REL 402 - World's Living Religions
Assignment 6 - Islam
Notes
- Because Islam arose in the Arab culture, the texts and terms used were originally written in Arabic. Arabic uses a different alphabet to the Latin alphabet used by English-speaking cultures. There are some sounds and letters in Arabic which do not correspond exactly to English; also there are various dialects of Arabic, in which words are pronounced differently. Hence, when Arabic words are transliterated into English, the spelling may vary - so Koran or Quran refer to the same book, Salaam or Salam both refer to the same quality (peace), Mohammed may also be spelled Muhamed or Mahomet, and Moslem may also be spelled Muslim or Musselman.
- When reading Islamic material, one sometimes meets the abbreviation "pbuh" after the name of God, or of religious leaders such as Mohammed and Moses - this refers to the standard phrase "peace be upon him"
- Go here for class notes on Islam
Textbook Readings
- Chapter 3, pages 88-123
InterNet Links for this assignment
- Go here for Links for this week
- Useful articles can be found by using the Topics as search words in GoodSearch
- Remember - always cite your sources
This Week's Report : Twelve Questions and One Mini-essay
- According to the textbook, what is the meaning of Islam, and the meaning of salaam
- When did Mohammed receive revelations from God, and what is the name for this collection of material
- What is the Hadith
- How does the Quran view Jews and Christians
- What are the "Five Pillars of Islam"
- What are some of the major differences between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam (you may have to use some of the InterNet resources)
- What are some of the main ideas of Sufism
- How does Islam view Mecca and the Kaaba
- Describe the main features and functions of a Mosque
- What are some of the meanings of Jihad
- What is the Hajj, and how is it performed
- What is Ramadan, and how is it observed by Moslems - see "An Idiot's Guide to Ramadan" in the InterNet resources
- Mini-Essay (at least one page) - Write an account of the life of Mohammed
Remember to cite your sources
Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then send it as an Attachment to, or pasted into, an email message to Dr. Rollinson at
rollinsondr@yahoo.com, rollinsondr@hellokitty.com, and rollinsondr@mail2world.com
Please use all 3 email addresses in case any of the mailboxes go down.
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