ISLAM

Islam is an Arabic word which means submission or surrender, peace, purity, acceptance and commitment. The religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of God through the Qur’an i.e. surrender to the Will of God. Muslims believe that the Qur'an consists of the word of God revealed in Arabic by God to the Prophet Muhammad over a twenty-two year period. Muslims are those who accept freely and willingly the supreme power of God, submit to Him, and endeavor for total reorganization of their life according to the revealed teachings of God. They also work towards the establishment of a just and equitable social order, which would totally reflect the guidance of God. Apart from different schools of thought, Muslim scholars today have different views as regards the implementation of Islamic teachings or the interpretation of the Qur’an. In this regard they can be categorized into three groups: Firstly, the Islamist (Traditionalist) group, that is those whose aspiration are always to implement Islam as their way of life in its totality, just as it was implemented by the earlier Muslim generations. To them Islam is not only a theory, but it has been put to practice for many centuries in the past. This group of Muslims always strives to establish an Islamic state where the Islamic Law can be enforced fully. Among this group some are RADICAL and some others are MODERATE, though they have same aspiration and ideology. The Western Media usually term the radical ones as "Fundamentalists" in a negative sense, and the moderate one as "Orthodox". Secondly, the Modernist group, that is those who maintain that in terms of social life Islamic teaching needs to be reformed, and to do so certain passages of the Qur’an needs to be reinterpreted according to the context of the day.