Islamic Shirk and Diverse Views Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Islamic Shirk and Diverse Views. Answer: Introduction Islam is a monotheistic religion which has been coexisting with other religions for years in many parts of in the world. In Islamic tradition Shirk is the worshipping of idols and believing in multiple gods But Islam believes in only one god Allah (Khan 2015). Shirk is an unforgivable sin that one can commit. The word Shirk literally means the sharing or becoming partners. In the form of polytheism or idol worshipping God is associated with objects of worshipping, which is completely prohibited in Islam. There are several references in the Quran that support the belief. In the Quran it is mentioned as the greatest sin, as every other sin can be forgiven except disbelievers and idol worshippers (Al-islam.org 2017). Islam Is Not against Figurative Representation Figurative representations are not directly prohibited in Islam; however it becomes problematic if it becomes Shirk or worshipping the figure as a part of divine status. In the Genesis all the worshipped statues by Terah were destroyed by Abraham (Dube 2015). The hadiths discussed certain figurative representations can only be through plants, pictures and inanimate objects. Bamiyan Buddhas and The act of Shirk Bamiyan is a famous valley of central Afghanistan that became significant Buddhist centre during eighth century. In eleventh century the Muslims came in power in Bamiyan area. The Buddha statues were extremely popular among the Chinese monks and Indian Buddhists. UNESCO rewarded it by enlisting as one of the World Heritages (Whc.unesco.org 2017). In the Hindkush mountain region, the two large Buddha idols made of sandstone cliff were the main attractions. The 181 feet tall Buddha idol was carved between 591 A.D to 644 A.D and represents cultural combination of Greco Buddhist and Bamiyan traditional artistry (Litoing 2015). It is not just the contemporary Islamic practitioners of Taliban regime that attacked the idols; the idols were faceless even before the destruction. This proves that even before the Islamic era the idols have suffered various attacks. The Contribution of Taliban in The Act The Taliban regime is infamous for its obsession over religious identity and the act of breaking leads that the motives were only religious in nature. The ideology they believe in is built by Pashtun nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism (Roy 2015). Fundamentalists saw Buddhism as an easy target. However the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas has more than just the Taliban religious identity. The edict said that the destruction was represented as an Islamic act (Harding 2001). Therefore any idols, temples are shrines representing non Islamic religions are considered to be the manifestation of polytheism and idolatry. The other idea behind the destruction could be considered as the restoration of orthodox belief. The Taliban wanted to secure that no one in the future could worship the statues. Mullah Mohammad Omar of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan raised the radical question regarding idol breaking that reflected their perception of Shirk (Litoing 2015). The Socio Religious Perspective Another connection can be made as one examines the time period when the destruction occurred. This time of the year is significant for as the time of celebrating the Eid al Adha. This is the celebration of the feast for Abrahams sacrifice (Loue 2017). Abraham sacrificed his son for fulfilling Gods desire. The time of celebration reminded them about their responsibility of life that is following Gods orders and offering him whatever is needed. Abrahams practice of idol breaking has already been discussed. So the specific time and Abrahams association with it made the Taliban feel the need more than ever. Mullah Mohammad Omars selection of the specific time seems to be more than just a coincident. The View on Negative Impacts The Islamic people prove that the idols are meaningful to them by breaking them with so much attention. Their concern for the existing idols highlights their acknowledgement of the idols power more than the worshippers. The destruction also gained huge public attention which those sites did not have during the period of preservation. Thus the idols also gained a greater status after the breaking. This demonstrates various contradictory views in protecting Tawhid and resisting shirk. Tawhid is the belief of unity of the lord (Bbc.co.uk 2014). As in Islamic tradition Allah is the god that created all the beings on the earth and everything depends on him. Islam believes that Allah is in the authority of all beings and no one else can share his authorship. Tawhid al Ibadah declares that Allah is the only one to be worshipped and Shirk paralyzes this core belief of Islam (Lamprecht 2014). The Philosophical View on Appropriation There can be other philosophical perspectives that can offer us a broader view that is associated with the practice of Islamic Shirk, if one considers that unconsciously man worships himself in the guise of God. The postmodern era has put too much stress on the concept of image. The image has been given too much importance by the postmodern man in a very commercial sense. Some theorists consider destroying the Bamiyan Buddha statutes to be a typical postmodern phenomenon (Janowski 2015). The incident can be seen as the Muslim appropriation of Buddhism (Rafiabadi 2007) The Buddhist theology is not just involved in idol making and concentrating ones good deeds on his feet. Buddha himself encouraged destroying of ones permanent self. So the obsession of the post modern era representing through idols would not have been appreciated by him. Instead he could have encouraged the statue making practice. However this is not enough to justify the destruction heritage statues by the Taliban. Conclusion Taliban are often accused of interpreting the Quran in a superficial and simplistic way. There are various interpretations of the Islamic Shirk, fundamentalists use it for some propagandist purposes, some theorists justify it through religious implications and philosophers shed different light over it (Taniguchi 2017). However from the above discussions it is undeniable that through Shirk one can understand the various perspectives related to it. Above that, the power of the understanding is capable of unfolding various aspects of religion, human acts and life over all. The Islamic understanding of Shirk possesses enough strength to uphold the diverse ideologies, beliefs and views and their bearers. References "BBC-GCSE Bitesize: Islam And Other Faiths". 2014.Bbc.Co.Uk. https://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/death/islambeliefrev3.shtml. "First Greater Sin: Shirk (Polytheism)". 2017.Al-Islam.Org. https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-1-ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi/first-greater-sin-shirk Centre, UNESCO. 2017. "Cultural Landscape And Archaeological Remains Of The Bamiyan Valley".Whc.Unesco.Org. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/208 Dube, Zorodzai. "The statue debate: Ancestors and'mnemonic energy'in Paul and now."HTS Theological Studies71, no. 3 (2015): 01-05. Harding, Luke. 2001. "Taliban Blow Apart 2,000 Years Of Buddhist History". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/03/afghanistan.lukeharding Janowski, James. "Bamiyan, Vandalism, and the Sublime."Change Over Time5, no. 1 (2015): 28-64. Khan, Aftab Ahmad. "Just One God."Defence Journal18, no. 12 (2015): 34. Lamprecht, Mark A. "Exploration Of The Similarities Between The Unity Of Allah And The Unity Of The Triune God Of The Bible." (2014). Litoing, Nougoutna Norbert. "Rejecting shirk and promoting taw?id? A critical examination of the motivation and objective of the iconoclasts in Bamiyan (2001) and Timbuktu (2012)." PhD diss., University of Birmingham, 2015. Loue, Sana. "Religious Observances, Festivals, and Celebrations." InHandbook of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice and Research, pp. 103-120. Springer New York, 2017. Rafiabadi, Hamid Naseem, ed.Challenges to religions and Islam: a study of Muslim movements, personalities, issues and trends. Sarup Sons, 2007. Roy, Olivier. "afghanistan after the taliban."Afghanistan: Identity, Society and Politics Since 1980165 (2015): 147. Taniguchi, Yoko. "Do Archaeological and Conservation Sciences Save Cultural Heritage?: Cultural Identity and Reviving Values After Demolishment." InAncient West Asian Civilization, pp. 179-197. Springer Singapore, 2017.