Muslim, female form: Muslima [Arabic “who submits to God”] der, – (s) / – e and -s, Muslim, out of date Muselman [in Turkish mueslüman], self-designation for followers of Islam. The Muslims reject the designation “Mohammedans” because their faith is focused on the revelation of God brought by Mohammed, but not on the prophet as its human messenger.
According to the teaching of the Koran, Muslims are “the believers”. According to aceinland, all non-Muslims are viewed as “infidels” (Kafir), among whom the “writers” (Ahl al-Kitab) have a special position under Islamic law.
Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood, Muslim Brotherhood, Muslim Brotherhood, religious-political reform movement, founded in 1928 in Ismailia (Egypt) by the elementary school teacher Hasan al-Banna; calls for a state and social order based on the Koran and Hadith and combats Western European influence in the Islamic world. It spread to many Arab countries. In addition, related movements arose in Iran (“Fidaijan-e Islam”, German “Fighters of Islam”) as well as in India and Pakistan (“Djamaat-e Islam”, German “Association of Islam”). The Muslim Sisters came into being as a parallel female organization in 1933 .
In Egypt, after 1945, the Muslim Brotherhood developed into a mass movement that owned newspapers, schools, and businesses. In 1948/49 she participated with military units in the war of the Arab states against Israel. After the establishment of the republic in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was banned there (January 1954) and after the failed assassination attempt on President Nasser (Execution of numerous members on October 26, 1954) finally dissolved. The Muslim Brotherhood was also banned in other Islamic countries. Under the influence of the Islamic revolution in Iran (1979), the Muslim Brotherhood sought to re-establish itself. In Syria, where the Muslim Brotherhood developed the concept of “Islamic Socialism” at the end of the 1950s, various groups of the Muslim Brotherhood (summarized in the “United Islamic Front”) turned against the socialist-secular system of the Ba’ath Party. Hamas left the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1987. Today (2013) there are splits from the Muslim Brotherhood in numerous countries, some of which are active under different names and with a more radical orientation. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was not approved as a political party until the political upheaval in 2011, but was tolerated; in parliament were representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood v. a. represented as “independent” MPs. In connection with the Arab Spring, the importance of the organization in the Arab region increased. The Freedom and Justice party, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, became the strongest political force in the 2011/12 Egyptian parliamentary elections. With M. Mursi the Muslim Brotherhood candidate was also elected President of Egypt in 2012. The military deposed him in July 2013. After the fall of Morsi, violence escalated in Egypt. The security forces arrested numerous leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and hundreds of Morsi’s supporters lost their lives in bloody unrest. On September 23, 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood was declared illegal by a Cairo court, and on December 25, 2013 by the government as a terrorist organization.
The eighth “supreme leader” (Arabic “al-murschid al-‘amm”) of the Muslim Brotherhood has been Mohammed Badie (* 1943) since 2010.
Daoism
Daoism [to Dao] der, -, Taoism, philosophical and religious doctrine in China, alongside Confucianism and Buddhism one of the three world views that dominate China, at the same time collecting basins for the most varied of beliefs. The philosophical branch has appeared since the 4th century BC. BC initially in twoworks attributed tothe historically inconceivable philosophers Laozi (Daodejing) and Zhuangzi (Zhuangzi book), to which Liezi (Liezi book) was addedlater as a third “classic”. Central is the preoccupation with the source of being, Dao (Path), which is understood partly as the attributeless absolute (and thus as transcendent), partly as an entity (and thus as immanent) that individually pervades all elements of being and combines them into a supreme unity. The right attitude to life of the human being, who according to the Daoists is by no means emphasized towards other beings, but rather misguided by knowledge and will, consists in “not doing” (Wuwei), the unconditional acceptance of one’s own nature, which is ideal Form – like the nature of the Dao on a large scale – can only be determined by oneself and through the identification with the all-nature of the Dao should also transcend death. Daoism was not least a reaction to the ideas of Confucianism of man, society and culture, which threatened to “deform” the “true man” (ideal man) with his natural form of existence through strict integration into the framework of cultural and social norms.
The religious branch of Daoism stood with the philosophical on the one hand in the form of mysticism, quietism and physical exercises (breathing techniques, dietetics, sexual practices), on the other hand in the form of magic and the inclusion of older, independently developed doctrines of nature (doctrine of the two basic forces yin and yang and speculation about the five “active forces” or elements as well as the system of the “Book of Changes”, Yijing) in close relationship from the beginning, but also emerged with his own writings from the 2nd century AD. The unifying element was the emphasis on nature and the desire for longevity or even immortality. The body was seen as a microcosm modeled on the macrocosm of the universe and enlivened by a multitude of souls and gods. In order to preserve it, methods of alchemy for the extraction of the “pill of immortality” or the elixir of life have also been developed since the 2nd century AD. In this aligned to the life extension variety of Daoism next moved Laozi and the mythical “Yellow Emperor” (Huangdi) into his cult. The saints and thus at the same time immortals (Xian) in Daoism, who were granted the ability to fly, either rose to heaven or retreated to the western mountain paradises and eastern island paradises (often depicted in painting). Laozi advanced in religious Daoismto a cosmic figure who appears at intervals as a world redeemer. The Buddhist model is already recognizable here, which has played an important role in influencing Daoism up to the present day, despite or precisely because of the simultaneous competition between the two worldviews. It was particularly evident in the establishment of a Daoist church in AD 184, the development of monasteries, the emergence of sects, the systematization of heavens and hells, the compilation of a Daoist canon of scriptures and the specification of an independent liturgy. In addition, there were real Buddhist-Daoist mixed forms in the philosophical / religious area, e.g. B. with messianic ideologies of secret societies, which often played an important role in popular uprisings. – Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Daoism has long been suppressed precisely because of its traditional importance in secret societies, or it is still viewed with suspicion today, not least.
