ON ISLAM The World View of Islam Devotion to Islam is a global occurrence.

After the death of Muhammad, Muslims dominate many countries and many people specifically on the birth land of their prophet, converted to Muslim from Christianity, pagans and other religious sects. Its influence and dominance was not entirely made from their opposition and competition in races, religion and land. It was set forth from the words of wisdom of their prophet and leaders. Their influence was not merely perpetuated under the enlightenment of Muhammad; from Muhammads journey with the angel Gabriel to the prophets, Moses, Abraham and Jesus, in my thought their reasons regarding peace, justice, morality so on and so forth have the depth on persuading people to join their path. Although many sects and movements within the religion, and although there are striking cultural and religious differences among the regions of the Islamic world, all followers of Islam are bound by a common faith and a sense of belonging to a single community.

RELIGION Islamic activity was devoted from their God, Allah; Islam means to surrender to the will of God. For Muslims, as adherents of Islam are called, the Quran is the word of God, confirming and consummating earlier revealed books and thereby replacing them. The Words instrument or agent of revelation is the prophet Muhammad, the last and the most perfect of a series of messengers of God to mankind, from Adam through Abraham to Moses and Jesus. Although Muhammad is only a human creature of God, he has nevertheless as unequaled importance in the Quran itself, which sets him next

only to God as deserving of moral and legal obedience. Hence, his sayings and deeds served as a second basis, besides the Quran, of the belief and practices of Islam. The Quran theology is rigorously monotheistic: God is absolutely unique, omnipotent, omniscient, and merciful. Men are exhorted to obey his will, to be a Muslim primarily, and special responsibility is laid on man. All Muslims are enjoined to practice the Five Pillars of Islam: (1) to recite the profession of faith at least once in ones lifetime; (2) to observe the five daily public and collective prayers; (3) to pay the zakat or purification, tax for support of the poor; (4) to fast from daybreak to sunset during the entirety of the month of Ramadan; and (5) to perform physically and financially possible to the hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. The most important and fundamental religious concept of Islam is that of the Shariah, or the Law, which embraces the total way of life as explicitly or implicitly commanded by God. Accordingly, Islam is varied into three types of Islamic movement, the moderate, conservative, and the radicals. Unlike any other religion, Islam does not have rankings among men. All Muslims are equal, no priests neither popes. All Muslims are merely creatures of God hence they shall serve as followers of God.

POLITICS The history of the Muslims in modern times has often been explained in terms of the impact of the West. From this perspective, the 18 th century was a period of degeneration and a prelude to European domination, symbolized by Napoleons

conquest of Egypt in 1798. Given the events of the 1980s, however, it is possible to argue that the period of Western domination was an interlude in the ongoing development of indigenous styles of modernization. Muslims from the very beginning of their conquest wanted to convert people to their religion, and with that idea, or perhaps resurgences in different places, their public relationship to the society is directly affected from other cultures, including the west. The state of Islam is united with their religion, and from their view, such entities must be united through glory and not revolutionary. Moreover, Islams position on politics stays independent from foreign activity. Muslims behavior toward such activity was mostly radical, for they believe that foreign rules posses tyrannous activity, an activity that they considered as Satanic. Therefore, because Islam draws no distinction between the religious and the temporal spheres of life, the Muslim state is by definition religious.

ECONOMICS The economical structure of Islam remains traditionally agricultural. However, with the influence of innovative people, this type of social organization offered new possibilities. Agricultural production and intercity trading, particularly in luxury goods, increased. Some individuals were able to take advantage to manual labor of others to amass enough wealth to patronize a wide range of arts and crafts, of these, a few were able to establish territorial monarchies and foster religious institutions with wider appeal.

RESURGENCE OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM

The Islamic movement although divided into three types, what made them proliferate and survive is their radical activities toward politics, security as well as converting people to their religion. Most of their activities were perpetuated under radical movements.

THE ELIMINATION OF ISRAEL The elimination of Israel became so important to Islam in many reasons. Reasons that I think can be understood if we try to be one of them, in exactly the same situations they encountered. First, Israel is a threat to Islamic identity. Israel was found to be interacting with foreign activities especially western cultures. Second, the Zionist and the West wish to strip Islam of traditional values and replace them with western and secular values. Third, Israel was founded due to western guilt over the holocaust and exists only out of western assistance. Fourth, Jerusalem must be re-conquered by Muslim in order to restore the Middle East as in the time of Prophet Muhammad. Fifth, racist Western secular Jews invaded Palestine and drove out the indigenous Palestinian Arabs and they have discriminated against the Muslims as well as Jews from Arab lands. Sixth, Jews have no historical ties to the Middle East; modern Jews are descended from the central Asian tribe called the Khazars whose government adopted Judaism with middle Ages. And Lastly, Israel and Jews have an evil nature.

ISLAM AND THE WEST

Islam cannot unite with the western cultures. Muslims believe that. And they think that the west is Satanic and thus shall be avoided. However, in my reflection, union is possible in every mankind, for I believe that races, religions and the environments are the least reasons for the cause of such problems. It is the language that clearly distinguishes one man to the other. Like what have Witgenstein have taught us, that people can only understand one thing from other person if the language is similar to both person. People wants peace, Muslims wants peace, Islam wants peace and so as the West, yet this very simple idea of peace, men was divided. The West believes that peace is freedom, and Muslims believe that peace is justice, this issue is not trivial and thus shall be given critical attention for it is the root of the problem. If only west and Islam have one language, even they have different races and beliefs, I do think that they will be able to be united not to have one religion or objective, but to respect each other and do their own business.