Benjamin Degler

Carol Ferrara

Islamic Ways of Life

22 March 2017

One thing that struck me from “An Awakening in the East” was its statement that the conflict

taking place within the Muslim community is not a conflict directly with the west, but rather an internal

conflict within the Muslim community. This conflict stems out of differing ideologies on how Islamic

lives should be lead. One of the fundamental qualities of Islam is the personal connection with god, and

Islam is supposed to provide a Muslim with all the tools they require to live a good life. The problem with

this is that these rules laid out by Islam are to be followed by the individual, and in regard to the

individual’s interpretation.

When attempting to establish an Islamic state, differing ideals are sure to arise, which will

inevitably lead to discourse. There is no one simple solution to this problem, but I believe that these issues

arise out of the othering of other cultures, religions, and ideologies. It seems improbable that when a

governmental state rejects ideals of people within its society and attempts to make them adhere to their

own religious ideals, those who disagree will follow.