Post by brotherman on Mar 26, 2015 13:03:09 GMT -6
Is Islam Truly a Religion?
It took me a little while to find a book I was looking for to post this and as such I am going to quote word for word with the proper citation as I think this is absolutely relevant to addressing the question gleaned by the op.
"Most biographies of Muhammad focus nearly exclusively on him as a religious founder, paying little attention to his role in creating an Arab State and as a military leader.^1 A few biographies give almost no attention to religion and focus on Muhammad's worldly achievements in politics and war.^2 But as Fred McGraw Donner demonstrated in a brilliant study, the two facets of Muhammad's life are inseperable.^3 Without the political and military achievements, Muhammad might have remained such an obscure religious figure as to have escaped historical notice. Without the religion, there probably would have been no state-building or victories.
To put Muhammad fully in perspective it is necessary to comprehend the isolated, disorganized, and tribal world into which he was born-pagan Arabia. With the stage thus set, the chapter turns to a concise biography of Muhammad. Then, to more fully explore his religious contributions comes an assessment of the primary features of Islam, of the Qur'an (Koran), and of the Muslim conception of Allah. To appreciate Muhammad's political and military gifts, the chapter traces how he successfully forged an Arab state, using military campaigns not only to impose his rule, but especially to attract allies. Next, the chapter sketches the spread of Islam throughout the Middle East, then across North Africa, and east into India, drawing a careful distinction between conquest and conversion. However, not even an authoritarian state could prevent the repeated fracturing of Islam into numerous sects. The chapter concludes with a brief assessment of Islamic sectarianism to demonstrate the fact that Islam incorporates as much diversity as do Judaism and Christianity."
(Stark, Rodney) "Discovering God,"
New York, NY HarperCollins, 2007, Print
(Chapter 8, Islam God and State, page 339-340 Paragraph 2 through 3)
Islam is a religion and it is also a political movement, it (as can be noted from above) from its beginnings would not even be mentioned in history books had they not conquered there way into them. It can be a religion but it is also a tactic, notice the historical context of how the stage was set when Muhammad started taking things over? Fractured pagan Arab states, does this sound familiar? It seems the past hundred years or so this religion has been trying to get back to its roots, that fine line between conquered and convert may be being seen today with ISIS and other extreme groups both religious and militant. Something to think about.
It took me a little while to find a book I was looking for to post this and as such I am going to quote word for word with the proper citation as I think this is absolutely relevant to addressing the question gleaned by the op.
"Most biographies of Muhammad focus nearly exclusively on him as a religious founder, paying little attention to his role in creating an Arab State and as a military leader.^1 A few biographies give almost no attention to religion and focus on Muhammad's worldly achievements in politics and war.^2 But as Fred McGraw Donner demonstrated in a brilliant study, the two facets of Muhammad's life are inseperable.^3 Without the political and military achievements, Muhammad might have remained such an obscure religious figure as to have escaped historical notice. Without the religion, there probably would have been no state-building or victories.
To put Muhammad fully in perspective it is necessary to comprehend the isolated, disorganized, and tribal world into which he was born-pagan Arabia. With the stage thus set, the chapter turns to a concise biography of Muhammad. Then, to more fully explore his religious contributions comes an assessment of the primary features of Islam, of the Qur'an (Koran), and of the Muslim conception of Allah. To appreciate Muhammad's political and military gifts, the chapter traces how he successfully forged an Arab state, using military campaigns not only to impose his rule, but especially to attract allies. Next, the chapter sketches the spread of Islam throughout the Middle East, then across North Africa, and east into India, drawing a careful distinction between conquest and conversion. However, not even an authoritarian state could prevent the repeated fracturing of Islam into numerous sects. The chapter concludes with a brief assessment of Islamic sectarianism to demonstrate the fact that Islam incorporates as much diversity as do Judaism and Christianity."
(Stark, Rodney) "Discovering God,"
New York, NY HarperCollins, 2007, Print
(Chapter 8, Islam God and State, page 339-340 Paragraph 2 through 3)
Islam is a religion and it is also a political movement, it (as can be noted from above) from its beginnings would not even be mentioned in history books had they not conquered there way into them. It can be a religion but it is also a tactic, notice the historical context of how the stage was set when Muhammad started taking things over? Fractured pagan Arab states, does this sound familiar? It seems the past hundred years or so this religion has been trying to get back to its roots, that fine line between conquered and convert may be being seen today with ISIS and other extreme groups both religious and militant. Something to think about.