Dominance of the East (moral, Buddhism, preaching, religious leader, faith)

[Jaiket]

I'm ill-educated on this matter, and I mean no offense if any is taken.

My question or concern is that Islam appears to be authorised by religious leaders in the East e.g. Saudia Arabia, Iran etc. That, of-course, is not a problem in itself, what does concern me is that these institutions look, to me, backward, intolerant, racist, repressive, and brutal.

I know a fair number of Muslims (by no means a fair sample I concede) and they, for the most part, accept eastern influence for moral authority. Clerics from Jordan, Iran, Syria etc are not uncommon here in the UK and are often revered and trusted despite preaching what seem to be hateful messages.

Is it fair to assume that the majority of Islamic power is concentrated in the East?

Is there any significant movement to usurp this influence (be it in the West or not)?

[michel]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

I'm ill-educated on this matter, and I mean no offense if any is taken.

My question or concern is that Islam appears to be authorised by religious leaders in the East e.g. Saudia Arabia, Iran etc. That, of-course, is not a problem in itself, what does concern me is that these institutions look, to me, backward, intolerant, racist, repressive, and brutal.

I know a fair number of Muslims (by no means a fair sample I concede) and they, for the most part, accept eastern influence for moral authority. Clerics from Jordan, Iran, Syria etc are not uncommon here in the UK and are often revered and trusted despite preaching what seem to be hateful messages.

Is it fair to assume that the majority of Islamic power is concentrated in the East?

Is there any significant movement to usurp this influence (be it in the West or not)?

My question or concern is that Islam appears to be authorised by religious leaders in the East e.g. Saudia Arabia, Iran etc. That, of-course, is not a problem in itself, what does concern me is that these institutions look, to me, backward, intolerant, racist, repressive, and brutal.

Have you any references to back that statement up ? - or is that you own, personal, uneducated opinion ?

I ask that you clarify that, please.

[Jaiket]

Originally Posted by michel

Have you any references to back that statement up ? - or is that you own, personal, uneducated opinion ?

I ask that you clarify that, please.

That is my own, personal, uneducated opinion.Or more accurately my impression, from what I've read, and heard.

[Bright-ness' Shadow]

The thread was moved from Islam in the Discuss Individual Religions because it is clear that the intent was not to provide education of the Isalmic faith.

[Jaiket]

Originally Posted by Pah

The thread was moved from Islam in the Discuss Individual Religions because it is clear that the intent was not to provide education of the Isalmic faith.

Er..yes it was. It's a question, the answer to which I'm sure I'll find quite illuminating.

[Darkdale]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

Er..yes it was. It's a question, the answer to which I'm sure I'll find quite illuminating.

I don't think you are allowed to choose what your intent was. Sorry.

[Storm Moon]

If you're talking about the Eastern part of the world, I would assume Buddhism and not Islam. Maybe pockets of Islam, but I find it doubtful. Saudi Arabia and areas around them are the Middle East to most people here.

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by Storm Moon

If you're talking about the Eastern part of the world, I would assume Buddhism and not Islam. Maybe pockets of Islam, but I find it doubtful. Saudi Arabia and areas around them are the Middle East to most people here.

Not to mention that Abraham came from Iraq originally, So ALL religion is from the East, as we know it.

The only founder of a religion in the Abrahamic tradition to ever set foot in Europe (the West) was Baha`u'llah, who was confined in Edirne and Adrianople for a short time 1867-1868.

Regards,
Scott

[greatcalgarian]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

I'm ill-educated on this matter, and I mean no offense if any is taken.

My question or concern is that Islam appears to be authorised by religious leaders in the East e.g. Saudia Arabia, Iran etc. That, of-course, is not a problem in itself, what does concern me is that these institutions look, to me, backward, intolerant, racist, repressive, and brutal.

This premise is completely wrong and represent views which have been moulded by Western media as well as educational system. This is especially the case when after 9/11, GB succeeded into brainwashing many US citizen into believing that Islam = al-Qaeda = terrorists.

Read these web pages to understand Islam first:
http://www.submission.org/
http://ca.geocities.com/greatcalgarian/WorldBook.htm
http://www.beconvinced.com/en/main.php
Study Islam: The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which, Silm or Salam, means peace. Salam is also part of the greeting of peace among Muslims. In addition, one of the beautiful names of God is As-Salam, meaning "The Peace." The word, however, means much more than just "peace." It means submission to the One God, as well as to live in harmony with other people and with the environment. A Muslim is, therefore, any person, anywhere in the world, whose obedience, allegiance and loyalty are to God, Lord of the Universe, and who strives to live in accordance with God's laws.

Christianity also has a centre of authority in Rome before the 1600. After the reformation of the Protestants, then only the authority has spread widely, and as a consequence we have hundreds if not thousands of denominations.
http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

Er..yes it was. It's a question, the answer to which I'm sure I'll find quite illuminating.

For what it's worth Jaiket, I did not find your question offensive. I thought it was an honest, tho perhaps blunt, question about the sources of religious authority within Islam. People have had the same concerns about Catholicism in the past. There was a time, not that long ago, when a Catholic could not have been elected president in the U.S. for fear that he would in effect be a puppet to Rome, because the perception was that all Catholics, even American Catholics, look to Rome for authority. So your question, as I perceived it, was whether Muslims in the West are still beholden to religous authority from Eastern - foreign powers whose cultures and norms are different from ours. I don't really know the full answer - I suspect that it is different for different people - but I do know plenty of Muslims who do not seem tied to any particular authority structure in the East. My guess is that the ones who are tied are recent immigrants who would feel ties to the structures of their old countries regardless of religion. I'm not sure what it's like in Britain, but in the U.S, there are a fair number of American converts to Islam, and asside from looking to Mecca as a spiritual center, they feel no particular ties to any of the clerics of other countries. Hope this helps. And I hope some Muslims do step in to give a better answer to your question.