April 25, 2007
By Hessam Parzivand
It’s tough to find a place in the Middle East where you get no exposure to the Islamic religion. The most mystifying element of Islam to many is the obligation to pray five times a day. At each prayer time in the Islamic world, mosques broadcast the call to prayer. The echo created from mosques bellowing this call in tenor notes within seconds of each other gives the prayer call a God-like voice that reverberates through land, calling believers to remember God’s place in their life.
Fundamentally, Islam is a religion that believes in one God (Allah simply means God), that believes in keeping God in one’s everyday life (through prayer), and that believes in doing good unto others (through giving to charity and other practices). Its essential principles are the same as Christianity and Judaism. So are many of its revered persons. The five major prophets of Islam are Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus, and Mohammed. I always find it humorous when my extremely pious grandmother tells me Qur’anic stories, because I realize that these are the same stories I would hear in church back home in America. So far, I’ve heard about how Eve was created from two of Adam’s ribs, the forbidden fruit story, and the story of the miracle of Jesus’s (Esa) birth to the Virgin Mary (Maryam). The similarities between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam overwhelm the differences.
I personally find myself trapped between two civilizations on the religious point. If I believed in Christianity, I would have to believe that all my family were going to hell, or at least not on the best path to salvation. If I believed in Islam, I would have the same quandary with regards to all my friends. One passage in the Qu’ran gives me hope and forms the foundation of what I believe. “Surely! Those who believe (Muslims) and those who are Jews, Christians, and Saabians; whoever believes in Allah, the last day, and do good deeds; they will have their reward with their Lord, there will be no fear on them, nor will they grieve.” Verse 2:62 The Holy Qur’an.
Comments
Posted by theccrider on April 25 at 2 p.m.
Hessam, get off that American junk food and eat some middle eastern dishes like lamb and chickpeas and olives and eggplant and hummous and such. Well, except for an occasional cheeseburger!
PS Single-god religions do put a person in quite a quandry - how to choose which one?
Posted by Sats on April 25 at 9:32 p.m.
Nice observation - but the fact that the two religions are well-connected is no big surprise. However these two parts seem pretty contradictory to each other:
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"I always find it humorous when my extremely pious grandmother tells me Qur’anic stories, because I realize that these are the same stories I would hear in church back home in America. So far, I’ve heard ....the differences"
VERSUS
"If I believed in Christianity, I would have to believe that all my family were going to hell, or at least not on the best path to salvation. If I believed in Islam, I would have the same quandary with regards to all my friends..."
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From a neutral (Neither Christian nor Muslim) critic's point of view, it is hard to understand why the comparison between these two religions is likened to choosing between one's family and friends.
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