Does Islam Need Reformation Or Do Islamic Societies Need Enlightenment?

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.

The freedom fighter Nelson Mandela once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” After the memorable attacks in New York, London, and Madrid, the West became a unwelcoming and hostile place for Muslims, and the world started to be known as the “Islamic World” and “The West”. The Islamic world as in the picture is a place where men oppress women, a place vicious to technological advancements and a place where Muslim children are raised with the thought that the west is an unfavorable place for them. The “West” however

blight on society rather than a useful addition. Abdul presents controversial ideas and themes such as the discrimination that Muslims face in everyday life, the ‘expectation’ all Muslims are extremist, and that they are seen by some as ‘less than

One of the most widely discussed issues in the U.S. Muslim community is the negative image of Islam in the American media, an issue that was cause for concern even before 9/11. While appeals to the media for accuracy and fairness continue, newspaper headlines regularly print the words “Islam” and “Muslim” next to words like “fanatic,” “fundamentalist,” “militant,” “terrorist” and “violence.” Uses of the term “jihad” in television programs

The word “Islam” is taken from the Arabic word “Salema”, which translates to obedience, peace, purity, and submission. There are many people who don’t know that these traits are the foundation of Muslim religion. Ignorance on a subject often leads to false judgment, and the deep-rooted conflict between the United States and the Islamic State is largely due to such ignorance. An entity cannot involve itself in another’s affairs and make calculated decisions if it does not educate itself on the entirety of the situation. This neglect to learn has led to greater issues because of events that have transpired as a result of harsh judgment. There is a huge misconception of the difference between the natural devotion to Islam and the radicals who

Alternatively, while the teaching of the Quran promoted equality among men and women, Orthodox Islamic ideas and negative interpretations became the dominant view in Western society and colonists. “It was the practice of veiling and the Islamic degradation of women that stood in the way, according to the imperialist thesis, of the “progress” and “civilization” of Muslim societies and of their populaces being “persuaded or forced” into imbibing “the true spirit of Western Civilization” (Ahmed, 1992, p. 243). Many colonist men created a negative image of Islamic culture,

The world after the 2001 September 11th terrorist attacks the had shifted the world towards completely shifted the attitude towards one religious group, Islam. Islam is a religion of either known from the media as religion of “peace” or a religion of “danger. The attacks in the world trade center left a devastating effect in american lives as it created a sense of vulnerability. hatred toward the Islamic religion grew as to the result of the attacks which led to changes in the world. Political reforms had been constructed to prevent any future terrorist attack from, occurring in the future. Attitudes towards Muslims had also significantly changed after 9-11 as racial profiling occurs in US borders as well a rise in hate crimes. Media organizations misrepresents the religion as a dangerous and radicalism religion. As has been noted all these changes toward the Islamic group are coming in a short amount of time, it had encouraged many to question their faiths.

In “The Phony Islam of ISIS,” religious studies professor Caner Dagli addresses an argument made by Graeme Wood about the real intentions of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Dagli explains how Wood’s essay “implies that such a rejection of ISIS by other Muslims can only be hypocritical or naïve, and that ISIS members and supporters follow the texts of Islam as faithfully and seriously as anyone.” Dagli opposes this argument by claiming that ISIS does not take the texts seriously, and further examining the Quran and its contents to support this point. He explains the complex nature of the book and how it consists of the ḥadīth which is an extensive collection that has been compiled over time. Dagli describes how ISIS “members search for text snippets that support their argument, claim that these fragments are reliable even if they are not, and disregard all contrary evidence.” This fallacy does not equate to ISIS following the texts faithfully or seriously, but rather “cherry-picking what they like and ignoring what they do not” (Dagli). In order to further expose the “phony Islam” that ISIS members follow, Dagli identifies the narrow and rigid interpretation of the Quran that the group uses, stating, “this is not literalism. It is exclusivism.” Using Wood’s argument that ISIS speeches are “laced with theological and legal discussion,” Dagli explains that there is a difference between being able to “lace” a conversion and actually comprehending the traditions and meaning of a religion. To

The Qur’an and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad seem to recognize the different functions and mutually supportive roles of men and women, encouraging an equal and balanced social and family life. In seventh-century Arabia, the Qur’an extended the right of property ownership and financial independence to women. It prohibited the practice of female infanticide and other abuses, and significantly modified marriage and divorce practices. While many Americans consider Islam to be an “oppressive religion” with regard to women, Muslim women often comment on the liberty and dignity they extract from their faith. Many Muslim women say that true Islam is often compromised by oppressive practices that have their roots in cultural differences or political expediency; general ignorance and lack of engagement with the diversity inherited within the tradition contribute to the continuation of these

Irshad Manji is a Muslim author who has a non Muslim following because of her international best seller book, The Trouble with Islam. This book is incredibly damaging to the Muslim community and she is a damaging voice as well. Her lifestyle choices fail to align with a Muslim lifestyle and her political views are completely opposite of other Muslims. Her influence among non Muslims is powerful because she is all but confirming their stereotypes and fearful beliefs. “To many non-Muslims, however, she is the voice of “progressive” Islam. Why Progressive? Because Manji’s prescription for correcting the “troubles with Islam” is for the faith to conform to the ideas of Western philosophy. Essentially, Islam would cease to be Islam.” Manji proves how apparent it is that there is not always a united front when it comes to groups of people, there are going to be individuals that will work against what the majority is working for. Manji is giving room for more challenges to arise for Muslim Americans, their citizenship will be challenged more because she is feeding into the misconceptions of Muslim Americans, and non-Muslims are following

1. Osama bin Laden is perhaps one of the most well known extreme Islamic fundamentalists in modern history because of his acts of terrorism against the United States. Even after his death al-Qaeda continues to function and other extremist groups, such as ISIS, continue to sow death and destruction in the Middle East. I will try to discuss why fundamental religious movements have continued to grow over the last several decades. First I would like to comment on the incredible diversity of Islamic opinion and as well as the variety of Islamic fundamentalist groups. There are many different groups or individuals claiming to be the official religious authority of Islam but there is no true unanimous leader since the caliphs ended. The views

Lewis does a great job of explaining this particular crisis in Islam; the view that some so-called Islamic leaders are considered apostates in the eyes of many hard liners. The influx of Western culture into the Middle East brings with it this dilemma that many Muslims wrestle with today. The fact that the globalization of economies merging traditional cultures like those in the Middle East with those of infidels divides Muslims who accept it and those who reject

The objective of this work is to examine Islam, a highly controversial sensitive issue in today's world and specifically to examine the misconceptions, beliefs, and values of those of the Islamic faith. Most people think that the majority of Muslims live in the Middle East, while in reality there are more people of the Islamic faith living in Indonesia. Islam, just as Judaism and Christianity, is practiced in various cultures, serves to shape, and is shaped by those cultures. This study examines the perceptions of those of the three faiths in various countries and how they view one another and seek to answer how a level of threat is felt by those belonging to these three religious groups in various countries. Countries examined in this study include those of the United States, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East. The depth of understanding or the teachings of Islam among the various religious groups in these various countries will also be examined in terms of how these understandings impact the ways that Muslims and non-Muslims interact and communicate with one another.

Some argue, as Jonathan Rauch does in his article, “Islam Has Been Hijacked…,” that since religion was brought to the forefront, in the

The connection between Islam and terrorism was not intensified until the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center that pushed the Islamic faith into the national and international spotlight (Smith, 2013). As Smith (2013) articulated, “Many Americans who had never given Islam a second thought before 9/11 now had to figure out how to make sense of these events and relate to the faith tradition that ostensibly inspired them” (p. 1). One way in which people made sense of these events was through the media channels that influenced their overall opinions by shaping a framework of censored ideas (Yusof, Hassan, Hassan & Osman, 2013). In a survey conducted by Pew Forum (2012), 32% of people reported that their opinions of Muslims were greatly influenced by the media’s portrayal of Islam that depicted violent pictorials and fundamentalist Muslims. Such constant negative depiction is likely to lead to the inevitable—prejudice and hate crime. For instance, in 2002 alone there were approximately 481 hate crimes that were carried out against Muslims (Smith, 2013). Ever since the 9/11 attacks Muslim people have been the target of “suspicion, harassment and discrimination” (Talal, n.d., p. 9).