The Caliph

[Deleted member 133]

I could have started this thread over in the politics section, but I thought we'd start from a position of knowledge, rather than ignorance, instead.

http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/the-caliph-islamic-history/index.html

I've only skimmed the first episode - intending to watch it all later tonight - and, if it is as good as it appears, will watch the other episodes as they are posted.

To say I'm not a huge fan of Islam would not be an exaggeration, having read the Quran from cover-to-cover and finding it to be, not the "beautiful book" but rather very disturbing, disgusting and vile in many ways. Then again I find the same with The Bible - just not to the same extent.

But rather than adopting a position of banishment and protectionism, I look instead to openness and inclusiveness - better to understand, learn, and from there deal with specific issues with Islam - as I have learned to do with other religions. (Note I do not use acceptance: while I accept everyone's right to believe and practice, so long as those don't infringe upon or discount my own (non)beliefs, I don't accept that those beliefs deserve special protection or status - at least not within any society that I have chosen to live in.) "Live and let live" used to be my metaphorical motto; unfortunately it's now taken on literal meaning.

Anyhow, and as I said, I'm hoping that this three-part documentary gives additional insight into why we are where we are right now.

Jeff

 

[Razz]

Well I just finished part one. Interesting history yet a bit hard to follow. I'm more interested in part two as it leads off with the split between Sunni and Shia.
One thing to keep in mind is this is made by Aljazeera.... It's like the Saudi "Fox News"

 

[Deleted member 133]

Very well done so far. My depth of knowledge is not sufficient to spot any overt bias; it seems to be a concise and detailed story of politics and power.

Two thoughts / observations so far...

The story begins just after the death of the Prophet - as you might expect from a documentary named The Caliph. However it could have benefited from some back story. For example the differences in Islam relating to the Prophet's time in Mecca vs. his time in Medina - and the inherent conflicts that show up in the Quran as a result. (Not unlike the two Jewish Gods portrayed in the Old Testament.) So you have peace love and happiness (Mecca) and hatred and war (Medina) at odds with each other in the Quran (and guess which "teachings" are therefore taught in order to foment terror!) not unlike the loving versus the vengeful God of the Old Testament (and guess which one of those can be best exploited to political advantage!)

(By the by, and I digress completely here, but did anyone catch Scott Baio's speech today? I did not know that God directly created America. Must have missed that in history class.)

Second observation: it did not take long after its formation, for civil war to break out in the Caliphate. I was not aware of the degree of infighting in those early years and had thought that it was due to the Sunni / Shia split. But as Razz says, that's not until Part Two!

Jeff