MECCA


I am currently within five classes of getting my B.A. Degree in
Philosophy, and thus have studied Muhammad in a general way before. Then as now
in our current studies I was surprised to find out how much Muhammad tolerated
other religions. Muhammad believed that all the “People of the Book” believed in
the same God. He believed that each of these monotheistic religions had their
own prophets, and that these were much like himself, a mortal man who had not
  sought to become a prophet, but were enlisted, if you will, by Angels or
God.


         "Say: O disbelievers,

         I shall not worship that which ye 
         worship,

         nor will ye worship that which I worship, 
 
         nor have I worshipped that which ye 
         worship,

         nor have ye worshipped that which I 
         worship.

         For you your religion and for me mine." (Lings, p94)


           
The Koran and its power cannot be understood by me, or most English
Speaking People. Its beauty is described as being so powerful in Arabic, that
those of Islam have no doubt about its origin being from an Angel and/or God.
Yet having served and lived in the deserts of Iraq, I can understand even in
English a shadow of the imagery that Muhammad used, and its power for his
people. Poetry was the main form of oral traditions being handed down from one
generation to another, and as the film described, it reminded me much of the
same type of poetry being used by Homer to create the early Greek ethos of the
Polis, which also gave them measures of morality and courage for its people.
(Islam, PBS)   


While I was aware of how much Idolatry is considered a grave sin
in Islam, I did not know that Mecca harbored other idols for all the tribes,
especially the Quraysh, inside the Ka’bah. I understand now that each tribe had
its own Idol to worship, and thus the Ka’bah became the home to all the local
idols. This is what led to the suspension of Clan and Family disputes and
allowed trade to flourish. Much of this same type of politics can be seen in
modern Islam, where Family, Then Clan, Then Country being the order of
importance to most Arabs. Islam united all Arabs in its religion, by placing God
in front of all these.


Even Jesus, according to the New Testament, had a hard time when
he returned from his preaching in other lands in Nazareth. For it is very hard
to preach and be a prophet to those who have known you most of your life.
Muhammad in his early year in Mecca, lived among all the people he was leading
as a prophet. How difficult this must have been. For he who sees a mortal trip,
fall, cough, and do other human embarrassing things will find it harder for them
to believe that he has been chosen by God. Muhammad alone, except for the
protection of his Uncle, and his immediate family, wife and children, must have
found this to even more difficult than Jesus.


It is sad to me, to see that modern extremists for Islam have
forgotten the early lessons of Muhammad and his tolerance for all believers of
the One God. Now the cries of anger against all other religions seems to be the
most publicized in the modern press, and the average American is bombarded with
this image daily. Misunderstanding that much like American’s Timothy McVeigh,
extremists are not even close to portraying the masses of Islamic
countries.


                                               





REFERENCES


Muhammad, His life based on the earliest sources, Ling m, 2006,
Inner Traditions,


   Rochester,
New York   


Islam:
  Empire of Faith, PBS, 2000  

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