In order to appreciate a doctrine,
it is beneficial to understand the emergence of the creator and the history
surrounding that time. Here, we
will discuss Islam’s rise to popularity beginning with its founder’s development
of a new nation. Then a similar
comparable dogma will be examined briefly as well. Finally, an examination will be suggested as to the
liability the media plays in their portrayal of the Islamic culture with a hint
of hypothetical figurativeness in their narrative.
Islam’s
ascension is a recording of battles and struggles to maintain power since Arab
history has been documented.
Although memorizing every triumph cannot be obtained in the span of a
week’s study, there is a significance in which the building of a constitution;
one that still exists today, began and became the foundation for a people’s
fight to protect a doctrine in the Qur’an and that placed a following of
disciples devout to the teachings of Muhammad.
The
setting takes place prior to the prophet Muhammad’s birth as “Byzantines and
the Sasanians began their titanic struggle for dominance in western Asia”
(Egger p 20). Mecca was the
birthplace of Muhammad around the year 570 with the absence of spectacular
scenery or an abundance in fruitfulness in this Hijazi city. Mecca was ritual grounds for local
tribes where the shrine Ka’ba, meaning ‘cube’ stood “fifty feet…its corners
roughly correspond to the four points of the compass” (Egger p 20). Considered by Meccans as the house of
Allah, there are over 360 featured “idols, of gods, instead of just one” and
“embedded in the eastern corner…one of which is the famous Black Stone…serve
ritual rather than structural purposes” (Egger p 20). The Quraysh at the time were the main caretakers of the
shrine and Mecca was a large marketplace for traveling merchants. Surrounding the area however were the
southern districts of the Byzantine Empire and Meccans were well versed in
their “dominant economic, political, and religious characteristics” (Egger p
22).
Muhammad had lost both parents by the
age of six, leaving him orphaned; with a sporadically uneventful youth, he met
a wealthy widow whom he wed at the age of twenty-five, named Khadijah. It was at this point that the prophet
began his journey of charity, intervetion and meditation. Later he would understand “the words of
God” then “began experiencing visions and trances…” (Said p 22). Allah is the monotheistic deity taught
by Muhammad but not specific to Muslims (Said p 23) and the Qur’an was “the
record of God’s revelations, via the Angel Gabriel, to Muhammad” (Goldschmidt
Jr., Davidson p 41).
But
Muhammad would find many enemies as he spread his teachings and after the death
of his wife and uncle in 619, he lost his tribal protection and committed
followers began experiencing a surge of persecution having to flee the confines
of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca.
Refuge was found in Yathrib the following year and later became “The
City (madina) of the Prophet, or Medina” (Egger p 25).
Muhammad
would become a polity of sorts in Medina attempting to spread his teachings “to
build up the economic and military resources of his city” (Egger p 26). After a series of battles, Muhammad
would once again find himself a legend across the lands of Hijaz in his victory
at “Battle of the Ditch”.
In
a similar rite, “Islam (like Judaism) is a religion of right actions, rules,
and laws…symbolized by five obligatory acts: the five pillars of Islam” of 1)
Witness, 2) Worship, 3) Fasting, 4) Tithing and 5) Pilgrimage (Goldschmidt Jr.,
Davidson p 43). Early “concepts
and symbols of Muhammad’s teaching bear a striking similarity to those of
Judaism and Christianity” (Egger p 23).
A sixth pillar of Islam known as the jihad is a subject of debate even today
through acts of terrorism associated with “Islam’s holy war against all other
religions” and although an interpretation on non-Muslims, this duty is more
truthfully equated with the “struggle in the way of God” (Goldschmidt Jr.,
Davidson p 45).
So
how can such a historically rich and compelled culture be so misunderstood by
the general Western public?
There is a subliminal image painted by the media whose history in
general puts you on edge. The
unfamiliar dress and customs, the wealth and oil industry mogul status but most
of all, the violent tendencies of the most ruthless rulers have given the
impression to the region as a whole.
An
ancient paradigm dating back as early as the “…Middle Ages and during the early
part of the Renaissance…Islam was believed to be a demonic religion of
apostasy, blasphemy, and obscurity” (Said p 5). The truth of the matter however, was that Muhammad was
regarded as a prophet and Christians found this claim distasteful in several
adjective insults.
A
more recent example was the tyranny of the Ayatollah Khomeini where his exploits
alone made his image represent “a new order which called itself Islamic…He, and
Iran, embodied all that was objectionable about Islam, from terrorism and
anti-Westernism…” (Said p 6-7). In
addition, it is rare to have Westerners with an expertise in Islamic custom and
culture. “Either the experts
were so specialized…or their work was not distinguished enough intellectually…”
(Said p 17)
In
conclusion, the birth and rise of Islam is in dedication to the teachings of
the prophet Muhammad and his struggle to bring God’s word in the form of the
Qur’an to his people. As with most
related emerging religions at the time, there was persecution and disagreement
in doctrine but each found the tenacity of the Muslim faith a force to be
reckoned with. Although there are
similarities with Judaism and Christianity, Muslims believed that there were
“changed passages in the Torah”, rewritten Gospels in the Bible but yet the
Qur’an is “God’s perfect revelation” (Goldschmidt Jr., Davidson p 41).
The
media’s interpretation lacks “detail, the human density, the passion of
Arab-Muslim life” with “instead…a limited series of crude, essentialized
caricatures of the Islamic world presented…to make that world vulnerable to
military aggression” (Said p 28).
In other words, without a true source of expertise with the exception of
what the media wants you to see, emphasis on the types of images broadcast can
bring about fears and anxieties that are unwarranted to the overall
understanding to the Islamic stability and true nature of its culture.
Works Cited:
Egger, Vernon (2004) A History of the Muslim World to
1405. The Making of a Civilization. Pearson Education Inc., New York
Said, Edward (1997) Covering Islam: How the Media and the
Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. Vintage Books, New York
Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. (2009) A Concise History of the
Middle East. Westview Press, Boulder
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