Islamic Culture And Religious Values

The Islam faith, spread under the prophet Muhammad in about 600 c.e., holds that peace can be found when one surrenders to Allah (“Overview of Islam”). Muslims, or followers of Islam, are expected to become very knowledgeable of the sacred text of Islam, the Qur’an. This all truthful text as Muslims believe, contains “knowledge in areas of action, contemplation, and intellectual concerns” (“Overview of Islam”). It is essentially a guidebook for living a life on the Straight Path. The Islam tradition is rooted in the fulfillment of the Five Pillars of Islam. The proclamation of faith, daily prayers, fasting during Ramadan, giving of wealth to community, and the pilgrimage to Mecca provide a guide

When given this assignment, I was trying to think of a special population that I wanted to learn more about. Many different special populations came to mind. However, there is one in particular that I felt I knew very little about and began to question numerous aspects of their society; this culture is the Muslim culture. After doing some research, I realized that one of the most important dynamics to the Muslim culture is their Islamic faith. Islam is not only a religion, but it is a way of life to this population (Burrell, D., Pg. 18). The beliefs that Muslims uphold, in this religious sense, govern their way of life in almost every way possible. Once recognizing that religion is an extreme influential factor to their society, I wanted to learn what part of the religion gives the fundamental basis to this particular belief system. What I found regarding this are the five pillars of Islamic faith (IslamReligion.com).

The most common popular opinion of Muslim Americans is formed through an uneducated understanding of Muslim life and their culture. Muslim Americans actually become a common discussion point among Americans post 9/11 due to misinformation about the events that occurred. Muslim Americans are often stereotyped with terms such as, terrorist, violent, restrictive, and more. Not only are Muslim Americans’ stereotyped often, but their citizenship is often questioned and their life style still remains a mystery to many Americans. Many Americans wonder what Muslim Americans’ place in society is, where their allegiance lies, and how exactly they are supporting America.

In the beginning of 7th century to the end of Abbasids in the 13th century, continuities and changes shape the cultural and political life of Islamic civilization which lead to Arab conquests (634-711), expansion, and untroubled trade and conversion which followed by diffusion of cultures lead to advancements of Arabian knowledge. Few factors that led to changes of cultural advancements in knowledge which was traded through trade routes across regions trade and throughout the sea, meanwhile the government became more centralized and bureaucratic and lastly, a cultural continuity was the religious laws: Quran, Hadith, Sharia which was practiced amongst the Muslims.

Oceanside, California has numerous churches in multiple denominations including Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, and Christian. In addition, it has several temples, most of which are Jewish or LDS in denomination. The nearest mosque is in Vista, California and the North County Islamic Foundation in Escondido, California. (Yahoo Maps, 2017). We were interested in Islam and as such decided to investigate the North County Islamic Foundation, and the film Inside Islam.

Muslims, both as individuals and as a community, therefore have certain goals to achieve: communicating Islam to others, conveying the truth to everyone, striving to prevent oppression and tyranny, and establishing justice. To do this, they must live an exemplary life. Thus Islam’s moral and ethical values usually have played an important part in its spread.

Each culture has its own handful of values in life. From religion, to family, to wealth, each culture has its own view and opinion on what is important in life. I was tasked with reading the first nineteen nights of Tales from 1,001 Nights. The stories that are told in these first several nights consisted of two main stories as well as ten other stories within them. Throughout these stories there are several shared values related to Islam, including hospitality, wealth, religion, and family. In each story at least one or more of these values are present.

The first part of Silverstein's answer on why Islam matters to westerners is to first know the story of Islam, its peoples and cultures, and the different institutions in it. He breaks the history of Islam into 4 main time eras in the book’s first chapter; 600-800 CE, 800-1100 CE, 1100-1500 CE, and 1500 to present. The first time frame shows how The existence of Islam "is all due to the events in the 600-800 period" (page 19). It is when the Prophet Muhammad, with his monotheistic message, established a new community (umma) made up of fellow of the "new" religion,(page 10) . It is also the period where different sects in Islam emerged that was due to the death of Muhammad, their political and religious leader. After the prophet's death the

Islam, like Christianity, Judaism and other world religions, varies in its interpretations, rituals and practices. It is true that Muslims share certain fundamental beliefs, such as those expressed in the shahadah, the profession of faith: there is only one God and that Muhammad is His Prophet to whom was revealed in the Qur’an (The University of Texas, "Muslim Histories and Cultures", 2009). These writings to Islamist believers are their most sacred writings. Islamic culture inherited an Arab culture born in the desert, simple but by no means simplistic. It has an oral tradition based on the transmission of culture through poetry and narrative.

Muslim sub-cultures also have a difference of opinion when it comes to women being educated or having knowledge of politics. It is a problem that women in Afghanistan do not know about their country’s politics, let alone global politics. This is especially important in a time of war or conflict. The opinions of Muslim women are, for the most part, “absent from public debates” and work needs to be done to inquire about the diverse opinions of Muslim women (Ryan 1046). Furthermore, girls being educated, starting at an early age would help in diminishing this problem by knowing how to read and write. Afghanistan’s women still straggle distantly in the wake of a strong margin of the women around the world in terms of communicating their political

The religion of Islam has been my guide since birth when it comes to personal value and ethics. My values are based on belief and faith which has also been my forefathers, and my parents way of life. My Religion is the highest esteem I hold among all other values. All my values started from the Religion of Islam. I believe clear-mindedness, fairness, and having tolerance among individuals as the value which is more important to me in person. All these values are being mentioned in the Islamic holy book which is the Qur’an as it mentioned that fairness is a crucial part to be played in a way of life.

Muslims have a faith that Islam revealed in Mecca (Arabia) about 1400 years ago. Islamic culture is a resource academia for the illustration of cultures and traditions of Islamic people. Arabs were the first to depict and demonstrate Muslim culture to the world. Islam originated in Arabia in the seventh century. Islamic empires have been expanded and Muslims got assimilation from different cultures like Indonesian, Berber, Malay, Indian, Pakistani, Turkic and Persian (Kirabaev, 2000).

1) The religion of Islam was created by Muhammad after he began to get prophetic visions when he was 40 years old. The messages he preached were: monotheism, an imminent day of judgement, as well as social and economic justice for all. Since the start of this class approximately five weeks ago we have learned a great deal about ancient Islamic history and themes that are present throughout the history of Islam. This paper will discuss the relevant aspects of Islamic history, terms used to describe the Islamic faith—such as umma—and the historical relevance of jihad and its application.

“These three religions, Judaism, Christianity and, Islam, all support a peaceful world and advocate peace in their main teachings and sacred texts.” (Mt Alvernia Task sheet) There are more than three religions in the world but these three religions are some of the main religions that profoundly support this statement. The Islamic religion is often portrayed by the Western media as a violent religion that does not teach or believe in interfaith or world peace, however through an interfaith understanding it can be seen that the Islamic religion does in fact believe in interfaith peace. Through comprehensive examination of the Islamic teachings and beliefs, it can be seen that the Islamic religion advocates interfaith understanding and peace.

The holy Quran is a collection of the divinely inspired utterances and discourses (Ahmed, 16). It is composed of some 300 pages which are divided into 114 Surahs (chapters). The general tone of the holy Quran is sombre and meditative. It is a dialogue between God and humanity. At the core is a moral earnestness (Ahmed, 16). The Quran also teaches that humanity is created by God and therefore God understands its weaknesses and in Allah humans find the source of peace. Islam’s appeal lay – and – lies in the simplicity: one God, one Book, one Prophet (Ahmed, 17). Islam is a religion of balance, equilibrium, and compassion. The Islamic virtues are courage, generosity, cleanliness, and piety: and in his life the Prophet exemplifies them (Ahmed, 17).