Quran has been criticized for its teachings, beliefs, and principles which are attributed to Islamic values. Since Islam existed, theorists have debated in different ways that other religions disapprove because of the contradictions between the teachings. Since the 21st century, westernization has led to changes in religious perceptions, especially on Islam, for example, the terrorist attacks are associated with Muslims. The Quran criticisms are based on Mohamad’s morality, who was the prophet used by Allah, their God, through the prophet Gabriel (Puchner et al. 20). Some of the verses in the Quran contradict other religious beliefs and practices. Some teachings allow men to strike women as a way of disciplining them. Such concepts are against morals, therefore, become a tool for criticism. The morality of the Quran has been under criticism questioning the teachings.
After the revelation from angel Gabriel, Mohamad wrote the Islamic book which recited Allah verses and wrote them exactly as the angel spoke. Muslims have been practicing the teachings according to the Quran, which determined their behavior. During the war between Iran-Iraq, deliberations were formed after a conference on Islam, where activists argued that the religious differences caused war and regional disputes. Jihad has existed for a long time where followers stick to it to develop a moral behavior from childhood. Due to globalization, Muslim writers argue that intelligent persuasions show that the westerns have distorted the moral behaviors that go against Jihad.
The cases of battle and harmony found in the historical context of events are related with religion and are associated with decolonization and disputes where Muslims are involved. War and peace in the society are based on individuals’ moral principles where the decisions are built on correct upbringing and spiritual teachings. The controversial concepts based on Jihad today bring tension between the ethical and immoral dimensions. The pressure arises from the juristic conceptions and not the ethical principles based on the Islamic literature about war and peace (Puchner et al. 54). Religious teachings influence on the process of upbringing children a lot. Many theorists argue that whatever a child is taught at young age determines the kind of person they grow to be later in life. However, as children interact with the human society, some get corrupted by strong beliefs which they are taught or learn from the grownups.
Muslims believe that God is the final revelation to humankind, especially where the texts and verses are not systematic but follow the ethical aspects. Mohamad’s actions and values were questionable, and this contradicts the beliefs and practices of other religions. God’s message does not consider time or place, but the message is universal to offer guidance at any moment and at any particular place. Verse 81:27 states that the message is meant for all worlds with a unified moral code as the commentary emerges from a broader Islamic perception that is believed to provide divine creation. The Quran does not have a systematic way of arguing ethically but helps to derive consistent moral teachings. The initial nature of humankind is based on moral innocence which is clean of sin. The equivalence of the Islamic notion that every person is born knowing the commandments shows that everyone has a chance of living with good morals.
The nature of a human being is that he was created uniquely to live in peace and take care of other creatures. According to Khalifa, it is a responsibility given to them by God to live in harmony (2:30). A state of absence of war does not mean all grounds of conflicts are not available, meaning that other factors contribute to peace on the land. Even with religious backgrounds, some people decide to violate spiritual foundations that transgress God’s commandments. The teachings can be rooted in Adam, who is the only human who disobeyed God’s commands and was followed by the devil’s temptation. The deed became the initial act of disobedience that compelled God to chase Adam from the garden to live on earth and encounter the snake, which became the enemy.
Prophets face opponents from the non-believers who rebel persistently against God’s teachings to justify their actions. Violence and oppression are indications of rebellion towards God and His scriptures as described as kufr. When people choose to defy divine guidance through transgression or losing faith completely, they violate their nature (fitra) (Puchner et al. 60). According to the Quran, Adam’s disobedience is described as disobedience to God and disobedience towards their souls. A society that rejects God faces oppression and violence, which becomes part of the society’s norms relative to other societies’ values.
Peace in a place is attained by a full commitment to God’s will and by His laws.
The consciousness of Islam helps in making decisions that acknowledge faith in God and His power. Human nature is not enough to resist the evil world temptations, and therefore it is essential to mitigate anarchy effects and reinforce the divine law. Muslims are always ready to fight for their faith and its principles from the opponents of Islamic teachings (8:60, 73). One of the verses in the Quran state that men are allowed to strike women to impose discipline. Critics argue that no man is allowed to assault a woman because it indicates abuse and violence.
Other religions believe that every person should be respected, and no belief should support other people’s abuse in the name of discipline. Morals and ethics are essential in society because they define individuals’ behavior guided by the Quran’s teachings (Puchner et al. 78). As young people grow, they are taught good morals and ethics, which represent their behavior as they grow to be able to fight the corrupt world and human society that has a lot of temptations and can lure good manners to bad behavior. Terrorist attacks are associated with Muslims. Many of them are from the Islamic religion since the young men lack the heart of love, which forms the moral behavior and finds that killing is not a problem.
Quran has its teachings that guide followers in obeying God and practicing good behavior at individual level and the society at large. The book is criticized for its secular verses, which contradicts other teachings from diverse religions. Islamic religion argues that men are allowed to discipline their wives by beating them, which is viewed as abuse and violence to women. Muslims’ values and beliefs are healthy, and that they help the followers have moral behavior. However, the Islamic religion is associated with negative aspects that go against the supposed morals, such as terror attacks. For example, the 9/11 attack in the U.S. was related to Islamic cultures where the religious leader had to hold conversations on how to settle to issue same as the Iran-Iraq war.
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. WW Norton, 2018.