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Why does  Islam ban pictures of Mohammed ?

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Why does  Islam ban pictures of Mohammed ?

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Muslims believe that Mohammad and Allah are

Sacred figures in Islam and they should not be

Seen or depicted in biased ways, much less to make

Fun of.

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Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine attacked on Wednesday, has a controversial history of depicting Mohammed, often in an unfavorable light, which has angered many Muslims around the world.

The prohibition again illustrating the Prophet Mohammed began as a attempt to ward off idol worship, which was widespread in Islam's Arabian birthplace. But in recent years, that prohibition has taken on a deadly edge.

A central tenet of Islam is that Mohammed was a man, not God, and that portraying him could lead to revering him in lieu of Allah.

"It's all rooted in the notion of idol worship," Akbar Ahmed, who chairs the Islamic Studies department at American University told CNN. "In Islam, the notion of God versus any depiction of God or any sacred figure is very strong."

In some ways, Islam was a reaction against Christianity, which early Muslims believed had been led astray by conceiving of Christ, not as a man but as a God. They didn't want the same thing to happen to Mohammed.

"The prophet himself was aware that if people saw his face portrayed by people, they would soon start worshiping him," Ahmed told CNN. "So he himself spoke against such images, saying 'I'm just a man.' "

In a bitter irony, the sometimes violent attacks against portrayals of the prophet are kind of reverse idol-worship, revering -- and killing for -- the absence of an image, said Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic studies at Hofstra University in New York.

In November 2011, Charlie Hebdo's office was burned down on the same day the magazine was due to release an issue with a cover that appeared to poke fun at Islamic law. The cover cartoon depicted a bearded and turbaned cartoon figure of the Prophet Mohammed, with a bubble saying, "100 lashes if you're not dying of laughter."

In September 2012, as France was closing embassies in about 20 countries amid the global furor over the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims," the magazine published an issue featuring a cartoon that appeared to depict a naked Mohammed, along with a cover that seemed to show Mohammed being pushed in a wheelchair by an Orthodox Jew.

Charlie Hebdo journalist Laurent Leger defended the magazine at the time, saying the cartoons were not intended to provoke anger or violence.

"The aim is to laugh," Leger told BFMTV in 2012. "We want to laugh at the extremists -- every extremist. They can be Muslim, Jewish, Catholic. Everyone can be religious, but extremist thoughts and acts we cannot accept."

But for many Muslims, depictions of Mohammed, revered not only as a prophet but also as a moral exemplar, are no laughing matter.

Satirical representations of Muhammad are not new, although they are very modern, said Rashid.

"In the context of Europe, where in many countries Muslims feel like they are besieged, these images are not seen as criticism, but as bullying. Violence, as a response, is clearly wrong and disproportionate. However, it is not so much about religious anger, as it is about vengeance."

But even in the United States, where Muslims are relatively acclimated, extremists have opposed the portrayal of Mohammed on "South Park," the satirical cartoon show, and the subsequent "Draw Mohammed Day," that erupted in response.

Mohamed Magid, an imam and former head of Islamic Society of North America, told CNN that the Muslim prohibition on depicting prophets extends to Jesus and Moses, whom Islam treats as prophets. Some Muslim countries banned the films "Noah" and "Exodus" this year because their leading characters were Hebrew prophets.

In Sunni mosques, the largest branch of the faith, there are no human images of any kind. The spaces are instead decorated with verses from the Quran.

But there have been historical instances of Muslims depicting the prophet, especially in Shiite branches of Islam, Omid Safi, a religious studies professor at Duke University, told CNN.

"We have had visual depictions of the prophet in the form of miniatures and pictures in the Iranian context, the Turkish context, the central Asian context," said Safi. "The one significant context where depictions of the prophet have not been image-related has been in the Arab context."

Johari Abdul-Malik, the imam for Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, told CNN that depictions of the prophet 's teachings were sometimes used to bridge gaps in illiteracy.

Even historical renditions of Mohammed by Muslim artists were careful not to paint the prophet in too much detail.

For example, Ahmed told CNN that Muslim artists in the 15th and 16th centuries would depict the prophet but took pains to avoid drawing his face. "It would be as if he was wearing a veil on his face, so the really orthodox could not object -- that was the solution they found."

In a Muslim film called "The Messenger," which circulated throughout the Muslim world in the 1970s and 1980s, Mohammed was shown only in shadow.

In the Quran, there is "no statement from the prophet requesting his image not be recorded," Abdul-Malik told CNN.

Instead, the teaching about images comes from the hadith, a record of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Mohammed and his closest companions. The hadith is considered secondary only to the Quran in terms of textual authority, but the sometimes contradictory accounts have led to centuries of debates within the umma, or global Muslim community.

Scholars of religion say opposition to portraying Mohammed wasn't generally violated in earlier centuries because of a gulf between Western and majority-Muslim nations.

In the age of globalization, non-Muslims and critics of Islam have felt free to depict Mohammed, including in offensive ways. In 2006, for example, a Danish cartoonist's depiction of the prophet wearing a bomb as a turban with a lit fuse sparked demonstrations across the world.

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why islam forbids images of mohammed - cnn

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Why Islam forbids images of Mohammed - CNN

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Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine attacked on Wednesday, has a controversial history of depicting Mohammed, often in an unfavorable light, which has angered many Muslims around the world. The prohibition again illustrating the Prophet Mohammed began as a attempt to ward off idol worship, which was widespread in Islam's Arabian birthplace.

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The Torah is the holy book of the

Jewish faith. Known for having the

First 5 books of the bible, this is the

Foundation for the Jewish beliefs. They

Also have many other books the bible

Does not recognize. Because Jews are stil

Waiting on their messiah, they have no

New Testament.

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Living with Jesus as King isn’t easy. His followers will be rejected, just as he was. But they also live a life of deep security, satisfaction, and joy, knowing God and his forgiveness, being helped by his Spirit, and looking forward to the King’s return, when he will finally establish his loving kingdom forever.

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He's the Christ. The King who God himself had promised to send, who would put everything right by setting up a kingdom of justice and love. He's also the Son of God. God himself, entering the world as a human being.

Jesus proved who he was by what he did. He healed people. He calmed storms. He raised the dead. By doing these things, the King was giving a glimpse of life in his kingdom. A perfect place, with no suffering, fear or death. It's the world we all want.

Many people rejected Jesus. They thought they'd be happier making their own rules and living outside his kingdom. This rejection of the King is something we all do. Jesus called it sin. It damages our lives and will eventually leave us separated from the joy of being in the kingdom. God won't let those who reject the King live with him. So we face what Jesus called hell. An existence without anything good, forever.

People rejected the King so violently that they killed him by nailing him to a cross. But his death wasn't a mistake by God - it was a masterstroke. On the cross, Jesus was cut off from God's friendship and goodness. He chose to experience hell - so that we don't have to. The sinless King died to take the punishment sin deserves. Jesus was opening the way into his kingdom.

Three days after his execution, his tomb was found to be empty. Over the next few weeks many ate with Jesus. Dozens spoke with him. Hundreds saw him. Jesus the King could not be contained by death. He had risen!

So, today, right now, Jesus is inviting people to come into his kingdom. He tells us to repent and believe the good news. Repent means to turn around, to live with Jesus in charge instead of ourselves. Believe means to trust that Jesus has done everything we need to give us a place in his kingdom.

Living with Jesus as King isn't easy. His followers will be rejected, just as he was. But they also live a life of deep security, satisfaction, and joy, knowing God and his forgiveness, being helped by his Spirit, and looking forward to the King's return, when he will finally establish his loving kingdom forever. Jesus offers all this to anyone and everyone who repents and believes. Jesus freely offers all this to anyone and everyone who repents and believes.

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Christianity Explored : What is Christianity?

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He's the Christ. The King who God himself had promised to send, who would put everything right by setting up a kingdom of justice and love. He's also the Son of God. God himself, entering the world as a human being. Jesus proved who he was by what he did.

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Jews can not have dairy because the kashrut tells them they must not eat dairy products like cheese and milk from animals.

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The Holy book of Islam is called

the Qur'an and teaches about

The prophet Muhammad and

what is required of muslims

to enter paradise. (Photo by Steve Allen)

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Orthodox Christians fast during certain times of the year from many different categories including meat because fasting is a spiritual experience with god.

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The cresent moon and star is placed on the top roof of a mosque since the reign of Ottoman in Turkey. He made it because cresent moon and star are both the creation of Allah in this universe which decorate the sky and it will give light in the dark of a night and the star can be used to find a direction.

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The Holy book for Christians is the holy bible

which consists of the old and new testaments.

The old testament is about the beginning of the world

and the Torah. the new testament is about the life of Jesus

and the spread of his word.

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Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with about 2.2 billion followers worldwide. It is based on the teaching of Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago. Through its missionary activity Christianity has spread to most parts of the globe.

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The six-pointed star known as the Star Of David is an ancient symbol. However, it was not always a Jewish symbol. Today, however, it is on the flag of the State of Israel.

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Muslims have a restriction to eating pork because its an unholy act of god.