Huston Smith Part 4

Sufism: What is the Islamic sect Sufism all about?

1. Sufis see the distinction between the the inner and outer as deriving from the Koran itself.
2. Sufis have the mysticism of love, of ecstasy, and of intuition. 
3. The second Sufism approach to the divine presence is ecstatic (literally to "stand outside oneself" 
4. The principal method Sufis employed for penetrating the disguise is symbolism
5. Sufis have their rights, but so have ordinary believers whose faith in unambiguous principles, fully adequate for salvation, could be undermined by teachings that seem to tamper with them. 

Summary: Sufism is more of the mystical side of Islam. They take symbolism to the extreme, believing that everything they do is a symbol for something higher in power. Sufis have the mysticism of love, of ecstasy, and on intuition. Their beliefs can sometimes be considered strange by more exoteric Muslims and in some places Sufism is not allowed.

Whither Islam?

1. Muslims have wandered from the spirit of the Prophet
2. Islam is one of the most remarkable panoramas in all of history.
3. Chapters describing the spread of Muslim ideas would be more important.

Summary: Islam is a religion that contributed to the global society far more than we can think of. It still face problems as do all the religions in the world, but Muslims try to overcome them. Western society has given a negative image to the Islamic religion but that image is wrong.

Learning Goal 3

Sharia Law

1. 5 Hadd crimes: unlawful sexual intercourse (sex outside of marriage and adultery), false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse, wine drinking (sometimes extended to include all alcohol drinking), theft, and highway robbery.  Punishment for these crimes: flogging, stoning, amputation, exile, or execution.
2. Criminal laws are the most controversial because the punishment for the offenses often receive attention from the media and often result in a negative view of the religion. 
3. The problem with vigilante justice is that it allows innocent people to be punished (often women and often resulting in death) with no true cause. It mainly happens because there is no justice or there is a dissatisfaction with justice. 
4. This section explains that people strongly supported Islam in politics and for harsh punishment for hadd crimes. At the same time however people also agreed that the best form of government is a democracy. This causes debate because the people who disagree with democracy disagree because they feel it is a western idea that has been forced upon Muslims countries. Those who agree feel that Islam and democracy can coexists and work together and they support their reasoning using the Koran. 
5. Dual Legal System: This type of system allows the government tot be secular but Muslims can choose to bring family issues and financial disputes to sharia courts. This idea is also spreading to some Western countries who allow Muslims to apply Islamic law to family and financial issues.  Government Under God: In Muslims countries where Islam is the official religion and is stated in the constitution, sharia is the source of the laws. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, and the UAE derive there laws from Islam. Other countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, etc, forbid any legislation that in antithetical to Islam. Even non-Muslims are expected to obey sharia law and most have jurisdiction of special committees in the government.  Completely Secular: This system is where Islamist parties run for office occasionally and sharia only really influences local customs. Popular Islamist groups are viewed as threats by the existing government.
6. I think that sharia and democracy can exists in the sense that sharia punishments would not necessarily be followed and a democratic state can still be swayed by Islamic views. if the people have more freedom within the government than there is no need to enforce the harsh punishments of sharia law, and at the same time, if certain aspects of sharia law are taken into consideration, than a state does not have to completely follow the Western model for democracy.
7. The section about Modern economics and sharia talks about banking has been modified to fit sharia law. Banks are following rules of Islamic law to be able to provide for more people. Businesses are required to avoid transactions related to forbidden things such as weapons, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, and pork. Investors are guaranteed that their money will not end up financing any of those industries. 

Link to study guide

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxUVOXdDl-e9Vmplc0hrc0pXczg/view?usp=sharing

Check In 3/11/15

1. I have finished learning goal 1 and half of learning goal 2 and learning goal 4
2. Today I want to finish learning goals  and 3
3.My work effort will hopefully be a 9-10 today
4. I almost completed the goal 2 but the connection was very poor. have to post the answers to the Sharia Law reading and then I will be done.

Huston Smith Part 3

The Five Pillars: Why are the Five Pillars so important?

1. The Five Pillars of Islam are the principles the regulate the private life of Muslims in their dealings with God.
2. The Five Pillars are: creed, canonical prayer, charity, observance of Ramadan, pilgrimage.
3. The Shahadah is a confession of faith that means "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet". At least once during his or her lifetime a Muslims must recite the Shahadah correctly, slowly, thoughtfully, aloud, wit full understanding and with heartfelt conviction. 
4. The basic purpose of the pilgrimage is to heighten the pilgrim's devotion to God and his revealed will, but it also has fringe benefits as well.
5. "The Five Pillars of Islam consist of thing Muslims should do to keep the house of Islam erect.

Summary: The Five Pillars of Islam serve to regulate a Muslims life in their dealings with God. Obligations such as prayer and charity have been laid out so one knows how they are to go about those actions.  It also sets holidays in place such as Ramadan, and they tell Muslims how to go about fasting during the day. The pilgrimage is one of the pillars and it declares that at least once during his or her lifetime a Muslim (if they are economically and physically able) should make the journey to Mecca to become closer to God and to get closer to international Muslims community. Observing the Five Pillars of Islam keep a Muslims life in order with the will of God.

Social Teachings: What social expectations must  Muslim observe?

1. Islam is aware of the physical foundations of life. Meaning that until bodily needs are met, higher concerns cannot flower. 
2. Society's health requires that material goods be widely and appropriately distributed.
3. The Koranic reforms drastically improved the status of women.
4. Islam stresses racial equality and "has achieved a remarkable degree of coexistence. 
5. Islam's record of the use of force is no darker than that of Christianity. 

Summary: The social expectations in which Muslims are to observe are set out in the Koran. Wealth must be distributed equally in order for society to be healthy and not get " clogged arteries." Islamic law does not degrade women nor does it view them as property. And while it is legal for a man to have more than one wife, if he cannot provide equal love to them both than he does not deserve to have more than one. Women also have an endless have a lot of opportunities under Islamic law. Islam stresses the importance of racial equality, something that is not really common in other religions. Islams use of force in relation to growing the Islamic empire is no darker than that of Christianity's.

Huston Smith Part 2

The Standing Miracle: What miracles were the prophet responsible for?

1. Muhammad himself could not read or write (ummi), yet he produced a book that is the ground plan for all knowledge and at the same time is grammatically perfect without editing. 
2. Muslims read the Koran literally; the Koran is a miracle because of the presence of the Uncreated Koran within the letters and sounds of its created.
3. The words of the Koran cam to Muhammad in segments over twenty three years through voices that at first sounded  like bells but over time became a clear single voice that was identified as Gabriel's.
4. Jewish and Christian bibles were partially corrupted in transmission,a fact that explains the occasional discrepancies that occur their accounts, and parallel to ones in the Koran. Exemptions from these limitations makes the Koran the infallible revelation of God's will. 
5. In the Koran God speaks in the first person. Allah describes himself and makes his own laws. Muslims consider each sentence in the Koran as a separate revelation.

Summary: Muhammad performed the greatest miracle in the Islam religion. He is responsible for reciting the word of God as it was revealed to him. Even though he could no tread or write, he was able to recite these revelations without grammatical error. People would write them down on anything they could and over time a collection of these revelations developed and Koran was in its early stages. Muslims learn and teach others about the Koran in the language in which it is was revealed. They believe that this limits human errors and thus declares the Koran as the infallible revelation of God's will.

Basic Theological Concepts: What theories were expressed in God's revelations to Muhammad?

1. The Koran's innovation was to remove idols from the religious scene and focus the divine in a single invisible God for everyone.
2. Muslims see monotheism as Islam's contribution not simply to the Arabs but to religion in its entirety.  
3. Muslims argue that fear is the only appropriate emotion because any other involves denial in the technical, psychological sense of the word..
4. Though the human and the divine are infinitely different, no barriers separate them. 
5. God, creation, the human self,and the Day of Judgement are the chief ideological pegs on which the Koran's teachings hang.

Summary: Through Muhammad, God revealed the theological concepts of Himself, the human self, and the Day of Judgement. Through revealing these ideals the Koran was able to remove idols from the religious scene and get society to focus on one divine God. God is so powerful that the only appropriate emotion to express in his presence is fear. This is only because any other emotion or type of fear involves denial in the technical, psychological, sense of the word fear. Through the Koran one can also get that although there are an infinite amount of differences between humans and the divine, there are no barriers which separate them.

Koran by Heart Reflecton

From the perspective of Rifdha:
        I was very excited to find out that I qualified to attend the competition. I was also nervous. I had never been so far away from home or my mom. I knew that by trying my best at the competition, I would not only make my family proud, but I knew that Allah would be proud as well. the first day of competition was hard. I did not actually recite the Koran until very late that day. I was tired and didn't think that I would very well. I was very shocked that the judges approved of my performance and that I was able to move forward to the next round. The second part of the competition was harder. There were less people I was one of the few girls who a made to the second part. I knew that i could do very well and possibly win if I believed in myself and trusted Allah to guide me.
        At school i am a very good student. I study very hard so I can make my parents proud. When I grow up I want to become an explorer and travel all around the world. The school where I live isn't all that great and so my parents want me to go study abroad so i can get a better education.
        The end of the competition came around and the judges were deciding who would get to be the top three competitors. I was really nervous at this point because event though i thought that I did very well, the judges might have thought that I did a poor job. When the announcer came on and told everyone who the winners were, I was very shocked to see that I had placed second overall! I was the only girl in the top three, and I was one of the youngest competitors at the competition. I knew that my parents would be very proud of me an I couldn't wait to get back home to my mom and tell her how well I did. I really hope that if I get to compete again, I will win first place and make my parents even prouder than they are now!