Islamic History - Essay Example

Islam revolves around ‘Islamic’ as a religion as well as those people who ascribe to the belief. The people who adhere to the religion are ideidealally representatives of those who submit to God. The Middle East region has had great political, economic as well as military influence from Islam as it is believed to be the region of its origin. The religion and culture of Islam have spread across the globe and its influence is evident all over especially after the era of civilization. This paper intends to studdetailtails the historical background of Islam from its birth to the modern day ideologies that hold it. However, the study will be guided by such questions as where did Islam start, and who were the first people to adhere to it? What are the main ideologies that define Islam and how have they evolved over time? When did Islam start and what historical significance has the ideology had over the course of its evolution to the modern-daydream-day Islam?

Islam started in the seventh century (C.E) as instituted by Prophet Mohammed and it took over the Arabic region, which was characteristically defined by polytheism. It is adherent to monotheism and as such the ideology stipulates that there is no other God to be worshiped but Allah. It therefore transformed greatly the religious systems of the traditional nomadic life that was characteristic of the Arabs from the extremes of worshiping many Gods as well as paganism to the faith in Allah. Prophet Mohammed was born in tthe latesixth century and in the early seventh century; he is believed to have had an encounter with an angel of God where he became the prophet (apostle) of God (Nawwab, Speers and Hoye, para 1-5). Through divine revelations, Mohamed is said to have written the Quran as it is adhered to in Islam. Therefore, among other great ideologies that define Islam, the Quran as it was written by the last prophet of Allah (Mohammed) is complete, infallible, perfect, and eternal and thus holds eminently against any influence or modification. In religious matters, the tenets presented in Quran held and continuously holds to define Islam. Islam ascribes to various ideologies which include that God is transcendent and omnipotent, that there are angles, that Quran are words of God’s revelation through his prophets as well as there is the last day that awaits all and in which God’s judgment to mankind will be pronounced. Moreover, Islam believes that God is all-knowing and as such, he is omniscient (“The History of Islam” 1-3).

Despite the great transformation that characterized the inception of Islam, as a religion in the Arabian countries in matters of polytheism beliefs, Islam held to the supremacy of Allah as a god who was more impressive than the rest. Besides being the creator, Allah was and is believed to be the provider as well as the determiner of human destiny in eternity (“History of Islam” para 3). Besides, Muslims have dispersed everywhere to occupy all the parts of the globe where Islam has been introduced. Little is seen to have changed in terms of belief systems and ideologies as they were instituted and depicted in the Quran. Modern-day Islam upholds five basic rules, which are prayer, fasting, faith, almsgiving as well as pilgrimage at Ka’bah (“History of Islam” 5). The evolution in Islam has been more in matters of spread and global acceptance unlike in matters of systems of beliefs. Besides much of what is practiced in the modern day in Islamic circles is purely as it was practiced traditionally as instructed by Prophet Mohammed in Quran (Nasr, vii-xix).

In spite of the little evolutionally changes that have been shown in ideological aspects of Islam, misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the ideologies have led to the wrong perception of the culture. It is increasingly being associated with acts of terror due to a few of its teachings on Jihad and such political activism which has in the past led to political as well as religious conflicts in different parts of the globe (Bibleprobe.com, 2; Shenkman para, 9 ).

 This article has been based on merely secondary references, which are the articles by Nawwab, Speers and Hoye, Nasr, the Bible.com website as well as the articles on the history of Islam. They are secondary because they are written in reporting and evaluation terms unlike the primary references, which would take the forms of interviews and direct recordings in the form of photos, movies, and documentaries. Nevertheless, we quote the article by Shenkman to represent a primary source as it is basically an interview with Furnish about his perceptions gained while undertaking studies on Islamic history.