Islam In The World
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This book is a review of the rights of Muslims, the criticism of Islam, and the condition of Islam in various countries. Views from both the Qur'an, and its cited interpretations, and the views of critics of Islam will be included into discussion.
Historical context
This correct understanding, perversely, first led to wars that united Arab tribes into a nation and later initiated the Islamic Empire and The Golden Age of Islam. This period extended from the second to the ninth century of the Muslim calendar which is the 7th to 13th century after the common epoch (ACE). At this time Islamic scholars evolved new legal, philosophical, and religious understandings. Artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers, and traders in the Islamic world contributed to the arts, agriculture, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving and building upon earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own. Historian Howard Turner noted that: "Muslim artists and scientists, princes and laborers together made a unique culture that has directly and indirectly influenced societies on every continent".
Eventually, the Mongols and Turks that conquered and settled in parts of Persia, Central Asia, Russia, and Anatolia converted to Islam, and formal, inflexible state religions emerged which dictated that there could be no further development of human understanding of God's intent for mankind, and further, prohibited any artistic representation of God's handiwork, thus effectively suppressing inquiry into the natural world.
Elsewhere, much of Islam retreated into traditionalism and the huge technical innovations of the Islamic Golden Age were frequently rejected, except by the medieval Christian invaders of the Iberian Peninsula, who merged Muslim and Byzantine traditions at the beginning of the 13th century ACE. The end of the medieval period marked the beginning of the transformation of European higher education that would eventually result in the modern research universities from which emerged religious reformation and schism (16th – 17th century ACE), academic enlightenment (18 Century ACE) and eventually the hydrocarbon and electronic economy of the 19th and 20th Century ACE.
Islamic orthodoxy was widely imposed by brutal state force from about the 14th century until quite recently, and external developments by Christians and Buddhists were often rejected as 'un-Islamic'. Yet many Muslims continued to evolve new interpretations of their traditional teachings. One of the most controversial of these is the Baha'i Faith, a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia. Baha'i claims to emphasize the spiritual unity and teaches the integration of all religions of all humankind by claiming that God's messengers have included Krishna, Buddha, and others, including Abraham and Christ who were canonized by the author of the central religious text of Islam.
In classical Arabic, Islam is not a proper noun, but a reference to submission or assention. Therefore, this book uses The Assent to refer to Islam as a way of Life and Islam to refer to it as a religion. Similarly, The Assenter refers to the followers of the way of life, while Moslems refers to the followers of the religion. The title of this book uses the word Islam instead of Islamic to further emphasize its descriptive use rather than a proper noun.
Holy Qur'an
The Holy Qur'an as it exists today was compiled by Muhammad's companions (Sahaba) in approximately 650, and is accepted by all Muslim denominations. It was revealed to the Last Prophet of God on Earth, Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and all the prophets and messengers before him. This Last Revelation of God on Earth, was given the Prophet through the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel).
- in Qur'an there is one Souraa about Jesus and there isn't for Prophet Mohammad.
- in Qur'an there is one Souraa about Jesus mother Mariam and there isn't for the Prophet's parents.
This shows emphatically that Muhammad was not the author of the Qur'an, and the Surat about Jesus and Mary, and other Surat in the Qur'an explain that Jesus was a Prophet a messenger from God. Jesus furthermore, as explained in the Qur'an, was born without a father (virgin birth), and that he is not the son of God.
Islam
The Amman Message issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) recognizes eight legal schools of thought (madhāhib) and the varying strains of Islamic theology viz.
- Sunni Hanafi
- Sunni Hanbali
- Sunni Maliki
- Sunni Shafi'i
- Shia Ja`fari
- Shia Zaidiyyah
- Ibadi
- Zahiri
Islam in the world
Relation with other religions
- Christianity
- Judaism
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
Muslim
One that accepts and has publicly pronounced the Shahadah (declaration of faith):
Ash-hadu an laa ilaha illa-lah Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah
"I bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness, Muhammad is His final messenger"