Religion and Theology

Islam is the second largest religion in the after Christianity and has extended to almost all parts of the world.  Currently, its followers extend from Morocco to Philippines and include people of different races and tribes in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Australia. Although initially most of its followers were from Arabic countries, studies of Nigosian indicate that currently, three quarters of the adherents of Islam faith are from non-Arabic countries (2004).  Since the time it was established during the seventh century, it has continued to grow and develop and major changes have taken place. Consequently, it has caused great impacts on people and culture especially due to the fact that it is a religion of action rather than contemplation. In addition, its manifestations have also changed since where there is growth, change is inevitable.  In light of this view, this paper shall therefore focus on modern manifestation of Islam religion and its effects on culture as well as the society.

Background Information
It would be important to discuss some few issues concerning Muslim religion to be in a position to understand how the same has affected society.  The founder of the religion is known as Prophet Muhammad. Muslim spread from the Atlantic Ocean in the west, to Central Asia, a hundred years after the death of its founder. This led to the Islamic civilizations giving rise to the centers of culture and science which produced doctors, nurses, philosophers, mathematicians and astronomers, to mention but a few.   Islam also led to advancements in technology and education since the importance of reading Quran resulted in to a relatively high level of literacy among the general population. Due to the simplicity of the faith of basically believing in one God and his prophet Muhammad, the religion has become the second most popular religion in the world (Nigosian, 2004).             
         
Muslims recognize the supremacy of God who they term as Allah. They also believe in Angels who are created by God and also in all the prophets who preceded Prophet Muhammad. Since the word Islam means submission, they believe in complete submission to the will of God. There are five pillars or principles that are core in the religion which include prayer, concern for the needy, faith, pilgrimage to Makkah and self purification. All Muslims profess that there is only one God worthy of worship and his prophet Muhammad. The declaration of their faith is known as Shahada.   Their prayers which link them with their God are performed five times a day.  Salat which is the name of the prayers, contain verses from Quran and are led by a leader chosen by the congregation since the religion does not have priests.

Given that Muslims believe all things belong to God and man is only a custodian, they hold dearly the principle of giving to the needy as a means of purification. They therefore set apart some of their belongings to be given to the poor among their communities. Fast in the holy month of Ramadan is a mandatory practice for every Muslim, expect for the sick, elderly, nursing and expectant mothers.  During the fast, they abstain from food and sexual relations from dawn till sun set.  Finally, all the physically and the financially able Muslims attend the annual pilgrimage to Makkah known as Hajj.  During the visit, all the pilgrims wear special clothes which are always simple to ensure that all people appear equal before God (Nigosian, 2004).

Modern Manifestations of the Islam Religion
There are different manifestations of Islam in the modern world where some portray a positive image while others a negative image.  In the cultural perspective, it is a complete way of life since Islam and social membership are inseparable (McDaniel, Porter  Samovar, 2009).

The same studies record that Muhammad the messenger from Allah was both a religious and a political prophet. The Islamic law makes no distinction between society and religion but governs both the private and public affairs. Although there are other religions that still affect peoples way of life, Islam seems to be an exceptional since it is a religion that instructs people on how to carry out their lives in ethical, political, spiritual and economic arenas.  It is practiced openly without any hindrance and even taught in schools and other institutions of learning right from an early age.

In the modern world, Islam is also being viewed as a religion of terrorism.  Majority, especially in the West, have associated it with terrorism especially due to the fact that the well known terrorism groups are either from Muslim countries or they profess the Muslim faith. Following an increase in terrorist attacks especially during the last decade of the 20th century, Islam has been associated with the rising levels of insecurity. As a result, majority of the population view the faith as a security threat. It has therefore manifested itself as a religion which opposes other religions since the terrorists attacks are always directed to non-Muslims.

Islam and politics are inseparable and its involvement in world of politics cannot be overemphasized.  In countries like Pakistan and Iran, it has achieved international importance (McDaniel, Porter  Samovar, 2009). It has greatly influenced countries like Libya and Saudi Arabia.  In addition, it has contributed significantly to political conflicts between Arabs and Israelites and Somalis and Ethiopians. The involvement of Islam into the political arena has made it to be regarded as a political ideology which ought to be integrated in all the aspects of the society and not just as a mere religion.  For this reason, the religion has been at the center of political conflicts complicating the situations even further instead of solving the problem.

Impacts of Islam on Culture and Society
Islam is considered to be the greatest religious and social evolution in the mans history since it acted as mighty spiritual and democratic world force.  It was able to produce revolutionary changes due to its simplicity, high ideal of morality in the way of life and principle of brotherhood of man in the social order.  In many places where Islam was introduced, people ended up forsaking their traditional religious practices to embrace the faith. For instance, in Bangladesh, the traditional religions which were present before Islam was introduced were mainly Hindu and Buddhism. After the introduction of Islam by Sufi, Muslim conquers and modern traders, many people forsook their initial religions and embraced Islam. Consequently, they also embraced the Muslim culture of the Arab traders.  Most of them acquired the Arabic names and their language was also affected since studies of Khan (2007 indicate that there are a lot of Arabic words in the current language of people of Bengal.  In addition, as the Muslims from the northern India and Asia continued to occupy Bengal, many changes continued to take place not only socially but also politically. Every group that settled in Bangladesh contributed greatly to the social and political life. Turkish people who migrated to Bangladesh from the thirteenth century impacted the society greatly since most studies shows that Turkish food, dishes, names and terminologies are common among the Bengal Muslims. 

Islam is described as a religion which changes everyone who accepts it. Study of the history of certain countries and continents illustrate various impacts that the religion had in those particular places. For instance, Islam changed Europe from an ignorant and primitive continent, to a wise, dominant and powerful empire. In Addition, according to Zaimeche (2004), the religion did not only leave intellectual heritage in Europe, but also its splendor and luxury.  Islamic education and science was the basis for the civilization and major developments in Europe.  Further studies illustrate that since most of the Muslims were learned, they influenced learning once they settled in Europe. Many schools were opened and science, technology and mathematics began to advance.   As a result, the economy greatly improved.

Virtually everywhere in the world, Islam has had profound impacts. In America, though not very popular, it was readily accepted by the African Americans. This was due to the fact that they were facing a lot of racial discrimination and the religion was emphasizing on equality and social justice.  Despite the fact that the majority of the Muslims are either the Arab immigrants or the Africa Americans, Islam is still termed as the fastest growing religion in the country.  Consequently, as much as there is much opposition, it is still affecting the American culture since people are still abandoning their faith and embracing Islam.  Mosques are on the increase in America because Islams are buying land and building them with an aim of rekindling the Islam tradition way of life. Schools and other community based organizations are being established to cater for the Muslim community.

Having discussed the impact of Islam in Bangladesh, Europe and America, it is clear that Islam has impacted almost every aspect of the community.  In the political scene, the religion influences the major political decisions while in some places it takes control of the state and the political power. Some countries have incorporated the Sharia law in their constitution to take care of the interests of Muslims. It has also influenced the social institution since people who embrace the faith end up accepting the values and the norms stipulated therein. For instance, the women adapt the Muslim way of dressing which require women to cover themselves completely expect for the eyes. Muslim religious practices have become so common such that in almost every country, people recognize their significance (Khan, 2007). 

Conclusion
Like any other religion, Islam has undergone various phases in its growth since its establishment during the seventh century.  Although majority believes that it spreads by sword, most studies reveal that the simple nature of the faith made it to spread very fast and to gain a lot of popularity. As a result, it has affected the society, politically, socially, economically and virtually in each and every aspect. Initially, it manifested as a religion that emphasized on peace, brotherhood, equality and justice.  Contrastingly, in the modern world, the faith displays such a negative image characterized by terrorism, conflicts, social injustices and oppression to women. However, it is important to elaborate the facts since majority do not know the truth about the Muslim faith.