Karen Amstrong’s Muhammad
Posted on September 3, 2007
Filed Under Islam, Religion
Quote of the Day:
Muslims have always understood this. Their scripture, the Qur’an, gave them a mission: to create a just and decent society, in which all members were treated with respect…
… As a paradigmatic personality, Muhammad has important lessons, not only for Muslims, but also for Western people. His life was a jihad: … this word does not mean “holy war,” it means “struggle.” … His life was a tireless campaign against greed, injustice, and arrogance.
Strangely, events that took place in sevent-century Arabia have much to teach us about the events of our time and their underlying significance–far more, infact, than the facile sound bites of politicians. Muhammad was not ttrying to impose religious orthodoxy–he was not much interested in metaphysics–but to change people’s hearts and minds. He called the prevailing spirit of his time jahiliyyah. Muslims usually understand this to mean the “Time of Ignorance,” that is, the pre-Islamic period in Arabia. But, as recent research shows, Muhammad used the term jahiliyyah to refer not to an historical era but to a state of mind that caused violence and terror in sevent-century Arabia. Jahiliyyah, I would argue, is also much in evidence in the West today as well as in the Muslim word.
From Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time (Harper Press UK; 2006)
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mas, kenapa menyebut Nabi Muhammad hanya namanya saja ? Bukankah Beliau manusia istimewa ? Manggil presiden saja, nyebutnya, yang terhormat Bapak Presiden.
By the way mas, who is this Karen Armstrong..