Then we watched this documentary to help gel things together a little more:
Islam: Empire of Faith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX3UHNhQ1Zk
There are 3 parts (an hour long each), but the first one is all you need if you want a primer on Muhammed.
Some new things I learned:
--in Mecca there is a tabernacle (Kaba'a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaa. Islamic tradition holds that it was built by Abraham and Ishmael.
--Muhammed claims he was visited over several years by the angel Gabriel.
--The Qu'ran was written by literate followers who wrote down his recitations on bones, parchment, and other material. It was compiled after his death.
-- The groups we know as the Sunni's and the Shi'ites, have their beginnings in 'succession crisis' after Muhammed's death in 632.
(Don't know if I'd call it a crisis though; that may be our western descriptor for it. The shi'ites wanted Muhammed's son-in-law, but he conceded, and the people stayed united. There was no bloodshed over it, as far as I have learned. He eventually became the 4th caliph).
Another resource we've used:
Religions of the World: A Latter-Day Saint View
http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... 5616888731
(A great reference for comparative religion)This reference devotes 40 pages to Islam.
New to me:
--Allah is the name for 'God' in Arabic; All arab-speaking Jews and Christians, including LDS branches, use the word, "Allah."
--Islam literally means 'submission' or 'surrender' to God. This religion is greatly focused on unity with God and eachother.
--Historically, as a rule, Islamic governments have been more tolerant (than Christians/Jews) to the practice of religions other than Islam within it's borders; however, they strictly prohibit non-muslims from proselyting.
A great list on Wikipedia about the similarities and differences between Mormonism and Islam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism_ ... te_note-53
(New to me: they believe in the second coming of Jesus, who defeats the anti-Christ; though, there is a different narrative to this prophecy than ours).
And in the Aug. 2000 Ensign....
A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Muhammad (by James Toronto, a contributor to the book I mentioned above).
http://lds.org/ensign/2000/08/a-latter- ... d?lang=eng
After viewing many of these things, I pondered how to interpret/reconcile Muhammed...
One of the greatest things he did for the people is restore them to the God of Abraham. Prior to this they were polytheistic idol-worshippers. In contemplating the veracity of Gabriel visiting Muhammed, my one hang-up is the lack of declaration that Jesus is the Son of God, Savior of the world. However I did come across these quotes:
http://emp.byui.edu/SatterfieldB/FDINT2 ... 01978.html
First Presidency Statement:
The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.
Elder Orson F. Whitney, in a conference address, explained that many great religious leaders were inspired. He said: "[God] is using not only his covenant people, but other peoples as well, to consummate a work, stupendous, magnificent, and altogether too arduous for this little handful of Saints to accomplish by themselves. . . .
"All down the ages men bearing the authority of the Holy Priesthood--patriarchs, prophets, apostles and others, have officiated in the name of the Lord, doing the things the he required of them; and outside the pale of their activities other good and great men, not bearing the Priesthood, but possessing profundity of thought, great wisdom, and a desire to uplift their fellows, have been sent by the Almighty into many nations, to give them, not the fulness of the Gospel, but that portion of the truth that they were able to receive and wisely use."(Conference Report, April 1921, 32-33.) Quoted by Pres. Hunter in "The Gospel: A Global Faith"