Middle East!

Hello everyone!

Last week we took a trip to the Middle East and talked about Islam and tried some yummy Middle Eastern food!

Islamic symbol

Islam

The Islam religion is the second biggest in the world with over 1.3 billion followers. Islam practices the belief in only one god named the "Allah" in Arabic. Islam is said to have originated when an angel named Gabriel, was sent from god to approach Muhammad, a merchant living in Mecca. Muhammad was told that he was the last of the prophets and that he must spread the word of god to the people. While he began to preach the word of god, he gathered many followers but many enemies as well.Many Meccans feared that Muhammad's teachings of a monotheism would affect the value of the pilgrimage center and would lead people to stop believing in the traditional Arab gods. After violence erupted, Muhammad and his followers then traveled to a city later named Medina. The journey to the city became known as Hijra. After eight years, Muhammad and his followers were able to gain control of Mecca again and help spread their religion even farther.  

Beliefs 

The daily lives of a Muslim are determined through their practices. Islam teaches that each individual is responsible for his or her actions. In order to be a Muslim, you must follow the Five Pillars (or five duties). Following the five pillars ensures that the Muslims will rightly serve their community and religion. Muslims are not allowed to eat pork or drink alcohol. Muslims must pray together each Friday afternoon towards Mecca directly to Allah. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the words of god were written together in a holy book called the Qur'an. The Qur'an is only written in Arabic because Muslims believed that the true word of the Allah was spoken in Arabic. 

Five Pillars 

• Faith- There is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. 

• Prayer- Muslims must pray towards Mecca at a mosque (mahsk) fives times a day, everyday. 
• Alms- All Muslims have a responsibility to provide for the less fortunate or the poor, therefore, they must give alms, or money through a religious tax. 
• Fasting- Muslims must fast from dawn to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Only a small meal is eaten at the end of the day. This is done to remind Muslims that their spiritual needs are greater than their physical needs. 
• Pilgrimage- All Muslims that are physically and financially capable, must perform the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca and wear identical garments to represent equality for Allah. 

Conflicts in the expansion of the Islam religion and shortly after the death of Muhammad, resulted in two different types of Muslims to rise; the Sunni and the Shi'a Muslims. Sunni Muslims believe that the first four successors were chosen by god to continue the spread of god's words. However, Shi'a Muslims believe that Muhammad's son in law should have followed after Muhammad.  

Whoops! Turn the camels around!

Hello everyone! Last week we made an unexpected turn on our way to India and ended up in Thailand! Needless to say, we made out trip be worth the while by trying some of Thailand's famous cuisine! Like Pi Thai and Curry! We also discussed the Hinduism and its connection to Buddhism.

Map of Thailand

Map of India

Pi Thai Dish

Hinduism Religion

Hinduism can be viewed as a religion by many because of its expanding number of followers. However, Hinduism itself does not have a founder with a single set of ideas because it is a set of beliefs that developed slowly over time. Between 750 and 550 B.C., Hindu teachers shared their knowledge behind the Vedic Hymns and their interpretations were later written down and were known as Upanishads. Upanishads discussed how a person can achieve enlightenment  or Moksha and were written in a dialogue form between a teacher and student conversation. This is similar to the set of beliefs in Buddhism, where both religions believe that all of life is suffering and suffering is caused by desire; and in the end, by getting rid of desire, you reach a piece of mind within yourself and nature. Otherwise known as enlightenment or Moksha in Hinduism. 

Hinduism Symbol

Hinduism describes each person to have an individual soul of the living being also known  as Atman that is united with other souls through Brahman (world soul that unites Atmans). Understanding the relationship between Atman and Brahman is critical for each person in order to reach Moksha (or enlightenment). Because Moksha is often not achieved in one lifetime, Hindus believe in reincarnation (rebirth of your soul in another form or body). Hindus also believe in Karma, a cause and effect belief; for every good deed you perform, you will receive good fortune, and for every bad deed you perform, you will receive good fortune. Thus leading us the caste system; a class into which you are born into that reflects upon your Karma. If you were born into an upper-caste, you have had good karma and have performed good deeds throughout your previous life. If you were born into a lower-caste, you have had bad Karma and have performed bad deeds in your previous lifetime. These set of beliefs determined why and how the followers of Hinduism live today; affecting everything from daily life, to how one was allowed to socialize with others. Hinduism today has over 900 million followers; making it the third largest "religion" in the world. 

Hindu Caste system