World Religions and Beliefs

What is the legal system of Islam called?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question.

According to the history of Islam, around the year 610 A.D., in a cave in the Arabian city of Mecca, a young orphan named Muhammad heard a voice ordering him to recite revelations that would be dictated to him. Over a period of 22 years, Muhammad acted as a “transmitter” for the words of God, or “Allah,” which were recorded in writing and are collectively known as the Qur’an. Islam is based on the belief that the Qur’an is the direct word of God. Muslims, people who follow the Islamic faith, must observe the “five pillars” of Islam: the profession of faith in God and in the prophet Muhammad, prayer conducted five times a day, giving alms to the poor, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and undertaking the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition, the Shari‘ah, Islam’s legal-ethical system, provides Muslims with a blueprint for human conduct regarding matters such as family life and money.
The second-largest religion in existence (behind Christianity) and the dominant religion in more than twenty countries, Islam is believed to be practiced by over one fifth of the world’s population. As Islam’s influence continues to grow throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and in the West—where some say it is the fastest-growing religion— scholars of diverse nations and faiths have offered their perspectives about the impact of this development. One of the most controversial opinions has come from American professor Samuel P. Huntington, author of the 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. Huntington proposes that Islam and the West are embroiled in a “clash of civilizations” in which “dedicated Islamic militants exploit the open societies of the West and plant car bombs at selected targets [and] Western military professionals exploit the open skies of Islam and drop smart bombs at selected targets.” In Huntington’s view, this conflict between Islam and the West promises to end in violence.
Those who agree with Huntington maintain that the values of Islam and the West are inherently incompatible. For example, unlike Western societies, which tend toward secular governments, many societies in which Muslims are the majority support the integration of religion and government— a philosophy that is often referred to as “political Islam.” Some Westerners regard political Islam as a dangerous movement whose goal is to gain power, dismantle other religions, and suppress human rights—as illustrated by Afghanistan, where self-proclaimed Islamic rulers have denied women basic rights such as access to health care; and Algeria and Sudan, where Christians have suffered persecution. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, contends that political Islam is by nature undemocratic and power-seeking:
To build a new Muslim society, fundamentalists proclaim their intent to do whatever they must; they openly flaunt an extremist sensibility. . . . If that means destruction and death for the enemies of true Islam, so be it. . . . Seeing Islam as the basis of a political system touching every aspect of life, fundamentalists are totalitarian. Whatever the problem, “Islam is the solution.” . . . Fundamentalists are revolutionary in outlook, extremist in behavior, totalitarian in ambition. . . . Like communism and fascism, Islam offers a vanguard ideology; a complete program to improve man and create a new society; complete control over that society; and cadres, ready, even eager, to spill blood.
On the other side of the debate are Graham E. Fuller and Ian O. Lesser, authors of A Sense of Siege: the Geopolitics of Islam and the West, who challenge the notion that Islam is an “ideology.” They maintain that, just as the West reflects a vast diversity of beliefs and values, “Islam [cannot] be treated as a single, cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, monolithic entity.” Those who agree with Fuller and Lesser argue that ominous claims such as those offered by Huntington and Pipes only serve to reemphasize prevalent stereotypes of Muslims as religious “fanatics”—stereotypes that lead to incidents of anti-Arab violence in Western countries—and encourage non-Muslims to adopt an “us-versus-them” attitude toward Islam. In reality, asserts Muslim activist Amira Elazhary Sonbol, “Anyone looking for [old-fashioned] American values can find them in Islam. It stresses family unity, caring for your mother and father, as well as bringing up children in the faith.”
Still, both Muslims and non-Muslims agree that some radical groups operating in the name of Islam have instigated acts of terrorism against Western nations. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian millionaire and supporter of radical Islamic groups, is suspected to be the mastermind and financier behind countless acts of anti-Western terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Oliver B. Revell, former senior FBI official in charge of counter-terrorist investigations, warns that Islamic militants “are ultimately committed to waging holy war, both in the Middle East and the world at large against all of their opposition. And that means us.”
However, claims Middle East scholar Antony T. Sullivan, many Westerners neglect to consider what drives Islamic terrorism in the first place. If some Muslims are hostile toward the West, he contends, that hostility “has much to do with Western policy before and during the Gulf War, as well as long-standing American policy toward Israel and Lebanon.” In fact, in the view of many Muslims—including Muslim-Americans—the United States pursues foreign policies that either neglect or antagonize followers of Islam. For example, U.S. attacks on Iraq, which were viewed by many Americans as necessary to counter dictator Saddam Hussein, were seen by Muslims as an attack on innocent Muslim civilians.
Differing perspectives about an event’s significance are common in the debate over how the religion of Islam is changing social and political systems throughout the world. In Islam: Opposing Viewpoints, an array of scholars, political analysts, and journalists offer contrasting views about Islam in the following chapters: Are the Values of Islam and the West in Conflict? What Is the Status of Women Under Islam? Does Islam Promote Terrorism? And What Policies Should the U.S. Take Toward Islam? The authors in this anthology examine conflicting perceptions of Islam’s values and con.

According to the passage, why are there clashes between the Islamic and the western countries?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question.

According to the history of Islam, around the year 610 A.D., in a cave in the Arabian city of Mecca, a young orphan named Muhammad heard a voice ordering him to recite revelations that would be dictated to him. Over a period of 22 years, Muhammad acted as a “transmitter” for the words of God, or “Allah,” which were recorded in writing and are collectively known as the Qur’an. Islam is based on the belief that the Qur’an is the direct word of God. Muslims, people who follow the Islamic faith, must observe the “five pillars” of Islam: the profession of faith in God and in the prophet Muhammad, prayer conducted five times a day, giving alms to the poor, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and undertaking the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition, the Shari‘ah, Islam’s legal-ethical system, provides Muslims with a blueprint for human conduct regarding matters such as family life and money.
The second-largest religion in existence (behind Christianity) and the dominant religion in more than twenty countries, Islam is believed to be practiced by over one fifth of the world’s population. As Islam’s influence continues to grow throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and in the West—where some say it is the fastest-growing religion— scholars of diverse nations and faiths have offered their perspectives about the impact of this development. One of the most controversial opinions has come from American professor Samuel P. Huntington, author of the 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. Huntington proposes that Islam and the West are embroiled in a “clash of civilizations” in which “dedicated Islamic militants exploit the open societies of the West and plant car bombs at selected targets [and] Western military professionals exploit the open skies of Islam and drop smart bombs at selected targets.” In Huntington’s view, this conflict between Islam and the West promises to end in violence.
Those who agree with Huntington maintain that the values of Islam and the West are inherently incompatible. For example, unlike Western societies, which tend toward secular governments, many societies in which Muslims are the majority support the integration of religion and government— a philosophy that is often referred to as “political Islam.” Some Westerners regard political Islam as a dangerous movement whose goal is to gain power, dismantle other religions, and suppress human rights—as illustrated by Afghanistan, where self-proclaimed Islamic rulers have denied women basic rights such as access to health care; and Algeria and Sudan, where Christians have suffered persecution. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, contends that political Islam is by nature undemocratic and power-seeking:
To build a new Muslim society, fundamentalists proclaim their intent to do whatever they must; they openly flaunt an extremist sensibility. . . . If that means destruction and death for the enemies of true Islam, so be it. . . . Seeing Islam as the basis of a political system touching every aspect of life, fundamentalists are totalitarian. Whatever the problem, “Islam is the solution.” . . . Fundamentalists are revolutionary in outlook, extremist in behavior, totalitarian in ambition. . . . Like communism and fascism, Islam offers a vanguard ideology; a complete program to improve man and create a new society; complete control over that society; and cadres, ready, even eager, to spill blood.
On the other side of the debate are Graham E. Fuller and Ian O. Lesser, authors of A Sense of Siege: the Geopolitics of Islam and the West, who challenge the notion that Islam is an “ideology.” They maintain that, just as the West reflects a vast diversity of beliefs and values, “Islam [cannot] be treated as a single, cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, monolithic entity.” Those who agree with Fuller and Lesser argue that ominous claims such as those offered by Huntington and Pipes only serve to reemphasize prevalent stereotypes of Muslims as religious “fanatics”—stereotypes that lead to incidents of anti-Arab violence in Western countries—and encourage non-Muslims to adopt an “us-versus-them” attitude toward Islam. In reality, asserts Muslim activist Amira Elazhary Sonbol, “Anyone looking for [old-fashioned] American values can find them in Islam. It stresses family unity, caring for your mother and father, as well as bringing up children in the faith.”
Still, both Muslims and non-Muslims agree that some radical groups operating in the name of Islam have instigated acts of terrorism against Western nations. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian millionaire and supporter of radical Islamic groups, is suspected to be the mastermind and financier behind countless acts of anti-Western terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Oliver B. Revell, former senior FBI official in charge of counter-terrorist investigations, warns that Islamic militants “are ultimately committed to waging holy war, both in the Middle East and the world at large against all of their opposition. And that means us.”
However, claims Middle East scholar Antony T. Sullivan, many Westerners neglect to consider what drives Islamic terrorism in the first place. If some Muslims are hostile toward the West, he contends, that hostility “has much to do with Western policy before and during the Gulf War, as well as long-standing American policy toward Israel and Lebanon.” In fact, in the view of many Muslims—including Muslim-Americans—the United States pursues foreign policies that either neglect or antagonize followers of Islam. For example, U.S. attacks on Iraq, which were viewed by many Americans as necessary to counter dictator Saddam Hussein, were seen by Muslims as an attack on innocent Muslim civilians.
Differing perspectives about an event’s significance are common in the debate over how the religion of Islam is changing social and political systems throughout the world. In Islam: Opposing Viewpoints, an array of scholars, political analysts, and journalists offer contrasting views about Islam in the following chapters: Are the Values of Islam and the West in Conflict? What Is the Status of Women Under Islam? Does Islam Promote Terrorism? And What Policies Should the U.S. Take Toward Islam? The authors in this anthology examine conflicting perceptions of Islam’s values and con.

Which Islamic value is similar to Old American value?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question.

According to the history of Islam, around the year 610 A.D., in a cave in the Arabian city of Mecca, a young orphan named Muhammad heard a voice ordering him to recite revelations that would be dictated to him. Over a period of 22 years, Muhammad acted as a “transmitter” for the words of God, or “Allah,” which were recorded in writing and are collectively known as the Qur’an. Islam is based on the belief that the Qur’an is the direct word of God. Muslims, people who follow the Islamic faith, must observe the “five pillars” of Islam: the profession of faith in God and in the prophet Muhammad, prayer conducted five times a day, giving alms to the poor, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and undertaking the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition, the Shari‘ah, Islam’s legal-ethical system, provides Muslims with a blueprint for human conduct regarding matters such as family life and money.
The second-largest religion in existence (behind Christianity) and the dominant religion in more than twenty countries, Islam is believed to be practiced by over one fifth of the world’s population. As Islam’s influence continues to grow throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and in the West—where some say it is the fastest-growing religion— scholars of diverse nations and faiths have offered their perspectives about the impact of this development. One of the most controversial opinions has come from American professor Samuel P. Huntington, author of the 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. Huntington proposes that Islam and the West are embroiled in a “clash of civilizations” in which “dedicated Islamic militants exploit the open societies of the West and plant car bombs at selected targets [and] Western military professionals exploit the open skies of Islam and drop smart bombs at selected targets.” In Huntington’s view, this conflict between Islam and the West promises to end in violence.
Those who agree with Huntington maintain that the values of Islam and the West are inherently incompatible. For example, unlike Western societies, which tend toward secular governments, many societies in which Muslims are the majority support the integration of religion and government— a philosophy that is often referred to as “political Islam.” Some Westerners regard political Islam as a dangerous movement whose goal is to gain power, dismantle other religions, and suppress human rights—as illustrated by Afghanistan, where self-proclaimed Islamic rulers have denied women basic rights such as access to health care; and Algeria and Sudan, where Christians have suffered persecution. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, contends that political Islam is by nature undemocratic and power-seeking:
To build a new Muslim society, fundamentalists proclaim their intent to do whatever they must; they openly flaunt an extremist sensibility. . . . If that means destruction and death for the enemies of true Islam, so be it. . . . Seeing Islam as the basis of a political system touching every aspect of life, fundamentalists are totalitarian. Whatever the problem, “Islam is the solution.” . . . Fundamentalists are revolutionary in outlook, extremist in behavior, totalitarian in ambition. . . . Like communism and fascism, Islam offers a vanguard ideology; a complete program to improve man and create a new society; complete control over that society; and cadres, ready, even eager, to spill blood.
On the other side of the debate are Graham E. Fuller and Ian O. Lesser, authors of A Sense of Siege: the Geopolitics of Islam and the West, who challenge the notion that Islam is an “ideology.” They maintain that, just as the West reflects a vast diversity of beliefs and values, “Islam [cannot] be treated as a single, cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, monolithic entity.” Those who agree with Fuller and Lesser argue that ominous claims such as those offered by Huntington and Pipes only serve to reemphasize prevalent stereotypes of Muslims as religious “fanatics”—stereotypes that lead to incidents of anti-Arab violence in Western countries—and encourage non-Muslims to adopt an “us-versus-them” attitude toward Islam. In reality, asserts Muslim activist Amira Elazhary Sonbol, “Anyone looking for [old-fashioned] American values can find them in Islam. It stresses family unity, caring for your mother and father, as well as bringing up children in the faith.”
Still, both Muslims and non-Muslims agree that some radical groups operating in the name of Islam have instigated acts of terrorism against Western nations. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian millionaire and supporter of radical Islamic groups, is suspected to be the mastermind and financier behind countless acts of anti-Western terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Oliver B. Revell, former senior FBI official in charge of counter-terrorist investigations, warns that Islamic militants “are ultimately committed to waging holy war, both in the Middle East and the world at large against all of their opposition. And that means us.”
However, claims Middle East scholar Antony T. Sullivan, many Westerners neglect to consider what drives Islamic terrorism in the first place. If some Muslims are hostile toward the West, he contends, that hostility “has much to do with Western policy before and during the Gulf War, as well as long-standing American policy toward Israel and Lebanon.” In fact, in the view of many Muslims—including Muslim-Americans—the United States pursues foreign policies that either neglect or antagonize followers of Islam. For example, U.S. attacks on Iraq, which were viewed by many Americans as necessary to counter dictator Saddam Hussein, were seen by Muslims as an attack on innocent Muslim civilians.
Differing perspectives about an event’s significance are common in the debate over how the religion of Islam is changing social and political systems throughout the world. In Islam: Opposing Viewpoints, an array of scholars, political analysts, and journalists offer contrasting views about Islam in the following chapters: Are the Values of Islam and the West in Conflict? What Is the Status of Women Under Islam? Does Islam Promote Terrorism? And What Policies Should the U.S. Take Toward Islam? The authors in this anthology examine conflicting perceptions of Islam’s values and con.

What do you understand by the word “totalitarian” in reference to the passage?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question.

According to the history of Islam, around the year 610 A.D., in a cave in the Arabian city of Mecca, a young orphan named Muhammad heard a voice ordering him to recite revelations that would be dictated to him. Over a period of 22 years, Muhammad acted as a “transmitter” for the words of God, or “Allah,” which were recorded in writing and are collectively known as the Qur’an. Islam is based on the belief that the Qur’an is the direct word of God. Muslims, people who follow the Islamic faith, must observe the “five pillars” of Islam: the profession of faith in God and in the prophet Muhammad, prayer conducted five times a day, giving alms to the poor, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and undertaking the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition, the Shari‘ah, Islam’s legal-ethical system, provides Muslims with a blueprint for human conduct regarding matters such as family life and money.
The second-largest religion in existence (behind Christianity) and the dominant religion in more than twenty countries, Islam is believed to be practiced by over one fifth of the world’s population. As Islam’s influence continues to grow throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and in the West—where some say it is the fastest-growing religion— scholars of diverse nations and faiths have offered their perspectives about the impact of this development. One of the most controversial opinions has come from American professor Samuel P. Huntington, author of the 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. Huntington proposes that Islam and the West are embroiled in a “clash of civilizations” in which “dedicated Islamic militants exploit the open societies of the West and plant car bombs at selected targets [and] Western military professionals exploit the open skies of Islam and drop smart bombs at selected targets.” In Huntington’s view, this conflict between Islam and the West promises to end in violence.
Those who agree with Huntington maintain that the values of Islam and the West are inherently incompatible. For example, unlike Western societies, which tend toward secular governments, many societies in which Muslims are the majority support the integration of religion and government— a philosophy that is often referred to as “political Islam.” Some Westerners regard political Islam as a dangerous movement whose goal is to gain power, dismantle other religions, and suppress human rights—as illustrated by Afghanistan, where self-proclaimed Islamic rulers have denied women basic rights such as access to health care; and Algeria and Sudan, where Christians have suffered persecution. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, contends that political Islam is by nature undemocratic and power-seeking:
To build a new Muslim society, fundamentalists proclaim their intent to do whatever they must; they openly flaunt an extremist sensibility. . . . If that means destruction and death for the enemies of true Islam, so be it. . . . Seeing Islam as the basis of a political system touching every aspect of life, fundamentalists are totalitarian. Whatever the problem, “Islam is the solution.” . . . Fundamentalists are revolutionary in outlook, extremist in behavior, totalitarian in ambition. . . . Like communism and fascism, Islam offers a vanguard ideology; a complete program to improve man and create a new society; complete control over that society; and cadres, ready, even eager, to spill blood.
On the other side of the debate are Graham E. Fuller and Ian O. Lesser, authors of A Sense of Siege: the Geopolitics of Islam and the West, who challenge the notion that Islam is an “ideology.” They maintain that, just as the West reflects a vast diversity of beliefs and values, “Islam [cannot] be treated as a single, cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, monolithic entity.” Those who agree with Fuller and Lesser argue that ominous claims such as those offered by Huntington and Pipes only serve to reemphasize prevalent stereotypes of Muslims as religious “fanatics”—stereotypes that lead to incidents of anti-Arab violence in Western countries—and encourage non-Muslims to adopt an “us-versus-them” attitude toward Islam. In reality, asserts Muslim activist Amira Elazhary Sonbol, “Anyone looking for [old-fashioned] American values can find them in Islam. It stresses family unity, caring for your mother and father, as well as bringing up children in the faith.”
Still, both Muslims and non-Muslims agree that some radical groups operating in the name of Islam have instigated acts of terrorism against Western nations. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian millionaire and supporter of radical Islamic groups, is suspected to be the mastermind and financier behind countless acts of anti-Western terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Oliver B. Revell, former senior FBI official in charge of counter-terrorist investigations, warns that Islamic militants “are ultimately committed to waging holy war, both in the Middle East and the world at large against all of their opposition. And that means us.”
However, claims Middle East scholar Antony T. Sullivan, many Westerners neglect to consider what drives Islamic terrorism in the first place. If some Muslims are hostile toward the West, he contends, that hostility “has much to do with Western policy before and during the Gulf War, as well as long-standing American policy toward Israel and Lebanon.” In fact, in the view of many Muslims—including Muslim-Americans—the United States pursues foreign policies that either neglect or antagonize followers of Islam. For example, U.S. attacks on Iraq, which were viewed by many Americans as necessary to counter dictator Saddam Hussein, were seen by Muslims as an attack on innocent Muslim civilians.
Differing perspectives about an event’s significance are common in the debate over how the religion of Islam is changing social and political systems throughout the world. In Islam: Opposing Viewpoints, an array of scholars, political analysts, and journalists offer contrasting views about Islam in the following chapters: Are the Values of Islam and the West in Conflict? What Is the Status of Women Under Islam? Does Islam Promote Terrorism? And What Policies Should the U.S. Take Toward Islam? The authors in this anthology examine conflicting perceptions of Islam’s values and con.

'Some people have challenged the notion that Islam is an ideology'. Which of the following in relevance to this sentence is untrue?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question.

According to the history of Islam, around the year 610 A.D., in a cave in the Arabian city of Mecca, a young orphan named Muhammad heard a voice ordering him to recite revelations that would be dictated to him. Over a period of 22 years, Muhammad acted as a “transmitter” for the words of God, or “Allah,” which were recorded in writing and are collectively known as the Qur’an. Islam is based on the belief that the Qur’an is the direct word of God. Muslims, people who follow the Islamic faith, must observe the “five pillars” of Islam: the profession of faith in God and in the prophet Muhammad, prayer conducted five times a day, giving alms to the poor, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and undertaking the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition, the Shari‘ah, Islam’s legal-ethical system, provides Muslims with a blueprint for human conduct regarding matters such as family life and money.
The second-largest religion in existence (behind Christianity) and the dominant religion in more than twenty countries, Islam is believed to be practiced by over one fifth of the world’s population. As Islam’s influence continues to grow throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and in the West—where some say it is the fastest-growing religion— scholars of diverse nations and faiths have offered their perspectives about the impact of this development. One of the most controversial opinions has come from American professor Samuel P. Huntington, author of the 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. Huntington proposes that Islam and the West are embroiled in a “clash of civilizations” in which “dedicated Islamic militants exploit the open societies of the West and plant car bombs at selected targets [and] Western military professionals exploit the open skies of Islam and drop smart bombs at selected targets.” In Huntington’s view, this conflict between Islam and the West promises to end in violence.
Those who agree with Huntington maintain that the values of Islam and the West are inherently incompatible. For example, unlike Western societies, which tend toward secular governments, many societies in which Muslims are the majority support the integration of religion and government— a philosophy that is often referred to as “political Islam.” Some Westerners regard political Islam as a dangerous movement whose goal is to gain power, dismantle other religions, and suppress human rights—as illustrated by Afghanistan, where self-proclaimed Islamic rulers have denied women basic rights such as access to health care; and Algeria and Sudan, where Christians have suffered persecution. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, contends that political Islam is by nature undemocratic and power-seeking:
To build a new Muslim society, fundamentalists proclaim their intent to do whatever they must; they openly flaunt an extremist sensibility. . . . If that means destruction and death for the enemies of true Islam, so be it. . . . Seeing Islam as the basis of a political system touching every aspect of life, fundamentalists are totalitarian. Whatever the problem, “Islam is the solution.” . . . Fundamentalists are revolutionary in outlook, extremist in behavior, totalitarian in ambition. . . . Like communism and fascism, Islam offers a vanguard ideology; a complete program to improve man and create a new society; complete control over that society; and cadres, ready, even eager, to spill blood.
On the other side of the debate are Graham E. Fuller and Ian O. Lesser, authors of A Sense of Siege: the Geopolitics of Islam and the West, who challenge the notion that Islam is an “ideology.” They maintain that, just as the West reflects a vast diversity of beliefs and values, “Islam [cannot] be treated as a single, cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, monolithic entity.” Those who agree with Fuller and Lesser argue that ominous claims such as those offered by Huntington and Pipes only serve to reemphasize prevalent stereotypes of Muslims as religious “fanatics”—stereotypes that lead to incidents of anti-Arab violence in Western countries—and encourage non-Muslims to adopt an “us-versus-them” attitude toward Islam. In reality, asserts Muslim activist Amira Elazhary Sonbol, “Anyone looking for [old-fashioned] American values can find them in Islam. It stresses family unity, caring for your mother and father, as well as bringing up children in the faith.”
Still, both Muslims and non-Muslims agree that some radical groups operating in the name of Islam have instigated acts of terrorism against Western nations. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian millionaire and supporter of radical Islamic groups, is suspected to be the mastermind and financier behind countless acts of anti-Western terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Oliver B. Revell, former senior FBI official in charge of counter-terrorist investigations, warns that Islamic militants “are ultimately committed to waging holy war, both in the Middle East and the world at large against all of their opposition. And that means us.”
However, claims Middle East scholar Antony T. Sullivan, many Westerners neglect to consider what drives Islamic terrorism in the first place. If some Muslims are hostile toward the West, he contends, that hostility “has much to do with Western policy before and during the Gulf War, as well as long-standing American policy toward Israel and Lebanon.” In fact, in the view of many Muslims—including Muslim-Americans—the United States pursues foreign policies that either neglect or antagonize followers of Islam. For example, U.S. attacks on Iraq, which were viewed by many Americans as necessary to counter dictator Saddam Hussein, were seen by Muslims as an attack on innocent Muslim civilians.
Differing perspectives about an event’s significance are common in the debate over how the religion of Islam is changing social and political systems throughout the world. In Islam: Opposing Viewpoints, an array of scholars, political analysts, and journalists offer contrasting views about Islam in the following chapters: Are the Values of Islam and the West in Conflict? What Is the Status of Women Under Islam? Does Islam Promote Terrorism? And What Policies Should the U.S. Take Toward Islam? The authors in this anthology examine conflicting perceptions of Islam’s values and con.

What is the meaning of 'religion' in the context of the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question based on the passage.

PASSAGE – I

Other more or less popular opinions of the way to determine right or wrong are found to be no more satisfactory. Many believe that the question of whether an act is right or wrong is to be settled by a religious doctrine; but the difficulties are still greater in this direction. First of all, this involves a thorough and judicial inquiry into the merits of many, if not all, forms of religion, an investigation which has never been made, and from the nature of things cannot be made. The fact is, that one's religious opinions are settled long before he begins to investigate and quite by other processes than reason. Then, too, all religious precepts rest on interpretation, and even the things that seem the plainest have ever been subject to manifold and sometimes conflicting construction. Few if any religious commands can be, or ever were, implicitly relied on without interpretation. The command, Thou shalt not kill, seems plain, but does even this furnish an infallible rule of conduct?

Of course this commandment could not be meant to forbid killing animals. Yet there are many people who believe that it does, or at least should. No Christian state makes it apply to men convicted of crime, or against killing in war, and yet a considerable minority has always held that both forms of killing violate the commandment. Neither can it be held to apply to accidental killings, or killings in self-defense, or in defense of property or family. Laws, too, provide all grades of punishment for different kinds of killing, from very light penalties up to death. Manifestly, then, the commandment must be interpreted, Thou shalt not kill when it is wrong to kill, and therefore it furnishes no guide to conduct. As well say: Thou shalt do nothing that is wrong. Religious doctrines do not and clearly cannot be adopted as the criminal code of a state.

In this uncertainty as to the basis of good and bad conduct, many appeal to conscience as the infallible guide. What is conscience? It manifestly is not a distinct faculty of the mind, and if it were, would it be more reliable than the other faculties? It has been often said that some divine power implanted conscience in every human being. Apart from the question of whether human beings are different in kind from other organisms, if conscience has been placed in man by a divine power, why have not all peoples been furnished with the same guide? There is no doubt that all men of any mentality have a conscience; a feeling that certain things are good, and certain other things are bad. This conscience does not affect all the actions of life, but probably the ones which to them are the most important. It varies, however, with the individual.

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is the best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose any one of the others.

Given the religious idea as already existing, in what way, and to what extent has its development been affected by forces that are not in themselves religious, and which modern thought definitely separates from religion?

Directions: In the following question, five statements are provided. These statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these statements.

A. Though attacks by Muslims on India had started in the tenth century, but it was more from the fifteenth century onwards that the impact of Islamic culture on Hindu great tradition was observed. B. Islam influenced Hindu ideals in the medieval period. C. Though both Islam and Hinduism are oriented to the principle of holism (collectivism), but in Hinduism, holism is linked with hierarchy while in Islam, holism is differentiated from hierarchism. D. It is monotheistic and non–hierarchical, i.e. it believes in equality. E. Islam does not believe in idol–worship.