Intoruction to Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intoruction to Islam - Essay Example The predominant language is English (even if it wasn’t always so historically) and the politics of the region are strongly democratic. People in the West won’t specify a religion because that is a personal choice and that choice for the most part is respected in law and in culture. This is where the second challenge comes in. If all Muslims for example lived in one country – like Australia for example, then they might be perceived as a strangely unique culture that lives â€Å"over there†. The problem is that one of the central tenets of Islam is that they should be respectful of other religious beliefs. This has meant that over the centuries there are Muslims in virtually every corner of the world – historically they are traders; they seek to educate and to learn from others, and now as Ernst explains they are the predominant population in more than 50 nations. That means a huge diversity of cultures and this makes it harder for us here in the West to understand the Muslims as a religion when they live â€Å"over there† and â€Å"next