Islam:...... Religion for our Time( part 3)

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3. All through the years, Islam has been misunderstood, and people looked at Islam as their prime enemy for different reasons and motives. Islam was introduced by the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The people of Mecca (Saudi Arabia), the home town of the prophet, refused this new religion. It was a big threat to their trade and source of income. The people of Mecca lived on the income of the trade between the north (Syria and Lebanon) and the south (Yemen). Another main source of income was the religious tourism to visit Ka'bah (the holy house believed to be built by Ibrahim & his son Ishmael). Although they believed in one God, they promoted the idea of local secondary gods to make Arabs from all over the place happy, and to make more money. They saw that Islam would change the whole situation and would affect their income. Islam also focused on equality, and that was something else the people had to refuse. They were outraged with the idea that the masters and elite of society would become equal to their slaves, and free them! 
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7. The people of Mecca knew the prophet very well. He was a grandson of the chief of the biggest and the most powerful tribe (Quraish). His beloved father died before his birth and his beloved mother passed away when he was 6 years old. He was brought up by his grandfather and his uncle, and he was well known. They knew he was honest, and he was smart and polite and fair. Yet when he invited his own people of Quraish to Islam, they accused him of being mad and a liar, simply because it was threatening their income and lifestyle. What prophet Muhammad wanted and asked them to do was quite similar to the words of Jesus (peace be upon him), when he asked the rabbis to stop trading religion and to stop selling in the house of God. If that was the reason for rejecting Islam by the Arabs of Quraish at the beginning, it was a quite similar story later on.
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10. Islam was started by the first word of the Quran (iqraa) which means "read". The word "Quran" means the read texts, so we understand the core of this religion, which is to read and learn and think, to use your mind. The early Muslims got it right, and they worked hard on learning and studying the Quran. As a result, the Islamic world became very advanced, and the during time in European history known as the dark ages, the Muslims ruled the world from China in the east to Spain in the west. Most of the modern sciences are based on Islamic studies like chemistry, astronomy, medicine and algebra, to name a few. 
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13. The West more than the East realized that Islam was a vivid religion; it inspired the Muslims and motivated them. They also realized that if Muslims would stick to the roots of Islam, no one could stand against them. But what are the roots of Islam? To kill civilians? To threaten others? Of course not. The roots of Islam are to read, learn and use your brain, the beautiful gift of Allah.
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15. To be continued....
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17. Hisham El Meniawy
18. Guest lecturer & Egyptologist
19. www.hegyptology.com