By: Hannah, Frances, && Nancy.

RELIGION

Religion….

Religion adds meaning and purpose to the lives of followers, granting them an appreciation of the past, an understanding of the present, and hope for the future. By definition, a religion is a belief system concerning one or more deities and incorporating rituals, ceremonies, ethical guidelines, and life philosophies.

History of Religion……

Types of Religion…..

CHRISTIANITY: With well over two billion followers throughout the

world, Christianity is an Abrahamic religion centered on God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. One of the big issues surrounding Christianity is that some people question the existence of the Trinity. Other points of debate are the Christian beliefs in Immaculate Conception, the original sin, the existence of the Devil, and the coming of the apocalypse. Learn more about Christianity and find out how it became the world’s largest religion with holidays that are known worldwide.

Islam

More than one billion people in the world follow Islam, worship Allah, believe in angels, and consider Muhammad as the latest prophet. These are only a few of the beliefs set by the religion that is disciplined and strict in its rules and customs. The Five Pillars guide Muslim life, as do the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the fatwas which contribute to the Sharia.

Buddhism

Learn about the quest for Enlightenment that intrigued people throughout history and learn about the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Meditation played a significant role in the life of Siddhartha Gautama and has continued to change the lives of people today.

Hinduism

With Brahman at its center, Hinduism is a major religion that is divided into various schools. Around 80 percent of the population of India follows Hinduism. With the concept of karma, what goes around comes around. Past actions determine a soul’s cycles of life in Hinduism. Making offerings of flowers and fruit is part of Hindu worship, which also incorporates mantras, murtis, and yantras and could take place in a symbolic Hindu temple

Atheism

Atheism appeals to people who do not believe the concept of supernatural beings and do not rely on scriptures that rule life.

Judaism

Considered a faith of action, Judaism is based on the covenant relationship between God and the chosen Jewish people: Jews follow God’s laws, and God rewards and supports them. The oldest of the Abrahamic religions.

Bahai

One of the world's youngest religions, Bahai grew out of Islam. According to this Iranic religion, the latest prophet (following a long line of prophets including Jesus and Muhammad) is Baha'u'llah. Therefore, with the most recent prophet, Bahai is the most current religion. Bahai is tolerant of different religions, saying that they worship a single God in different ways.

Jehovah’s Witness

Known for their door-to-door missionary work, Jehovah's Witnesses print their own translation of the Bible in 70 languages. They prefer to stay within their own communities, pointing parallels between themselves and Jesus. Jehovah's Witnesses refrain from voting and having blood transfusions

Mormons

Mormons believe that they are the only Christian sect that is modeled after the guidelines set by Jesus. Mormons believe that God has a body and a family. While Mormons are often accused of practicing polygamy, the tradition has been banned by the Mormon Church for over a century. They also believe in living prophets and that their Church presidents are such prophets.

Jewish

The word Jew (Hebrew: used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or a member of the Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes.

Most Jews regard themselves as a people, members of a nation, and the ancestry of Jewish national identity is traced from the Biblical patriarch Abraham through his son Isaac and in particular Jacob, Isaac's son, as well as to those who subsequently joined them over the course of history as converts.

Oppression of Religion……

Religious Freedom Religious freedom is the freedom of individuals to

believe in, practice, and promote their religion of choice without (government) interference, harassment, or other repercussions - as long as practices based on, or resulting from, those beliefs do not break the law (e.g. do not encourage or result in fraud, tax evasion, murder, terrorism, acts designed to undermine the government or the constitution, the use of unethical persuasion tactics)

Ex: 1st Amendment; guarantee of religious freedom, and a wall separation between church and state.

Oppression cont….

Religious Discrimination Religious discrimination is devaluing a person

or group because of their religion, or treating someone differently because of what they do or don't believe.

Ex: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was enforced to protect employees from being harassed or mistreated by managers, co-workers based on religious beliefs.

Cont……

Religious Persecution Religious persecution is the practice of

discouraging religious freedom and the freedom to express and/or promote all or certain religious beliefs - with repercussions ranging from discrimination and harassment to prevention and prosecution (by legal and/or illegal means).

Ex.Holocaust

Cont…..

Religious Intolerance Religious Intolerance is the refusing to

acknowledge and support the right of individuals to have their own beliefs and related legitimate practices and the unwillingness to have one's own beliefs and related practices critically evaluated.

Stereotypes of Religion….

Christians: judgmental, hypocrites, intolerant, prude.  Jews: greedy, nit-picky, stingy misers, curly haired,

large hook-noses, thick lips, and wear kippahs.

Muslims: terrorists, intolerant, controlling, violent.

Buddhists: violent, and stone-worshipers.

Hindus: Caste system

Muslims….

A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. The word Muslim means one who submits and implies complete submission to the will of God (Allah). Muslims believe that nature is itself Islamic, since it follows natural laws placed by God. Thus, a Muslim strives to surrender to God's commands every step of the way.

The holiest book for Muslims is the Qur'an, or the 'Koran' in English. Muslims consider the Arabic Qur'an as the direct revelation of God; translations do exist to other languages but are not regarded as the literal word of God.

Muslims cont…..

The basic beliefs of Muslims are: belief in God, His angels, His revealed Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgement, and the Al Qadar (which is a form of divine pre-destination). The revealed books of Islam also include the Injil (Christian Gospels), the Torah and the Psalms.

It is believed to have began in 7th Century Arabia, by Muhammed Ibn Abduallah

Muslims cont……

The Five Pillars of Islam on which a Muslim's life is founded are: The Testimony that there is none worthy of worship except God and that

Muhammad is his messenger. Establishing of the five daily Prayers (Salaah). These prayers are ritualistic

in nature and adherence to the ritual practice is required. The location at which one prays is not strictly defined as long as one is able to establish the Qiblat.

The Giving of Zakaah (charity), which is generally 2.5% of the yearly savings for a rich man working in trade or industry, and 10% or 20% of the produce for agriculturists. This money or produce is distributed among the poor.

Refraining from eating, drinking and having sex from dawn to dusk in the month of Ramadhaan (Sawm).

The Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca during the month of Zul Hijjah, which is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it. This ability includes the financial means and the physical strength since the hajj can be strenuous. Also, one has to obtain a permit from the Saudi government which is granted based on an annual quota based on country.

Other Ways of Practice…

Dietary Practices No pork or alcohol. (with no specific reasons from

the Holy Qur’an.) Gender Roles

-There is an emphasis on the right’s treatment and responsibility of women.

The Treatment of Women-Women in Islam are not permitted to dress in a way that

draws sexual attention-are to lower there gaze and guard there modesty.

Where is Islam Practiced….

Islam is practiced among 1 billion Muslims worldwide.

Indonesia ~170 million (largest national Muslim population).

Pakistan ~136 million. U.S.A. ~6-8 million.

Who Practices Islam (U.S Based Btw Immigrants & Non-Immigrants….

Immigrant Muslims-Arabians (26.2%)-South Asians (24.7%)-Middle Eastern (Non-Arabs) (10.3%)-East Asians (6.4%)

Non-Immigrant Muslims (23.8%) -African Americans (23.8%)

-Caucasians (11%)-Native Americans (11%)

Why are Muslims Oppressed?..

Why are Muslims oppressed???› Muslims have always been oppressed for years, because of the way they dress,

the way they follow religion, the language they speak, for the actions that other Muslims commit, etc.

› Muslims are not only oppressed by Americans, but by other Muslims, as well.

Muslims are viewed in many different ways, by many different cultures.

-According to an Islamic advocacy group one in four Americans holds anti-Muslim views, the Muslim religion teaches violence and hatred (26 percent agreed); Muslims value life less than other people (27 percent agreed); and Muslims want to change the American way of life (29 percent agreed).

Stereotypes

Have you noticed that we are continually informed by the Muslim community that they feel unfairly oppressed, harassed and victimized ?

These Muslim complaints are wrongly directed at the police and society, because Muslims are the victim of their own suicide bombers and various Islamic extremists, not society or the police. It is their own Koran which inspires terrorists to kill and maim in the name of Islam, so that Muslims are seen as suspicious when they carry a rucksack on the tube, or walk into a restaurant with a suitcase.

Most Muslims are not terrorists, but most terrorists worldwide are Muslims, holding up the Koran while beheading innocent captives, slaughtering thousands by bombs, most of them even their own, but another sect.

Stereotypes, cont….

Stereotypes of Muslims often involve themes associated with violence.

Such negative examples include Muslims being heavily associated with bomb-making and terrorists plots.

Also some see Muslims as poor though this is not expressed in the media often

Advocating for Muslims

Advocate is simply referring to an individual, ad, etc, that speaks, pleads, or argues in favor of a particular person, animal, or thing.

Ways one can advocate for Muslims;› Schools could take a role on greater cultural education.› People can educate themselves by volunteering for Muslim advocating

organizations. › As well as attending Educational Seminars the majority of

organizations hold monthly

Websites:

http://www.muslimadvocates.org/get_involved/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Muslim-Advocates/50711561090

References

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Students-see-Muslims-as-terrorists/2006/02/06/1139074142017.html

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/advocate http://nwchurch-of-god.org.uk/muslims_oppressed.html http://www.muslimadvocates.org/get_involved/got_rights.html http://www.typesofreligion.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiZYYUAnn3k http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Jewish