Prophet Nuh Prophet, Messenger, Seer, Patriarch, Warner, Reformer
A Bible illustration imagining Noah sending out the dove from the Ark
Born	Mesopotamia (?)
Other names	Bible: Noah
Known for	Being one of the earliest of the prophets. Constructing Noah's Ark. The event of the Deluge.
Children	Shem, Ham, Japheth, Kenan (Islamic tradition)
Parents	Lamech
Relatives	Descendant of Enoch

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Noah, (نوح Nūḥ), is a prophet and messenger in the Qur'an. He is a highly important figure in Islamic history, as he is counted amongst the earliest prophets sent by God to mankind.^[1] According to Islam, Noah's mission was to a wicked world, plunged in depravity and sin. Although he preached the Message of God with immense zeal, his people refused to mend their ways, leading to his building of the Ark and the famous event of the Deluge, the Great Flood in which all the evil people of his time perished.

Noah's mission had a double character: he had to warn his people, asking them to call for repentance and, at the same time, he had to preach about God's mercy and forgiveness, promising them the glad tidings God would provide if they led righteous lives. References to Noah are scattered throughout the Qur'an, and there is even an entire chapter carrying his name, Noah.^[2]

Background[link]

Little is known of Noah's personal history before his call to prophecy. However, tradition records him to have been the son of Lamech,^[1] one of the patriarchs from the Generations of Adam. Noah was neither the leader of the tribe nor a very rich man but, even before being called to prophecy, he worshiped God faithfully and was, in the words of the Qur'an, "a devotee most grateful".^[3]

Historical narrative in Islam[link]

Islamic literature recounts that in the Generations of Adam, many men and women continued to follow Adam's original teachings, worshiping God alone and remaining righteous.^[4] Among Adam's descendants there were many brave and pious men, greatly loved and revered by their respective communities.^[4] Exegesis goes onto narrate that, upon the death of these elders, people felt enormous grief and some felt prompted to make statues of these people in remembrance of them.^[4] Gradually, however, many forgot what such statues were for and began to worship them, along with many other idols. It was to guide the people that God raised up Noah to be the next prophet to mankind.^[4]

Early preaching[link]

Noah began preaching to his people both verbally and by example. He would praise God consistently and he urged his people to do the same, warning his tribe of the punishment they would face if they did not mend their ignorant ways. The Qur'an states that Noah repeatedly told his people:

"O my people! Worship God! You have no other god but Him. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day!".^[5]

Early on, a few were moved by Noah's words but the powerful and wealthy members of the tribe refused to hear his call. The unbelievers at the time were impelled to rebel by various evil motives. Firstly, they were extremely envious and jealous of men superior to them in any way.^[6] Secondly, the people were ignorant of the weak and lowly, who were frequently superior intellectually, morally and spiritually.^[4] As a result of their ignorance, they were arrogant and mocked all who they felt were inferior to them. When Noah preached the faith of God to them, all they did was revile the messenger, abuse the message and call the whole warning a lie.^[4] He then went on to explain the Message in greater depth, ensuring them that it was not a message of destruction but it was a message with the mercy from God, and that their acts would lead to destruction if they did not accept the faith. He questioned them, asking why they would not accept what would benefit them in the near future.^[4] Noah went onto further, and told his community that he asked of no reward from them, telling them his only reward would be from God.

Accusation[link]

As time passed, Noah became firmer in his preaching.^[4] When the unbelievers began insulting those who accepted God's message, believing that Noah would send those faithful away to attract the wealthy unbelievers, Noah revealed that they - the arrogant and ignorant rich - were the wicked and sinful ones.^[7] His people accused him of being soothsayer^[8] or diviner. Noah declared that he was by no means a mere fortune-teller, pretending to reveal secrets which are not worth revealing. Noah also denied accusations claiming Noah was an angel, always maintaining that he was a human messenger.^[4] When the people refused to acknowledge their sinfulness Noah told them that it was not Noah, but God that would punish them - however He pleased.^[4]

Noah's prayer[link]

Noah prayed to God,^[1] telling Him that his preaching only made his people disbelieve further.^[9] Noah told God how they had closed their minds to accepting the message, so that the light of the truth should not affect their thinking.^[10] Noah told God how he had used all the resources of the classical preacher, conveying the message both in public places and with individuals in private.^[11] Noah spoke of how he had told the people the rewards they would receive if they became righteous, namely that God would supply plentiful rain^[12] as a blessing, and that God would also guarantee them an increase in sons and wealth.^[13]

Building of the Ark[link]

One day, Noah received a revelation from God, in which he was told that no one would believe the message now aside from those who have already submitted to God.^[14] Noah's frustration at the defiance of his people led him to ask God to not leave even one sinner upon earth.^[1] Thereupon, God decreed that a terrible flood would cover the whole earth and He ordered Noah to build an Ark which would save him and the believers from this dreadful calamity.^[15] Ever obedient to God's instructions, Noah went out in search of material with which to build the vessel.

Exegesis narrates that, in the land where Noah lived, vegetation was scarce and so Noah had to plant trees and wait for them to grow before beginning work on the Ark. When Noah began building the Ark, the people who saw him at work laughed at him even more than before. Their conclusion was that he was surely a madman - they could not find any other reason why a man would build a huge vessel when no sea or river was nearby.^[1] Although Noah was now very old, the aged patriarch continued to work tirelessly until, at last, the Ark was finished.

Differences from Judeo-Christian teachings[link]

The Quran does not say that the entire world was submerged in water unlike the Bible. According to Islam, only certain parts of the world were submerged under water, one of them being the region of Noah and his people. Islam differentiates from Christianity on the account of the animals loaded in the ark. According to Islam, only the animals in the care of Noah were taken in the ark.^{[citation needed]}

Praise of Noah in the Qur'an[link]

Noah is praised by God in the Qur'an, which shows his great status amongst the prophets. In sura 17 (Al-Isra), ayah 3, God states: "Verily he was a devotee most grateful."^[16] Also, from the Qur'an which states:

(In the days of old), Noah cried to Us, and We are the best to hear prayer.

And We delivered him and his people from the Great Calamity,

And made his progeny to endure (on this earth);

And We left (this blessing) for him among generations to come in later times:

"Peace and salutation to Noah among the nations!"

—Qur'an sura 37 (As-Saaffat) ayat 75-79"^[17]

And also in sura 3 (Al-i-Imran) ayah 33, it states: "Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of 'Imran above all people,-"^[18]

The Story of Noah, as told by Qur'anic verses[link]

The Qu'ran states that Noah was inspired by God, like other Islamic prophets such as Ibrāhīm (Abraham), Ismā'īl (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Ya'qub (Jacob), Isa (Jesus), Ilyas‘ (Elijah), Ayub (Job), Harun (Aaron), Yunus (Jonah), Daud (David) and Muhammad (Mohammed), and that he was a faithful messenger. Noah had firm belief in the oneness of God, and preached Islam (literally "submission," meaning submission to God).^[19]

He continuously warned the people of the painful doom that was coming and to accept God, instead of worshipping idols such as Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq and Nasr.^[20] He called the people to serve God, and said that nobody but God could save them.^[21] He said that the time of the deluge was appointed and could not be delayed, and that the people had to submit to God.^[22]

God commanded Noah to build a ship, the Ark, and as he was building it, the chieftains passed him and mocked him. Upon its completion, the ship was loaded with animals and Noah's household,^[23] together with 76 who did submit to God. The people who denied the message of Noah, including one of his own sons, drowned.^[24] The final resting place of the ship was referred to as Mount Judi.^[25] Noah is called a grateful servant.^[16] Both Noah (and Abraham) were taught the prophethood and the scripture.^[26]

Noah's wife[link]

Noah's wife (Naamah) is referred to in the Qur'an as an evil woman. When God emphasizes upon the notion that everyone is for themselves on the Day of Judgement and that marital relations will not be to your aid when the judgement takes place, the Qur'an says:

Allah sets forth, for an example to the Unbelievers, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lut: they were (respectively) under two of our righteous servants, but they were false to their (husbands), and they profited nothing before Allah on their account, but were told: "Enter ye the Fire along with (others) that enter!

—Qur'an, sura 66, (At-Tahrim), ayah 10^[27]

In contrast, the believing wife of the evil Pharaoh of the Exodus, is revered as one of the greatest women in Islamic history. This adds to the notion that, on the Last Day, everyone will be judged according to their own deeds.^[28]

Noah's mausoleum photo gallery[link]

Noah's mausoleum in Cizre, Turkey

Street sign to Noah's mausoleum   Entrance to Noah's mausoleum   Muslim Prayer for Noah   History of Noah   Noah's coffin   Inside Noah's mausoleum   The front of Noah's mausoleum

References to Noah in the Qur'an[link]

• As one of the first messengers: 4:163, 6:84, 11:25, 26:107, 29:14, 37:75, 57:26, 71:1–2, 71:5
• Noah's preaching: 4:163, 7:59, 7:61–64, 10:71–72, 11:25–26, 11:28–31, 11:42, 23:23, 26:105–106, 26:108, 26:110, 71:1–3, 71:8–20
• Challenges for Noah: 7:60–61, 10:71, 11:27, 11:32, 14:9, 23:24–26, 25:37, 26:105, 26:111–113, 26:116–118, 38:12, 40:5, 50:12, 53:52, 54:9–10, 66:10, 71:6–7, 71:21–24, 71:26–27
• "The Thankful" Noah: 17:3
• Noah's wishes granted: 21:76–77, 26:119, 37:75, 54:11–12
• God destroyed Noah's people: 7:64, 9:70, 10:73, 11:37, 11:43–44, 11:89, 23:27, 25:37, 26:120, 29:14, 37:82, 40:31, 51:46, 53:52, 54:11–12, 71:25
• Noah was saved on the Ark: 7:64, 10:73, 11:37–38, 11:40–44, 11:48, 23:27–29, 26:119, 29:15, 37:76, 54:13–15, 69:11
• Appraisal for Noah: 17:3, 37:78–81, 66:10

See also[link]

• Seven Laws of Noah
• Biblical narratives and the Qur'an
• Legends and the Qur'an
• Prophets of Islam
• Stories of The Prophets

References[link]

Noah
Noah's sacrifice by Daniel Maclise
Antediluvian Patriarch, Prophet, Holy Forefather, Constructor of the Ark, 'Grateful Servant of God', 'Preacher of Righteousness'
Born	Mesopotamia (?)
Honored in	Judaism Christianity Islam Mandaeism Baha'i Faith
Influenced	Many Jews, Christians and Muslims

Noah ( /ˈnoʊ.ə/^[1]; or Noé, Noach; Hebrew: נֹחַ,‎ נוֹחַ, Modern Noaẖ Tiberian Nōăḥ; Arabic: نُوح‎ Nūḥ; Ancient Greek: Νῶε) was the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The story of Noah and the ark is told in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, which is followed by the story of the Curse of Ham. Outside Genesis his name is mentioned in Ezekiel, Isaiah and Chronicles. He was the subject of much elaboration in later Abrahamic traditions, including the Qur'an.

Noah in Genesis[link]

Mosaic depiction of Noah sending the dove

Noah was the tenth of the pre-Flood Patriarchs. His father Lamech named him nûaḥ (the final ḥ is a more gutteral sound than the English h), saying, "This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath cursed."^[2] This connects the future patriarch's name with nāḥam, "comfort", but it seems better related to the word nûaḥ, meaning "rest", and is more a play on words than a true etymology.^[3][4]

In his five hundredth year Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. In his six hundredth year God, saddened at the wickedness of mankind, sent a great deluge to destroy all life, but because Noah was "righteous in his generation" God instructed him to build an ark and save a remnant of life. After the Flood Noah offered a sacrifice (the word nihoah, describing the "pleasant" odour of the sacrifice, is yet another pun on Noah's name) and entered into a covenant with God regulating the shedding of blood (i.e., mankind's permnission to kill under regulated circumstances).^[5] After this he became "the first tiller of the soil", planted a vineyard, and drank the wine, and fell asleep naked; Noah's son Ham saw his father naked and told his brothers, and Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan.^[6]

Noah died 350 years after the Flood, at the age of 950,^[7] the last of the immensely long-lived antediluvian Patriarchs. One of the longest human lifespans, as depicted by the Bible, diminishes rapidly thereafter, from almost 1,000 years to the 120 years of Moses. (The longest recorded lifespan was that of Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old. – Gen. 5:27)

Origins[link]

According to the documentary hypothesis, the first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch/Torah), including Genesis, were collated during the 5th century BC from four main sources, which themselves date from no earlier than the 10th century BC. Two of these, the Jahwist, composed in the 10th century BC, and the Priestly source, from the late 7th century BC, make up the chapters of Genesis which concern Noah. The attempt by the 5th century editor to accommodate two independent and sometimes conflicting sources accounts for the confusion over such matters as how many pairs of animals Noah took, and how long the flood lasted.^[8][9]

Noah is described by three phrases: “a righteous man”, “blameless” and “walked with God”. He stands out from his contemporaries as a man of right conduct.^[10] who forewarned doom, by preaching.

In terms of Julius Wellhausen's critiquing, the story of Noah is categorized as an ethnological tradition that emerges from the conflict between Israel and Canaan. The passage “Canaan will serve Shem” reflects Israel’s conquest of the promised land.^[11]

According to Randall Bailey, the curse against Canaan was as a direct result of Ham performing a suspicious sexual act against his father, Noah. He suggests that the purpose for this redaction was to keep Israel from adopting sexual practices linked with Egypt and Canaan (Lev 18:3) and to demean the ancestor of Africans because Israelite custom regarded Africa as a standard of valuation.^[12]

According to Umberto Cassuto, Ham’s transgression is an allegory that represents the Canaanite people. The Canaanites were to suffer the curse not because of Ham’s sin, but because they acted like him by their own transgressions. The passage of Canaan serving Shem refers to the children of Canaan who served under Chedorlaomer, king of Elam,^{[Gen 14:4]} son of Shem.^[13]

A vineyard mosaic

Noah and wine[link]

Commentators, as early as the Classical era, on Genesis 9:20–21 have excused Noah’s excessive drinking because he was considered to be the first wine drinker, the first person to discover the soothing, consoling, and enlivening effects of wine.^[14] John Chrysostom, a church father, writes that Noah’s behaviour is defensible: as the first human to taste wine, he would not know its aftereffects: “Through ignorance and inexperience of the proper amount to drink, fell into a drunken stupor”.^[15]

Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher also exonerates Noah by noting that one can drink in two different manners: (1) to drink wine in excess, a peculiar sin to the vicious evil man or (2) to partake of wine as the wise man, Noah being the latter.^[16]

In Jewish tradition, Rabbis blame Satan for saturating the vine with intoxicating properties from the blood of certain animals, thus Noah behaved not knowing what he was doing.^[17]

Noah and Ham[link]

In the field of Psychological biblical criticism, J. H. Ellens and W. G. Rollins address the narrative of Genesis 9:18–27 that narrates the unconventional behavior that occurs between Noah and Ham. Because of its brevity and textual inconsistencies, it has been suggested that this narrative is a “splinter from a more substantial tale”.^[18][19] A fuller account would explain what exactly Ham “had done to” his father; or why Noah directed a curse at Canaan for Ham’s misdeed; or how Noah came to know what occurred. The narrator relates two facts: (1) Noah became inebriated when he “uncovered himself within his tent” and (2) Ham “saw his father’s nakedness.” Thus, these passages revolve around sexuality and the exposure of genitalia as compared with other Hebrew bible texts, such as Habakkuk 2:15 and Lamentations 4:21.^[20]

Religious views[link]

Jewish views[link]

A Jewish depiction of Noah

The righteousness of Noah is the subject of much discussion among the rabbis.^[21] The description of Noah as "righteous in his generation" implied to some that his perfection was only relative: In his generation of wicked people, he could be considered righteous, but in the generation of a tzadik like Abraham, he would not be considered so righteous. They point out that Noah did not pray to God on behalf of those about to be destroyed, as Abraham prayed for the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, Noah is never seen to speak; he simply listens to God and acts on his orders. This led such commentators to offer the figure of Noah as "the man in a fur coat," who ensured his own comfort while ignoring his neighbour. Others, such as the medieval commentator Rashi, held on the contrary that the building of the Ark was stretched over 120 years, deliberately in order to give sinners time to repent. Rashi interprets his father's statement of the naming of Noah (in Hebrew נֹחַ) “This one will comfort (in Hebrew– yeNaHamainu יְנַחֲמֵנו) from our work and our hands sore from the land that the Lord had cursed”,^[22] by saying Noah heralded a new era of prosperity, when there was easing (in Hebrew – nahah – נחה) from the curse from the time of Adam when the Earth produced thorns and thistles even where men sowed wheat and that Noah then introduced the plow.

Christian views[link]

An early Christian depiction showing Noah giving the gesture of orant as the dove returns

According to 2 Peter 2:5, Noah is considered a "preacher of righteousness". Of the Gospels in the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke compares Noah's Flood with the coming Day of Judgement: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.”^[23]

The First Epistle of Peter compares the saving power of baptism with the Ark saving those who were in it. In later Christian thought, the Ark came to be compared to the Church: salvation was to be found only within Christ and his Lordship, as in Noah's time it had been found only within the Ark. St Augustine of Hippo (354–430), demonstrated in The City of God that the dimensions of the Ark corresponded to the dimensions of the human body, which corresponds to the body of Christ; the equation of Ark and Church is still found in the Anglican rite of baptism, which asks God, "who of thy great mercy didst save Noah," to receive into the Church the infant about to be baptised.

In medieval Christianity, Noah's three sons were generally considered as the founders of the populations of the three known continents, Japheth/Europe, Shem/Asia, and Ham/Africa, although a rarer variation held that they represented the three classes of medieval society – the priests (Shem), the warriors (Japheth), and the peasants (Ham). In the 18th and 19th centuries the view that Ham's sons in general had been literally "blackened" by the curse of Noah was cited as justification for black slavery.^{[citation needed]}

In Latter-day Saint theology, the angel Gabriel lived in his mortal life as the patriarch Noah. Gabriel and Noah are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.^[24]

Islamic views[link]

An Islamic depiction of Noah

Noah is a highly important figure in Islam, and is seen as one of the most significant prophets of all. The Qur'an contains 43 references to Noah in 28 chapters and the seventy-first chapter, Chapter Noah, is named after him. Noah's narratives largely consist around his preaching as well the story of the Deluge. Noah's narrative lays the prototype for many of the subsequent prophetic stories, which begin with the prophet warning his people and then the community rejecting the message and facing a punishment. Noah is not the first prophet sent to mankind, according to the Quran (The first prophet according to Islam is Adam, who was the first man and thus the first prophet as he was the only one to deliver the message at that time). Noah has several titles in Islam, based primarily on praise for him in the Qur'an, including True Messenger of God (XXVI: 107) and Grateful Servant of God (XVII: 3). The Qur'an further states that God chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Amram above all mankind (III: 33).

The Qur'an focuses on several instances from Noah's life more than others, and one of the most significant events is the Deluge. God makes a covenant with Noah just as with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad later on (XXXIII: 7). Noah is later reviled by his people and reproached by them for being a mere human messenger and not an angel (X: 72-74). Moreover, the people of Noah mock Noah's words and call him a liar (VII: 62) and even suggest that Noah is possessed by a devil when the prophet ceases to preach (LIV: 9). Only the lowest in the community join Noah in believing in God's message (XI: 29), and Noah's narrative further describes him preaching both in private and public. The Qur'an narrates that Noah received a revelation to build an Ark, after his people refused to believe in his message and hear the warning. The narrative goes on to describe that waters poured forth from the Heavens, destroying all the sinners. After the Great Flood ceased, the Ark rested atop Mount Judi (Qur'an 11:44).

Gnostic views[link]

The tomb of Noah in the Nakhchivan area of the Azerbaijan Republic. The name Nakhchivan is believed to derive from the meaning "The place where Noah landed after the flood"

Gnosticism was an important development of (and departure from) early Christianity, blending Jewish scriptures and Christian teachings with traditional pagan religion and esoteric Greek philosophical concepts. An important Gnostic text, the Apocryphon of John, reports that the chief archon caused the flood because he desired to destroy the world he had made, but the First Thought informed Noah of the chief archon's plans, and Noah informed the remainder of humanity. Unlike the account of Genesis, not only are Noah's family saved, but many others also heed Noah's call. There is no ark in this account; instead Noah and the others hide in a "luminous cloud".

Baha'i views[link]

The Bahá'í Faith regards the Ark and the Flood as symbolic.^[25] In Bahá'í belief, only Noah's followers were spiritually alive, preserved in the ark of his teachings, as others were spiritually dead.^[26][27] The Bahá'í scripture Kitáb-i-Íqán endorses the Islamic belief that Noah had a large number of companions, either 40 or 72, besides his family on the Ark, and that he taught for 950 (symbolic) years before the flood.^[28]

Comparisons in other religions[link]

Noah's first burnt offering after the Flood – relief in Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc

Ancient Greek[link]

In Greek mythology, Noah has often been compared to Deucalion, the son of Prometheus and Pronoia. Like Noah, Deucalion is a wine maker or wine seller; he is forewarned of the flood (this time by Zeus and Poseidon); he builds an ark and staffs it with creatures – and when he completes his voyage, gives thanks and takes advice from the gods on how to repopulate the Earth. Deucalion also sends a pigeon to find out about the situation of the world and the bird return with an olive branch. This and some other examples of apparent comparison between Greek myths and the "key characters" in the Old Testament/Torah have led recent biblical scholars to suggest a Hellenistic influence in the composition of the earlier portions of the Hebrew Bible.^{[citation needed]}

Mesopotamian[link]

The earliest written flood myth is found in the Mesopotamian Epic of Atrahasis and Epic of Gilgamesh texts. Many scholars believe that Noah and the Biblical Flood story are derived from the Mesopotamian version, predominantly because Biblical mythology that is today found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mandeanism shares overlapping consistency with far older written ancient Mesopotamian story of The Great Flood, and that the early Hebrews were known to have lived in Mesopotamia.^[29]

Gilgamesh’s historical reign is believed to have been approximately 2700 BCE,^[30] shortly before the earliest known written stories. The discovery of artifacts associated with Aga and Enmebaragesi of Kish, two other kings named in the stories, has lent credibility to the historical existence of Gilgamesh.^[31]

The earliest Sumerian Gilgamesh poems date from as early as the Third dynasty of Ur (2100–2000 BC).^[32] One of these poems mentions Gilgamesh’s journey to meet the flood hero, as well as a short version of the flood story.^[33] The earliest Akkadian versions of the unified epic are dated to ca. 2000–1500 BC.^[34] Due to the fragmentary nature of these Old Babylonian versions, it is unclear whether they included an expanded account of the flood myth; although one fragment definitely includes the story of Gilgamesh’s journey to meet Utnapishtim. The “standard” Akkadian version included a long version of the flood story and was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC.^[35] In the Mesopotamian epics, Nu-Atrahasis (Utnapishtim) is glorified as a hero for his epic deeds of building and loading the ark, whereas Genesis simply says, “Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.” Obedience to God, not human courage, is the focus in the later Genesis narrative.^[36]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Noah

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Noah from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Noah
• MuslimWiki: Nuh

Noah Feldman
Born	1970 (age 41–42) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	United States
Fields	Legal studies, religion, politics
Institutions	Harvard Law School
Alma mater	Harvard College Oxford University Yale Law School

Noah Feldman (born 1970) is an American author and professor of law at Harvard Law School.

Education and career[link]

Feldman grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Maimonides School.^[1]

He graduated from Harvard College in 1992, ranked first in the College, and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a D.Phil in Islamic Thought in 1994. Upon his return from Oxford, he received his J.D., in 1997, from Yale Law School, where he was the book review editor of the Yale Law Journal. He later served as a law clerk for Associate Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2001, he joined the faculty of New York University Law School (NYU), leaving for Harvard in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed the Bemis Professor of International Law.^[2]

He worked as an advisor in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of the country. While his initial work, under Jay Garner, was unfocused, he was authorized, under Paul Bremer's transitional team to help formulate the country's new constitution. However, what role if any he played in formulating the country's new constitution has not been established. It is not clear that he played any significant part in this constitutional work because his advisory role ended shortly after it began; whether he quit or was fired has never been made clear. He regularly contributes features and opinion pieces to The New York Times Magazine and is a senior adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

A polyglot, he is fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, and French, in addition to English.^{[citation needed]}

Work and views[link]

As an academic and public intellectual, Feldman is concerned with issues at the intersection of religion and politics. In the United States, this has a bearing on First Amendment questions of church and state and the role of religion both in government and in private life. Feldman's other area of specialty is Islam. In Iraq, the same reasoning leads him to support the creation of a democracy with Islamist elements. This last position has been lauded by some as a pragmatic and sensitive solution to the problems inherent in the creation of a new Iraqi government;^[3] others have taken exception to the same idea, however, characterizing Feldman's views as simplistic and shortsighted.^[4]

Feldman was a featured speaker, alongside noted Islamic authority Hamza Yusuf, in the lecture Islam & Democracy: Is a clash of civilisations inevitable?, which was subsequently released on DVD. An excerpt from Feldman's 2008 book, The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine and was attacked by Leon Wieseltier for "promoting" Islamic law as a "swell basis" for a political order. This, according to Wieseltier, amounts to "shilling for soft theocracy" and is hypocritical since Wieseltier presumes that neither he nor Feldman would actually choose to rear their own children in such a system.^[5]

Criticism of Modern Orthodox Judaism[link]

In a New York Times Magazine article, "Orthodox Paradox", Feldman recounted his experiences of the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion of the Modern Orthodox Jewish community in which he was raised, specifically at his high school alma mater, the Maimonides School.^[6] He contended that his choice to marry a non-Jew led to ostracism by the school, in which he and his then girlfriend were allegedly air-brushed out of the 1998 photograph of his class reunion published in the school newsletter. His marriage to a non-Jew is contrary to orthodox Jewish religious law, although he and his family had been active members of the Harvard Hillel Orthodox minyan. Some^[who?] accused Feldman of misrepresenting a fundamental fact in the story, namely whether he was purposefully cropped out of the picture, as many other class members were also cropped from the newsletter photo due to space limitations.^[7] His supporters noted that Feldman's claim in the article was that he and his girlfriend were "nowhere to be found" and not that they were cropped or deleted out of the photo. Yet others view this claim by Feldman's supporters as disingenuous, noting that elsewhere Feldman had publicly encouraged the suggestion of air-brushing. Leon Wieseltier attacked Feldman for the dishonesty of "exposing the depredations" of Orthodox Jewish law while praising sharia as "bold and noble," and called Feldman's essay a "pathetic whine".^[8]

His critique of Modern Orthodox Judaism has been commented on by many, including Hillel Halkin, columnist for the New York Sun;^[9] Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor of the New Jersey Jewish News;^[10] Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union;^[11] Rabbi Shalom Carmy, tenured professor of Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University;^[12] Rabbi Norman Lamm, chancellor of Yeshiva University;,^[13] Rabbi Shmuley Boteach;^[14] Gary Rosenblatt, editor of Jewish Week,^[15] the editorial board of the Jewish Press;^[16][17] Rabbis Ozer Glickman and Aharon Kahn, roshei yeshiva at Yeshiva University;^[18][19] Ami Eden, Executive Editor of The Forward; Rabbi David M. Feldman, author of Where There's Life, There's Life;^[20] and Jonathan Rosenblum, columnist for the Jerusalem Post.^[21] In addition, the American Thinker published responses by Ralph M. Lieberman,^[22] Richard Baehr,^[23] and Thomas Lifson.^[24]

Feldman also argued pro bono in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals against the efforts of a Jewish group in Tenafly, New Jersey, the Tenafly Eruv Association, to erect an eruv. However, his arguments were rejected in 2003 and the eruv was, in fact, permitted.^[25]

Public perception and image[link]

Feldman's work on the Iraqi constitution was controversial at the time, and some, including Edward Said, felt he was not experienced enough with the country to undertake such a task.^[26]

In 2005, The New York Observer called Feldman "one of a handful of earnest, platinum-résumé’d law geeks whose prospects for the Big Bench are the source of constant speculation among friends and colleagues."^[27]

Feldman was given the Most Beautiful Brainiac award from New York Magazine, and the magazine also named him as one of "the influentials" in ideas, alongside Jeffrey Sachs, Saul Kripke, Richard Neuhaus, and Brian Greene.^[28]

In 2008, he was among the names topping Esquire magazine's list of the "most influential people of the 21st century". The magazine called him "a public intellectual of our time."^[29]

In 2011, Noah Feldman appears in all three episodes in the Ken Burns PBS series, "Prohibition: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, as an legal commentator.

Family and personal life[link]

Born and raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, the son of Dr. Roy E. Feldman and Dr. Penny Hollander Feldman, Noah Feldman has two children and lives in Cambridge, Mass. Feldman has two brothers: Simon Feldman, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Connecticut College, and Ezra Feldman, a poet and a cook.

Books[link]

•     (2003), After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 0-374-17769-4 
•     (2004), What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building, Princeton: Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-12179-6 
•     (2005), Divided By God: America's Church-State Problem – and What We Should Do About It, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 0-374-28131-9 
•     (2008), The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, Princeton: Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-12045-4 
•     (2010), Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices, Twelve 

References[link]

Appearance in, Prohibition: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick DVD X0009AUBLZ

External links[link]

• TED Talks: Noah Feldman says politics and religion are technologies at TED in 2003
• Noah Feldman speaks about Mormonism and the Mitt Romney Campaign
• Harvard Law faculty page
• Biography at The Globalist
• Noah Feldman's CV on CFR Website
• Wedding announcement of Dr. Feldman and Dr. Suk in the NY Times, August 15, 1999.
• Feldman's Harvard Law chair lecture as reported in the Harvard Law Record
• Noah Feldman debates Duncan Kennedy in March 2008 at Harvard Law School, as part of a series on "Confronting Empire"
• Asserting Identity and Reconciling Difference; Feldman Wants to Move Dialogue Beyond the Defensive [1]

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Danish Wikipedia. (September 2011) Don't speak Danish? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Danish article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|da|Bilal Philips}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Philips in August 2010
Born	Dennis Bradley Philips (1946-01-06) 6 January 1946 (age 66) Kingston, Jamaica
Education	B.A. Islamic Studies, M.A. Aqeedah, & PhD Islamic Theology
Alma mater	B.A. - Islamic University of Medina, M.A. - King Saud University, & PhD - University of Wales
Occupation	Islamic preacher
Years active	1971-present
Religion	Islam
Website
www.bilalphilips.com

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (born Dennis Bradley Philips on 6 January 1946 in Jamaica) is a contemporary Islamic scholar, teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar.^[1][2] He appears on Peace TV, which is a 24-hour Islamic satellite TV channel broadcasting to many countries around the world.

Biography[link]

Education[link]

Philips was born on 6 January 1946^[3] in Jamaica, but grew up in Canada, where he converted to Islam in 1972. He received his B.A. degree from the Islamic University of Medina and his M.A. in Aqeedah (Islamic Theology) from the King Saud University in Riyadh, then to the University of Wales, where he completed a PhD in Islamic Theology in the early 1990s.^[4] Philips comes from a family of educators, as both his parents were teachers and his grandfather was a Christian minister and Bible scholar.^[5]

Islamic Information Center[link]

In 1994 he founded (and continues to direct) an Islamic Information Center, now known as Discover Islam, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.^[5]

Islamic Online University[link]

The Islamic Online University has been founded by Dr. Bilal Philips as a completely tuition-free institution that is offering an online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies. The university offers a four year bachelor of arts degree in Islamic studies program.^[6]

The IOU was initially launched in 2001 from UAE with an offering of a few short courses. After a five year interlude, it was restarted in 2007 from Qatar with a greater offering of completely free short courses.^[7]

Controversies[link]

According to Steven Emerson, Executive Director of Investigative Project on Terrorism, he follows a strong anti-Western agenda and is connected to radical and terrorist Islamists.^[8] Bilal has made statements against suicide bombing and other terrorist tactics as un-Islamic. He has also suggested that once violent conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims can be better solved with education.^[9]

Bilal Philips (left) and Pierre Vogel speaking on a rally in Frankfurt in 2003.

In an interview given, Philips accused the Australian authorities of "blindly following American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations" claiming that investigations in the UK, Canada and Australia had found no evidence that he was in any way connected with terrorism.^[2] In this interview, he also pointed out that he had not entered the USA since 1995, characterizing media claims that he had been deported in 2004 as an "outright lie". Philips also called the statement that he was an "unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing "really a joke", claiming that it was based on a "supposedly leaked report" of over 100 prominent Muslims who were never charged. In April 2011 he has been banned from re-entering Germany as persona non grata.^[10]

At a conference in Toronto during the city's Pride Parade on July 3, 2011, Philips briefly reiterated his view that homosexuals caught in the act should be executed in countries governed by Islamic law.^[11]

Publications[link]

Books[link]

• Fundamentals of TAWHEED (Islamic Monotheism) International Islamic Publishing House; ISBN 9960-9648-0-9^[12]
• The Evolution of Fiqh (Islamic Law & The Madh-habs) International Islamic Publishing House (Edited by Bradley Philips); ISBN 9960-672-86-7^[13]
• True Message of Jesus Christ Islamic Book Services 2006; ISBN 81-7231-360-8^[14]
• Purpose of Creation 84pp, Islamic Book Services 2002; ISBN 81-7231-358-6^[15]
• Funeral Rites International Islamic Publishing House; ASIN 9960850846^[16]
• Polygamy in Islam Islamic Book Services; ISBN 81-7231-715-8^[17]
• Islamic Studies Al-Basheer 2002; ISBN 1-898649-19-7^[18]

Videos[link]

• Sundry videos at LightUponLight.com

See also[link]

• List of Da'ees
• Dawah
• Islam in Canada
• Zakir Naik
• Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo
• Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bilal Philips' official website
• Bilal Philips' Blog
• Bilal Philips audio and video lectures
• Interview with Bilal Philips on Famous Muslims
• Lecture: Hardening of the Heart
• Bilal Philips' Islamic Online University

Yusuf Estes (born in 1944) is an American Muslim preacher and teacher who converted from Christianity to Islam in 1991. He was a Muslim Chaplain for the United States Bureau of Prisons through the 1990s.^[1] He was a Muslim Delegate to the United Nations World Peace Conference for Religious Leaders held at the U.N. in September 2000.^[1]

Active in Islamic missionary work in the United States, Estes is often featured as guest presenter and keynote speaker at various Islamic events as well as frequently appearing on various Islamic satellite TV channels. Estes takes a dim view of today's public school system in the United States for any children, and highly recommends schools where they might receive a religious education combined with more advanced scholastic education.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Yusuf Estes was born in Ohio, and was raised in Houston, Texas in a Anglo-Saxon Protestant family.^[3] From 1962 to 1990, his career was in the music, entertainment and marketing fields. He also taught music and served as a music minister. He owned several musical instrument companies including the Estes Piano and Organ Company. He produced and directed live entertainment programs in the United States from the mid 1960s until his last endeavor for cable TV in Florida, entitled 'Estes Music Jamboree'.^[4]

Yusuf Estes became a Muslim in 1991 after meeting an Egyptian named Mohamed.^[1] Following his conversion, Estes entered the field of Dawah, or evangelizing the Islamic faith. Estes denies the theory of Darwinian evolution and instead professes creationism as described by Islamic scriptures.^[5]

Islamic Activities[link]

After embracing Islam, Estes pursued Arabic language and Quranic studies in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey.^[6] From 2004, Estes regularly appeared on the Islam Channel, as well as Peace TV and on Huda TV which are 24/7 Islamic channels broadcasting in many countries around the globe, via satellite and via the website WatchIslam.

Estes has started a free-to-air Internet and satellite TV channel called GuideUS TV which currently broadcasts commercial-free programming on Islam 24/7. He has also set up various websites directed toward English speaking Muslims which include TubeIslam (a Muslim video sharing site), ChatIslam (a Muslim chat room), and WorldPreschool (a defunct preschool learning site for young children).^[7]

Estes produced a video presentation series called Arabic in English, designed to help English speakers learn the Arabic language easily using his proprietary teaching method.^[8] He sells the series online, and also provides a set of free chatroom-based courses with volunteer teachers.^[9] He also produced a television series entitled Qisas Al Anbiyah (Stories of the Prophets), aimed toward English speaking children of Muslim parents.^[10]

See also[link]

• Islamic Missionary Activity
• List of American Muslims

References[link]