Islam as Unfamiliar Religious Tradition - Essay Example

Field Research into an unfamiliar religion tradition: Islam   Your compete Course Title Submission date Abstract In this field research, I have identified my personal misconceptions about an unfamiliar religion, Islam. I selected Islam due to my growing concern about world peace and increasing incident of terrorism and its association with Muslims or Islam. For understanding Islam and Muslims, I did interviews with a Muslim man and two women both online and offline. In order to satisfy my urge to know the truth, I researched and read considerable content in library and online. With some answered and several unanswered questions in my mind at the end of the research, I find myself more responsible for learning the truth about other religions and promoting tolerance for a peaceful co-existence. Field Research into an unfamiliar religion tradition: Islam I have never hated any religion or its believers, however, increasing terrorism and acts of destruction throughout the world associated with Islam led me to feel bad about Muslims and Islam in general. Selecting Islam as an “unfamiliar” religion for this field study reflects my curiosity stemming from widely accepted image of Islam and Muslims in media today.  During this field research I came across a few Muslim men and women both online and offline. I tried to discuss my concerns and ideas about Islam and asked for explanations. I also researched and read about Islam and its practices from Muslim view point. After analyzing my misconceptions and prevailing ideas about Islam, I found that Islam is negatively perceived and we must learn more about the religion and promote religious tolerance at every level. My Misconceptions about Islam The most disturbing was the idea that Muslims are Taliban, terrorists, or support terrorism in a way or the other. I have always imagined Muslim men with beard and Muslim woman with a veil or black covering with head scarf. I believed even educated Muslim men are oppressors; they are violent with their women and children. Somehow, I perceived that Muslims hate every other religion and want to kill people who belong to religions other than Islam. It is because Islam inspires them to fight or Jihad with non-Muslims. My most damaging misconception about Islam is that all Muslims truly follow Islam and hold similar views. I feel this perception led to all other misconceptions about and it seems true in most cases. Field Research and My understanding about Islam My meeting with Muslim people started with immediate debunking of my ideas about how a Muslim man or woman must look like. A Muslim girl from a small city of Pakistan (Multan) named Rafia is a PHD student in University of London. It was my first intentional encounter with a Muslim woman that too from a conservative society. I found her a confident, sophisticated and balanced person without any sign of oppression. Considering her an exception, I inquired about her family, friends, and neighbors in Pakistan. To my shock, most men around her support their women for getting education and become professional in different fields that vary from medical to law and IT. She told me that none of the girls around her are forced to wear veil, however, some voluntarily put on head scarves. Interestingly, she mentioned that she had worn headscarf for sun protection in her college days because she had to get exposed to sun quite frequently. Talking about education, she rejected the “stereotypical” media images and referred Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as torchbearer of knowledge and learning. Muhammad said, “Seeking knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim (men and women)” (Ibn Majah as cited in Anonymous, n.d.).Another version of the same hadith (Prophets saying) is found to be quoted as “seeking knowledge is a duty for every Muslim man and woman” (Muhammad as cited in Parker-Jenkins, 1995, p.38).Furthermore, I found that Muhammad emphasized educating children at various instances. For instance, “No gift among all the gifts of a father to his children is better than education”(Muhammad as cited in Parker-Jenkins,1995,p.38).Despite such emphasis on getting education and seeking knowledge by the most respected leader of Islam, it is surprising that most Muslim countries have low literacy rate. However, Rafia explained that backwardness and illiteracy in Muslim societies stem from their poor economic conditions, inadequate resources, and lack of opportunity rather than their religious beliefs. Similar thoughts were expressed by Muhammad Zeeshan, a businessman in India, who couldn’t get higher education due to financial constraints. He had to leave college to support his family since he lost his father in a bomb blast in India during 2005. I am still shocked to read facts about terrorist attacks on Muslim religious places. I am unable to understand that if Muslims are terrorists, why they attack their own people and religious places, such as, mosques. They must respect these places more since they claim fighting for God. The matter becomes even more confusing if I consider media reports that Muslims relate terrorist activities as jihad or holy wars. Trying to understand Jihad more took me to a complex but intriguing phenomenon which reveals that Jihad varies from fighting with evil forces with full effort, even if the evil is inside your own self. I interviewed Mrs. Obaid Ahmad from New York who attributed widespread negative perception of Islam as a conspiracy about a truly divine religion. She was quite concerned about the way people believe in what CNN, BBC, and other media outlet show them without further investigating the matter. She quoted an example of Oklahoma City Bombings for that matter and hoped that people will soon understand the reality of Islam. If Islam would have taught killing non-Muslims, there must be none but Muslims in the world. She questioned Israeli and American terrorism in Muslim countries in the name of democracy. Widespread Misconception about Religion and its Cause It seems true that misconceptions about other people religions are widespread. According to Minority Rights Group’s International report (2010) religious intolerance has become ‘new racism” which is disturbing religious minorities throughout the world. The report reveals that Muslims discrimination is at its peak in United States, Western Europe, Iraq, and Pakistan (VOA News, 2010). It is quite easy to see other religions in false light. We may owe it to the inherent emotions of hate just as love. It may be human hate and defensive instinct for the fear of unknown. It may be due to hasty and judgmental nature of people at large. The most prominent factor contributing to "stereotypical" image of Islam in non-Muslims minds seems to be media projection. Through my field research experience, I found that it is mainly the lack of true knowledge about other religions that lead to misconception and hate. This hate combined with intolerance and impatience transforms into hate crime and may be terrorism. Moreover, most people believe that all Muslims or people from other religions hold same believes. For instance, if one Muslim fanatic expresses his extremist thought, we assume that all Muslims are fanatics. It is similar to believe that all Germans are Nazis. No doubt, individual actions do not characterize a nation, civilization, or religion. Recommendations for minimizing Religious misconception Considering growing incidents of hate crime and terrorism, it is critical to work towards promoting religious tolerance on priority basis. Firstly, governments should draft and implement sound legislation that protects every citizen irrespective of their religious association. Special religious education programs should be organized on national and community levels. Government should call eminent religious scholars from all religions on board and strive for a peaceful co-existence. Our universities, colleges, and schools can work most effectively for reducing religious intolerance among younger generation. Acts that promote hatred and intolerance, such as, burning Quran or other Holy Scripture campaigns should be strictly curbed. Throughout this research, I found Muslims are as human as non-Muslims are. Islam as religion is a sensitive, logical, and humane. I realized that it is not religion or nationality that is extremist or worth hating. We should treat extremist and wrong-doers on the basis of their actions and crimes rather than religions. For promoting religious understanding, everyone needs to open his mind and welcome difference of opinion. Nearly all the religions in world have survived hundreds of years and they have become the most precious foundation of richest civilizations of all times. It is high time to realize that religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence is where our secure future lies. Works Cited Anonymous. (n.d.).Importance of Islamic Education. Retrieved from http://www.islamhadith.com/importance-of-islamic-education/#comment-461 Parker-Jenkins, M. (1995).Children of Islam: A Teachers Guide to Meeting the Needs of Muslim Pupils. Oakhill: Trentham Books Limited. VOA News (2010, July 01).Report: Religious Intolerance Grows Worldwide. Voice of America. Retrieved from http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Report--Religious-Intolerance-Grows-Worldwide-97585924.html Read More