One of the biggest issues in our world today is the issue and conflict that the West is having with Islam. For almost the past two decades, it seems that the West And Islam have been in constant conflicts with each other. This papers will discuss and compare the opinions of Bernard Lewis in The Roots of Muslim rage and Nicolaas van der Zee in The Roots of Muslim rage Revisited, and their respective opinions on this issues. Both authors in many ways fundamentally disagree with each other, when searching for a cause and solution to this problem. This essay will discuss the valid points made by both authors, and will attempt to show how both authors have valid and sensible arguments on the issue on hand.
One of the good points that Miller makes
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Both authors believes that the fundamentalists within the religion, are upset at the change that has caused the Islamic countries to change economic and socially. But where both authors differ is in where the issue comes from. Miller believes the fundamentalists have a problem with the West, While Zee belives that it is the Reformist who are really threatening the fundamentalists. Zee suggests that this is not a conflict between the West and Islam, but rather between Islam and itself. It is a Clash within a culture, clash between the reformists and the fundamentalists.[ Zee , 12] Unlike fundamentalists, reformist believe that change needs to come both politically and socially. But social and especially political change results in theological change.[ Zee, 14] This is something that the fundamentalists are absolutely against. Thus the clash between the reformist who want the Muslim countries to change, and the the fundamentalists who want it to stay the same existed. . The reformist believe that some Western social and government trend are needed in their countries. But to put these changes into action, there needs to be a change in the theology of Islamic country as well. This is where the main conflict between the two sides lie. As stated by Zee, fundamentalists are completely against the notion of changing their old way of living. This type of conflict is nothing new, and many of the major religions have gone through it. A good prime example of this would be the conflict that the Catholics and the protestants had. Which engulfed a whole continent into almost thirty years of war. This battle inside the culture is what is really hurting Islam according to Zee
In an article entitled “Ahmed Mohammad, handcuffed for making clock, Is Suing,” Daniel Victor investigates how muslim people are often discriminated and called bombers and terrorists. First, Victor discusses the facts of the case and how Ahmed was arrested. The reading also describes the fact that people often think that the words muslim and terrorist coincide, a form of discrimination. In addition, Victor tells us that Ahmed’s school suspended him, and he was getting countless death threats. Moreover, Victor states that the Mohammad family is suing Ahmed’s high school for falsely getting him arrested. Finally, Victor concludes that Ahmed along with his family moved to Qatar to turn over a new leaf and start a new life free of hatred and discrimination.
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror is a book written by Bernard Lewis that ‘in particular charts the key events of the twentieth century leading up to the violent confrontations of today.’(Lewis) Lewis clearly and entirely pointed out key events explaining the choices to be made by the people of the Islamic faith. They must determine whether their religion takes its place alongside other religions in a global community, or whether it will revert back into conflict with non-Muslim nations.
As a young person who was raised in a Christian household, it is hard to imagine becoming a believer in anything else. I have been attending worship services for as long as I can remember, and I have never looked back, or questioned my faith. Reading about these two mean and their conversion from Islam to Christianity was inspiring, and humbling. For someone like me, who is sure in what they believe, that process seems impossible. Not for Ergun and Emir Caner, the authors of Unveiling Islam. In addition to reading the book, I wanted more information on the lives of these authors, so I watched several interviews with them where they expanded upon their life’s story, as well as explaining more about the Muslim faith. Understanding how these religions stand apart can be difficult at first, there are differences, but there are similarities as well. This book did a wonderful job at comparing and contrasting the two. It gives you an in depth look into how Islam came to be, how it was founded, who created the Qur’an, who Muhammad was, etc. I am usually not one to enjoy reading, although this particular book would be an exception. I thoroughly enjoyed following these men on their journey, and learning about this religion that is becoming so prevalent in out Country.
It answers, as far as it can, questions as “Is Islam against the West?” and “Who defines moderate Islam post 9/11?”. In one of the case studies presented in the book, the author discusses the impact of 9/11 has had on British Muslim Identity, giving an overview of the presence of British Muslims, then looks at 9/11 and the impact it has had on the British Muslim community.
September 11th holds many hard and upset feelings around the world today. The harsh actions of Muslim extremists unfortunately completely changed the way Muslims are treated, especially in the United States. These events, exacerbated islamophobia. Unfortunately, “the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, connect Muslims and Islam to terrorism within the geographical borders of the United States.” (Byng) Although it has been over a decade since the attack, many still feel racist and discriminatory attitudes towards Muslims. Muslims are the targeted minority in the United States, “the 9/11 terrorist attacks shifted the social and political context for Muslims in the United States. Terrorism within the geographical borders of the United States carried out by Muslims places an identity at the center of national and global politics.” (Byng) The blame of the horrible terrorist attacks, rather than be placed on terrorists or religious extremist, has been placed on Islam in America. After September 11th, hate crimes towards Muslims skyrocketed, “the most dramatic change noted by the report was a more than 1,600 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Muslims -- a jump from 28 hate incidents in 2000 to 481 last year.”
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Muslims everywhere began to be wrongfully persecuted and attacked. They have also since been denied equality in the workplace as “Americans with Muslim names have a harder time finding a job” and “American Muslims have experienced increased job discrimination since 2001” (Epstein 53). Without the ability to find a job, not only are Muslims effected in their daily lives, they are also unable to find a source of income, hindering them from supporting their families. Muslim religion can also cause further disturbances because there are several “law-abiding Muslims who are unfairly targeted and punished simply because they are Muslim” (qtd. in Epstein 52). This exemplifies the idea
The Crusades, a war for the holy land of Jerusalem, was the impetus for a centuries long relationship between Islamophobia and Islamic extremism. In recent history there has been multiple cases of violent extremism, one notable case would be the attacks of September 11 2001. This attack and the following wars on terror after the event, the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, have generated a terrible mountain of hate and fear, namely Islamophobia. With the advent of Islamophobia, violent extremism rises with a direct relationship between the two. The friction between them produces dire consequences. A cycle of fear and hate tears at the heart of the world, Islamophobia and Islamic extremism have a direct relationship cycle and it will take multiple
The contemporary world of Islam faces an uphill battle defending itself from modern day misconceptions and the forced involvement with geopolitics. Islam struggles with the western world’s perception of the religion and cultural understanding. Modern day Muslims will have to overcome insurmountable hurdles in an attempt to rebuild the diversity and complexity within the Islam faith. Islam is in a constant battle with Western Civilization and its forced power and ideology on the Middle East. The current religious struggle between the Middle East and the West derives from thousands of years of bloodshed and conflict between the worlds three major religions; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Blood that was shed during a period of holy wars and the ever expanding ruling powers such as Greece and Rome. The candle of hatred burns in modern times with the presences of radical extremist groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda that continue to ignite hatred towards the West by manipulating the Qur’an and preaching concepts that conflict with the laws of Islam.
Following September 11, 2001, there seemed to be a sense of fear towards Arabs and Muslims in America. Since then, the tension between the United States and the Middle East has escalated. Based on the attention terrorist attacks receive, stereotypes tend to arise toward Muslims. Terrorists can be any ethnicity or religion, but typically jihadist terrorists’ gain the most attention in the media and the press. In America, Arabs, Muslims, and Jihadists tend to all get grouped together, even though they are not synonymous terms (Amble, 2012, pp. 340, 342). Not every Arab is a Muslim and not every Muslim is a terrorist. In fact, only a small portion of Muslims partake in terrorist activities and the Islam religion actually prohibits deliberate murder of unarmed individuals in battle and suicide (Pratt, 2013). If many stereotypes of Muslims seem to be incorrect, then it is crucial that Christians become educated on what Muslims actually believe. Critiques of the Islam faith that the Christian makes cannot be rooted in the actions of a few radicals. Just as certain people do evil things in the name of Christianity, without truly knowing Christ, I believe terrorists do the same. By targeting the aspects of violence in Islam I believe the Christian can close doors to witnessing. Instead, I think there are two core criticisms between the Islam religion and Christianity that can be analyzed to persuade a Muslim, law and logic. These two categories would allow us to meet with Muslims at
Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans along with the majority of the world’s population have been skeptical of Muslims. It’s a sad reality but it’s hard for people to think of a Muslim without linking them directly to terrorism. But these assumptions aren’t totally out of the blue—the Muslim’s religion, Islam, teaches a low tolerance for other religions and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat
Religious terrorism is regularly portrayed as demonstrations of unreasonable, silly and indiscriminate violence, along these lines offering few, if any what really spur religious terrorism measures. This presumption about religious terrorism comes from different nations, groups and individual’s. Unbalanced regard for prophetically catastrophic terrorism, and an absence of qualification between religious terrorism and its mainstream partner. This article, in this manner, expects to do four things: characterize and separate religiously inspired terrorism, confidence, and activism along the lines of faith and violence. Furthermore, prescribe a scope of religion, confidence, and terrorism systems in view of these perceptions.
One can scarcely turn on the television, or the radio, or open up a web browser without the mention of Islamic terrorism or unrest around the world. Though the United States and the rest of the world may not be engaged in a protracted religious war, for radical Muslim fundamentalist they are. Bernard Lewis brings to light possible reasons for the issues facing the world dealing with Islamic terrorism. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror explains these issues in historical context as well as how some of the actions professed in the name of Islam and claim to
This scholarly interest has resulted in a spate of research output from multiple disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. There are two ubiquitous trends in the literature on extremism and terrorism. First, a majority of the conversations locate the causes of contemporary extremism and radicalization in the religious edicts of one religion namely, Islam (Parent and Ellis, 2011). Second, a large number of
To illustrate, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) organizes suicide bomb attacks in many countries and they claim that they justify this attacks with Islam and different interpreting of Quran. These attacks pose a threat for the innocent people all around the world and cause a massive fear from Muslims among non-Muslim people. What’s more, due to ISIS’s belief that it represents the Islam, people generalize all Muslims as terrorists. In this point, in his article ‘Islamophobia plays right into the hands of Isis’ Jones (2015) express that it is certainly enough to say that the vast majority of Muslims do not except their interpretation of Islam and he emphasizes that there is a highly big distance between Muslim world population and the ISIS. Besides, as it is known ISIS also attacks several Muslim countries and causes to death many Muslims. In spite of this fact, it might be suggested that one of the most important reason for the Islamophobia in the world is existence of terrorist groups and their brutal
Since many religions have started in the Middle East, it has become the center for erupting conflicts. For instance, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been in the news for many reasons. Both groups want control of the God given land that they both claim is theirs, according to God, and what had happened in the past. The result of the conflict is religious terrorism (PBS, 1). Continuing, some Middle Eastern politics have been in conflict, even dividing communities of the