Christendom

I thought Christianity would be the religion that I would know the most about of all the worlds major religions, but it turns out that I am wrong again. The more I read about the Christendom the more I am amazed at what I did not know. The fact that Christianity developed from Judaism and was not tolerated for several years in Rome. Until the Edict of Milan, which announced that the Roman Empire would be tolerant of other religions. Constantine and Licinius, the emperors of the western and eastern parts of the empire, signed edict at a wedding in Milan. It stated that the Christians were to have their confiscated property returned. The Edict of Milan was signed in 313CE, the next revolution for Christendom after that was the First Council of Nicaea, in 325. This was important because it was the first meeting of all the bishops of the church, also the Creed of Nicaea was created here. In 392 Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, and the old pagan religion was outlawed. Once the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, the churches in the western half were no longer connected with emperor and changed as a result. The eastern half of the empire became known as the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was then ruled by Constantine the Great until 337, when he died. He is known for helping Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. At this point Christianity became more complex, creating different branches and denominations; there was the Catholic church, Eastern Orthodox church, Protestant. Overtime the Christendom has grown from a small Jewish sect to one of the world’s largest religions with billions of followers.

Muhammad

With all the different types of religions and practices it is hard to remember what’s what and the differences and similarities. One thing all religions have in common is they all have a leader of some sort, Christianity has Jesus, Buddhism has Buddha, and Islam has Muhammad. Muhammad is considered the founder of Islam and was a prophet and messenger to God. He grew up an orphan and lived with many different families, when he was older he became a merchant, traveling between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. He later married a much older wealthy widow named Khadija, but also had 12 other wives later. He had seven children, most of which died, and only one carried on his name. In 610 the angel Gabriel appeared to him, while he was meditating in a cave outside of Mecca. Gabriel told Muhammad that he was messenger to God; Muhammad only told close friends and family at first. Then he started preaching and gaining followers. During the years following Muhammad had many supporters, but he also had many opponents, most of which were gained when he condemned the worshiping of idols. Also, many people were not happy that he was preaching monotheism and there were many attempts to take his life. Around this time Muhammad and his followers moved from Mecca to Medina; Medina means “city of the prophet” and became the first Muslim settlement. Soon after Muhammad left Mecca, war broke out between the two. After the war ended from a treaty, Muhammad made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Three months later he died from an illness; he was burned where he died and is housed in a mosque in Medina. He word lives on through the Qur'an and the Islamic religion.

Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/timeline_html.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad

Innovation and tragedy

When we first started learning about Islamic influences I had no idea just how far they stretched and how much of my day-to-day life has its beginnings in Islam. Everyday I use medicine, paper, complex mathmatetics and textiles. It has always been an assumption of mine that these goods and ideas were created by those who lived in the more Western regions of Europe and China.

I again stand corrected. I thought I had a good grasp on the past and where certain things came from but some everyday things just didn’t occur to me to ask whom, how and when they were made. It was quite interesting to watch the movie on Islam in class and to learn about the beginnings of so many things. When the video began I was in awe of all the developments that came from Islam and especially from Baghdad and the House of Wisdom. I had previously never learned any Islam history and all I knew about it was that they were Muslim. The scientific discoveries of that time, as I said before affect me everyday. The innovation that came with the far-reaching trade routes and systems allowed for trade of goods across the entire continent and merging of culture, goods, ideas, and religion. I thought that only good had come from this until I learned of the Crusades. I had only briefly heard about the Crusades, which now seems impossible to me that I had not learned more about these events before. I guess that comes from growing up in a Catholic home.

The video, with its cheesy remake and dramatic voice-overs really changed what I knew about history. The movie depicted the events in a way that the book could not, as a violent and totally unnecessary massacre. The events during the Crusades parallel what is going on now and I just can’t help but think that we will never learn what we need to from history, and we will always be bound to repeat events. Who knows what kinds of further innovations could have been created from some of the great minds in Islam if they had not been killed in Jerusalem. Now a days we can see some more great minds coming out of Islam, just like in the past there was soap, spices, fine goods, and knowledge, today we can credit them with further medical innovations, engine technology, and popular iPhone applications, which shows that the influence of Islam can be seen in the past, present, and the future.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=islamic+inventions&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam laid out the structure in which the Muslim way of life was formed. In class we discussed the five different pillars briefly, so I choose to examine each Pillar a little more in depth.

The First Pillar was that there may be no god worshipped but the God and His messenger Muhammad. Muslims would often say, la ilaha illa Llah, which translated from Arabic means, 'There is no god except God.' This is the Muslims way of declaring their devotion to their only God.

The second Pillar was focused around prayer. They were expected to pray at least five times a day. Salat is the name of the prayer they preformed five times throughout the day; it was concerned as a direct link between the individual and God. Not only do they have requirements about the number of times they pray these prayers also have to be said at certain times: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. This sequence order helped keep order to their daily activities. One of their prayers translated into English goes as follows...

"God is most great. God is most great.God is most great. God is most great.I testify that there is no god except God.I testify that there is no god except God.I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.Come to prayer! Come to prayer!Come to success (in this life and the Hereafter)!Come to success!God is most great. God is most great.There is no god except God."

The third Pillar's purpose was to give people's "things" and wealth to God. Muslims must set aside a portion of their resources to those in greater need. There is a certain calculation the Muslims must do to determine the amount they must give to charity and that is known as their 'Zakat.' This is meant to keep money and other resources evenly throughout the country.

The fourth Pillar was fasting. During the month of Ramadan each year the Muslim must fast. This fasting includes more than just the absence of food; they are also required to stop drinking and all sexual relations during this month. The purpose of this is to maintain good health and proper self purification.

The fifth Pillar is only for those that are able to perform: both financially and physically. There is an annual pilgrimage to Makkah. About two million people from all different countries attend each year. Here they perform the rites of Hajj. The people must circle the famous Ka'ba seven times, and go between the mountains of Safa and Marwa, as did Hagar while searching for water, seven times. The end of this likely struggle is followed by a festival, Eid al-Adha. Here is a picture of people circling the Ka'ba.

Each of these Pillars keep the Muslims in order and keep their thoughts focused on God. Without these certain requirements their religion may not be as strong as it is today. Even though to us some of these Pillars may seem extreme and difficult to accomplish they were proud and likely to do them all without shame.

http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/pillars.shtml

Striking Similarites: Christianity and Islam

How many of us can explain either of the world's vast religions? From our own society in this part of the world, it is likely most know a bit about the Christian religion. Maybe if you follow another specific religion, you can surely tell all about your own. However, do you know any of the elements of another? Have you ever examined anything beyond your own personal beliefs? I admit, before learning about Islam, I never realized its origins or connections it has with another main religion, Christianity. To illustrate, here is a list of fundamental concepts that both Islam and Christianity share. This will surely enlighten you on both of these major world religions that have existed for several hundreds of years.

Monotheism: One God, recognized as the Creator.
God is omnipotent, omniscient, immanent within His creation yet transcendent.
At the end of the world, God will judge humans based on their actions in compliance with a moral code, specified in the Covenant which God makes with us.
This judgment will determine one's eternal abode, heaven or hell
Human beings have a soul which is eternal, continuing its existence after our physical death
Humans have the ability (free will) to choose between good and evil
Angels exist who are the servants, and sometimes messengers of God
Satan exists, as well as evil spirits who follow him; they are the enemies of humanity
Miracles occur on occasion.
If a person errs or transgresses, God may forgive them, if they sincerely repent.
Prophets brought spiritual instruction.
Jesus Christ was born to the virgin Mary.
At the time of the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come again.
Prayer is a means of communicating with God; God hears prayers and sometimes grants requests.
Charity and relieving the suffering of others carries spiritual rewards.
Certain standard prayers exist.

This long list of very significant items shows how similar these two religions are. It is quite curious to consider the members of each of these religions and their own understanding of the other. Are they aware? Would they be shocked to see this list of similarities?

Islam: Qur’an

A couple weeks ago, I discussed the importance of sacred texts and intentionally focused on Buddhism and Christianity. This week, coming back to the idea of sacred texts, I explored the religion of Islam and its holy text, the Qur’an.

In my opinion, holy texts offer a reference to answers in life. These answers include how to live life, the purpose of life, and after life. For the Islamic faith, the answers lie in the Qur’an.

Originally written in Arabic text, the Qur’an offers guidance and direction for mankind. The Islamic faith rose to existence as the angel Gabriel spoke to Muhammad while he resided in the mountains. Muhammad soon gathered followers to memorize and recite the word of Gabriel. These teachings did not become documented right away, like many other religions. Instead, Islam continued orally, and eventually, individuals began recording the Qur’an on tablets and other surfaces. Individuals pooled together the tablets and other surfaces with the holy text to produce the completed version of the Qur’an after Muhammad’s death.

The text consists of one hundred fourteen chapters each of varying length. Interestingly, the text does not seem to have a beginning, middle, and end. Also, the Qur’an mentions stories of people and events found in the Jewish and Christian religion, some including Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and John the Baptist.

One of the principles of the Islamic faith consists of prayer. Prayer, typically, involves reciting segments of Qur’an. For this reason, many Muslims end up memorizing much of the Qur’an.

Originally written in Arabic text, printed on large tablets, the Qur’an appeared to be an inconvenience. However, in today’s society, an individual can access the Qur’an in different languages, fonts, and sizes. With improving technology in the past decade, individuals have uploaded the Qur’an to the internet for anyone to access.

In my opinion...

When the topic of Christianity came up in class I had thought I knew everything I wanted to know about the subject, which was not much at all, I stand corrected. When the topic started I had no idea where the religion originated from, much less that it had a similar developmental frame as Buddhism, a religion that is regarded today as so different from Christianity. The term salvation religion had been foreign to me, and seems like something lost in the past when looking at how religion is today and the amount of money that goes through churches. Churches in my hometown seem to compete to have the nicest buildings and the largest congregations. I can relate this now to the time when Constantine announced that he had converted to Christianity and money from the empire went into building great structures devoted to Christianity and spreading the word and the belief of the religion.

I feel that for some, in our times and in the time of Constantine and the formation of Christianity and other Universal religions, the true sense was somewhat lost. People felt more inclined to be part of a group then they felt a spiritual connection to the religion. I have noticed this in some, I am not saying all, people in Michigan who go to church and are motivated by an outside source. I feel that in the beginning they had it right, fighting for what they want and for what they believe in, no matter what beliefs. The closest I feel that we have come to the type of religious persecution in individuals in my generation would be political differences involving voting. Religious uprisings are present everyday in countries all over the world, causing wars and death, however it is sad to look at the US and see how this goes relatively unnoticed. I feel that people of my generation, the 20 something’s of the world in the US need to start believing in something if we ever hope to understand where the foundations of our society, religion, and culture come from.