The Diverse Interpretations of Muslim Laws - Essay Example

 The Diverse Interpretations of Muslim Laws Abstract The two authors, Asra Nomani and Mariane Pearl gave their own interpretations of the Muslim Jihad concept. Asra Nomani wrote Standing Alone in Mecca. Mariane Pearl wrote A Mighty Heart. The two authors focused on the Muslim people. The first author focuses on the reasons for Danny Pearl’s death. The second author centers on changing current Muslim interpretations of Muslim teachings. The Islamic religion includes complete compliance with the instructions of the Koran laws. Several Muslim groups and individuals, including the two authors, offer peaceful interpretation of Jihad. In exchange for virgins in the afterlife, some Muslim groups interpret Jihad as a holy war to kill innocent civilians. Evidently, the two readings show the Muslim people’s diverse interpretations of the Koran’s Suras and related Muslim resources. Main Thesis: The Interpretation of Muslim laws should be universal similar. Pearl’s thesis: Many Muslim groups have different interpretations of the Muslim Jihad Principle, some violent while others peaceful. Nomani Thesis: The Muslim interpretation of Jihad principle should be universally the same, including the gender issues. My thesis: The interpretation of the Muslim laws, including the Jihad and gender issues, should be universally similar incorporating modern interpretations. Keywords: Jihad, Pearl, Nomani, interpretation. The Diverse Interpretations of Muslim Laws The research focuses on the different interpretations of Muslim laws. One of the laws, Jihad, has diverse interpretations. Similarly, the gender issue has different explanations. Other Muslim groups interpret Jihad as a holy war. The holy war includes killing innocent civilians. Asra Nomani questions the diverse interpretations of the Muslim laws, including the gender equality issues. The authors, Mariane Pearl (2003) and Asra Nomani (2005) emphasized that Muslim life is compounded by one Muslim group’s daily struggles to influence the other individuals’ decisions. The story A Mighty Heart (Pearl, 2003) centers on interpretation of the Jihad principles. The author describes the dangerous life of Danny Pearl, South Asian News Bureau Chief of Wall Street Journal. As a reporter, Danny traveled around South Asian countries to gather the latest news stories. Mariane Pearl writes the story of the life and death of her husband. Danny disappeared when he was about to meet Sheikh Ali Shah Gilan, the founder of a U.S. jihad group. Danny’s research focused on some Muslim groups’ devotion to Jihad as one of their duties. Past Jihad acts includes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 9/11 U.S. airplane attacks (Pearl, 2003). Pearl’s thesis statement: Many Muslim groups have different interpretations of the Muslim Jihad Principle, some violent while others peaceful. The author correctly showed that some Muslim groups prioritize their time and energy to Jihad’s terroristic activities. The author graphically showed the story of Osama Bin Laden’s deadly 9/11 airplane hijacking attack. The author discussed past Jihad act that involved the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (Pearl 2003). The Muslim suicide bombers or attackers are eager to give up their life in exchange of many virgins in Paradise’s afterlife. However, the author emphasizes that many other Muslim groups and individuals, including the author, interpret Jihad differently. The other Muslim groups interprest Jihad as peaceful religious activity to uplift one’s religious status. The author correctly states that one Muslim group, Sunni, was instrumental in the 1998 murder of some peaceful and unarmed Shiite Medical doctors. The Muslims of one group (Sunni) are eager to kill innocent Muslims from another Muslim group (Shiite). As proof of the terroristic goals of some Muslim groups,the Mrs. Pearl (2003) vividly discusses one Muslim group’s kidnapping, chaining, and showing to the television world the murder of her Journalist husband, Danny Pearl. The author depicts Mr. Pearl as one of the many unwilling pawns in the global chessboard where two opposing forces collide. Nomani Thesis: The Muslim interpretation of Jihad principle should be universally the same, including the gender issues. The author discusses the life of Muslim women in the chapter entitled “Reflections on Life as a Daughter of Islam (Nonami, 2005; 7).” Ms. Nonami discusses her disenchantment with some Muslim traditions. Asra Nomani questions why women and men should not be allowed to pray together. Women were required to pray in a segregated balcony to hide them from the praying men. The author questions why her Muslim community does not implement gender equality. Nomani questions why the males make decisions, excluding the women’s contributions. Likewise, Nomani questions why woman should be discriminated in the mosques, in terms of using the same entrance doors and praying area. The author feels that the Mosque should be the place for men, women, and children to worship Allah, not safe houses for hatred (Nomani, 2005). Furthermore, Nomani (2005) explains that some Muslim groups use the Mosques as hiding places. These Muslim groups use the Mosque to plan their future terroristic activities. The author opines that the Mosques should be used as a prayer for the husbands, wives, and children. Prayer is a peaceful activity where the people pray to Allah for guidance and blessings. In the Muslim group’s desire to focus on Jihad’s terroristic plans, the author is disgruntled with the current Muslim world’s historical treatment of women as second class citizens in the Muslim world. The author seeks the help of the other Muslim women to eradicate gender discrimination (Nomani, 2005). The above author shows confused disenchantment because the Mosques should be used as a prayer meeting area. Prayer is a peaceful activity where the Muslim members pray five times a day. As proof, the author persuades the reader to understand her wish that terroristic activities should be reduced to permissible or peaceful levels. In return, the time should be used to foster gender quality policies within all Muslim groups. Main Thesis: The Muslim concept of Jihad should be clearly similar. Some Muslim groups equate Muslim life as compulsory terrorism. Pearl’s thesis: Many Muslim groups have different interpretations of the Muslim Jihad Principle, some violent while others peaceful. Nomani Thesis: The Muslim interpretation of Jihad principle should be universally the same, including the gender issues. My thesis: The Muslim concept of Jihad should be universally similar, incorporating modern interpretations. Analysis of the two readings. In terms of assessing the two readings, the first reading’s author shows more evidences of some Muslim groups’ terroristic activities. The author gives many examples to prove that some Muslim groups only interpret Jihad as a compulsory terroristic activity. The recounting of her defenseless husband’s capture and murder by one Muslim terroristic group to gain mileage in the news world proves beyond reasonable doubt that life in some Muslim communities is dangerous. On the other hand, the second reading’s author shows a more tame discussion of the terrorist groups’ activities. The author’s choice of words shows that she as personally hurt as the first author, in terms of the Muslim group’s murder of Danny Pearl. The second author uses the terrorist activities as an excuse for not focusing on establishing gender quality Muslim policies. The author’s main thrust is her selfish desire to bring out her inner disenchantment with her Muslim religion’s gender inequality policies. Most of the author’s points veer towards enjoining other Muslim women to bind together and fight for gender equality, especially in Mosque prayer time. In terms of combining the two readings, both readings correctly focus on the life of the Muslim people. The two authors are both Muslims. The two authors express their two differing points of view as members of the Muslim faith. The first author focuses her helpless with preventing one Muslim group’s kidnapping and murder of her innocent news reporter husband. The second author also explains that terrorism is a reality in some Muslim groups. The author affirms that Danny was murdered by one Muslim group, in the name of Jihad. The second author adds another dimension, or side effect, of some Jihad-prioritizing Muslim groups. One such unfavorable side effect is not prioritizing gender equality in their group discussions. Both readings show that Jihad can be a struggle, a religious prayer activity, or a holy war (MuslimWorld, 2010). My personal response indicates the two readings challenge my beliefs and values. Some sectors of the Muslim population interpret the Koran differently, especially on the interpretation of the Jihad verses. The second author correctly affirms the theory that the Muslim Mosques implement different standards, in terms of prayer standards. Instead of using the Mosques as safe houses for some war-prone members of the Muslim faith, the second author proposes that the Mosques should be used to peacefully pray five times a day. Applying the John Peter analysis to the brainstorming activity, the two authors insist that the Muslim people devotedly comply with the Muslim teachings. Compliance includes applying the jihad principles in their daily lives. However, different Muslim leaders and devotees may give different interpretations of the Jihad verses. The authors are eyewitnesses to the implementation of one group’s Jihad concepts. One Muslim group ordered the capture of Mr. Pearl. Consequently, the Muslim group killed Mr. Pearl. The news of Mr. Pearl’s death is shown to the entire world. As eyewitnesses, the two authors vividly bring emotional trimmings to the killing of an innocent news reporter, Mr. Pearl. By discussing the innocent murder of Mr. Pear, the two writers seem to bring out disgust that one group of Muslim group seems to have an extreme interpretation of the Jihad Principle. The two authors have a different interpretation of Jihad. The writings of the two authors indicate that the Jihad principle can be interpreted in a peaceful way. The authors’ writings show that a more peaceful implementation of the Jihad Principles. Emotionally, the two authors could not do anything to stop the murder of Mr. Pearl. The authors’ stories show that they want to influence the current literature on the Jihad process. The two authors’ writings indicate that they want more Muslim groups to implement a less violent interpretation of the Jihad process. In fact the authors reiterated that Jihad can be interpreted as a peaceful process. The peaceful process includes praying to good. The peaceful process includes praying five times a day. Another interpretation of the Jihad concepts is to attend a Mecca Pilgrimage, if one’s finances permit. A third interpretation of the Jihad process is helping others in times of need. Further, the paragraph clearly shows that the two authors bring new controversies to the Jihad Process. First, the violent interpretations of the Jihad should be curtailed. The different Muslim groups should create one global Muslim government. The government will give one interpretation of Jihad. When the Prophet Mohammad was alive, he was the only messenger of Allah. Consequently, Prophet Mohammad gave only one interpretation of the Jihad. According to Muslim teachings, there were different interpretations of Jihad after Archangel Michael took Prophet Mohammad to heaven. Second, the Jihad attacks between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups should be resolved peacefully. While Prophet Mohammad was alive, there was only one Muslim group (Pearl, 2003). All the Muslim devotees obeyed the instructions of Prophet Mohammad. After Prophet Mohammad was brought up to heaven, according to Muslim teachings, the Muslim people were divided into two warring groups. The two groups are Sunnis and Shiites. The author presents a message that the war between the Sunnis and Shiites should stop. I have gained new understanding by reviewing the two readings together. Some Muslim groups have different interpretations of the Koran Suras, especially the Jihad verses. Some Muslim groups interpret Jihad as a peaceful prayer activity. Other Muslim groups treat Jihad as other peaceful Muslim acts. Some Muslim groups offer a more death-incorporating interpretation of the Jihad. The two readings pose challenges to my beliefs and values. Sometimes, I think of the innocent civilians who are victims of a Jihad attack, especially if one of those suicide bombing attack victims is my family members or relative. The story of the innocent civilian news reporter Danny Pearl’s murder at the hands of a Jihad group challenges me to think that some Muslim groups have extreme interpretations of Jihad, especially Sura 9:5 stating, “All enemies…must be killed if they do not believe in Allah… No infidel is safe when holy war is declared... (Ankerberg, 2009, p.31). Evidently, the Muslim laws must have the same universal interpretations. References Ankerberg, J. (2009). The Truth About Islam & Jihad. New York: Harvest Press. Assad, M. (2008). Gifts of the Prophets from Abrahan to Mohammad. New York: Xlibris Press. Fortney, S. (2007). Seeking Truth: Living with Doubt. New York: Authorhouse Press. Humn Rights Watch. (2008). Adults Before their time. New York: Human Rights Watch. Muslim World. (2010). Islamic Beliefs. New York: Marshall Cavendish. Nomani, A. (2005). Standing Alone in Mecca. San Francisco: Harper Press Pearl, M. (2003). A Mighty Heart. New York: Scribner Press Read More