Dante on Islam
Divine Retribution ( in Italian contrapasso) is clearly shown in canto 28 by showing the punishment of the sowers of schism and scandal in the 9th bolgia of circle 8. To begin this canto, Dante talks of the many wars in Puglia (southeastern Italy) and across the peninsula which have been known as the bloodiest. He does this to show that this 9th bolgia is far bloodier than these, and beyond description. Those in this bolgia are punished by having to walk a track where they are cut open and slashed, but their wounds heal only to be cut again. The father of the worldwide religion of Islam, Mahomet, is placed here, along with his follower, Ali. To illustrate the severity of the punishments to which these people are under, Dante uses the idea of blood and bones with decaying flesh. He states that the extent is incomprehensible, and cannot be captured by words, yet he says that if the bones and blood of the many wars that have plagued the peninsula of Italy could be piled up, they would not compare to the sight of the 9
In a whole, the implications of classifying Mahomet and Ali in the this 9th bolgia lead one to think that Dante was making a conclusion on the entire religion itself. To say the least it is devastating and very narrow minded, but more importantly it shows the extent of disrespect shown by Dante on two levels: the fact that Mahomet and Ali are place so low in hell and are punished in such a disgusting place and manner; and that they are accompanied by such persons as those who are responsible for creating strife. This implies that they too can be classified as those who are instigators, which is patronizing for those who believe them to be prophets (Muslims do greatly outnumber Catholics). Therefor, in the sense of contrapasso, this placement of these religious leaders would be unjust, for, this is a worldwide religion, and no one on earth can state that they are sure of the 'true religion.' The more intelligent response would be that all religions must be respected, and not deemed frivolous or un-important. With Mahomet
Some common words found in the essay are:
Mahomet Ali, Islam Mahomet, Catholics Therefor, Retribution Italian, II England, 9th bolgia, mahomet ali, Canticle Book, Divine Comedy, islam mahomet, worldwide religion,
Approximate Word count = 697
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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