492. It is an early Islamic encounter for the future American people in the sense that the defeat of the Islamic reign gave motive to send out an explorer that would forever change the Western World.
Being from the east side of Michigan, my dad works in Dearborn, MI. Outside of the Islamic Empire, it is said to be the area where there is the most gathering of Islamic people. On September 11, 2001, my dad was sent home from work out of his own protection. When that day happened, I did not quite understand the significance of how this all tied together. I was lucky enough, however, to be in tenth grade at the time. My history teacher thought that his students were old enough to understand what was happening in the world around us and he thought that we needed to understand how the Islamic Empire has effected the Western world throughout history. He took three weeks out of his normal lesson to teach us about the Quran. We covered the Five Pillars of Islam and he explained at length the concept of jihad.
Perhaps one of the most significant memories from that three week long lesson consists of learning about the Battle of Granada. How does a city from Spain tie into the Islamic Empire? First, it is important to understand the geography of the Islamic Empire. Here is a detailed map that highlights the Islamic Empire at its height. Spain was one of the many countries that fell to the Islamic Empire, as early as 750 CE. The Spanish Muslims, known as Moors, dominated the country. Their presence was known throughout the country. Moorish architecture is still found today. Here is an example of the Moorish arches that are famous in Spain. Here is yet another example of the Moorish architecture. This last was as far north as Toledo. It is evident that Spain was completely controlled by the Moorish empire.
However, not everyone in Spain wanted the country to continue to be run by the Moors. As early as 1035, the country of Spain is split into two independent halves: Castille and Aragon. This was the beginning of the religious split between Islam and Christianity in Spain. Here is a map that shows the different kingdoms of Spain. Castille took up the central part of Spain, whereas Aragon controlled the northeastern territory. Portugal was already its own independent country and the kingdom of Granada was in the southeastern section of Spain. By 1212, Christian armies were beginning to dominant Spain. This website informs that Christian forces were already pushing the Muslim influence into just the southern part of Spain, and they were slowly trying to force the Moors completely out of Spain. The religious turmoil continues to effect the citizens of Spain. In 1481-1482, a battle that would last for 10 years began. It was the decisive Battle of Granada and in 1491, the Christian empire in Spain finally forced the last of the Moors to leave Spanish borders, fully reclaiming Spain for Christendom.
So how is this an early encounter with Islam? One of the main reasons why Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain agreed to fund Christopher Columbus' attempt to find a northwest passage to the East Indies is because of this decisive victory. Islam was finally gone from the Iberian Peninsula. They saw it more as an opportunity to spread Christianity to the Western World. But without the Islamic influence, it is possible that America never would have been discovered. Or at least, it would have been conquered at a much later date than 1492. It is an early Islamic encounter for the future American people in the sense that the defeat of the Islamic reign gave motive to send out an explorer that would forever change the Western World.
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