And yet to so many people in this world, 1.5 billion to be more exact, when someone says or hears Islam and they think of equality, justice, and peace. So how is it that these two images differ so greatly, to the point where they are opposites on one another? What would cause so many people in the western world to have such feelings of hostility and resentment towards the prophet Muahmmad (BPUH) and the religion of light that has been regarded by millions? To say that Islam is misunderstood in the western world would truly be an understatement. One truly wonders how a religion with 1.5 billion followers, roughly 25% of the world’s population, is so misunderstood.
Due to the controversy that could be caused by this topic sources from patriotic Britons, Muslims and the media will be used to avoid bias and create balanced and well formulated argument. To address the topic, many different aspects of Islam and British tradition will be identified, analysed and compared. History of Islam in Britain. Britain has always been a mostly Christian dominion; however the figures have shown that the numbers of other religions have increased, in particular, Islam. Islam now dominates 2.7% of people’s religious beliefs in Britain (office for national statistics, 2001).
Two of the country’s religious sects, Muslims and Hindus, have been in conflict for hundreds of years. India and Pakistan are the major places of the conflict. Hindus and Muslims’ misunderstanding and hatred of each other become deeper and deeper in all those years and will not leave easily. What’s more, it seems that there is impossible to reconcile for now. Hindu and Muslim conflict is basically cause by the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent.
Islam vs. Hinduism Islam vs. Hinduism Introduction In the world today, there exists many religions and unlike Christianity, Islam and Hinduism tend to have similar beliefs, characteristics and some differences. Relations between the two religions started when Islam was introduced to the Indian sub-continent in the early seventh century (Hossein Nasr, 2003). Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam make up the world's three largest religions. Hinduism consists of a socio- religious way of Hindu life, while Islam is a monotheistic religion, which shares most of its concepts with Abrahamic religions, unlike Hinduism, which shares common elements with dhārmic religions (Williams, 2000). Islam vs. Hinduism Islam is believed to have originated in the deserts of Arabia because of native traditions.
The caste system has also been adopted by the South Asian Muslims due to the Hindu converts and close contact with the Hindu culture. The similarities and the differences among these two caste systems will be analyzed throughout this paper. The aim of this paper is to show that the caste system continues to discriminate individuals and isolates them socially within the Indian Subcontinent. Background Information The Hindu Caste System The concept of being born into a “”jaati” does not seem familiar to many of us. The society that we live in, ignores, often rejects this view and does not aim to understand the roots of this social inequality.
Islam: Also a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Qur’an (a religious text considered by its followers to be the word of God). A member of Islam is called a Muslim. Muslim’s believe that God is one and incomparable and that the purpose of existence is to worship God. Islam had a tremendous impact on world history as well as the present-day, mostly because of the religion's magnitude. The religion has billions of members, about 1/6 of the world's population.
Hindu and Hinduism are terms that can be difficult to define not only accurately but also universally. These terms can define one’s religious beliefs, one’s place within the caste system, one’s language or one’s region within India. According to the 2001 census, India’s population has reached over one billion and of those counted, Hindus make up over 80% (Narayanan, 2003). The Hindu belief system can be as simple or complex, as its follower chooses to make it because Hinduism itself is very diverse in its components. Hindus believe that their belief system has existed forever and many aspects within their belief system are cyclic in character instead of possessing a beginning, middle and an end, as is common among other belief systems.
For this instance, this is not the case, society must constantly correct immoral actions performed by certain individuals. These individuals originate from diverse backgrounds and religions, and where as there is no specific religion that can be solely liable. Therefore, it becomes necessary to determine how violence and religion can simultaneously exist because the nature of these two elements seems to be contradictory. To begin with, there are two particular explanations in which introduce some historical examples of religion and violence intertwining, and illustrate how those two entities (religion and violence) can coexist. One explanation states that certain individuals feel that violence is relatively harmless, and therefore feel no remorse in performing violent acts.
In many ways religion has defied the assumptions of secularism, in the Middle East religion has an enormous impact on both political power and private life; in India, where an emerging nationalism was garbed in religious authority; and in the United States where we still struggle to define the role that Christianity will play in the structure of government. God has survived our science. Despite secularist assumptions religion has remained with us because, at its root, it remains a human requirement. Religion fulfills for us a fundamental function; it binds us together, acknowledges our common humanity, and creates a realm of nearly limitless human aspiration. At its core religion is our quest for the best that is in us, it fixes us within our universal understandings, and justifies existence.
However, religion is only one component of this dangerous situation. The conflict goes far beyond just a clash of religions to become one of global consequence. While many people are led to believe this is a religious war, and while religion certainly plays a significant role in hostilities, history has shown that global politics, land disputes, and regional wars are equally to blame for the continuing crisis. It is important to note that the term “Arab-Israeli conflict” is really a generic label which is put on the situation to encompass all struggles related to the Middle East. It is important for one to understand some of the history behind this struggle in order to put many of the events into perspective.