The Muslims And Western Culture

Associating Islam with violence is a false impression that the Western public has long cultivated about this religion. An example of this misconception is that Islam is a religion spread by the sword, meaning that Muslims went from one end of the world to the other, conquering nations and forcing the inhabitants to either convert or die. The truth is that Islam spread through the expansion of the Ottoman empire, not that people were forced to convert or die. A modern day example of the Islam=violence misconception is Saddam Hussein. Although Hussein is of the Islamic faith, not all of his actions necessarily represent Islamic beliefs.

Immigration. Islam. The west. Christopher Caldwell 's book, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West, is divided into three neat sections. The structure represents an equation - immigration multiplied by Islam equals the collapse of the west. The logic behind it is simple: western Europe has opened its doors to the "adversary culture" of Islam. Put bluntly Caldwell asks “whether you can have the same Europe with different people?” His equally blunt answer: “no.”

Islam is not the only religion that use violence for instance, the Christian use violence to destroy Islam. In the article crusades the idea of violence was demonstrated when pope urban II send innumerable amount of solder to “Rise in a spirit of cruelty against the jewish people scattered through the cities and slaughtered ’the women, also, and with their swords pierced tender children of whatever gender and sex.” The soldier did not stop there they also “Destroy the houses, synagogue of the jews and divided among themselves a very, large, amount of money [that once belonged to the jews].” Christians were influenced by Pope Urban II to assassinate million of people. It is estimated that about 1.7 million of people died during the crusades.

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.

The modern university does manifest itself in the Islamic world. The Golden Age of Islamic culture traces its roots back to the modern university. Throughout Islamic history, education was a point of pride and a field Muslims have always excelled in. The Islamic world was rich, diverse, and creative. Muslims became founders of the most major accomplishments in the world which later leads to western and world civilizations. The Muslims were most advanced in many fields such as mathematics, art, medicine, literature, and astronomy. It also led the way into the development of libraries and universities.

The mixing of cultures in a global world can cause some serious problems, with Muslim immigration into Europe being one such (Glazer, 2010). The low-skilled poor migrants face hostility in many European nations, as anti-immigration policies and laws are being implemented, with xenophobia running rampant (Glazer, 2010). Some experts argue that the influx of immigrants is necessary to combat the inevitable social security and aging workers crisis, yet others argue technology will solve the problem (Glazer, 2010). With tensions high, questions come to the limelight over the banning of burqa’s in European countries, and the effects these policies will have on future immigration to Europe (Glazer, 2010).

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.

Is it possible that the religious friction between Muslims and American Christians was caused by a single historical event? If so, Thomas Kidd, the author of American Christians and Islam, points to the Barbary wars as a critical dispute that may explain the modern global religious conflict. In his book, Kidd addresses the global war between Christians and Muslims from the colonial period to the age of terrorism. By tracing the role of Islam in the minds of American Christians, intimidation combined with a lust for conversion is revealed. Kidd notes that during his research he found Western Christians writings from the 19th century that stands in continuity with contemporary themes of Islam.

Even before the crusades, there was a tension between the Christian and Muslim religions. Soon after the religion of Islam was founded by Muhammad in the 7th century, Christians and Muslims have been at odds with one another’s religious beliefs and political standpoints. As written by Smith, “Within the Islamic community early attitudes of seeming tolerance and even appreciation of Christians and Jews soon gave way to more narrow interpretations of the Qur’an and Islamic law, resulting in growing intolerance.” Although these two sides may have seemed accepting at first, that open-mindedness slowly diminished which only made room for bigotry. As Muslims continued to read and interpret the Qur’an, they became increasingly more ignorant of other religions. They began to believe that the Islamic religion was the only correct way to worship and that Christians were wrong. Christians also began to feel this way and created an intolerance to the Islamic religion itself which therefore created a strain on their

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.

The long-term effect of the Crusades was to harden Muslim feelings against the millions of non-western

Throughout world history there has been a pattern of one unfortunate group of people being pit against the rest, this people being persecuted and discriminated for their religious beliefs, political ideology, and even the color of their skin. In the United States it was the Native Americans, then the Chinese and the Irish, to now present day hostility to Latinos. The same can be said in every region of the world. The perpetuation of the “Us versus Them” binary is an occurrence that in some form or another inevitably comes to become apart of the social, political, and economic fabric of every country, region, and continent in history. Europeans are no exception, and currently, their biggest “nuisance” are Muslim immigrants moving to their countries.

As history continues, many religions have had an over powering effect on western civilization. When the 5th century arose, the religion, Islam, had an extremely important impact on the civilization. Muhammad, an Arabic prophet founded Islam and began to introduce it the people of his time. Diplomacy, violence, warfare, public laws, and Arabic tradition played a crucial role in the building of the Islamic religion. These important aspects helped shape and build the Islam religion that is now one of the world’s most widely practiced religions.

Muslim culture generally reflects the traditions and customs of Muslims that they adopt for a perfect and respectable life in the society according to the lessons of Quran. Muslim culture is a giant combination of diverse cultures, That’s because Muslims live in various countries all over the world. Most of the practices are common faiths and guidance for all Muslims no matter what country or even content they reside in.. These basic faiths and belives are based on the teachings of Islam. The Muslim culture is a subject of debate for many people who lives in different parts of the world and belong to diverse communities. Muslim culture represents the unification of brotherhood where all Muslims are bound to

Most people have seen a woman walking down the street or in a mall clad in what appears to be scarves wrapped around her head, covering her hair, ears, and neck. In some situations these women even have a veil covering up most of their face. This is becoming a common occurrence in the United States as the Islamic population grows. Some may view this as a way to make these women subservient, making it seem like they don’t have an identity or a voice. This leaves many to wonder why they would wear such a thing in modern America where women are treated as equals and do have a voice. The truth behind the headscarf does