Archives for December 2009

Islam, one of the three major world religions, along with Judaism and Christianity, that profess monotheism, or the belief in a single God. In the Arabic language, the word Islam means "surrender" or "submission"—submission to the will of God. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, which in Arabic means "one who surrenders to God." The Arabic name for God, Allah, refers to the same God worshiped by Jews and Christians. Islam’s central teaching is that there is only one all-powerful, all-knowing God, and this God created the universe. This rigorous monotheism, as well as the Islamic teaching that all Muslims are equal before God, provides the basis for a collective sense of loyalty to God that transcends class, race, nationality, and even differences in religious practice. Thus, all Muslims belong to one community, the umma, irrespective of their ethnic or national background.

Within two centuries after its rise in the 7th century, Islam spread from its original home in Arabia into Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain to the west, and into Persia, India, and, by the end of the 10th century, beyond to the east. In the following centuries, Islam also spread into Anatolia and the Balkans to the north, and sub-Saharan Africa to the south. The Muslim community comprises about 1 billion followers on all five continents, and Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. The most populous Muslim country is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Beyond the Middle East, large numbers of Muslims live in India, Nigeria, the former republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and China.

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For all of my Christian years I prayed for a spirit of honesty but was never able to get it until I came in full contact with my human frailty. As I interact with my weakness as a Christian and humanity and that outside of Christ there is truly no life and truth, but simply that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that it is simply and purely by his grace that we live – until then, I was not able to be truly open and honest.

Having come face to face with my sinfulness as person, though redeemed by Christ, I am able to be unashamedly honest is most areas of my life, particularly those that are of crucial importance, especially as it relates to an interactionary life with public.

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Some people who say they are acting in the name of religion may misunderstand their religion or practice it wrongly. For this reason, it is a mistake to form any idea of that religion from the activities of these people. The best way to understand Islam is through its holy source.

The holy source of Islam is the Qur'an; and the model of morality in the Qur'an is completely different from the image of it formed in the minds of some westerners. The Qur'an is based on the concepts of morality, love, compassion, mercy, modesty, self-sacrifice, tolerance and peace, and a Muslim who truly lives according to these moral precepts is highly refined, thoughtful, tolerant, trustworthy and accommodating. To those around him he gives love, respect, peace of mind and a sense of the joy of life.

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There many various Eastern philosophies and religions that have similar ideas and concepts. The ground for all these ideas chiefly comes from Hinduism, which is considered to be the oldest known philosophy in the world. Hinduism appeared in India, which is said to be one of the oldest cultures in the world, from antique texts known as Vedas or the book of wisdom. These ancient texts which include ancient hymns and rituals are said by many people to have the essence of Hindu thought. As Hinduism moved east, various interpretations of its ideas were evolved into other philosophies. Consequently, such philosophies as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, certainly among others, have a lot of similar cultural characteristic features and ideas. One major cultural feature that truly reveals the way that Easterners or more particularly Hindus think is haiku poetry.

Haiku poetry is thoughtful poems that valorize nature, contrasts and color. Haiku usually consist of three lines and seventeen syllables and are divided in five, seven, five structures. These poems must reflect a moment, impression or sensation of a peculiar fact of nature. Bill Higginson believes that the main purpose of reading or writing Haiku poems consists in sharing moments of people’s lives which have moved us, experience and perception that we give or get as gifts. This is the major purpose for all art if looking at the deepest level.

Dr Linda Komaroff, associate curator of Islamic Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, stated that Islamic art is perhaps the world's most accessible manifestation of a complex civilization because it is quite mysterious to outsiders. She stated that through its brilliant use of color and its superb balance between design and form, what makes it stunning is the way it creates an immediate visual impact. Further, Dr. Komaroff states, "Its strong aesthetic appeal transcends distances in time and space, as well as differences in language, culture, and creed.

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 IS it shyness or compliance, a can’t be bothered attitude why no one wrote in to back up my letter regarding our Christmas town hall banner? I had no acknowledgement from the council either (Season’s Greetings indeed!). December 25 is a celebration in the Christian world of Christ coming, but this fact is becoming more hidden from view.

Cards with a Christian theme are in a minority in the shops and I am told that one primary school in five do not produce a nativity play now. Lots of people sadly don't attend any church but when asked what their faith is will say Christian. Its about time that everyone defended their allegiance to Christianity. I was recently expected, with reluctance on my part, to exit the chapel in Whiston Hospital, as Moslems with prayer mats were due to enter there. I was speechless! Can I await at least one letter that backs me up in the next few weeks.

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important Hindu scriptures. It is revered as a sacred scripture of Hinduismand considered as one of the most important philosophical classics of the world Bhagavad-Gita is the widely read theistic science summarized in the Gita-mahatmya (Glorification of the Gita). Bhagvad-Gita is one of the holiest books of Hinduism. It is a part of the Mahabharata, which was written on the banks of the river Saraswati somewhere in the Kurukshetra region of Haryana. The purpose of Bhagavad Gita is to deliver mankind from the darkness of material existence. Every one of us is in difficulty in so many ways. Just as Arjuna was in difficulty because of having to fight the battle of Kuruksetra. Arjuna surrendered to Krishna and consequently the Bhagavad Gita was spoken. The name Bhagvad-Gita means Song of the Lord. It is written in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. The Bhagvad-Gita is often called simply the Gita (song). Scholars such as Shankara also known as Shankaracharya, who lived in India in the A.D. 700's, have written commentaries on it. The Bhagavad Gita is the archetype of Yoga scripture and constantly refers to itself as such, the 'Scripture of Yoga'. The Gita is part of Book Six of the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic poem. It consists of 700 verses divided into 18 chapters.

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Islam and Jews do not mix. Nor does Islam and Christians. While Jews and Christians are able to find common ground and respect each others religion, such is not the case when it comes to Islam.

Islam and Christians cannot be friends, according to the Koran. The Koran teaches that anyone who does not believe in Islam and practice the teachings is an infidel. This includes Christians. In some Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia, it is illegal to practice the Christian faith. In some countries, such as Egypt, those who are Christians have to carry cards. While some countries do allow for Christian worship, the consensus is that Islam is the one true religion. Christians may be tolerated in some countries, but often have fewer rights than Muslims. That is the relationship between Islam and Christians in the Middle East.

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The question before us is "What is Islamic Ideology"? To me Ideology is a philosophical term meaning the ‘Science of Ideas’. Idea is again a subtle and very comprehensive term. It is unnecessary for our present purpose to go into the details of the term. But generally this means a basic concept or the basic concepts on which any ‘system’ is built constitutes its ‘Ideology’. Since Ideology pre supposes the existence of a system, the question arises whether Islam is a system?

Yes, Islam is a system. Islam is not like other conventional religions, in other words Religion is the English equivalent for the Arabic word Mazhah which does not occur even once in the whole of the Holy Quran. The Quran has used the word Ad deen for Islam which means a particular way of life. The Holy Quran points to this aspect in its own inimitable way. It says that the healthy concept of life Ideology or kaIema-e-tayyiba revealed by Quran which has the capacity to rise high towards God Almighty. In Quran’s dialect Ideology makes up what we call Faith (Imaan) and the means to give the Ideology a practical shape are termed Righteous Actions from humans. Ideology forms the objective of the Islamic Order and positive actions constitute the program for attaining the objectives of Islamic System. In the present context you can say that Ideology provides the ‘Objectives Resolution’ of an Islamic State, its constitution gives political form to the resolution and its laws prescribe the program for helping the people attain their destiny.

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From times immemorial it has been a standard practice in Hinduism to accept the existence of Avatar. But who is an Avatar... is Avatar manifest God himself or a human being who assumes significant spiritual powers that the humanity starts considering one an Avatar.

In the present Kali Yuga everyone is awaiting with abated breath the advent of the Avatar of the era... the coming of Bhagwan Kalki. It is considered that in the present metal age Bhagwan Kalki... the Avatar of the era shall deliver the mankind from the ills existing in the society.

Who shall be this Avatar? Shall this Avatar descend from the heaven as is expected by many or shall he be a normal human being with supernatural powers? Lord Krishna was an Avatar and so is Bhagwan Kalki expected to be an Avatar.

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