How the Relevance of Islam is Reflected in the Books - Essay Example

Comparative Book Review Comparative Book Review Introduction The book d, Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World authored by Carl Ernst is an intriguing read that presents Ernst perspectives on the Islamic religion. The book focuses on viewing Islam in the Western perspective and highlighting the flaws in such perspectives. On the other hand, Mona Siddiqui authored a text titled How to Read the Qur’an. This book focuses on highlighting the significance of the Qur’an as the sacred scriptures valued by the Muslims. Evidently, both books touch on the Islamic religion, during a time when several controversies have emerged to challenge the relevance of the Islam religion the books seek to shed light on some of the central aspects of the religion. This paper will contact a comparative book review highlighting the themes discussed in each of the books. Summary of the Books Carl Ernst, the author of ‘Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World’ is a religious scholar who has been influential in portraying Islam in a positive light and presenting new perspectives on the Islamic religion. This book was published in 2003, and focuses on describing the western perception of the Islamic religion. In the book, Ernst also strives to highlight the central beliefs defining the Islam religion. He describes Islam as a pluralist society, which does not have terrorism as a main agenda as many people have opined. He also considers the relevant view that Muslims should have towards their religion (Ernst, 2004). In chapter one of the book, Ernst describes how the western perspectives of Islam have led to the prejudice. He offers a critical analysis of the western perception of Islam in the historical context. He considers the medieval times and works towards the perceptions depicted by the westerners in the modern day. Ernst places emphasis on the fact that the global society should focus on adopting new perspectives of the Islam religion. According to him, it is critical for westerners to develop a measure of tolerance towards Islam. On the other hand, the book titled How to Read the Qur’an, which was published in 2008, has the purpose of helping those interested in the Qur’an to have a reliable guideline for understanding the sacred scriptures. The author of the book realized that the Quran was used by more than a billion people across the globe, and was considered a source of sacred scriptures. The author highlights that the Qur’an is regarded highly as God’s Word, which has exhibited relevance and timelessness (Siddiqui, 2007). Siddiqui highlights the significance of helping Muslims study the Quran. Moreover, the book gives attention to describing the intellectual traditions of Islam as have been described by historical Muslim figures. The book handles the central tenets of the Islam religion, such as prophecy, sin, law, and salvation. Most importantly, the author sought to reveal the position of Islam in the future revelations. The author acknowledges that Muslims represent the last people in human history before the current systems of religions are brought to an end. The book places emphasis on the need for Muslims to read the text keenly if they are to understand the role of the Quran in the religion. In the first chapter of this book, the author discusses the Qur’an as ‘the book of guidance’. Siddiqui bases this chapter on the al-Baqarah 2:1-7 sura of the Qur’an. Using this as a basis, the chapter describes how Muhammad received the sacred scriptures, making the Qur’an a holy book (Siddiqui, 2007). The Topical Overview the two Books Evidently, both authors were writing with the intention of clearing matters surrounding the Islam religion. Whereas Ernst wrote his book to reveal the emerging perspectives in the West concerning Muslims, Siddiqui intended to clear the doubts surrounding the authenticity of the Qur’an. Both the Islam religion and their holy book, the Qur’an has received criticism, especially after global events linked with terrorism perpetrated by young Muslims. Siddiqui tries to clear blames placed on the Qur’an that it has passages that promote terrorism. In her elaboration of how the Qur’an came into being and the central content contained in it, she reveals that the Qur’an supports peace and mercy. Therefore, both books begin by addressing the existing controversy that has come to define the Islam religion in the modern day (Siddiqui, 2007). Discussion of Qur’an in both Books In both books, the Qur’an is identified as the holy book. Ernst recognizes that the Qur’an is an equivalent of the bible used by the Christians and is highly valued by the Muslims. Notably, Siddiqui gives the same regard to the Qur’an in her book. In the book, the Quran is considered as both a text with the sacred scriptures, but also a book with eternal value under this context, the author discusses the emerging perspectives of the Islam religion and how the Qur’an has remained outstandingly relevant to the Islam religion. Siddiqui gives attention to the central beliefs that define the Islam religion. She discusses the five principal rituals namely, Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawn, and Hajji. These are described in the Qur’an and are critical rituals that all Muslims must practice. The book goes further to discuss modesty and modernity concerning the dress code established by the Islamic religion for women. The author uses source from the Qur’an to highlight issues of gender equality related to dressing. Without doubt, some passages in the Qur’an considers women as inferior to men as the book highlights. Ernst also discusses how Muslims view issues related to gender equality as defined in the different suras of the Qur’an. The book develops an appreciation of the Qur’an as a holy book deserving a regular consideration if Muslims are to understand the things that it reveals (Siddiqui, 2007). In addition, Ernst offers a comparison of the Qur’an with other sacred scriptures such as the bible. He indicates that the Qur’an has a special status as the ‘word of God’. Although the Qur’an may be compared to the bible, Ernst believes that comparing it to Jesus who is considered as ‘the word’ is not appropriate. In his fourth chapter of the book, he tackles the ethical values of the Islamic religion, which are outlined in the Qur’an. Evidently, the book highlights that the Qur’an and other sources of literature used by the Muslims have been widely interpreted. The interpretations conform to the interactions of Muslims with other societies such as the Greeks (Ernst, 2004). Worth noting is the fact that the other book conforms to the views presented in this chapter because it describes the Qur’an as the most important source of sacred scriptures for the Muslims and recognizes that this holy book has been widely interpreted. Ernst seems to highlight that both the Islamic civilization and the western civilization developed from Greek knowledge based on philosophies and prophetic revelations revealed in the sacred scriptures. The Significance of Prophet Muhammad as Discussed in both Books Ernst mentions that Prophet Muhammad is the most important individual considered as the exemplar for Muslims. Prophet Muhammad is regarded highly as Ernst depicts in this chapter. He is considered as an authority when undergoing a critical analysis of the Islamic religion (Ernst, 2004). The book also compares Prophet Muhammad with other central figures such as the Buddha of the Buddhist religion, and Jesus of the Christian religion. He does this in a bid to place emphasis on the central role of the prophet Muhammad. Siddiqui’s book also identifies prophet Muhammad as the most significant individual in the Islam religion. He is regarded as the last prophet and he is the one who received the final revelation from God in the form of the Quran (Siddiqui, 2007). Notably, Siddiqui also offers a comparison of Islam with Judaism and Christianity while discussing different aspects of the Qur’an teachings. The other source of the Islam religion considered in this chapter is the Qur’an. As highlighted above, the Qur’an is considered as the sacred scriptures of the Islam religion. Ernst discusses the role of the Qur’an in revealing the purpose of Allah to the people. Ernest’s also discusses the spirituality exhibited by the Muslims, especially the Sufism and Shi`i spirituality. Detailed descriptions of the spirituality forms are presented to help the reader become familiar with Islamic beliefs. In addition, Ernst also gives attention to art developed under the Islamic religion and its significant value in helping the reader understand the central tenets of the book (Ernst, 2004). In addition, Ernst offers a re-imagination of the Islam religion and its relevance in the 21st century. He further concludes by highlighting that it is inappropriate for opposing sides to develop any clashes of religion, especially those based on the mis-perceptions of the same religion. These subjects do not appear in Siddiqui’s book as main themes, although they are mentioned in the discussion of her different chapters (Siddiqui, 2007). Muslim Doctrines as Discussed in the Books In the discussion of Ernst presented in the book, there are the highlights of the Muslim doctrines. This is evident when he focuses on different types of spirituality exhibited by the Muslims. Throughout the content, it emerges that the Muslim doctrines surround Allah as the only true God, the Qur’an as their holy book, Prophet Muhammad as their exemplar, and other rituals that Muslims adhere to. On the other hand, Siddiqui also reveals different aspects of the Muslim doctrines as she describes how the Quran is to be read. She tackles topics such as God’s oneness, Prophecy, Law and authority, which define central doctrines of Islam (Siddiqui, 2007). Other Subjects Discussed in each Book Although both books highlight some similar subjects, each author focus on other topics which are different. For example, Siddiqui discusses details of mans creation and vocation, faith as ritual, reading as revelation, which do not appear in the book authored by Ernst. On the other hand, Ernst gives attention to the definition of religion in the western world, an aspect that is not handled by Siddiqui. Ernst book targets a non-Muslim audience because of his evident efforts of clearing the existing controversies. Siddiqui chose to address a Muslim audience, giving them a guideline on how to read the Qur’an (Ernst, 2004). Personal Reflection on Themes in Both Books After a close analysis of both texts, it becomes evident that they are reliable sources for readers who have an interest in understanding different perspectives of the Islamic religion that exists in the contemporary world. Since there has been a controversy surrounding the Islam religion and its values, especially in the view of terrorism, Ernst book offers a detailed discussion of how the contemporary perception of Islam resulted. Readers interested in understanding the Western perspectives that have seemed to redefine Islam can rely on this book as a foundational text in understanding those perspectives (Ernst, 2004). Although Ernst claims to be offering a non biased opinion and discussion of Islam, a critical analysis reveals that his text serves to clear Islam of some of the accusations and criticisms it has received in the recent past. However, Ernst is an informed scholar of the Islamic religion and his views can be considered acceptable, especially in the description of the central tenets that define Islam. On the other hand, Siddiqui succeeds in helping readers to have an open-minded view of the Qur’an. She illustrates that the Qur’an contains revelations from God, which were delivered to the prophet Muhammad (Siddiqui, 2007). Conclusion The two books discussed above serve as reliable texts in offering information concerning the Islam religion. Carl Ernst has a reputation of presenting a scholarly analysis of opinions that define Islam. In his book, he exposes the reader different perspectives that have shaped Islam in the modern day. His discussion clears the confusion that has surrounded Islam in the recent past. On the other hand, Siddiqui gives attention to the most important book given reverence by Muslims across the globe. She seeks to offer guidelines to Muslims on how to utilize the book in a beneficial way in different practices of their worship. References Ernst, C. W. (2004). Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the contemporary world. Chapel Hill [u.a.: Univ. of North Carolina Press. Siddiqui, M. (2007). How to read the Qurʼan. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Read More