What interested me during this weeks reading, was how much Muhammad stressed the idea of martyrdom. Our class just recently discussed martyrdom from a Christian point of view, now reading this I am able to see how the Muslims viewed martyrdom. From what I read, Muhammad seemed to really stress martyrdom in battle. The Muslims were notorious for getting rid of groups that do not agree with the Muslim way of life and therefore they dispose of them. Before going into battle this one instance, a muslim named Abdullah b. Rawaha encouraged his men with these words, "What you now recoil from is just what you came in search of, martyrdom. We do not go to fight these people with numbers, strength, or multitudes, but with the religion of Allah! Therefore press on. Only one of two things can happen - both good - either victory or martyrdom." So to the Muslims, going into battle for Allah could only result in two positive options, victory or martyrdom. Victory would continue to grow the muslim cause and martyrdom was considered the highest act a Muslim could do for Allah. Muslims would seek out martyrdom in order to receive honor on earth.
Compared to Christianity, The muslim view of martyrdom seems to suggest that being martyred is a way to be honored on this earth. Whereas in Christianity, being martyred usually brings glory to God and not to the person. I found this comparison extremely interesting. Both of these religions believe in one God, an afterlife, and that one should stand up for their beliefs, and yet Christianity focuses on giving glory to God, while Muslims focus on bringing glory to themselves. One tool used in two different ways. Martyrdom used to bring glory to God in one religion and martyrdom used to bring glory to themselves in another religion. Reading about Muhammad and his life has given me a better grasp on what muslims actually believe.
There's a reason why so many suicide bombers are Muslim. It's like self-inflicted martyrdom of the modern age. I think you raise an good point in differentiating between motives of Christian and Islamic martyrdom.
The difference between the Christian and Muslim view of war really struck me. Christians are called to be at peace with all men, something that got them in trouble with the Romans in the first few centuries A.D. Muslims, on the other hand, are perfectly willing to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam, and it is even considered holy to do so, and to die in attempting to do so. The contrast between the two Muslim battle cries in two of their battles seems very significant to me. In the first of the two, they cry "One God, one God," which indicates that they are doing this because they believe it is right. While this is still inexcusable, it is better than the sentiment expressed in their other war cry, "Slay, slay," which is unchecked blood lust. This is just another reminder to me that while Islam in some part seems compatible to Christianity, there are many, many things which separate the two, more than simply that we believe Christ is God, and they do not. It is saddening to see so many people killing each other, because one party believes it is commanded by their religion.
You make some interesting points. In fact, one day, one of my friends was at church and one or two Muslims came in to talk about Islamism, and the biggest thing my friend took away from it was that the Muslim's talked about how Islamism simply translates into, "struggle," and Islamism isn't rooted in washing the earth in blood in order for Allah to come down from the heavens. They said there are simply a small group of extremists that believe that. However, after reading this, it is interesting to see how Islamism was indeed intended for a holy war against all infidels. It is, of course, important to remember that not all Muslims are extremists, but it is even more important to realize that Islamism was never meant to be a religion of peace, but it is indeed intended for war. In fact, with the situation in Iran and other Islamic countries alike, people are especially worried about Islamic leaders getting their hands on nuclear weapons because that would enable the leaders to catalyze Allah's coming by wiping out as many non-believers as possible.
While reading, the similarities between events involving Christ and events involving Muhammad was something that I found to be fascinating. In particular, there was a story about a girl that was bringing dates to her father and uncle for breakfast, she passed by Muhammad who stopped her, asked what she was doing, and then he took the dates, laid them on a blanket, called all of the workers to breakfast, and the dates never ran out. Sound familiar, Jesus fed the five thousand with a few loaves and fish. So it was similarities like this, that I found to be interesting. Also, as R.W. has already mentioned, I found the Muslim's idea of martyrdom to be interesting and sad. The whole 9/11 attack came at the hands of young Jihadists, thus showing that the muslim idea of martyrdom for glory and to find immense favor in the eyes of Allah, is very well ingrained in today's day and age. As I was reading, I could not help but feel sorry for the thousands upon thousands of people that were led astray by Muhammad and his teachings. Their beliefs are not far off from a Christian's, yet they are immensely far off the mark. It's simply just another example of people trying to fill the void in their hearts and minds with something that only God can fill, all as a result of sin in the world.
I have to say that I agree with both RW and Katie...The differences between Christians and Muslims are immense. On one hand you have people who are martyred not for themselves but to bring glory to God, with a few exceptions. On the other, as RW said, there are those (Muslims) who viewed martyrdom as a means to bring glory to themselves, to be remembered, and to bring honor to their families. While the text did mention several times that the Apostle of Allah declared that his men would die for the faith, it still makes you wonder if that was indeed true.
Another thing that I was slightly unprepared for was the large massacres of people who would not convert to Islam. This is in stark contrast from a Christian point of view, where the notion of respect, for a lack of a better word, remains true. For instance, when Paul was trying to bring people to the Word of Christ, he was ultimately unable to convert everyone he met. Rather than killing those who denied Christ, he deemed it as their loss, as Christ would judge them in death, therefore punishing them how He saw fit. In this way, Christians tend to leave the decision to God, rather than taking it upon themselves, with a few exceptions such as the Crusades. Our Lord says to us to show love to our brethren, while in Islam, there appears to be almost encouragement from Allah to kill to spread the religion. By these murderous events, I think in away they affected the entire religion, as people would be converting out of fear, rather than for a love that can only be experienced from a higher power. I find this difficult to put into words, as I am obviously a Christian trying to speak from a view point that is not my own. With that being said, I found the reading slightly entertaining, however it also made me even more grateful to be a Christian.
What I found very interesting in the final part of Ibn Ishaq’s “Life of Mohammed” was the Muslims insatiable (Lit. vocab – bonus!! ;D) desire to violently spread Islam. Ishaq spends a lot of time detailing the exploits of the Muslim conquerors and their early victories. Even massacres were very sacred. Mohammed prays before battle, “Grant me Thy promised aid and annihilate them this day!” One of the Islamists comments after a battle, “This is the first defeat which Allah has visited on the infidels, and I would rather have seen wholesale slaughter than this preservation of life.” I kept contrasting this with the Biblical model of evangelism. Early in Christian history, as God was establishing his kingdom Israel, there was violence. Under the old covenant, you were required to follow the law or face death. The unrepentant nations around Israel were destroyed and Israel was preserved. However God was an “equal opportunity employer,” so to speak. Were Israel to fall into the same sin, they were equally culpable (cf. the Babylonian exile). All this was to demonstrate that the law was impossible to follow, and God’s wrath was not to be taken idly. Yet in the Muslim religion, you never see God indict Mohammed or the Islamists. No matter how heinous their crime of the Jihadists, Allah never punishes the Muslims, only the infidels. And the slaughter often moves beyond the wrath of God and into the realm of personal glory. Martyrs who die in battle are given immeasurable glories in heaven, almost like the Valhalla of Norse mythology. One man named Jafar is even given wings in heaven to fly around. The bloodlust is often less holy and more for the personal conquests of Mohammed and his followers. But most importantly, there is never any departure from this carnage in Islam. In Christianity, the old covenant has been fulfilled in Christ. We are no longer under sin but under grace. The old law of rules and death was but a “shadow of the glories to come,” as it says in Hebrews. Now God has welcomed all into his family based simply on faith. The apostles spread the good news that Jesus has died for the sins of all. And they didn’t do it at sword-point. They did it with the sword of the spirit. But the Muslims don’t have a message of good news – of salvation by faith. They don’t have a new covenant, or a savior who has freed them from the bonds of laws and the threat of death. They just have the jihad: an endless, bloody, brutal, merciless, genocidal quest. We should be thankful we have been freed from wages of sin and death, but that we have been redeemed by the free gift of God that is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What i found interesting about this weeks reading was just the difference between the Muslim and the Christian religions. As we see in Christianity Jesus is this loving God who cares about his people is forgiving, loving etc. Then when we look at the Muslims they worship a God that only gets sacrificed too, and it seems like the people in that religion don't really expect mush in return from their God. Another thing i thought to be interesting was the way they portrayed the divinity of Christ, the way i took this was that they thought Jesus was merely a man and a prophet that was simply inferior to Muhammad.I find it interesting when studying any religion what their view of Christ is. Another thing that i thought was interesting is how the Muslim would kill anyone that would not convert and it seemed that they did this easily with no conscious which when you think about can be quite frightening.
I think it was interesting just how alike this story was to the Bible! An example is where the little girl gives Muhammad the dates and he feeds all these people-Just like Jesus feeding the thousands. But it was also interesting to see how much more hopeful and encouraging the Bible is compared to these stories! Reading this was almost like reading a knock off of the Bible. I didn't really like it.
It is interesting that Islam was founded on such warlike values, while most major religions are the opposite. However some of the posts that contrast this aspect with the claimed peacefulness of Christianity are perhaps not entirely accurate (for lack of a better word). Although Christianity was obviously not founded on the same warlike values as Islam, what would be defined as “Christianity” has massively deviated from the peaceful values that Jesus taught. There are many historical examples of this, including the Crusades in the Middle Ages, the Spanish inquisition, the 30 Years War and other wars fueled by Catholic and Protestant animosity, and the constant persecution of other denominations throughout history. The forced conversion of the natives in North and especially South America was basically same thing the Muslims did when they were expanding, and many “Christian” governments and countries have used the fact that their victims are “pagan” as a justification for abusing people groups of other religions or ethnicities, a great example of this would be the treatment the Native Americans received. Christianity was really founded on peaceful values, but before we judge Islam too much we need to remember we have some stains in our history as well.
I think you raise a good point about Christian/church history having a lot of blemishes too. That's something I thought about during the reading. The church has done tons of horrible things "in the name of Christianity" over the years. The distinction is found in the actual teachings. Christ is the foundation of Christianity and the church's misbehavior is not inline with what Christ taught. Mohammad, on the other hand, is the foundation of Islam, so to speak, and many of the terrible things that the Muslims are sadly in accordance with his teachings. So essentially the church was often not inline with it's own teachings when partaking in violence, while Islam was inline with it's teachings. I hope that makes sense!
I was planning on writing about violence in Islam as perceived in the reading, but most of my thoughts have been taken. Thus, I will try a stream of consciousnessy blog post to liven up everyone's day.
I thought it was interesting that the Koran was not written all at once. Indeed, from the reading it seemed like merely a collection of prayers, main doctrines, and various restrictions or commands that Mohammad used to avoid tight situations. Much of the violence in spreading the declarations laid out in the Koran is justified by the pervasive paganism surrounding the early Muslims, however, as we discussed in class, the surrounding peoples were mostly Jews and Christians. This leads to my second point.
This whole account of Mohammad seems very idealized. The apostle of Allah is always rallying his followers to great effect. Pagans, Jews, and Christians are converted by the bucketload, and if they aren't, it is due to dogmatism or some volitional reason. Both of the latter religionists in the account affirm Allah by citing nonexistent biblical prophesies foretelling Mohammad.
After a brief period of family conversion to Islam, Mohammad begins some large scale conquests of cities, forcing the populations to convert or die. Allah is often cited as a 'merciful god,' yet there is no mercy for infidels. In Christianity, even though nonbelievers are condemned by their sin, God still loves them, so much so, that he sent Christ. Ironically, while Allah shows no mercy for the infidels, he allows some terrible crimes to go unpunished because the accused is a Muslim.
This is where Islam departs from reason. Many ask why Christ had to die and why God couldn't just have forgiven us without Jesus' death. Had he done this, the broken laws would still be unpunished, and thus, we could not be completely cleansed. The punishment must either be ours, or placed on Christ. Thus, because Islam dismisses the crucifixion, the 'forgiveness' presented by Allah does not really work, for he is a picture not of intentional grace, but of personal whim. Sorry about my scattered thoughts on this post.
Several things in the reading stood out to me. In the first half of the reading, I felt like the spread of Islam was in some ways similar to that of Christianity. In it's earliest years Islam was seemingly a peaceful and tolerant religion. I found it a little disturbing how alike the accounts of people converting to Islam were in comparison to the accounts of people converting to Christianity presented in the bible. Converts in both camps are recorded to have said very similar things about "finally finding the truth" and showed similar "deep" emotions. Once Mohammad began to endorse violence however, the similarities dissolved. Christianity clearly promotes peaceful treatment of nonbelievers, while Islam promotes violence against "infidels." I have to say I'm quite surprised at how much of a following Mohammad managed to attain. He's this random guy, who has occasional little trances (i.e. he falls asleep), and comes out of the trances claiming he's the only person in the world who has attained truth...and people totally fall for him and hang on his every word. I find it quite bizarre. Christianity (on the other hand) has an actual foundation. For one, many prophesies in the old testament clearly point to Christ. During his time on earth, Christ clearly fulfilled said prophecies (he even harkens back to them as they occur). Christ also states that he's the Son of God. That should seemingly have a lot more weight than some random guy claiming he's only an "apostle of God." With all that in mind, Christianity has a massive foundation laid over many years, while Islam has practically nothing in comparison. I'm amazed that people so blindly followed Mohammad, converting from Christianity to Islam, when the only proofs he (Mohammad) offered for his beliefs were his own experiences/words and a few weak connections to the Old Testament (Ishmael, for example). How were people so moved by Islam that they would switched from something as solidly rooted as Christianity to something as seemingly whimsically rooted as Islam? It's strange.
On the subject of similarities between Christianity and Islam, I noticed that some of the stories about Mohammad's acts were similar to those of Christ's. For example, Mohammed's feeding of hundreds of people with dates and a lamb reminded me of the feeding of the 5000. I also thought the following quote had a small-scale and warped similarity to the Christ's death for mankind.
"You have committed a murder for which I shall pay the blood ransom; but if after my stay here anyone is killed, the relative of the murdered man will have the choice between the blood of the murderer or a ransom." ~Mohammad
Having derived from Christianity, so to speak, I think the two example above show some of the ideas that Mohammad liked and decided to try and make his own. It seems kind of silly of him (I mean, did he really think nobody would notice him copycatting?), but there you have it!
The similarities between Ibn's account of Muhammad's and the Islamic religion to Christ and Christianity were really interesting. Muhammad's birth was similar to Christ's when Muhammad's mother was struck with a vision that she would bear a son and she was to call him Muhammad. Also, the story about Muhammad's stomach being cut open in the stomach reminded me of Christ being stabbed when he was on the cross. This combined with many other stories like Muhammad feeding the thousands with just a handful of dates, Muhammad's (almost) sinless nature, and other accounts throughout "The Life of Muhammad" had a striking resemblance to the Bible. Nevertheless, this got me to thinking about how I perceived all of these stories.
Now, don't lie, did you read a lot of the stories about Muhammad's miraculous visions/actions and sort of scoff at them, telling yourself how they were nothing more than made up stories to give Islamism that "awe" factor? Well, I know I did. But then I though, I wonder if that is how Islamists, or any nonbelievers really, view the Bible? To me, when I read the Bible and read about Jesus' miracles, I never think about how they're simply made up fables, I see them as God's divine hand acting upon this earth and there is nothing unreal about them. Nevertheless, even though "The Life of Muhammad" is very similar to the Bible, I rolled my eyes at some of the stories about Muhammad simply because according to my background in Christianity, I knew those claims to be false. However, It was sort of a reality check because that is probably exactly how unbelievers portray the Bible. Indeed, some believers probably struggle with accepting everything said in the Bible. "The Life of Muhammad," for me anyway, was just a nice reminder to step out of my own point of view and see from the other side. It was a reminder that a Christian's perception of the world and other beliefs is not the only one. It is equally important to know what your defending as it is to know what your defending against. Likewise, it is critical in a Christian's ability to approach, say, a Muslim, and have a real theological discussion with them without being offensive or completely ignorant about their beliefs, thus you establish yourself great credibility with that Muslim, and that is how you catch their attention. Would you like talking to a Muslim who kept denying Christ's deity, merely calling him a prophet of Allah? Probably not. So always remember to account for the various perceptions of theological beliefs; just because you see your Christianity in one way, doesn't mean that is everyone's point of view.
The similarities between Islam and Christianity are almost uncanny. Like Mark said, I wonder if people regard Christianity, which makes so much sense to us, is a creepy and weird religion. If we were to talk to a muslim, their, "Bible" is extremely similar, But unlike Islam, Christianity doesn't say to kill unbelievers, rather to minister and teach them. If we killed people because our Bible tells us too, then our religion seems very creepy. Although we have those creepy extremists who had issued a global jihad on America, Islam and its architecture and belief system is quite fascinating. I enjoyed reading about the similarities and the differences.
Both the Quran and the Bible are full of babaric practices and beliefs. One of the main differences between the two faiths is the comparison between the two founders; one being a peaceful person and the other a bloodthirsty lunatic.
What interested me during this weeks reading, was how much Muhammad stressed the idea of martyrdom. Our class just recently discussed martyrdom from a Christian point of view, now reading this I am able to see how the Muslims viewed martyrdom. From what I read, Muhammad seemed to really stress martyrdom in battle. The Muslims were notorious for getting rid of groups that do not agree with the Muslim way of life and therefore they dispose of them. Before going into battle this one instance, a muslim named Abdullah b. Rawaha encouraged his men with these words, "What you now recoil from is just what you came in search of, martyrdom. We do not go to fight these people with numbers, strength, or multitudes, but with the religion of Allah! Therefore press on. Only one of two things can happen - both good - either victory or martyrdom." So to the Muslims, going into battle for Allah could only result in two positive options, victory or martyrdom. Victory would continue to grow the muslim cause and martyrdom was considered the highest act a Muslim could do for Allah. Muslims would seek out martyrdom in order to receive honor on earth.
ReplyDeleteCompared to Christianity, The muslim view of martyrdom seems to suggest that being martyred is a way to be honored on this earth. Whereas in Christianity, being martyred usually brings glory to God and not to the person. I found this comparison extremely interesting. Both of these religions believe in one God, an afterlife, and that one should stand up for their beliefs, and yet Christianity focuses on giving glory to God, while Muslims focus on bringing glory to themselves. One tool used in two different ways. Martyrdom used to bring glory to God in one religion and martyrdom used to bring glory to themselves in another religion. Reading about Muhammad and his life has given me a better grasp on what muslims actually believe.
There's a reason why so many suicide bombers are Muslim. It's like self-inflicted martyrdom of the modern age. I think you raise an good point in differentiating between motives of Christian and Islamic martyrdom.
DeleteThe difference between the Christian and Muslim view of war really struck me. Christians are called to be at peace with all men, something that got them in trouble with the Romans in the first few centuries A.D. Muslims, on the other hand, are perfectly willing to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam, and it is even considered holy to do so, and to die in attempting to do so. The contrast between the two Muslim battle cries in two of their battles seems very significant to me. In the first of the two, they cry "One God, one God," which indicates that they are doing this because they believe it is right. While this is still inexcusable, it is better than the sentiment expressed in their other war cry, "Slay, slay," which is unchecked blood lust. This is just another reminder to me that while Islam in some part seems compatible to Christianity, there are many, many things which separate the two, more than simply that we believe Christ is God, and they do not. It is saddening to see so many people killing each other, because one party believes it is commanded by their religion.
ReplyDeleteYou make some interesting points. In fact, one day, one of my friends was at church and one or two Muslims came in to talk about Islamism, and the biggest thing my friend took away from it was that the Muslim's talked about how Islamism simply translates into, "struggle," and Islamism isn't rooted in washing the earth in blood in order for Allah to come down from the heavens. They said there are simply a small group of extremists that believe that. However, after reading this, it is interesting to see how Islamism was indeed intended for a holy war against all infidels. It is, of course, important to remember that not all Muslims are extremists, but it is even more important to realize that Islamism was never meant to be a religion of peace, but it is indeed intended for war. In fact, with the situation in Iran and other Islamic countries alike, people are especially worried about Islamic leaders getting their hands on nuclear weapons because that would enable the leaders to catalyze Allah's coming by wiping out as many non-believers as possible.
DeleteWhile reading, the similarities between events involving Christ and events involving Muhammad was something that I found to be fascinating. In particular, there was a story about a girl that was bringing dates to her father and uncle for breakfast, she passed by Muhammad who stopped her, asked what she was doing, and then he took the dates, laid them on a blanket, called all of the workers to breakfast, and the dates never ran out. Sound familiar, Jesus fed the five thousand with a few loaves and fish. So it was similarities like this, that I found to be interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as R.W. has already mentioned, I found the Muslim's idea of martyrdom to be interesting and sad. The whole 9/11 attack came at the hands of young Jihadists, thus showing that the muslim idea of martyrdom for glory and to find immense favor in the eyes of Allah, is very well ingrained in today's day and age. As I was reading, I could not help but feel sorry for the thousands upon thousands of people that were led astray by Muhammad and his teachings. Their beliefs are not far off from a Christian's, yet they are immensely far off the mark. It's simply just another example of people trying to fill the void in their hearts and minds with something that only God can fill, all as a result of sin in the world.
I have to say that I agree with both RW and Katie...The differences between Christians and Muslims are immense. On one hand you have people who are martyred not for themselves but to bring glory to God, with a few exceptions. On the other, as RW said, there are those (Muslims) who viewed martyrdom as a means to bring glory to themselves, to be remembered, and to bring honor to their families. While the text did mention several times that the Apostle of Allah declared that his men would die for the faith, it still makes you wonder if that was indeed true.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I was slightly unprepared for was the large massacres of people who would not convert to Islam. This is in stark contrast from a Christian point of view, where the notion of respect, for a lack of a better word, remains true. For instance, when Paul was trying to bring people to the Word of Christ, he was ultimately unable to convert everyone he met. Rather than killing those who denied Christ, he deemed it as their loss, as Christ would judge them in death, therefore punishing them how He saw fit. In this way, Christians tend to leave the decision to God, rather than taking it upon themselves, with a few exceptions such as the Crusades. Our Lord says to us to show love to our brethren, while in Islam, there appears to be almost encouragement from Allah to kill to spread the religion. By these murderous events, I think in away they affected the entire religion, as people would be converting out of fear, rather than for a love that can only be experienced from a higher power. I find this difficult to put into words, as I am obviously a Christian trying to speak from a view point that is not my own. With that being said, I found the reading slightly entertaining, however it also made me even more grateful to be a Christian.
What I found very interesting in the final part of Ibn Ishaq’s “Life of Mohammed” was the Muslims insatiable (Lit. vocab – bonus!! ;D) desire to violently spread Islam. Ishaq spends a lot of time detailing the exploits of the Muslim conquerors and their early victories. Even massacres were very sacred. Mohammed prays before battle, “Grant me Thy promised aid and annihilate them this day!” One of the Islamists comments after a battle, “This is the first defeat which Allah has visited on the infidels, and I would rather have seen wholesale slaughter than this preservation of life.” I kept contrasting this with the Biblical model of evangelism. Early in Christian history, as God was establishing his kingdom Israel, there was violence. Under the old covenant, you were required to follow the law or face death. The unrepentant nations around Israel were destroyed and Israel was preserved. However God was an “equal opportunity employer,” so to speak. Were Israel to fall into the same sin, they were equally culpable (cf. the Babylonian exile). All this was to demonstrate that the law was impossible to follow, and God’s wrath was not to be taken idly.
ReplyDeleteYet in the Muslim religion, you never see God indict Mohammed or the Islamists. No matter how heinous their crime of the Jihadists, Allah never punishes the Muslims, only the infidels. And the slaughter often moves beyond the wrath of God and into the realm of personal glory. Martyrs who die in battle are given immeasurable glories in heaven, almost like the Valhalla of Norse mythology. One man named Jafar is even given wings in heaven to fly around. The bloodlust is often less holy and more for the personal conquests of Mohammed and his followers.
But most importantly, there is never any departure from this carnage in Islam. In Christianity, the old covenant has been fulfilled in Christ. We are no longer under sin but under grace. The old law of rules and death was but a “shadow of the glories to come,” as it says in Hebrews. Now God has welcomed all into his family based simply on faith. The apostles spread the good news that Jesus has died for the sins of all. And they didn’t do it at sword-point. They did it with the sword of the spirit. But the Muslims don’t have a message of good news – of salvation by faith. They don’t have a new covenant, or a savior who has freed them from the bonds of laws and the threat of death. They just have the jihad: an endless, bloody, brutal, merciless, genocidal quest. We should be thankful we have been freed from wages of sin and death, but that we have been redeemed by the free gift of God that is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What i found interesting about this weeks reading was just the difference between the Muslim and the Christian religions. As we see in Christianity Jesus is this loving God who cares about his people is forgiving, loving etc. Then when we look at the Muslims they worship a God that only gets sacrificed too, and it seems like the people in that religion don't really expect mush in return from their God. Another thing i thought to be interesting was the way they portrayed the divinity of Christ, the way i took this was that they thought Jesus was merely a man and a prophet that was simply inferior to Muhammad.I find it interesting when studying any religion what their view of Christ is. Another thing that i thought was interesting is how the Muslim would kill anyone that would not convert and it seemed that they did this easily with no conscious which when you think about can be quite frightening.
ReplyDeleteI think it was interesting just how alike this story was to the Bible! An example is where the little girl gives Muhammad the dates and he feeds all these people-Just like Jesus feeding the thousands. But it was also interesting to see how much more hopeful and encouraging the Bible is compared to these stories! Reading this was almost like reading a knock off of the Bible. I didn't really like it.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Islam was founded on such warlike values, while most major religions are the opposite. However some of the posts that contrast this aspect with the claimed peacefulness of Christianity are perhaps not entirely accurate (for lack of a better word). Although Christianity was obviously not founded on the same warlike values as Islam, what would be defined as “Christianity” has massively deviated from the peaceful values that Jesus taught. There are many historical examples of this, including the Crusades in the Middle Ages, the Spanish inquisition, the 30 Years War and other wars fueled by Catholic and Protestant animosity, and the constant persecution of other denominations throughout history. The forced conversion of the natives in North and especially South America was basically same thing the Muslims did when they were expanding, and many “Christian” governments and countries have used the fact that their victims are “pagan” as a justification for abusing people groups of other religions or ethnicities, a great example of this would be the treatment the Native Americans received. Christianity was really founded on peaceful values, but before we judge Islam too much we need to remember we have some stains in our history as well.
ReplyDeleteI think you raise a good point about Christian/church history having a lot of blemishes too. That's something I thought about during the reading. The church has done tons of horrible things "in the name of Christianity" over the years. The distinction is found in the actual teachings. Christ is the foundation of Christianity and the church's misbehavior is not inline with what Christ taught. Mohammad, on the other hand, is the foundation of Islam, so to speak, and many of the terrible things that the Muslims are sadly in accordance with his teachings. So essentially the church was often not inline with it's own teachings when partaking in violence, while Islam was inline with it's teachings. I hope that makes sense!
DeleteI was planning on writing about violence in Islam as perceived in the reading, but most of my thoughts have been taken. Thus, I will try a stream of consciousnessy blog post to liven up everyone's day.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that the Koran was not written all at once. Indeed, from the reading it seemed like merely a collection of prayers, main doctrines, and various restrictions or commands that Mohammad used to avoid tight situations. Much of the violence in spreading the declarations laid out in the Koran is justified by the pervasive paganism surrounding the early Muslims, however, as we discussed in class, the surrounding peoples were mostly Jews and Christians. This leads to my second point.
This whole account of Mohammad seems very idealized. The apostle of Allah is always rallying his followers to great effect. Pagans, Jews, and Christians are converted by the bucketload, and if they aren't, it is due to dogmatism or some volitional reason. Both of the latter religionists in the account affirm Allah by citing nonexistent biblical prophesies foretelling Mohammad.
After a brief period of family conversion to Islam, Mohammad begins some large scale conquests of cities, forcing the populations to convert or die. Allah is often cited as a 'merciful god,' yet there is no mercy for infidels. In Christianity, even though nonbelievers are condemned by their sin, God still loves them, so much so, that he sent Christ. Ironically, while Allah shows no mercy for the infidels, he allows some terrible crimes to go unpunished because the accused is a Muslim.
This is where Islam departs from reason. Many ask why Christ had to die and why God couldn't just have forgiven us without Jesus' death. Had he done this, the broken laws would still be unpunished, and thus, we could not be completely cleansed. The punishment must either be ours, or placed on Christ. Thus, because Islam dismisses the crucifixion, the 'forgiveness' presented by Allah does not really work, for he is a picture not of intentional grace, but of personal whim. Sorry about my scattered thoughts on this post.
Several things in the reading stood out to me. In the first half of the reading, I felt like the spread of Islam was in some ways similar to that of Christianity. In it's earliest years Islam was seemingly a peaceful and tolerant religion. I found it a little disturbing how alike the accounts of people converting to Islam were in comparison to the accounts of people converting to Christianity presented in the bible. Converts in both camps are recorded to have said very similar things about "finally finding the truth" and showed similar "deep" emotions. Once Mohammad began to endorse violence however, the similarities dissolved. Christianity clearly promotes peaceful treatment of nonbelievers, while Islam promotes violence against "infidels." I have to say I'm quite surprised at how much of a following Mohammad managed to attain. He's this random guy, who has occasional little trances (i.e. he falls asleep), and comes out of the trances claiming he's the only person in the world who has attained truth...and people totally fall for him and hang on his every word. I find it quite bizarre. Christianity (on the other hand) has an actual foundation. For one, many prophesies in the old testament clearly point to Christ. During his time on earth, Christ clearly fulfilled said prophecies (he even harkens back to them as they occur). Christ also states that he's the Son of God. That should seemingly have a lot more weight than some random guy claiming he's only an "apostle of God." With all that in mind, Christianity has a massive foundation laid over many years, while Islam has practically nothing in comparison. I'm amazed that people so blindly followed Mohammad, converting from Christianity to Islam, when the only proofs he (Mohammad) offered for his beliefs were his own experiences/words and a few weak connections to the Old Testament (Ishmael, for example). How were people so moved by Islam that they would switched from something as solidly rooted as Christianity to something as seemingly whimsically rooted as Islam? It's strange.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of similarities between Christianity and Islam, I noticed that some of the stories about Mohammad's acts were similar to those of Christ's. For example, Mohammed's feeding of hundreds of people with dates and a lamb reminded me of the feeding of the 5000. I also thought the following quote had a small-scale and warped similarity to the Christ's death for mankind.
"You have committed a murder for which I shall pay the blood ransom; but if after my stay here anyone is killed, the relative of the murdered man will have the choice between the blood of the murderer or a ransom." ~Mohammad
Having derived from Christianity, so to speak, I think the two example above show some of the ideas that Mohammad liked and decided to try and make his own. It seems kind of silly of him (I mean, did he really think nobody would notice him copycatting?), but there you have it!
The similarities between Ibn's account of Muhammad's and the Islamic religion to Christ and Christianity were really interesting. Muhammad's birth was similar to Christ's when Muhammad's mother was struck with a vision that she would bear a son and she was to call him Muhammad. Also, the story about Muhammad's stomach being cut open in the stomach reminded me of Christ being stabbed when he was on the cross. This combined with many other stories like Muhammad feeding the thousands with just a handful of dates, Muhammad's (almost) sinless nature, and other accounts throughout "The Life of Muhammad" had a striking resemblance to the Bible. Nevertheless, this got me to thinking about how I perceived all of these stories.
ReplyDeleteNow, don't lie, did you read a lot of the stories about Muhammad's miraculous visions/actions and sort of scoff at them, telling yourself how they were nothing more than made up stories to give Islamism that "awe" factor? Well, I know I did. But then I though, I wonder if that is how Islamists, or any nonbelievers really, view the Bible? To me, when I read the Bible and read about Jesus' miracles, I never think about how they're simply made up fables, I see them as God's divine hand acting upon this earth and there is nothing unreal about them. Nevertheless, even though "The Life of Muhammad" is very similar to the Bible, I rolled my eyes at some of the stories about Muhammad simply because according to my background in Christianity, I knew those claims to be false. However, It was sort of a reality check because that is probably exactly how unbelievers portray the Bible. Indeed, some believers probably struggle with accepting everything said in the Bible. "The Life of Muhammad," for me anyway, was just a nice reminder to step out of my own point of view and see from the other side. It was a reminder that a Christian's perception of the world and other beliefs is not the only one. It is equally important to know what your defending as it is to know what your defending against. Likewise, it is critical in a Christian's ability to approach, say, a Muslim, and have a real theological discussion with them without being offensive or completely ignorant about their beliefs, thus you establish yourself great credibility with that Muslim, and that is how you catch their attention. Would you like talking to a Muslim who kept denying Christ's deity, merely calling him a prophet of Allah? Probably not. So always remember to account for the various perceptions of theological beliefs; just because you see your Christianity in one way, doesn't mean that is everyone's point of view.
The similarities between Islam and Christianity are almost uncanny. Like Mark said, I wonder if people regard Christianity, which makes so much sense to us, is a creepy and weird religion. If we were to talk to a muslim, their, "Bible" is extremely similar, But unlike Islam, Christianity doesn't say to kill unbelievers, rather to minister and teach them. If we killed people because our Bible tells us too, then our religion seems very creepy. Although we have those creepy extremists who had issued a global jihad on America, Islam and its architecture and belief system is quite fascinating. I enjoyed reading about the similarities and the differences.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Quran and the Bible are full of babaric practices and beliefs. One of the main differences between the two faiths is the comparison between the two founders; one being a peaceful person and the other a bloodthirsty lunatic.
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