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the Balance in the World of Religions

The  Balance  in  the  world  of  religionsimpotent and only fit for cultural
improvement.
Each religion including that of Christianity,
Buddhism and Islam had its particular impactOn the other hand, the role of force in Islam
on the very essence of the word, shaping itscould be down-played. From the middle of the
culture, politics, science, social lifeseventeenth century there had been those who
according to the main prerogatives of thedecried it as a vulgar opinion that Muhammad
religions mentioned. Moreover, religions had,spread the faith by the sword. [Tailor.T,
I would say, the most important influence on1868].
history. It is due the conflict between
Christianity and Islam the progress ofTo cover Islam from the perspective of
Western society turned out to be so extensivecultural, artistic, political and social
and deep. It is due to Buddhism people try toperspective I would like to propose you the
bring profound changes to their lives makingfollowing  brief  analysis  of  Islam.
an effort to free themselves from negative
influence  of  the  society  they  live  in.Cultural tradition: religious enthusiasm,
argument concerning the relative truth of
BuddhismIslam
As the religion of more than 90 per cent ofArtistic traditions: dominance of religious
Thailand's population, Buddhism became one ofcontest  in  all kinds of artistic traditions
the three pillars of the national ideology,
alongside the monarchy and the nation. SincePolitical system: justified use of force,
the very beginnings of Buddhism in Thailandmission of spreading the faith, imperial
in the thirteenth century, it has always beenconfidence in the virtue of Islamic culture,
closely linked with the state, andradical political and social implications,
specifically with the king in the form of thethe image of Islam as a religion of force,
dhammaraja  (Dharma  ruler  or  just  ruler).the political decrepitude and moral and
social  evils
Buddhists stress the personal choice of the
individual or family when it comes toSocial system: secular and religious
religion. No religion is superior to another:patronage, the moral degradation of women,
the goal of all religions is identical--toslavery, the physical and mental debilities
lead a moral life--and converting others toof men, envy, violence and cruelty, the
Buddhism  is  not  given  much  prominence.disquiet and misery of private life, the
continual agitations, commotions, and
Buddhism in the age of Asoka had maderevolutions  of  public  life.
universal claims to the allegiance of man.
Eventually, allegiance or commitment wouldAccording to Smith Islam and scientific and
become the major feature of other religionspolitical  progress  are  incompatible.
such  as  Christianity  and  Islam
Thus, Islam was often seen as the source of
Christianity unjustified use of force. Theall the evils which, in the western
Christians are convinced that theirs is theimagination at least, had afflicted Islamic
way of ultimate truth. For Protestants evensocieties. It was Islam, extravagant but not
more than for Catholics, Christianity is seenprogressive, that had relieved the eastern
as  superior  to  all  other  religions.mind from the discipline of improving itself,
and had left it in its preferred state of
Christianity has become the religion ofuntamed wildness. Islam and scientific and
dogmas. However, divided by heresy andpolitical progress are incompatible, as
factionalism, and permeated by impiety,Christianity and scientific and political
inequity, iniquity and idolatry Christianityprogress are not incompatible". [Smith B.,
was near to lose its humanistic nature.1995]
Still, the image Christianity as a vibrant,
active, progressive was a good contrast to aConsequently, Islamic religion can be
passive inert Islam. This was one of thecharacterized  by
factors that enabled religious and political
hegemony  of  Western  culture.1.Blind  devotion  to  Muhammad
These were common definitions of differences2.The  presence  of  Islamic  fatalism.
between these two religions. Edward Freeman,
for example, defined the west as progressive,3.religious  intolerance
legal, monogamous and Christian, and the East
as arbitrary, stationary, polygamous and4.political  despotism
Mahometan. To William Muir, Islam may have
been suitable to the Arabia of the time ofDespotism.
Muhammad, but quite unsuited to other times
and places: "it binds society hand and foot",The perceived relationship between Islam and
he declared. [Smith B, 1995]. So, mydespotism has always been the landmark of
evaluation of Christianity as a religionmany disputes. However, I would again refer
would  look  as  follows.to Bosworth Smith, who considered that it to
be wrong to judge Islam in terms of despotism
Cultural tradition: no religious enthusiasm,as well as Christianity in terms of
argument concerning the relative truthAnabaptists, Pillar Saints, or Shakers.
ChristianityConsequently, a strong tendency to evaluate
Islam as the source of all evil is a mistake.
Artistic traditions: partial religious
contest in all kinds of artistic traditions,It is quite visible that there are
the prevalence of secular traditions oversignificant differences in the cultures of
religious  onesdifferent religious societies. However, my
reading the book by Herb Ziegler Traditions
Political  system:  Legal  basis& Encounters: A Global Perspective on the
Past has helped me to shape my perception of
Social system: secular and religioushistory as connection of "complex
patronage, the moral value of women, slavery,societies"[Ziegler H.,2005] that eventually
, violence and cruelty, revolutions of publicis an inevitable process for coexistence of
life.different worlds and ways of life. However,
the most controversial issue in this aspect
Islam  as  religion  of  enthusiasmis  religion.
In the later part of the eighteenth and into6
the nineteenth century, religious enthusiasm
no longer carried the radical political andConclusion.
social implications it had held during
Commonwealth and Restoration times. It wasThe world religions (Buddhism, Christianity,
more often viewed as potentiallyIslam) created the history and shaped it in
self-deceptive than socially disruptive. Asthe way of continuous contest the outcome of
Nathan Alcock put it in 1796: "Enthusiasm maywhich is the society we are having now as it
cause a man to deceive himself, and take hishas been stated in my paper. My research
own fancies and conceptions for divinealso proved that each religion is unique in
suggestions. This probably was the case withits own way, and is build upon long-term
Mahomet and the success of his enterprisestraditions. In fact, all religions has both
[sic] might still further persuade him thatpositive and negative sides. Eventually,
his cause was the cause of God." [Thomasneither of religions could be defined as
Alcock  T.,,  1796]right or wrong. That is why everyone must be
aware f other civilization's presence and its
In the Victorian period, the culturalcultural, social and political values.
hegemony of west over east allowed forConsequently, the rivalry between this West
modifications to the image of Islam as aand that East--between the West and Islam--is
religion of force. On the one hand it couldnatural rivalry of two different systems each
be argued that, while an aggressive Islamof which has strong demand for world
needed to be opposed, a peaceful Islam wasdominance.



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