Science fiction films and Islam

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Contarini said:
Why mind-boggling? This makes no sense whatever. It’s like saying that because James Bond villains want to take over the world therefore they must be referring to Hitler.

These are common archetypes, not topical references.

Edwin
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Contarini, relax…

It was a bit of tongue in cheek gesture on my behalf.
Valke2 is just a little to serious and i was just displaying he shouldnt take what i said so seriously…
 
Contarini said:
The Calormenes can’t possibly represent Islam the religion, because they are polytheists and worship idols. They represent the European Christian stereotype of dark-skinned cruel pagans. Lewis drew on the Arabian Nights and possibly on relatively early medieval portraits of Islam such as the Song of Roland (in which Muslims are bizarrely portrayed as polytheists). To suggest that the Calormenes are a serious portrait of Islam is both to take the imagery in the Narnia books way too seriously and to ascribe some pretty abysmal ignorance to Lewis.

Edwin
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right - you say “serious portrait” when we have already acknowledged the books are an allegory?
I haven’t said that the Calormenes are exactly like Muslims, but when you look at the Tashlan construct - you must admit that is similar to the idea that Allah is God? in any case if you know your Islamic history you will know that originally there were three deities mentioned in the Koran?
talking about taking things too seriously - are you?😉
 
jack_hawkins said:
but when you look at the Tashlan construct - you must admit that is similar to the idea that Allah is God?
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No, I can’t see that it’s even remotely similar. Allah is clearly the Arabic word for God. Allah is not a polytheistic deity in Islam.
in any case if you know your Islamic history you will know that originally there were three deities mentioned in the Koran?
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Not on an equal footing, and not compromising Muhammad’s basic monotheism, which no historian I know of questions.

Edwin
 
What, generally, is being overlooked here is that prior to Mohammed’s “revelations” (so-called), his tribe, the Quraysh, and all the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula were polytheistic. Afterwards, with his successful “invasion” of Mecca, he ordered all
idols gathered up and destroyed.

Even today, in countries where Moslems are the ruling majority, NO new churches may be built, nor can any old churches be repaired. Even were the minority Christian communities in these countries to obtain the necessary permits,
they would probably have to pay the jizya (the special poll tax) in, presumably, the most usurious manner. :eek:

It may not be politically correct for me to say so, but those, unfortunately, are the facts.
 
And prior to the rise of Christianity in Europe, Europeans were polytheists. So what?

And I can’t see why Valke should ‘lighten up’. The speech of hatred and ignorance comes so very easily to some posters here, and I agree, this thread is beating a dead hobbyhorse. Trying to draw parallels between Islam and the Sith? What in the Sam Hill? Talk about a stretch!

Now Dune, yes, of course that’s an example of a slightly-altered Islam in science fiction – several religions from our time are still around in that invented future, however changed (the Orange Catholics, the Zensunni, and so forth).
 
Somebody brought up Darth Vader earlier—but isn’t the entire Star Wars saga, good characters or bad, based on a sort of modified Hinduism? (The Force = Brahman-Atman, all of us are divine beings, etc.)

Best science fiction novels ever written based on religion: Everyone’s mentioned Dune already, but sometime read “Lord of Light” by Roger Zelazny; it’s the Buddhist / Hindu split, on another planet. It’s a wonderful novel, but also like Dune in that it is quite dense, a lot of flashbacks, foreshadowing, seemingly irrelevant chapters, etc. You really have to pay attention to everything going on; seemingly minor details turn out to be crucial 50 pages further on.

Topics such as reincarnation, Buddha’s power as the “binder of demons,” and so on, are given a future-technological spin.
 
Speaking of best s-f religious novels: I can’t believe I forgot “A Canticle for Lebowitz.”

Also by Roger Zelazny: a short story called “A Rose for Ecclesiastes.” It revolves around–well—the book of Ecclesiastes.
 
jack hawkins posted:
as anyone ever noticed how often in sci-fi or fantasy films there is an evil religion/race that preaches “convert or be killed”? Does anyone think some of these may be modelled on Islam?
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Absolutely not, No!
 
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