Chapters 10-14

"The whole of Islam, therefore, can be seen as a quest for wholeness, a return to the paradise that human beings had lost...In the Qur'an, God gives very clear and concrete commands." Someone asked me about this quote and it's true meaning. We have commandments that are required duties for us to truly call ourselves practicing and faithful Muslims. The five pillar of Islam is the basis of the religion and it is what we have to carry and practice daily in our lives. We have to incorporate each individual pillar as a behavior/reminder how we should strengthen our faith and how we prepare ourselves for the day of judgment and the day we approach God. It is a daily reminder how we should be one with our God.

In Chapter 14, Karen Armstrong approaches the chapter in a very interesting way. She tends to approach the word Jihad in the beginning in a defensive way showing it in a different light a positive one. But then she over does it by using it in every other sentence when she could have replaced it with struggle she tended to use the word Jihad instead. to me I felt that not only was she over doing it but she was undervaluing the meaning of the word to many Muslims. The word to me means a personal struggle with ones self or with something that can only be resolved through the power of God. It has a deeper meaning that I felt she just passed over and used it as another word that was a synonym to struggle, with no deeper meaning or value. I believe she may have done that purposely to make a controversial argument or to convey a message, to initiate a dialog. I believe she knows the true meaning of the word and knows how it's usage can be portrayed in either a negative light or a postive one if you use it correctly.