[July 2009]By focusing on the city of Jerusalem, the author manages to present the history of three religions and thousand of years of human development in a relatively brief narrative. The focus on the events on the city helps to present a clear understanding of the actions of the people, without distracting with too many distracting external details.
The narrative starts with the pre-Jewish occupants, and acknowledges that Jerusalem has always been somewhat off the beaten path. However, ever since it became a holy city to the Jews, it has had a degree of sacredness that made it attractive to Jews, Muslims and Christians.
For the past 1500 years, the western Christians are presented as the outside force most harmful to the peace in Jerusalem, with the Eastern Christians and Jews being most often victimized. The Muslims were often the rulers of the city, generally being the most peaceable of the overloads, though often even neglecting the city.
Showing posts with label Karen Armstrong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karen Armstrong. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2013
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Times
Karen Armstrong adapts the Muslim prophet to modern sensibilities. His peace-loving and pro-woman attributes are built up. His behaviors that appear to us as negatives (wars, polygamy, massacre of enemies) are explained away as being actually improvements over the standard behavior of Arabs of his day.
Muhammad is portrayed as a humble servant who is exiled from Mecca due to his religious beliefs. His return is portrayed as nothing more than a reunion with his clan and the reopening of trade. He still chose to live his life out in Medina.
He is also portrayed as an open-minded leader who does not actively desire to convert other people to his faith - merely to encourage them to do so on their own. He supported Jewish and Christian populations in the area. (His massacre of Jews was portrayed as an isolated attack on a single clan that was abetting the enemy.)
On the role of women, the prophet was shown to be controversial - often giving women more say and a greater role in society than was common for the day. Even the "veil" was explained as something to separate the prophet and his wives from others, not simply a means to separate women from the lusts of men.
The hidden thesis of the book seems to be that the prophet Muhammad was pluralistic social liberal and that current Islamic fundamentalism has strayed significantly from the religion's core values. I have a sneaking suspicion that by picking different facts the opposite story could be told. Now, if only we could find that book written for the western audience.
Muhammad is portrayed as a humble servant who is exiled from Mecca due to his religious beliefs. His return is portrayed as nothing more than a reunion with his clan and the reopening of trade. He still chose to live his life out in Medina.
He is also portrayed as an open-minded leader who does not actively desire to convert other people to his faith - merely to encourage them to do so on their own. He supported Jewish and Christian populations in the area. (His massacre of Jews was portrayed as an isolated attack on a single clan that was abetting the enemy.)
On the role of women, the prophet was shown to be controversial - often giving women more say and a greater role in society than was common for the day. Even the "veil" was explained as something to separate the prophet and his wives from others, not simply a means to separate women from the lusts of men.
The hidden thesis of the book seems to be that the prophet Muhammad was pluralistic social liberal and that current Islamic fundamentalism has strayed significantly from the religion's core values. I have a sneaking suspicion that by picking different facts the opposite story could be told. Now, if only we could find that book written for the western audience.
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