The Modern Age Of Islam

Muhammad’s father-in-law Abu Bakr took over leadership of the umma as the successor (caliph) of Muhammad. Abu Bakr faced two main tasks: standardization of the Islamic religion and consolidation of the Islamic state. Abu Bakr successfully re-established Muslim authority over the Arabs and oversaw the compilation and organization of the Quran in book form.

The world you once knew is falling to ashes and food is become such a scarcity that people are fighting over a few pieces of bread. The political class is too busy fighting among themselves to care for anyone else. Children are roaming the streets and begging for work to feed their dying, hungry stomachs. This is not a scene from a horror movie, but rather the reality of the beginning of post classical era. In these times of hardship the people turned to a higher power, which resulted in a religious boom. The main religion during the post classical era that had the greatest impact on people was Islam due to Muhammad, trade routes, the Black Plague, conquests and Islamic culture.

In post-classical history, Islam was recognized for its loyalty to Allah and its precise rules of religion. Muhammad, founder of Islam, was born from a nomad-merchant class, giving a pulse to the traveling trait of Islam and its literal veins of expansion throughout the Eurasian borders. While keeping the classic code of Muhammad’s original law underway, Islam’s expansion during 600- 1200 C.E. introduced advanced authority and systems of economic control.

Islam: Empire of Faith is a pretty general documentary about a large history of Islam in such a short viewing time. Sometimes the moving picture media can have a different effect than the static reading media. I think this is a great counter to the normal textbook learning that occurs during class. While reading about the beginning Islam, I felt more of an oppression of Muhammad as he was trying to get his word of God out to the people around him. When he left Mecca it was not pleasant but it didn’t seem like he was going to die before he left. When he returned to Mecca with his followers it just seemed like he was a returning son, back with good news. When presented with the video evidence of the process, it seemed that his desire to let

The history of the Islamic world has been one of weak state institutions and state underperformance, coupled with a high prevalence of violence, both by the state and by individuals. A major reason for these negative trends has been the role of political Islam in privileging homogeneity over diversity, in stifling dissent in public and private life, and the societal stagnation that follows such rigid controls. Malaysia and Indonesia have been notable exceptions to the underperformance of Islamic cultures.

In the movie Islam of Faith Part 1, the narrator starts off with the translation of azan to highlight the strong words and the strength of faith.

Chapter 14 in the book Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective of the Past by Herrry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler is mainly about Muhammad, the prophet, and his world, the expansion of Islam, economy and society of the early Islamic world, and its values and cultural exchanges.

The contemporary world of Islam faces an uphill battle defending itself from modern day misconceptions and the forced involvement with geopolitics. Islam struggles with the western world’s perception of the religion and cultural understanding. Modern day Muslims will have to overcome insurmountable hurdles in an attempt to rebuild the diversity and complexity within the Islam faith. Islam is in a constant battle with Western Civilization and its forced power and ideology on the Middle East. The current religious struggle between the Middle East and the West derives from thousands of years of bloodshed and conflict between the worlds three major religions; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Blood that was shed during a period of holy wars and the ever expanding ruling powers such as Greece and Rome. The candle of hatred burns in modern times with the presences of radical extremist groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda that continue to ignite hatred towards the West by manipulating the Qur’an and preaching concepts that conflict with the laws of Islam.

During the 16th century, Christianity experienced a reformation in arguably one of the most defining moments in its history, the church was splintered and it was seen that priests and pastures should have more independent power, the reform was carried by spreading the holy bibles word and making people read the words literally to see the religion more for what it is. This action helped to kick start the modern era we now live in by abandoning the worst qualities of Christianity and also its traditions. Many people believe this is the path the medieval religion of Islam should take; is this necessary and why?

Introduction “What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response” a novel written by Bernard Lewis, outlines how the Islamic world has failed to keep up with modernization due to Western power and dominance over certain regions. Lewis’ book acknowledges the differences between Islamic and Western culture and gives distinct examples of the many years Islamic regions have failed to come up with efficient solutions to get back their global position. In means of political, economic, and military development the Islamic world has fallen way behind where they once stood in centuries past. Lewis gives examples of different Islamic views regarding their history and the cause and effect of major inciting events that have regressed the Islamic culture. One major theme I found in Lewis’ book is that ethnocentrism has made Islamic ideology very foggy and unrealistic in terms of progressing in all areas.

One of the economic achievements of the Golden Age of Islam was paper. Although paper would look not much like a great success, it proved that writing on paper was much faster and easier than writing on papyrus. It was widely used through out the Islamic kingdom in a short span of time, being used by the government and sold in a stores as written books.

Since the attacks on 9/11, Americans have passed judgement on the Islamic culture as a violent religion. However, many Americans are ignorant to the fact that Islam is practiced throughout the entire world and not just run by extremists and violet people in the Middle East. People can learn about Islamic culture by learning the origin of Islam in the Qur’an and through Mohammed and his teachings, the Islamic golden age and western influence and modernization on the Islamic world.

It has even been argued by some that religious minorities have fared better under Muslim rule than Christian rule. Even as late as the 1950's Jews and Christians lived peacefully under Muslim rule (Zakaria 1). In deciding why these events have unfolded now, one must look at the history of the US and Western influences in the Middle East since 1948.

Since many religions have started in the Middle East, it has become the center for erupting conflicts. For instance, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been in the news for many reasons. Both groups want control of the God given land that they both claim is theirs, according to God, and what had happened in the past. The result of the conflict is religious terrorism (PBS, 1). Continuing, some Middle Eastern politics have been in conflict, even dividing communities of the

However, religious fundamentalism was only one of the causes. It did not create the Arab-Israeli or Kashmir conflict. It only radicalised it and made it more difficult to solve. Such conflicts were a product of non-religious factors such as nationalist claims over lands, response to threats, strategic, political and socio-economic reasons. Such conflicts were already present before the rise of religious fundamentalism. They were actually nationalists using religion as a justification for their actions to gain support. Similarly, religious fundamentalism was only one of the reasons for protracted peace. The regional instability caused by Islamic fundamentalism was also due to other factors. The Shah of Iran was overthrown by left wing groups and weaknesses of secular groups. The Iran-Iraq war was also due to conflicts over the waterway. The role of the religious fundamentalism should not be overstated. There was effective state management like successful suppression in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia etc and cooptation in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, which included participation in