Introduction to Islam- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Introduction to Islam- - Essay Example Seen in this context, Islam is a world religion that not only cherishes the man's relationship with God, but also encourages a self imposed discipline and a consideration for the rights and privileges of others. After the atrocities of September 11, many of us who are Muslim intellectuals living and working in North America made a discovery that deepened the horrors of that terrible day. We learned, to our intense dismay, that some of the Muslim organizations around us were getting their notions about Islam from Middle Eastern or South Asian preachers who preached a deeply illiberal "us against them" worldview and reviled the proposition that Muslims should learn the basic civic virtues and responsibilities of life in a free,. democratic, and a pluralist society (Sachedina 307). Never before the Islam was in a danger of being so grossly misinterpreted, by the Muslims and non Muslims throughout the Western world. The post 9/11 situation left the liberal Muslims in the developed world with a painful dilemma. Not only they found themselves to be the victims of the acts of hatred perpetrated by a small but intimidating section of the local population, but they also realized that the hardliners within their own community and throughout the world looked at them with suspicion and disgust. It left them with a predicament that urgently called for an intense catechism about their allegiance to their faith, their rights and duties as a citizen and their responsibilities as the devout Muslims in the countries adopted by them as their homeland.While projecting themselves as the authentic and legitimate champions of Islam," these preachers of intolerance continue to promote seclusion and mistrust (Sachedina 307)". The fundamentalist elements within the Muslim community are trying hard to project a picture of Islam that is incompatible with the contemporary ethos of democracy, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. They are bent upon unleashing a war of civilizations. Such an unhealthy trend gives way to many pertinent questions. Is Islam incompatible with the contemporary Western mores and values Do Muslims living in the Western world will have to make a choice between their faith or "basic civic virtues and responsibilities (Sachedina 307)" Has Islam got no message or relevance for the modern world and is anachronistic in a modern context Infact, any person, be it a Muslim or a non Muslim, who has a basic insight into and an understanding of the tenets of Islam is often surprised to find that Islam propagates a holistic attitude towards life that propagates and asserts the rights and duties of all the sections of the society, be it the women, the children, the aged, the physically challenged, the non Muslims, the capitalists, the laborers and the pe asants, the colored races, the intelligentsia and almost everybody. The issues and causes supported by feminism, the anti globalization movement, the