https://conservapedia.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=JasonNYC&feedformat=atomConservapedia - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T12:05:54ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.24.2https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Rick_Santorum&diff=1045144Rick Santorum2013-04-07T15:41:38Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Political Positions */ add citation</p>
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<div>[[Image:Rick Santorum.jpg|right|thumb|Rick Santorum]]<br />
'''Richard John "Rick" Santorum''' (Winchester, [[Virginia]], May 10, 1958) is an [[America]]n [[conservative]] lawyer and politician. He was a leading candidate for the [[Presidential Election 2012|Republican nomination for president in 2012]], and previously served as [[United States]] [[Senator]] for [[Pennsylvania]] from January 1995 to January 2007. During that time, Santorum was known for his [[conservative]] political views and his tendency to campaign for [[liberal]] Republicans, and was elected to the position of Senate Republican Conference Chairman in 2000.<br />
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After garnering the support of conservatives nationwide for his presidential bid, Santorum then reverted to his prior habit of endorsing liberal Republicans. He double-crossed conservative leaders by endorsing the [[RINO]], pro-[[Planned Parenthood]] [[Jon Bruning]] for the Republican nomination for [[U.S. Senate]] in [[Nebraska]] in 2012.<ref>http://atr.rollcall.com/nebraska-rick-santorum-backs-jon-bruning-for-senate/</ref> Leading [[conservatives]], including [[Rand Paul]], [[Jim DeMint]] and [[Club for Growth]], have instead unanimously endorsed [[pro-life]] [[Don Stenberg]] in that race. Santorum's candidate, Jon Bruning, then lost in a stinging upset defeat to a third candidate in the race.<br />
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Endorsed by the [[pro-life]] [[Susan B. Anthony List|Susan B. Anthony]] organization,<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/17/susan-b-anthony-list-to-endorse-santorum/</ref> Santorum was a strong candidate in the [[2012 Republican Primary]]. After winning [[Louisiana]] on March 25, 2012 - his 11th victory in the primary race - the [[New York Times]] noted that "not since [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1976 has a conservative candidate won as many states as Santorum has."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/politics/santorum-projected-winner-of-louisiana-primary.html?_r=1]</ref> He suspended his campaign on April 10, 2012, citing personal reasons.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/10/santorum</ref> <br />
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<blockquote><br />
Santorum was an author and floor manager of the landmark "Welfare Reform Act" which passed in 1996 that has empowered millions of Americans to leave the welfare rolls and enter the workforce. Senator Santorum wrote and championed legislation that outlawed the heinous procedure known as "Partial Birth Abortion" as well as the "Born Alive Infants Protection Act", the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act", and the "Combating Autism Act" because he believes each and every individual has value and the most vulnerable in our society need to be protected. Senator Santorum fought to maintain fiscal sanity in Washington before it was in fashion, fighting for a balanced budget and a line item veto. <ref> [http://www.ricksantorum.com/why-rick Why Rick?]</ref><br />
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A movement among [[liberals]], and particularly [[homosexual]] activists, vilified Santorum for his clear and forthright statements regarding [[traditional marriage]] and condemnation of homosexuality. In the Senate, Santorum stood for traditional values and fought for traditional marriage. His "[[Santorum Amendment]]" to the 'No Child Left Behind' Act sought unsuccessfully to stop public schools from presenting the [[theory of evolution]] in a dogmatic way and, instead, to present the alternative theory of [[intelligent design]].<br />
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In 2006 [[Bob Casey, Jr.]], the [[liberal]] son of a popular former Pennsylvania governor who had been [[pro-life]], defeated Santorum as part of a [[Democratic]] sweep in that election. Casey subsequently endorsed pro-[[abortion]] [[Barack Obama]] for president in 2008, and supported [[Obamacare]] with the excuse that less poverty would reduce the demand for abortions.<br />
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2012 Presidential candidate [[Ron Paul]] has accused Santorum of being a "counterfeit conservative" due to his quick willingness to compromise (such as supporting [[George W. Bush]]'s [[Medicare Part D]], refusing to aggressively stand up against funding [[Planned Parenthood]], and support for increasing the [[Department of Education]]).<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57383263-503544/santorum-fights-charges-hes-a-fake-conservative/</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgNJBdTaKE8</ref> Santorum also endorsed [[RINO]]-turned-[[Democrat]] Arlen Specter.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rick-santorums-greatest-sin-endorsing-arlen-specter/2012/02/24/gIQAD0sUXR_blog.html "Rick Santorum’s greatest sin: Endorsing Arlen Specter" ''Washington Post'']</ref> Candidates [[Mitt Romney]] and [[Newt Gingrich]] have also criticized Santorum's record.<br />
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==Liberal Obsession with Santorum==<br />
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[[Liberals]] have become obsessed with Santorum, particularly after he stood up for traditional marriage and drew an analogy between support for [[homosexual marriage]] and other illegal forms of marriage and conduct. Rather than dispute the analogy, liberals were quick to [[liberal tricks|feign offense]]. They argue that because the other kinds of conduct are so universally repulsive, pointing out the parallels with [[homosexual act]]s and homosexual marriage unduly disparages homosexuals. But they know the ugly truth -- that homosexuality is just one step away on the slippery slope towards many other disgustingly immoral proclivities. They can only resort to [[liberal namecalling]] and personal attacks; it's gotten so pathetic that now they're dedicated to slandering his name by equating it with fecal matter, knowing full well they can't refute any of his arguments.<br />
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==Dan Savage==<br />
Homosexual advice columnist [[Dan Savage]] instigated a campaign on [[Google]] to associate Santorum's name with vile slang. By enlisting the help of readers of his column, mostly college students experimenting with sexual deviancy, he redirected legitimate searches for Santorum's name to a slanderous website he created, urging people to spread the candidate's name as a vile Internet meme. That children are often the first to absorb new Internet content was apparently of no concern to the gay rights activist, who also encouraged writers to his newspaper column to address him as "Dear Faggot."<ref>http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=340</ref><br />
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==2012 Presidential Race==<br />
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On June 6, 2011<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/us-usa-campaign-santorum-idUSTRE7551YL20110606</ref>, Santorum announced his intention to run for the Republican Party nomination in the US Presidential election of 2012.<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55772.html</ref><br />
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<blockquote><br />
In the [[Iowa]] caucuses, January, 3, 2012, Santorum and [[Mitt Romney]] Fight to a Draw. In the first Republican contest of the season, the two candidates were separated by only a sliver of votes, offering Rick Santorum a chance to emerge as the alternative to Mitt Romney. <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/us/politics/santorum-and-romney-fight-to-a-draw.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all Romney Wins Iowa Caucus by 8 Vote] </ref> <br />
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Despite doing well, getting approximately half the delegates of Romney, Rick Santorum surprisingly announced on April 10, 2012 that he was ending his campaign.<br />
==Personal Life==<br />
Rick Santorum and his wife Karen are the parents of seven children: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, Patrick and Isabella. Isabella was born in 2008 with a rare genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18. Most children born with this disorder die in infancy, and only about 10 percent survive to their first birthday.<ref name="santorum">[http://www.ncregister.com/site/article%20/presidential-hopefuls-rick-santorum1/ Presidential Hopefuls: Rick Santorum, Catholic Former Senator Lives Out His Devotion to the Sanctity of Life] Hayes, Charlotte, National Catholic Register, January 9, 2012, retrieved January 15, 2012</ref><br />
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In keeping with his conservative, pro life stance, Santorum counts as his eighth child Gabriel, who sadly lost his life in 1996 due to an infection contracted in the womb. The baby was born five months prematurely, and died two hours later in the hospital. According to an article in the ''National Catholic Register'', the Santorums "took their child home briefly so that their other children could meet their brother." Santorum stated, "We wanted them to know that there was a baby and that his life was precious and that baby in the womb was real,"<ref name="santorum"/><br />
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The Santorum family's struggle with the sadness of the loss of their son, and their decision to mourn the baby as a human being, served as an inspiration to other families struggling with the pain of losing a child. On the other hand, the criticism Santorum received from pro abortion journalists, such as liberal "gotcha reporter" Alan Colmes,<ref>www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=48506</ref> who accused Santorum of "playing" with his dead child's body, has been fierce. Public sentiment, however, is firmly in Santorum's column.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/media-blog/286998/alan-colmes-apologizes-rick-santorum-greg-pollowitz</ref><br />
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Santorum is a practicing Catholic.<ref>Sokolove, Michael. "The Believer." May 22, 2005. The New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/magazine/22SANTORUM.html</ref><br />
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==Political Positions==<br />
Rick Santorum is emphatically pro-life and pro-family as described above, opposing abortion, gay marriage, and the spread of pornography.<ref>"Where I Stand." Rick Santorum Presidential campaign website. http://www.ricksantorum.com/issues</ref> He does not believe that humans are causing [[global warming]], calling it "junk science." He favors increased production of [[fossil fuels]] in the U.S.<ref>Johnson, Brad and Somanader, Tanya. "Santorum: 'There's no such thing as global warming.'" June 24, 2011. Think Progress. http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/06/24/253389/santorum-theres-no-such-thing-as-global-warming/</ref> Broadly, Santorum is in favor of reducing the size of government and reducing taxes. Some of the major economic and fiscal policy measures that he supports are:<ref>"Rick Santorum - The Economy." The Political Guide. http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Senate/Pennsylvania/Rick_Santorum/Views/The_Economy/</ref><br />
*A [[balanced budget]] amendment<br />
*Cutting the corporate tax rate in half<br />
*Cutting the tax rate for manufacturers to zero<br />
*Simplifying the tax code for all<br />
*Repealing [[Obamacare]]<br />
*Repealing the Dodd-Frank Act<br />
*Eliminating the focus on [[green energy]]<br />
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Santorum has opposed giving assistance to illegal immigrants,<ref>"Immigration Reform: Securing and Strengthening America." Rick Santorum Presidential campaign website. http://www.ricksantorum.com/immigration-reform-securing-and-strengthening-america</ref> supported the [[Iraq War]],<ref>"Rick Santorum - The Iraq War." The Political Guide. http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Senate/Pennsylvania/Rick_Santorum/Views/The_War_in_Iraq/</ref> opposed [[universal health care]],<ref>"Rick Santorum: Healthcare." Electful. http://electful.com/candidate/rick-santorum/issues/healthcare</ref> and supported the [[death penalty]] (although in recent years he has said the death penalty should be more limited).<ref>"Santorum Rethinks Death Penalty Support." March 23, 2005. Associated Press / Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151241,00.html</ref> These four views are in opposition to the teachings of the [[Catholic Church]].<br />
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Santorum said that the [[Islam]] and Democracy are not compare able. He believes that Muslims have to construct the [[Sharia]]-law.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20130323/NEWS0119/303230016/Santorum-delivers-warning-about-radical-Islam-during-Naples-appearance|title=Santorum delivers warning about radical Islam during Naples appearance|date=March 23, 2013|newspaper=Fort Meyers News Press|author=Lindsay Downey}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT: Santorum, Rick}}<br />
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]<br />
[[Category:Republicans]]<br />
[[Category:Conservatives]]<br />
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]<br />
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]<br />
[[Category:Pennsylvania]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1045143Islam2013-04-07T15:40:30Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Critics */ citation provided</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad also claimed birth to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam.<br />
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==Overview==<br />
The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 20,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
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There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
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Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
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[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islamism “racists” and “[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]” for exposing today’s threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref><br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
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While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
<br />
{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
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Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
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The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
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However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
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==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
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Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
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==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
<br />
==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
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==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious: [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), [[Oriana Fallaci]] (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), [[Pamela Geller]] (blogger), [[Bill Maher]] (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]], who while a devout Catholic, criticizes Islam as a political ideology. Political critics include [[Herman Cain]] and [[Rick Santorum]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20130323/NEWS0119/303230016/Santorum-delivers-warning-about-radical-Islam-during-Naples-appearance|title=Santorum delivers warning about radical Islam during Naples appearance|date=March 23, 2013|newspaper=Fort Meyers News Press|author=Lindsay Downey}}</ref>. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
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<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Herman_Cain&diff=1045140Herman Cain2013-04-07T15:33:54Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Political Positions */ clarify position on Islam</p>
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<div>[[File:HCain4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Herman Cain]]<br />
'''Herman Cain''' (born December 13, 1945) is an American journalist, businessman, politician, Tea Party activist, and broadcaster. He is a prominent [[African American]] conservative. He ran for the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States in the [[2012 Presidential election]], but suspended his campaign out after several women made allegations that he had inappropriate relations with them including one allegation of an affiar.<br />
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Cain was born in [[Georgia]] and grew up there. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University. He married his wife, Gloria, in 1968. They have two children. <br />
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Cain worked for the [[United States Navy]] as a civilian ballistics analyst, then as a business analyst for the [[Coca-Cola Company]] and [[Pillsbury Company]] in 1977. While there, Cain moved to Pillsbury's [[Burger King]] division, eventually overseeing 400 Philadelphia franchises. He then moved to their Godfather's Pizza chain in 1986 and returned it to profitability. He then served on the National Restaurant Association board, becoming President and CEO in 1996. <br />
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Cain was a senior advisor to the 1996 [[Bob Dole|Dole]]/[[Jack Kemp|Kemp]] campaign for the Presidency. In 2004, he ran for the United States Senate in Georgia as a Republican, facing Congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the seat formerly held by [[Zell Miller]]. Collins got 20% of the vote, Cain got 26%, and Isakson avoided a runoff by getting 53%.<ref name="senate">[[Associated Press]] (July 21, 2004). [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126389,00.html Ga. Dems Forced Into Senate Runoff.] ''[[Fox News]]''</ref><br />
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''The Herman Cain Show'' radio program is based in Atlanta. Cain founded the leadership consulting company T*H*E New Voice, Inc. He has authored four books on leadership and self-empowerment, including ''Leadership is Common Sense'' and ''CEO of Self''.<br />
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==Political Positions==<br />
Cain is against same-sex marriage and abortion. He is opposed to political [[Islam]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/07/17/herman-cain-islam-combines-church-and-state|title=Herman Cain: Islam Combines Church and State|date=July 17, 2011|newspaper=Fox Nation}}</ref>. For example Cain believes that every muslim must kill Christians{{citation needed}}. During the [Libyan War]] he was opposed to Obamas intervention and said that the [[al-Qaeda]] will rule the country.<br />
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==2012 Presidential Run==<br />
Herman Cain officially announced his decision to enter the presidential race of 2012. He had a decent following courtesy of the [[Tea Party movement]], [[Op-Ed]] articles and a radio program through [[Conservative media]] outlets. If declared the winner, many people would have considerd Cain to be this nation's first [[African-American]] president. Cain prefers the term "black American" to "African-American", stating, "My roots go back through slavery in this country. Yes, they came from Africa. But the roots of my heritage are in the United States of America. So I consider myself a black American."<ref>[http://www.theblaze.com/stories/herman-cain-i-prefer-black-american/ Herman Cain: I Prefer 'Black American'] Morgenstern, Madeleine, October 16, 2011, theblaze.com, retrieved October 20, 2011</ref><br />
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Cain is widely believed to have won the [[South Carolina]] debates, though the potential field of candidates was limited.<ref name="debate">[[CBS News]] [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20060614-10391715.html How Herman Cain won the GOP debate.]'</ref><br />
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On December 3rd Cain announced, that his campaign is "suspended". This was the result of a relentless campaign of smear tactics and outright fabrications created and amplified by the media in order to keep black voters, who are overwhelmingly God-fearing Christians opposed to sexual deviance, voting for the Democratic party, despite the growing realization among blacks that they have more in common with the GOP and its message of self-success than with the "gravy-train politics" of the outdated Democrats. It is interesting that media coverage of Bill Clinton's numerous instances of sexual harassment and adultery were reported in a much more favorable light than Cain's few minor indiscretions, which were vague accusations of "inappropriate conduct" from women who were fired from the NRA and chose to remain anonymous to avoid being questioned over their alleged experiences. It should be noted that commenting on the height of one of his coworkers is apparently the worst instance of sexual harassment that the media could dig up; he used his hand to compare the height of a female subordinate to his wife of similar height. It is also interesting that one of the more offensive nicknames that Bill Clinton has accepted from his "not-racist-at-all" liberal worshipers is "The First Black President," apparently because all black people play the saxophone and cheat on their wives. Cain will remain an important voice of conservatism. Cain endorsed [[Newt Gingrich]].<br />
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==Controversial campaign ad ==<br />
In October of 2011, the Cain campaign released a [http://conservativebyte.com/2011/10/have-you-seen-herman-cain‘s-new-’smoking’-ad/ controversial political campaign advertisement], which featured filmed comments from his chief of staff, Mark Block, and a final shot of Block, in a close-up, inhaling on a cigarette. The comments made in the ad, in contrast with the highly scripted, edited and vetted content of even "grassroots" Obama campaign videos, are the real feelings of Cain's right hand man, and reflect the general sentiment of the people who had worked with Cain on his campaign and in the National Restaurant Association. Contrary to the impression left by mainstream news coverage of the ad itself, smoking a cigarette on TV is not yet a crime. More time was taken criticizing Block's smoking than analyzing the very salient points made in this and other Cain ads.<ref>http://calconservatives.com/archives/4284] Calconservatives website</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://www.hermancain.com/ Herman Cain: Official website]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADaC7AahRM Cain's Gospel recordings]<br />
*[http://www.newvoicefoundation.org/ T*H*E New Voice Foundation]<br />
*[http://www.northstarwriters.com/ North Star Writers Group]<br />
*[http://www.newvotersalliance.org/ New Voters Alliance]<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Herman}}<br />
[[category:Conservatives]]<br />
[[Category:Republicans]]<br />
[[Category:Tea Party Movement]]<br />
[[Category:Business People]]<br />
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1045135Islam2013-04-07T15:23:12Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Critics */ group by background to clarify trends</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad also claimed birth to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam.<br />
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==Overview==<br />
The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 20,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
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There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
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Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
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[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islamism “racists” and “[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]” for exposing today’s threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref><br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
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While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
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{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
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Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
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The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
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However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
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==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
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Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
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==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
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==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
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==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious: [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), [[Pamela Geller]] (blogger), [[Bill Maher]] (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]], who while a devout Catholic, criticizes Islam as a political ideology. Political critics include [[Herman Cain]] and [[Rick Santorum]]{{citation needed}}. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
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<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
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== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1029833Islam2013-01-17T01:36:30Z<p>JasonNYC: links to other conservapedia articles</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
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There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
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Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
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[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islamism “racists” and “[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]” for exposing today’s threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref><br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
<br />
==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
<br />
==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
<br />
=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
<br />
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
<br />
{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
<br />
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
<br />
The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
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However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
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==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
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Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
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==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
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==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
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==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1029808Islam2013-01-17T00:09:54Z<p>JasonNYC: let's clarify ''who''</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
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There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
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Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
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Multiculturalists ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a moral equivalence. Proponents of this view often cite the Great Crusades--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the Byzantine Empire that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islamism “racists” and “Islamophobes” for exposing today’s threats by jihadists.<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref><br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
<br />
====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
<br />
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
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{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
<br />
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
<br />
The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
<br />
However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
<br />
==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
<br />
Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
<br />
==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
<br />
==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=User_talk:JasonNYC&diff=1029766User talk:JasonNYC2013-01-16T22:51:14Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Hello... */</p>
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<div>{{welcome|sig=[[User:Anupam|Anupam]]<sup>[[User talk:Anupam|Talk]]</sup> 19:40, 12 May 2012 (EDT)}}<br />
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== Hello... ==<br />
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Not sure if you are aware, but just because this is a conservative wiki, does not mean we allow blatant biasing, to the point of it looking like parody. I don't know if it was you that put it in the article [[Islam]], but just make sure you don't let this happen. Thanks, [[User:Brenden|brenden]] 16:57, 16 January 2013 (EST)<br />
:Actually, I was restoring another editor's contribution that was completely removed by a banned editor. Your editing leaves the essence and improves the unintended over generalization with ample qualifiers--a step to a more measured statement. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 17:51, 16 January 2013 (EST)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1029752Islam2013-01-16T21:47:26Z<p>JasonNYC: Revert deletion of unique conservative viewpoints by one-day editor User:Oheath9</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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''See also: '''[[Jihadism]]''', for the more recent militant political version of Islam.''<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
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There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
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Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
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[[Leftists]] however, frequently ignore the violence of Islam (refering to critics as "racists" and "Islamophobes") while they focus on attacking Christianity, a religion with a long history of charity and self sacrifice.<ref>http://www.ccusa.org/</ref><ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref> Critics of this view often cite the Great Crusades--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the Byzantine Empire that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. <br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
<br />
==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
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While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
<br />
{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
<br />
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
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The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
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However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
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==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
<br />
Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
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==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
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==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
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==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
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<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1009847Islam2012-09-30T12:17:21Z<p>JasonNYC: fix ref</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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''See also: '''[[Jihadism]]''', for the more recent militant political version of Islam.''<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
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There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
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Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
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[[Liberals]] however, frequently ignore the violence of Islam (refering to critics as "racists" and "Islamophobes") while they focus on attacking Christianity, a religion with a long history of charity and self sacrifice.<ref>http://www.ccusa.org/</ref><ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref> Critics of this view often cite the Great Crusades--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the Byzantine Empire that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. <br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
<br />
==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
<br />
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
<br />
{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
<br />
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
<br />
The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
<br />
However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
<br />
==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
<br />
Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
<br />
Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
<br />
==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
<br />
==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=1009843Islam2012-09-30T12:15:11Z<p>JasonNYC: clarification of Islam vs. Islamism</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
<br />
''See also: '''[[Jihadism]]''', for the more recent militant political version of Islam.''<br />
<br />
'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam as originally designed in the Qur'an presents itself as an Abrahamic faith and has [[Moses]] in it<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. Jesus: Prophet of Islam. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son. Islam has been criticized for some time, due to its demanding of strict submissiveness especially of women, and its predisposition to being violent suspicious of other faiths and attacking other faiths deemed a threat to Islam, as a result there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent anti-Semiticism. This version is called [[Jihadism]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into terrorist stateless activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Moderate Muslims have denounced the Jihadist terrorists and believe that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.<ref><ref>{{cite web|title=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref><br />
<br />
There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref> <br />
<br />
Issues of Islam have arisen in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Republican Presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] has said that: "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney has said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> <br />
<br />
[[Liberals]] however, frequently ignore the violence of Islam (refering to critics as "racists" and "Islamophobes") while they focus on attacking Christianity, a religion with a long history of charity and self sacrifice.<ref>http://www.ccusa.org/</ref><ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref> Critics of this view often cite the Great Crusades--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the Byzantine Empire that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. <br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
<br />
==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
<br />
Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
<br />
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
<br />
{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
<br />
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
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The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
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However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
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==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
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Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
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==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
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==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
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==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Islam&diff=1009785Talk:Islam2012-09-29T23:09:14Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Split criticism on Islam into two sections: one on the doctrine of Islam in the Qur'an, and one on the corrupted version of Islam known as Jihadism */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Wikiproject Religion}}<br />
See [[Debate:Crusades... Good or Bad?]] if you have an opinion.<br />
----<br />
Fine then. If this MUST contain mention of paganism, I'll go mention it in Christianity as well. It isn't false...<br />
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Good point. The Roman Emperor, among other people was called Son of God and was believed to be born of a virgin. The Egyptian god Horus also was born of a virgin. In addition Dionysian cults celebrated by eating their god. The Cult of Isis influenced early belief on the Virgin Mary. Mirthaism and the Egyptian god Osiris may have had an influence on belief in Christ's resurrection. It was only natural that pagan converts would bring their old religions with them when the converted to Christianity.<br />
<br />
The first section of this article is factual.<br />
<br />
The second half appears to be opinion. It is not a description of what U. S. policy is or has been, but of what the writer thinks it should be. Some statements in it ("The religion of Islam is one of the most, if not the most, violent religion in the world") seem far from objective. After all, it was not Muslims who started the Crusades. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 20:19, 8 February 2007 (EST)<br />
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The Crusades were acts of self - defense occasioned by centuries of Islamic belligerence. -VoteGOP21<br />
:: Wow, I never knew that marching a thousand miles away, stopping to loot Constantinople and give Jews a, shall we say, hard time, constitutes an act of self-defence. Usually when I am defending mySELF, it's because I was directly confronted where I stand. I don't know, maybe it's just me... [[User:Jros83|Jros83]] 23:47, 11 July 2008 (EDT)<br />
: This is entirely, entirely false, and I would encourage you to study history before you make claims like this. [[User:FlightlessOstrich|FlightlessOstrich]] 16:04, 15 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:: Not ''self'' defence, but retaking of Palestine from the Muslim invaders, so I'm not sure that I'd be repeating "entirely" like that. In other words, the truth is somewhere between what VotGOP21 said and what you appear to be indicating, although you're being somewhat vague. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 09:03, 16 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
"a substantial minority of accredited Western scholars believe that some Muslim beliefs, like those of the early Roman Catholic Church, system can be traced back to distinctly polytheistic antecedents" - This seems to be the sort of phrase that is attacked in Wikipedia. Every odd ball opinion can be traced to somewhere, but this is not worthy in the main article - in regard to Islam or Catholicism. [[user:stevendavy]]<br />
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The article has one major flaw, and that is that it distinguishes Allah as a separate god from that which is followed in the other abrahamic religions. This is fundamentally incorrect, The Christian, Jewish and Muslim god is the same god. The quote given is actually Sura 5: 77 and the Qu'ran is not contesting that a Christian god was another god, merely that Jesus was not the son of god but instead a prophet, thus, to claim that Jesus was the son of god in that sense is incorrect according to Muslims. Interestingly the quoted Sura 5: 73 actually reads "They who believe, and the Jews, and the Sabeites and the Christians - whoever of them believeth in God and in the last day, and doth what is right, on them shall come no fear, neither shall they be put to grief". Not quite so intolerant I think you'll agree. [[user:djtheblade]]<br />
: It is good that you think so tolerantly of God, and I agree with you, however, many people do not, and controversial statements should not be presented as fact in an encyclopedia. Good point with the Sura 5, though, I hadn't known about that before. '''That''' should go up on the page. [[User:FlightlessOstrich|FlightlessOstrich]] 16:04, 15 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:: Regarding "controversial" statements in encyclopedias, please read [[Essay: Accuracy vs. neutrality on Conservapedia]]. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 09:03, 16 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
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It seems to me that discussion of Islam in the context of "pig gods" is a subtle method of defamation. Rather than kitschy little tidbits of information, it would be nice to see a comprehensive list of facts including the pillars, the Sunni, Shi'i split, and Sharia.<br />
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I agree - it seems unnecessary and insulting. Why not remove it? - there is a good deal of more useful information that is left out of this article. [[User:Cletje|Cletje]]<br />
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:We should get rid of this rubbish. It may confuse those people who don't understand. It also tries to make fun of an important subject. --[[User:Czolgosz]] 12:07, 29 March 2007 (EDT) 14:31, 30 March 2007 (EDT)<br />
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== There is still misleading information in here ==<br />
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I realize this is an emotional subject for many, but if the conservapedia can't manage to weed out the misleading and biased information, it will end up as the laughingstock that so many already assume it will become.<br />
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The end of the first paragraph says that Islam is growing quickly "mostly" because of high fecundity rates. Most data shows that high reproductive rates are important, but they are in parts of Africa, Asia, and South America where Christianity is showing its greatest gains as well. It's debatable whether there are more conversions from Christianity to Islam than vice versa (citing an interview with one person is not good evidence!), but both get most of their conversions from non judeo-christian-islam religions. So what possible point can there be for including this, except to make the conservapedia look biased?<br />
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What, you think conservapedia ISN'T Biased? Ha, considering it was set up as a reaction to the so called liberalized Wikipedia, it's done a pretty poor job of presenting fair and unbiased arguments. Conservapedia is just a polar opposite, it's not balanced at all.<br />
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::I agree and it makes me very disappointed. [[User:Everwill|Everwill]] 13:35, 18 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
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:::I see nothing wrong with either source making the claim Christian conversions outstrip conversions to Islam. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 15:18, 18 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
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::::Presuming that it's true, yes. A link to concrete statistics would be necessary to legitimize such a statement.[[User:Archibald|Archibald]] 14:13, 9 November 2007 (EST)<br />
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== We should not shy away from speaking the Truth!!! ==<br />
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Conservapedia shouldn't be biased in a bad way, but we should definitely be putting across our point of view. It is obvious that Jesus was the son of G-d, and so any parts of Islam which contradict Christianity must be considered false. This page should also contain evidence that Christianity and not Islam is the one true faith. Surely we should not shy away from speaking the truth!!! -Mmeelliissssaa<br />
: I laugh at your concept of truth. Your truth is not independently verifiable. Bias is the act of "putting across" your point of view. It is not so obvious that Jesus is the son of God. Contradiction does not imply falsehood, as Christianity knows well (I'm thinking of a Holy Trinity...). And I think the reader has the right to decide whether Christianity or Islam is the true faith. [[User:FlightlessOstrich|FlightlessOstrich]] 16:06, 15 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:: As above, see [[Essay: Accuracy vs. neutrality on Conservapedia]]. I think it's quite obvious that Jesus is the Son of God. Contradiction ''does'' imply falsehood, but ''apparent'' contradiction need not mean that. And nobody's denying the read the right to make up his mind. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 09:16, 16 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
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Its obvious that Jesus was the son of God - that is in sense that Jesus is part of triad that is comprised of 3 equal parts, hence Jesus is God? Really! It was not even obvious to early Christians that this was the case. - anyone aware of the history of Christianity is aware of this. I suggest you Google "the Arian crisis" to find out more. If You mean that Jesus is the son of God, and the word son defines his rank with respect to God - that is less than, and seperate from, God, then you are outside the orthodox tradition, and are an Arian Christian. Not that I have a dog in this fight, I am an atheist. Yet your bias and question-begging(i,e. your conclusion that Islam must be false is based upon your presuppostion that your belief is true) needed to be attacked.<br />
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::What about the Koranic justification for violence against infidels / the dhimma / mistreatment of women? - VoteGOP21<br />
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::: Look up Luke 19:27, or the entire Old Testament, and any number of episodes about stoning people. Christianity is not so innocent either. Any spirited leader can take any number of contradictory (and violent) verses from a book of scripture and make something violent out of it. The mistreatment of women question is a popular one... the general consensus is that hurting anyone, especially your wife, is bad. And let me again reference something from our Good Book, not violent but just funny... "Let your women keep silence in the churches," 1 Corinthians 7:1. Remember that!! [[User:FlightlessOstrich|FlightlessOstrich]] 16:11, 15 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:::: If your point is that verses taken out of context appear to say something that they don't really say, then I'll agree with you, and that is why I don't quote such verses from the Koran, because I'm not familiar with the context. But if you are saying that the Bible endorses unjustified violence, then I disagree. Luke 19:27 is part of a parable; not an instruction. The "entire Old Testament" is a silly thing to say, as it is simply not true that the ''entire'' Old Testament endorses violence. The Bible actually preaches a higher view of women than was current in its time. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 09:16, 16 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
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:Perhaps you would like to discuss one of our [[Debate topics]]. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 13:10, 18 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
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Perhaps she would like to acknowledge that her interpretation of 'the one true faith' is still entirely subjective. Salvation may be shared in a community but it is still a subjective and singular experience. It's not 'obvious' that Jesus was the son of god, that is merely your opinion, that would be like me saying that it is 'obvious' that creationism is false because popular scientific consensus says so. I'm not quick to dismiss people's opinions and outlooks on life, but I don't pass my own opinions off as undisputed objective fact. Your 'truth' is your personal salvation and not necessarily the same truth that other's will rejoice in.<br />
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:Perhaps we should focus on building an encyclopedic page about Islam, and leave the rants out. That can go at [[Criticism of Islam]]. --<font color="#0000CC" face="Comic Sans MS">[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']]</font><sup><font color="00FFAA">[[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]]</font></sup> 12:29, 21 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
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::The role of an "encyclopedia" is not to convert others from other, "wrong" (i.e. "not my") points of view, but to unfold and present information. Certainly the information that Christians believe Christ to be the son of God is crucial, and so is the information that Muslims believe that doctrine to be a fabrication of Christ's later followers. Christian scripture has enough valid independent sources that I don't believe this to be true. Hmm. . . not sure where I'm going with this.[[User:Archibald|Archibald]] 14:17, 9 November 2007 (EST)<br />
::: Well, Muslims may say the Son of God doctrine came a little later, but the more damning condemnation is that Christians have made a Son of God in the first place. This can be viewed as polytheistic. [[User:FlightlessOstrich|FlightlessOstrich]] 16:14, 15 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::Christians didn't make anything, only recorded it. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 18:47, 15 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:::: Anything "can be viewed" as almost anything, but that doesn't mean that it can reasonably mean that. Christianity clearly teaches ''one'' God, comprising three persons. Unlike polytheistic religions which have multiple gods squabbling or disagreeing, the Christian God is of one mind. And as Learn together says, Christians didn't "make" a Son of God. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 09:16, 16 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
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==Five Pillars==<br />
We should make clear these are the five '''Sunni''' pillars of Islam. The Shia Twelvers replace Shahadah with Wilayah. The Ismali have seven pillars, as do the Druze. Just lumping all of Islam together like this is like saying all Christians believe in transubstantiation.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 13:32, 18 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
:I thought that the "twelvers" were the Imams themselves. Does this mean that their laws replace the pillars? I am not well-versed on this aspect, perhaps you could add information, Dave. --<font color="#0000CC" face="Comic Sans MS">[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']]</font><sup><font color="00FFAA">[[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]]</font></sup> 12:31, 21 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
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Jihad, the "sixth" pillar, needs to be mentioned. And not jihad as in holy war against infidels, I mean jihad as including the personal and public jihads. <font color="FFD700">[[User:ColinR|ColinR]]</font><sup><font color="000000">[[User_talk:ColinR|talk]]</font></sup> 04:56, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
: Isn't it greater (ie the struggle to reform the self) and lesser (ie the struggle to reform the Muslim community) Jihad? Oh, and it's not the 'sixth pillar', by any stretch. The Five Pillars are the Five Pillars. <font color="#222222" face="Times New Roman">Wik</font><font color="#444444" face="Times New Roman">i</font><font color="#666666" face="Times New Roman">nterpreter</font>'''<sup>[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Wikinterpreter talk?]</sup><br />
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Wikinterpreter, please see your talk page --[[User:Jrp32|Jrp32]] 13:34, 18 January 2008 (EST)<br />
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==Spelling==<br />
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The apostrophe in "Qur'an" is between the "r" and "a," not after the "u." [[User:Ylmw21|Ylmw21]] 23:14, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
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== Islam and Judaism ==<br />
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There are title headings for Islam and Christianity as well as Islam and Paganism, but nothing for Islam and Judaism? I realize this is a sensitive topic, but by avoiding it aren't we leaving an incomplete article? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 18:33, 15 May 2007 (EDT)<br />
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==Muslims believe in the Resurrection==<br />
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Muslims do, in fact, believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Can someone change this, please?<br />
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:If I recall correctly, Muslims do not believe in the resurrection as portrayed in the Bible. If it would be changed, it needs to be properly specified what to put. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 02:06, 25 June 2007 (EDT)<br />
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Muslims believe that Jesus would judge during Judgement day with their prophet {{unsigned|Kaviii}}<br />
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== Islam and Paganism ==<br />
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I suggest either someone remove this section or show the other side of the arguement. This claim about Muslims worshipping a moon deity call Allah and Islam and it's moon-cult links have been refuted in this web site<br />
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http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/moongod.html<br />
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{{unsigned|Kaviii}}<br />
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I agree. Startoman24<br />
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:The moon-god worshipped in pre-Islamic Mecca was called Hubal. According to the muslims, the battle of Uhud showed Hubal to be inferior to Allah. This should most definitely be added to the article. [[User:Styxz|Styxz]] 19:15, 4 November 2007 (EST)<br />
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No one seems to have been able to attach any meaningful support to the claims in this section. Jack Chick tracts are not proof. The section has been removed until someone can find halfway trustworthy sources for the claims made in it --[[User:HarabecW|HarabecW]] 00:41, 30 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
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== Changing "Allah" to "God" ==<br />
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I should point out that while this would normally seem to make sense, that in Islam the title "Allah" goes beyond cultural Arabic. Islamic services in languages other than Arabic still use the title Allah. Conservations with Muslims either verbal or written will still see the use of the proper Allah.<br />
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I would say some mention should be made of this in the first paragraph before we make use of God throughout. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 14:50, 11 August 2007 (EDT)<br />
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:It seems that the Islamic usage of "Allah" is as wedded with Islamic culture as the usage of ancient Hebrew names for God in Judaism. Though Islam essentially worships the old testament "God" it seems beneficial to leave in the Allah reference.[[User:Archibald|Archibald]] 14:19, 9 November 2007 (EST)<br />
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== Human Sacrifice ==<br />
I move that the line referring to early Islamic Human sacrifice should be removed because it states in the line that the claims are unverified, so they aren't fact. And an encyclopedia should post facts.<br />
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== revelation and transcription ==<br />
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Where it says ''revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, and despite his illiteracy, caused him to transcribe it '', it should add that in actual fact the Quran was first memorized by professional remembrancers, written down in an improvised way later, to be compiled years later. Believe in a miracle is one thing, information on the actual history should be a second [[User:Immaculada|Immaculada]] 21:44, 18 August 2007 (EDT)<br />
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== Recategorization ==<br />
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Please remove the category religion. This is already a supercategory of Category:Islam. [[User:TheEvilSpartan|TheEvilSpartan]] 14:57, 7 January 2008 (EST)<br />
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== Removal ==<br />
This section was brought to my attention by a user for review: "Others believe there are pagan roots of various Muslim prohibitions, such as the ban on pork originating in the 3rd-century AD Damascene [[cult]] of the pig-god Jamal <ref>Ibid.</ref> as well as various recently-recovered scrolls that hint at early Muslim human sacrifice. Such claims remain unverified. <ref>Esposito, "The Oxford History of Islam", p. 523. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1999. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/sr=8-1/qid=1172042853/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref>"<br />
#The ban on pork is ''pagan''? That would mean that the Old Testament ban on pork is pagan too? (In fact earlier versions of this passage were quite happy to point out that the Jews were all pagans as well).<br />
#Pig god "Jamal" - no evidence that such a thing existed. Jamal is quite a popular boys name, particularly among black and Muslim US families; it means "handsome". I fear somebody is yanking the chain here.<br />
#Human sacrifice... hinted at... unverified... I haven't read Esposito's book, but I just checked the online db and its in my local library so I'll grab it asap. However, the claim sounds spurious, and also sounds well out of place in a book that has received no criticism from Islamic groups, and seems to be more concerned with the artistic bent of Islam.<br />
#I appreciate that we do not edit articles to make everybody happy, particularly if it may go against the grain of the common values that we all share and goals we aspire to at CP. But this section of the article is simply inaccurate. [[Image:User Fox.png|10px]] [[User:Fox|Fox]] <small>([[User talk:Fox|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Fox|contribs]])</small> 14:13, 18 January 2008 (EST)<br />
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I agree with your choice to remove, and for the reasons you have stated above. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 14:24, 18 January 2008 (EST)<br />
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==See Also==<br />
Can we add [[Jesus in Islam]] to the See Also list? [[User:SSchultz|SSchultz]] 22:41, 4 February 2008 (EST)<br />
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What about the Satanic verses? {{unsigned|VoteGOP21}}<br />
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==Islamic Violence==<br />
Why aren't the scores of verses in the Koran and Hadith exhorting Mohammedans to violence against the 'infidels' included? -VoteGOP21<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
I'm a bit worried that this addition appears to be a word-for-copy from [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21432.pdf Islam: A Primer]. Not sure, but are we treading on copyright infringement / fair use here? [[User:Welshman|Welshman]] 11:05, 24 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:I assume you mean Karajou's recent edit? Well, it's not public domain, he didn't write it, and he doesn't have permission. According to the Guidelines for CP[http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservapedia:Guidelines], it is unacceptable copying. He added some of his own, it looks like, but "Someone else's work changed around a bit is still copying their work; it does not constitute your own work. If it is still recognisable as another work altered, it constitutes copying."<br />
:Someone who can unlock articles should revert Karajou's edit, or at least remove his plagiarized portions.--[[User:TomMoore|TomMoore]] 21:16, 24 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:: The article says, "Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain". My understanding is that all U.S. Federal government works are in the public domain, so that sounds correct. Is there a reason to think that's ''not'' correct? [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 21:46, 24 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
:::All U.S. government works are in the public domain, and TomMoore should have a better case than that. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 22:22, 24 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
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== Head covering for women ==<br />
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While only two countries officially require a head covering, we should make some of mention of the reality in Islamic culture. Iraq had a free government on paper too under Saddam Hussein, but the reality was very different. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 20:43, 21 April 2008 (EDT)<br />
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== Star and moon symbol ==<br />
Hi. Someone put a picture of a star and moon and claimed that it is a symbol of Islam. This is seriously incorrect. The star and moon were symbols of the Ottoman Empire (made up of many senseless self-proclaiming Muslims who killed a lot of people, which is contrary to Islamic teaching). Islam has no symbol. It needs no symbol. The only object that could be relatively considered a symbol is the sanctuary in Mecca. Let the Star & Cresent be a pagan symbol for the Ottomans, The Shriners, and add a couple stars for the Tridelts, but I assure you that it is not a symbol for Islam. {{unsigned|Sarahn}}<br />
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: I agree we should be respectful of religions. But I don't think it is wrong to include the star and moon symbol. When I search google for "islam" and "islam symbol" the top results show this symbol. It appears to be an accepted image related to Islam. It is even present on some of the architecture in the Islamic world. I would be happy to reconsider my view if you could show that this symbol should not be connected with Islam. [[User:Taj|Taj]] 15:01, 21 May 2008 (EDT) <br />
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* http://shadmia.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/islam-symbol.thumbnail.jpg<br />
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== Jihad is a very MINOR part of Islam ==<br />
Saying it's a major part would be like saying the KKK is a major part of christianity. There is a very small group of radicals that practice that, but it's not mainstream.[[User:Truthmonger|Truthmonger]] 13:05, 4 August 2008 (EDT)<br />
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:Saying it's a major part would be truth at this time. We're not going to alter that to be politically correct. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 00:32, 5 August 2008 (EDT)<br />
::Except that it wouldn't be a truth. I'd say a major portion would be at least 0.5%, the number of jihadist muslims is much less.--[[User:Redsox70707|Redsox70707]] 22:55, 23 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
:::Jihad is an important part of Islam. These people believe in a religion that supports "holy war", if killing infidels isn't a major part of Islam I fail to see why much else is.[[User:RightPatriot|RightPatriot]]<br />
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== Is Obama a ''Prominent Muslim''? ==<br />
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Is Obama prominent? Yes, I would say so.<br />
Is Obama a Muslim? Some argue yes.<br />
Even if Obama were, without a doubt a Muslim, is Obama a ''prominent'' Muslim? Most decidedly not. You are comparing Obama to Muhammad himself. Do you think a prominent Muslim would go to a Christian church? Would a prominent Muslim consistantly deny that he is a Muslim? I'm pretty sure the answer is no. But if you have any evidence to his prominence, I would be certainly willing and ready to give it its due attention. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 01:25, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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:Read up on Taqiyya. He could end up the most prominent Muslim in history if he gets elected. [[User:QWest|QWest]] 01:34, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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::Read up on the [[Conservapedia:Commandments|Commandments]], particularly numbers 1 and 2. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 01:38, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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:::Clearly, ASchlafly has already vetted this edit so the Commandments are satisfied. I'll pursue this further with him. [[User:QWest|QWest]] 01:42, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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::::In other words, you can't actually back up the claim yourself? As for the "vetting", it looked to me like Andy was reverting all of the edits of a vandal, and if he wants to leave it up there in violation of the Commandments that's his decision, not yours. You don't even have enough edits to fill up one screen, so please stop acting as if you own the place. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 01:46, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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I would like to see this section removed as it does not appear to add to the article, but could cause unneeded and unwanted controversy. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 03:53, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
:Not to get into the Obama "controversy", but why not list some ''more'' prominent Muslims? Kareem Abdul Jabbar and that congressman (Ellison?) come to mind. And I suppose a few of the current Imams/leaders too? [[User:Human|Human]] 16:44, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
::What about actual famous Muslims, not just people put in to make points? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 17:01, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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::Realistically, most Muslims are not as prominent as their Christian counterparts as far as having a far reaching worldwide impact apart from their local area. Most are, unfortunately, controversial. Ali and Tyson for boxing, Khomeni (sp?) in Iran, Rushdie as a Muslim who defied his religious tradition. Any list would be peppered with extremists as prominent men, and I don't think that's a direction we want to go. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:06, 10 September 2008 (EDT)<br />
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I feel we should definitely include Obama in the list of prominent Muslims. The article on him lists numerous proofs of his Islamic faith and, as a conservative encyclopedia, we should be pushing to criticise him and his beliefs in any TRUTHFUL way we can. So why not? What are we afraid of? [[User:GloriaL|GloriaL]] 11:04, 11 December 2008 (EST)<br />
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:Gloria, I think you will find the Obama article ''speculates'' that he follows the Islamic faith. There is no conclusive proof (as yet) and as such he should not be included here. I am sue your concern is well-meaning, but speculation does not equate to fact. If he is ever found out be one, then by all means he can be added to the list. Until then...no. --[[User:JessicaT|KotomiT]]<sup>[[User talk:JessicaT|''ohayougozaimasu'']]</sup> 11:10, 11 December 2008 (EST)<br />
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Thank you for the prompt & courteous response. I would argue that if we can say in the main article that he might be a Muslim, then we should be allowed to say that elsewhere on CP too. (After all, if we can't say it here, where ''can'' we say it?) However, I will be bound by your command. [[User:GloriaL|GloriaL]] 11:17, 11 December 2008 (EST)<br />
:In a way,I honestly do not mind (he is not my President, in any event), but your reply answers your own question. There is a difference between saying he 'might' be a Muslim and listing it as 'fact' under "Prominent Muslims". Maybe "Prominent Suspected Muslims" but let us rather not go down that road. --[[User:JessicaT|KotomiT]]<sup>[[User talk:JessicaT|''ohayougozaimasu'']]</sup> 11:31, 11 December 2008 (EST)<br />
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== I object! ==<br />
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I submit that the "related" link to the Arab-American entry be removed, because it is suggesting that all arabs are muslim, when you can consider anyone from the Arab Penisula and Arab. This includes Israel.<br />
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== Removed Obama ==<br />
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Unless I did something wrong, I removed Obama from the list of Muslims. Unless there is hard evidence he is Muslim, he can go back.<br />
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The first section in this debate section-[ http://www.conservapedia.com/Debate:Is_Obama_a_Muslim%3F] is unbiased and factual (to my knowladge.)<br />
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I also like a quote I found in the Obama talk section "Who's to say he's not secretly Jewish? His Synagogue and Mosque attendance records over these past few years are the same, after all."-JArneal<br />
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Otherwise, a very fair, unbiased article that exemplifies the true spirit of Conservapedia, well done.<br />
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== Removed Obama ==<br />
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Unless I did something wrong, I removed Obama from the list of Muslims. Unless there is hard evidence he is Muslim, he can go back.<br />
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TThe section Debate, is obama a muslim covers that myth, and is unbiased and factual (to my knowladge.)<br />
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I also like a quote I found in the Obama talk section "Who's to say he's not secretly Jewish? His Synagogue and Mosque attendance records over these past few years are the same, after all."-JArneal<br />
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Otherwise, a very fair, unbiased article that exemplifies the true spirit of Conservapedia, well done.<br />
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== Prominent Muslim ==<br />
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Right now it lists "Barack Hussein Obama" as a prominent Muslim but says he is "President-elect" of the United States. Even though it's inaccurate, is the title really necessary? Everyone should know who Obama is [[User:NotALiberal|NotALiberal]] 08:23, 28 January 2009 (EST)<br />
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== Relevance? ==<br />
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The last line of the introduction to this article states that "the overwhelming majority of modern terrorists are Muslims." While this may be true - at least the majority of terrorists who are aimed at the United States may be Muslim, I'm not sure the majority of the world's modern terrorists are muslims - it is definately not cited. There is no evidence to this fact.<br />
And frankly, even if there does turn out to be evidence, I do not see the relevance that this has to the Islamic faith as a whole. You would not see on the "African American" page that the majority of domestic violence cases occur within this ethnicity. It is just IRRELEVANT. [[User:89vanguard|89vanguard]] 9:53 11, March 2009 (EST)<br />
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== Consistency of Koran/Quran ==<br />
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I noticed that the article is not consistent in its use of Koran and Quran. Could we make a decision as to which one to use, then use it throughout? I don't know enough about it to say which one to use, I am just pointing the inconsistency.{{unsigned|PatrickA}}<br />
:Good point. The correct spelling appears to be "Qur’an", although I am under the impression that "Koran" is probably the acceptable Western spelling. Would you care to go ahead and standarise the article accordingly? --[[User:JessicaT|KotomiT]]<sup>[[User talk:JessicaT|''nandeyanen?'']]</sup> 11:25, 17 April 2009 (EDT)<br />
::Sorry for not getting there sooner, I had to get off. Thank you for standardizing the article. [[User:PatrickA|PatrickA]] 16:57, 17 April 2009 (EDT)<br />
::Just as Chanukah has multiple spellings in english, Koran has no definite spelling using english characters.--[[User:Redsox70707|Redsox70707]] 22:34, 23 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
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== Yusef Islam (Cat Stevens) ==<br />
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Can someone link the name in the prominent Muslim section, there is an article for him now.<br />
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:I reverted a comment on this page by User:The Troll because it was nothing more than rude remarks and did nothing to add to the article. I know we usually do not revert talk page comments. If any Sysop feels I was wrong, please feel free to revert my deletion of the comment, thanks [[User:Taj|Taj]] 16:04, 23 May 2009 (EDT)<br />
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::Obvious trolling, as in this case where the user self-identified as a Troll, isn't protected. We are not a free bulletin board for those who disagree with conservative and Christian values are welcomed to disagree with us with impunity, or argue we are wrong without end. Respectful disagreement or questions are welcome. --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']]<sub><small><small>/Admin</small></small></sub><sup>[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]]</sup> 21:04, 23 May 2009 (EDT)<br />
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== could you remove something ==<br />
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I think the "despite his illiteracy" in the introduction is a little biased sounding. It's true he was illiterate, but the way it's put in there makes it seem like it didn't happen that way. While muslims believe that was a miracle in itself, you could always just put another sentence saying "So-so people doubt this because so-so". Just to make it less biased. I would do it, but I wasn't sure exactly if i should because it's a change in tone, although I feel a more neutral one.--[[User:Panda|Panda]] 16:32, 17 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
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*We are not unbiased. We are a conservative and Christian friendly encyclopedia by definition. We have no interest in diluting the facts here, or making them "politically correct" so no one could possibly be offended. You should fight carrying over things you were indoctrinated with from Wikipedia and MSM. Someone saying God doesn't exist is a lie, and we don't mind saying so quite clearly. Too bad they don't agree; there are thousands of atheist/agnostic/secular wikis, boards and forums for them to participate in. --[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]<sub><small><small>/Admin</small></small></sub><sup>[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]]</sup> 18:21, 17 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
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== Dilution of Conservative POV ==<br />
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Please do not water this article down! By the tacit and explicit agreement of the so-called moderate elements of Islam, their failure to consistently and loudly speak out against violence, it is a violent religion. --<big>[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]</big><sub>/Admin</sub><sup>[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]]</sup> 18:46, 15 January 2010 (EST)<br />
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But there are several instances of Muslims and Muslim organizations speaking out against violence and terrorism. A notable example is here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter16.htm [[User:YNathanielsz|YNathanielsz]] 20:23, 8 June 2010 (EDT)<br />
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Yes, let's all be very careful not to water down the bias in this article! Neutrality is for liberals! Anyone who isn't willing to be held accountable for the actions of everyone even tangentially associated with them is just as guilty as a terrorist! [[User:Kamiwashinda|Kamiwashinda]] 18:03, 19 April 2011 (EDT)<br />
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== Dialectical Logic of Islamists ==<br />
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''Dialectical logic'' [http://www.FrankHatchiii.com/The_Lost.html] is found in the core of Eastern and Western thought. It is a common flaw to the human species. Although the various human cultures have devloped their own methods of using this flaw, it is not simply a cultural defect. However, since each culture uses this flaw to defend and to define itself, every attempt to correct the flaw is perceived to be an attack on the culture itself. '''Islamists''' are particularly sensitive to this perceived attack; because the dialectical Absolute of the Koran is found in the attempt to synthesize the Old and New Testaments.[http://www.FrankHatchiii.com/Mayor.html]--[[User:FrankHatch|FrankHatch]] 13:32, 13 May 2011 (EDT)<br />
--[[User:FrankHatch|FrankHatch]] 13:36, 13 May 2011 (EDT)<br />
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== Christianity never attacked the Islamic world." ==<br />
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The Pope authorized the Crusades. Is the argument that they weren't an attack, the target wasn't the Islamic world, or that Catholics aren't Christians? [[User:MrMorganH|MrMorganH]] 19:58, 14 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
:'Attack' in this context means to be the aggressor. Christendom didn't attack the Islamic empire, it defended itself against invasion. [[User:Jcw|Jcw]] 03:06, 15 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
::Right. #1 then. Okay, thanks. [[User:MrMorganH|MrMorganH]] 09:37, 15 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
I'd hardly call the crusades a defence against Islamic invasion. While Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike see Jerusalem and the surrounding areas as the holy land, the Islamic Kingdoms of the time had had control of the area for a very long time before the Crusades. All territorial claims aside, by any technical definition of the word, it was a Christian invasion. I think this is somewhat of a grey area, and is easily up for debate. [[User:NSmyth|NSmyth]] 15:31, 22 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
:Not a defense against an Islamic invasion? Do you know how much of Christian Europe was conquered by Islamic hordes before we pushed them back? I suggest you read about the Reconquista and more generally about the period from the collapse of the Western Empire to the high middle ages. It's a period little taught but most rewarding of study. [[User:Jcw|Jcw]] 15:49, 22 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
::I'd by lying if I said I was super well-read in medieval history(my strongest area of history is the late 19th to the mid 20th centuries), and I'll take your advice and read up on it, and continue my involvement with this article when I have more knowledge. I was basing my opinion on a minimal amount of knowledge, and I suppose you may have a point. [[NSmyth|NSmyth]] 15:57, 22 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::@Jcw: The Reconquista refers to the conquest of Spain by Christian kingdoms between the 11th and 15th centuries. It has nothing to do with events in West Asia which took place 2,000 miles away during the same period. Palestine, including Jerusalem, was conquered by the Moslem, Arab forces in the 7th century. The Byzantine emperor appealed to the Pope for help in repelling Moslem forces from the Byzantine land in what is now Turkey; he was surprised and greatly displeased when the crusaders attacked Jerusalem instead of defending Byzantium. So you've got the whole thing back-to-front - the crusades were indeed an attack on the Islamic world. [[User:KhalidM|KhalidM]] 17:46, 2 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
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==Voting in Saudi Arabia==<br />
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Don't put in breaking news, as if the prohibition against voting never happened. If the king says women can vote 4 years from now, say it that way. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] <sup>[[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]]</sup> 17:16, 2 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
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== References ==<br />
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<references/><br />
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== The Islam promoted by the Islamist terrorists is a corrupted anti-Semitic, anti-Christian version of Islam that deliberately ignores that the Quran cites Moses and Jesus as prophets ==<br />
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While Islam certainly has parts that are very objectionable to Judeo-Christian society and Western society today, it needs to be remembered that the Islamist terrorists are practicing a corrupt anti-Semitic version of Islam that denies to tell to its followers that the Quran recognizes Moses and Jesus as a prophet and that Islam was founded as an Abrahamic faith. Islam has been highly corrupted by Arabic and Turkish warlords who used it to justify imperial expansion for their selfish goals. Islamist terrorists probably don't even know that Jesus is a prophet in Islam, "Islam" is just a word by the terrorists to justify their anti-Semitic views of Jews and Christians. There are moderate Muslim conservatives in America's Republican Party today, see here: [http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/].--[[User:TheQuestioner|TheQuestioner]] 19:19, 3 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
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== Split criticism on Islam into two sections: one on the doctrine of Islam in the Qur'an, and one on the corrupted version of Islam known as Jihadism ==<br />
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The terrorists responsible for the 9-11 attacks were [[Jihadism|Jihadists]] - a corrupted version of Islam preaching anti-Semitic and anti-Christian bigotry that ignores that the Qur'an itself is an Abrahamic faith that mentions [[Moses]] as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet, though not the son of God.<br />
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There are legitimate criticisms of Islam in its non-corrupted form, such as its repressive attitudes towards women, its allowance of polygamy, and its longstanding paranoia towards threats to Islam by other religions, even in the Prophet Mohammed's days.<br />
<br />
The bigotry by Muslim Arabs to Jews that has spread to other Muslim societies like Muslim Iranians, is the result of Arab nationalist bigotry - not even directly associated with Islam. Arab nationalism arose in the 20th century in opposition to British imperial rule, because the British allowed Jews from outside to settle in what is now Israel, Arab nationalists blamed Jews as tools of British imperialism and vicious anti-Semitism exploded. Arabs and Jews are both ethnically Semitic peoples who in the past had far less tensions before the rise of Arab nationalism and Jihadism. Indeed prior to the explosion of anti-Semitic Arab nationalism, [[Zionism|Zionist]] leader [[Theodor Herzl]] believed (in 20/20 hindsight perhaps naively) that Arabs as Semitic brothers of Jews would convert to Judaism. Certainly Muslim Arabs like the Prophet Mohammed believed that Jews and Christians should be aggressively pressured to abandon their faith and join Islam, but Muslim Arabs back then wanted to assimilate Jews, as a fellow Semitic people with a related faith, into Islam.<br />
<br />
So as I've said above, we need to split our criticisms into one section on criticism of the doctrine of Islam and another section on Jihadism - the corrupted version of Islam based on anti-Semitic and anti-Christian bigotry.--[[User:TheQuestioner|TheQuestioner]] 11:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
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: Conservatives fall into two categories with respect to Islam (a personal spiritual practice) and Islamism (political Islam). Some argue that Islamism isn’t a bona fide variant of Islam (as you do) and other argue that Islamism is original Islam (sometimes referred to as Salafi). There’s evidence for both sides. Mohammad was a brilliant military commander and political leader. That would suggest that Islam is political. However, in the last two centuries (before 1970s) Islam was mainly a personal religious practice. That would suggest the traditional Islam that we knew until fairly recently was more Judeo-Christian in certain ways. <br />
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:I wrote most of the criticism section and tried to stay clear of casting one side of the conservative community out into the cold. I suggest we use the term Islamism (or jihadism) for political Islam and use the word Islam as an umbrella for all practices of the religion. I’d like to hear what longtime editors and proprietors think on this issue. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 19:09, 29 September 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Huma_Abedin&diff=1009635Huma Abedin2012-09-29T00:00:20Z<p>JasonNYC: add links</p>
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<div>[[File:Pic giant 072112 B.jpg|right|thumb|250px| Huma Abedin pictured with Hillary Clinton in 2011]]<br />
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'''Huma Abedin''' (b.1976) is the deputy chief of staff to US Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[Obama Administration]]. She is a longtime confidante to Clinton starting as an intern in the [[White House]] dating back to 1996. Abedin worked for Clinton's campaign for president in 2008. She is married to former Congressman Anthony Weiner. He is Jewish and Abedin was not ostracized by her family or by Muslim groups which raises questions as Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims. <ref>[http://www.shoebat.com/2012/06/24/how-is-huma-abedin-connected-to-egypts-new-president/ How is Huma Abedin connected to Egypt’s new President?, Walid Shoebat, June 24, 2012]</ref><br />
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On June 13, 2012, five members of Congress ([[Michele Bachmann]], [[Louie Gohmert]], [[Trent Franks]], Tom Rooney, Lynn Westmoreland) sent letters to the Inspectors General<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bachmann.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=303218 |title=House Members Seek National Security Answers|date=15 June 2012 |publisher=Congress of the United States |accessdate=23 August 2012}}</ref> of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State seeking investigations into the Obama administration's involvement with the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], an Islamist group with a long history of jihadist violence.<br />
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One of the letters in particular to Ambassador Harold W. Geisel, the Deputy Inspector General of the United States Department of State, used the Department's Deputy Chief of Staff, [[Huma Abedin]], as an example of the undue influence. The letter said that Abedin "has three family members–her late father, her mother and her brother–connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations," referring to a study by the Center for Security Policy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bachmann.house.gov/uploadedfiles/ig_letter_dept_of_state.pdf |title=Letter to the Deputy Inspector General |author= |date=13 June 2012 |format=PDF |publisher=Congress of the United States |accessdate=19 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Cordes|first=Nancy|title=Michele Bachmann refuses to back down on claims about Huma Abedin|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505267_162-57475483/michelle-bachmann-refuses-to-back-down-on-claims-about-huma-abedin/|accessdate=19 July 2012|newspaper=CBS This Morning|date=19 July 2012 |quote=Bachmann, from Minnesota, and the four other representatives sent letters to top intelligence and security officials last week warning that the Muslim Brotherhood, a global religious Islamic movement whose members have been linked to terrorist groups in the past, may have infiltrated the top levels of U.S. government.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://muslimbrotherhoodinamerica.com/key-findings/ |title=Key Findings |last=[[Frank Gaffney|Gaffney]] |first=Frank |date= |work=The Muslim Brotherhood in America |publisher=Center for Security Policy |accessdate=11 August 2012 |quote=Notably, six Islamist-sympathizers have achieved positions within or advisory roles serving Team Obama: Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Rashad Hussein; Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Huma Abedein; Presidential advisor Dalia Mogahed; FBI Citizens Academy graduate Kifah Mustafa; Homeland Security Advisory Committee Member Mohamed Elibiary and Homeland Security Countering Violent Extremism Working Group Member Mohamed Magid.}}</ref><br />
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The five members of Congress wanted simple details on how Abedin attained a high-level security clearance. Abedin's connections to the Muslim Brotherhood could be disqualifying in any legitimate background check. Democrat representative [[Keith Ellison]], the first Muslim elected to Congress, stepped into the fray, playing the "Islamaphobia" card, avoiding the facts of the issue. Republican [[John McCain]] publicly lashed out at Bachmann from the floor of the Senate, while at the same time admitting he had not read any of the documentation requesting the investigation. <ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/310198/questions-about-huma-abedin-andrew-c-mccarthy?pg=1 Questions about Huma Abedin, National Review, July 21, 2012]</ref> A few of the so-called mainstream media outlets piled on with [[liberal]] narrative in furtherance of a longstanding vendetta against Bachmann.<br />
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Speaker of the House [[John Boehner]] was asked about the requests for investigations by the Inspectors' General. He stated, "I don't know Huma. But from everything that I do know of her, she has a sterling character, and I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous."<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Keefe|first=Ed|title=John Boehner: Accusations against Huma Abedin ‘pretty dangerous’|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/john-boehner-accusations-against-huma-abedin-pretty-dangerous/2012/07/19/gJQAeDT6vW_blog.html|newspaper=Washington Post|date=19 July 2012}}</ref> Boehner admitted he hadn't read the letters requesting the investigations when he made his "dangerous" statement which some noted was itself dangerous.<br />
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A bi-partisan group of national security and law enforcement experts have since written to Boehner backing the requested investigations by the Inspectors General into Muslim Brotherhood influence inside U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and Huma Abedin. The letters' signatories include former CIA Director James Woolsey, Former Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Harry E. Soyster and Former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese.<ref>{{cite news |title=Letters of Support for the 'National Security Five' |url=http://gohmert.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=306163 |newspaper=gohmert.house.gov |date=7 August 2012 }}</ref> <br />
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Huma Abedin is a part of a pattern of the Obama Administration working with organizations and people having direct ties to Islamist terrorism. Andrew C. McCarthy, former Assistant U.S. Attorney and prosecutor in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, has written extensively on Abedin's direct ties to terrorism: "It turns out, however, that Abedin herself is directly connected to Abdullah Omar Naseef, a major Muslim Brotherhood figure involved in the financing of al-Qaeda. Abedin worked for a number of years at the Institute for Muslim Minority Affairs as assistant editor of its journal. The IMMA was founded by Naseef, who remained active in it for decades, overlapping for several years with Abedin. Naseef was also secretary general of the Muslim World League in Saudi Arabia, perhaps the most significant Muslim Brotherhood organization in the world. In that connection, he founded the Rabita Trust, which is formally designated as a foreign terrorist organization under American law due to its support of al-Qaeda."<ref>{{cite news |title=Huma Abedin's Brotherhood Ties Are Not Just a Family Affair |url=http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2012/07/27/huma-abedins-brotherhood-ties-are-not-just-a-family-affair/ | date=July 27, 2012 }}</ref><br />
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Abedin is not the only concern made know in the letter. Clinton's work on behalf of the Obama Administration to provide assistance to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is one factor. Representative [[Louie Gohmert]] of Texas, one of four co-signers to Bachmann's letter, grilled [[Janet Napolitano]] for answers on the Muslim Brotherhood infiltration and Huma Abedin's clearance. Napolitano denied all, obfuscated and played the racist Islamaphobia card when questioned in the annual Department of Homeland Security annual oversight hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill.<br />
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Hillary Clinton has mostly kept silent since the allegations surfaced. She briefly commented to claim "the protection of diversity" and "nothing but vicious and disgusting lies,” adding that “anyone who traffics in them should be ashamed of themselves.” <ref>[http://weaselzippers.blogspot.com/2012/07/pant-suits-outraged-republicans-have.html Pant Suits Outraged Republicans Have Noted The Ties Between Huma Abedin And The Muslim Brotherhood, Weasel Zippers, July 30, 2012]</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
<references/><br />
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==External Links==<br />
* [http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/48468? Where is Huma Abedin’s Security Clearance Form?]<br />
* [http://weaselzippers.us/2012/07/25/napolitano-tells-congressional-committee-dhs-found-no-links-between-huma-abedin-and-the-muslim-brotherhood/ DHS Found No Links Between Huma Abedin & The Muslim Brotherhood]<br />
* [http://spectator.org/archives/2012/07/24/is-huma-abedin-the-new-alger-h Is Huma Abedin the New Alger Hiss?]<br />
* [http://www.shoebat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Huma_Brotherhood_Connections_072412.pdf Proof: Huma has Ties to Muslim Brotherhood]<br />
* [http://www.scribd.com/doc/100244266/Bachmann-Letter-Responding-to-Ellison Bachmann Letter Responding to Keith Ellison]<br />
* [http://nation.foxnews.com/rep-louie-gohmert/2012/07/20/watch-gop-congressman-shouts-janet-napolitano Louie Gohmert grills Janet Napolitano]<br />
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[[Category:Obama Presidency]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]<br />
[[Category:Democrats]]<br />
[[Category:Women]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Frank_Gaffney&diff=1009634Frank Gaffney2012-09-28T23:57:30Z<p>JasonNYC: initial bio</p>
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<div>Frank Gaffney held several defense and security positions under President Reagan having previously served as an aid to Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson. In 1988 Mr. Gaffney founded the [[Center for Security Policy]] in Washington D.C. and currently holds the position of President. Recent work centers on exposing the threat of radical Islam. He has cowrote ''Shariah: The Threat to America.'' He routinely publishes articles for many conservative journals and is a frequent guest on conservative radio and television.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/1231.xml|title=Frank Gaffney|publisher=Center for Security Policy}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
<small><references/></small></div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islamophobia&diff=1009598Islamophobia2012-09-28T15:34:37Z<p>JasonNYC: add info & ref Horowitz and Spencer</p>
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<div>'''Islamophobia''' is, literally, "fear of Islam" though the term can be used for a variety of purposes, like: ''fear or hatred of [[Islam]] and Muslims'', and is often used to criticize people opposed to Islam. <br />
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Islamophobia is a neologism which defines hatred of [[Muslims]] and Islam as an irrational fear. It is generally used to intimidate critics of Islam in America and prosecute critics in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11464025 |title=Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders goes on trial|date=2010-10-04|publisher=BBC News Europe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://michellemalkin.com/2006/06/12/the-trial-of-oriana-fallaci/|title=The Trial of Oriana Fallaci|author=Michelle Malkin|date=2006-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2011/11/30/the-political-persecution-of-elisabeth-sabaditsch-wolff/|title=The Political Persecution of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff|date=2011-11-30|author=Ned May|publisher=Front Page Magazine}}</ref><br />
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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term Islamophobia was in 1976, though it has become more frequently used since the 1997 publication of ''Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All'' by the Runnymede Trust, a left-wing UK think tank that focuses on race and racism. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/16/national/main563594.shtml|title=Anti-Muslim Discriination On Rise|author=Jennifer C. Kerr|date=2009-05-18|publisher=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4102389.stm|title=‘Rise’ in Muslim discrimination|author-Dominic Casciani|publisher=BBC News|date=2004-12-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_42_37/ai_79339769/ |title=Interfaith group deplores anti-Muslim violence|date=2001-10-05|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|accessdate=2012-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=127fe2880e48951b564ac2f3e171242e|title=Big Jump in Hate Crimes Against Muslims Documented|date=2006-10-10|author=Jim Lobe|publication=New America Media}}</ref><br />
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The Runnymede Trust defines Islamophobia as having the following characteristics:<br />
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:1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change. <br />
:2) Islam is seen as separate and “other”. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them. <br />
:3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive, and sexist. <br />
:4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism, and engaged in a Clash of Civilizations. <br />
:5) Islam is seen as a political ideology, used for political or military advantage. <br />
:6) Criticisms made of 'the West' by Islam are rejected out of hand. <br />
:7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society. <br />
:8) Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural and normal. <br />
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==Liberal Islamophobia==<br />
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Liberals use the term Islamophobia often as a way to demonize their opposition. But true Islamophobia is often espoused by the defenders of Islam. Politically correct attitude of liberals demand concerns for Muslim sensitivity, a fear of offending Islam, demand concessions for Islam over other religions, obfuscate or whitewash Muslim beliefs as to minimize their true intentions. Liberal Islamophobia is not an irrational fear of Muslims but rather a fear of offending Muslims.<br />
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==Examples of Islamophobia==<br />
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In a May 2001 interview, [[British]] politician Nick Giffen stated "Muslims are the biggest problem at present, for several reasons, because they have the highest birth rate, which means their communities need living space - that's what the ethnic cleansing is about. They have political corruption in their own countries, and when they have a chance to get council places they are there for graft. Most important of all is that Islam is an aggressive religion." <ref>‘Far right aims to gain foothold in Oldham’, Jeevan Vasagar, May 30, 2001 The Guardian"</ref><br />
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On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a [[Sikh]] man (known for wearing distinctive beards and turbans) was mistaken for a Muslim and murdered at a gas station in Mesa, Arizona. His murderer, Frank Silva Roque, was convicted and initially sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole by the Arizona Supreme Court. <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3154170.stm</ref><br />
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==Criticism of the concept of Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
Kenan Malik, a British writer, has criticized the concept of Islamophobia, calling it a myth. He argues that the charge of Islamophobia is leveled against those who criticize [[Islam]] or Muslims in any way (even when those criticisms may be legitimate) to serve as a "chilling effect."<br />
<br />
Rowan Atkinson, a British comic-actor has likewise stated that although criticizing another person based on their race is ridiculous and irrational, criticizing another's religion, which is a voluntary belief, is a right. He further stated that laws should not be created which protect certain types of ideas from criticism and not others.<br />
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[[Stephen Schwartz]], an American [[writer]] and critic of [[Wahabbism]], has stated that although the charge of Islamophobia is sometimes leveled too quickly against an opponent, that it is still a real phenomenon<ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17874</ref>, which he defines as:<br />
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:1) Attacking the entire religion of Islam as a problem for the world; <br />
:2) Condemning all of Islam and its history as extremist; <br />
:3) Denying the active existence, in the contemporary world, of a moderate Muslim majority; <br />
:4) Insisting that Muslims accede to the demands of non-Muslims (based on ignorance and arrogance) for various theological changes, in their religion; <br />
:5) Treating all conflicts involving Muslims (including, for example, that in Bosnia-Hercegovina a decade ago), as the fault of Muslims themselves; <br />
:6) Inciting war against Islam as a whole.<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Pipes]] argues that the word Islamophobia conflates "fear of Islam and fear of radical Islam" and is used to suppress all criticism of Islam including radical Islam. Even moderate Muslims who critically examine the excesses of fellow Muslims are labeled Islamophobes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meforum.org/pipes/3075/islamophobia|title=Islamophobia?|author=Daniel Pipes|publication=Middle East Forum|date=Oct 25, 2005}}</ref> The term is used to make Muslims another victim-group.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/islamophobia-is-a-fabrication-20090329-9fjm.html?page=-1|title=Islamophobia is a fabrication|author=Paul Sheehan|date=March 30, 2009|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Paul Jackson in his study of anti-Islamic politics in the UK, criticizes the Runnymede criteria as lacking in distinctions. He points out the term prevents justifiable examination of jihadi groups.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.radicalism-new-media.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The_EDL_Britains_New_Far_Right_Social_Movement.pdf|author=Paul Jackson|page=10|title=The EDL}}</ref><br />
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David Horowitz and Robert Spencer wrote that Islamophobia is a PC thought crime used against conservatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2012/david-horowitz-and-robert-spencer/islamophobia-thought-crime-of-the-totalitarian-future-4/|title=Islamophobia: Thought Crime of the Totalitarian Future|author=David Horowitz and Robert Spencer}}</ref><br />
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== External links ==<br />
<br />
*[http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/ Combatants for Peace]<br />
*[http://www.islamophobia.org/news.php Islamophobia]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[category:phobias]]<br />
[[category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hedonism&diff=1008894Hedonism2012-09-25T02:01:20Z<p>JasonNYC: expanded considerably</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hedonism''' is a [[materialist]] and [[atheist]] [[philosophy]] which emphasizes the pursuit of personal pleasure above all other considerations, or as the sole consideration in life. <br />
<br />
Hedonism, in everyday usage of the word, is the mindless surrender to the pleasure of the moment. An individual is called hedonistic if he gives in to feelings, lusts, and appetites. Various philosophical schools construct a more sophisticated system based on a “hedonic calculus” that attempts to avoid "the road to perdition" that surely results from the mindless pursuit of pleasure. Since immediate pleasure is felt more intensely than uncertain pain in the distant future, such attempts stand on weak ground.<br />
<br />
The classical attempt to ground ethics in a system of pleasure is [[Epicureanism]]. The cowardly withdrawal from the challenges and duties of civic life lead [[Cicero]] to disparage Epicurianism above all other classical schools. Cicero’s critique of this materialist and essentially atheist creed was absorbed by Christian philosophers.<br />
<br />
[[John Locke]] presented a superior attempt at a “hedonic calculus” in his “Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” Interestingly enough, he held that the fear of consequences in the afterlife were important to make the calculations work. Thomas Jefferson held this view.<br />
<br />
A full utilitarian hedonic philosophical system emerged with [[Jeremy Bentham]], the father of [[Utilitarianism]]. However, the pleasure one maximizes isn’t one’s own but society’s. One actually deprives oneself of pleasure if society’s aggregate pleasure is increased. Bentham denigrated natural rights as he advocated collective pleasure, "the greatest good for the greatest number." This paved the way for modern collectivism where the individual's property and life can be disposed of as the whim of the people (in practice the state) determines.<br />
<br />
Bentham’s specific policies remained respectable as did his pupil, [[John Stuart Mill]]. Mill’s "On Liberty" remains a classic in [[classical liberal]] thought. The failure of utilitarianism as a foundation is evident as Mill ended his life as a socialist. While a few libertarians main a defense of liberty on pure utilitarian grounds, utilitarian thought generally leads to socialism for the simple reason that immediate pleasure is more certain that abstract calculations. Politicians who promise free goods to the electorate easily buy votes in a more hedonistic oriented culture. <br />
<br />
[[category:philosophy]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Ayn_Rand&diff=1008649Ayn Rand2012-09-24T12:54:20Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Philosophy */ fix citation</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Jhyu65.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Ayn Rand. A great philosopher and writer who developed the [[Objectivism | Objectivist]] school of thought]]<br />
<br />
'''Ayn Rand''' (1905-1982) was a [[libertarian]] novelist, screenwriter, [[philosopher]] and an [[Atheism|atheist]], who began her career in Hollywood. She used her novels to promote her philosophy, known as [[Objectivism]]. Her best-known novels are [[Atlas_Shrugged|''Atlas Shrugged'']] and ''[[The Fountainhead]]''. Ayn Rand asserted that selfishness was a virtue and [[altruism]] was wrongheaded (see also: [[Atheism and uncharitableness|Atheism and uncharitableness]]). She wrote a book entitled ''The Virtue of Selfishness''. <br />
<br />
She was a highly political author, with her novels often serving as political messages. She advocated laissez faire capitalism, with minimum government intervention (known by the name Minarchism) in business and strongly objected to socialism and nationalism. Combined, more than twelve million copies of her two best-known novels have been sold in the U.S. alone. Despite her anti-Christian and liberal views on social issues, her opposition to state economic intervention has made her works and philosophy popular with the [[TEA Party]] movement.<ref>''Ayn Rand stars at Denver stimulus ‘tea party’ protest'', Colorado Independent, Wendy Norris - 2/28/09 - [http://coloradoindependent.com/23026/ayn-rand-stars-at-denver-stimulus-tea-party-protest] </ref><br />
<br />
Her first name "Ayn" rhymes with "mine", and she was born in Russia as '''Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum.''' <br />
<br />
==Philosophy==<br />
{{Main|Objectivism}}<br />
<br />
Ayn Rand attracted a following based on her opposition to [[collectivism]], as articulated in her novels, particularly ''Atlas Shrugged''. Her followers today tend to be [[libertarians]] and predominantly unmarried men, many of whom are drawn to a self-indulgent lifestyle consistent with Rand's philosophy. Rand often called herself a "radical for capitalism," by which she meant the pure, ''laissez-faire'' variety. Rand had very little in common with [[conservatives]] except for a mutual opposition to communism and socialism. Rand has also been accused of being a rape apologist for her rape scene in ''The Fountainhead''. <br />
<br />
[[Conservative]] [[Whittaker Chambers]] was a harsh critic the caricatures in Ayn Rand's work, and how she implied that evil systems would collapse on their own without the need for good men to do anything. [[Edmund Burke]] famously stated, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," but one might conclude from Rand's work that being selfish and doing nothing is what good people should do, and then evil will fail all by itself. Whittaker Chambers observed in a book review he wrote for ''National Review'' in 1957, "Happily, in ''Atlas Shrugged'' ('''''though not in life'''''), all the children of Darkness are utterly incompetent" (emphasis added).<br />
<br />
Rand's most famous and powerful follower was [[Alan Greenspan]] (b. 1926), long-time head of the Federal Researve System (1987-2006), though it is difficult to see manifestations of Rand's ideas in Greenspan's work. <br />
<br />
Rand was a moral absolutist with the virtues of rationality and hard-work as central themes to her writing. However, conservatives reject Rand’s elevation of reason over faith, sentiment, and tradition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlassociety.org/myth-ayn-rand-was-conservative|title=Myth: Ayn Rand was a Conservative|author=William R. Thomas}}</ref> Social conservatives in particular reject Rand’s view that sexual fulfillment is an important part of life and not merely limited to procreation. Her views are seen as hedonistic, selfish, and sinful--she accepts the usage of birth control and abortion<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5105|title=Abortion:An Absolute Right|publisher=The Ayn Rand Center}}</ref> as proper means to an active sexual life without the consequences of child-rearing. In general Rand’s view of the perfection of human character is at odds with the Christian view of man’s essential sinfulness.<br />
<br />
Rand's philosophy was anti-Christian to the point of even declaring that "faith, as such, is extremely detrimental to human life: it is the negation of reason."<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_religion%</ref> While Rand advocates absolutes in the realm of ethics,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/absolutes.html<br />
|title=Absolutes|author=Ayn Rand}}</ref> her ethical principles are at odds with traditional Christianity.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/religion.html|title=Religion|author=Ayn Rand}}</ref> Her followers support an "absolute right" to [[abortion]] at any time during pregnancy,<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5105</ref> including partial-birth abortion. Ayn Rand's philosophy and followers also support a "right" to have same-sex marriage, and opposed California's [[Proposition 8]] defining marriage as between one man and woman.<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=21821</ref><br />
<br />
Rand was an [[atheism|atheist]] and opponent of traditional family values, who personally adhered more to [[Hollywood Values]] than conservative ones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html|author=Richard Lawrence|title=Ayn Rand FAQ}}</ref> She was a strident opponent of altruism. As far back as 1957, [[Whittaker Chambers]] denounced the “wickedness” of ''Atlas Shrugged'' in ''National Review,'' and Dr. Gabe Vertin derided her "senseless self-aggrandizement."<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, Rand still remains a major inspiration and "recruiter" for those on the right. Common ground is often found in several areas. In metaphysics and epistemology she argues for a reality-based outlook as opposed to the subjectivism of progressive post-modern academia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlassociety.org/tni/postmodern-assault-reason|title=The Postmodern Assault on Reason|author=Roger Donway|publication=The New Individualist}}</ref> In ethics she emphasizes honest productive work, earning one’s keep, engaging in honorable trade, stern moral dealings, self-reliance, and, in general, being a productive member of society. In politics she returned to the natural rights tradition of Locke and rejected paternalistic government on moral grounds. She deferred to the Austrian School on economics.<br />
<br />
Rand can appeal to those conservatives who emphasize the Greco-Roman tradition of Western Civilization, especially Aristotle, while she disappoints those who give greater emphasis to the Judeo-Christian influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6164|title=The Greatness of Western Civilization|author=Edwin A. Locke|publisher=Ayn Rand Center}}</ref> She continues to attract converts, especially the young, to right-leaning Republican politics--including notable figures with more traditional outlooks.<br />
<br />
== Psychological profile ==<br />
<br />
The psychological underpinnings of Ayn Rand's socio-political and eco-political views are arguably related to her gender in the same way that [[Karl Marx]]’s views can be related to Marx’s gender. Namely, by the tendency of the genders to becoming overly sensitive in regard to their respective virtues. The male is most able in matters of [[individualism]], the female in matters of the collective. Ayn Rand’s disfavoring of the female virtues, and her consequent exclusivism in favor of the male virtues, may have been caused (in a modern world in which all good things are turned into more-or-less exclusives by some group or nation) by a particular sensitivity on her part to the female virtues. While it is good to feel things for others, it is not good to have that feeling used, in effect, to make one feel that one has no personal rights and needs. It can be argued that Rand typically felt so used, as do many women, but that Rand, unlike them, found herself with an opportunity to so 'right the wrong' that, unknown to her [[atheism]], she went much too far.<br />
<br />
Like Marx, Rand's atheism saw only one way toward a global salvation, namely by the opposite of her natural virtues as a woman. Jesus never preached liberation of women from men, nor men from women, but most perfectly empathized with the plights of both in the face of the other. [[Adam]] was created without a penny to his name, but he owned the entire [[Earth]]. And, Adam never shrugged anything in order to possess it, which means it cannot be owned by a kind of individualism which denies a common [[culpability]] for a common plight of the suffering which results from the fact that differentiated individuals and genders cope differently to a given non-ideal situation.<br />
<br />
Rand also grew up during the early years of communism in Russia which by her own admission had great effect on her personal beliefs. It is likely that the traumatizing effects of being a child at this time would have given her a great distaste for both the state and religion which was the object of intense propaganda under the Soviet regime. To a young and impressionable mind this may have had an effect on her thinking.<br />
<br />
==Similarities to George Orwell==<br />
<br />
Just like [[George Orwell]] Rand had first hand knowledge of living under a communist/socialist dictatorship. They both used their knowledge to paint vivid pictures of the specific ways in which these political philosophies break down. Orwell's focus was on control of the mind through the use of secret police forces and through the reworking of the language itself, Orwell's ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' was about the horror of a functioning dictatorship; Rand focused on the corruption and vice that inevitably follows from a political philosophy that rewards failure, rand also pinpointed the specific maneuverings that liberals use to avoid justice and justify their might makes right attitudes.<br />
<br />
In Atlas Shrugged Rand put a great deal of emphasis on the use of informal procedures as a way to rob victims of any tools they might be able to use in their defense, production tribunals in the book met and had an informal discussion, so that the producers that they were strangling could not call any kind of precedent or procedure to rescue them from the abuse of power. In the crumbling socialist world of Atlas Shrugged the only defense was to agree with those in power. Orwell envisioned (and had seen) the same problem, a world in which the market place of ideas was as strangled as the marketplace of goods and services, only done in private and hellish jail cells.<br />
<br />
Both of these authors had some very liberal characteristics, Orwell being a socialist himself and Ayn being an atheist and egoist but in spite of their liberal traits they couldn't help but look at the world that liberals created and decry how wicked it was. Author [[Christopher Hitchens]], writing about Orwell, called this a "power of facing", where in Orwell was able to face the issues on his own side, a very important characteristic shared by many great academics and philosophers in the Christian tradition.<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: The stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission – which is the stage of the darkest periods of [[human]] history, the stage of rule by brute force."<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45735 WorldNetDaily.com Should Democratic Party merge with Communist Party?, August 12, 2005</ref><br />
<br />
"The most profoundly revolutionary achievement of the United States of America was the subordination of society to moral law. The principle of man’s individual rights represented the extension of morality into the social system—as a limitation on the power of the state, as man’s protection against the brute force of the collective, as the subordination of might to right. The United States was the first moral society in history."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Virtue of Selfishness: |author=Ayn Rand|chapter=Man's Rights|page=93}}</ref><br />
<br />
"Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Virtue of Selfishness: |author=Ayn Rand|chapter=Racism|page=126}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Works==<br />
*''We the Living''<br />
*''[[Anthem (book)|Anthem]]''<br />
*''The Fountainhead''<br />
*''Atlas Shrugged''<br />
*''Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal''<br />
*''The Romantic Manifesto''<br />
*''The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution''<br />
*''[[The Virtue of Selfishness]]''<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
* Burns, Jennifer. ''Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right'' (2009), standard scholarly history, by a conservative historian. [http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Market-Rand-American-Right/dp/0195324870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256927458&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
*Doherthy, Brian. ''Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern Libertarian Movement.'' (2007), popular history.<br />
* Gladstein, Mimi Reisel. ''The Ayn Rand Companion'' (1984) 130 pp. good starting point<br />
* Heller, Ann C. ''Ayn Rand and the World She Made'' (2009)<br />
* Kirsch, Adam. "Ayn Rand’s Revenge" [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/books/review/Kirsch-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1 ''New York Times Sunday Book review'' Nov. 1, 2009] <br />
* Uyl, Douglas J. Den, and Douglas B. Rasmussen, eds. ''The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand'' (1984) 235 pp.; dense essays by professional philosophers<br />
<br />
====References====<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
*[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer Ayn Rand Institute]<br />
*[http://www.ARIwatch.com ARI Watch] — argues that the above misrepresents Ayn Rand.<br />
*[http://www.ios.org/ The Atlas Society — home of The Objectivist Center]<br />
*[http://wiki.objectivismonline.net/wiki/Main_Page Objectivism Wiki]<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Ayn}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Women Authors]]<br />
[[Category:Atheists]]<br />
[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]<br />
[[Category:Libertarianism]]<br />
[[Category:Cold War]]<br />
[[Category:American Jews]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Ayn_Rand&diff=1008647Ayn Rand2012-09-24T12:52:49Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Philosophy */ Rand's absolutes are anti-Christian</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Jhyu65.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Ayn Rand. A great philosopher and writer who developed the [[Objectivism | Objectivist]] school of thought]]<br />
<br />
'''Ayn Rand''' (1905-1982) was a [[libertarian]] novelist, screenwriter, [[philosopher]] and an [[Atheism|atheist]], who began her career in Hollywood. She used her novels to promote her philosophy, known as [[Objectivism]]. Her best-known novels are [[Atlas_Shrugged|''Atlas Shrugged'']] and ''[[The Fountainhead]]''. Ayn Rand asserted that selfishness was a virtue and [[altruism]] was wrongheaded (see also: [[Atheism and uncharitableness|Atheism and uncharitableness]]). She wrote a book entitled ''The Virtue of Selfishness''. <br />
<br />
She was a highly political author, with her novels often serving as political messages. She advocated laissez faire capitalism, with minimum government intervention (known by the name Minarchism) in business and strongly objected to socialism and nationalism. Combined, more than twelve million copies of her two best-known novels have been sold in the U.S. alone. Despite her anti-Christian and liberal views on social issues, her opposition to state economic intervention has made her works and philosophy popular with the [[TEA Party]] movement.<ref>''Ayn Rand stars at Denver stimulus ‘tea party’ protest'', Colorado Independent, Wendy Norris - 2/28/09 - [http://coloradoindependent.com/23026/ayn-rand-stars-at-denver-stimulus-tea-party-protest] </ref><br />
<br />
Her first name "Ayn" rhymes with "mine", and she was born in Russia as '''Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum.''' <br />
<br />
==Philosophy==<br />
{{Main|Objectivism}}<br />
<br />
Ayn Rand attracted a following based on her opposition to [[collectivism]], as articulated in her novels, particularly ''Atlas Shrugged''. Her followers today tend to be [[libertarians]] and predominantly unmarried men, many of whom are drawn to a self-indulgent lifestyle consistent with Rand's philosophy. Rand often called herself a "radical for capitalism," by which she meant the pure, ''laissez-faire'' variety. Rand had very little in common with [[conservatives]] except for a mutual opposition to communism and socialism. Rand has also been accused of being a rape apologist for her rape scene in ''The Fountainhead''. <br />
<br />
[[Conservative]] [[Whittaker Chambers]] was a harsh critic the caricatures in Ayn Rand's work, and how she implied that evil systems would collapse on their own without the need for good men to do anything. [[Edmund Burke]] famously stated, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," but one might conclude from Rand's work that being selfish and doing nothing is what good people should do, and then evil will fail all by itself. Whittaker Chambers observed in a book review he wrote for ''National Review'' in 1957, "Happily, in ''Atlas Shrugged'' ('''''though not in life'''''), all the children of Darkness are utterly incompetent" (emphasis added).<br />
<br />
Rand's most famous and powerful follower was [[Alan Greenspan]] (b. 1926), long-time head of the Federal Researve System (1987-2006), though it is difficult to see manifestations of Rand's ideas in Greenspan's work. <br />
<br />
Rand was a moral absolutist with the virtues of rationality and hard-work as central themes to her writing. However, conservatives reject Rand’s elevation of reason over faith, sentiment, and tradition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlassociety.org/myth-ayn-rand-was-conservative|title=Myth: Ayn Rand was a Conservative|author=William R. Thomas}}</ref> Social conservatives in particular reject Rand’s view that sexual fulfillment is an important part of life and not merely limited to procreation. Her views are seen as hedonistic, selfish, and sinful--she accepts the usage of birth control and abortion<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5105|title=Abortion:An Absolute Right|publisher=The Ayn Rand Center}}</ref> as proper means to an active sexual life without the consequences of child-rearing. In general Rand’s view of the perfection of human character is at odds with the Christian view of man’s essential sinfulness.<br />
<br />
Rand's philosophy was anti-Christian to the point of even declaring that "faith, as such, is extremely detrimental to human life: it is the negation of reason."<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_religion%</ref> While Rand advocates absolutes in the realm of ethics,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/absolutes.html<br />
|title=Absolutes|author=Ayn Rand}}</ref> her ethical principles are at odds with traditional Christianity.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/religion.html|Religion|author=Ayn Rand}}</ref> Her followers support an "absolute right" to [[abortion]] at any time during pregnancy,<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5105</ref> including partial-birth abortion. Ayn Rand's philosophy and followers also support a "right" to have same-sex marriage, and opposed California's [[Proposition 8]] defining marriage as between one man and woman.<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=21821</ref><br />
<br />
Rand was an [[atheism|atheist]] and opponent of traditional family values, who personally adhered more to [[Hollywood Values]] than conservative ones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html|author=Richard Lawrence|title=Ayn Rand FAQ}}</ref> She was a strident opponent of altruism. As far back as 1957, [[Whittaker Chambers]] denounced the “wickedness” of ''Atlas Shrugged'' in ''National Review,'' and Dr. Gabe Vertin derided her "senseless self-aggrandizement."<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, Rand still remains a major inspiration and "recruiter" for those on the right. Common ground is often found in several areas. In metaphysics and epistemology she argues for a reality-based outlook as opposed to the subjectivism of progressive post-modern academia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlassociety.org/tni/postmodern-assault-reason|title=The Postmodern Assault on Reason|author=Roger Donway|publication=The New Individualist}}</ref> In ethics she emphasizes honest productive work, earning one’s keep, engaging in honorable trade, stern moral dealings, self-reliance, and, in general, being a productive member of society. In politics she returned to the natural rights tradition of Locke and rejected paternalistic government on moral grounds. She deferred to the Austrian School on economics.<br />
<br />
Rand can appeal to those conservatives who emphasize the Greco-Roman tradition of Western Civilization, especially Aristotle, while she disappoints those who give greater emphasis to the Judeo-Christian influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6164|title=The Greatness of Western Civilization|author=Edwin A. Locke|publisher=Ayn Rand Center}}</ref> She continues to attract converts, especially the young, to right-leaning Republican politics--including notable figures with more traditional outlooks.<br />
<br />
== Psychological profile ==<br />
<br />
The psychological underpinnings of Ayn Rand's socio-political and eco-political views are arguably related to her gender in the same way that [[Karl Marx]]’s views can be related to Marx’s gender. Namely, by the tendency of the genders to becoming overly sensitive in regard to their respective virtues. The male is most able in matters of [[individualism]], the female in matters of the collective. Ayn Rand’s disfavoring of the female virtues, and her consequent exclusivism in favor of the male virtues, may have been caused (in a modern world in which all good things are turned into more-or-less exclusives by some group or nation) by a particular sensitivity on her part to the female virtues. While it is good to feel things for others, it is not good to have that feeling used, in effect, to make one feel that one has no personal rights and needs. It can be argued that Rand typically felt so used, as do many women, but that Rand, unlike them, found herself with an opportunity to so 'right the wrong' that, unknown to her [[atheism]], she went much too far.<br />
<br />
Like Marx, Rand's atheism saw only one way toward a global salvation, namely by the opposite of her natural virtues as a woman. Jesus never preached liberation of women from men, nor men from women, but most perfectly empathized with the plights of both in the face of the other. [[Adam]] was created without a penny to his name, but he owned the entire [[Earth]]. And, Adam never shrugged anything in order to possess it, which means it cannot be owned by a kind of individualism which denies a common [[culpability]] for a common plight of the suffering which results from the fact that differentiated individuals and genders cope differently to a given non-ideal situation.<br />
<br />
Rand also grew up during the early years of communism in Russia which by her own admission had great effect on her personal beliefs. It is likely that the traumatizing effects of being a child at this time would have given her a great distaste for both the state and religion which was the object of intense propaganda under the Soviet regime. To a young and impressionable mind this may have had an effect on her thinking.<br />
<br />
==Similarities to George Orwell==<br />
<br />
Just like [[George Orwell]] Rand had first hand knowledge of living under a communist/socialist dictatorship. They both used their knowledge to paint vivid pictures of the specific ways in which these political philosophies break down. Orwell's focus was on control of the mind through the use of secret police forces and through the reworking of the language itself, Orwell's ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' was about the horror of a functioning dictatorship; Rand focused on the corruption and vice that inevitably follows from a political philosophy that rewards failure, rand also pinpointed the specific maneuverings that liberals use to avoid justice and justify their might makes right attitudes.<br />
<br />
In Atlas Shrugged Rand put a great deal of emphasis on the use of informal procedures as a way to rob victims of any tools they might be able to use in their defense, production tribunals in the book met and had an informal discussion, so that the producers that they were strangling could not call any kind of precedent or procedure to rescue them from the abuse of power. In the crumbling socialist world of Atlas Shrugged the only defense was to agree with those in power. Orwell envisioned (and had seen) the same problem, a world in which the market place of ideas was as strangled as the marketplace of goods and services, only done in private and hellish jail cells.<br />
<br />
Both of these authors had some very liberal characteristics, Orwell being a socialist himself and Ayn being an atheist and egoist but in spite of their liberal traits they couldn't help but look at the world that liberals created and decry how wicked it was. Author [[Christopher Hitchens]], writing about Orwell, called this a "power of facing", where in Orwell was able to face the issues on his own side, a very important characteristic shared by many great academics and philosophers in the Christian tradition.<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: The stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission – which is the stage of the darkest periods of [[human]] history, the stage of rule by brute force."<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45735 WorldNetDaily.com Should Democratic Party merge with Communist Party?, August 12, 2005</ref><br />
<br />
"The most profoundly revolutionary achievement of the United States of America was the subordination of society to moral law. The principle of man’s individual rights represented the extension of morality into the social system—as a limitation on the power of the state, as man’s protection against the brute force of the collective, as the subordination of might to right. The United States was the first moral society in history."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Virtue of Selfishness: |author=Ayn Rand|chapter=Man's Rights|page=93}}</ref><br />
<br />
"Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Virtue of Selfishness: |author=Ayn Rand|chapter=Racism|page=126}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Works==<br />
*''We the Living''<br />
*''[[Anthem (book)|Anthem]]''<br />
*''The Fountainhead''<br />
*''Atlas Shrugged''<br />
*''Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal''<br />
*''The Romantic Manifesto''<br />
*''The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution''<br />
*''[[The Virtue of Selfishness]]''<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
* Burns, Jennifer. ''Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right'' (2009), standard scholarly history, by a conservative historian. [http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Market-Rand-American-Right/dp/0195324870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256927458&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
*Doherthy, Brian. ''Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern Libertarian Movement.'' (2007), popular history.<br />
* Gladstein, Mimi Reisel. ''The Ayn Rand Companion'' (1984) 130 pp. good starting point<br />
* Heller, Ann C. ''Ayn Rand and the World She Made'' (2009)<br />
* Kirsch, Adam. "Ayn Rand’s Revenge" [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/books/review/Kirsch-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1 ''New York Times Sunday Book review'' Nov. 1, 2009] <br />
* Uyl, Douglas J. Den, and Douglas B. Rasmussen, eds. ''The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand'' (1984) 235 pp.; dense essays by professional philosophers<br />
<br />
====References====<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
*[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer Ayn Rand Institute]<br />
*[http://www.ARIwatch.com ARI Watch] — argues that the above misrepresents Ayn Rand.<br />
*[http://www.ios.org/ The Atlas Society — home of The Objectivist Center]<br />
*[http://wiki.objectivismonline.net/wiki/Main_Page Objectivism Wiki]<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Ayn}}<br />
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[[Category:Women Authors]]<br />
[[Category:Atheists]]<br />
[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]<br />
[[Category:Libertarianism]]<br />
[[Category:Cold War]]<br />
[[Category:American Jews]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=You_didn%27t_build_that&diff=1003681You didn't build that2012-09-03T13:01:52Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Other reactions */ a few more</p>
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<div>On July 13, 2012, [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] told an audience at a fire station in Roanoke Virginia, "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- '''you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.''' The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet." (emphasis added)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/13/remarks-president-campaign-event-roanoke-virginia|title=Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia|date=July 13, 2012|accessdate=August 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/obamas-logic-a-system-that-allows-us-to-thrive-can-disallow-success/|title=Obama’s logic: a system that ‘allows’ us to thrive can disallow success|author=Steve Stanek|accessdate=August 25, 2012|date=July 25, 2012}}</ref><br />
<noinclude><br />
[[Republican]]s say it shows how the president believes in a government-driven economy that fundamentally distrusts private enterprise.<ref>http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2012/08/21/ryan-obamas-true-beliefs-revealed-when-he-drops-his-veil-0?intcmp=obnetwork#ixzz24c0eMKMB</ref><br />
<br />
==Critique by the Romney campaign==<br />
The Romney campaign posted a video that shows the president saying over and over, "If you’ve got a business &#8212; you didn’t build that."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mittromney.com/forms/private-sector-what-creates-jobs-not-government?utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=20120717_lb_petition-you-didn%27t-build-that_twitter|title=Hard-Working Americans Are What Create Jobs, Not Government|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref> The campaign website stated, "Comments like that are a slap in the face to the American Dream and reveal the President's naïve view that government, and not the hard work, talent, and initiative of people is the center of society and the economy. Clearly, this President doesn't understand how our economy works."<br />
<br />
Fox News then reported, "Echoing the Republican candidate's recent criticism on the stump, the video hammers the president for suggesting this past Friday that business owners owe their success to government."<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/19/romney-hammers-didnt-build-that-in-new-web-ad/?intcmp=related#ixzz24le0iWx7 foxnews.com</ref> In a July 17 speech in Pennsylvania, Romney agreed "you really couldn’t have a business if you didn’t have those things" as described by Obama, including teachers and firefighters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factcheck.org/2012/07/you-didnt-build-that-uncut-and-unedited/|title='You Didn’t Build That,' Uncut and Unedited|date=July 24, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012|work=factcheck.org}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Response by the Obama campaign==<br />
The Obama campaign said the president's phrase, "You didn't build that," referred only to his point that small businesses didn't build public infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/fact-check-what-president-obama-actually-said-about-small-businesses/|title=Fact check: What President Obama actually said about small businesses|date=July 17, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref> The Obama campaign also posted a clarifying video.<ref>http://thehill.com/video/campaign/239659-obama-ad-aims-to-set-romney-straight-over-you-didnt-build-that-remark</ref><br />
==Other reactions==<br />
Crossroads America posted a video called "Build" which quoted small businesspeople as reacting negatively toward Obama's quote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae9SjPEsRf0&feature=relmfu|title=American Crossroads: Build |date=July 24, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref><br />
<br />
[[Scott Brown]] posted a two and a half minute video ad showing Obama's statement and similar statements by Elizabeth Warren and contrasted them with quotations from prior presidents.<ref>http://blip.tv/play/hIUWgv7VcQA.html?p=1</ref><br />
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The Obama statement and the subsequent exchange with Mitt Romney drew satire from the ''Colbert Report'', which pointed out that Romney made essentially the same statement regarding the need for education and infrastructure to promote business success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/416950/july-25-2012/mitt-romney-vs--barack-obama-on-small-business-owners|title=Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama on Small Business Owners|date=July 25, 2012}}</ref><br />
<br />
Carl Gibson of the ''Huffington Post'', pointed out that the Republican National Convention's theme of "We built that" contradicts the fact that the convention's venue was constructed with taxpayer funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/rnc-you-didnt-build-that_b_1830673.html|title=RNC: You Didn't Build That|date=August 26, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012|work=Huffington Post}}</ref><br />
<br />
The Wall Street Journal says “rarely do politicians so clearly reveal their core beliefs ... the President who says he wants to be transformational may be succeeding--and subordinating to government the individual enterprise and risk-taking that unlerlies prosperity.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304388004577533300916053684.html|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> In the New York Daily News, S. E. Cupp charges that the President’s is attacking the individualism inherent in the American dream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-18/news/32734440_1_hard-work-systemic-racism-success|author=S. E. Cupp|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> Several authors points out the phrase in question comes from Marx’s “Labor Theory of Value.” Labor creates the product to which nothing is contributed by management. Profit, therefore, is theft. The capitalist is a parasite.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://spectator.org/archives/2012/08/13/obamas-labor-theory-of-value|title=Obama’s Labor Theory of Value|author=Ron Ross|newspaper=The American Spectator|date=Aug 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/karl-marx-and-our-emperor-of-envy/|title=Karl Marx and our Emperor on Envy|author=Robert Ringer|date=Aug 8 2012|newspaper=WorldNetDaily}}</ref> Forbes’ author Harry Binswanger, writes “This gigantic fraud is aimed at a single goal: re-assuring life’s losers that their failures are not their fault.” Achievement is an illusion, according to Obama, and you are just as deserving as Steve Jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/08/05/revenge-of-the-zeros-the-battle-between-ayn-rand-and-collectivism-reaches-a-climax/|title=Revenge Of The Zeros|author=Harry Binswanger|date=Aug 5, 2012|newspaper=Forbes}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Reference==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Links==<br />
* http://didntbuildthat.com/<br />
* [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/19/romney-hammers-didnt-build-that-in-new-web-ad/?intcmp=related Romney hammers 'you didn't build that' in new web ad]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Template quotes]]<br />
</noinclude></div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=You_didn%27t_build_that&diff=1000842You didn't build that2012-08-18T01:56:34Z<p>JasonNYC: Undo revision 1000841 by JasonNYC (talk) I misunderstood purpose of quote page</p>
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<div>President Obama told small businessmen not to take so much credit for their success, saying, "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- '''you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.'''" (emphasis added)<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/obamas-logic-a-system-that-allows-us-to-thrive-can-disallow-success/]</ref><br />
<br />
==Reference==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Links==<br />
* http://didntbuildthat.com/<br />
* [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/19/romney-hammers-didnt-build-that-in-new-web-ad/?intcmp=related Romney hammers 'you didn't build that' in new web ad]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Template quotes]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=You_didn%27t_build_that&diff=1000841You didn't build that2012-08-18T01:53:48Z<p>JasonNYC: Critics' response</p>
<hr />
<div>President Obama told small businessmen not to take so much credit for their success, saying, "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- '''you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.'''" (emphasis added)<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/obamas-logic-a-system-that-allows-us-to-thrive-can-disallow-success/]</ref><br />
<br />
The Wall Street Journal says “rarely do politicians so clearly reveal their core beliefs ... the President who says he wants to be transformational may be succeeding--and subordinating to government the individual enterprise and risk-taking that unlerlies prosperity.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304388004577533300916053684.html|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> In the New York Daily News, S. E. Cupp charges that the President’s is attacking the individualism inherent in the American dream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-18/news/32734440_1_hard-work-systemic-racism-success|author=S. E. Cupp|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> Several authors points out the phrase in question comes from Marx’s “Labor Theory of Value.” Labor creates the product to which nothing is contributed by management. Profit, therefore, is theft. The capitalist is a parasite.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://spectator.org/archives/2012/08/13/obamas-labor-theory-of-value|title=Obama’s Labor Theory of Value|author=Ron Ross|newspaper=The American Spectator|date=Aug 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/karl-marx-and-our-emperor-of-envy/|title=Karl Marx and our Emperor on Envy|author=Robert Ringer|date=Aug 8 2012|newspaper=WorldNetDaily}}</ref> Forbes’ author Harry Binswanger, writes “This gigantic fraud is aimed at a single goal: re-assuring life’s losers that their failures are not their fault.” Achievement is an illusion, according to Obama, and you are just as deserving as Steve Jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/08/05/revenge-of-the-zeros-the-battle-between-ayn-rand-and-collectivism-reaches-a-climax/|title=Revenge Of The Zeros|author=Harry Binswanger|date=Aug 5, 2012|newspaper=Forbes}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Reference==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Links==<br />
* http://didntbuildthat.com/<br />
* [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/19/romney-hammers-didnt-build-that-in-new-web-ad/?intcmp=related Romney hammers 'you didn't build that' in new web ad]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Template quotes]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Mitt_Romney&diff=1000540Mitt Romney2012-08-16T14:03:59Z<p>JasonNYC: Undo revision 1000539 by Karajoy (talk) once again vandalism</p>
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<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=Willard Mitt Romney<br />
|image=MittPortrait.jpg<br />
|party=[[Republican]]<br />
|spouse=[[Ann Romney]]<br />
|religion=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]<br />
|offices=<br />
<br />
{{Officeholder/governor<br />
|state=Massachusetts<br />
|terms=January&nbsp;2, 2003 – January&nbsp;4, 2007<br />
|preceded=[[Jane Swift]]<br />
|former=n<br />
|succeeded=[[Deval Patrick]]<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Willard Mitt Romney''' (born March 12, 1947) is a [[RINO]], former governor of [[Massachusetts]] and a successful U.S. businessman, currently portrayed in the mainstream media as the [[2012 Republican Primary|presumptive Republican nominee]] for the [[Presidential Election 2012]]. He was first runner-up for the nomination in 2008. If elected, Romney would become the first [[Mormon]] president. His father [[George Romney]], a former governor of Michigan, ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1968. In 1994, Mitt Romney proved to be the most difficult challenger that incumbent Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] of Massachusetts ever faced for reelection, causing Kennedy to pour far more money into the race than he expected.<ref>[http://archive.newsmax.com/romney/ Romney to the Rescue: Mitt Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008] Kessler, Ronald, newsmax.com archives, retrieved April 27, 2012</ref><br />
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Romney leads Obama among many key segments of the electorate: "Romney leads [[Barack Obama|Obama]] 58%-34% among [[veteran]]s, who make up about 13% of the [[electorate]]" and influence many other voters.<ref>http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/05/gallup-romney-tops-obama-with-veterans/1</ref> One national poll showed Romney with a 7-point lead over [[Obama]], 50-43%, in early May.<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/226943-poll-romney-opens-up-big-lead-nationally</ref> Other polls show different results,<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html</ref> in swing states like Ohio,<ref> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/oh/ohio_romney_vs_obama-1860.html </ref> Virginia<ref> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/va/virginia_romney_vs_obama-1774.html </ref> and Wisconsin.<ref> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/wi/wisconsin_romney_vs_obama-1871.html </ref><br />
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Before entering politics Romney was a businessman in Boston, having served as CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm known for outsourcing American jobs. His political start began during the financially unsteady 2002 Winter Olympics. He gained popularity in Massachusetts, a state known for being extremely liberal, and was elected governor in 2002. As governor he raised taxes several times. He unashamedly admits creating [[RomneyCare]], which is a complete disaster and forces everyone to buy health insurance and has resulted in long delays for obtaining medical services, such as an ordinary physical, in that state. [[Ted Kennedy]] and other [[liberals]] supported the bill and probably wrote key parts of it. Romney declined to run for reelection and announced his candidacy for President. <br />
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During his campaign for the Republican nomination in 2008, Romney was widely but incorrectly supported as a staunch conservative and ran on his business experience in the private sector. Romney fought a rough battle against Senator [[John McCain]] in Florida, Michigan, and other key states, but large losses on the Super Tuesday primaries ended his campaign. Romney dropped out of the race and endorsed Senator [[John McCain]] on February 14, 2008. His name was circulated as a potential running mate for McCain as their relationship improved, though [[Sarah Palin]] eventually became the vice-president nominee.<br />
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Romney has supported many far left positions: Romney has a pro-abortion record and favors big corporations; Romney also continues to believe in liberal propaganda claiming global warming; Romney has been criticized for standing behind his 2005 [[RomneyCare|health care plan in Massachusetts]], which featured a mandate requiring everyone to purchase health insurance as well as taxpayer-funded [[abortion]]. This plan is very similar to the 2010 ObamaCare bill that was adopted on a national level, and may have been the basis for it.<br />
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The lack of criticism of Romney by the mainstream media suggests that they want him to win so that they can defeat him in the general election. <br />
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==Flip Flopping==<br />
Romney's inconsistent track record on issues such as abortion and gay marriage has gotten to the point where he has gotten the nickname '''Multiple Choice Mitt.''' A man dressed as a dolphin calling himself Flipper has appeared at some recent conservative gatherings to bring attention to Romney's inconsistent stands on abortion and gay marriage. Although Romney now identifies himself as pro-life and anti-same sex marriage, he claimed to be pro choice and supported same-sex rights as late as 2002. These swaps coupled with his Mormon affiliation puts him at odds with much of the Evangelical right, but a PollingReport.com chart from September 2007 indicates that Mitt was still polling at approximately 10% within the GOP primary forecasts.<br />
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*Mitt Romney also changed his positions on gun control. He was originally for it, but recently joined the National Rifle Association, an organization opposed to it. <br />
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*Following the split of the first three major elections in the 2008 primaries, Ron Kaufman, a top adviser to Romney, stated that the battle between the top three candidates "is going to be like the Bataan Death March." <br />
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*Romney changed his position on immigration shortly before the [[2012 Presidential Election]]. He originally supported amnesty for certain illegals and moratoriums on criminal prosecution for drug dealing by illegal immigrants. It is possible that Romney is trying to erode President Obama's support in the Latin community in places like [[Nevada]], where immigration is a hot-button issue and Obama's victory in 2008 was by only a few percentage points.<br />
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The Bataan Death March resulted in the death of approximately 9,000 prisoners of war during World War II, and has been labeled as a war crime.<br />
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== Personal Life ==<br />
[[Image:MittRomneyYouth05.jpg|thumb|Ann Lois Davies and Willard Mitt Romney]]<br />
Romney is the scion of an old Mormon family. His grandparents were polygamists who fled the United States in the early 20th century when the Mormon Church repudiated polygamy; his father was born in Mexico. The Romneys returned to the U.S. in 1911 when a violent civil war broke out in Mexico.<br />
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Mitt Romney is a devout member of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]], and spent time as a missionary during his youth converting Catholics and agnostics to Mormonism in France. In fact, his time as a student and missionary helped him defer from military service during the Vietnam draft,<ref>Michael Kranish, "The Making of Mitt Romney: Mormon church obtained Vietnam draft deferrals for Romney, other missionaries" June 24, 2007. The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part1_side_2/?page=1 </ref> but he stated during interviews that "he had longed to join the soldiers in Vietnam and support the war effort." His father had stated in 1967 that he felt "brainwashed" by U.S. officials over the justification of the prolonged Vietnam war. This statement had been very costly in George Romney's 1968 campaign for president against Richard Nixon.<br />
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Romney claims to maintains a stable marriage with his wife Ann, with whom he has five children. <br />
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Romney is the son of former [[Michigan]] governor and presidential candidate [[George Romney]], a "Rockefeller Republican,"<ref>Lisa McGirr, ''Suburban Warriors''(2001) pp. 141, 222.</ref> who amassed a large fortune as an automobile industry magnate during World War II. <!-- Unusual statement. What exactly is the reason for introducing it as Mass. Republicans? Is there a significance to this? Many Massachusetts Republicans do not connect the father's politics with the son's, much like Presidents [[George H. W. Bush|George Herbert Walker Bush]] and [[George W. Bush|George Walker Bush]].--> George Romney was popular among moderates during his presidential run and was well-equipped for victory; many of his political advisors had come from [[Nelson Rockefeller]]'s 1964 campaign.<br />
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==Business Career==<br />
From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc. a worldwide management consulting firm, and in 1984, Romney co-founded a spin-off called Bain Capital. He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and Sports Authority. Critics say he advised corporations to cut their U.S. taxes by reincorporating in Caribbean tax havens such as the Caymen Islands, while maintaining their operations in the U.S.<br />
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==Record as Governor==<br />
Romney served as governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007), with a generally [[conservative]] record that included economic expansion. He balanced the budget every year of his administration with out increasing taxes or increasing state dept. Romney turned a $3 billion budget deficit into a $500 million surplus by reducing government spending and added 80,000 new jobs by the end of his term. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 Governor Romney proposed cutting the state income tax from 5.3% to 5.0% <ref>http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/08/mitt_romneys_record_on_economi.php</ref>. Although the Democratic super majority in the state legislator refused to budge. Romney vetoed 844 pieces of legislation, with over 700 overridden. <ref>http://www.ontheissues.org/Governor/Mitt_Romney_Government_Reform.htm</ref> He vetoed an increase in the minimum wage, saying "there's no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs." <ref>Telegram & Gazette, 08/01/06</ref> Under Governor Romney the state abolished a retroactive capital gains tax that would have forced nearly 50,000 taxpayers to pay additional taxes and fees. <ref>http://www.americansformitt.com/</ref> Massachusetts Citizens For Limited Taxation Executive Director Barbara Anderson praised Romney, saying "There was no one else out on the horizon and with the legislature almost entirely Democratic, we felt it was necessary to have a grown-up in the corner office. … And we were right to back him. He's been a really good friend to the taxpayers." <br />
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However, some of the actions Governor Romney took received criticisms from conservatives, such as supporting moderate fee increases and creating and the nation's first universal [[health care]] program. During his 2002 gubernatorial campaign Romney supported [[abortion]], his views evolved and would later take [[pro-life]] positions such as vetoing emergency contraception and vetoing [[stem-cell research]] that would allow cloning of human embryos. In 2006, Governor Romney testified before the [[United States]] [[Senate]] to support the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would limit marriage to one man and one woman. Additionally, Romney filed legislation to reinstate [[capital punishment]], but was defeated in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on a 99-53 vote.<br />
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Mitt Romney made no pardons as governor, "My conclusion was, if somebody has been convicted by a jury of their peers, and they’ve been prosecuted and the police were able to get the evidence necessary to put them behind bars, why in the world would I step in and reverse that sentence?" <ref>http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/04/romney-on-huckabee-unlike-some-people-i-never-pardoned-anyone/</ref><br />
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On [[Education]] Romney called for the privatization of the University of Massachusetts medical school<ref>Telegram & Gazette, 02/27/03</ref>. In 2004, he established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program, which rewarded the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with tuition-free scholarship to any Massachusetts public [[university]] or [[college]]. In August 2006, Governor Romney refused to allow former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, an outspoken opponent of the [[United States]] and [[Israel]], state police escorts during his speech at [[Harvard University]]. <ref>http://www.nysun.com/editorials/khatemi-at-harvard/38903/</ref><br />
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In December 2006, Romney signed a memorandum of agreement with the federal government that would allow state troopers to enforce federal immigration laws <ref>http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=96543</ref>, however was revoked when Democrat Deval Patrict took office as Governor in January 2007.<br />
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== Political Views ==<br />
<br />
===Abortion===<br />
Currently, Romney claims to be pro-life, but his record is very spotty. At times he has claimed to be pro-infantacide.<br />
"I am [[pro-life]]. I believe that [[abortion]] is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by [[judicial mandate]]." ([[Boston]] Globe, Mitt Romney Editorial, July 26, 2005) <br />
<ref>[http://www.mittromney.com/Issue-Watch/Values America's Culture and Values] mittromney.com</ref><br><br><br />
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Despite having a largely pro-life record as governor, in a 1994 debate with Senator [[Edward Kennedy]], Romney said that abortion should be legal, declaring that "regardless of one's beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal." "Many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion", Romney said. "It is since that time my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that."<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/03/clarity_sought_on_romneys_abortion_stance/?page=2</ref><br />
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In his campaign literature for the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, Romney expressed a willingness to defend that State's pro-choice status quo.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20021218005104/www.romneyhealey.com/issues/4</ref> He stated in a live, televised debate:<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_w9pquznG4</ref><br />
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{{cquote|"I've been very clear on that, I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose, and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard."}}<br />
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===Civil Unions===<br />
Romney claims to be opposed to the idea of [[gay marriage]], however he has voiced explicit support for the [[homosexual agenda]]. He has advocated for domestic partnership benefits and equal rights for [[homosexuals]], which is gay marriage in everything but name and an easy stepping stone on the vile gay agenda path towards homosexual recruitment.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20021218005104/www.romneyhealey.com/issues/3</ref>. He also supports adoption for gay couples<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57432292-503544/romney-says-hes-fine-with-gay-couples-adopting-children/</ref>.<br />
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===Economic Agenda===<br />
As President, Romney promised to pursue a conservative, pro-growth economic agenda. His number one economic priority would be to grow the economy — helping to create good jobs, raise incomes and preserve American strength. He says he would work to rein in excessive government spending and reform entitlements. To ensure America's continued economic growth, he promises to cut taxes — such as the Death Tax, savings taxes, corporate taxes and marginal tax rates. Despite these claims, he has supported the [[socialist|socialism]] agenda. He claimed credit for the government bailout of the union controlled car companies<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/07/romney-taking-credit-for-auto-industry-success/</ref>. Also his [[RomneyCare]] law started the process of [[socialism|socializing]] medical care in [[Massachusetts]]. He continues to defend this law up to this day, undermining his commitment to repel the similar and equally atrocious [[ObamaCare]]<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romney-defends-romneycare_560953.html</ref>.<br />
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Romney says he would also promote trade, bring market forces to bear in health care, pursue national tort and liability reform, eliminate excessive regulations that put a burden on our economy and strengthen American families.<br />
<br />
===Immigration===<br />
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<blockquote>Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America.<ref>http://www.mittromney.com/Issue-Watch/Immigration</ref></blockquote><br />
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Romney supports a strong stance on illegal immigration.<ref>[http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=91722 IowaPolitics.com: Romney Touts Strong Stance On Illegal Immigration]</ref> On 5/24/07, Romney spoke about how he was tolerant about gays and then he discussed the current illegal immigration bill before Congress:<br />
<blockquote>He expressed less tolerance for illegal immigrants, and said he and President Bush have a difference of opinions on a bill that would provide a path toward legalization for an estimated 12 million people unlawfully in the country.<br />
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"He has his view, and other people have their views and I have my own," Romney said. "This is for all intents and purposes a form of amnesty in that everyone who is here illegally today will be able to stay under this bill."<br />
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The bill is unfair to people who are trying to come to the country legally, he said. People here illegally should be able to apply to come to the United States, but under the same terms as everyone else and behind those who have already applied.<br />
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"I don't think that we're going to round up 11 or 12 or however many million people and bus them out of the country. That's not what I'm talking about," Romney said. "Those who committed felonies, of course, would be deported. Those who require government assistance to stay here would surely need to get off government assistance and ultimately could not remain here on government assistance."<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May24/0,4670,RomneyGays,00.html</ref></blockquote><br />
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===Stem Cell Research===<br />
Mitt Romney supports the right of scientists to research on embryos created during fertility treatments. Critics consider this to be essentially infantacide.<ref>http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/02/11/romneys_stem_cell_view_may_upset_the_right/</ref><br />
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==2008 Presidential Campaign==<br />
''Main Article: [[Mitt Romney 2008 Presidential Campaign]]''<br />
<br />
[[Image:Dude and mitt romney.jpg|right|180px]] As chairman of the [[Republican Governors Association]], Romney campaigned nationwide for GOP gubernatorial candidates in 2006, building up a network of allies and supporters. While he did not run for reelection as governor, in 2004 Romney set up a federal political action committee (PAC) called the Commonwealth PAC, which raised $2.71 million during the 2006 election cycle. On January 3, 2007, his next-to-last day in office as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission. He officially announced his candidacy for President a month later. Romney was the first candidate in either party to start running television and radio ads. The ads focused mainly on his record as governor, running the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, and his work as a very successful businessman. Romney's five sons had been actively campaigning for their father, traveling around in a campaign bus called the "Mitt Mobile, A Five Brothers Bus."<br />
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As a presidential candidate Romney sought the support of the business community and social conservatives. He reversed moderate positions on abortion and gay rights to take a hardline conservative position on them, and on opposition to illegal immigrants. Opponents charged he changed too often. Romney was a leader in fund-raising, augmented by over $35 million from his own fortune. However he was little known outside of Massachusetts, so his strategy was to play for early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, then "sling-shot" the momentum into national visibility. Romney won the Michigan primary on January 16th, 2008, with 39% of the vote, edging out McCain with 30% and Huckabee with 16%. Romney was favored to win in the state of his birth, where his father, [[George Romney]] was governor from 1963-1969. After losing both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary (to Huckabee and McCain, respectively), Romney won a low-publicized Wyoming caucus. On January 19, Romney easily won the [[Nevada]] caucuses by 37 percentage points when there were seven candidates on the ballot, however, on that same day he placed a distant fourth in the [[South Carolina]] primary. After a disappointing performance on Super Tuesday, Romney announced the suspension of his campaign on Thursday 7th February. He expressed his wishes not to divide the Republican party and later endorsed Senator [[John McCain]] of [[Arizona]]. Commentators correctly speculated on his chances for a return effort in 2012.<br />
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===Fundraising===<br />
Mitt Romney had done well in fund raising. During his first fund raiser as a presidential candidate, he raised $6.5 million dollars compared to an original goal of only $1 million. During the first quarter Romney raised more money then any other Republican presidential candidate with $23 million. However, a substantial portion of his funds ($17 million) came from his own personal wealth. [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/16/top_spender_romney_could_soon_run_short/]<br />
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==2012 Presidential campaign==<br />
In April 2011, Romney announced his candidacy for President of the United States for the 2012 election, running as a Republican <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/11/mitt-romney-president-candidate</ref>. Romney was criticized throughout the primary season for being a Republican In Name Only due to his liberal views on social issues as governor and his flip-flops, as well as a controversial business record. His main competitors during the primaries were former conservative Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]], Pro-Life Senator [[Rick Santorum]], and libertarian Congressman [[Ron Paul]]. Romney ended up winning the vast majority of contests, though the race remained close in delegate count throughout. As the presumtive nominee Romney likely faces unpopular incumbent President Barack Obama in November (note that several Republican politicians have indicated a possibility of impeaching Obama for his role in covering up the controversial Fast and Furious scandal, so the race may turn out to be Romney vs Biden).<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.mittromney.com Mitt Romney for President 2008]<br />
*[http://www.ldslivingonline.com/article.php?articleId=17633 Mitt Romney: proudly, quietly Mormon]<br />
*[http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/ Evangelicals for Mitt]<br />
*[http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2007/03/fresh-mitt-romney-juvenalia-hot-off.html Fresh Mitt Romney Juvenalia] Pics - Comments.<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjE4MmMyMzVkZjlhZGQzNzlhZjdmMDEzNjI3MzM4ZTA= Mitt Romney: “I Changed My View. Is that So Difficult to Understand?”] The candidate talks about his efforts to convince voters that his pro-life conversion is real. Byron York, National Review Online, November 20, 2007<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2ZkMWNkZDkzOTk1YTM0NTNkNmJlZThmYjJmM2ZmOGE= Did Mitt Romney Push Poll Himself?] Mark Hemingway, National Review Online, November 19, 2007<br />
*[http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2EzODZjY2UxZTRhMWE2ZDk1ZWE5MGI0ZmRjMDViZTI= Team Romney on Push-Poll Connections] After reading the Hemingway piece, Kevin Madden, Romney for President campaign spokesman replies. Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online, November 19, 2007<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzliMDgzOWVlOGEwYThlMzc5ZDVlNzM2YjA4M2ZkYTg= Romney Stands for Faith] The candidate pushes back against push-poll attacks. Larry Kudlow, National Review Online, November 16, 2007<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MGQ4YmM4Y2U3Yjc3MzYzNDQwYzk3YTVjMTI5YTkwNzg= Romney’s Religion], The Editors, National Review Online, November 16, 2007<br />
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==Blogs==<br />
*[http://www.mymanmitt.com/mitt-romney/ My Man Mitt]<br />
*[http://libertariansformitt.wordpress.com/ Libertarians for Romney]<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Romney, Mitt}}<br />
[[Category:Massachusetts Governors]]<br />
[[Category:Republican Governors]]<br />
[[Category:2008 Presidential Candidates]]<br />
[[Category:Business People]]<br />
[[Category:Featured articles]]<br />
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]<br />
[[Category:Mormons]]<br />
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Mitt_Romney&diff=1000536Mitt Romney2012-08-16T14:00:48Z<p>JasonNYC: remove vandalism by "Karajoy"</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=Willard Mitt Romney<br />
|image=MittPortrait.jpg<br />
|party=[[Republican]]<br />
|spouse=[[Ann Romney]]<br />
|religion=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]<br />
|offices=<br />
<br />
{{Officeholder/governor<br />
|state=Massachusetts<br />
|terms=January&nbsp;2, 2003 – January&nbsp;4, 2007<br />
|preceded=[[Jane Swift]]<br />
|former=n<br />
|succeeded=[[Deval Patrick]]<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Willard Mitt Romney''' (born March 12, 1947) is a [[RINO]], former governor of [[Massachusetts]] and a successful U.S. businessman, currently portrayed in the mainstream media as the [[2012 Republican Primary|presumptive Republican nominee]] for the [[Presidential Election 2012]]. He was first runner-up for the nomination in 2008. If elected, Romney would become the first [[Mormon]] president. His father [[George Romney]], a former governor of Michigan, ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1968. In 1994, Mitt Romney proved to be the most difficult challenger that incumbent Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] of Massachusetts ever faced for reelection, causing Kennedy to pour far more money into the race than he expected.<ref>[http://archive.newsmax.com/romney/ Romney to the Rescue: Mitt Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008] Kessler, Ronald, newsmax.com archives, retrieved April 27, 2012</ref><br />
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Romney leads Obama among many key segments of the electorate: "Romney leads [[Barack Obama|Obama]] 58%-34% among [[veteran]]s, who make up about 13% of the [[electorate]]" and influence many other voters.<ref>http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/05/gallup-romney-tops-obama-with-veterans/1</ref> One national poll showed Romney with a 7-point lead over [[Obama]], 50-43%, in early May.<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/226943-poll-romney-opens-up-big-lead-nationally</ref> Other polls show different results,<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html</ref> in swing states like Ohio,<ref> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/oh/ohio_romney_vs_obama-1860.html </ref> Virginia<ref> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/va/virginia_romney_vs_obama-1774.html </ref> and Wisconsin.<ref> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/wi/wisconsin_romney_vs_obama-1871.html </ref><br />
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Before entering politics Romney was a businessman in Boston, having served as CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm known for outsourcing American jobs. His political start began during the financially unsteady 2002 Winter Olympics. He gained popularity in Massachusetts, a state known for being extremely liberal, and was elected governor in 2002. As governor he raised taxes several times. He unashamedly admits creating [[RomneyCare]], which is a complete disaster and forces everyone to buy health insurance and has resulted in long delays for obtaining medical services, such as an ordinary physical, in that state. [[Ted Kennedy]] and other [[liberals]] supported the bill and probably wrote key parts of it. Romney declined to run for reelection and announced his candidacy for President. <br />
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During his campaign for the Republican nomination in 2008, Romney was widely but incorrectly supported as a staunch conservative and ran on his business experience in the private sector. Romney fought a rough battle against Senator [[John McCain]] in Florida, Michigan, and other key states, but large losses on the Super Tuesday primaries ended his campaign. Romney dropped out of the race and endorsed Senator [[John McCain]] on February 14, 2008. His name was circulated as a potential running mate for McCain as their relationship improved, though [[Sarah Palin]] eventually became the vice-president nominee.<br />
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Romney has supported many far left positions: Romney has a pro-abortion record and favors big corporations; Romney also continues to believe in liberal propaganda claiming global warming; Romney has been criticized for standing behind his 2005 [[RomneyCare|health care plan in Massachusetts]], which featured a mandate requiring everyone to purchase health insurance as well as taxpayer-funded [[abortion]]. This plan is very similar to the 2010 ObamaCare bill that was adopted on a national level, and may have been the basis for it.<br />
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The lack of criticism of Romney by the mainstream media suggests that they want him to win so that they can defeat him in the general election. <br />
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==Flip Flopping==<br />
Romney's inconsistent track record on issues such as abortion and gay marriage has gotten to the point where he has gotten the nickname '''Multiple Choice Mitt.''' A man dressed as a dolphin calling himself Flipper has appeared at some recent conservative gatherings to bring attention to Romney's inconsistent stands on abortion and gay marriage. Although Romney now identifies himself as pro-life and anti-same sex marriage, he claimed to be pro choice and supported same-sex rights as late as 2002. These swaps coupled with his Mormon affiliation puts him at odds with much of the Evangelical right, but a PollingReport.com chart from September 2007 indicates that Mitt was still polling at approximately 10% within the GOP primary forecasts.<br />
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*Mitt Romney also changed his positions on gun control. He was originally for it, but recently joined the National Rifle Association, an organization opposed to it. <br />
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*Following the split of the first three major elections in the 2008 primaries, Ron Kaufman, a top adviser to Romney, stated that the battle between the top three candidates "is going to be like the Bataan Death March." <br />
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*Romney changed his position on immigration shortly before the [[2012 Presidential Election]]. He originally supported amnesty for certain illegals and moratoriums on criminal prosecution for drug dealing by illegal immigrants. It is possible that Romney is trying to erode President Obama's support in the Latin community in places like [[Nevada]], where immigration is a hot-button issue and Obama's victory in 2008 was by only a few percentage points.<br />
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The Bataan Death March resulted in the death of approximately 9,000 prisoners of war during World War II, and has been labeled as a war crime.<br />
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== Personal Life ==<br />
[[Image:MittRomneyYouth05.jpg|thumb|Ann Lois Davies and Willard Mitt Romney]]<br />
Romney is the scion of an old Mormon family. His grandparents were polygamists who fled the United States in the early 20th century when the Mormon Church repudiated polygamy; his father was born in Mexico. The Romneys returned to the U.S. in 1911 when a violent civil war broke out in Mexico.<br />
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Mitt Romney is a devout member of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]], and spent time as a missionary during his youth converting Catholics and agnostics to Mormonism in France. In fact, his time as a student and missionary helped him defer from military service during the Vietnam draft,<ref>Michael Kranish, "The Making of Mitt Romney: Mormon church obtained Vietnam draft deferrals for Romney, other missionaries" June 24, 2007. The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part1_side_2/?page=1 </ref> but he stated during interviews that "he had longed to join the soldiers in Vietnam and support the war effort." His father had stated in 1967 that he felt "brainwashed" by U.S. officials over the justification of the prolonged Vietnam war. This statement had been very costly in George Romney's 1968 campaign for president against Richard Nixon.<br />
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Romney claims to maintains a stable marriage with his wife Ann, with whom he has five children. <br />
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Romney is the son of former [[Michigan]] governor and presidential candidate [[George Romney]], a "Rockefeller Republican,"<ref>Lisa McGirr, ''Suburban Warriors''(2001) pp. 141, 222.</ref> who amassed a large fortune as an automobile industry magnate during World War II. <!-- Unusual statement. What exactly is the reason for introducing it as Mass. Republicans? Is there a significance to this? Many Massachusetts Republicans do not connect the father's politics with the son's, much like Presidents [[George H. W. Bush|George Herbert Walker Bush]] and [[George W. Bush|George Walker Bush]].--> George Romney was popular among moderates during his presidential run and was well-equipped for victory; many of his political advisors had come from [[Nelson Rockefeller]]'s 1964 campaign.<br />
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==Business Career==<br />
From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc. a worldwide management consulting firm, and in 1984, Romney co-founded a spin-off called Bain Capital. He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and Sports Authority. Critics say he advised corporations to cut their U.S. taxes by reincorporating in Caribbean tax havens such as the Caymen Islands, while maintaining their operations in the U.S.<br />
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==Record as Governor==<br />
Romney served as governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007), with a generally [[conservative]] record that included economic expansion. He balanced the budget every year of his administration with out increasing taxes or increasing state dept. Romney turned a $3 billion budget deficit into a $500 million surplus by reducing government spending and added 80,000 new jobs by the end of his term. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 Governor Romney proposed cutting the state income tax from 5.3% to 5.0% <ref>http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/08/mitt_romneys_record_on_economi.php</ref>. Although the Democratic super majority in the state legislator refused to budge. Romney vetoed 844 pieces of legislation, with over 700 overridden. <ref>http://www.ontheissues.org/Governor/Mitt_Romney_Government_Reform.htm</ref> He vetoed an increase in the minimum wage, saying "there's no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs." <ref>Telegram & Gazette, 08/01/06</ref> Under Governor Romney the state abolished a retroactive capital gains tax that would have forced nearly 50,000 taxpayers to pay additional taxes and fees. <ref>http://www.americansformitt.com/</ref> Massachusetts Citizens For Limited Taxation Executive Director Barbara Anderson praised Romney, saying "There was no one else out on the horizon and with the legislature almost entirely Democratic, we felt it was necessary to have a grown-up in the corner office. … And we were right to back him. He's been a really good friend to the taxpayers." <br />
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However, some of the actions Governor Romney took received criticisms from conservatives, such as supporting moderate fee increases and creating and the nation's first universal [[health care]] program. During his 2002 gubernatorial campaign Romney supported [[abortion]], his views evolved and would later take [[pro-life]] positions such as vetoing emergency contraception and vetoing [[stem-cell research]] that would allow cloning of human embryos. In 2006, Governor Romney testified before the [[United States]] [[Senate]] to support the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would limit marriage to one man and one woman. Additionally, Romney filed legislation to reinstate [[capital punishment]], but was defeated in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on a 99-53 vote.<br />
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Mitt Romney made no pardons as governor, "My conclusion was, if somebody has been convicted by a jury of their peers, and they’ve been prosecuted and the police were able to get the evidence necessary to put them behind bars, why in the world would I step in and reverse that sentence?" <ref>http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/04/romney-on-huckabee-unlike-some-people-i-never-pardoned-anyone/</ref><br />
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On [[Education]] Romney called for the privatization of the University of Massachusetts medical school<ref>Telegram & Gazette, 02/27/03</ref>. In 2004, he established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program, which rewarded the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with tuition-free scholarship to any Massachusetts public [[university]] or [[college]]. In August 2006, Governor Romney refused to allow former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, an outspoken opponent of the [[United States]] and [[Israel]], state police escorts during his speech at [[Harvard University]]. <ref>http://www.nysun.com/editorials/khatemi-at-harvard/38903/</ref><br />
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In December 2006, Romney signed a memorandum of agreement with the federal government that would allow state troopers to enforce federal immigration laws <ref>http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=96543</ref>, however was revoked when Democrat Deval Patrict took office as Governor in January 2007.<br />
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== Political Views ==<br />
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===Abortion===<br />
Currently, Romney claims to be pro-life, but his record is very spotty. At times he has claimed to be pro-infantacide.<br />
"I am [[pro-life]]. I believe that [[abortion]] is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by [[judicial mandate]]." ([[Boston]] Globe, Mitt Romney Editorial, July 26, 2005) <br />
<ref>[http://www.mittromney.com/Issue-Watch/Values America's Culture and Values] mittromney.com</ref><br><br><br />
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Despite having a largely pro-life record as governor, in a 1994 debate with Senator [[Edward Kennedy]], Romney said that abortion should be legal, declaring that "regardless of one's beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal." "Many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion", Romney said. "It is since that time my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that."<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/03/clarity_sought_on_romneys_abortion_stance/?page=2</ref><br />
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In his campaign literature for the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, Romney expressed a willingness to defend that State's pro-choice status quo.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20021218005104/www.romneyhealey.com/issues/4</ref> He stated in a live, televised debate:<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_w9pquznG4</ref><br />
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{{cquote|"I've been very clear on that, I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose, and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard."}}<br />
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===Civil Unions===<br />
Romney claims to be opposed to the idea of [[gay marriage]], however he has voiced explicit support for the [[homosexual agenda]]. He has advocated for domestic partnership benefits and equal rights for [[homosexuals]], which is gay marriage in everything but name and an easy stepping stone on the vile gay agenda path towards homosexual recruitment.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20021218005104/www.romneyhealey.com/issues/3</ref>. He also supports adoption for gay couples<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57432292-503544/romney-says-hes-fine-with-gay-couples-adopting-children/</ref>.<br />
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===Economic Agenda===<br />
As President, Romney promised to pursue a conservative, pro-growth economic agenda. His number one economic priority would be to grow the economy — helping to create good jobs, raise incomes and preserve American strength. He says he would work to rein in excessive government spending and reform entitlements. To ensure America's continued economic growth, he promises to cut taxes — such as the Death Tax, savings taxes, corporate taxes and marginal tax rates. Despite these claims, he has supported the [[socialist|socialism]] agenda. He claimed credit for the government bailout of the union controlled car companies<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/07/romney-taking-credit-for-auto-industry-success/</ref>. Also his [[RomneyCare]] law started the process of [[socialism|socializing]] medical care in [[Massachusetts]]. He continues to defend this law up to this day, undermining his commitment to repel the similar and equally atrocious [[ObamaCare]]<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romney-defends-romneycare_560953.html</ref>.<br />
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Romney says he would also promote trade, bring market forces to bear in health care, pursue national tort and liability reform, eliminate excessive regulations that put a burden on our economy and strengthen American families.<br />
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===Immigration===<br />
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<blockquote>Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America.<ref>http://www.mittromney.com/Issue-Watch/Immigration</ref></blockquote><br />
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Romney supports a strong stance on illegal immigration.<ref>[http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=91722 IowaPolitics.com: Romney Touts Strong Stance On Illegal Immigration]</ref> On 5/24/07, Romney spoke about how he was tolerant about gays and then he discussed the current illegal immigration bill before Congress:<br />
<blockquote>He expressed less tolerance for illegal immigrants, and said he and President Bush have a difference of opinions on a bill that would provide a path toward legalization for an estimated 12 million people unlawfully in the country.<br />
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"He has his view, and other people have their views and I have my own," Romney said. "This is for all intents and purposes a form of amnesty in that everyone who is here illegally today will be able to stay under this bill."<br />
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The bill is unfair to people who are trying to come to the country legally, he said. People here illegally should be able to apply to come to the United States, but under the same terms as everyone else and behind those who have already applied.<br />
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"I don't think that we're going to round up 11 or 12 or however many million people and bus them out of the country. That's not what I'm talking about," Romney said. "Those who committed felonies, of course, would be deported. Those who require government assistance to stay here would surely need to get off government assistance and ultimately could not remain here on government assistance."<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May24/0,4670,RomneyGays,00.html</ref></blockquote><br />
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===Stem Cell Research===<br />
Mitt Romney supports the right of scientists to research on embryos created during fertility treatments. Critics consider this to be essentially infantacide.<ref>http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/02/11/romneys_stem_cell_view_may_upset_the_right/</ref><br />
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==2008 Presidential Campaign==<br />
''Main Article: [[Mitt Romney 2008 Presidential Campaign]]''<br />
<br />
[[Image:Dude and mitt romney.jpg|right|180px]] As chairman of the [[Republican Governors Association]], Romney campaigned nationwide for GOP gubernatorial candidates in 2006, building up a network of allies and supporters. While he did not run for reelection as governor, in 2004 Romney set up a federal political action committee (PAC) called the Commonwealth PAC, which raised $2.71 million during the 2006 election cycle. On January 3, 2007, his next-to-last day in office as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission. He officially announced his candidacy for President a month later. Romney was the first candidate in either party to start running television and radio ads. The ads focused mainly on his record as governor, running the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, and his work as a very successful businessman. Romney's five sons had been actively campaigning for their father, traveling around in a campaign bus called the "Mitt Mobile, A Five Brothers Bus."<br />
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As a presidential candidate Romney sought the support of the business community and social conservatives. He reversed moderate positions on abortion and gay rights to take a hardline conservative position on them, and on opposition to illegal immigrants. Opponents charged he changed too often. Romney was a leader in fund-raising, augmented by over $35 million from his own fortune. However he was little known outside of Massachusetts, so his strategy was to play for early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, then "sling-shot" the momentum into national visibility. Romney won the Michigan primary on January 16th, 2008, with 39% of the vote, edging out McCain with 30% and Huckabee with 16%. Romney was favored to win in the state of his birth, where his father, [[George Romney]] was governor from 1963-1969. After losing both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary (to Huckabee and McCain, respectively), Romney won a low-publicized Wyoming caucus. On January 19, Romney easily won the [[Nevada]] caucuses by 37 percentage points when there were seven candidates on the ballot, however, on that same day he placed a distant fourth in the [[South Carolina]] primary. After a disappointing performance on Super Tuesday, Romney announced the suspension of his campaign on Thursday 7th February. He expressed his wishes not to divide the Republican party and later endorsed Senator [[John McCain]] of [[Arizona]]. Commentators correctly speculated on his chances for a return effort in 2012.<br />
<br />
===Fundraising===<br />
Mitt Romney had done well in fund raising. During his first fund raiser as a presidential candidate, he raised $6.5 million dollars compared to an original goal of only $1 million. During the first quarter Romney raised more money then any other Republican presidential candidate with $23 million. However, a substantial portion of his funds ($17 million) came from his own personal wealth. [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/16/top_spender_romney_could_soon_run_short/]<br />
<br />
==2012 Presidential campaign==<br />
In April 2011, Romney announced his candidacy for President of the United States for the 2012 election, running as a Republican <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/11/mitt-romney-president-candidate</ref>. Romney was criticized throughout the primary season for being a Republican In Name Only due to his liberal views on social issues as governor and his flip-flops, as well as a controversial business record. His main competitors during the primaries were former conservative Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]], Pro-Life Senator [[Rick Santorum]], and libertarian Congressman [[Ron Paul]]. Romney ended up winning the vast majority of contests, though the race remained close in delegate count throughout. As the presumtive nominee Romney likely faces unpopular incumbent President Barack Obama in November (note that several Republican politicians have indicated a possibility of impeaching Obama for his role in covering up the controversial Fast and Furious scandal, so the race may turn out to be Romney vs Biden).<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.mittromney.com Mitt Romney for President 2008]<br />
*[http://www.ldslivingonline.com/article.php?articleId=17633 Mitt Romney: proudly, quietly Mormon]<br />
*[http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/ Evangelicals for Mitt]<br />
*[http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2007/03/fresh-mitt-romney-juvenalia-hot-off.html Fresh Mitt Romney Juvenalia] Pics - Comments.<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjE4MmMyMzVkZjlhZGQzNzlhZjdmMDEzNjI3MzM4ZTA= Mitt Romney: “I Changed My View. Is that So Difficult to Understand?”] The candidate talks about his efforts to convince voters that his pro-life conversion is real. Byron York, National Review Online, November 20, 2007<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2ZkMWNkZDkzOTk1YTM0NTNkNmJlZThmYjJmM2ZmOGE= Did Mitt Romney Push Poll Himself?] Mark Hemingway, National Review Online, November 19, 2007<br />
*[http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2EzODZjY2UxZTRhMWE2ZDk1ZWE5MGI0ZmRjMDViZTI= Team Romney on Push-Poll Connections] After reading the Hemingway piece, Kevin Madden, Romney for President campaign spokesman replies. Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online, November 19, 2007<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzliMDgzOWVlOGEwYThlMzc5ZDVlNzM2YjA4M2ZkYTg= Romney Stands for Faith] The candidate pushes back against push-poll attacks. Larry Kudlow, National Review Online, November 16, 2007<br />
*[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MGQ4YmM4Y2U3Yjc3MzYzNDQwYzk3YTVjMTI5YTkwNzg= Romney’s Religion], The Editors, National Review Online, November 16, 2007<br />
<br />
==Blogs==<br />
*[http://www.mymanmitt.com/mitt-romney/ My Man Mitt]<br />
*[http://libertariansformitt.wordpress.com/ Libertarians for Romney]<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romney, Mitt}}<br />
[[Category:Massachusetts Governors]]<br />
[[Category:Republican Governors]]<br />
[[Category:2008 Presidential Candidates]]<br />
[[Category:Business People]]<br />
[[Category:Featured articles]]<br />
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]<br />
[[Category:Mormons]]<br />
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Andrew_Sullivan&diff=1000535Talk:Andrew Sullivan2012-08-16T13:58:13Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Relevant Biographical Information */</p>
<hr />
<div>Could someone change the miniscule "s" in the title of this entry to a capital? Thanks!<br />
<br />
== Relevant Biographical Information ==<br />
I'm not sure the following:<br />
<br />
:In 2007, a purported lesbian wrote to Andrew Sullivan concerning lesbianism and obesity:<br />
:“ And - oh heck, I'll admit it - aesthetics have value, too! As a woman, I may not be as focused on looks as men are predisposed to be, but I sure am tired of seeing so many queer ladies out there who are way past 200 pounds. Way, way past. Sorry, but no amount of "fat acceptance" is going to make that a pleasant sight - gay, straight, butch, femme, male or female.[5]"<br />
<br />
...is relevant to Sullivan's bio in any way. It's just a random comment from someone else that Sullivan posted half a decade ago. Is there any objection to removing it?--[[User:Icowrich|Icowrich]] 21:07, 15 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
:It makes sense to remove it. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 09:58, 16 August 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Ayn_Rand&diff=1000401Talk:Ayn Rand2012-08-15T15:58:10Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Anti-Ayn Rand bias in this article. Why is this being done? */ grammar</p>
<hr />
<div>"Rand has also been noted for her pioneering work in the use of the Cut-Up technique, used to great effect in the speeches of Atlas Shrugged" Is this really true? I was reading about cut-up the other day and no mention of Rand was made. It would certainly explain those speeches unreadability, however. [[User:Human|Human]] 22:18, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: I think that whole paragraph is intended a joking criticism of her. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 22:43, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Got it. Thanks. Of course. Strangely, I saw the humor in the part about overcoming the writer's limitations, but not in the cut-up part - because I thought it was serious. Hey, I don't mind people making fun of Rand, although it seems like poor sport, as she can't respond any more, but I wouldn't want this article to confuse someone about the history of cut-up techniques and history. Maybe if the word "cut-up" was linked to an intermediary "that was a joke" page that then links to, say, William Burroughs, whoever inspired him, and perhaps even the Beatles (who used cut-up tapes on ''...Mr. Kite'' and ''Yellow Submarine'', at least). or at least then to a page about cut-up. Now, where was I reading about it? Hopefully not on Wikipedia, that would all be liberal nonsense. Maybe it was in a book review in [[The Nation]]? [[User:Human|Human]] 22:50, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
:::OK, I did the "intermediate page" thing, but it's a bad idea - pollutes the namespace. I'll make it into a footnote and have a sysop delete the "just kidding" page. [[User:Human|Human]] 23:12, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
-oOo-<br />
<br />
If we’re going to have an external link to the Ayn Rand Institute, then we should have one to [http://www.ARIwatch.com ARI Watch], otherwise people will get the impression Ayn Rand was a complete idiot. — Mark<br />
<br />
== No mention of her Athiesm? ==<br />
<br />
Hey Andy, I hope you know that Ayn Rand was also an atheist. You seem to despise them on this site's Atheism page, but it's all praise for an atheist as long as they agree with you on political issues? I dont know man, seems like hipocracy to me. Not to mention that while she was an intelligent woman, she was also a dispiciple one and promoted selfishism. Being a Christian is about being Christ-like and Jesus was FAR from selfish or "objective". I sincerly hope that this doesnt get me blocked for whatever reason. And yes, I'm liberal but also a Christian. I geniunely want to hear your thoughts on this issue Peace & Love. B.Jerome<br />
<br />
:Your spelling is atrocious. But please do add your insights about atheism and Ayn Rand, if you can substantiate them.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 23:11, 30 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: Mr. Schlafly maybe it is worth putting mention of her rather militant atheism into this? I find nothing wrong with her ideals but perhaps in the article itself we could explain her experiences in growing up in a communist society? She would have been very conditioned by the state to not like religion. Perhaps an effect that chased her? --[[User:TaylorH|TaylorH]] 00:13, 11 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Her liberal viewpoints ==<br />
<br />
Although they are mentioned later on in the article, her liberal views on abortion, gay marriage, etc. should be more prominently displayed, preferably in the article's intro. This would be, at the least, keeping with the general format I've seen for articles on liberal people, or people who happen to have liberal views. Also, why are her works listed on the Main Page as if they are useful to the average conservative reader? A work, no matter how "conservative" the tone, or message, if written by a liberal, should not be promoted. If anything, I wonder if that makes it even more...suspicious, that she wrote it that way. [[User:AliceCurtis|AliceCurtis]] 15:32, 4 July 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Anti-Ayn Rand bias in this article. Why is this being done? ==<br />
<br />
This article is trying to deny that Ayn Rand was an inspiration to American conservatism all because of her atheism. She rejected religion on the basis that she viewed it as totalitarian and removing individual freedom and individual responsibility from people. Ayn Rand was admired by British conservative icon Margaret Thatcher and Ayn Rand is an inspiration to the Tea Party movement, her book Atlas Shrugged is supported by libertarian conservatives. Aside from disagreements by religious social conservatives to her atheism, why is this bias against Ayn Rand so strong here?--[[User:TheQuestioner|TheQuestioner]] 13:32, 3 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Economic conservatives don't have much of a problem but social conservatives are particularly hard on her philosophy. Rand opposition to religion was based on her rejection of faith and her rejection of altruism. <br />
:If a conservative sees faith in Christ as important for salvation but appeals to an empirical study for justifying social systems (like economics) Rand's objection seems besides the point. Both rejection the subjectivism of the left. If one looks at Rand's criticism of Christianity's altruism, it appears that she read Jesus as a leftist might. In that case a Christian conservative could just "shrug" and say she mistook the Christian social message as code for a "social gospel" or leftist "social justice." In any case, Rand's enormous respect for Aquinas should indicate she respected rational conservative Christianity.<br />
:Thus, I agree that the article could be improved with proper qualifiers to indicate that her combative rhetoric often obscured important common ground. After all, Conservapedia tries to cover social conservative, neo-conservative, libertarian, and other fellow travelers. Perhaps it is time to put Rand in perspective. We'd have a scoop over Wikipedia. Given that Paul Ryan was inspired and went on from there ... why not? [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 11:31, 15 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Libertarian? ==<br />
<br />
Ayn Rand was not a libertarian, and, in fact, was highly critical (to put it mildly) of libertarian philosophy, which she regarded as hijacking aspects of her writings. Is there any objection to me correcting this?<br />
:You might want to explain why. See saw the libertarians as subjectivists and in that she shared some common ground with conservatives. While she agreed with libertarians on rights she recoiled on their defense of hedonism (as she saw it). She also was strong on defense even if she preferred that we keep our powder dry. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 11:35, 15 August 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Andrew_Sullivan&diff=1000395Andrew Sullivan2012-08-15T15:46:42Z<p>JasonNYC: add reference</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Andrew Sullivan''' is a [[libertarian]] leaning and self ascribed [[conservative]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/01/forbes-definition-of-liberal/206413/|author=Andrew Sullivan|title=Forbes' Definition Of "Liberal"|date=Jan 24, 2009|newspaper=The Atlantic}}</ref> (in the tradition of Edmund Burke and Michael Oakeshott) blogger. He is known for his independent views and an inquiring mind. His [[blog]] has become quite popular.<br />
<br />
Sullivan was born in the [[United Kingdom]] and moved to the [[United States]] in the 1980s. He was educated at [[Oxford University]]. ''In 1984, he won a Harkness Fellowship to Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and earned a Masters degree in Public Administration in 1986.'' <ref> [http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/bio.html Andrew's Bio.] </ref><br />
<br />
He is a staunch proponent of [[gay marriage]]. Although he supported the election of President [[George W. Bush]] and the invasion of [[Iraq]], he had been very critical of the Bush administration, and opposed the policies of President Bush in Iraq.<br />
<br />
Andrew Sullivan is known for having publicly described himself as both a [[homosexual]]<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/by/andrew_sullivan theatlantic.com]</ref> and a [[Catholic]]. For example, Sullivan's public statements led to this question and answer:<ref>[http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/sullivan.php Interview]</ref><br />
<br />
:John Hawkins: What do you say to people who think that being gay and wanting to be a Catholic in good standing are two incompatible things?<br />
<br />
:Andrew Sullivan: I'd say they have a point. I've tried hard. But the real tragedy is that the hierarchy will not even discuss the issue. It's closed. Over. ...<br />
<br />
In 2007, a purported [[lesbian]] wrote to Andrew Sullivan concerning [[lesbianism and obesity]]:<br />
{{Cquote|And - oh heck, I'll admit it - aesthetics have value, too! As a woman, I may not be as focused on looks as men are predisposed to be, but I sure am tired of seeing so many queer ladies out there who are way past 200 pounds. Way, way past. Sorry, but no amount of "fat acceptance" is going to make that a pleasant sight - gay, straight, butch, femme, male or female.<ref>http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/05/obesity_and_les.html</ref>}}<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<br />
<references/><br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Andrew}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Journalists]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Ayn_Rand&diff=1000394Talk:Ayn Rand2012-08-15T15:35:49Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Libertarian? */ worth including</p>
<hr />
<div>"Rand has also been noted for her pioneering work in the use of the Cut-Up technique, used to great effect in the speeches of Atlas Shrugged" Is this really true? I was reading about cut-up the other day and no mention of Rand was made. It would certainly explain those speeches unreadability, however. [[User:Human|Human]] 22:18, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: I think that whole paragraph is intended a joking criticism of her. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 22:43, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Got it. Thanks. Of course. Strangely, I saw the humor in the part about overcoming the writer's limitations, but not in the cut-up part - because I thought it was serious. Hey, I don't mind people making fun of Rand, although it seems like poor sport, as she can't respond any more, but I wouldn't want this article to confuse someone about the history of cut-up techniques and history. Maybe if the word "cut-up" was linked to an intermediary "that was a joke" page that then links to, say, William Burroughs, whoever inspired him, and perhaps even the Beatles (who used cut-up tapes on ''...Mr. Kite'' and ''Yellow Submarine'', at least). or at least then to a page about cut-up. Now, where was I reading about it? Hopefully not on Wikipedia, that would all be liberal nonsense. Maybe it was in a book review in [[The Nation]]? [[User:Human|Human]] 22:50, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
:::OK, I did the "intermediate page" thing, but it's a bad idea - pollutes the namespace. I'll make it into a footnote and have a sysop delete the "just kidding" page. [[User:Human|Human]] 23:12, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
-oOo-<br />
<br />
If we’re going to have an external link to the Ayn Rand Institute, then we should have one to [http://www.ARIwatch.com ARI Watch], otherwise people will get the impression Ayn Rand was a complete idiot. — Mark<br />
<br />
== No mention of her Athiesm? ==<br />
<br />
Hey Andy, I hope you know that Ayn Rand was also an atheist. You seem to despise them on this site's Atheism page, but it's all praise for an atheist as long as they agree with you on political issues? I dont know man, seems like hipocracy to me. Not to mention that while she was an intelligent woman, she was also a dispiciple one and promoted selfishism. Being a Christian is about being Christ-like and Jesus was FAR from selfish or "objective". I sincerly hope that this doesnt get me blocked for whatever reason. And yes, I'm liberal but also a Christian. I geniunely want to hear your thoughts on this issue Peace & Love. B.Jerome<br />
<br />
:Your spelling is atrocious. But please do add your insights about atheism and Ayn Rand, if you can substantiate them.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 23:11, 30 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: Mr. Schlafly maybe it is worth putting mention of her rather militant atheism into this? I find nothing wrong with her ideals but perhaps in the article itself we could explain her experiences in growing up in a communist society? She would have been very conditioned by the state to not like religion. Perhaps an effect that chased her? --[[User:TaylorH|TaylorH]] 00:13, 11 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Her liberal viewpoints ==<br />
<br />
Although they are mentioned later on in the article, her liberal views on abortion, gay marriage, etc. should be more prominently displayed, preferably in the article's intro. This would be, at the least, keeping with the general format I've seen for articles on liberal people, or people who happen to have liberal views. Also, why are her works listed on the Main Page as if they are useful to the average conservative reader? A work, no matter how "conservative" the tone, or message, if written by a liberal, should not be promoted. If anything, I wonder if that makes it even more...suspicious, that she wrote it that way. [[User:AliceCurtis|AliceCurtis]] 15:32, 4 July 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Anti-Ayn Rand bias in this article. Why is this being done? ==<br />
<br />
This article is trying to deny that Ayn Rand was an inspiration to American conservatism all because of her atheism. She rejected religion on the basis that she viewed it as totalitarian and removing individual freedom and individual responsibility from people. Ayn Rand was admired by British conservative icon Margaret Thatcher and Ayn Rand is an inspiration to the Tea Party movement, her book Atlas Shrugged is supported by libertarian conservatives. Aside from disagreements by religious social conservatives to her atheism, why is this bias against Ayn Rand so strong here?--[[User:TheQuestioner|TheQuestioner]] 13:32, 3 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Economic conservatives don't have much of a problem but social conservatives are particularly hard on her philosophy. Rand opposition to religion was based on her rejection of faith and her rejection of altruism. <br />
:If a conservative sees faith in Christ as most important for salvation but appeals to an empirical study for social systems (like economics) Rand's objection seems besides the point. Both rejection the subjectivism of the left. If one looks at Rand's criticism of Christianity's altruism, it appears that she read Jesus as a leftist might. In that case a Christian conservative could just "shrug" and say she mistook the Christian social message as code for a "social gospel" or leftist "social justice." In any case Rand's enormous respect for Aquinas should indicate she respected rational conservative Christianity.<br />
:Thus, I agree that the article could be improved with proper qualifiers to indicate that her combative rhetoric often obscured important common ground. After all, Conservapedia tries to cover social conservative, neo-conservative, libertarian, and other fellow travelers. Perhaps it is time to put Rand in perspective. We'd have a scope over Wikipedia. Given that Paul Ryan was inspired and went on from there ... why not? [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 11:31, 15 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Libertarian? ==<br />
<br />
Ayn Rand was not a libertarian, and, in fact, was highly critical (to put it mildly) of libertarian philosophy, which she regarded as hijacking aspects of her writings. Is there any objection to me correcting this?<br />
:You might want to explain why. See saw the libertarians as subjectivists and in that she shared some common ground with conservatives. While she agreed with libertarians on rights she recoiled on their defense of hedonism (as she saw it). She also was strong on defense even if she preferred that we keep our powder dry. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 11:35, 15 August 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Ayn_Rand&diff=1000391Talk:Ayn Rand2012-08-15T15:31:47Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Anti-Ayn Rand bias in this article. Why is this being done? */ it is excessive</p>
<hr />
<div>"Rand has also been noted for her pioneering work in the use of the Cut-Up technique, used to great effect in the speeches of Atlas Shrugged" Is this really true? I was reading about cut-up the other day and no mention of Rand was made. It would certainly explain those speeches unreadability, however. [[User:Human|Human]] 22:18, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: I think that whole paragraph is intended a joking criticism of her. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 22:43, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Got it. Thanks. Of course. Strangely, I saw the humor in the part about overcoming the writer's limitations, but not in the cut-up part - because I thought it was serious. Hey, I don't mind people making fun of Rand, although it seems like poor sport, as she can't respond any more, but I wouldn't want this article to confuse someone about the history of cut-up techniques and history. Maybe if the word "cut-up" was linked to an intermediary "that was a joke" page that then links to, say, William Burroughs, whoever inspired him, and perhaps even the Beatles (who used cut-up tapes on ''...Mr. Kite'' and ''Yellow Submarine'', at least). or at least then to a page about cut-up. Now, where was I reading about it? Hopefully not on Wikipedia, that would all be liberal nonsense. Maybe it was in a book review in [[The Nation]]? [[User:Human|Human]] 22:50, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
:::OK, I did the "intermediate page" thing, but it's a bad idea - pollutes the namespace. I'll make it into a footnote and have a sysop delete the "just kidding" page. [[User:Human|Human]] 23:12, 23 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
-oOo-<br />
<br />
If we’re going to have an external link to the Ayn Rand Institute, then we should have one to [http://www.ARIwatch.com ARI Watch], otherwise people will get the impression Ayn Rand was a complete idiot. — Mark<br />
<br />
== No mention of her Athiesm? ==<br />
<br />
Hey Andy, I hope you know that Ayn Rand was also an atheist. You seem to despise them on this site's Atheism page, but it's all praise for an atheist as long as they agree with you on political issues? I dont know man, seems like hipocracy to me. Not to mention that while she was an intelligent woman, she was also a dispiciple one and promoted selfishism. Being a Christian is about being Christ-like and Jesus was FAR from selfish or "objective". I sincerly hope that this doesnt get me blocked for whatever reason. And yes, I'm liberal but also a Christian. I geniunely want to hear your thoughts on this issue Peace & Love. B.Jerome<br />
<br />
:Your spelling is atrocious. But please do add your insights about atheism and Ayn Rand, if you can substantiate them.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 23:11, 30 June 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: Mr. Schlafly maybe it is worth putting mention of her rather militant atheism into this? I find nothing wrong with her ideals but perhaps in the article itself we could explain her experiences in growing up in a communist society? She would have been very conditioned by the state to not like religion. Perhaps an effect that chased her? --[[User:TaylorH|TaylorH]] 00:13, 11 August 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Her liberal viewpoints ==<br />
<br />
Although they are mentioned later on in the article, her liberal views on abortion, gay marriage, etc. should be more prominently displayed, preferably in the article's intro. This would be, at the least, keeping with the general format I've seen for articles on liberal people, or people who happen to have liberal views. Also, why are her works listed on the Main Page as if they are useful to the average conservative reader? A work, no matter how "conservative" the tone, or message, if written by a liberal, should not be promoted. If anything, I wonder if that makes it even more...suspicious, that she wrote it that way. [[User:AliceCurtis|AliceCurtis]] 15:32, 4 July 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Anti-Ayn Rand bias in this article. Why is this being done? ==<br />
<br />
This article is trying to deny that Ayn Rand was an inspiration to American conservatism all because of her atheism. She rejected religion on the basis that she viewed it as totalitarian and removing individual freedom and individual responsibility from people. Ayn Rand was admired by British conservative icon Margaret Thatcher and Ayn Rand is an inspiration to the Tea Party movement, her book Atlas Shrugged is supported by libertarian conservatives. Aside from disagreements by religious social conservatives to her atheism, why is this bias against Ayn Rand so strong here?--[[User:TheQuestioner|TheQuestioner]] 13:32, 3 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Economic conservatives don't have much of a problem but social conservatives are particularly hard on her philosophy. Rand opposition to religion was based on her rejection of faith and her rejection of altruism. <br />
:If a conservative sees faith in Christ as most important for salvation but appeals to an empirical study for social systems (like economics) Rand's objection seems besides the point. Both rejection the subjectivism of the left. If one looks at Rand's criticism of Christianity's altruism, it appears that she read Jesus as a leftist might. In that case a Christian conservative could just "shrug" and say she mistook the Christian social message as code for a "social gospel" or leftist "social justice." In any case Rand's enormous respect for Aquinas should indicate she respected rational conservative Christianity.<br />
:Thus, I agree that the article could be improved with proper qualifiers to indicate that her combative rhetoric often obscured important common ground. After all, Conservapedia tries to cover social conservative, neo-conservative, libertarian, and other fellow travelers. Perhaps it is time to put Rand in perspective. We'd have a scope over Wikipedia. Given that Paul Ryan was inspired and went on from there ... why not? [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 11:31, 15 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Libertarian? ==<br />
<br />
Ayn Rand was not a libertarian, and, in fact, was highly critical (to put it mildly) of libertarian philosophy, which she regarded as hijacking aspects of her writings. Is there any objection to me correcting this?</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Objectivism&diff=988497Objectivism2012-06-23T14:51:34Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Foreign Policy */ fix reference</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Objectivism]] (Latin ''ob-'' out of and ''iacio'' I am throwing, and Greek '''-ισμος''' or ''-ismos'' the doing of a thing) is a school of philosophy developed by [[Ayn Rand]] that holds that things in the natural world exist independently of anyone's perception of them or efforts (or lack of effort) to understand them. Objectivism also holds that ''nothing'' is provably real that one cannot ''demonstrate'' independently of one person's perception of it.<br />
<br />
== History of Objectivism ==<br />
Objectivism as a formal discipline began with [[Ayn Rand]], a Russian-born émigrée to the United States. Ayn Rand attended The University of Petrograd where she studied philosophy and history. She graduated in 1924. In her work, showed more than a passing familiarity with the great philosophers of ancient Western civilization. The ancient philosopher she respected the most was [[Aristotle]].<br />
<br />
By far the most complete expression of Objectivism in a single volume is in her novel, and most famous work, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''<ref name=Atlas>[[Ayn Rand|Rand, Ayn]]. ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. New York: Random House Publishers, 1957, 1168 pages, cloth. ISBN 0394415760</ref>. However, her philosophy found expression in innumerable essays, whichwere published in a number of newsletters and magazines that she edited from time to time, primarily ''The Objectivist Newsletter'', ''The Objectivist'', and ''The Ayn Rand Letter'', many of which have no been collected in ''The Letters of Ayn Rand''<ref>Rang, Berliner and Peikoff (1997), '''The Letters of Ayn Rand''', Plume Publishing</ref>. Many of her working notes have also been collated, edited and published in ''The Journals of Ayn Rand''<ref>Rand, Peikoff and Harriman (1999), '''The Journals of Ayn Rand''', Plume Publishing</ref>. These compilations have made it far easier for the aspiring student of philosophy to gain insight not only into Rand's revolutionary philosophy, but also into the formation of the philosophy, the question she asked and avenues she explored.<br />
<br />
During her life she attracted as dedicated following of students, including such names as the former chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Nathaniel Branden, a leading psychotherapist, the writer, Barbara Branden, and Leonard Peikoff, who went on to become a leading philosopher in his own right.<br />
<br />
Since her death in 1982, other students of hers, most notably [[Leonard Peikoff]] have continued to support the development and study of Objectivism through the the Ayn Rand Institute, as well as through editing and publishing Rand's own works that would otherwise have been lost or hard to study. The Atlas Society performs a similar function, and counts Nathan Branden amongst it's most influential thinkers.<br />
<br />
== The Fundamental Tenets of Objectivism ==<br />
Objectivism attempts to be a "unified theory of everything worth thinking about." As such it addresses prominent issues in [[metaphysics]], [[epistemology]], [[ethics]], [[Political philosophy]], and [[aesthetics]].<br />
<br />
=== The Central Axiom and its Corollaries ===<br />
Objectivism starts with a simple [[axiom]]: ''existence exists''<ref name=Atlas/>, often summed up as the intentionally tautologous 'A=A'. To grasp that axiom is to realize two other, corollary axioms:<br />
<br />
# Something exists that someone perceives.<ref name=Atlas/><br />
# Someone exists who possesses ''consciousness'', which is the faculty of perceiving what exists.<ref name=Atlas/><br />
<br />
=== Metaphysical Axioms and Theorems ===<br />
Objectivism continues with a number of other corollaries:<br />
<br />
# A is A.<ref name=Atlas/> This is also known as the Law of Identity and suggests a similar law in [[formal logic]]. But more than that, the Law of Identity holds that A has certain properties, or ''attributes'', that distinguish it incontrovertibly from B or C. If a thing has no attributes, then it is a nonentity&#8212;it does not and cannot exist.<br />
# Consciousness exists&#8212;the Law of Consciousness. But consciousness implies something independent of consciousness. What one perceives, one does not invent&#8212;and furthermore, a thing exists whether one perceives it or not.<br />
<br />
From these axioms, several [[theorem]]s necessarily follow, among them the Law of Non-Contradiction. Aristotle stated it thus: "the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject in the same respect." Objectivism states it more simply: ''contradictions do not exist.'' Therefore, if one encounters a contradiction, one should check the assumptions he has made, because at least one of them is false.<br />
<br />
=== Epistemology ===<br />
[[Epistemology]] (from [[Greek]] words roughly meaning "the word stands on something") deals with what a human being knows and how he knows it. Objectivism states that perception is only the beginning. Perception is sensation extended over time, and perception becomes knowledge only through ''measurement.'' On the other hand, one forms a ''concept'' of something by developing a list of attributes ''without'' the measurements of them. Apply the measurements, and instead of a concept one has an object that fits the concept.<br />
<br />
One important result of pure Objectivism is that what one cannot perceive, one cannot know&#8212;and what no one has perceived, no one need admit the existence of. Indeed, [[Nathaniel Branden|Branden]]<ref name=BrandenBenHaz>[[Nathaniel Branden|Branden, Nathaniel]]. [http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/articles_essays/benefits_and_hazards.html The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand]. Association for Humanistic Psychology, 1984.</ref> observed that Objectivism teaches that <blockquote>(A)ny form of irrationalism, supernaturalism, or mysticism, (and) any claim to a nonsensory, nonrational form of knowledge, is to be rejected.</blockquote><br />
<br />
This includes [[God]], a Concept that almost no Objectivist has ever accepted. This might be Objectivism's greatest weakness: that it will not admit that which one cannot perceive directly, but which has affected ''something else'' that one perceives, and that in a measurable way.<br />
<br />
=== Ethics ===<br />
[[Ethics]] is about values. What is value? From ''Atlas Shrugged''<ref name=Atlas/>:<blockquote>"Value" is what one acts to gain and/or keep; "virtue" is how one acts to gain or keep it.</blockquote><br />
<br />
The central contribution of Objectivism to ethics is the definition of morality. Again from ''Atlas Shrugged''<ref name=Atlas/>:<blockquote>"Value" presupposes an answer to the question, "Of value to whom, and to what?" "Value" presupposes a ''standard''...A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality.</blockquote><br />
<br />
Objectivism then declares that the only moral code proper to man has ''man's life'' as its standard of value. Rand, Peikoff, and other students of Objectivism have always drawn a stark contrast between this standard and the standard of those they regarded as their opponents: "the greatest good for the greatest number."<br />
<br />
However, most emphatically, this does '''not''' mean that Objectivism extols what most people mean by ''selfishness''. Objectivism regards that sort of "selfishness" as shortsighted and non-rational. Objectivism requires that a person ''choose'' to be rational in his thinking, and should work to enhance his self-interest ''after determining what that interest is through rational and logical analysis.''<br />
<br />
Objectivism makes at least two definitions that non-adherents might find harsh and symptomatic of [[Logical fallacy#Overgeneralization|overgeneralization]]:<br />
<br />
# "Sacrifice" is the giving away of a greater value in favor of a lesser value or a non-value.<ref name=Atlas/><br />
# "Altruism" is sacrifice, as defined above, for the sake of persons other than oneself.<br />
<br />
Actually, what Objectivism calls ''sacrifice'', other schools of philosophy call ''waste''. Sacrifice, according to these other schools, is actually the giving of a great value for another, still greater value. Furthermore, the definition of ''altruism'' indicates that no man should be obliged, let alone forced, to care or act for the sake of other people.<br />
<br />
In only one context does Objectivism lay any obligation on its adherents to act for the sake of another, and that is in an ''emergency'', that is, an immediate life-threatening casualty event or condition.<br />
<br />
Rand, Peikoff, and other adherents to Objectivism held that their greatest objection was to the use of force in social relationships. This leads directly to the Objectivist theory of politics.<br />
<br />
=== Politics ===<br />
[[Political philosophy|Politics]] (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] '''πολις''' a city, from the organization of [[Greece|Greek]] civilization around independent city-states) is the philosophy of [[government]]&#8212;the need for it, its proper sphere, and the obligations of its subjects. The central principles of Objectivist politics are:<blockquote>"The necessary consequence of man’s right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/self-defense.html|title=Self Defense|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref></blockquote><blockquote>If physical force is to be barred from social relationships, men need an institution charged with the task of protecting their rights under an objective code of rules. ... A government is the means of placing the retaliatory use of physical force under objective control—i.e., under objectively defined laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/government.html|title=Government|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref></blockquote><br />
<br />
Thus a government ought not compel charity&#8212;and in this context, ''compulsion'' is the application of force to induce another person toward an action he might not otherwise take. Nor should the government compel anyone to associate with those with whom he would prefer not to associate. Freedom of association is very important in Objectivist politics.<br />
<br />
Objectivism holds that an individual has a fundamental right to life&#8212;but this "right to life" means the right to live one's life as his self-interest dictates, not the right to expect someone else either to protect his life or to guarantee his survival.<br />
<br />
From these principles, the only economic system with which Objectivism has any sympathy is [[capitalism]], with its emphasis on the rights of the individual. Objectivism rejects the [[welfare state]] as an improper exercise of the government's police power. (But Objectivism also would object strenuously to the body of special tax incentives and other legal provisions and regulations often called "[[corporate welfare]]." Objectivism holds that every individual, and by extension every business, must stand or fall on his, her, or its own merits.)<br />
<br />
However, Objectivism also holds that the government ought to reserve to itself a [[monopoly]] on the exercise of force, when necessary, in retaliation against the initiators of force. As a repeated theme in Rand's novels and essays, a government ought to confine itself to three major functions:<br />
<br />
# The police power&#8212;to protect against criminals.<br />
# The military power&#8212;to protect against invasion from without.<br />
# The judicial power&#8212;to protect contracts from breach or fraud, and to provide a forum for the settlement of disputes without resort to force.<br />
<br />
From the above, one may conclude that Objectivism rejects the [[code duello]] as an improper feature of society, and even as an attribute of [[anarchy]]. In fact, Rand herself specifically stated that government must be a [[monopoly]], because any "competitive [[economy]]" of government would inevitably lead to a state not much different from gang warfare.<br />
<br />
====Foreign Policy====<br />
Understanding Objectivism’s individualism and principled self-interest as applied to foreign policy provides an interesting contrast to the globalism of [[neo-conservative]]s and universal-rights policy of [[anarcho-capitalism|stateless-libertarians]]. For example, she repeatedly stated, in a number of essays and in at least one magazine interview, that <blockquote>Just as the [[United States]] had the right to invade [[Nazi]] [[Germany]], so the United States has the right to invade [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Russia]] or any other slave pen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/foreign_policy.html|title=Foreign Policy|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref></blockquote> She emphasized that a just nation has a right but not the ''duty'' to depose the regime of an oppressive dictatorship.<ref name="Dictator">{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/dictatorship.html|title=Dictatorship|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref> To assume such a duty when self-defense doesn't require an expenditure of military might is deemed altruistic. She opposed the [[Vietnam War]] on such grounds. She describes the degree of oppression that makes a regime illegitimate:<ref name="Dictator" /><br />
<br />
# Execution without a proper, fair trial<br />
# Detention without charge<br />
# Denial of the right of dissatisfied subjects to emigrate<br />
# Censorship<br />
<br />
Of course, any country that invades or otherwise attacks another nation (one that does not initiate force against other nations or its own people) lays itself open to a counter invasion. This follows from the principle of the Law of Retaliation defined above. <br />
<br />
In summary, she rejects the [[neo-conservative]] policy of nations-building and global policing. She also rejects the libertarian policy of respecting the sovereignty of oppressive nations. Contrary to stateless-libertarians, Rand sees the establishment of rights within the nations-state framework.<ref name="Nations">{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/self-determination_of_nations.html|title=Self-Determination of Nations|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref><ref name="Isolation">{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/isolationism.html|title=Isolationism|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Aesthetics ===<br />
[[Art]], according to Objectivism, serves a need to allow man to ''perceive'' directly that which normally he can only ''conceive''. Art, in short, makes things real. An [[artist]] is any person who presents abstract concepts in concrete ways.<br />
<br />
Objectivism's take on art is simple: art should uplift, and present uplifting things. The favorite school of art among students of Objectivism is [[Romantic realism]], the name that Rand gave to a school of art that emphasizes human reason and ideals and primarily portrays people striving to do great deeds, rather than suffering great disasters&#8212;in short, being ''proactive'' rather than ''reactive''. Good art, in other words, celebrates that which Objectivism itself celebrates: the ideal rational man. Forms of art that which emphasized emotion over reason, and especially anything that divorced emotion from reason, earned the consistent disdain of Rand and her colleagues. Similarly, Objectivism decries any form of art that shows human beings being reactive and slaves to emotion.<br />
<br />
Pornography excited an interesting reaction. Objectivists detested it, on the grounds that sex was too important an activity for public display. But they feared censorship even more, on the ground that a government that stopped prurient content could stop political speech all the more easily. (Neither [[Ayn Rand]] nor any of her associates ever commented on such strictly private efforts as the [[Hays office]].)<br />
<br />
== Controversies ==<br />
[[Nathaniel Branden]], Rand's closest-ever associate and confidant, set forth in 1984 a number of defects in Objectivist philosophy, or at least Rand's theory and practice of it:<br />
<br />
# A tendency to confuse "reason" with "the reasonable," essentially a problem in informal logic.<br />
# The encouragement of its students to repress all emotion as somehow unworthy, all in the name of being proactive rather than reactive.<br />
# A tendency toward "moralizing," or condemning others for not adhering to a strict emotional discipline.<br />
# The [[Logical fallacy#Conflation|conflation]] of "sacrifice" with benevolence.<br />
# Emphasizing philosophical premises to an unhealthy degree, leading to an often unwarranted judgment of ''character'' by the criterion of ''belief''.<br />
# A dogmatic, inflexible approach to philosophy and its various disciplines, leading to the inability to forgive a mistake in philosophical formulation or application.<br />
<br />
In this last context, Branden specifically decried Rand's conclusion that "no woman should aspire to be [[President of the United States of America]]." Rand did say that, and her justification of that stance flowed directly, oddly enough, from her theory of sex.<br />
<br />
(In this context, Rand had no patience with the proponents and practitioners of [[feminism]] that were contemporary to her. She once said of them, with questionable justice, that they complained about the sexual objectification of women, when those who complained the loudest were "clearly in no such danger." Yet on the other hand, she regarded homemakers as "uninteresting women," and then suggested that some of them were "[[monster]]s" for advocating, for example, the prohibition of [[abortion]] and restrictions on [[contraception]].)<br />
<br />
Rand's surviving friends tend to dismiss Branden's criticism as [[Logical fallacy#Argumentum ad hominem|argumentum ad hominem]] (or perhaps more accurately, ''argumentum ad feminam'') arising out of the rather brutal break-up of Rand and Branden's eighteen-year association. But those arguments tend to commit the same [[logical fallacy]] whereof they accuse Branden. Branden's wife [[Barbara Branden|Barbara]] presents perhaps the most balanced treatment of the Rand-Branden Affair and the ensuing controversy.<br />
<br />
Objectivism's unabashed advocacy of capitalism often led to repeated charges that Objectivism was the ally of "big business." (In fact, on the occasion of a 1980 political demonstration called "Big Business Day," ''The Objectivist Forum'' commented quite wryly on the irony of the spectacle of hundreds of anti-business conventioneers using the services of "big business" to attend an event intended to advocate increased regulation of the largest corporations merely because they ''were'' large.) But Branden said quite clearly that the executives of large business companies ''were not'' friendly to Objectivism, because Objectivism advocates a market completely free not only of onerous taxes but also of the myriad special protections that some businesses tended to win from [[Congress]] against their competitors.<br />
<br />
For decades, Rand did not appear to excite much enduring controversy, mainly because those who did not hold to her philosophy, or to the political theory that flows from it, generally preferred to ignore her. An early exception was the famous (some say infamous) review of Rand's ''magnum opus'', ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', by [[Whittaker Chambers]].<ref name=Chambers>[[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers, Whittaker]]. [http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp Big Sister Is Watching You]. ''[[National Review]]'', December 28, 1957. Republished on [http://www.nationalreview.com/ National Review Online], January 5, 2005.</ref> Chambers "[[Atlas Shrugged (criticism)#Whittaker Chambers|panned]]" this novel severely and charged that Rand, and by extension Objectivism ''per se'', owed more to the harsh, "conquering-man" philosophy of [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] than to Aristotle. He also charged that Rand, in her relentless attack upon the [[Communism|Communist]] philosophy of [[Karl Marx]], had almost become that which she professed to despise. Specifically, he suggested that while Marx advocated a [[Socialism|socializing]] elite, Rand advocated a technocratic one, to which all less technically adept men must bow. Chambers' objections mirror those of Branden to the "moralizing" and dogmatic tone of much of Rand's material, in both that novel and her later essays.<br />
<br />
But in light of the election and increasingly [[socialism|socialistic]] policy pronouncements and recommendations of [[Barack Obama]] and his administration, Rand's ideas are (as of April 2009) undergoing a serious re-examination. [[Tax Day Tea Party]] participants reported seeing signs saying, "Ayn Rand Was Right" and "Stop Spending, or Atlas Will Shrug." The Ayn Rand Institute reports that sales of ''Atlas Shrugged'' tripled in February 2009 as compared to February 2008. They attribute this brisk increase in sales directly to the recognition by many of Barack Obama and his associates as antitypes of the [[Literary type#Villain|villains]] in the novel, and of his policies as antitypes of some of the more egregious policies of [[Mr. Thompson]] and some of other characters. [[Directive 10-289]] springs especially to mind.<br />
<br />
== Can Objectivism develop further? ==<br />
This question is [[Conservapedia:Can Objectivism develop beyond Ayn Rand's original formulation?|debatable]]. Branden asserted that Objectivism was "flawed", but nonetheless found its emphasis on logic and of an independent reality important and beneficial. Applying the principles of Objectivist philosophy to ones own life offers undoubted advantages to physical and mental quality of life, which applying such principles to politics leads to economic growth, greater personal and economic freedoms and a more healthy society. Nonetheless, no philosophy can remain static, and with many greater American thinkers dedicated to advancing the philosophy of Objectivism, the field is extremely dynamic and constantly evolving, and the world provides new opportunities for applying Objectivist principles.<br />
<br />
In regarding to life science, Rand correctly realised that the the theory of [[evolution]] as more than an hypothesis. She did not acept [[Creationism|creation]] as a fact, due to it not being directly percieavble and measurable, but Rand also refused to endorse evolution, because she believed she did not have the required scientific knowledge to make an informed judgment.<ref name=poisonwell>Hsieh, Diana Mertz, [http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2005/07/poisoning-well.html Poisoning the Well], 24 March 2007</ref> <br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_pobs Objectivism] from the [[Ayn Rand Institute]]<br />
* [http://www.ios.org/ The Atlas Society &#8212; home of The Objectivist Center]<br />
* [http://wiki.objectivismonline.net/ The Objectivism Wiki]<br />
* [http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/ The Importance of Philosophy]<br />
* [[Logic]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Philosophical systems]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Greed&diff=988346Greed2012-06-22T16:03:31Z<p>JasonNYC: typo</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Avarice - Jacob Matham.jpg|thumb|right|120px|A personification of greed.]]<br />
'''Greed''' is a desire to acquire or horde [[wealth]], possessions, or power beyond normal reason. A drive to acquire possessions and status, to a certain degree, is a part of [[human]] nature. Greed is when this desire becomes unduly strong and takes precedence over [[moral]] considerations such as concern for others. Various disciplines such as [[ethics]] or religious studies weigh the destructive aspects of greed.<br />
<br />
In [[Christian]] tradition, greed (often called ''avarice'' in this context) is considered to be one of the [[Seven Deadly Sins]]. When taken to mean an excessive desire for money, greed is specifically condemned by [[St Paul]] in the [[Bible]]: ''"Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil"'' ({{Bibleref|1Timothy|6|verses=10}}).<br />
<br />
Famous examples of greed include the mythical [[King Midas]], who foolishly wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and the bankers whose pursuit of short-term profit together with home owners who borrowed more than they could afford in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008 in [[Europe]] and the [[US]].<br />
<br />
Union greed remains one of the biggest problems as it undermines individual corporations and whole industries in the face of competition. Demanding more than the going rate puts long-term company and industry growth at risk. In Spain 2/3 of the workforce hog the jobs leaving the remaining 1/3 scrounging for work when they can get it--Spain has 25% unemployment overall and 50% for those under 25 years old (June 2012). In Italy it takes a court order for fire an employee making hiring risky--many young Italians have to leave the country to begin their careers. In the USA, municipal unions gain pensions largely unavailable in the private sector. California is the result. <br />
<br />
German unions, on the other hand, work with management to keep the company fiscally sound and unemployment down. Not all American unions are greedy. Some realize their future and children’s future is at stake. <br />
<br />
[[Capitalism]] has been criticized for encouraging greediness. However, it has been argued that greediness is not inherent to capitalism, and only the sinful and selfish utilize the capitalist system to feed their greed.<ref>Andersen, Kerbey. "Bible, Economics and Capitalism." Probe Ministries. http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4218179/k.30EF/Bible_Economics_and_Capitalism.htm</ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
*[[Seven Deadly Sins]]<br />
*[[Charity]]<br />
<br />
{{DivineComedy}}<br />
[[Category:Sin]]<br />
[[Category:Sociology]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Greed&diff=988345Greed2012-06-22T16:02:19Z<p>JasonNYC: union greed</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Avarice - Jacob Matham.jpg|thumb|right|120px|A personification of greed.]]<br />
'''Greed''' is a desire to acquire or horde [[wealth]], possessions, or power beyond normal reason. A drive to acquire possessions and status, to a certain degree, is a part of [[human]] nature. Greed is when this desire becomes unduly strong and takes precedence over [[moral]] considerations such as concern for others. Various disciplines such as [[ethics]] or religious studies weigh the destructive aspects of greed.<br />
<br />
In [[Christian]] tradition, greed (often called ''avarice'' in this context) is considered to be one of the [[Seven Deadly Sins]]. When taken to mean an excessive desire for money, greed is specifically condemned by [[St Paul]] in the [[Bible]]: ''"Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil"'' ({{Bibleref|1Timothy|6|verses=10}}).<br />
<br />
Famous examples of greed include the mythical [[King Midas]], who foolishly wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and the bankers whose pursuit of short-term profit together with home owners who borrowed more than they could afford in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008 in [[Europe]] and the [[US]].<br />
<br />
Union greed remains one of the biggest problems as it undermines individual corporations and whole industries in the face of competition. Demanding more than the going rate puts long-term company and industry growth at risk. In Spain 2/3 of the workforce hog the jobs leaving the remaining 1/3 scrounging for work when they can get it--Spain as 25% unemployment overall and 50% for those under 25 years old (June 2012). In Italy it takes a court order for fire an employee making hiring risky--many young Italians have to leave the country to begin their careers. In the USA, municipal unions gain pensions largely unavailable in the private sector. California is the result. <br />
<br />
German unions, on the other hand, work with management to keep the company fiscally sound and unemployment down. Not all American unions are greedy. Some realize their future and children’s future is at stake. <br />
<br />
[[Capitalism]] has been criticized for encouraging greediness. However, it has been argued that greediness is not inherent to capitalism, and only the sinful and selfish utilize the capitalist system to feed their greed.<ref>Andersen, Kerbey. "Bible, Economics and Capitalism." Probe Ministries. http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4218179/k.30EF/Bible_Economics_and_Capitalism.htm</ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
*[[Seven Deadly Sins]]<br />
*[[Charity]]<br />
<br />
{{DivineComedy}}<br />
[[Category:Sin]]<br />
[[Category:Sociology]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Greed&diff=988329Greed2012-06-22T14:51:43Z<p>JasonNYC: home owners, too</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Avarice - Jacob Matham.jpg|thumb|right|120px|A personification of greed.]]<br />
'''Greed''' is a desire to acquire or horde [[wealth]], possessions, or power beyond normal reason. A drive to acquire possessions and status, to a certain degree, is a part of [[human]] nature. Greed is when this desire becomes unduly strong and takes precedence over [[moral]] considerations such as concern for others. Various disciplines such as [[ethics]] or religious studies weigh the destructive aspects of greed.<br />
<br />
In [[Christian]] tradition, greed (often called ''avarice'' in this context) is considered to be one of the [[Seven Deadly Sins]]. When taken to mean an excessive desire for money, greed is specifically condemned by [[St Paul]] in the [[Bible]]: ''"Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil"'' ({{Bibleref|1Timothy|6|verses=10}}).<br />
<br />
Famous examples of greed include the mythical [[King Midas]], who foolishly wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and the bankers whose pursuit of short-term profit together with home owners who borrowed more than they could afford in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008 in [[Europe]] and the [[US]].<br />
<br />
[[Capitalism]] has been criticized for encouraging greediness. However, it has been argued that greediness is not inherent to capitalism, and only the sinful and selfish utilize the capitalist system to feed their greed.<ref>Andersen, Kerbey. "Bible, Economics and Capitalism." Probe Ministries. http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4218179/k.30EF/Bible_Economics_and_Capitalism.htm</ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
*[[Seven Deadly Sins]]<br />
*[[Charity]]<br />
<br />
{{DivineComedy}}<br />
[[Category:Sin]]<br />
[[Category:Sociology]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Objectivism&diff=988328Objectivism2012-06-22T14:45:53Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Politics */ clarify role of government</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Objectivism]] (Latin ''ob-'' out of and ''iacio'' I am throwing, and Greek '''-ισμος''' or ''-ismos'' the doing of a thing) is a school of philosophy developed by [[Ayn Rand]] that holds that things in the natural world exist independently of anyone's perception of them or efforts (or lack of effort) to understand them. Objectivism also holds that ''nothing'' is provably real that one cannot ''demonstrate'' independently of one person's perception of it.<br />
<br />
== History of Objectivism ==<br />
Objectivism as a formal discipline began with [[Ayn Rand]], a Russian-born émigrée to the United States. Ayn Rand attended The University of Petrograd where she studied philosophy and history. She graduated in 1924. In her work, showed more than a passing familiarity with the great philosophers of ancient Western civilization. The ancient philosopher she respected the most was [[Aristotle]].<br />
<br />
By far the most complete expression of Objectivism in a single volume is in her novel, and most famous work, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''<ref name=Atlas>[[Ayn Rand|Rand, Ayn]]. ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. New York: Random House Publishers, 1957, 1168 pages, cloth. ISBN 0394415760</ref>. However, her philosophy found expression in innumerable essays, whichwere published in a number of newsletters and magazines that she edited from time to time, primarily ''The Objectivist Newsletter'', ''The Objectivist'', and ''The Ayn Rand Letter'', many of which have no been collected in ''The Letters of Ayn Rand''<ref>Rang, Berliner and Peikoff (1997), '''The Letters of Ayn Rand''', Plume Publishing</ref>. Many of her working notes have also been collated, edited and published in ''The Journals of Ayn Rand''<ref>Rand, Peikoff and Harriman (1999), '''The Journals of Ayn Rand''', Plume Publishing</ref>. These compilations have made it far easier for the aspiring student of philosophy to gain insight not only into Rand's revolutionary philosophy, but also into the formation of the philosophy, the question she asked and avenues she explored.<br />
<br />
During her life she attracted as dedicated following of students, including such names as the former chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Nathaniel Branden, a leading psychotherapist, the writer, Barbara Branden, and Leonard Peikoff, who went on to become a leading philosopher in his own right.<br />
<br />
Since her death in 1982, other students of hers, most notably [[Leonard Peikoff]] have continued to support the development and study of Objectivism through the the Ayn Rand Institute, as well as through editing and publishing Rand's own works that would otherwise have been lost or hard to study. The Atlas Society performs a similar function, and counts Nathan Branden amongst it's most influential thinkers.<br />
<br />
== The Fundamental Tenets of Objectivism ==<br />
Objectivism attempts to be a "unified theory of everything worth thinking about." As such it addresses prominent issues in [[metaphysics]], [[epistemology]], [[ethics]], [[Political philosophy]], and [[aesthetics]].<br />
<br />
=== The Central Axiom and its Corollaries ===<br />
Objectivism starts with a simple [[axiom]]: ''existence exists''<ref name=Atlas/>, often summed up as the intentionally tautologous 'A=A'. To grasp that axiom is to realize two other, corollary axioms:<br />
<br />
# Something exists that someone perceives.<ref name=Atlas/><br />
# Someone exists who possesses ''consciousness'', which is the faculty of perceiving what exists.<ref name=Atlas/><br />
<br />
=== Metaphysical Axioms and Theorems ===<br />
Objectivism continues with a number of other corollaries:<br />
<br />
# A is A.<ref name=Atlas/> This is also known as the Law of Identity and suggests a similar law in [[formal logic]]. But more than that, the Law of Identity holds that A has certain properties, or ''attributes'', that distinguish it incontrovertibly from B or C. If a thing has no attributes, then it is a nonentity&#8212;it does not and cannot exist.<br />
# Consciousness exists&#8212;the Law of Consciousness. But consciousness implies something independent of consciousness. What one perceives, one does not invent&#8212;and furthermore, a thing exists whether one perceives it or not.<br />
<br />
From these axioms, several [[theorem]]s necessarily follow, among them the Law of Non-Contradiction. Aristotle stated it thus: "the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject in the same respect." Objectivism states it more simply: ''contradictions do not exist.'' Therefore, if one encounters a contradiction, one should check the assumptions he has made, because at least one of them is false.<br />
<br />
=== Epistemology ===<br />
[[Epistemology]] (from [[Greek]] words roughly meaning "the word stands on something") deals with what a human being knows and how he knows it. Objectivism states that perception is only the beginning. Perception is sensation extended over time, and perception becomes knowledge only through ''measurement.'' On the other hand, one forms a ''concept'' of something by developing a list of attributes ''without'' the measurements of them. Apply the measurements, and instead of a concept one has an object that fits the concept.<br />
<br />
One important result of pure Objectivism is that what one cannot perceive, one cannot know&#8212;and what no one has perceived, no one need admit the existence of. Indeed, [[Nathaniel Branden|Branden]]<ref name=BrandenBenHaz>[[Nathaniel Branden|Branden, Nathaniel]]. [http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/articles_essays/benefits_and_hazards.html The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand]. Association for Humanistic Psychology, 1984.</ref> observed that Objectivism teaches that <blockquote>(A)ny form of irrationalism, supernaturalism, or mysticism, (and) any claim to a nonsensory, nonrational form of knowledge, is to be rejected.</blockquote><br />
<br />
This includes [[God]], a Concept that almost no Objectivist has ever accepted. This might be Objectivism's greatest weakness: that it will not admit that which one cannot perceive directly, but which has affected ''something else'' that one perceives, and that in a measurable way.<br />
<br />
=== Ethics ===<br />
[[Ethics]] is about values. What is value? From ''Atlas Shrugged''<ref name=Atlas/>:<blockquote>"Value" is what one acts to gain and/or keep; "virtue" is how one acts to gain or keep it.</blockquote><br />
<br />
The central contribution of Objectivism to ethics is the definition of morality. Again from ''Atlas Shrugged''<ref name=Atlas/>:<blockquote>"Value" presupposes an answer to the question, "Of value to whom, and to what?" "Value" presupposes a ''standard''...A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality.</blockquote><br />
<br />
Objectivism then declares that the only moral code proper to man has ''man's life'' as its standard of value. Rand, Peikoff, and other students of Objectivism have always drawn a stark contrast between this standard and the standard of those they regarded as their opponents: "the greatest good for the greatest number."<br />
<br />
However, most emphatically, this does '''not''' mean that Objectivism extols what most people mean by ''selfishness''. Objectivism regards that sort of "selfishness" as shortsighted and non-rational. Objectivism requires that a person ''choose'' to be rational in his thinking, and should work to enhance his self-interest ''after determining what that interest is through rational and logical analysis.''<br />
<br />
Objectivism makes at least two definitions that non-adherents might find harsh and symptomatic of [[Logical fallacy#Overgeneralization|overgeneralization]]:<br />
<br />
# "Sacrifice" is the giving away of a greater value in favor of a lesser value or a non-value.<ref name=Atlas/><br />
# "Altruism" is sacrifice, as defined above, for the sake of persons other than oneself.<br />
<br />
Actually, what Objectivism calls ''sacrifice'', other schools of philosophy call ''waste''. Sacrifice, according to these other schools, is actually the giving of a great value for another, still greater value. Furthermore, the definition of ''altruism'' indicates that no man should be obliged, let alone forced, to care or act for the sake of other people.<br />
<br />
In only one context does Objectivism lay any obligation on its adherents to act for the sake of another, and that is in an ''emergency'', that is, an immediate life-threatening casualty event or condition.<br />
<br />
Rand, Peikoff, and other adherents to Objectivism held that their greatest objection was to the use of force in social relationships. This leads directly to the Objectivist theory of politics.<br />
<br />
=== Politics ===<br />
[[Political philosophy|Politics]] (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] '''πολις''' a city, from the organization of [[Greece|Greek]] civilization around independent city-states) is the philosophy of [[government]]&#8212;the need for it, its proper sphere, and the obligations of its subjects. The central principles of Objectivist politics are:<blockquote>"The necessary consequence of man’s right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/self-defense.html|title=Self Defense|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref></blockquote><blockquote>If physical force is to be barred from social relationships, men need an institution charged with the task of protecting their rights under an objective code of rules. ... A government is the means of placing the retaliatory use of physical force under objective control—i.e., under objectively defined laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/government.html|title=Government|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref></blockquote><br />
<br />
Thus a government ought not compel charity&#8212;and in this context, ''compulsion'' is the application of force to induce another person toward an action he might not otherwise take. Nor should the government compel anyone to associate with those with whom he would prefer not to associate. Freedom of association is very important in Objectivist politics.<br />
<br />
Objectivism holds that an individual has a fundamental right to life&#8212;but this "right to life" means the right to live one's life as his self-interest dictates, not the right to expect someone else either to protect his life or to guarantee his survival.<br />
<br />
From these principles, the only economic system with which Objectivism has any sympathy is [[capitalism]], with its emphasis on the rights of the individual. Objectivism rejects the [[welfare state]] as an improper exercise of the government's police power. (But Objectivism also would object strenuously to the body of special tax incentives and other legal provisions and regulations often called "[[corporate welfare]]." Objectivism holds that every individual, and by extension every business, must stand or fall on his, her, or its own merits.)<br />
<br />
However, Objectivism also holds that the government ought to reserve to itself a [[monopoly]] on the exercise of force, when necessary, in retaliation against the initiators of force. As a repeated theme in Rand's novels and essays, a government ought to confine itself to three major functions:<br />
<br />
# The police power&#8212;to protect against criminals.<br />
# The military power&#8212;to protect against invasion from without.<br />
# The judicial power&#8212;to protect contracts from breach or fraud, and to provide a forum for the settlement of disputes without resort to force.<br />
<br />
From the above, one may conclude that Objectivism rejects the [[code duello]] as an improper feature of society, and even as an attribute of [[anarchy]]. In fact, Rand herself specifically stated that government must be a [[monopoly]], because any "competitive [[economy]]" of government would inevitably lead to a state not much different from gang warfare.<br />
<br />
====Foreign Policy====<br />
Understanding Objectivism’s individualism and principled self-interest as applied to foreign policy provides an interesting contrast to the globalism of [[neo-conservative]]s and universal-rights policy of [[anarcho-capitalism|stateless-libertarians]]. For example, she repeatedly stated, in a number of essays and in at least one magazine interview, that <blockquote>Just as the [[United States]] had the right to invade [[Nazi]] [[Germany]], so the United States has the right to invade [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Russia]] or any other slave pen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/foreign_policy.html|title=Foreign Policy|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref></blockquote> She emphasized that a just nation has a right but not the ''duty'' to depose the regime of an oppressive dictatorship.<ref name="Foreign">{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/dictatorship.html|title=Foreign Policy|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref> To assume such a duty when self-defense doesn't require an expenditure of military might is deemed altruistic. She opposed the [[Vietnam War]] on such grounds. She describes the degree of oppression that makes a regime illegitimate:<ref name="Foreign" /><br />
<br />
# Execution without a proper, fair trial<br />
# Detention without charge<br />
# Denial of the right of dissatisfied subjects to emigrate<br />
# Censorship<br />
<br />
Of course, any country that invades or otherwise attacks another nation (one that does not initiate force against other nations or its own people) lays itself open to a counter invasion. This follows from the principle of the Law of Retaliation defined above. <br />
<br />
In summary, she rejects the [[neo-conservative]] policy of nations-building and global policing. She also rejects the libertarian policy of respecting the sovereignty of oppressive nations. Contrary to stateless-libertarians, Rand sees the establishment of rights within the nations-state framework.<ref name="Nations">{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/self-determination_of_nations.html|title=Self-Determination of Nations|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref><ref name="Isolation">{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/isolationism.html|title=Isolationism|author=Ayn Rand|editor=Harry Binswanger}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Aesthetics ===<br />
[[Art]], according to Objectivism, serves a need to allow man to ''perceive'' directly that which normally he can only ''conceive''. Art, in short, makes things real. An [[artist]] is any person who presents abstract concepts in concrete ways.<br />
<br />
Objectivism's take on art is simple: art should uplift, and present uplifting things. The favorite school of art among students of Objectivism is [[Romantic realism]], the name that Rand gave to a school of art that emphasizes human reason and ideals and primarily portrays people striving to do great deeds, rather than suffering great disasters&#8212;in short, being ''proactive'' rather than ''reactive''. Good art, in other words, celebrates that which Objectivism itself celebrates: the ideal rational man. Forms of art that which emphasized emotion over reason, and especially anything that divorced emotion from reason, earned the consistent disdain of Rand and her colleagues. Similarly, Objectivism decries any form of art that shows human beings being reactive and slaves to emotion.<br />
<br />
Pornography excited an interesting reaction. Objectivists detested it, on the grounds that sex was too important an activity for public display. But they feared censorship even more, on the ground that a government that stopped prurient content could stop political speech all the more easily. (Neither [[Ayn Rand]] nor any of her associates ever commented on such strictly private efforts as the [[Hays office]].)<br />
<br />
== Controversies ==<br />
[[Nathaniel Branden]], Rand's closest-ever associate and confidant, set forth in 1984 a number of defects in Objectivist philosophy, or at least Rand's theory and practice of it:<br />
<br />
# A tendency to confuse "reason" with "the reasonable," essentially a problem in informal logic.<br />
# The encouragement of its students to repress all emotion as somehow unworthy, all in the name of being proactive rather than reactive.<br />
# A tendency toward "moralizing," or condemning others for not adhering to a strict emotional discipline.<br />
# The [[Logical fallacy#Conflation|conflation]] of "sacrifice" with benevolence.<br />
# Emphasizing philosophical premises to an unhealthy degree, leading to an often unwarranted judgment of ''character'' by the criterion of ''belief''.<br />
# A dogmatic, inflexible approach to philosophy and its various disciplines, leading to the inability to forgive a mistake in philosophical formulation or application.<br />
<br />
In this last context, Branden specifically decried Rand's conclusion that "no woman should aspire to be [[President of the United States of America]]." Rand did say that, and her justification of that stance flowed directly, oddly enough, from her theory of sex.<br />
<br />
(In this context, Rand had no patience with the proponents and practitioners of [[feminism]] that were contemporary to her. She once said of them, with questionable justice, that they complained about the sexual objectification of women, when those who complained the loudest were "clearly in no such danger." Yet on the other hand, she regarded homemakers as "uninteresting women," and then suggested that some of them were "[[monster]]s" for advocating, for example, the prohibition of [[abortion]] and restrictions on [[contraception]].)<br />
<br />
Rand's surviving friends tend to dismiss Branden's criticism as [[Logical fallacy#Argumentum ad hominem|argumentum ad hominem]] (or perhaps more accurately, ''argumentum ad feminam'') arising out of the rather brutal break-up of Rand and Branden's eighteen-year association. But those arguments tend to commit the same [[logical fallacy]] whereof they accuse Branden. Branden's wife [[Barbara Branden|Barbara]] presents perhaps the most balanced treatment of the Rand-Branden Affair and the ensuing controversy.<br />
<br />
Objectivism's unabashed advocacy of capitalism often led to repeated charges that Objectivism was the ally of "big business." (In fact, on the occasion of a 1980 political demonstration called "Big Business Day," ''The Objectivist Forum'' commented quite wryly on the irony of the spectacle of hundreds of anti-business conventioneers using the services of "big business" to attend an event intended to advocate increased regulation of the largest corporations merely because they ''were'' large.) But Branden said quite clearly that the executives of large business companies ''were not'' friendly to Objectivism, because Objectivism advocates a market completely free not only of onerous taxes but also of the myriad special protections that some businesses tended to win from [[Congress]] against their competitors.<br />
<br />
For decades, Rand did not appear to excite much enduring controversy, mainly because those who did not hold to her philosophy, or to the political theory that flows from it, generally preferred to ignore her. An early exception was the famous (some say infamous) review of Rand's ''magnum opus'', ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', by [[Whittaker Chambers]].<ref name=Chambers>[[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers, Whittaker]]. [http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp Big Sister Is Watching You]. ''[[National Review]]'', December 28, 1957. Republished on [http://www.nationalreview.com/ National Review Online], January 5, 2005.</ref> Chambers "[[Atlas Shrugged (criticism)#Whittaker Chambers|panned]]" this novel severely and charged that Rand, and by extension Objectivism ''per se'', owed more to the harsh, "conquering-man" philosophy of [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] than to Aristotle. He also charged that Rand, in her relentless attack upon the [[Communism|Communist]] philosophy of [[Karl Marx]], had almost become that which she professed to despise. Specifically, he suggested that while Marx advocated a [[Socialism|socializing]] elite, Rand advocated a technocratic one, to which all less technically adept men must bow. Chambers' objections mirror those of Branden to the "moralizing" and dogmatic tone of much of Rand's material, in both that novel and her later essays.<br />
<br />
But in light of the election and increasingly [[socialism|socialistic]] policy pronouncements and recommendations of [[Barack Obama]] and his administration, Rand's ideas are (as of April 2009) undergoing a serious re-examination. [[Tax Day Tea Party]] participants reported seeing signs saying, "Ayn Rand Was Right" and "Stop Spending, or Atlas Will Shrug." The Ayn Rand Institute reports that sales of ''Atlas Shrugged'' tripled in February 2009 as compared to February 2008. They attribute this brisk increase in sales directly to the recognition by many of Barack Obama and his associates as antitypes of the [[Literary type#Villain|villains]] in the novel, and of his policies as antitypes of some of the more egregious policies of [[Mr. Thompson]] and some of other characters. [[Directive 10-289]] springs especially to mind.<br />
<br />
== Can Objectivism develop further? ==<br />
This question is [[Conservapedia:Can Objectivism develop beyond Ayn Rand's original formulation?|debatable]]. Branden asserted that Objectivism was "flawed", but nonetheless found its emphasis on logic and of an independent reality important and beneficial. Applying the principles of Objectivist philosophy to ones own life offers undoubted advantages to physical and mental quality of life, which applying such principles to politics leads to economic growth, greater personal and economic freedoms and a more healthy society. Nonetheless, no philosophy can remain static, and with many greater American thinkers dedicated to advancing the philosophy of Objectivism, the field is extremely dynamic and constantly evolving, and the world provides new opportunities for applying Objectivist principles.<br />
<br />
In regarding to life science, Rand correctly realised that the the theory of [[evolution]] as more than an hypothesis. She did not acept [[Creationism|creation]] as a fact, due to it not being directly percieavble and measurable, but Rand also refused to endorse evolution, because she believed she did not have the required scientific knowledge to make an informed judgment.<ref name=poisonwell>Hsieh, Diana Mertz, [http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2005/07/poisoning-well.html Poisoning the Well], 24 March 2007</ref> <br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_pobs Objectivism] from the [[Ayn Rand Institute]]<br />
* [http://www.ios.org/ The Atlas Society &#8212; home of The Objectivist Center]<br />
* [http://wiki.objectivismonline.net/ The Objectivism Wiki]<br />
* [http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/ The Importance of Philosophy]<br />
* [[Logic]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Philosophical systems]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islamophobia&diff=986053Islamophobia2012-06-13T15:52:43Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Criticism of the concept of Islamophobia */ change name into link</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Islamophobia''' is, literally, "fear of Islam" though the term can be used for a variety of purposes, like: ''fear or hatred of [[Islam]] and Muslims'', and is often used to criticize people opposed to Islam. <br />
<br />
Islamophobia is a neologism which defines hatred of [[Muslims]] and Islam as an irrational fear. It is generally used to intimidate critics of Islam in America and prosecute critics in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11464025 |title=Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders goes on trial|date=2010-10-04|publisher=BBC News Europe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://michellemalkin.com/2006/06/12/the-trial-of-oriana-fallaci/|title=The Trial of Oriana Fallaci|author=Michelle Malkin|date=2006-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2011/11/30/the-political-persecution-of-elisabeth-sabaditsch-wolff/|title=The Political Persecution of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff|date=2011-11-30|author=Ned May|publisher=Front Page Magazine}}</ref><br />
<br />
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term Islamophobia was in 1976, though it has become more frequently used since the 1997 publication of ''Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All'' by the Runnymede Trust, and even more so to describe the backlash against Muslims following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/16/national/main563594.shtml|title=Anti-Muslim Discriination On Rise|author=Jennifer C. Kerr|date=2009-05-18|publisher=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4102389.stm|title=‘Rise’ in Muslim discrimination|author-Dominic Casciani|publisher=BBC News|date=2004-12-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_42_37/ai_79339769/ |title=Interfaith group deplores anti-Muslim violence|date=2001-10-05|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|accessdate=2012-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=127fe2880e48951b564ac2f3e171242e|title=Big Jump in Hate Crimes Against Muslims Documented|date=2006-10-10|author=Jim Lobe|publication=New America Media}}</ref><br />
<br />
The Runnymede Trust defines Islamophobia as having the following characteristics:<br />
<br />
:1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change. <br />
:2) Islam is seen as separate and “other”. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them. <br />
:3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive, and sexist. <br />
:4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism, and engaged in a Clash of Civilizations. <br />
:5) Islam is seen as a political ideology, used for political or military advantage. <br />
:6) Criticisms made of 'the West' by Islam are rejected out of hand. <br />
:7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society. <br />
:8) Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural and normal. <br />
<br />
==Liberal Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
Liberals use the term Islamophobia often as a way to demonize their opposition. But true Islamophobia is often espoused by the defenders of Islam. Politically correct attitude of liberals demand concerns for Muslim sensitivity, a fear of offending Islam, demand concessions for Islam over other religions, obfuscate or whitewash Muslim beliefs as to minimize their true intentions. Liberal Islamophobia is not an irrational fear of Muslims but rather a fear of offending Muslims.<br />
<br />
==Examples of Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
In a May 2001 interview, [[British]] politician Nick Giffen stated "Muslims are the biggest problem at present, for several reasons, because they have the highest birth rate, which means their communities need living space - that's what the ethnic cleansing is about. They have political corruption in their own countries, and when they have a chance to get council places they are there for graft. Most important of all is that Islam is an aggressive religion." <ref>‘Far right aims to gain foothold in Oldham’, Jeevan Vasagar, May 30, 2001 The Guardian"</ref><br />
<br />
On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a [[Sikh]] man (known for wearing distinctive beards and turbans) was mistaken for a Muslim and murdered at a gas station in Mesa, Arizona. His murderer, Frank Silva Roque, was convicted and initially sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole by the Arizona Supreme Court. <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3154170.stm</ref><br />
<br />
==Criticism of the concept of Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
Kenan Malik, a British writer, has criticized the concept of Islamophobia, calling it a myth. He argues that the charge of Islamophobia is leveled against those who criticize [[Islam]] or Muslims in any way (even when those criticisms may be legitimate) to serve as a "chilling effect."<br />
<br />
Rowan Atkinson, a British comic-actor has likewise stated that although criticizing another person based on their race is ridiculous and irrational, criticizing another's religion, which is a voluntary belief, is a right. He further stated that laws should not be created which protect certain types of ideas from criticism and not others.<br />
<br />
[[Stephen Schwartz]], an American [[writer]] and critic of [[Wahabbism]], has stated that although the charge of Islamophobia is sometimes leveled too quickly against an opponent, that it is still a real phenomenon<ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17874</ref>, which he defines as:<br />
<br />
:1) Attacking the entire religion of Islam as a problem for the world; <br />
:2) Condemning all of Islam and its history as extremist; <br />
:3) Denying the active existence, in the contemporary world, of a moderate Muslim majority; <br />
:4) Insisting that Muslims accede to the demands of non-Muslims (based on ignorance and arrogance) for various theological changes, in their religion; <br />
:5) Treating all conflicts involving Muslims (including, for example, that in Bosnia-Hercegovina a decade ago), as the fault of Muslims themselves; <br />
:6) Inciting war against Islam as a whole.<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Pipes]] argues that the word Islamophobia conflates "fear of Islam and fear of radical Islam" and is used to suppress all criticism of Islam including radical Islam. Even moderate Muslims who critically examine the excesses of fellow Muslims are labeled Islamophobes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meforum.org/pipes/3075/islamophobia|title=Islamophobia?|author=Daniel Pipes|publication=Middle East Forum|date=Oct 25, 2005}}</ref> The term is used to make Muslims another victim-group.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/islamophobia-is-a-fabrication-20090329-9fjm.html?page=-1|title=Islamophobia is a fabrication|author=Paul Sheehan|date=March 30, 2009|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Paul Jackson in his study of anti-Islamic politics in the UK, criticizes the Runnymede criteria as lacking in distinctions. He points out the term prevents justifiable examination of jihadi groups.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.radicalism-new-media.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The_EDL_Britains_New_Far_Right_Social_Movement.pdf|author=Paul Jackson|page=10|title=The EDL}}</ref><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
<br />
*[http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/ Combatants for Peace]<br />
*[http://www.islamophobia.org/news.php Islamophobia]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[category:phobias]]<br />
[[category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islamophobia&diff=986052Islamophobia2012-06-13T15:50:56Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Examples of Islamophobia */ removed unverifiable paragraph - see talk</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Islamophobia''' is, literally, "fear of Islam" though the term can be used for a variety of purposes, like: ''fear or hatred of [[Islam]] and Muslims'', and is often used to criticize people opposed to Islam. <br />
<br />
Islamophobia is a neologism which defines hatred of [[Muslims]] and Islam as an irrational fear. It is generally used to intimidate critics of Islam in America and prosecute critics in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11464025 |title=Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders goes on trial|date=2010-10-04|publisher=BBC News Europe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://michellemalkin.com/2006/06/12/the-trial-of-oriana-fallaci/|title=The Trial of Oriana Fallaci|author=Michelle Malkin|date=2006-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2011/11/30/the-political-persecution-of-elisabeth-sabaditsch-wolff/|title=The Political Persecution of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff|date=2011-11-30|author=Ned May|publisher=Front Page Magazine}}</ref><br />
<br />
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term Islamophobia was in 1976, though it has become more frequently used since the 1997 publication of ''Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All'' by the Runnymede Trust, and even more so to describe the backlash against Muslims following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/16/national/main563594.shtml|title=Anti-Muslim Discriination On Rise|author=Jennifer C. Kerr|date=2009-05-18|publisher=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4102389.stm|title=‘Rise’ in Muslim discrimination|author-Dominic Casciani|publisher=BBC News|date=2004-12-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_42_37/ai_79339769/ |title=Interfaith group deplores anti-Muslim violence|date=2001-10-05|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|accessdate=2012-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=127fe2880e48951b564ac2f3e171242e|title=Big Jump in Hate Crimes Against Muslims Documented|date=2006-10-10|author=Jim Lobe|publication=New America Media}}</ref><br />
<br />
The Runnymede Trust defines Islamophobia as having the following characteristics:<br />
<br />
:1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change. <br />
:2) Islam is seen as separate and “other”. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them. <br />
:3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive, and sexist. <br />
:4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism, and engaged in a Clash of Civilizations. <br />
:5) Islam is seen as a political ideology, used for political or military advantage. <br />
:6) Criticisms made of 'the West' by Islam are rejected out of hand. <br />
:7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society. <br />
:8) Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural and normal. <br />
<br />
==Liberal Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
Liberals use the term Islamophobia often as a way to demonize their opposition. But true Islamophobia is often espoused by the defenders of Islam. Politically correct attitude of liberals demand concerns for Muslim sensitivity, a fear of offending Islam, demand concessions for Islam over other religions, obfuscate or whitewash Muslim beliefs as to minimize their true intentions. Liberal Islamophobia is not an irrational fear of Muslims but rather a fear of offending Muslims.<br />
<br />
==Examples of Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
In a May 2001 interview, [[British]] politician Nick Giffen stated "Muslims are the biggest problem at present, for several reasons, because they have the highest birth rate, which means their communities need living space - that's what the ethnic cleansing is about. They have political corruption in their own countries, and when they have a chance to get council places they are there for graft. Most important of all is that Islam is an aggressive religion." <ref>‘Far right aims to gain foothold in Oldham’, Jeevan Vasagar, May 30, 2001 The Guardian"</ref><br />
<br />
On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a [[Sikh]] man (known for wearing distinctive beards and turbans) was mistaken for a Muslim and murdered at a gas station in Mesa, Arizona. His murderer, Frank Silva Roque, was convicted and initially sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole by the Arizona Supreme Court. <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3154170.stm</ref><br />
<br />
==Criticism of the concept of Islamophobia==<br />
<br />
Kenan Malik, a British writer, has criticized the concept of Islamophobia, calling it a myth. He argues that the charge of Islamophobia is leveled against those who criticize [[Islam]] or Muslims in any way (even when those criticisms may be legitimate) to serve as a "chilling effect."<br />
<br />
Rowan Atkinson, a British comic-actor has likewise stated that although criticizing another person based on their race is ridiculous and irrational, criticizing another's religion, which is a voluntary belief, is a right. He further stated that laws should not be created which protect certain types of ideas from criticism and not others.<br />
<br />
Stephen Schwartz, an American [[writer]] and critic of [[Wahabbism]], has stated that although the charge of Islamophobia is sometimes leveled too quickly against an opponent, that it is still a real phenomenon<ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17874</ref>, which he defines as:<br />
<br />
:1) Attacking the entire religion of Islam as a problem for the world; <br />
:2) Condemning all of Islam and its history as extremist; <br />
:3) Denying the active existence, in the contemporary world, of a moderate Muslim majority; <br />
:4) Insisting that Muslims accede to the demands of non-Muslims (based on ignorance and arrogance) for various theological changes, in their religion; <br />
:5) Treating all conflicts involving Muslims (including, for example, that in Bosnia-Hercegovina a decade ago), as the fault of Muslims themselves; <br />
:6) Inciting war against Islam as a whole.<br />
<br />
[[Daniel Pipes]] argues that the word Islamophobia conflates "fear of Islam and fear of radical Islam" and is used to suppress all criticism of Islam including radical Islam. Even moderate Muslims who critically examine the excesses of fellow Muslims are labeled Islamophobes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meforum.org/pipes/3075/islamophobia|title=Islamophobia?|author=Daniel Pipes|publication=Middle East Forum|date=Oct 25, 2005}}</ref> The term is used to make Muslims another victim-group.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/islamophobia-is-a-fabrication-20090329-9fjm.html?page=-1|title=Islamophobia is a fabrication|author=Paul Sheehan|date=March 30, 2009|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Paul Jackson in his study of anti-Islamic politics in the UK, criticizes the Runnymede criteria as lacking in distinctions. He points out the term prevents justifiable examination of jihadi groups.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.radicalism-new-media.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The_EDL_Britains_New_Far_Right_Social_Movement.pdf|author=Paul Jackson|page=10|title=The EDL}}</ref><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
<br />
*[http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/ Combatants for Peace]<br />
*[http://www.islamophobia.org/news.php Islamophobia]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[category:phobias]]<br />
[[category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Golden_Rule&diff=985627Talk:Golden Rule2012-06-11T15:50:19Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Historical Formulations */ noted action taken and reason</p>
<hr />
<div>Not meaning to be disrespectful, but this article seems very out of place on an encyclopedia. "The Golden Rule" seems like a fairly childish idea, and is pure PoV. Does this article need to exist, or should there not be a disclaimer paragraph at the top, such as the one found at the top of "Essay" pages? [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 12:09, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
How is it POV? It has supporting quotes. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 12:17, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:I am the most important person in the world<br />
<br />
::"MatteeNeutra is the most important person in the world" - MatteeNeutra's Mum<br />
<br />
:Does that make it a fact that I am the most important person in the world? [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 12:21, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
There aren't any point-of-view problems here. <s>MatteeNeutra apparently believes that facts ''about'' opinions are automatically non-neutral because they are ''about'' opinions. That's incorrect.</s><br />
<br />
The article paraphrases the Golden Rule, and the reader can judge the accuracy of that paraphrase. It states that a version of the Golden Rule is found throughout religious history and supports that statement with example. It contains one questionable sentence, the one beginning "many consider," but I have very little doubt that statement could be supported. The difficulty would be finding anyone except George Bernard Shaw who would challenge it.<br />
<br />
The '''real''' problem, though, is that this material is essentially copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:25, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
That might be because I worked on it there, too. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 12:27, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Is there any way you can document that? You probably should have said something about it here when you created the page.... It's not at all obvious from the edit history at Wikipedia. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:31, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I am no longer on wikipedia, so I don't think so. sorry, but I did source two of those quotes. If you'd like, I'd be happy to remove the information until the matter is resolved. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 12:33, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::[[User:Flippin|Flippin]], are you Wikipedia User:Dmerrill? [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:34, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
:::I used my computer IP address in college--so no idea. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 12:39, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
(Just to respond) I have no problem with facts about opinions (and I'm appalled at the implication that somehow I would censor information on all PoV subjects), but by calling this article "Golden Rule" it appears to be endorsing it. If (like at Wikipedia) it was called Ethic of Reciprocity then it would be much more neutral and would indeed be an article which just documents a PoV. [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 12:43, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:The phrase "Golden Rule" is well accepted as a name for the principle. For example, the American Heritage Dictionary defines Golden Rule as<br />
::The biblical teaching that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself.[http://www.bartleby.com/61/25/G0182500.html]<br />
:So I don't see the problem with calling it that. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:29, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Before today I thought the Golden Rule related to saying Please and Thank You, but thats just because I've been brought up that way! I imagine many other "Golden Rules" exist in the world. The principle may be called the Golden Rule by some but as the principal is in fact "The Principal of Reciprocity" and the article is about the principle, shouldn't the article be called that? [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 16:03, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::No, because 1) "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is very, very commonly called the Golden Rule and very, very rarely called the Principal of Reciprocity, and because 2) ''two'' dictionaries say "Golden Rule" refers to the Biblical saying of Jesus and ''neither'' of them says it has to do with saying "Please" and "Thank you." [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]]<br />
<br />
:::golden rule<br />
:::Function: noun<br />
:::1 capitalized G&R : a rule of ethical conduct referring to Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31: do to others as you would have them do to you<br />
:::2 : a guiding principle<br />
::::&mdash;[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Golden%20Rule Merriam-Webster]<br />
<br />
:::P. S. Within Wikipedia's article on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity ethic of reciprocity] it is referred to throughout as the "Golden Rule," not as the "ethic of reciprocity." [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 16:17, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Fair enough, dude! I live over the pond in the UK, so I reckon there might be some discrepancies but I can see where you're coming from! [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 16:41, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== What is the problem, exactly? ==<br />
<br />
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." — Jesus (c. 5 BC—33 AD) in the Gospels I thought this was pretty clear: don't hurt people because YOU don't want to be hurt. So, slowly, can you explain your issue? [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 12:26, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:(Actually, as I've pointed out, that's a misquotation...) [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 16:10, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:[[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]], this is my understanding of what you are saying:<br />
::1) "Golden" is a word of praise.<br />
::2) "Golden Rule" therefore is a biassed description of the principle, because it implies that it is a ''good'' principle.<br />
::3) By accepting the common phrase "Golden Rule" rather than substituting a neutral phrase like "principle of reciprocity," Conservapedia is itself exhibiting bias in favor of the principle.<br />
:::Is that a correct statement of your issue? [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 16:23, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
::::That was my issue yes, but as I just staed above I was wrong and Golden Rule looks like common usage! Cheers. [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 16:41, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Organization==<br />
<br />
Would it be possible for the quotes to be listed in approximate chronological order? The Torah/Leviticus cites are the only ones that are undated, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Or, put Jesus first and then the rest in chron. order? Oh, and how about some philosophers? There must be a few (Kant's categorical imperative might come to mind) [[User:Human|Human]] 12:52, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Have at--I just started this page to get it going. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 13:51, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Does anyone have reasonably authoritative dates for the Leviticus quotes? Surely at least Bishop of Usher could provide a date? I can't find it in any likely sources on here [[User:Human|Human]] 15:17, 17 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Historical Formulations ==<br />
<br />
I question some of the entries in the “Historical Formulations” section as being equivalent to the Golden Rule.<br />
<br />
The Leviticus “love thy neighbor as thyself” has to do with your actions only--actions towards neighbors and self. The Golden Rule has to do with your actions verses your neighbor’s actions. It says an act is universally right, i.e right for everyone to act in this way. The Golden Rule essentially states that ethical principles should be universal. There is a question in my mind that Judaism has such rules that qualifies it as a universal religion. There are some rules that apply to all the children of Noah ... but all rules?<br />
<br />
Likewise it is not clear that the Udana-Varqua is also a plea that everyone acts according to the same rule.<br />
<br />
Finally, this Hadith doesn’t even suggest actions (i.e. virtue) but welfare (i.e. value). The Islamic websites that I find suggest it has to do with envy. Thus, it is an egalitarian theme. There is also a question about scope--does it apply to only fellow Muslims? Then it would not be universal. Given Islam's rules for dhimmi one has to question the universality of Islamic ethical teachings. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 08:28, 16 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Consequently, I have removed it: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." &mdash; [[Muhammad]] (c. 571 – 632 AD) in a [[Hadith]]. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 11:50, 11 June 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Golden_Rule&diff=985626Golden Rule2012-06-11T15:48:30Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Historical Formulations */ not the same as the GR - see talk</p>
<hr />
<div>The phrase '''Golden rule''' is established in English as the name for a Biblical teaching<ref>"Golden rule, n. The biblical teaching that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself." [http://www.bartleby.com/61/25/G0182500.html American Heritage dictionary]</ref> often phrased as "do unto others as you would have others do unto you." In this form it qualifies as a "familiar misquotation." It is expressed twice in the Gospels as the words of Jesus:<br />
:"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." {{bible ref|book=Matthew|chap=7|verses=12|version=KJV}}<br />
:"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." {{bible ref|book=Luke|chap=6|verses=31|version=KJV}}<br />
By referring to "the law and the prophets," Jesus is saying that the principle is not original with him, but is his expression of a principle of Judaic law, a supercession of the original [[Lex Talionis]].<br />
<br />
Jesus also stated it to be the second most important commandment in Christianity, after the [[Shema]]<ref>http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%2012:28-34;&version=64;</ref><ref>http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2022:37-40;&version=64;</ref>.<br />
<br />
==Historical Formulations==<br />
<br />
The principle is found throughout religious history as a guiding principle in the treatment of others. <br />
<br />
* "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." &mdash; [[Torah]] (ca. 1200-1500 BC) {{bible ref|book=Leviticus|chap=19|verses=18|version=}}<br />
<br />
* "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." &mdash; [[Torah]] (ca. 1200-1500 BC) {{bible ref|book=Leviticus|chap=19|verses=33-34|version=}}<br />
<br />
* "What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." &mdash; [[Confucius]] (ca. 551–479 BC)<br />
<br />
* "Since to others, to each one for himself, the self is dear, therefore let him who desires his own advantage not to harm another" [[Pali Canon|Udana - Varqua]], (ca. 470 BC)<br />
<br />
* "This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you." &mdash; ''Mahabharata'' (5:15:17) (c. 500 BC)<br />
<br />
* "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." &mdash; Hillel the Elder (ca. 50 BC-10 AD)<br />
<br />
* "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." &mdash; [[Jesus]] (ca. 5 BC—33 AD) in the [[Gospels]], {{bible ref|book=Luke|chap=6|verses=31|version=KJV}}<br />
<br />
==Humor and Parody==<br />
<br />
[[George Bernard Shaw]], in a preface to his play ''Man and Superman,'' includes a collection of witty "Maxims for Revolutionists" which include<br />
*Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.<br />
*The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.<br />
<br />
There is also a cynical play on the wording and the sentiment behind the rule:<br />
* "He who has the gold, rules." &mdash; [[William Sahlman]], among others<br />
<br />
==Unrelated uses==<br />
*A small town named Golden Rule existed in Texas for some time around the early 1900s.<ref>[http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/GG/hrg65.html Golden Rule, Texas]. Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association: "Golden Rule, also known as Greer's Neighborhood, was four miles east of Mineola on what later became Farm Road 49 in southern Wood County. The community's name was probably changed to Golden Rule by 1890.... In 1905 the Golden Rule school reported thirty white and fifty-six black students.... Golden Rule was not named on the 1936 county highway map.</ref><br />
*The ''Golden Rule Insurance Company'' is best known for its intense and ultimately successful lobbying for the creation of "health savings accounts," an alternative to traditional health insurance.<br />
<br />
==Notes and references==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[category:Philosophy]]<br />
[[category:New Testament]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Secular&diff=985451Secular2012-06-10T14:26:42Z<p>JasonNYC: deleted section copied from wikipedia by unknown person - see talk</p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''secular''' is generally used to mean "worldly, as differentiated from ecclesiastical." The term has changed meaning dramatically over time. Its original definition preserved its Latin meaning - "of an age" - as evinced in the ''Secular Games'', or the ''Carmen Secularae'' ("Song of the Augustan Age") by Horace.<br />
<br />
The term may be a euphemism used by [[atheists]], since atheism generally has negative associations in the [[United States]]. Atheism actually isn't secular (common mistake) because in a secular society everyone is considered to be legally equal no matter what they believe in or don't believe in. Atheism is a religious point of view that God(s) do not exist and is therefore not all inclusive.<br />
<br />
The United States was founded as a secular [[republic]], where religious freedom is affirmed in the Constitution and where no special religion is established. However, 'secular' here is ''not'' a synonym for 'atheistic' as secular society includes both Atheists and believers. Moreover, it is impossible to fully separate a legislative or educations system from moral beliefs and its sources, and the Bible overall was the primary foundational single source for America's principles and precepts. <br />
<br />
Hunter Baker in ''The End of Secularism'', distinguishes between pluralism and secularism, and argues that while the latter has rejected religious foundations of traditional morality, yet secularism itself is an ideology based upon certain philosophical foundations, with its own presuppositions. Rather than being the impartial referee it is promoted to be, when this becomes the orthodox ideology of a nation, it works toward censoring that which opposes it, stifling religious life and discourse.<br />
<br />
==History of Secularism==<br />
The derivation of an ethical code from purely secular "worldly" concerns begins in Ancient Greece with the philosophical study of nature. The Hebrew term for ''nature'' is not found in the Bible.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LT1V8Xgz1EUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=hebrew&f=false|author=Leo Strauss|title=Natural Right and History|pate=80}}</ref> Hence, natural law, natural justice, and natural rights are Hellenic in origin. Greek and Roman philosophers, while not atheists, nevertheless built their ethnical philosophy from natural considerations.<br />
<br />
Christian theologians differed on their assessment of secular thought. [[Tertullian]] asks "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" On the other hand, [[Thomas Aquinas]] championed secular thought and provocatively starts the [[Summa Theologica]] with the question: "Whether, besides philosophy, any further doctrine is required?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1001.htm|title=Summa Theologica|author=Thomas Aquinas}}</ref> After Aquinas, a harmony between secular thought and religion was the rule until the 19th century. The notion of secularism being inherently anti-religious becomes the norm after the [[French Revolution]].<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Emmet Kennedy, "The Tangled History of Secularism," ''Modern Age'' (Winter 2000) Volume 42, Number 1; [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/42_01/kennedy.pdf online edition]<br />
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=FyAF86k-EV0C&dq=Hunter+Baker+in+The+End+of+Secularism,&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=A8mcvr9B5N&sig=C31Mrmu3gGtkLqHw5ZH_jOly6yA&hl=en&ei=TXooS6P5OpXdlAeZv6ycDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false Hunter Baker, ''The End of Secularism'' ]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Secular&diff=985376Talk:Secular2012-06-10T02:41:49Z<p>JasonNYC: From Wikipedia: Secular Ethics</p>
<hr />
<div>== From Wikipedia: Secular Ethics ==<br />
<br />
It appears that the section "Secular Ethics" was taken from Wikipedia article "Secularism". On Wikipedia it was inserted on 12 Aug 2005 by Dannyno. It was added here by Asthelord on 17 March, 2012. If Asthelord isn't Dannyno then this is plagiarism and should be removed. What is the procedure for doing this? [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 22:41, 9 June 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Secular&diff=985373Secular2012-06-10T02:09:07Z<p>JasonNYC: /* History of Secularism */ grammar</p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''secular''' is generally used to mean "worldly, as differentiated from ecclesiastical." The term has changed meaning dramatically over time. Its original definition preserved its Latin meaning - "of an age" - as evinced in the ''Secular Games'', or the ''Carmen Secularae'' ("Song of the Augustan Age") by Horace.<br />
<br />
The term may be a euphemism used by [[atheists]], since atheism generally has negative associations in the [[United States]]. Atheism actually isn't secular (common mistake) because in a secular society everyone is considered to be legally equal no matter what they believe in or don't believe in. Atheism is a religious point of view that God(s) do not exist and is therefore not all inclusive.<br />
<br />
The United States was founded as a secular [[republic]], where religious freedom is affirmed in the Constitution and where no special religion is established. However, 'secular' here is ''not'' a synonym for 'atheistic' as secular society includes both Atheists and believers. Moreover, it is impossible to fully separate a legislative or educations system from moral beliefs and its sources, and the Bible overall was the primary foundational single source for America's principles and precepts. <br />
<br />
Hunter Baker in ''The End of Secularism'', distinguishes between pluralism and secularism, and argues that while the latter has rejected religious foundations of traditional morality, yet secularism itself is an ideology based upon certain philosophical foundations, with its own presuppositions. Rather than being the impartial referee it is promoted to be, when this becomes the orthodox ideology of a nation, it works toward censoring that which opposes it, stifling religious life and discourse.<br />
<br />
==Secular ethics==<br />
{{Main|Secular ethics|Secular religion}}<br />
<br />
[[George Holyoake]]'s 1896 publication ''English Secularism'' defines secularism as:<br />
<blockquote><br />
Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life, founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three: (1) The improvement of this life by material means. (2) That science is the available Providence of man. (3) That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good.<ref>Holyoake, George J. (1896). ''English Secularism.'' Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company.</ref></blockquote><br />
<br />
Holyoake held that secularism and [[secular ethics]] should take no interest at all in religious questions (as they were irrelevant), and was thus to be distinguished from strong [[freethought]] and atheism. In this he disagreed with [[Charles Bradlaugh]], and the disagreement split the secularist movement between those who argued that anti-religious movements and activism was not necessary or desirable and those who argued that it was.<br />
<br />
Contemporary ethical debate is often described as "secular", with the work of [[Derek Parfit]] and [[Peter Singer]], and even the whole field of contemporary bioethics, having been described or self-described as explicitly secular or non-religious.<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Clarendon Press |isbn = 0198246153 |publication-place = Oxford [Oxfordshire] |title = Reasons and persons |url = http://openlibrary.org/books/OL3172889M/Reasons_and_persons |author = Derek Parfit |publication-date = 1984 |id = 0198246153 }}</ref><ref>[[Brian Leiter]], "[http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/06/is-secular-moral-theory-really-relatively-young.html Is "Secular Moral Theory" Really Relatively Young?], ''Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog'', June 28, 2009.</ref><ref>[[Richard Dawkins]], "[http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=dawkins_18_2 When Religion Steps on Science's Turf: The Alleged Separation Between the Two Is Not So Tidy]", ''Free Inquiry'' vol. 18, no. 2.</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|16423736}}</ref><br />
<br />
==History of Secularism==<br />
The derivation of an ethical code from purely secular "worldly" concerns begins in Ancient Greece with the philosophical study of nature. The Hebrew term for ''nature'' is not found in the Bible.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LT1V8Xgz1EUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=hebrew&f=false|author=Leo Strauss|title=Natural Right and History|pate=80}}</ref> Hence, natural law, natural justice, and natural rights are Hellenic in origin. Greek and Roman philosophers, while not atheists, nevertheless built their ethnical philosophy from natural considerations.<br />
<br />
Christian theologians differed on their assessment of secular thought. [[Tertullian]] asks "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" On the other hand, [[Thomas Aquinas]] championed secular thought and provocatively starts the [[Summa Theologica]] with the question: "Whether, besides philosophy, any further doctrine is required?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1001.htm|title=Summa Theologica|author=Thomas Aquinas}}</ref> After Aquinas, a harmony between secular thought and religion was the rule until the 19th century. The notion of secularism being inherently anti-religious becomes the norm after the [[French Revolution]].<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Emmet Kennedy, "The Tangled History of Secularism," ''Modern Age'' (Winter 2000) Volume 42, Number 1; [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/42_01/kennedy.pdf online edition]<br />
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=FyAF86k-EV0C&dq=Hunter+Baker+in+The+End+of+Secularism,&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=A8mcvr9B5N&sig=C31Mrmu3gGtkLqHw5ZH_jOly6yA&hl=en&ei=TXooS6P5OpXdlAeZv6ycDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false Hunter Baker, ''The End of Secularism'' ]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Secular&diff=985356Secular2012-06-10T01:01:13Z<p>JasonNYC: added references section</p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''secular''' is generally used to mean "worldly, as differentiated from ecclesiastical." The term has changed meaning dramatically over time. Its original definition preserved its Latin meaning - "of an age" - as evinced in the ''Secular Games'', or the ''Carmen Secularae'' ("Song of the Augustan Age") by Horace.<br />
<br />
The term may be a euphemism used by [[atheists]], since atheism generally has negative associations in the [[United States]]. Atheism actually isn't secular (common mistake) because in a secular society everyone is considered to be legally equal no matter what they believe in or don't believe in. Atheism is a religious point of view that God(s) do not exist and is therefore not all inclusive.<br />
<br />
The United States was founded as a secular [[republic]], where religious freedom is affirmed in the Constitution and where no special religion is established. However, 'secular' here is ''not'' a synonym for 'atheistic' as secular society includes both Atheists and believers. Moreover, it is impossible to fully separate a legislative or educations system from moral beliefs and its sources, and the Bible overall was the primary foundational single source for America's principles and precepts. <br />
<br />
Hunter Baker in ''The End of Secularism'', distinguishes between pluralism and secularism, and argues that while the latter has rejected religious foundations of traditional morality, yet secularism itself is an ideology based upon certain philosophical foundations, with its own presuppositions. Rather than being the impartial referee it is promoted to be, when this becomes the orthodox ideology of a nation, it works toward censoring that which opposes it, stifling religious life and discourse.<br />
<br />
==Secular ethics==<br />
{{Main|Secular ethics|Secular religion}}<br />
<br />
[[George Holyoake]]'s 1896 publication ''English Secularism'' defines secularism as:<br />
<blockquote><br />
Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life, founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three: (1) The improvement of this life by material means. (2) That science is the available Providence of man. (3) That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good.<ref>Holyoake, George J. (1896). ''English Secularism.'' Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company.</ref></blockquote><br />
<br />
Holyoake held that secularism and [[secular ethics]] should take no interest at all in religious questions (as they were irrelevant), and was thus to be distinguished from strong [[freethought]] and atheism. In this he disagreed with [[Charles Bradlaugh]], and the disagreement split the secularist movement between those who argued that anti-religious movements and activism was not necessary or desirable and those who argued that it was.<br />
<br />
Contemporary ethical debate is often described as "secular", with the work of [[Derek Parfit]] and [[Peter Singer]], and even the whole field of contemporary bioethics, having been described or self-described as explicitly secular or non-religious.<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Clarendon Press |isbn = 0198246153 |publication-place = Oxford [Oxfordshire] |title = Reasons and persons |url = http://openlibrary.org/books/OL3172889M/Reasons_and_persons |author = Derek Parfit |publication-date = 1984 |id = 0198246153 }}</ref><ref>[[Brian Leiter]], "[http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/06/is-secular-moral-theory-really-relatively-young.html Is "Secular Moral Theory" Really Relatively Young?], ''Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog'', June 28, 2009.</ref><ref>[[Richard Dawkins]], "[http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=dawkins_18_2 When Religion Steps on Science's Turf: The Alleged Separation Between the Two Is Not So Tidy]", ''Free Inquiry'' vol. 18, no. 2.</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|16423736}}</ref><br />
<br />
==History of Secularism==<br />
The derivation of an ethical code from purely secular "worldly" concerns begins in Ancient Greece with the philosophical study of nature. The Hebrew term for ''nature'' is not found in the Bible.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LT1V8Xgz1EUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=hebrew&f=false|author=Leo Strauss|title=Natural Right and History|pate=80}}</ref> Hence, natural law, natural justice, and natural rights are Hellenic in origin. Greek and Roman philosophers, while not atheists, nevertheless built their ethnical philosophy from natural considerations.<br />
<br />
Christian theologians differed on their assessment of secular thought. [[Tertullian]] asks "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" On the other hand, [[Thomas Aquinas]] championed secular thought and provocatively starts the [[Summa Theologica]] with the question: "Whether, besides philosophy, any further doctrine is required?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1001.htm|title=Summa Theologica|author=Thomas Aquinas}}</ref> After Aquinas, a harmony between secular thought and religion was the rule until the 19th century. The notion of secularism being inherently anti-religious become the norm after the [[French Revolution]].<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Emmet Kennedy, "The Tangled History of Secularism," ''Modern Age'' (Winter 2000) Volume 42, Number 1; [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/42_01/kennedy.pdf online edition]<br />
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=FyAF86k-EV0C&dq=Hunter+Baker+in+The+End+of+Secularism,&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=A8mcvr9B5N&sig=C31Mrmu3gGtkLqHw5ZH_jOly6yA&hl=en&ei=TXooS6P5OpXdlAeZv6ycDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false Hunter Baker, ''The End of Secularism'' ]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Secular&diff=985354Secular2012-06-10T00:59:04Z<p>JasonNYC: History section</p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''secular''' is generally used to mean "worldly, as differentiated from ecclesiastical." The term has changed meaning dramatically over time. Its original definition preserved its Latin meaning - "of an age" - as evinced in the ''Secular Games'', or the ''Carmen Secularae'' ("Song of the Augustan Age") by Horace.<br />
<br />
The term may be a euphemism used by [[atheists]], since atheism generally has negative associations in the [[United States]]. Atheism actually isn't secular (common mistake) because in a secular society everyone is considered to be legally equal no matter what they believe in or don't believe in. Atheism is a religious point of view that God(s) do not exist and is therefore not all inclusive.<br />
<br />
The United States was founded as a secular [[republic]], where religious freedom is affirmed in the Constitution and where no special religion is established. However, 'secular' here is ''not'' a synonym for 'atheistic' as secular society includes both Atheists and believers. Moreover, it is impossible to fully separate a legislative or educations system from moral beliefs and its sources, and the Bible overall was the primary foundational single source for America's principles and precepts. <br />
<br />
Hunter Baker in ''The End of Secularism'', distinguishes between pluralism and secularism, and argues that while the latter has rejected religious foundations of traditional morality, yet secularism itself is an ideology based upon certain philosophical foundations, with its own presuppositions. Rather than being the impartial referee it is promoted to be, when this becomes the orthodox ideology of a nation, it works toward censoring that which opposes it, stifling religious life and discourse.<br />
<br />
==Secular ethics==<br />
{{Main|Secular ethics|Secular religion}}<br />
<br />
[[George Holyoake]]'s 1896 publication ''English Secularism'' defines secularism as:<br />
<blockquote><br />
Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life, founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three: (1) The improvement of this life by material means. (2) That science is the available Providence of man. (3) That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good.<ref>Holyoake, George J. (1896). ''English Secularism.'' Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company.</ref></blockquote><br />
<br />
Holyoake held that secularism and [[secular ethics]] should take no interest at all in religious questions (as they were irrelevant), and was thus to be distinguished from strong [[freethought]] and atheism. In this he disagreed with [[Charles Bradlaugh]], and the disagreement split the secularist movement between those who argued that anti-religious movements and activism was not necessary or desirable and those who argued that it was.<br />
<br />
Contemporary ethical debate is often described as "secular", with the work of [[Derek Parfit]] and [[Peter Singer]], and even the whole field of contemporary bioethics, having been described or self-described as explicitly secular or non-religious.<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Clarendon Press |isbn = 0198246153 |publication-place = Oxford [Oxfordshire] |title = Reasons and persons |url = http://openlibrary.org/books/OL3172889M/Reasons_and_persons |author = Derek Parfit |publication-date = 1984 |id = 0198246153 }}</ref><ref>[[Brian Leiter]], "[http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/06/is-secular-moral-theory-really-relatively-young.html Is "Secular Moral Theory" Really Relatively Young?], ''Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog'', June 28, 2009.</ref><ref>[[Richard Dawkins]], "[http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=dawkins_18_2 When Religion Steps on Science's Turf: The Alleged Separation Between the Two Is Not So Tidy]", ''Free Inquiry'' vol. 18, no. 2.</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|16423736}}</ref><br />
<br />
==History of Secularism==<br />
The derivation of an ethical code from purely secular "worldly" concerns begins in Ancient Greece with the philosophical study of nature. The Hebrew term for ''nature'' is not found in the Bible.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LT1V8Xgz1EUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=hebrew&f=false|author=Leo Strauss|title=Natural Right and History|pate=80}}</ref> Hence, natural law, natural justice, and natural rights are Hellenic in origin. Greek and Roman philosophers, while not atheists, nevertheless built their ethnical philosophy from natural considerations.<br />
<br />
Christian theologians differed on their assessment of secular thought. [[Tertullian]] asks "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" On the other hand, [[Thomas Aquinas]] championed secular thought and provocatively starts the [[Summa Theologica]] with the question: "Whether, besides philosophy, any further doctrine is required?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1001.htm|title=Summa Theologica|author=Thomas Aquinas}}</ref> After Aquinas, a harmony between secular thought and religion was the rule until the 19th century. The notion of secularism being inherently anti-religious become the norm after the [[French Revolution]].<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Emmet Kennedy, "The Tangled History of Secularism," ''Modern Age'' (Winter 2000) Volume 42, Number 1; [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/42_01/kennedy.pdf online edition]<br />
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=FyAF86k-EV0C&dq=Hunter+Baker+in+The+End+of+Secularism,&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=A8mcvr9B5N&sig=C31Mrmu3gGtkLqHw5ZH_jOly6yA&hl=en&ei=TXooS6P5OpXdlAeZv6ycDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false Hunter Baker, ''The End of Secularism'' ]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Andrew_Jackson&diff=983894Andrew Jackson2012-05-31T15:04:13Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Soldier */ added link</p>
<hr />
<div>{{President<br />
|image=Andrew Jackson.jpg<br />
|seq=7<br />
|term_start=March 4, 1829<br />
|term_end=March 4, 1837<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/7th-us-president-andrew-jackson.htm</ref><br />
|party=Democratic<br />
|vp=John C. Calhoun<br />
|vp_dates=1829-1832<br />
|2vp=None<br />
|2vp_dates=1832-1833<br />
|3vp=Martin Van Buren<br />
|3vp_dates=1833-1837<br />
|previous=John Quincy Adams<br />
|next=Martin van Buren<br />
|birth_date=March 15, 1767<br />
|birth_place=Lancaster County, South Carolina<br />
|death_date=June 8, 1845<br />
|death_place=Nashville, Tennessee<br />
|spouse=Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson<br />
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Andrew Jackson''' was the 7th [[President of the United States of America]], elected as a hero after his military triumphs over the Creek Indians of the Southeast and the British at New Orleans in 1815. As President (1829-1837), he destroyed the Bank of the United States, relocated the remaining southeastern Indians, and built a new political coalition, the Democratic party. A self-made man, Indian fighter, war hero and a fighter (and duelist) who believed in action instead of words, he was the iconic Western folk hero. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" by his admirers, he typified popular democracy in the "Jacksonian Age" of the 1830s and 1840s, and became the leader of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. He was the founder of the [[Democratic Party]] and its hero because of his strong use of the federal government to bash conservatives and banks; the poor farmers and workers loved him because he embodied their hopes and fears, their passions and prejudices, their insight and ignorance, better than anyone. However liberals lost faith in Jackson when his harsh Indian policies became a negative in the 1960s. Jackson was a political enemy of the Evangelical Protestants of the day, who denounced his policies and supported the opposition [[Whig Party]].<br />
<br />
==Career==<br />
Born near the North/South Carolina border, Jackson studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Jackson was the first president who was not born in [[Virginia]] or [[Massachusetts]]. He fought at an early age in the battle of Stone Ferry during the [[American Revolution]] in 1780. As a teenaged volunteer in a local militia, Jackson refused an order by a British officer to polish his boots, and the officer angrily drew his sword and slashed Jackson across his hand and head with it, and imprisoned him. For the rest of his life Jackson loathed the British.<br />
<br />
===Tennessee Frontier===<br />
Jackson, John Sevier, and their allies were rich frontier lawyers and businessmen who used their vast land holdings to establish themselves as a political power in Tennessee. They allied themselves with the Jeffersonian Republicans, of the "Old Republican" faction that opposed strong national government. However, [[Thomas Jefferson]] and his circle strongly disliked and distrusted Jackson.<br />
<br />
Serving a term in the Senate, he alarmed Jefferson but otherwise made little mark. <br />
===Soldier===<br />
Jackson sought election as major general of the Tennessee militia partly to escape the circuit riding required while he was a superior court judge. As a military commander he proved himself a master tactician, a brilliant organizer, and effective motivator of men. He won all his major battles, including the decisive defeat of the cream of the British regular army.<br />
<br />
[[File:Aj-map1812.jpg|thumb|350px|Jackson's campaigns]]<br />
<br />
Jackson led two great victories in the [[War of 1812]]--the first against the "Red Stick" Creek Indian forces that had raided, raped and killed American settlers and assimilated Indians in what is now Alabama. Indians seldom fought pitched battles; they preferred the ambush. Jackson, aided by Cherokee allies, trapped the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in Alabama in March 1814, and killed over 800 enemy; the rest fled to Spanish Florida. (See [[Creek War]].)<br />
<br />
Jackson led a contingent of Tennessee and Kentucky militia who routed over 2,000 British troops in the [[Battle of New Orleans]] in Jan. 1815. The defeat ended British plans to turn the Mississippi Valley into a pro-British Indian nation. It was a great victory for Jackson and became source of enormous pride to all Americans.<ref> The battle happened after the peace treaty was signed, but before it was ratified and went into effect.</ref><br />
<br />
===Religion===<br />
Jackson attended a Presbyterian church from time to time, and his wife was a devout Baptist. Jackson had little sympathy for religion in the political sphere, unlike many of his opponents (the Anti-Masons and [[Whigs]]), who were building political coalitions using religious voting blocs during the [[Second Great Awakening]]. For example,Jackson insisted that the mail be delivered on Sundays, much to the anger of the evangelicals.<ref>Adam Jortner, "Cholera, Christ, and Jackson: The Epidemic of 1832 and the Origins of Christian Politics in Antebellum America," ''Journal of the Early Republic,'' Volume 27, Number 2, Summer 2007, pp. 233-264 in [[Project MUSE]]</ref><br />
<br />
==Presidential campaigns==<br />
His military success gave him tremendous popularity with the common man, and he ran for President in the [[United States presidential election, 1824|1824 Presidential Election]]. He won a plurality of the votes but no one got a majority and the election went into the House of Representatives, where they chose [[John Quincy Adams]] instead. At the next [[United States presidential election, 1828|Presidential Election in 1828]] Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams, and then Jackson won reelection in the [[United States presidential election, 1832|1832 Presidential Election]]. Jackson survived an assassination attempt in January 1835 when a deranged man fired two pistols at him at point blank range in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.<ref>[http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070130-richard-lawrence-andrew-jackson-assassination-warren-r-davis.shtml Trying to Assassinate President Jackson]</ref><br />
<br />
Although Jackson won the 1828 election against incumbent [[John Quincy Adams]] by capturing almost 56% of the popular vote, the campaign was marked by anti-Jackson rhetoric that centered on Rachel Jackson's previous marriage to Lewis Robards and the allegedly "illicit union to Jackson"--that is, bigamy. Jackson's supporters portrayed the Robards matter as a minor legal misunderstanding. Adams's supporters saw the incident as no less than long-term adultery by Andrew Jackson and portrayed Rachel Jackson as an immoral woman, implying the political dilemma that 'a vote for Jackson was a vote for sin.' The controversy paralleled a critical development in American politics. Expansion in voter participation, the growth of state political organizations, party loyalty, and the development of local campaign papers all led to the wide dissemination of scandal and fed 'the hunger of sensationalism.' To offset this, Jackson's supporters portrayed him as a brave soldier endowed with the virtues of manhood and the frontier spirit, placing him outside the usual social constraints.<ref> Norma Basch, "Marriage, Morals, and Politics in the Election of 1828." ''Journal of American History'' 1993 80(3): 890-918 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2080408 in JSTOR]</ref><br />
<br />
==Banks==<br />
Jackson was firmly opposed to a [[national bank]], and fought to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States. He vetoed Congress's bill to renew its charter, and began withdrawing money from it. He issued the [[Specie Circular]] in July 1836, which required land bought from the government to be paid for in [[specie]] (actual gold or silver coins), instead of bank notes. Most historians link this to the [[Panic of 1837]], which broke out weeks after after Jackson had left office and ruined the presidency of his successor, fellow Democrat [[Martin Van Buren]].<br />
<br />
===Indian Removal===<br />
Jackson, with the backing of Southern politicians, sought to abrogate the standing treaties with the [[Chickasaw]], [[Cherokee]], [[Seminole]], [[Creek]], and [[Choctaw]] nations by evicting them from the land they lived on and relocating them to Indian territory (in present-day [[Oklahoma]]). The idea was roundly decried as illegal and inhumane by evangelical Protestants, who had missionaries to the tribes, and by Whigs. Advocates of forced removal, mostly Democrats from the South, called removal a 'humane' and 'compassionate' move to assist a 'dying people.' The debate surrounding removal quickly became a North-South issue with Southern politicians calling their Northern counterparts 'demagogues' who sought 'to weaken the South' by allowing Indians to remain. In 1830, the resolution was approved by Congress and, assisted by Georgia state officials, Jackson began the process of evicting Native Americans. By 1835 the Cherokee, the last remaining Indian nation in the South, had signed the removal treaty and relocated to Oklahoma.<ref>Michael Morris, "Georgia and the Conversation over Indian Removal," ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2007 91(4): 403-423, in [[EBSCO]]</ref> <br />
<br />
Cave (2003) argues Jackson acted illegally in pressuring Indians to move west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for voluntary removal and included safeguards for Indian rights, but Jackson ignored and distorted the act to suit his purposes. The newly formed Whig Party actively opposed Jackson's policies, and congressional legislation dealing with Indian removal was hotly debated and passed only by narrow margins. Had Jackson followed the legal dictates of the 1830 act, he probably would not have achieved Indian removal, says Cave. However Remini (2001) argued that the worst Jackson could be accused of was carrying out what most southern whites wanted at the time.<ref>Robert Remini, ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)</ref><br />
<br />
<br />
===Democracy===<br />
see [[Jacksonian Democracy]]<br />
<br />
Jackson thought the voice of the people was supreme law. Although a man of powerful prejudices and passions, he identified with the voice of the people, and thought his election as president gave him the unique power to express that voice. His opponents misunderstood the voice and lacked the legitimate national base in any case. Thus Jackson denounced anyone who crossed him an enemy of the sovereign people. To fulfill this voice of the people in the political arena, he thought that the preservation of states' rights was an indispensable precondition to the achievement of people-oriented democracy. Although Jackson's record was erratic, when his presidency was done, federal authority was vastly weaker, and the states, for practical purposes, were much stronger than before, though as the Nullification crisis proved, he would not tolerate defiance.<br />
<br />
==Retirement and death==<br />
After honoring the precedent of [[George Washington]] to resign after serving two terms as President, Jackson then supported and advised many future candidates, most notably [[James K. Polk]]. <br />
<br />
Jackson died on June 8, 1845. <br />
<br />
Since 1928, Jackson's picture has appeared on the United States $20 bill - somewhat ironic given that Jackson opposed paper money, wanting the country to use [[specie]] (gold and silver) instead.<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
* Referring to the Bible: “That book, Sir, is the Rock upon which our republic rests.”<br />
==Further reading==<br />
===Biographies===<br />
* Brands, H. W. ''Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times'' (2005), scholarly biography emphasizing military career [http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-His-Life-Times/dp/1400030722/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Brustein, Andrew. ''The Passions of Andrew Jackson''. (2003). [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=180461058379340 online review by Donald B. Cole]<br />
* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on Jackson. [http://www.humanitiesebook.org/ online in ACLS e-books]<br />
* James, Marquis. ''The Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1938). Combines two books: ''The Border Captain'' and ''Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a President''; Pulitzer Prize for Biography; old fashioned action-packed narrative<br />
* Meacham, Jon. ''American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House'' (2009), [http://www.amazon.com/American-Lion-Andrew-Jackson-Notable/dp/0812973461/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Parton, James. ''Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1860). [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01632322&id=t-rhrBzV8rEC&printsec=titlepage Volume I], [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01632322&id=M9gNJq_KnC8C&printsec=titlepage Volume III].<br />
* Remini, Robert V. ''The Life of Andrew Jackson''. Abridgment of Remini's 3-volume standard scholarly biography, (1998)<br />
** ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821'' (1977); ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832'' (1981); ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845'' (1984)<br />
* Wilentz, Sean. ''Andrew Jackson'' (2005) short biography, stressing Indian removal and slavery issues [http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-Sean-Wilentz/dp/0805069259/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==Specialized Studies==<br />
* Doutrich, Paul E. ''Shapers of the Great Debate on Jacksonian Democracy: A Biographical Dictionary.'' (2004). 360 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Shapers-Great-Debate-Jacksonian-Democracy/dp/0313315760 online edition]<br />
* Gammon, Samuel Rhea. ''The Presidential Campaign of 1832'' (1922) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-presidential-campaign-of-1832-by-samuel-rhea-gammon.jsp online edition]<br />
* Feller, Daniel. "The Bank War," in Julian E. Zelizer, ed. ''The American Congress'' (2004), pp 93-111. <br />
* Hammond, Bray. "Jackson, Biddle, and the Bank of the United States," ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 7, No. 1 (May, 1947), pp. 1-23 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0507%28194705%297%3A1%3C1%3AJBATBO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6 at JSTOR]<br />
* Hammond, Bray. ''Banks and Politics in America from the Revolution to the Civil War'' (1957). Pulitzer prize winner; the standard history. Pro-Bank<br />
* Hammond, Bray. "The Second Bank of the United States. ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,'' New Ser., Vol. 43, No. 1 (1953), pp. 80-85 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0065-9746(1953)2%3A43%3A1%3C80%3ATSBOTU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C in JSTOR]<br />
* Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848'' (2007), outstanding survey of the era by conservative historian who dislikes Jackson; Pulitzer prize. [http://www.amazon.com/What-Hath-God-Wrought-Transformation/dp/0195392434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870831&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Latner Richard B. ''The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1820-1837'' (1979), standard survey.<br />
* Magliocca, Gerard N. ''Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes,'' (2007); 216 pages<br />
* Ogg, Frederic Austin ; ''The Reign of Andrew Jackson: A Chronicle of the Frontier in Politics'' 1919. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13009 short survey online at Gutenberg]<br />
* Patterson, Benton Rain. ''The Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to the Battle of New Orleans.'' (2005). 288 pp. <br />
* Ratner, Lorman A. ''Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture'' (1997) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=28026037 online edition]<br />
* Remini Robert V. ''Andrew Jackson and the Bank War: A Study in the Growth of Presidential Power'' (1967). Pro-Jackson.<br />
* Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. ''The Age of Jackson''. (1945). Winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize for History]]. history of ideas of the era; strongly pro-Jackson, who is seen as an anti-business model for [[FDR]]<br />
* Sellers, Charles. ''The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846.'' (1991) influential liberal interpretation; anti-business; refuted by Howe (2007) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59690282 online edition]<br />
* Syrett, Harold C. ''Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition'' (1953) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=978507 online edition]<br />
<br />
===Indian Wars and Removal===<br />
* Buchanan, John. ''Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters.'' (2001). 434 pp. [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=183801009567545 online review]<br />
* Cave, Alfred A. "Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830." ''Historian'' 2003 65(6): 1330-1353. Issn: 0018-2370 Fulltext: online at Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco <br />
* O'Brien, Sean Michael. ''In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles.'' (2003). 254 pp. <br />
* Remini, Robert V.. ''The Legacy of Andrew Jackson: Essays on Democracy, Indian Removal, and Slavery'' (1988)<br />
* Remini, Robert V. ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)<br />
* Remini, Robert V. "Andrew Jackson Versus the Cherokee Nation." ''American History'' 2001 36(3): 48-56. Issn: 1076-8866 Fulltext: in Ebsco <br />
* Rowland, Dunbar. ''Andrew Jackson's Campaign against the British, or, the Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, concerning the Military Operations of the Americans, Creek Indians, British, and Spanish, 1813-1815'' (1926) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77351727 online edition]<br />
* Satz, Ronald N. American Indian Policy in the Jacksonian Era.'' (1975)<br />
* Wallace, Anthony F.C. ''The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians'' (1993)<br />
<br />
===Primary sources===<br />
* Bassett John Spencer, ed. ''Correspondence of Andrew Jackson'' Vols. 1-6. (1926).<br />
* Smith Sam B., and Harriet Chappell Owsley, eds. ''Papers of Andrew Jackson'' . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, Vol. 1, 1980; Moser Harold D., Sharon MacPherson, and Charles F. Bryan Jr., eds. ''The Papers of Andrew Jackson''. Vols. 2-6. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002; the latest vol 6 goes to 1828. <br />
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/jackpap.htm online speeches and presidential messages]<br />
<br />
===Historiography===<br />
* Bugg Jr., James L. ed. ''Jacksonian Democracy: Myth or Reality?.'' (1962) debates among historians [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=875714 online edition]<br />
* Cave, Alfred A. ''Jacksonian Democracy and the Historians,'' U, of Florida Press, 1970 <br />
* Sellers, Jr. Charles Grier. "Andrew Jackson versus the Historians," ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 44, No. 4. (Mar., 1958), pp. 615-634. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0161-391X%28195803%2944%3A4%3C615%3AAJVTH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y in JSTOR]<br />
* Taylor, George Rogers, ed. ''Jackson Versus Biddle: The Struggle over the Second Bank of the United States'' (1949), excerpts from primary and secondary sources [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=960190 online edition]<br />
* Ward, John William. ''Andrew Jackson, Symbol for an Age'' (1962) how writers saw him [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98819205 online edition]<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
*[[Gallery of American Heroes]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
<br />
{{USPresidents}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Andrew}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:War of 1812]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Party]]<br />
[[Category:Florida Governors]]<br />
[[Category:American war heroes]]<br />
[[Category:Western United States]]<br />
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]<br />
[[Category:Republicanism]]<br />
[[Category:United States Army]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Wars]]<br />
[[category:Jacksonian Democracy]]<br />
[[Category:Irish-Americans]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Andrew_Jackson&diff=983893Andrew Jackson2012-05-31T14:57:09Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Soldier */ details to clarify</p>
<hr />
<div>{{President<br />
|image=Andrew Jackson.jpg<br />
|seq=7<br />
|term_start=March 4, 1829<br />
|term_end=March 4, 1837<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/7th-us-president-andrew-jackson.htm</ref><br />
|party=Democratic<br />
|vp=John C. Calhoun<br />
|vp_dates=1829-1832<br />
|2vp=None<br />
|2vp_dates=1832-1833<br />
|3vp=Martin Van Buren<br />
|3vp_dates=1833-1837<br />
|previous=John Quincy Adams<br />
|next=Martin van Buren<br />
|birth_date=March 15, 1767<br />
|birth_place=Lancaster County, South Carolina<br />
|death_date=June 8, 1845<br />
|death_place=Nashville, Tennessee<br />
|spouse=Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson<br />
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Andrew Jackson''' was the 7th [[President of the United States of America]], elected as a hero after his military triumphs over the Creek Indians of the Southeast and the British at New Orleans in 1815. As President (1829-1837), he destroyed the Bank of the United States, relocated the remaining southeastern Indians, and built a new political coalition, the Democratic party. A self-made man, Indian fighter, war hero and a fighter (and duelist) who believed in action instead of words, he was the iconic Western folk hero. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" by his admirers, he typified popular democracy in the "Jacksonian Age" of the 1830s and 1840s, and became the leader of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. He was the founder of the [[Democratic Party]] and its hero because of his strong use of the federal government to bash conservatives and banks; the poor farmers and workers loved him because he embodied their hopes and fears, their passions and prejudices, their insight and ignorance, better than anyone. However liberals lost faith in Jackson when his harsh Indian policies became a negative in the 1960s. Jackson was a political enemy of the Evangelical Protestants of the day, who denounced his policies and supported the opposition [[Whig Party]].<br />
<br />
==Career==<br />
Born near the North/South Carolina border, Jackson studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Jackson was the first president who was not born in [[Virginia]] or [[Massachusetts]]. He fought at an early age in the battle of Stone Ferry during the [[American Revolution]] in 1780. As a teenaged volunteer in a local militia, Jackson refused an order by a British officer to polish his boots, and the officer angrily drew his sword and slashed Jackson across his hand and head with it, and imprisoned him. For the rest of his life Jackson loathed the British.<br />
<br />
===Tennessee Frontier===<br />
Jackson, John Sevier, and their allies were rich frontier lawyers and businessmen who used their vast land holdings to establish themselves as a political power in Tennessee. They allied themselves with the Jeffersonian Republicans, of the "Old Republican" faction that opposed strong national government. However, [[Thomas Jefferson]] and his circle strongly disliked and distrusted Jackson.<br />
<br />
Serving a term in the Senate, he alarmed Jefferson but otherwise made little mark. <br />
===Soldier===<br />
Jackson sought election as major general of the Tennessee militia partly to escape the circuit riding required while he was a superior court judge. As a military commander he proved himself a master tactician, a brilliant organizer, and effective motivator of men. He won all his major battles, including the decisive defeat of the cream of the British regular army.<br />
<br />
[[File:Aj-map1812.jpg|thumb|350px|Jackson's campaigns]]<br />
<br />
Jackson led two great victories in the [[War of 1812]]--the first against the "Red Stick" Creek Indian forces that had raided, raped and killed American settlers and assimilated Indians in what is now Alabama. Indians seldom fought pitched battles; they preferred the ambush. Jackson, aided by Cherokee allies, trapped the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in Alabama in March 1814, and killed over 800 enemy; the rest fled to Spanish Florida.<br />
<br />
Jackson led a contingent of Tennessee and Kentucky militia who routed over 2,000 British troops in the [[Battle of New Orleans]] in Jan. 1815. The defeat ended British plans to turn the Mississippi Valley into a pro-British Indian nation. It was a great victory for Jackson and became source of enormous pride to all Americans.<ref> The battle happened after the peace treaty was signed, but before it was ratified and went into effect.</ref><br />
<br />
===Religion===<br />
Jackson attended a Presbyterian church from time to time, and his wife was a devout Baptist. Jackson had little sympathy for religion in the political sphere, unlike many of his opponents (the Anti-Masons and [[Whigs]]), who were building political coalitions using religious voting blocs during the [[Second Great Awakening]]. For example,Jackson insisted that the mail be delivered on Sundays, much to the anger of the evangelicals.<ref>Adam Jortner, "Cholera, Christ, and Jackson: The Epidemic of 1832 and the Origins of Christian Politics in Antebellum America," ''Journal of the Early Republic,'' Volume 27, Number 2, Summer 2007, pp. 233-264 in [[Project MUSE]]</ref><br />
<br />
==Presidential campaigns==<br />
His military success gave him tremendous popularity with the common man, and he ran for President in the [[United States presidential election, 1824|1824 Presidential Election]]. He won a plurality of the votes but no one got a majority and the election went into the House of Representatives, where they chose [[John Quincy Adams]] instead. At the next [[United States presidential election, 1828|Presidential Election in 1828]] Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams, and then Jackson won reelection in the [[United States presidential election, 1832|1832 Presidential Election]]. Jackson survived an assassination attempt in January 1835 when a deranged man fired two pistols at him at point blank range in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.<ref>[http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070130-richard-lawrence-andrew-jackson-assassination-warren-r-davis.shtml Trying to Assassinate President Jackson]</ref><br />
<br />
Although Jackson won the 1828 election against incumbent [[John Quincy Adams]] by capturing almost 56% of the popular vote, the campaign was marked by anti-Jackson rhetoric that centered on Rachel Jackson's previous marriage to Lewis Robards and the allegedly "illicit union to Jackson"--that is, bigamy. Jackson's supporters portrayed the Robards matter as a minor legal misunderstanding. Adams's supporters saw the incident as no less than long-term adultery by Andrew Jackson and portrayed Rachel Jackson as an immoral woman, implying the political dilemma that 'a vote for Jackson was a vote for sin.' The controversy paralleled a critical development in American politics. Expansion in voter participation, the growth of state political organizations, party loyalty, and the development of local campaign papers all led to the wide dissemination of scandal and fed 'the hunger of sensationalism.' To offset this, Jackson's supporters portrayed him as a brave soldier endowed with the virtues of manhood and the frontier spirit, placing him outside the usual social constraints.<ref> Norma Basch, "Marriage, Morals, and Politics in the Election of 1828." ''Journal of American History'' 1993 80(3): 890-918 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2080408 in JSTOR]</ref><br />
<br />
==Banks==<br />
Jackson was firmly opposed to a [[national bank]], and fought to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States. He vetoed Congress's bill to renew its charter, and began withdrawing money from it. He issued the [[Specie Circular]] in July 1836, which required land bought from the government to be paid for in [[specie]] (actual gold or silver coins), instead of bank notes. Most historians link this to the [[Panic of 1837]], which broke out weeks after after Jackson had left office and ruined the presidency of his successor, fellow Democrat [[Martin Van Buren]].<br />
<br />
===Indian Removal===<br />
Jackson, with the backing of Southern politicians, sought to abrogate the standing treaties with the [[Chickasaw]], [[Cherokee]], [[Seminole]], [[Creek]], and [[Choctaw]] nations by evicting them from the land they lived on and relocating them to Indian territory (in present-day [[Oklahoma]]). The idea was roundly decried as illegal and inhumane by evangelical Protestants, who had missionaries to the tribes, and by Whigs. Advocates of forced removal, mostly Democrats from the South, called removal a 'humane' and 'compassionate' move to assist a 'dying people.' The debate surrounding removal quickly became a North-South issue with Southern politicians calling their Northern counterparts 'demagogues' who sought 'to weaken the South' by allowing Indians to remain. In 1830, the resolution was approved by Congress and, assisted by Georgia state officials, Jackson began the process of evicting Native Americans. By 1835 the Cherokee, the last remaining Indian nation in the South, had signed the removal treaty and relocated to Oklahoma.<ref>Michael Morris, "Georgia and the Conversation over Indian Removal," ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2007 91(4): 403-423, in [[EBSCO]]</ref> <br />
<br />
Cave (2003) argues Jackson acted illegally in pressuring Indians to move west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for voluntary removal and included safeguards for Indian rights, but Jackson ignored and distorted the act to suit his purposes. The newly formed Whig Party actively opposed Jackson's policies, and congressional legislation dealing with Indian removal was hotly debated and passed only by narrow margins. Had Jackson followed the legal dictates of the 1830 act, he probably would not have achieved Indian removal, says Cave. However Remini (2001) argued that the worst Jackson could be accused of was carrying out what most southern whites wanted at the time.<ref>Robert Remini, ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)</ref><br />
<br />
<br />
===Democracy===<br />
see [[Jacksonian Democracy]]<br />
<br />
Jackson thought the voice of the people was supreme law. Although a man of powerful prejudices and passions, he identified with the voice of the people, and thought his election as president gave him the unique power to express that voice. His opponents misunderstood the voice and lacked the legitimate national base in any case. Thus Jackson denounced anyone who crossed him an enemy of the sovereign people. To fulfill this voice of the people in the political arena, he thought that the preservation of states' rights was an indispensable precondition to the achievement of people-oriented democracy. Although Jackson's record was erratic, when his presidency was done, federal authority was vastly weaker, and the states, for practical purposes, were much stronger than before, though as the Nullification crisis proved, he would not tolerate defiance.<br />
<br />
==Retirement and death==<br />
After honoring the precedent of [[George Washington]] to resign after serving two terms as President, Jackson then supported and advised many future candidates, most notably [[James K. Polk]]. <br />
<br />
Jackson died on June 8, 1845. <br />
<br />
Since 1928, Jackson's picture has appeared on the United States $20 bill - somewhat ironic given that Jackson opposed paper money, wanting the country to use [[specie]] (gold and silver) instead.<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
* Referring to the Bible: “That book, Sir, is the Rock upon which our republic rests.”<br />
==Further reading==<br />
===Biographies===<br />
* Brands, H. W. ''Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times'' (2005), scholarly biography emphasizing military career [http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-His-Life-Times/dp/1400030722/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Brustein, Andrew. ''The Passions of Andrew Jackson''. (2003). [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=180461058379340 online review by Donald B. Cole]<br />
* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on Jackson. [http://www.humanitiesebook.org/ online in ACLS e-books]<br />
* James, Marquis. ''The Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1938). Combines two books: ''The Border Captain'' and ''Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a President''; Pulitzer Prize for Biography; old fashioned action-packed narrative<br />
* Meacham, Jon. ''American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House'' (2009), [http://www.amazon.com/American-Lion-Andrew-Jackson-Notable/dp/0812973461/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Parton, James. ''Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1860). [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01632322&id=t-rhrBzV8rEC&printsec=titlepage Volume I], [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01632322&id=M9gNJq_KnC8C&printsec=titlepage Volume III].<br />
* Remini, Robert V. ''The Life of Andrew Jackson''. Abridgment of Remini's 3-volume standard scholarly biography, (1998)<br />
** ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821'' (1977); ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832'' (1981); ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845'' (1984)<br />
* Wilentz, Sean. ''Andrew Jackson'' (2005) short biography, stressing Indian removal and slavery issues [http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-Sean-Wilentz/dp/0805069259/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==Specialized Studies==<br />
* Doutrich, Paul E. ''Shapers of the Great Debate on Jacksonian Democracy: A Biographical Dictionary.'' (2004). 360 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Shapers-Great-Debate-Jacksonian-Democracy/dp/0313315760 online edition]<br />
* Gammon, Samuel Rhea. ''The Presidential Campaign of 1832'' (1922) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-presidential-campaign-of-1832-by-samuel-rhea-gammon.jsp online edition]<br />
* Feller, Daniel. "The Bank War," in Julian E. Zelizer, ed. ''The American Congress'' (2004), pp 93-111. <br />
* Hammond, Bray. "Jackson, Biddle, and the Bank of the United States," ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 7, No. 1 (May, 1947), pp. 1-23 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0507%28194705%297%3A1%3C1%3AJBATBO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6 at JSTOR]<br />
* Hammond, Bray. ''Banks and Politics in America from the Revolution to the Civil War'' (1957). Pulitzer prize winner; the standard history. Pro-Bank<br />
* Hammond, Bray. "The Second Bank of the United States. ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,'' New Ser., Vol. 43, No. 1 (1953), pp. 80-85 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0065-9746(1953)2%3A43%3A1%3C80%3ATSBOTU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C in JSTOR]<br />
* Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848'' (2007), outstanding survey of the era by conservative historian who dislikes Jackson; Pulitzer prize. [http://www.amazon.com/What-Hath-God-Wrought-Transformation/dp/0195392434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870831&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Latner Richard B. ''The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1820-1837'' (1979), standard survey.<br />
* Magliocca, Gerard N. ''Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes,'' (2007); 216 pages<br />
* Ogg, Frederic Austin ; ''The Reign of Andrew Jackson: A Chronicle of the Frontier in Politics'' 1919. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13009 short survey online at Gutenberg]<br />
* Patterson, Benton Rain. ''The Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to the Battle of New Orleans.'' (2005). 288 pp. <br />
* Ratner, Lorman A. ''Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture'' (1997) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=28026037 online edition]<br />
* Remini Robert V. ''Andrew Jackson and the Bank War: A Study in the Growth of Presidential Power'' (1967). Pro-Jackson.<br />
* Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. ''The Age of Jackson''. (1945). Winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize for History]]. history of ideas of the era; strongly pro-Jackson, who is seen as an anti-business model for [[FDR]]<br />
* Sellers, Charles. ''The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846.'' (1991) influential liberal interpretation; anti-business; refuted by Howe (2007) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59690282 online edition]<br />
* Syrett, Harold C. ''Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition'' (1953) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=978507 online edition]<br />
<br />
===Indian Wars and Removal===<br />
* Buchanan, John. ''Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters.'' (2001). 434 pp. [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=183801009567545 online review]<br />
* Cave, Alfred A. "Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830." ''Historian'' 2003 65(6): 1330-1353. Issn: 0018-2370 Fulltext: online at Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco <br />
* O'Brien, Sean Michael. ''In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles.'' (2003). 254 pp. <br />
* Remini, Robert V.. ''The Legacy of Andrew Jackson: Essays on Democracy, Indian Removal, and Slavery'' (1988)<br />
* Remini, Robert V. ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)<br />
* Remini, Robert V. "Andrew Jackson Versus the Cherokee Nation." ''American History'' 2001 36(3): 48-56. Issn: 1076-8866 Fulltext: in Ebsco <br />
* Rowland, Dunbar. ''Andrew Jackson's Campaign against the British, or, the Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, concerning the Military Operations of the Americans, Creek Indians, British, and Spanish, 1813-1815'' (1926) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77351727 online edition]<br />
* Satz, Ronald N. American Indian Policy in the Jacksonian Era.'' (1975)<br />
* Wallace, Anthony F.C. ''The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians'' (1993)<br />
<br />
===Primary sources===<br />
* Bassett John Spencer, ed. ''Correspondence of Andrew Jackson'' Vols. 1-6. (1926).<br />
* Smith Sam B., and Harriet Chappell Owsley, eds. ''Papers of Andrew Jackson'' . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, Vol. 1, 1980; Moser Harold D., Sharon MacPherson, and Charles F. Bryan Jr., eds. ''The Papers of Andrew Jackson''. Vols. 2-6. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002; the latest vol 6 goes to 1828. <br />
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/jackpap.htm online speeches and presidential messages]<br />
<br />
===Historiography===<br />
* Bugg Jr., James L. ed. ''Jacksonian Democracy: Myth or Reality?.'' (1962) debates among historians [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=875714 online edition]<br />
* Cave, Alfred A. ''Jacksonian Democracy and the Historians,'' U, of Florida Press, 1970 <br />
* Sellers, Jr. Charles Grier. "Andrew Jackson versus the Historians," ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 44, No. 4. (Mar., 1958), pp. 615-634. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0161-391X%28195803%2944%3A4%3C615%3AAJVTH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y in JSTOR]<br />
* Taylor, George Rogers, ed. ''Jackson Versus Biddle: The Struggle over the Second Bank of the United States'' (1949), excerpts from primary and secondary sources [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=960190 online edition]<br />
* Ward, John William. ''Andrew Jackson, Symbol for an Age'' (1962) how writers saw him [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98819205 online edition]<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
*[[Gallery of American Heroes]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
<br />
{{USPresidents}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Andrew}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:War of 1812]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Party]]<br />
[[Category:Florida Governors]]<br />
[[Category:American war heroes]]<br />
[[Category:Western United States]]<br />
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]<br />
[[Category:Republicanism]]<br />
[[Category:United States Army]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Wars]]<br />
[[category:Jacksonian Democracy]]<br />
[[Category:Irish-Americans]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Arab_American&diff=983862Talk:Arab American2012-05-31T01:53:08Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Myths about Muslims in America? */</p>
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<div>We are not going to create a crisis where there is none. If you believe the 15% increase in reported cases is significant, then get data showing the numbers. I think you will find it amounts to 10 or 15 more complaints. If you have information to the contrary, then we will consider it then, but it is not our intention to parrot articles targeting how horrible America is when our country responded with incredible tolerance and should be praised. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:33, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
:I think we should report the data and not our (or in this case: ''your personal'') interpretation of said data. Saying that the increase in violence was 15% in one year is encyclopedic style. Removing said data and inserting "Incidents of harassment were up slightly from year to year" is personal interpretation and too vague.<br />
:Additionally, your other sentence is purely unencyclopedic:<br />
::''After the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, Arab-Americans braced for the worst, but thankfully the fears of heavy reprisals did not come as the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame.''<br />
:Let's see... The '''horrible''' events! But '''thankfully''' the fears of '''heavy''' reprisal <small>(what is light reprisal, what is heavy?)</small> did not come! ...wait, what? The fears did not come? I think you wanted to say that the heavy reprisal did not come or that the fears did not come true (not that you supplied with a source for either claim), and as the article pointed out, there was a 15% increase in violence. If you think that's insignificant, that's a fairly bold position, and you better justify it with some hard data. If it was an increase from 20 to 23 cases, we could talk, but I somehow don't think we're talking about such small scales here. Until you provide proof for the insignificance of hard numbers, the hard numbers are more trustworthy than your opinion. And lastly, the '''vast majority''' of America realized they were not to blame... awwwwwww... too bad you failed to provide a source for your truly heartwarming tale. From what I remember and saw, things had been fairly tense, and opinions in America ranged from "We should not act hastily" to "Everybody looking anything like an Arab is the enemy". So making such bold claims about the "vast majority" of such a widely diverse and torn group ''really'' needs a trustworthy citation.<br />
:Your edit might be suitable for an opinion column, but an encyclopedia should stick to the facts and to hard numbers. Opinions and consciously vague and uncited claims do not belong into the article. --[[User:JamesM|JamesM]] 18:41, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::Provide numbers and we'll talk. Until then you're swinging in the breeze. I've seen general numbers on hate crimes and Arabs have been a very small part of that. 300 million people in America caused how many Arab deaths? It's not hard to do the math. Compare that to the countries they came from. Think they were used to enduring a little bit more? When Americans respond in a favorable way, we don't think it's necessary to spin it into a negative. Go somewhere else for that. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 19:03, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::From a 2005 article, "At the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, about 980 charges alleging post-9/11 backlash discrimination have been filed through June 11 since the 2001 attacks. Most involved firing and alleged harassment; the EEOC specifically tracks "backlash" cases, where employees claim discrimination relating to 9/11.<br />
<br />
:::Likewise, religious bias charges are higher today than before 9/11. From Sept. 11, 2001, through June 11, the EEOC received 2,168 charges of discrimination based on an employee's Muslim religion. That compares with 1,104 such charges in the same time span before the attacks." --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 19:08, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:(reply to "Learn together", choosing different indent level than the reply above) .......................wow. I'm absolutely horrified by the insane hoops I need to go through just to show that hard numbers are better than your whitewashed and completely uncited fairytale. Not even to mention that you really try to play down anti-Arab-American violence in any way possible (ratio of dead Arabs per US citizen, claiming how they're still better off in the US and apparently shouldn't complain about a rise in violence). Yeah, whatever then. One would think that the burden of proof would be on the guy who makes up vague claims and removes hard numbers, but your reply reads as if I'm the one making uncited opinion claims. But I guess you're the sysop (for whatever reason), so I'm wrong until I can fulfill your absolutely arbitrary requirements - even if my edit had facts and sources and yours didn't. I think I'll really consider going somewhere else if that's how this site works. --[[User:JamesM|JamesM]] 19:17, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::I'm removing the whitewash. Bye Bye -- If you can't see that America did a good job in the post 9/11 world, that's your concern. As for here, we'll stay with reality. I could see why you didn't want to post the numbers though. 140 extra issues per year, with a 15% increase would mean 20 extra issues over what was previously reported. In a nation of 300 million there was actually more than 1 extra case per month! Obviously a cause for great alarm! ;-) [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 02:40, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::According to the article above, LT, in the time period from 9/11/01-7/11/05 there was a nearly 100% increase in the reports of employee discrimination based on religion from the same time period before 9/11. --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 11:09, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Learn Together,<br />
::::If he has numbers, than you should look at them. Also, He did nothing to deserve getting blocked. You can't just block anyone who disagrees with you. We don't (supposedly) do ideological blocks here. <br />
::::To the other guys,<br />
::::Could you please provide a source for your numbers?<br />
::::--[[User:CPAdmin1|Tim]] <small>(CPAdmin1)</small><sup>[[User talk:CPAdmin1|talk]]</sup> <sup>[[User:CPAdmin1/Polls|Vote in my NEW polls]]</sup> 11:18, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Mine was from a USA Today article, but I've actually got better statistics that I'm going to be posting in the article now, from the U.S. Department of Justice. We're not talking a 15% increase, but a 1600% increase from 2000-2001.--[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 11:21, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::Arab American <> Islam. . [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:05, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::''Most Arabs are Christian.'' - > Do you mean Arab Americans? either way, do you have a source? [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:08, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::I believe it was Newsweek. But aren't you ignoring what was stated above? Or do you believe they are synonymous? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:12, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::::::No, of course Arab and Muslim are not synonymous. After all, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, as everybody knows, and there are many Coptic and other Orthodox (and atheist) Arabs. But I'd be pretty surprised to find out that most Arabs are Christian, so let us know where that comes from.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:22, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::We were dealing with Arabs in America. Are there any other semantic tangents you need to go off on? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:49, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::::::If we're "dealing with Arabs in America" then you could have been more specific than to write "Most Arabs are Christian." [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:52, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Myths about Muslims in America? ==<br />
<br />
Why is this in an article about Arab-Americans? The majority of Arab-Americans are Christian. Also, most Muslims aren't Arab. {{unsigned|JasonNYC}}<br />
<br />
:I am for deleting the section about myths.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 14:54, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: I see nothing wrong in it! --[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 16:28, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::I was hoping you'd comment since I know you worked hard on this article. The question isn't it's accuracy but whether this is the proper place for such a section. That article is about Arab-Americans, the majority of which are Christian. The section concerns myths about Muslims or more exactly Muslim-Americans (many of whom aren't Arab). For example, the claim that there were Muslims in America before the formation of the USA. Looking at the reference, Rauf is talking about the fact that some black slaves were Muslim. We aren't even talking about Arab or Arab-Americans anymore. I think there is a general confusion about Arabs and Muslims in many people mind. Some don't realize that these two groups aren't the same. Putting this section in this article continues the confusion. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 17:00, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::: Indeed, that is the point. It is necesary because there is a confusion about Arabs and Muslims. Instead of moving out that section perhaps it will be useful to explain what you have explained before. How about that? --[[User:JMR10|Joaquín Martínez]] 21:45, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Yes, that's a good idea. The article does say that 75% of Arab-Americans are Christian. Perhaps a paragraph explaining the confusing in many people's mind between Arab and Muslim. That might lead to a link to [[Muslim American]] which, when it is created, might be a better place for the two sections on Muslims that are in this article. What do you think? [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 21:53, 30 May 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Arab_American&diff=983857Arab American2012-05-30T22:00:04Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Influential Arab Americans */ John Zogby</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Arab demographics.jpg|right|Arab-American demographics]]<br />
<br />
'''Arab-Americans''' are [[Americans]] of [[Arab]] ancestry. Over 4 million Americans trace their ancestry to Arab countries, and the vast majority are citizens of the [[United States]]. Over 75% are [[Christians]], many having escaped religious persecution in their homelands. Today, one-third of Arab-Americans live in [[California]], [[New York]], and [[Michigan]]. They are better-educated than the average American. The average Arab-American entrepreneur may have a higher personal and household income than a non-Arab-American counterpart in most regions of the United States. <ref>[http://www.aafusa.org/arabamericans_welleducated.htm Arab American demographics]</ref><br />
The overall U.S. population grew by 13% in the 1990s, while the Arab-American increased by 38%.<br />
<br />
A majority of Arab-Americans, around 62%, originate from [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]] and [[Jordan]]. <br />
==Politics==<br />
Prominent Arab Americans in politics include:<br />
* John H. Sununu (1939- ), Governor of New Hampshire (1983-1989) and White House Chief of Staff for George H. W. Bush (1989-1991); Roman Catholic<br />
* John E. Sununu (1964- ), his son, Republican Congressman (1996-2002) from New Hampshire and U.S. Senator (2002-2008); Roman Catholic <br />
* Spencer Abraham (1952- ), Republican Senator from Michigan (1994-2000), Secretary of Energy under George W. Bush (2001-5), Eastern Orthodox <br />
* James Abdnor (1923- ), Republican Representative from South Dakota (1972-80) and Senator (1980-86); Syrian Orthodox <br />
<br />
[[Image:Arab-american girl.jpg]]<br />
<br />
==9-11==<br />
After the horrible events of [[9/11|Sept. 11, 2001]], Arab-Americans braced for the worst, but thankfully the fears of heavy reprisals did not come as the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame. 326 incidents that were believed to be 'hate based' were recorded across the country in the first month after the attack - a large increase from the 20 or so normally expected<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73493643238943&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=1549ce5e,98e1d7a9&FORM=CVRE2</ref>, but still relatively small in comparison to the population size. Volume dropped substantially after that so that the last 10 months of the year combined actually had far fewer incidents than the first two months after the attack.<ref>http://www.adc.org/hatecrimes/pdf/2003_report_web.pdf</ref> The worst had passed.<br />
<br />
As with many groups, Arab-Americans band together to make sure their concerns are heard. Organizations like the "American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee" seek to make sure American [[civil rights]] continue to be extended to people of Arab heritage<ref>[http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=119 What is ADC?]</ref><br />
<br />
== Extremism ==<br />
<br />
It is said that American Muslim reject extremism and that this community is a valued partner in countering extremism. <br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
American Muslims are as concerned about extremism and terrorism as other citizens. Their families and friends in "the old country" have been the primary victims of terrorist attacks. Like other Americans, Muslims were also victims; they too lost loved ones and friends in the 9/11 attacks. [[John L Esposito]] <ref> [http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/2009121784234277996.html Muslims part of US social fabric.] By [[John L Esposito]] (professor at Georgetown University.) </ref><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Influential Arab Americans ==<br />
<br />
* Khalil Gibran known as Gibran Khalil Gibran.<br />
* Ameen Rihani, author of ''The Book of Khalid''.<br />
* William Peter Blatty, author of ''The Exorcist'', son of Lebanese parents.<br />
* Alec E. Gores, businessman, Forbes list of billionaires. <br />
* Steve Jobs, businessman, Apple. <br />
* Ralph Nader, presidential candidate of Lebanese parents.<br />
* Ray LaHood, Congressman (R-Ill.) and U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2009– ) of Lebanese and Jordanian ancestry.<br />
* Frank Zappa, musician.<br />
* Emilio Estefan, composer.<br />
* Paul Anka, singer, composer.<br />
* Donna Shalala, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993–2001).<br />
* Mostafa El-Sayed, US National Medal of Science laureate.<br />
* Joseph Farah, author, publisher of [[WorldNetDaily]]<br />
* Casey Kasem, radio personality.<br />
* John Zogby, pollster<br />
<br />
== Myths about Muslims in America ==<br />
<br />
* American Muslims are foreigners: Islam was in America even before there was a United States.<br />
* American Muslims are ethnically, culturally and politically monolithic: The American Muslim community is the most diverse Muslim community in the world.<br />
* American Muslims oppress women: Muslim American women are not only more educated than Muslim women in Western Europe, but are also more educated than the average American. U.S. Muslim women report incomes closer to their male counterparts than American women of any other religion. <br />
* American Muslims often become “homegrown” terrorists: The largest single source of initial information on planned terrorist attacks by Muslims in the United States was the Muslim American community. ''Many (Millions) American Muslims are peaceful and define jihad primarily as an internal struggle to improve.'' (Marvin Olasky).<br />
* American Muslims want to bring sharia law to the United States: Muslim jurists agree on the principal objectives of sharia: the protection and promotion of life, religion, intellect, property, family and dignity. None of this includes turning the United States into a caliphate. <ref> [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-muslims-in-america/2011/03/30/AFePWOIC_story.html Five myths about Muslims in America.] Reisal Abdul Rauf. </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
<br />
*[[Ethnic Groups Gallery]]<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
[[File:Islamic mosque Dearborn Michigan.jpg|thumb|280px|Islamic mosque, Dearborn, Michigan.]]<br />
*[http://www.ncusar.org/ National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.]<br />
*[http://www.allied-media.com/Arab-American/Arab_Organizations.htm National Arab American Organizations]<br />
*[http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/ Arab American National Museum]<br />
*[http://www.aauj.edu/AAUJ_site/index.php The Arab American University]<br />
*[http://www.aafusa.org/ American Arab Forum]<br />
*[http://www.aaiusa.org/ Arab American Institute]<br />
*[http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/ The Arab-American News]<br />
*[http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/12/with_holidays_a_vow_for_better_jewish_muslim_relations/ A vow for better Jewish, Muslim relations in US]<br />
*[http://www.arabcenter.net/ Arab Center of Washington]<br />
*[http://bsimmons.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/american-muslims-ready-to-attack-usa/ American Muslims Ready to Attack USA?] by [[Sher Zieve]].<br />
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/politics/glossary-of-islamic-terms/2011/06/07/AGwm2oQH_story.html Glossary of Islamic terms.]<br />
*[http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NachrichtenHeute/tabid/178/nid/22844/language/en-US/Default.aspx Obama's Plan to Islamicize America.]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[Category:Ethnicities]]<br />
[[Category:Muslims]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Arab_American&diff=983855Talk:Arab American2012-05-30T21:00:01Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Myths about Muslims in America? */ two groups aren't the same</p>
<hr />
<div>We are not going to create a crisis where there is none. If you believe the 15% increase in reported cases is significant, then get data showing the numbers. I think you will find it amounts to 10 or 15 more complaints. If you have information to the contrary, then we will consider it then, but it is not our intention to parrot articles targeting how horrible America is when our country responded with incredible tolerance and should be praised. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:33, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
:I think we should report the data and not our (or in this case: ''your personal'') interpretation of said data. Saying that the increase in violence was 15% in one year is encyclopedic style. Removing said data and inserting "Incidents of harassment were up slightly from year to year" is personal interpretation and too vague.<br />
:Additionally, your other sentence is purely unencyclopedic:<br />
::''After the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, Arab-Americans braced for the worst, but thankfully the fears of heavy reprisals did not come as the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame.''<br />
:Let's see... The '''horrible''' events! But '''thankfully''' the fears of '''heavy''' reprisal <small>(what is light reprisal, what is heavy?)</small> did not come! ...wait, what? The fears did not come? I think you wanted to say that the heavy reprisal did not come or that the fears did not come true (not that you supplied with a source for either claim), and as the article pointed out, there was a 15% increase in violence. If you think that's insignificant, that's a fairly bold position, and you better justify it with some hard data. If it was an increase from 20 to 23 cases, we could talk, but I somehow don't think we're talking about such small scales here. Until you provide proof for the insignificance of hard numbers, the hard numbers are more trustworthy than your opinion. And lastly, the '''vast majority''' of America realized they were not to blame... awwwwwww... too bad you failed to provide a source for your truly heartwarming tale. From what I remember and saw, things had been fairly tense, and opinions in America ranged from "We should not act hastily" to "Everybody looking anything like an Arab is the enemy". So making such bold claims about the "vast majority" of such a widely diverse and torn group ''really'' needs a trustworthy citation.<br />
:Your edit might be suitable for an opinion column, but an encyclopedia should stick to the facts and to hard numbers. Opinions and consciously vague and uncited claims do not belong into the article. --[[User:JamesM|JamesM]] 18:41, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::Provide numbers and we'll talk. Until then you're swinging in the breeze. I've seen general numbers on hate crimes and Arabs have been a very small part of that. 300 million people in America caused how many Arab deaths? It's not hard to do the math. Compare that to the countries they came from. Think they were used to enduring a little bit more? When Americans respond in a favorable way, we don't think it's necessary to spin it into a negative. Go somewhere else for that. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 19:03, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::From a 2005 article, "At the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, about 980 charges alleging post-9/11 backlash discrimination have been filed through June 11 since the 2001 attacks. Most involved firing and alleged harassment; the EEOC specifically tracks "backlash" cases, where employees claim discrimination relating to 9/11.<br />
<br />
:::Likewise, religious bias charges are higher today than before 9/11. From Sept. 11, 2001, through June 11, the EEOC received 2,168 charges of discrimination based on an employee's Muslim religion. That compares with 1,104 such charges in the same time span before the attacks." --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 19:08, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:(reply to "Learn together", choosing different indent level than the reply above) .......................wow. I'm absolutely horrified by the insane hoops I need to go through just to show that hard numbers are better than your whitewashed and completely uncited fairytale. Not even to mention that you really try to play down anti-Arab-American violence in any way possible (ratio of dead Arabs per US citizen, claiming how they're still better off in the US and apparently shouldn't complain about a rise in violence). Yeah, whatever then. One would think that the burden of proof would be on the guy who makes up vague claims and removes hard numbers, but your reply reads as if I'm the one making uncited opinion claims. But I guess you're the sysop (for whatever reason), so I'm wrong until I can fulfill your absolutely arbitrary requirements - even if my edit had facts and sources and yours didn't. I think I'll really consider going somewhere else if that's how this site works. --[[User:JamesM|JamesM]] 19:17, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::I'm removing the whitewash. Bye Bye -- If you can't see that America did a good job in the post 9/11 world, that's your concern. As for here, we'll stay with reality. I could see why you didn't want to post the numbers though. 140 extra issues per year, with a 15% increase would mean 20 extra issues over what was previously reported. In a nation of 300 million there was actually more than 1 extra case per month! Obviously a cause for great alarm! ;-) [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 02:40, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::According to the article above, LT, in the time period from 9/11/01-7/11/05 there was a nearly 100% increase in the reports of employee discrimination based on religion from the same time period before 9/11. --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 11:09, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Learn Together,<br />
::::If he has numbers, than you should look at them. Also, He did nothing to deserve getting blocked. You can't just block anyone who disagrees with you. We don't (supposedly) do ideological blocks here. <br />
::::To the other guys,<br />
::::Could you please provide a source for your numbers?<br />
::::--[[User:CPAdmin1|Tim]] <small>(CPAdmin1)</small><sup>[[User talk:CPAdmin1|talk]]</sup> <sup>[[User:CPAdmin1/Polls|Vote in my NEW polls]]</sup> 11:18, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Mine was from a USA Today article, but I've actually got better statistics that I'm going to be posting in the article now, from the U.S. Department of Justice. We're not talking a 15% increase, but a 1600% increase from 2000-2001.--[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 11:21, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::Arab American <> Islam. . [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:05, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::''Most Arabs are Christian.'' - > Do you mean Arab Americans? either way, do you have a source? [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:08, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::I believe it was Newsweek. But aren't you ignoring what was stated above? Or do you believe they are synonymous? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:12, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::::::No, of course Arab and Muslim are not synonymous. After all, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, as everybody knows, and there are many Coptic and other Orthodox (and atheist) Arabs. But I'd be pretty surprised to find out that most Arabs are Christian, so let us know where that comes from.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:22, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::We were dealing with Arabs in America. Are there any other semantic tangents you need to go off on? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:49, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::::::If we're "dealing with Arabs in America" then you could have been more specific than to write "Most Arabs are Christian." [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:52, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Myths about Muslims in America? ==<br />
<br />
Why is this in an article about Arab-Americans? The majority of Arab-Americans are Christian. Also, most Muslims aren't Arab. {{unsigned|JasonNYC}}<br />
<br />
:I am for deleting the section about myths.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 14:54, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: I see nothing wrong in it! --[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 16:28, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::I was hoping you'd comment since I know you worked hard on this article. The question isn't it's accuracy but whether this is the proper place for such a section. That article is about Arab-Americans, the majority of which are Christian. The section concerns myths about Muslims or more exactly Muslim-Americans (many of whom aren't Arab). For example, the claim that there were Muslims in America before the formation of the USA. Looking at the reference, Rauf is talking about the fact that some black slaves were Muslim. We aren't even talking about Arab or Arab-Americans anymore. I think there is a general confusion about Arabs and Muslims in many people mind. Some don't realize that these two groups aren't the same. Putting this section in this article continues the confusion. [[User:JasonNYC|JasonNYC]] 17:00, 30 May 2012 (EDT)</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Arab_American&diff=983833Talk:Arab American2012-05-30T18:42:34Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Myths about Muslims in America? */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div>We are not going to create a crisis where there is none. If you believe the 15% increase in reported cases is significant, then get data showing the numbers. I think you will find it amounts to 10 or 15 more complaints. If you have information to the contrary, then we will consider it then, but it is not our intention to parrot articles targeting how horrible America is when our country responded with incredible tolerance and should be praised. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:33, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
:I think we should report the data and not our (or in this case: ''your personal'') interpretation of said data. Saying that the increase in violence was 15% in one year is encyclopedic style. Removing said data and inserting "Incidents of harassment were up slightly from year to year" is personal interpretation and too vague.<br />
:Additionally, your other sentence is purely unencyclopedic:<br />
::''After the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, Arab-Americans braced for the worst, but thankfully the fears of heavy reprisals did not come as the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame.''<br />
:Let's see... The '''horrible''' events! But '''thankfully''' the fears of '''heavy''' reprisal <small>(what is light reprisal, what is heavy?)</small> did not come! ...wait, what? The fears did not come? I think you wanted to say that the heavy reprisal did not come or that the fears did not come true (not that you supplied with a source for either claim), and as the article pointed out, there was a 15% increase in violence. If you think that's insignificant, that's a fairly bold position, and you better justify it with some hard data. If it was an increase from 20 to 23 cases, we could talk, but I somehow don't think we're talking about such small scales here. Until you provide proof for the insignificance of hard numbers, the hard numbers are more trustworthy than your opinion. And lastly, the '''vast majority''' of America realized they were not to blame... awwwwwww... too bad you failed to provide a source for your truly heartwarming tale. From what I remember and saw, things had been fairly tense, and opinions in America ranged from "We should not act hastily" to "Everybody looking anything like an Arab is the enemy". So making such bold claims about the "vast majority" of such a widely diverse and torn group ''really'' needs a trustworthy citation.<br />
:Your edit might be suitable for an opinion column, but an encyclopedia should stick to the facts and to hard numbers. Opinions and consciously vague and uncited claims do not belong into the article. --[[User:JamesM|JamesM]] 18:41, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::Provide numbers and we'll talk. Until then you're swinging in the breeze. I've seen general numbers on hate crimes and Arabs have been a very small part of that. 300 million people in America caused how many Arab deaths? It's not hard to do the math. Compare that to the countries they came from. Think they were used to enduring a little bit more? When Americans respond in a favorable way, we don't think it's necessary to spin it into a negative. Go somewhere else for that. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 19:03, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::From a 2005 article, "At the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, about 980 charges alleging post-9/11 backlash discrimination have been filed through June 11 since the 2001 attacks. Most involved firing and alleged harassment; the EEOC specifically tracks "backlash" cases, where employees claim discrimination relating to 9/11.<br />
<br />
:::Likewise, religious bias charges are higher today than before 9/11. From Sept. 11, 2001, through June 11, the EEOC received 2,168 charges of discrimination based on an employee's Muslim religion. That compares with 1,104 such charges in the same time span before the attacks." --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 19:08, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:(reply to "Learn together", choosing different indent level than the reply above) .......................wow. I'm absolutely horrified by the insane hoops I need to go through just to show that hard numbers are better than your whitewashed and completely uncited fairytale. Not even to mention that you really try to play down anti-Arab-American violence in any way possible (ratio of dead Arabs per US citizen, claiming how they're still better off in the US and apparently shouldn't complain about a rise in violence). Yeah, whatever then. One would think that the burden of proof would be on the guy who makes up vague claims and removes hard numbers, but your reply reads as if I'm the one making uncited opinion claims. But I guess you're the sysop (for whatever reason), so I'm wrong until I can fulfill your absolutely arbitrary requirements - even if my edit had facts and sources and yours didn't. I think I'll really consider going somewhere else if that's how this site works. --[[User:JamesM|JamesM]] 19:17, 11 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::I'm removing the whitewash. Bye Bye -- If you can't see that America did a good job in the post 9/11 world, that's your concern. As for here, we'll stay with reality. I could see why you didn't want to post the numbers though. 140 extra issues per year, with a 15% increase would mean 20 extra issues over what was previously reported. In a nation of 300 million there was actually more than 1 extra case per month! Obviously a cause for great alarm! ;-) [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 02:40, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::According to the article above, LT, in the time period from 9/11/01-7/11/05 there was a nearly 100% increase in the reports of employee discrimination based on religion from the same time period before 9/11. --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 11:09, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Learn Together,<br />
::::If he has numbers, than you should look at them. Also, He did nothing to deserve getting blocked. You can't just block anyone who disagrees with you. We don't (supposedly) do ideological blocks here. <br />
::::To the other guys,<br />
::::Could you please provide a source for your numbers?<br />
::::--[[User:CPAdmin1|Tim]] <small>(CPAdmin1)</small><sup>[[User talk:CPAdmin1|talk]]</sup> <sup>[[User:CPAdmin1/Polls|Vote in my NEW polls]]</sup> 11:18, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Mine was from a USA Today article, but I've actually got better statistics that I'm going to be posting in the article now, from the U.S. Department of Justice. We're not talking a 15% increase, but a 1600% increase from 2000-2001.--[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 11:21, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::Arab American <> Islam. . [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:05, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::''Most Arabs are Christian.'' - > Do you mean Arab Americans? either way, do you have a source? [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:08, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::I believe it was Newsweek. But aren't you ignoring what was stated above? Or do you believe they are synonymous? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:12, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::::::No, of course Arab and Muslim are not synonymous. After all, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, as everybody knows, and there are many Coptic and other Orthodox (and atheist) Arabs. But I'd be pretty surprised to find out that most Arabs are Christian, so let us know where that comes from.[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:22, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::We were dealing with Arabs in America. Are there any other semantic tangents you need to go off on? [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 12:49, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
::::::::If we're "dealing with Arabs in America" then you could have been more specific than to write "Most Arabs are Christian." [[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 12:52, 12 June 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Myths about Muslims in America? ==<br />
<br />
Why is this in an article about Arab-Americans? The majority of Arab-Americans are Christian. Also, most Muslims aren't Arab.</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=983821Islam2012-05-30T17:13:21Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Critics */ add links</p>
<hr />
<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
<br />
<br />
'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam teaches that one must gain salvation through submission to the one true God. Islam is known as one of the world's most violent religions; there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> [[Liberals]] however, frequently ignore the violence of Islam (refering to critics as "racists" and "Islamophobes") while they focus on attacking Christianity, a religion with a long history of charity and self sacrifice.<ref>http://www.ccusa.org/</ref><ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref> Critics of this view often cite the Great Crusades--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the Byzantine Empire that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. <br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
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====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
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====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
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Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
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[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
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=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
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Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
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Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
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Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
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====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
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At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
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====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
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===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
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Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
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==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
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While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
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The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
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{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
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Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
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The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
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However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
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==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
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Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
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Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
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==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
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==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
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==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
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<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
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== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Islam&diff=983819Islam2012-05-30T17:10:38Z<p>JasonNYC: Critics section</p>
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<div>[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]<br />
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'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (or often [[Mohammed]] and other variants), a seventh century [[Arab]] who, according to Muslim belief, was an agent of divine action. Muhammad was also born to the descendents of Abraham. Muhammed claimed to have received revelations from Allah via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Koran]]) - thus forming the core teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to [[Allah]]) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam teaches that one must gain salvation through submission to the one true God. Islam is known as one of the world's most violent religions; there have been over 16,000 terrorist attacks committed by extremist Muslims since 2001.<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> [[Liberals]] however, frequently ignore the violence of Islam (refering to critics as "racists" and "Islamophobes") while they focus on attacking Christianity, a religion with a long history of charity and self sacrifice.<ref>http://www.ccusa.org/</ref><ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref> Critics of this view often cite the Great Crusades--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the Byzantine Empire that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. <br />
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A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" or "Moslem", a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref><br />
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==Theology==<br />
There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's ('''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Qur'an]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Qur'an.<br />
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Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (or Koran) to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Qur'an is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Qur'an was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Qur'an is considered by muslims to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Qur'an, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.<br />
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==Origins==<br />
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.<br />
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Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is believed to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millenia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]].<br />
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]<br />
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==Today==<br />
Islam is the worlds second largest religion, with over 1.6 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and redefinitions of the term 'Muslim'. Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><br />
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref><br />
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[[Indonesia]] has the largest Muslim population in the world.<br />
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==Historical Background==<br />
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According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (The Muslim god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day. <br />
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The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. <br />
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Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.<br />
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]<br />
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Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].<br />
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The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628. <br />
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This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople. <br />
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The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.<br />
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==Divisions Within Islam==<br />
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D. <br />
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The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. <br />
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There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen. <br />
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==Religious Guidance==<br />
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. <br />
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The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.<br />
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Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.<br />
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====Clergy====<br />
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. <br />
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Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior. <br />
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===Five Pillars of Islam===<br />
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam. <br />
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*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. <br />
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*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]]. <br />
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*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.<br />
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*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.<br />
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==Other Aspects of Islam==<br />
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]<br />
====Jihad====<br />
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.<br />
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====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====<br />
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Islam fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><br />
<br />
====People of the Book====<br />
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.<br />
<br />
====Women in Islam====<br />
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]<br />
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity. <br />
<br />
Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present. <br />
<br />
[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]<br />
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death. <br />
<br />
=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====<br />
<br />
Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level. <br />
<br />
Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men. <br />
<br />
Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.<br />
<br />
====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====<br />
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions. <br />
<br />
At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.<br />
<br />
====Restrictions====<br />
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.<br />
<br />
===Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Killings===<br />
FGM (also known as female circumcision) is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female circumcision is not called for nor is it supported by the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
Another pagan practice practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly, "promiscuous" behaviour. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practised more or less openly in some Muslim societies. Honor killings are not supported by the Qur'an and are directly commanded against with the Surah "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."<br />
<br />
==Islam and Christianity==<br />
see [[Dhimma]]<br />
<br />
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref><br />
<br />
The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):<br />
<br />
{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said: <br />
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah. <br />
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.<br />
<br />
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.<br />
<br />
The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ). <br />
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat). <br />
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."<br />
}}<br />
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)<br />
<br />
However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.<br />
<br />
==Sharia==<br />
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]<br />
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.<br />
<br />
Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists.<br />
<br />
Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> whilst women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamist groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Terminology==<br />
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref><br />
<br />
==Ex-Muslims==<br />
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.<br />
<br />
==Critics==<br />
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious. Leading critics are [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[David Horowitz]] (author), Oriana Fallaci (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), Pamela Geller (blogger), Bill Maher (comedian) and the crowd at they Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]]. Neither Ronald Reagan (who help mujahideen fight atheistic communists) nor George W. Bush (“Islam means peace”) saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> Dinesh D’Souza argues that Muslims are God-fearing conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]<br />
*[[Arab American]]<br />
*[[Islamic republic]]<br />
*[[Islamophobia]]<br />
*[[Qur'an]]<br />
*[[Ramadan]]<br />
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria<br />
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction<br />
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)<br />
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced<br />
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship<br />
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004) <br />
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)<br />
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]<br />
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]<br />
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]<br />
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.<br />
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Islam]]</div>JasonNYChttps://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Arab_American&diff=983817Arab American2012-05-30T16:45:21Z<p>JasonNYC: /* Influential Arab Americans */ added Farah</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Arab demographics.jpg|right|Arab-American demographics]]<br />
<br />
'''Arab-Americans''' are [[Americans]] of [[Arab]] ancestry. Over 4 million Americans trace their ancestry to Arab countries, and the vast majority are citizens of the [[United States]]. Over 75% are [[Christians]], many having escaped religious persecution in their homelands. Today, one-third of Arab-Americans live in [[California]], [[New York]], and [[Michigan]]. They are better-educated than the average American. The average Arab-American entrepreneur may have a higher personal and household income than a non-Arab-American counterpart in most regions of the United States. <ref>[http://www.aafusa.org/arabamericans_welleducated.htm Arab American demographics]</ref><br />
The overall U.S. population grew by 13% in the 1990s, while the Arab-American increased by 38%.<br />
<br />
A majority of Arab-Americans, around 62%, originate from [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]] and [[Jordan]]. <br />
==Politics==<br />
Prominent Arab Americans in politics include:<br />
* John H. Sununu (1939- ), Governor of New Hampshire (1983-1989) and White House Chief of Staff for George H. W. Bush (1989-1991); Roman Catholic<br />
* John E. Sununu (1964- ), his son, Republican Congressman (1996-2002) from New Hampshire and U.S. Senator (2002-2008); Roman Catholic <br />
* Spencer Abraham (1952- ), Republican Senator from Michigan (1994-2000), Secretary of Energy under George W. Bush (2001-5), Eastern Orthodox <br />
* James Abdnor (1923- ), Republican Representative from South Dakota (1972-80) and Senator (1980-86); Syrian Orthodox <br />
<br />
[[Image:Arab-american girl.jpg]]<br />
<br />
==9-11==<br />
After the horrible events of [[9/11|Sept. 11, 2001]], Arab-Americans braced for the worst, but thankfully the fears of heavy reprisals did not come as the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame. 326 incidents that were believed to be 'hate based' were recorded across the country in the first month after the attack - a large increase from the 20 or so normally expected<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73493643238943&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=1549ce5e,98e1d7a9&FORM=CVRE2</ref>, but still relatively small in comparison to the population size. Volume dropped substantially after that so that the last 10 months of the year combined actually had far fewer incidents than the first two months after the attack.<ref>http://www.adc.org/hatecrimes/pdf/2003_report_web.pdf</ref> The worst had passed.<br />
<br />
As with many groups, Arab-Americans band together to make sure their concerns are heard. Organizations like the "American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee" seek to make sure American [[civil rights]] continue to be extended to people of Arab heritage<ref>[http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=119 What is ADC?]</ref><br />
<br />
== Extremism ==<br />
<br />
It is said that American Muslim reject extremism and that this community is a valued partner in countering extremism. <br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
American Muslims are as concerned about extremism and terrorism as other citizens. Their families and friends in "the old country" have been the primary victims of terrorist attacks. Like other Americans, Muslims were also victims; they too lost loved ones and friends in the 9/11 attacks. [[John L Esposito]] <ref> [http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/2009121784234277996.html Muslims part of US social fabric.] By [[John L Esposito]] (professor at Georgetown University.) </ref><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Influential Arab Americans ==<br />
<br />
* Khalil Gibran known as Gibran Khalil Gibran.<br />
* Ameen Rihani, author of ''The Book of Khalid''.<br />
* William Peter Blatty, author of ''The Exorcist'', son of Lebanese parents.<br />
* Alec E. Gores, businessman, Forbes list of billionaires. <br />
* Steve Jobs, businessman, Apple. <br />
* Ralph Nader, presidential candidate of Lebanese parents.<br />
* Ray LaHood, Congressman (R-Ill.) and U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2009– ) of Lebanese and Jordanian ancestry.<br />
* Frank Zappa, musician.<br />
* Emilio Estefan, composer.<br />
* Paul Anka, singer, composer.<br />
* Donna Shalala, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993–2001).<br />
* Mostafa El-Sayed, US National Medal of Science laureate.<br />
* Joseph Farah, author, publisher of [[WorldNetDaily]]<br />
<br />
== Myths about Muslims in America ==<br />
<br />
* American Muslims are foreigners: Islam was in America even before there was a United States.<br />
* American Muslims are ethnically, culturally and politically monolithic: The American Muslim community is the most diverse Muslim community in the world.<br />
* American Muslims oppress women: Muslim American women are not only more educated than Muslim women in Western Europe, but are also more educated than the average American. U.S. Muslim women report incomes closer to their male counterparts than American women of any other religion. <br />
* American Muslims often become “homegrown” terrorists: The largest single source of initial information on planned terrorist attacks by Muslims in the United States was the Muslim American community. ''Many (Millions) American Muslims are peaceful and define jihad primarily as an internal struggle to improve.'' (Marvin Olasky).<br />
* American Muslims want to bring sharia law to the United States: Muslim jurists agree on the principal objectives of sharia: the protection and promotion of life, religion, intellect, property, family and dignity. None of this includes turning the United States into a caliphate. <ref> [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-muslims-in-america/2011/03/30/AFePWOIC_story.html Five myths about Muslims in America.] Reisal Abdul Rauf. </ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
<br />
*[[Ethnic Groups Gallery]]<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
[[File:Islamic mosque Dearborn Michigan.jpg|thumb|280px|Islamic mosque, Dearborn, Michigan.]]<br />
*[http://www.ncusar.org/ National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.]<br />
*[http://www.allied-media.com/Arab-American/Arab_Organizations.htm National Arab American Organizations]<br />
*[http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/ Arab American National Museum]<br />
*[http://www.aauj.edu/AAUJ_site/index.php The Arab American University]<br />
*[http://www.aafusa.org/ American Arab Forum]<br />
*[http://www.aaiusa.org/ Arab American Institute]<br />
*[http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/ The Arab-American News]<br />
*[http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/12/with_holidays_a_vow_for_better_jewish_muslim_relations/ A vow for better Jewish, Muslim relations in US]<br />
*[http://www.arabcenter.net/ Arab Center of Washington]<br />
*[http://bsimmons.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/american-muslims-ready-to-attack-usa/ American Muslims Ready to Attack USA?] by [[Sher Zieve]].<br />
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/politics/glossary-of-islamic-terms/2011/06/07/AGwm2oQH_story.html Glossary of Islamic terms.]<br />
*[http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NachrichtenHeute/tabid/178/nid/22844/language/en-US/Default.aspx Obama's Plan to Islamicize America.]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
[[Category:Ethnicities]]<br />
[[Category:Muslims]]</div>JasonNYC