Essay - Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish

This past week, I read Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish. I thought overall, this unit was quite interesting. It involved a lot of different perspectives from different religions that made the traditional Christian stories much more interesting for me to read. For example, I grew up learning about Job and the pain he had to go through. The Islam folklore of this is similar, but there are some distinct differences. For instance, Job promises to beat his wife for doubting Allah and speaking to the devil. Or even the story of David. For the most part, this story stands the same as the bible in terms of plot, but in the Moslem folklore, Allah in heaven gives 1,000 wives Uriah because David betrayed him on earth.

It is kind of crazy to think that so many people in the world share the same stories, but with different twists. This makes me want to research where the differences entered through each religion’s stories.

Because I am familiar with Christian stories from the bible, I thought this class has done a good job of easing into stories from different religions. During the first week, I was reading stories straight from the bible and the next week, I got to read some biblical stories through Jewish folklore and myths and now I am reading stories through Moslem folklore. I think this is a good thing because it is broadening my perspective. I don’t have to agree with what I am reading, but I do think it is important to understand what I am reading and understand why people believe some stories over others.

Honestly, I was pretty surprised by some of the readings and that is why I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading more folklore from different cultures and religion so that I can better understand people and their backgrounds.

The Holy Land seen from a map.

Photo Cred: Wikipedia

Storytelling - Week 4 - Job's Commitment

With today’s corrupted and sinful society, the devil felt he could call upon God to discuss some issues from the past and present. God laughed upon his request, but agreed to meet briefly. God asked the devil to meet him on the third ring of Jupiter at noon the following day.

As noon approached, the nervous devil arrived to the planet’s ring. When a few minutes had passed he started to think God stood him up. Then suddenly a mighty trumpet sound rang and millions upon millions of angels triumphed from heaven into space. Behind them rode a man on a horse gleaming with light. The brightness was too much to handle and the devil had to turn around to save his eyesight.

“What can I do for you?” asked God to the devil.

With his back towards God, the devil had prepared a case for God. “Well you see, it seems that the earth’s people are falling. Sin is everywhere and I becoming more and more popular. So, I have a proposition,” the devil schemed.

“Yes?” God said.

“May I rule over the earth? You can have the rest of the universe. I just want the earth! Please!!” pleaded the devil.

God replied in laughter, “Oh Lucifer, you haven’t changed one bit. I love the earth and I love the people in it. I created them. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll choose my most faithful servant, Bob, on earth and allow his life to be doomed and tortured. I will bring physical and mental pain to his body. And if he still proclaims to love me, then you will never be allowed to leave hell again, but if he chooses to give up and serve you, you may have the earth.”

The devil thought the deal over and agreed. The next day, the devil went to find Bob.

Bob lived in New York City as a janitor in the Empire State Building. He had two kids and a beautiful wife. Bob was a committed husband and father and was loved by many for his kind heart and loving attitude. He often served his community and lived a modest life.

When Bob arrived at work that day, his boss handed him a pink slip. Bob was let off go due to budget cuts. On his way home he received a call from a friend who had told him that Bob’s wife and kids had been in a deathly car wreck that morning. Bob was crushed. He had lost his job and family within just a few hours.

“God! I trust you. Please give me the strength to get through this,” cried Bob.

The next day, Bob woke up with bumps all over his body. He called 911 and was rushed to the hospital. Bob was diagnosed with a rare disease that caused his ski to burn from the inside out.

“God! I need you. I trust you!” cried Bob.

Job is covered in sores.

Photo Cred: Distant Shores

Bob lied in the hospital for five years as doctors and specialists tried to help treat his deadly disease. When the doctors said there is nothing else they can do to help, Bob kindly thanked them for their service.

“God, use me as you will. I am nothing without you and I will stay faithful to you,” said Bob.

Suddenly Bob saw an angel appear in his hospital room.

“Bob, God loves you. He is so proud of you and your commitment to serve him. Go forth, for you are healed!” said the angel.

God returned to meet the devil and sent him back to hell for eternity.

Bob praised God for the rest of his days.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:
This story is based from the story of Job. Job is a biblical story that was written is this unity as an Islamic folklore. I decided to give a light-hearted background to the story and bring the setting into modern times. I am familiar with the story of Job from the bible's standpoint, so it was interesting to read this story from a different perspective. I think Job is an awesome story about a man who has such an admirable courageous faith in his beliefs. Job losses absolutely everything and his friends turn against him, but he stays true to his trust in God. 

If the bible were written in chronological order, most people think that the story of job would come after Genesis. This popular story not only offers a story of faith, but also offers some information that makes historian believes that dinosaurs were alive during the time of Job's life. I think that's awesome!

I personally love the story of Job because even though there is so much hurt and pain, Job's commitment to God succeeds all things. I wanted my story to add some light-heartedness to this story while also showing a fun perspective to the background of Job's misery. It is completely fictional, but I believe does a good job of showing God's triumph through the story of Job as seen in both the bible and this Muslim folklore.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Folk-lore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish 

by J. E. Hanauer (1907)

Folklore of Holy Land - Reading Diary B

In the second part of the unite, Folklore of the Holy Land, I was able to read various bible stories told from different views. The second part of this unity told stories of the death of Aaron and Moses, Solomon, Elijah and St. George and more. My favorite story in this unit is the story of David.

This story has always fascinated me, so it caught my interest from the beginning. This particular story was told from an Islamic folklore which made it interesting to see the differences and similarities.

David was a mighty kind who served Allah. One day, David decided to disguise himself and go into town to see what the people truly thought of his kingdom and the way he governed. An angel disguised as a human told him that he is frustrated because the king uses the money of the public treasury instead of working for his money. This troubled David so he began working to earn money for his family, alms and the construction of the temple.

The story moves on to David inside the temple. After reading the backstory of David's want of Bathsheba, we learn that David is plotting to have his friend, Uriah killed (he is the husband of Bathsheba).

I found the ending most interesting. When he realizes the sin he commits and Uriah's death, David asks for forgiveness. Uriah spoke down form heaven and says he forgives David because for one wife, Allah has given him 1,000 in heaven.

David asks forgiveness from Allah.

Photo Cred: Wikimedia

Folklore of the Holy Land - Reading Diary A

I began reading Folklore of the Holy Land unit. My favorite story in the beginning of this unit was the story of Job and his family. I am familiar with this story from a Christian perspective, but the specific story came from an Islamic legend. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two religions of the same story. The language was a little different such as calling God, "Allah" and the devil, "Iblis." These arabic terms added the to tradition of these legends.

To summarize, Job was a man who loved God, and God tested his faith through both physical and mental pain. He became extremely sick, lost his family, lost his home, but still never lost faith in God. In this story, God rewards him for his faith and gives all these things back and more. I was most surprised when Job promises to beat his wife if Allah heals him. In the end. he chooses to show her some mercy, but this still shocked me that this legend consists of a man threatening to beat his wife who had shown him love and nourishment for seven years.

I enjoyed the beginning of this unit because I am familiar with a lot of the stories, but they are all told in different ways. It is interesting to see how different religions and cultures change stories and pass them on through traditions.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this unit and finding out what else is in store!

Job is covered in sores.

Photo Cred: Wikipedia