Kayla Chubbs

Worldviews (RCLP 1011)

Due: Monday, Nov. 4th
Renaissance College: UNB

Reflection- Islamic Worldview

When asked, why do you believe what you do? Dr. Mohamed El
Bayoumi started to question his beliefs. Searching for what it means to be a Muslim.
Prior to this site visit, I had a very limited knowledge on the Islamic faith, and it was an
unnerving mystery to me what exactly Muslims practice. The media portrays Muslims to
be terrorists, discriminatory towards women, and war inducing. However, I was shocked
to learn how similar Islam is to Christianity. In comparison, I thought that both religions
were on opposite sides of a spectrum, one being blue and one red, however now I would
say that they are both blue, just different shades of blue.
Similarities I drew from my faith in Christianity and Islam are: they both consider
there to be a creator or god, there is a Last Day or Judgment Day, and both work
righteously. To me these three parallels I believe to be true, but then I began to
question, what is true?. I was appalled to learn that the Quran has never been
changed or altered whereas the Christian bible has no rule like this, and could have been
altered throughout history depending on political normalitys. Learning this made me feel
as though I have been lied to or cheated. I questioned which religion is right, who has
the correct answer to how we as humanity should be living our lives? I have come to the
decision that there is no right choice when it comes to religion.
However, one thing that really sunk in with me was how not everything in the
Quran is meant to be absolute, that there is a range. I think that this goes for many
religions. As a part of the Christian community I dont think that there is anyone who
practices a faith 100%, there are people who practice more fully than others, but no one is

perfect. Dr. Mohamed stated that your participation is based on how much you think you
need to do in order to pass the final Judgment Day. I also found it interesting that he said
when you die you cannot do anymore good deeds. It made me question if I were to die
tomorrow, would I have had a successful life in the eyes of God?
Dr. Mohamed really emphasized that beliefs are individual, what he believes to be
a good Muslim is different from what someone else might believe to be a good
Muslim, and I think the same can be applied towards Christianity or any other religion. I
have come to a conclusion that although humanity clusters themselves into groups and
calls themselves Christians, Muslims, Jews, or any other faith, although we consider
ourselves to be part of a group, I do not believe any two people can have the exact same
beliefs or spiritual depth. So, although I may consider myself associated with Christianity
as a group, I, in a sense, have my own individual belief system.