Understanding Islam in the Contemporary World

  Understanding Islam in the Contemporary World

  Islam is undoubtedly the most controversial and misunderstood religion in the contemporary world.  Although Islam has been scrutinized and misunderstood by non-Muslims for centuries, the terror attacks of September 11th ignited immense feelings of fear, resentment, and a greater misunderstanding of Islam. The unfortunate reality is that the extreme individual beliefs of self-proclaimed Muslim terrorists has become the ‘face of Islam.’  Islam is an extremely complex religion and the essence of ones belief lies within their interpretation of the Qur’an.  The Qur’an is extremely ambiguous and thus may be interpreted various ways; in fact some interpretations contradict others.  The Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the literal word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad over a twenty-three year period. 

Thus, no human being has authority to claim how the Qur’an should be interpreted; the interpretation lies within the individual. An Individual’s interpretation of the Qur’an should be the defining element of their faith, yet due to the ambiguities, of the text as Islam grew; it was necessary for a certain set of rules and norms be established as proper Islamic religious ethics.  Over time Shari’a, Islamic law, was established through a compilation of ‘authoritative’ interpretations of the Qur’an, norms of proper behavior and law mirrored after the life of Prophet Muhammad as set forth in the Hadith, along with social, political, and cultural traditions of the time.   For contemporary Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the application of Shari’a in the modern world is bewildering and creates a greater divide between the West and Islamic societies by misinterpreting Islam as a faith, to Islam as an extremist ideology.     

There has not been a separate “Muslim world” for over two hundred years, politically, economically, culturally, and militarily, the “Muslim world” has had close ties with Europe and North America...