Abrahamic Religions Review - Essay Example

July 29, Review of Literature Several articles and videos argue that Abrahamic religions, specifically Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, should be viewed as having common roots. Their similarities should be a celebrated cause for unity, and their differences should not result to clashes among civilizations. These resources also demonstrate the vast misrepresentation of Arab and Muslim cultures and religions in the Western media, because of political and religious agenda of core state nations. Some articles further provide feasible and simple solutions that can help alleviate the distrust between the West and Islamic societies and to potentially foster multicultural and multireligious tolerance and respect, while also helping Islamic societies achieve domestic goals and interests. Islam and Christianity are different religions, but their ?ommon root(Quinn 172) should be enough to bind their believers in the modern world. Bulliet, in The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization, provides a broad historical and comparative analyses of the rise of Islamo-Christian Civilization and he contends that Christianity and Islam should be viewed as ?raternal twins(15). He concentrates on the co-existing growth of Islamic and Christian thinking during the ninth century and even several centuries after that. He emphasizes the importance of understanding that the ?ast and future of the West cannot be fully comprehended without appreciation of the twinned relationship it has had with Islam over some fourteen centuries. The same is true of the Islamic world(Bulliet 45). For instance, he stresses that there are similarities in the rise of religious specialists and universities (i.e. madrasas) for both Christianity and Islam, although differences became more pronounced some time in the Middle Ages. In chapter twelve of Global Islamic Politics, Husain argues that the Muslim world and the West can heal old wounds by focusing on common grounds and interests. Quinn, in ?he Summing Up-the Sum of All Heresies,agrees with Husain. Quinn concludes that Abrahamic faiths share the same respect for justice and love for and devotion to a single God and that should be considered as a strong tie that will bind Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The distrust between the West and Islamic states can be traced to biased Western media and government authorities that started from the Iranian Revolution up to the Gulf War, and even to the present. Clearly, there are political and economic agenda involved in these misrepresentations of Islam by Western media. In chapter eleven of Global Islamic Politics, Husain shows that Western media and administrations have a love/hate relationship with Islamic states, where America supported authoritarian Islamic regimes that reinforced the former's political and economic hegemony, and then the U.S. was forced to support new administrations that the people themselves established, like what happened after the Iranian Revolution. The War on Terror demonstrates that though Bush differentiated peace-loving Muslims from terrorists, the political and media rhetoric emphasized suspicion against Islamists, which as a whole, as Husain stresses, cannot be generalized as violent revolutionaries. Chapter twelve addresses the growing anti-Americanism attitudes and practices in the Middle East, due to the historical interventions of the U.S. in Islamic states that predominantly served the former's interests and assisted in the repression of these states' subordinates. Quinn traces the history of prejudice and discrimination against Muslims much farther into history, because of lack of information and interaction between Christians and Muslims during the early times. This ignorance and poor experience of Muslim religion and culture created a wide range of bigoted images about Islam. Quinn asserts that non-Muslims' local needs and aspirations became the ?rism(Quinn 161) by which Islam and Muslims are perceived, which affected how the former created and spread Islamic images. Said confirms the negative and incomplete images of Islam projected by Western media and authorities in ?overing Islam.He complains on how some influential Western journalists have successfully equated ?undamentalismand Islam, and how political interests colored and slanted Western news reporting about any news that concern Muslims or Islam. Understanding other people's history is important to a better relationship between the West and Islamic states, because it provides avenues for greater appreciation of and interaction among different religions and cultures, and as a result, this knowledge and experience will reduce fear of and hostility against each other. Lewis, in ?ther People's History,discusses the problems of westerners studying non-western histories. Before, westerners question the importance of studying ?eripheral(120) cultures and histories, but now, these non-western societies themselves question the right and validity of westerners studying their histories. Lewis notes that political ideologies and interests impact the rationale and agenda of western study of non-western histories. However, he argues that scholars have a moral and professional obligation to spread learning and understanding among different religions and cultures for the sake of attaining knowledge and expanding respect among different societies. Another article by Lewis, ?he Roots of Muslim Rage,explores the history of anti-Western and anti-Americanism in Muslim communities. This history is important, because it helps westerners understand the core causes of Muslim rage, which Lewis argues as hailing from the domination of the West, the attack against Muslim authority, and the infiltration of Islamic cultures and religions with Western, liberal values and practices that have led to wayward ?hildrenin their midst. Lewis underlines that there are reasons behind the Muslim rage that westerners should also be familiar to, so that they can appropriately deal with these causes. Several videos demonstrate that the Muslim world contributed a great deal to classic and modern scientific and cultural advancements and they demonstrate the rich and nuanced culture and contributions of Arab and Muslim societies throughout time. BBC's documentary, ?our: Science & Islam by Prof. Jim Al-Khalili,explores the scientific contributions of Muslims, such as in the fields of mathematics and science. ?hat the Ancients Did For Us - The Islamic Worldshows the vast Islamic empire's inventions and discoveries and how they affected ancient and modern worlds. Some of these inventions included the development of astronomy as science, discovery of the earth's angle of tilt, and inventions of windmills and soaps, as well as astrolabes that work like clocks. ?n Islamic History of Europestudies Islam's impact on European art, science, and philosophy. It shows historical milestones that many western historians neglected. During the expansion of Islam in the ancient times, Muslims created a new civilization that accumulated and revived old knowledge and skills. ?hen the Moors Ruled Europeexpands ?n Islamic History of Europe'sstudy of how the Muslim Moors conquered and developed Spanish art, science, and culture. These videos supported Bulliet's thesis that Christian and Islamic civilizations are more like twins than children of different parents. Islam can be a core difference between Islamic states and the West that can continue to haunt new world ties. Huntington examines these sources of conflicts further in ?he Global Politics of Civilizations.He underlines ?ntercivilizational conflictsthat arise from issues of political, military, economic, and cultural differences (208-209). He argues that worldwide peace can hardly be attained, when religious differences continue to be emphasized between the West and Islamic states. These religious differences bring about cultural and civilizational differences that further intensify the us-versus-them mindset for many centuries up to the present (Huntington 211). Klausen agrees with Huntington that religion impacts political affairs, in ?hristian and Muslim Europe.When Klausen says that Europeans are essentially Christians, he invokes ancient and modern Islamic sentiments that abhor European bias for Christianity and its Christian institutions. He also argues that ?qual treatmentof all religions implies ?qual constraints,because there will be substantive differences in real-life conditions (166). Religious differences can also become problematic because of Islamophobia, according to the article ?urope's Rising Islamophobiaby Hockenos. Islamophobia is used by all forms of political parties in order to advance their political agenda, without considering how this discriminatory attitude impacts the relationship between the non-Muslim and Muslim communities. Hockenos disagrees with how right and left movements use Islam to further their own interests, because their actions threaten the democracy that they also aim to uphold. Islam and its related components, such as Shariah, are gravely misunderstood and many people remain ignorant of the entire and multiple meaning and implications of Islamic beliefs, rules, and practices. ?hy Shariah?is an article by Feldman that discusses the outrage that Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, caused when he recommended the use of non-Christian courts to handle family matters. Apparently, the word ?hariahignited a wide range of protests, which for Feldman, underscores how little so many people understand about the fairness of the Islamic court system, such as how it grants property rights to women long before British courts have. He explores the intricacy of the word Shariah alone, which consists of more than rules, because it also ?epresents the idea that all human beings and all human governments are subject to justice under the law(Feldman 2). Watson treats ?ijaband wearing the veil in a more nuanced manner in ?omen and the Veil: Personal Responses to Global Processes.By interviewing four different Muslims from diverse economic, social, and cultural backgrounds, she asserts that wearing the veil is simply not about liberation or suppression, but includes a variety of reasons for women, including personal choice, religious duty, expression of social position and preference for traditional clothing. Her article underscores that people studying ?ijabcannot generalize what the veil symbolically and spiritually means for all female believers. Monshipouri explores human rights in ?he Politics and Practice of Human Rights in the Muslim World.For him, it will be more productive to examine the political, economic, social, and cultural structures of Islamic societies in order to understand their human rights framework and realities, instead of studying ?slamic sacred texts or hadith(2). Monshipouri disagrees with Huntington that religion is the gravest concern among Muslims, and particularly with respect to human rights. For Monshipouri, ?he greatest threats to human rights in the Muslim world are not religious or theological but political,and the main problem is that Islamic governments have a hard time aligning democratic rules and measures, without destabilizing political authority and ?heir own survival(10). Khalidi discloses misconceptions about Muslims in the ?he Arab Spring.This article shows that democratic space can exist within Arab and Muslim states, like what happened to Egypt in 2011 and other Muslim countries. Said's ?n Orientalismand “Edward Said: Orientalismvideos answer the question of why there are certain misconceptions about the Middle East. Said argues that Orientalist themes are products of Western political interests. Orientalism reflects how other cultures are projected as different in a negative way by dominating cultures that have distinct political and economic interests. Said notes that numerous twentieth and nineteenth century scholars share the same viewpoints, when they show images where the Orientals have not changed and improved at all for the past few centuries. Satloff, in ?mong the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands,underscores how Arabs helped many Jews escape death and further suffering during the Holocaust. This video shows that Arabs are not cowards and racists, because they are also benevolent human beings. Muslim societies can restore their Golden Era by examining their own flaws and weaknesses in different dimensions. Lewis, in ?hat Went Wrong?,describes how Muslim societies tried military, economic, and political structures to regain their previous glory, and then they experimented with democratic institutions and principles, but they turned into autocratic regimes instead. Lewis asserts that Muslim scholars argued it right that the way they unfairly treated their women affected their own development. Feldman asserts the power of the Shariah in resolving many of Islam's problems with autocratic regimes in ?he Fall and Rise of the Islamic State. Nasr, in ?he Rise of the Muslim Middle East Class,argues the power of the middle class in addressing systemic economic problems. Anderson, in ?he Arab Uprisings: The View from Cairo,highlights the importance of fighting for common dignity to fight back autocratic regimes. She asserts that recent Arab uprisings lacked a religious element, which shows that Arabs and Muslims are moving away from the anti-American discourse and are focusing on their domestic affairs and problems. Works Cited Anderson, Lisa. ?he Arab Uprisings: The View from Cairo.Mar. 2011. Web. 28 July 2011 . BBC. ?our: Science & Islam by Prof. Jim Al-Khalili.Web. 28 July 2011 . ---. ?hat the Ancients Did For Us - The Islamic WorldWeb. 28 July 2011 . ---. ?n Islamic History of Europe.Web. 28 July 2011< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0IaCK-7z5o>. ---. ?hen the Moors Ruled Europe. Web. 28 July 2011 . Bulliet, Richard W. The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. Print. Feldman, Noah. ?he Fall and Rise of the Islamic State.2008. Web. 28 July 2011 . ---. ?hy Shariah?” Hockenos, Paul. ?urope's Rising Islamophobia.” Huntington, Samuel P. ?he Global Politics of Civilizations.” Husain, Mir Zohair. Global Islamic Politics, Chs. 11And 12. Khalidi, Rashid. ?he Arab Spring.” Klausen, Jytte. ?hristian and Muslim Europe.” Lewis, Bernard. ?ther People's History.” ---. ?hat Went Wrong? Web. 28 July 2011 . ---. ?he Roots of Muslim Rage.?uinn, Frederick. ?he Summing Up-the Sum of All Heresies.” Monshipouri, Mahmood. ?he Politics and Practice of Human Rights in the Muslim World.” Nasr, Vali. ?he Rise of the Muslim Middle East Class.Web. 28 July 2011 . Said, Edward W. ?overing Islam: Introduction to the Vintage Edition.” ---. ?dward Said: Orientalism.16 Apr. 2003. Web. 28 July 2011 . ---. ?n Orientalism.Web. 28 July 2011 . Satloff, Robert. ?mong the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands.Web. 28 July 2011 . Watson, Helen. ?omen and the Veil: Personal Responses to Global Processes.” Read More