A Muslim 's Mind : Synopsis Essay

Islam originated in present day Saudi Arabia where the prophet, Muhammad, had been born. Islam would later be able to spread quickly through trade, the appealing nature of the Islamic faith, and military campaigns.

Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.

This paper is designed about the discussion on what is philosophy and what is Islamic philosophy and philosophy itself. In first discussion is explain about the philosophy and the second discussion is discuss about the Islamic Philosophy. Generally, philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason and so forth.

Throughout the entirety of the Islamic faith, Islamic civilizations have contributed ideas and characteristics of their culture that have spread throughout the world. Also, Islamic civilizations have helped to develop a variety of ideas and caused fields of industry and facets of culture to advance. These fields include but are not limited to education, medicine, mathematics, technology, literature, architecture and trade. Although every industry in the Islamic civilization has an important role in society, education, medicine and trade prove to be the three most important aspects of Islamic achievements.

Faruqi, Yasmeen M. “Islamic view of nature and values: Could these be the answer to building

Imam al-Ghazali (d.1111) remains perhaps the most important religious authority in Islam after the first three generations of Muslims. The title, ‘Proof of Islam’, conferred upon him by the majority of Muslims, is a reflection of the complexity of his work, which included jurisprudence, theology, philosophy, psychology, and mysticism. This essay will demonstrate how al-Ghazali synthesised concepts of tawheed (unity of God), islam (ritual worship, virtue, ilham (Godly inspiration) and tasawwuf (Sufism) in a broad ethical theory. His ethics, as illustrated in the Ihya Ulum id-Deen, can be applied by common

Nevertheless, meeting a level-headed British Muslim, who politely answered questions about his faith, Islam, changed everything. After a request, I received a copy of the Qur’an. Thus, gaining knowledge directly from the source instead of through the filter of a translucent agent. Determining to read the Qur 'an, however, was fraught with trepidation. A result of many futile encounters with the King James Bible. By and large, it was far easier to read and comprehend than initially assumed.

As previously stated, Ali asks if perhaps Islam is what Muslims practice in their daily lives. However, she debunks that because Muslims lives vary and what some do contradicts the authoritative texts. In my previous analysis of how translation can be manipulated, a patriarchal undertone was present and it is also present when dealing with the subject of the daily lives of Muslims. This undertone is present throughout the book and is heightened in this chapter.

As of today, the world’s two largest religions Christianity and Islam share an estimated 3.6 billion members, more than half of the world’s population. On the surface, they appear to have almost nothing in common, however, as one goes beyond the surface and examines the other factors such as the rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and convictions, the two religions share many similarities. However, in order to truly see and understand these similarities and differences, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam.

Interreligious encounters have historically sparked theological discourse and also have provided theologians and scholars with valuable knowledge of the interactions. By analyzing the various contexts of the encounters, one can understand how religious identities were shaped alongside other traditions. According to Griffith in her novel The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque, Christians that lived in the Islamic world were exposed to differences that ultimately formed their identity. Due to the Muslim dominated environment, Christians found themselves questioning their own faith when faced with the challenge of clarifying their beliefs and practices. Griffith reveals that theological discourse evoked from interreligious encounters were impacted by a combination of social, political, and pastoral

From 610 to 750 C.E., Bedouins and other Arabian tribes began to settle in the Arabian Peninsula, mainly in Medina and Mecca. Like many other new and unorganized ancient civilizations, the Bedouins worshiped many gods without a strong, centralized government in the hope of making their nation stronger, leading to tribal warfare and lack of control. When an Arabian prophet named Muhammad came to the people, he taught many new things about this holy god named Allah and a promising way of life if you followed his way. This caused many people to follow Muhammad and helped rapidly spread this religion called Islam. The use of the Qur’an and the power of Allah helped Islam expand. Also, the Muslims had control of Mecca, which allowed them to spread their culture and ideas to people rapidly around the world.

The Question of Origin - The question of origin is entirely rooted in God. Genesis 1:1 tells us about the creation of the earth and the heavens. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created man in His own image. “Theism contends that everything that exists, including humans, is the result of God, the Creator God. God is said to have created Ex Nihilo, “out of nothing.”’ (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011) Like the Bible, the Quran offers verses which state that everything was created by God.

The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.

"Islam" is derived from the Arabic root salaama meaning peace, purity, submission and obedience. Islam stands for making peace by submitting to the will of God and obeying His law. Jews and Christians view Islam as the latest of the world's great religions. However, worldwide Muslims (sometimes written "Moslems") understand their universal religion as the "final religion" and the "primal religion."

For my paper I decided to choose the religion of Islam. I decided to pick this religion because of its fast growing rate. It is also different from what I am used to growing up with, so I was interested in learning more. I had learned some basic facts after the 9/11 event, but the Muslim religion and culture was still a mystery to me. Picking this topic has helped me learn more about Muslims and will help me better relate to them in my future work.