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Use of Metaphors Associated with Islam

Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, elements in American society that are hostile to Islam have stereotyped it by reference to "unpeaceful metaphors" (Bangura, 2002), metaphors that allegedly shape the Islamic faith and tradition. Although the word "Islam" is related to salaam, the Arabic word for peace, these elements employ the concept of unpeaceful metaphors to argue that Islam is an inherently warlike religion. Thus, by implication, true peaceful coexistence -- let alone cooperation -- between the West and Islamic peoples is impossible.

To examine this claim, we will first consider the nature of metaphors in general: the types of metaphors that fill our language, and what the use of metaphors signifies for those who use them. We will then go on to consider three specific "unpeaceful metaphors" that have been associated with Islam. These metaphors are the word Islam itself, which has been construed as having the connotation of "submission;" jihad, literally "striving" or "struggle," but commonly translated in Western news reportage as "holy war;" and finally the contrasting expressions Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb, literally "house of Islam" (or house of peace) and "house of war," used for the Muslim and non-Islamic worlds respectively. Taken together -- but without proper examination -- these metaphorical expressions form the basis for the claim that Islam is inherently warlike.

Metaphors in general, including unpeaceful metaphors, are of four general sorts. These may be described as conventional metaphors, poetic metaphors, conceptual metaphors, and mixed metaphors. All metaphors might be regarded as "poetic" in some sense, at least in their origin, in that they are chosen to convey some meaning more vividly than an ordinary, literal expression of the intended point. If, to take a simple and commonplace metaphor, we say that someone has a bright idea, we don't imply that ...

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Use of Metaphors Associated with Islam. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:00, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1713169.html