Modern Islam

I really sympathize for Muslim business owners who are torn between their faith and making a living for themselves. Islam strictly bans all alcohol, gambling, and pork. This puts Muslims who own shops which, typically sell all three items, in a very tough position. On one side, I believe that it is very important to stick with one's faith. If a person is very dedicated to their religion and believes it is an essential aspect of their life, it does not seem right to directly disobey orders written in the Qur'an. But then again, how do you justify losing business because of that? It seems extremely unfair. I don't think that there is a right or wrong thing to do. Of course I am not Muslim and if I was I would probably have a different opinion, but I believe that if a person needs to sell these forbidden items in order to support themselves and their families it should not be scorned upon. Also, if a person decides to listen to the Qur'an and ban all items from their shop, they should not be though of as unreasonable or lacking any sense of business. I feel as if it must be somewhat difficult, or even extremely difficult, to strictly follow Islam while living in modern America.

Since our first class on Islam, I'm very surprised as how different I feel towards this religion. Although in the past I have never been prejudice to Islam, I made the same mistake as I think many have; I classified an entire religion and an entire group of people because of one tiny fraction of its population. After learning about the deeper aspects of Islam, I've found that my pre-conceived notion of this religion was entirely false. In class we've learned the teachings found in Qur'an, the daily religious acts that a Muslim must perform, the unwavering devotion given to Allah, Ramadan and Muslim's commitment to selfless acts, and the diversity of Islam's followers.

Out of all of the religions we have studied so far this year (Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, Shintoism, and Primal Religions), I identify the most with Islam. This may sound a bit odd considering that I come from a moderately strict Roman Catholic family. Although I do not question my faith at all, if I was to choose another one I am pretty confident that it would be Islam. I admire the faithfulness of Muslims to Allah and I believe that their dedication to presenting their best self is extremely honorable.

Hajj Video

In class yesterday we watched a video that followed three Muslims through their journey of Hajj. The first traveler is an American woman who converted from Catholicism to Islam when she was a young adult. She is tall and has blonde hair and blue eyes. Throughout her spiritual journey, she must battle with the prejudices against her in Mecca because of her appearance. One of the men is a very rich, successful business man who travels with his wife. He must learn to adapt to the very different lifestyle during the pilgrimage. The final man portrayed in the video is a young man from South Africa who is very dedicated to community service work. He also struggles to find a place with people with whom he can identify with.

In class we've learned that Islam is a very diverse religion with followers all over the globe, but I don't think that I truly understood its extent. This video did an excellent job in giving faces to a religion that many people have trouble understanding. I also did not realize how much of a struggle it is to perform a Hajj. The conditions are brutal at times and the schedule is very demanding, but it is obvious that by the end of the journey every participant has gone through a terrific religious transformation.