Blog “Islam”
Today unfortunately there are so many stereotypes and negative ideas about the Islamic religion, even though it is one of the main religious traditions in the world, with links to Judaism and Christianity. The Quran states that the Prophet Mohammed is the last Prophet to speak directly to, or receive messages from God, making his visions the final truth. This puts Jesus in a lower position, i.e. he is to Muslims a Godly Prophet but not the final word of customs, rituals, ceremonies, and final days.
Islam was an earthly religion, in that its leaders are not only religious men but also warriors and kings. To Christians, from the medieval period onward, this is perceived as a threat, and at times was truly a threat – in the shape of military battles between Christian and Islamic forces such as the Crusades.
China’s ancient cultures and mix of Buddhist, Daoist and later Confucian state ethics made it difficult for Islam to gain a strong foothold in Imperial China, despite the efforts of Islamic traders and missionaries who traveled along the Silk Road, most likely from Central Asia where Islam made greater inroads. In addition, as Ayoub notes, Islam spread more fully in parts of South East Asia like Indonesia, so that there were other possible routes of transmission apart from India and Central Asia or the Middle East.
Because of the high international traffic along the Silk Road, and the highly developed material, scientific and spiritual traditions in Chinese territories, Islamic people were passing through and, as it is a religion that is based on trying to convert people, as is Christianity as well, attempting to transform China into a more Islamic based society. According to Ayoub this was never achieved, in part because Chinese felt superior to Islam as well as other religious traditions deemed foreign, or more foreign than the adoption of Buddhism.
If as Ernst contends there has always been misunderstandings and antagonism between Christians and Muslims, with Christians in the West feeling superior to Islam, and threatened by its ideas, the Chinese view of their own superiority to Islam shows how while religious traditions can become intertwined or syncretic, there is also a history of antagonism or mistrust existing between religious and cultural groups.
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