In: Psychology
In that it recognizes one God who rules the entire world, Islam may be called a universal religion. However, although Islam grew out of a particular seventh-century Arabian context, Muslims claims that its central document, the Qur'an, must be read in Arabic in order to be fully appreciated. How can Islam or any similar religion resolve the tension between the universal and the particular? How can it (or any other faith) be a religion for people of all races and nationalities without giving up its distinctive cultural heritage?
Most of the religions in this world kept their original language where the religion was founded intact for a long time until the local cultures found that it was not appealing. They then adopted the local language for the worship and this were able to remain as the central point in the lives of those people. Latin for Christianity and Sanskrit for Hinduism are two examples. Islam, although from the outset looks like a universal religion, has got lots of strict and traditional practices from which it's not able to break free. It's this divine importance that is given to Arabic language and worship places that binds all the Muslims together. Every Muslim, at least once in their life time should visit Mecca to join the happy afterlife or fulfill their obligation to God. In my point of view, Muslims also live in whichever place they live by adopting the life style of those regions. Since religion is very personal, it doesn't matter whether it's universal or regional.
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