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RST1501 Summary Notes Study Unit 5
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Summary notes on the Islam religion
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Academic study of Islam Islamic studies emerged from Orientalism which became a highly developed field in the 19th
and 20th century in Europe and America
Edward Said’s book Orientalism, revolutionised the study of the Middle East, bringing to the
fore critical reflections on how and why we study people that are different to us.
The central argument put forward by Orientalism is that the way we acquire knowledge of
these people are motivated by certain interests
Said argues that the way particularly the West, Europe and US look at the country and
subjects of the Middle East is through a lens that tends to distort the actual reality of those
places and people
He calls this lens Orientalism.
At the end of the 20th century and the dawn of the 20th century, we saw a growing
awareness to colonialism, modernity and globalization that have presented Muslims with a
great number of challenges.
These global historical forces have compelled many Muslims to adapt and grapple with their
traditions, often causing extreme tension within the community of Islam
A critical event at the dawn of the 20th century was the terrorist attacks launched by the
Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the World Trade Towers and Pentagon that challenged
Islam.
It culminated with many misconception, issues of religious intolerance, racial/national
profiling, stereotyping, imbued with immense hatred and prejudice towards the Muslim
community
As a by-product there emerged a growing interest into the study of Muslims, their belief
systems, worldviews and ideologies.
This also posited the danger of being viewed through a distorted lens with a self-motivated
interest
Islam claims its space in the public sphere as both a spiritual quest and group identity
, One of the prominent theorists of our time, Samuel Phillips Huntington posits that culture
and cultural identities, which at the broadest level are civilization identities, are shaping
patterns of cohesion, disintegration, and conflict in the post-Cold War period
According to Tayob, Huntingtons thesis articulates the basis of Islam, which is that Islam is
the foundation of a unique civilization and determines everything in Muslim societies, such
as political, economic, judicial and education systems, as well as social interaction
Basic beliefs in Islam
Belief in One God
Islam follows the tradition of monotheism
For Muslims, there is but only one God who exists from eternity to all eternity
He is described as all-seeing, all-hearing, all-speaking, all-knowing, all-willing, all-powerful,
and above all an absolute unity.
Muslims reject the Christian articulation of God in the form of Trinity on the basis that they
believe is reflects polytheism
According to Muslim tradition, God has 99 names.
Devout Muslims recite these names in the similar manner as that of a Roman Catholic
Christian reciting the rosary
Allah is alone as the divine figure, he is surrounded and aided by other heavenly figures,
such as angels who act as his messengers
Another creation halfway between human and angels is called “jinn”
Some are beneficial creatures who act as guardian angels, and others are demons
The leader of the evil jinn is Iblis, a fallen angel
According to Muslim tradition Iblis was responsible for the fall of Adam
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