Depictions of Muhammad

1. How does Islam formulated in four schools of law differ from the Quran’s ethical message on the equality of sexes? Do you think the fact that Islam became a state religion during the Abbasid period has anything to do with the consolidation of patriarchy via Islam? The four legal schools of Islam each interpreted the Qu’ran in different ways, so it was possible to stray from the message of equality of sexes. Although each school’s interpretations are unique, they tend to afford men greater…

live in today. Having a religion is very important but you must open up to their beliefs and understand how they view the world. These two religions are Christianity and Islam. These groups are led by two very strong saviors being Jesus Christ and Muhammad. They have many beliefs which open up the eyes of certain people, and these people come in billions and are located all over the world. The two biggest parts of these religions are their saviors. Descending from the prophet Abraham, both…

Rik Bailey really took his time to differentiate between the stereotypes of Muslim women and what Islam revealed about women. Many western eyes portray Islam as oppressive towards its women. The stereotypes of Muslim women is they are covered from head to toe, housewife, abused by husband, practically a women with no rights. But, these views are expressed from a western television or newspaper point of view. This quote by Bailey really caught my eyes, “People with these views tend not to have…

There are about 1.6 million Muslims in the world making their religion the second largest one. Most Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region, even though many relate them with the Middle East. Several hundred Muslims actually live in the U.S. They all believe in one God called Allah which makes their religion polytheistic. Allah is the Arabic word for God. They share many common beliefs with Christianity; including Moses, Abraham, and even Jesus Christ. One of their distinctive beliefs from…

the leader of their clan. At 25 Muhammad became a merchant and married Khagija a ship owner. Muhammad was nicknamed Al Amen which means the trusted one because he was so respected in his town of Makkah. One day in a cave an angel came to Muhammad and told him that their was only one God. Muhammad smashed all the tribal Gods in Makkah and started preaching the new message from the angel. Muhammad united the peninsula and spread the message of peace and unity. Muhammad wrote the Quran which is…

Boko Haram, a group from Nigeria, invades towns throughout the night, killing thousands of people by shooting or beheading them all. Adam Nossiter, a journalist for the New York Times, points out, “They came in the dead of the night… riding on motorcycles and in pickup trucks, shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.” (1) Boko Haram captured many young girls and women and imprisoning them until they were old enough to marry, which by then they would be forced into marriage by the group. They had forced 450…

Islam: Empire of Faith The documentary, Islam: Empire of Faith, teaches viewers about the history of Islam. Subtopics in the movie include the life of great leaders of Islam like Muhammad, Saladin, Mehmet, and Sulleyman. It's also discusses topics such as revolutionary innovations, brought to us by Muslims, and important buildings from the i history of Islam. While the film was clearly extremely educational, I found it was hard to keep my attention focused on it. However, Islam: Empire of Faith…

The Great Mosque of Kairouan is the remaining site of one of the oldest standing Minarets in from the Islamic Golden Age. The great Mosque covers nine thousand square free of space, is a quarter mile along its sides, and is the oldest site of Islamic worship in the world. Looking however directly at the Minaret the untrained eye only sees a tall structure but the style of the Minaret is one of function, purpose, and symbolism. The function of the Minaret is to provide a lookout for the watchmen…

Striking to me, was the non-evangelistic view upon which the Muslim faith operates. When leaving the mosque, I was amazed by the fact that no one asked for my name or mailing address to send further information. The people had been welcoming and hospitable without hinting at, or attempting to, persuade or convert me to their faith. Significantly, I discovered through the Imam and the Quran that Islam instructs conversions to be left to Allah, as illustrated in the scripture, “Let there be no…

Podcast Reflection #2: Islam Podcast After listening to the podcast, I began to think about the unique relationship between Sunni and Shia, as well as the complex relations between different Muslim schools of thought. In another course recently, I read a novel by Nafisa Haji, a Muslim author, called The Sweetness of Tears. The novel highlights the complex relationship between Sunni and Shia, and outlines a few Shia practices that can be viewed as controversial. Prior to reading the novel, I had…