Everything is Miscellaneous - Essay Example

One thing that has gone at stake is the reliability of information. Wikipedia happens to be one of the most frequently and commonly consulted website for gathering information about any kind of subject. However, Wikipedia offers all its users to contribute to the knowledge it stores in its database because of which, it is not believed to be a credible source of information in the academic world. “Philip Bradley, a librarian and Internet consultant, said in the Guardian that Wikipedia is theoretically “a lovely idea,” but “I wouldn’t use it, and I’m not aware of a single librarian who would”” (Weinberger 132).

Wikipedia rests on a miscellaneous system of spread of information. This paper critically analyzes a documentary that can be defined in similar terms. In this documentary (“Obsession: Radical Islam’s”), Islam is described as a threat to the Western culture. The documentary holds one of the most fundamental tenets of Islam, called as “Jihad” as the root cause of terrorism in the world. Jihad is one of the most commonly misunderstood and misinterpreted tenets of Islam in the West. Because of the way it has been portrayed in the media, many people particularly non-Muslims think of Jihad as terrorism.

Western media defines Jihad as radical Muslims’ declaration of war over the innocent non-Muslims. To give weight to image it wants to construct of Jihad, the documentary asserts that not only non-Muslims, but also many Muslims are also put to risk as a result of the spread of terrorism with Jihad because they are held accountable by the non-Muslims for the acts of the terrorist agencies. The documentary shows various scenes telecast on the TV channels mostly in Arabia in which Jihad has been defined as integrally associated with the spread of terrorism in the world (Munoz).

For instance, a scholar in one of the clips shown in the documentary says that it is not a sin for a Muslim to assassinate a non-Muslim because the latter is not more important than a cow. It is important to note that to understand Jihad in its true spirit, it is imperative that the history of Islam is read and Jihad is understood in context in which it has been made obligatory upon the followers of Islam. In order to understand the real meaning of Jihad, it must be noticed that most clips included in the documentary show misleading scholars that either are misinformed about the significance of Jihad in Islam or intentionally describe it wrongly so as to create confusions and controversies about Islam.

Such scholars are funded by anti-Islamic agencies that want to deter non-Muslims from embracing Islam, considering the fact that Islam is the fastest spreading religion in the world today. The documentary also shares some right concepts about Jihad. This makes it a mix of correct and incorrect descriptions of Jihad. For instance, the documentary tells that Jihad’s literal meaning is “struggle” which is correct (Fatoohi). “In Qur'an it is not jihad but values like justice, compassion and forgiveness are more prominent.

While these values are permanent and transcendent, war (for which Qur'an uses the word qital, not jihad) is contextual and defensive only when such situation arises” (Ali). Every year, millions of non-Muslims embrace Islam by their own choice rather than by