Understand Islam

Studying Islam: A Religion for Peace, or it's Opposite?
The move toward the 21st   century has proved to be an era of rapid change in the fields of information-gathering, technological advancements and economic conditions. People have accomplished extraordinary achievements, as we have witnessed the report of the moon landing, medical breakthroughs and the struggles of those who have fought to achieve our freedom and justice. The quality of life, especially in the western societies is definitely noteworthy, with little to no major barriers for happiness and success. However, the rapid changes of our times is not immune to error and many see the imperfections of our times as significant for future outcomes. A major criticism of the western societies is the increasing lack of a unified system of values and beliefs. People are free to have their own individual beliefs, essentially the solidarity of the society can be described as loose and weak. The push towards modernity is the accepted norm as we have seen a chain of events including political influences that helped to bring about the secularization of these societies. But, one may ask, how is individualism or secularization a bad thing?   First off, its important to understand what this means, secularization can be seen as, “the historical process in which religion loses social and cultural significance. As a result of secularization the role of religion in modern societies becomes restricted. In secularized societies faith lacks cultural authority, religious organizations have little social power, and public life proceeds without reference to the supernatural (Lechner 2003)”. This essentially is the transition that western societies have exhibited, starting from the enlightenment period. So what are the benefits of having a religious aspect influence social life?   One thing that most religions all have in common are the strong value for human life, and dignity of the people. Religion provides a common factor to...