Religion Report | Islamic 'Shirk' and Diverse Views
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Added on 2019-11-20
Religion Report | Islamic 'Shirk' and Diverse Views
Added on 2019-11-20
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Running head: RELIGIONIslamic 'Shirk' and Diverse ViewsStudent NameUniversity nameAuthor Name
RELIGIONIntroductionIslam is a monotheistic religion which has been coexisting with other religions for yearsin many parts of in the world. In Islamic tradition Shirk is the worshipping of idols and believingin multiple gods But Islam believes in only one god Allah (Khan 2015). Shirk is an unforgivablesin that one can commit. The word Shirk literally means the sharing or becoming partners. In theform of polytheism or idol worshipping God is associated with objects of worshipping, which iscompletely prohibited in Islam. There are several references in the Quran that support the belief.In the Quran it is mentioned as the greatest sin, as every other sin can be forgiven exceptdisbelievers and idol worshippers (Al-islam.org 2017).Islam Is Not against Figurative RepresentationFigurative representations are not directly prohibited in Islam; however it becomesproblematic if it becomes Shirk or worshipping the figure as a part of divine status. In theGenesis all the worshipped statues by Terah were destroyed by Abraham (Dube 2015). Thehadiths discussed certain figurative representations can only be through plants, pictures andinanimate objects. Bamiyan Buddhas and The act of ShirkBamiyan is a famous valley of central Afghanistan that became significant Buddhistcentre during eighth century. In eleventh century the Muslims came in power in Bamiyan area.The Buddha statues were extremely popular among the Chinese monks and Indian Buddhists.UNESCO rewarded it by enlisting as one of the World Heritages (Whc.unesco.org 2017). In theHindkush mountain region, the two large Buddha idols made of sandstone cliff were the main
RELIGIONattractions. The 181 feet tall Buddha idol was carved between 591 A.D to 644 A.D andrepresents cultural combination of Greco Buddhist and Bamiyan traditional artistry (Litoing2015). It is not just the contemporary Islamic practitioners of Taliban regime that attacked theidols; the idols were faceless even before the destruction. This proves that even before theIslamic era the idols have suffered various attacks. The Contribution of Taliban in The ActThe Taliban regime is infamous for its obsession over religious identity and the act ofbreaking leads that the motives were only religious in nature. The ideology they believe in isbuilt by Pashtun nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism (Roy 2015). Fundamentalists sawBuddhism as an easy target. However the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas has more than just theTaliban religious identity. The edict said that the destruction was represented as an Islamic act(Harding 2001). Therefore any idols, temples are shrines representing non Islamic religions areconsidered to be the manifestation of polytheism and idolatry. The other idea behind thedestruction could be considered as the restoration of orthodox belief. The Taliban wanted tosecure that no one in the future could worship the statues. Mullah Mohammad Omar of IslamicEmirate of Afghanistan raised the radical question regarding idol breaking that reflected theirperception of Shirk (Litoing 2015). The Socio – Religious PerspectiveAnother connection can be made as one examines the time period when the destructionoccurred. This time of the year is significant for as the time of celebrating the Eid al Adha. Thisis the celebration of the feast for Abraham’s sacrifice (Loue 2017). Abraham sacrificed his sonfor fulfilling God’s desire. The time of celebration reminded them about their responsibility of
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