The Koran, written around the year 650, is comparable to the Christian Bible or the Jewish Torah. The Koran serves as a basis for the religion of Islam, the fastest growing religion today. Written by the prophet Muhammad, this text lays out the “Five Pillars of Islam.” These include the Testimony of Faith, Ritual Prayer, Obligatory Almsgiving, Fasting, and the Pilgrimage to Mecca.
As a Christian, I found that much of what is included in the Koran is very similar to the Bible. This was actually somewhat surprising to me, although it should not have been. After reading “The Night Journey” from the Koran, I realized that I really do not know that much at all about religious beliefs other than Christianity. I feel like Americans, most of whom identify themselves as Christians, feel like Christianity is by far the largest religion. America treats major Christian holidays as the most important ones, even though we are a nation that prides itself on freedom of choice and religion. Just think about the most widely “Hallmark“ holidays in the United States. These include Christmas, and Easter, two major Christian holidays. Islam is holding a very close second to Christianity worldwide in size. But for me, I could not tell you when the biggest Muslim holidays are, which I don’t think is very atypical for the average American.
As horrible as it is, I think that many Americans and even Christians in general judge Muslim people, and assume that most practicing Muslims are extremists and somehow connected to terrorism. They tend to forget or deny the fact that there are Christian extremists as well, and that they also would not want to be judged merely based upon a skewed view another group has of them. The clip we watched in class from the 700 club was an example of a misrepresentative Christian person. Most Christians, I would hope, would not want themselves to be associated with people who are so ignorant of other people and their beliefs. Yet while I believe this, I also think there are many people who, in a less extreme way, judge others against one group’s example. This is when people start to generalize Muslims as extremists connected to terrorism, which is why so many Muslim people felt looked down upon and discriminated against after September 11, 2001. This is, obviously, wrong, and many people, including myself, should try to learn more about other religions and cultures.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I completely agree your view of how Muslim people are, in general, stereotyped, especially after Sept. 11, 2001. This was, at first a very hard concept for me to grasp. How could so many innocent people be blamed or stereotyped for the horrbile acts that others committed? But then I though back through history and how this type of thing happend CONTONUOUSLY! People are always looking for someone to hate, someone to fear, someone to talk about, etc. while remaining "blind" to how their hate is changing them and trapping them. Ignorance leads to fear; fear leads to hate; hate leads to denial; and denial leads to blindness. This point directly ties in with what Jose Saramago was portraying with the novel, "Blindness." When we start to judge and stereotype based on natural traits such as skin color, religion, gender, race, sexuality, etc. we lose ourselves. Is it really worth spending your entire life condemning others just to be consumed by hate and lose your identity in the end? Nothing could possibly be more crippling than becoming completely blind.
Post a Comment