Download Koran - Tefel Hall

The Holy Koran:
Cultural and Political Implications
by
Tefel Hall
Origins
Language
Politics
Art
570 – 632 C.E.
Mecca
The Kaaba
Al-Uzza
Sabean Moon Bull
Moon and Venus
Al-Lat
Cave at Hera
630
Entering Mecca
Koran = recitation
Hadith = collections
Classical Arabic
Politics
• Statesman
• Soldier
• Judge
• Governor
. . . charity, marriage,
orphans, fasting, gambling,
vanity, pilgrimages, infidelity,
polygamy, incest, divorce,
modesty, inheritances,
prostitution, alcohol
consumption, collecting
interest, female dress . . . .
Let’s get
back to
basics.
A prostitute should get 100
lashes.
A man should have no more
than 4 wives.
If your wife disobeys you,
reprimand her, and if that
doesn’t work, beat her.
If you want to divorce your
wife, say, “I divorce thee,” 3
times then wait 3 months.
Let’s get
back to
basics.
Love thy
neighbor and
follow the ten
commandments.
Render unto Caesar
what is Caesar’s, and
unto God what is
God’s.
When the enemies of
Jesus tried to trick him
into saying that it was
wrong to pay tribute to
Caesar, Jesus cleverly
evaded the question by
saying, “Render unto
Caesar what is Caesar’s,
and unto God what is
God’s.”
This book is
a manual of
moral
government.
A civilization which gives no weight in
public life to faith, is incapable of
achieving for mankind the happiness
that men seek. Indeed, a civilization
which so regards human life is bound
to bring upon mankind all the
calamities which have befallen our
world in the recent centuries.
- Muhammad Husayn Haykal
(1888-1956)
If a Christian nation fails,
we look to its political and
economic system for an
explanation, but when a
Muslim state fails, it is
only because, as V. S.
Naipaul put it, "men had
failed the faith." Disaster
in a Christian nation leads
to a search for a new
political form; disaster in a
Muslim one leads to a
reinvigoration of the faith.
James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson
Bernard Lewis
• Western imperialism
• oil-driven foreign policies
• prescribes harsh
punishments for fornication,
adultery, etc.
• since these laws were
prescribed by Muhammad
himself, they’re not easily
brushed aside
• provides no basis for a
separation of mosque and
state
Art
No graven
images!
No pictures of
humans or
animals!
Time Magazine, 16 April 2001
Key Points:
• Arabic is the official language of Islam.
• Islamic empires thrived under a common set
of laws.
• Koranic laws may be may be hindering efforts
to modernize civil government.
• Islamic art is decorative.
The End