This page is referenced by:

• 1 2023-03-31T11:22:53-04:00 Willie Lowry 11 For this project I chose the word “Tawhid”. For “scenery” I used the main symbols associated with all 3 Abrahamic religions and then had Tawhid written into the starry night sky. This night sky could resemble a number of stories associated with all the books. Such as the Isra and Mi’raj which are a part of the night journey where Muhammed ascended to heaven and spoke with God. From the Torah, Jacob, or Yaqub, as known in Islam, wrestled with God under the night sky and that is where he received the name Israel. And in the Bible Jesus, or Isa, was taken away to be crucified late at night. Tawhid is a term that relates to the oneness of God. This idea can be taken literally as God being one entity, and that there are no gods other than God. This phrase can also be related to the unity of God. Unity, as characteristic of God, being uncompromisable and acting as a single being. God as the joining force between all things and people. The idea of God being supreme is, of course, a common trait shared between the Abrahamic religions. Beyond that fact, I chose these symbols along with this word as a representation of the “oneness” of these religions. Despite different ways of practice, different main figures, language barriers, and many other differences, these religions all pray and aim to serve, the same God. I wanted to highlight how they are distinct and yet together by replacing the star associated with the moon with the star of David. Despite the separation there is still an undividable unity between these groups, even if it does not always seem that way. image_header 2023-05-05T20:16:32-04:00

  
  
  

  • I chose to use a PowerPoint as my medium with photos of Muslim culture in relation to the veneration of Christian prophets and figures. I also added some text describing the similarities of the portrayals of the individuals in both the Bible and Quran. I chose this medium because it simply shows the similarities between the religions and their figures in a way that doesn’t require much effort to take in. Unlike an oped or speech this is very palpable for all populations in the west. My audience is the west but mainly those who are uneducated about other religions but are familiar with Christianity and the individuals in the Bible. Especially those who are antagonistic or view Islam as opposing Christianity. I believe this audience is very important to tackle as they are more susceptible to increase tension in the Muslim community in the west. Their lack of knowledge could either push Muslims away directly by making them feel unwelcome, or unsafe. Or indirectly by forcing Muslims away from their culture or by participating fully as themselves in open discourse. In a pluralist society it is important that each piece of the society feels able to express themselves fully, this enhances empathy and also increases the flow of ideas available to help benefit society. I believe it would be helpful to diffuse any untrue tension between Islam and Christianity portrayed by the media. I chose to show some of the prophets and important figures in the Bible and show how they are represented in Islam. I chose photos that showed how Muslims respected these prophets and commented on how respected they are within the religion. Many of the photos were tombs that are frequented by Muslims to pay respects. Other photos highlight how Muslims join in on Christian celebrations such as Christmas, or even how food prophets ate become a part of Muslim cuisine. I wanted to highlight that Muslims respect Biblical figures just as much or even more than Christians do. As most Christians only revere Jesus, and Mary.