Chhin,Brenda




 * Research Question:** Why do some sects of religions become extremists rather than stay passionate about their cause?


 * Introduction:** There may be many different forms of a religion but sometimes it's followers get too passionate about their cause and become extremists. I've research 3 main religions that seems interesting to research. What's listed on this page is that in each religion there were a question asked for a certain individual and what their main response would be for all Priest, Educator, Young person, etc.


 * Source Quotes:**


 * Islam-** Islam is a religion of mercy to all people, both Muslims and non-Muslims. The Prophet was described as being a mercy in the Quran due to the message he brought for humanity: “And We have not sent you but as a mercy to all the worlds.” (Quran 21:107). When a person analyzes the legislations of Islam with an open mind, the Mercy mentioned in this verse will definitely become apparent.

Not only does Islam demand their freedom to practice religion, but also that they be treated justly as any other fellow human. Warning against any abuse of non-Muslims in an Islamic society, the Prophet stated: “Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, curtails their rights, burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (//Abu Dawud//)


 * Christianity-** Christianity is one of the world's major religions, one which developed out of Judaism in the first century CE (Common Era of Judaism and Christianity, the basis for the modern Western calender).

"Christianity tends to take **beliefs** quite seriously. The early fathers and councils carefully distinguished between "orthodoxy" from "heresy" in an effort to preserve what they saw as the true Christian message. In the Middle Ages, established doctrine was carefully safeguarded, and in the 16th century, reformers called for the stripping away of superfluous doctrines and emphasized true faith as the only requirement for salvation. And Christian beliefs remain important today: the many denominations within Christianity center primarily around matters of doctrine rather than practice." **http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs.htm

Mark 4: 26-29**

The Parable of the Growing Seed
" 26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."


 * Jewish-**Unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism has no official creed or universal doctrinal requirements for membership. In general, a person can be considered "Jewish" whether he adheres to a complete system, of beliefs about God and the afterlife, holds only a few simple beliefs tht give meaning to ritual, or even at least in liberal Judaism does not believe in God at all.

"Rejoice not at thine enemy's fall-but don't rush to pick him up either."-Jewish Proverb


 * Interpretation Analysis**:

=**Islam**= Bibliographical information and url (Author, title, publishing info) [] British Library Record significant information and quotes below (you may paste bullet points) -As people of belief they do not need help in their understandings and their approach to scripture. -They acknowledge with humility that scripture is infinite. -The best that they can do is approach scripture with the acceptance that would only ever have an imperfect understanding of it. -its important to have an understanding of the grammar of Arabic language. -In the Qur'an, it revealed an understanding of a subtleties of meaning as well as an understanding of the oral tradition. -it provides some kind of enlightment and meaning to various verse meanings. -For muslims, if you're a believer and for other faiths as well, they simply say that God is truth, and God is heart, and they must believe. -"God's word may be infallible, truthful, eternally right, our understandings, our interpretations of the scripture wil always be subject to limitations." -Its important to say that people, believers do not take interpretations of the scripture and increase the level of truths and then deny the truth that may hold others interpretation of scripture and their understandings of God.
 * Islam**:
 * Faith leader:**
 * Do believers need help to understand the text?**
 * Faith Leader:**
 * Is there truth in the text?**

-Aslamah means surrender and Salamah means peace. It also means obediency. So the word Aslamah divine revalation or sacred texts is something that they take as an ultimate and most absolute authority. = = Bibliographical information and url (Author, title, publishing info): [] By: Jimmy Bitton From the September, 2005 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
 * Young person:** Feels slightly privileged because they’re reading the words of God. They feel like there is hope for them in an after life and help them live a better life,
 * What is sacred?**
 * Educator:**
 * -“**Sacred is to surrender to a deity or to a text from the deity that is pure and clean from any form of insertion.”
 * Jewish**

[] The Christian Humanist and Arthur G Broadhurst - 2006-2009 Religion Politics and Ethics for the 21st Century -“What may be considered extreme under modern social conditions may have been the accepted norm at some early point in time. Accordingly, most ideologies are transient and subject to the will of people. Although it may seem that those ideologies that are believed to be divinely inspired could not be subject to change, the reality is that in both Jewish and Muslim circles, the human component becomes the dominating force.”-Jimmy Bitton -“The extremists, they do not exploit religion. As many have charged, rather, they offer a proper treatment of fundamental Jewish principles, a restoration of a lost ideal. For extremists on both sides of the conflict, any compromise to these uncompromising ideals would signify a capitulation and a failure to uphold what they believe to be divine legislation. -With the model of Haifa in mind, let us hope that in the face of future terror, levelheaded thinking will overcome. -Faith leaders would normally use interpretations to understand the text. Judaism provides good interpretations for texts. They never study text without interpretation. -Line in the Jewish Bible: It says that you shouldn’t boil a baby goat in its mother milk. -Rabbis interpretation: To understand that you shouldn’t eat together milk dishes and meat dishes. Example, A cheeseburger are a no for Jewish people. -It takes a very long time to study because of the so many books in the Jewish library. But interpretation is important in studying the sacred text.
 * Jewish Exremist-**
 * -“**To begin with, all religious extremist ideologies are held by their devotees to be fundamentalist. This is to say that the religious extremist believes that he possesses an unadulterated, more accurate, and likewise “fundamentalist” rendition of the holy texts.”-Jimmy Bitton
 * -Authority and beliefs**
 * 1. Do believers need help to understand the text?**
 * Faith Leader:**

-The word for sacred in Hebrew language is Kodesh, meaning Holy but actually means separate or distinct or other. -In Judaism, it is said that something can be Holy because its godly. Yet something else can also be holy because what we use it for or how its set aside. -An idea of Holiness can be quite empowering. Its not something that’s fixed, its something that can be engaged in, something that could be produce. Turn something that isn’t holy into something holy by using it for holy purposes.
 * -What is Sacred?**
 * Educator:**

-Believes that all religious texts contain apparent contradictions. -Finds that people have great fun trying to list them all as a taunt to the religious believer. -The more plausible explanation they believe that you should do is the reason there are contradictions. -“The text was of human hand and that human beings are fallible, and that they do not get things right all the time.” -They think in that way apparent contradictions, problems that needs to be solve and not left, problems that should be warnings to us to see the text as being of human hand rather than divine truth. This site gives an example that a jewish teacher named Jimmy Bitton, whom teaches at of Jewish history in Toronto of him participating in what has popularly become known by travel enthusiasts. He then drove by a neighborhood named Wadi Nisnas, where at that vantage point, had commented about a horrendous attack that occurred there. It was attacked by a jewish extremist against Arab-Israeli residents in the mixed Arab town of Shfaram, which had killed 4 people and wounded 12. In the immediate days following the attack, it was apparent from the standpoint of him and his wife that the attack had rekindled a discourse in the Israeli media about the dangers posed by Jewish extremism. Life went on and Jewish Arab interactions remained altogether peaceful. The city's social fabric came under assault, as did all of Israel, but proved to be resilient in the face of Jewish extremism as it did many times before when it was directly hit by Islamic extremists. Then after his experiences and commentary moments he then answer questions that many people might ask like, Who is a Jewish extremist or How do they become an extremism? =Christianity=
 * -Are there any contradictions in the text?**
 * Atheist Philosopher:**
 * -**Religious extremist believes that he possesses an unadulterated yet a more accurate, and a likewise fundamentalist interpretation of the holy texts.

1) Bibliographical information and url (Author, title, publishing info):

http://www.islamfortoday.com/ruqaiyyah11.htm by Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood

http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/sacred/understanding/


 * Faith leader:**
 * Do believers need help to understand the text?**

-Believes that they do need help still reading the text. -They want to hear what other people have thought about it, even if they're dead. -Priest believes that you must read together in community, so you're able to study the scripture together and share thoughts

Many religious people refer as the "Word of God". What does this mean? Does it matter?**
 * Educator:

- The scripture are the words of God, so it's important to believe if you're a believer. -Depends on the individual on how they read the Bible and how they interpret it. -God is tlaking to us all the time, no matter how. Through scriptures, through people, etc.

Is there truth in the text?** -believes that the Bible is true but then again doesn't believe every single word, fact, detail in the Bible. -Christians along with people who follows any religion, are seekers of truths. -Jesus said: I am the was, the truth, and the life. He was saying that he is, himself, the truth. -Different time periods from Jesus life time to the 21st century, they are trying to find the truth instead of Christians, who follow him.
 * Faith leader:

What is sacred?** -Doesn't believe that the term sacred is a helpful one because it basically means something is devoted to God. -sets the Bible and other sacred writing apart from us. -it becomes a static object rather than a guide to our everyday living.
 * Academic:

"Christian Extremists do not identify other Christians as being real Christians. Only these 'born again' will be saved. And what is the experience of this being 'born again?' It is usually an emotional moment, even a trance-like state, brought about by hypnotic fiery sermons and religiously seductive music. It appeals to a certain type, and is generally a great 'turn-off' for more sober academics and down-to-earth people."
 * -Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood**

This site basically states important information in sacred text and different point of views from different people in that particular religion. I believe that these questions that are being asked to either persons shows a good understanding to what they will say about the question. I’ve been placing the questions towards the Faith leaders mostly and educators, and Atheist as well. I want to know what they think about everything.

@http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcvmn3xr_13cqsjgxdw
 * This link will lead you to a Google Doc. which gives an example of extremism. An example of a Jewish Extremist is Adolf Hitler**.

@http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcvmn3xr_14gcs2gmfv
 * This link will lead you to a Google Doc. which gives an example of extremism**. **An example of a Christian extremism are the KKK.**

media type="custom" key="4677223"**
 * Video**:
 * Alliance of Civilization: Extremism and New Religion