The apparent contradiction of the rise of Islam (if it means Peace) with successive military (and now economic) victories and apostasies needs to be understood within the context of the real world. Muhammed and the Moslems certainly did not invent the concept of military aggression or economic hegemony. If we can accept the nobility of the faith, the degradation of conditions for the followers of Mohammed, and the ensuing persecution of the prophet and his followers (let me reiterate that a good leader inspires leadership in everyone else); then one may be able to understand the rise of Islam and its attractiveness to people within that context.
The concept of holy war (the sixth pillar of Islam to which not all Moslems ascribe) is counter-productive to our efforts for peace. But, what is reality, the Old Testament is rife with "Ywah's" exhortations and justifications for holy war. Even that good man Davids had to use violence to overthrow the opulent ostentasious priggish Goliath and the Philistines (the latter remind thee all of the modern day USAers?)
One only has to look at such historical examples of the Crusades and Manifest Destiny, as but a small sample of the history of human brutality associated with hypocritical religious "faith".
As Jesus was reputed to have said, "Let he who be without sin, cast the first stone.
Mike Morin
(aka Morehymmed Saddiq)
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The sixth pillar of Islam is not holy war. That is complete ignorance my friend. Jihad does not, however much western media tells you, mean holy war. Rather it means a personal struggle of any sort.
ReplyDeleteRead;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml
http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/jihad/
You are also implying that the Crusades were a complete religious ideal, one to which I reject. Imperialism has to take an equal, if not greater, size of the blame.
Actually, I've been told by saddiqs that Jihad means that either and/or both...
ReplyDeleteI'm completely hip to what you wrote about the Crusades, although the materialists manipulated the soldiers with God's glory and hunger (i.e. that was the soldiers way to make a "living"...
While that is true, this holy war does not mean take invade the west and rule the world. As with many religious ideals, I'd say it's up to interpritation, but from what I can research Jihad is the personal struggle Muslims go through.
ReplyDeleteGreat. I'm not saying religion didn't play a part, because it obviously did I just think that western imperialism of that era is also a culprit.