Religion

The Sussex Library of Religious Be~e fs and Prac tices

Published

Sikhism \YJ. Owen Co lc and Piara Sing Sam bhi

Hill duism J eaneane Fowler

The jews Alan Unte rm a n

Fo rthco ming

Bltddhism Christian Theology The Dilfersi!), of Christianity T oday

BIJogalJad Gita (3 student 's commentary) Conflldallism Humanism

The Ancient Egypt i01fS Islam Ja illism Taoism

Zoroas trianism

This se ries is intend ed for studen ts of religion, socia l scie nces and history, an d for the interested la ype rson. It is co ncerned with the be li efs a nd practices of religions in their soc ial , cultural a nd histo rica l setting.

Other religious titles of interest

Confucia nism alld Christia"ity: A Comparalil1t Study of Jell and Agape Xinzh o ng Yao

World Religions AN INTRODUCTION FOR STUDENTS

Jeaneane Fowler, M erv Fowler, David Nordiffe, Nora Hill,

a"d Diane \,(!atkins

The Bible as Tbeat" UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON ROESCH LIBRA RY Theatre and H oly Spirit Shimon Levy

jai"ism: The World of Conq uerors (2 vo lu mes) Narub hai Shah

The SlIlJreme Doctritte: Psycho logical Studies i" Zen Thought Hubert Benoit, with Fo rewo rds by Aldous Huxl ey and Tim Barren

Hi" duism: Perspectilles of Realit)' J eaneane Fow ler

Glimpses of the Dill;"e: A Spiritual AIllh%gy for Use Oil Ellery Day of the Year Cy ril Bulley

sussex ACADEM I C

PRE S S

In(h\,ldu~1 cl\apters.. md marler rt'bung to pamcular cl\~pters, and all OIher text copyright 0 Jeaneane Fowler. Merv Fowler. Da\'ld Nordiffe. Nol'1l Hill, :lind Diane W~tkins 1997

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World rehSions : an introduction for students I Jeaneane Fowler ... lei atl

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WHAT IS ISLAM?

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3

Islam David Nordiffe

To God be long the EaSt and rhe West; wirhersoever you rurn, there is the Face of God; God is All-embracing, All-knowing.

Qllr'all

Islam is, at onc and the same time, the easiest to understand and the least understood of all world faiths. It is the easiest fa understand because it in volves a straigh tfo rward belief in onc God, whose will was revea led to a man called Muhanullad in a series of revelations wh ich were wrieren down into onc book: the H oly Qlfr'att. It is the least underswod because the very name is associated in the West wi th terrorism and intolerance, and it is ohen, therefore, dismissed wi th little thought or disc uss ion.

The word Islam is based on the semitic tri-literal root slm whic h in Arabic means "to be in peace". Thus we have salam - peace (d. the Hebrew shalom), Islam - peace through surrender or submission to God, and Muslim - one who is a t peace through subm ission to God. Adam and Eve in th e Garden of Eden are see n as the fi rst Mus lims, they lived, initiall y, in subm ission to God and were thus at peace. It is this aspect of absolure submi ssion to the will of God which is ce ntral to Is lam; indeed the word Islam can be translated as subm iss io n.

Any discussion of Islam should note from the outset that Isla m:

is what in Arabic is c.111ed a deem a total frame of reference. a complete synem and way of life which embraces the entirety of a man'5 existence. I

It is in fact an ideology. There is no divide in Islam between actio n which is co mmonl y see n to be religious, such as acts of wo rship , an d !.hat which appears to be secular. Eve ry action the Muslim performs should be effected with the express intention of pleasing God and s uch actions are therefore seen as worship. The social, po litical, legal, administrative and economic affairs of Muslim society arc JUSt as

much a parr of Islam as praying in the mosque or caring for one's relations. For the Muslim a ll of a person's life is for God and any divi- sion of life into secular and religious aspects has no warrant. As Sa lem Azzam remarks:

Islam dlXS nOI diVide life into domains of the spiritual and the secular. It splTIwalizes the enllre existence of man dnd produces a social move· ment to reconstruct human life m the light of prmciples revealed by GO(J.l

Thus. in Islam there is 110 notion of c hurch and state, Isla m din IVa diwla - Islam is both religion and state. The same God-given laws govern every aspect of life: there is no "'religious aspen" or "secu lar aspect" of life, each with different standards to be jud ged differenr ly using different criteria. Is lam is above all, a view o f the tOta l reality- humaniry's relationship with God, the human being's purpose and fUllction in the world, and the re lationship between this life and the hereafter. Islam is a total system, an ideology, which guides the Muslim through every aspect of life, barh as an individual and collec- tively.

The human being's pos iti on in the world is a dual one, H e or she is both abd - slave; or more precisely, abd-Allah the slave of God. However, he or she is also, khalifah - vice-rege nt: a position which elevates the human being amongst creation. In the former role the human being should submi t to the will of God, in the latter the human bemg should try to make sure, as far as he or she is ab le to do so, that the universe conforms to the wi ll o f God. Thus before beginning anything of importance Muslims will say bis millah hirahmon nir ra/Jim - In the name of God the beneficent, the merciful. Mus li ms make no promises without saying il1shallah - God will in g.

And do nor say, regatding anything, I am gomg (0 do thai tomorrow, but only: ~[f God wilr' ,J

This ideology has been conveyed to Muslims via hidayab - revela- tion. Throughout history God has selected ce rtain hum an beings to remind humanity w ho he is. According to Muslims all peoples have had a prophet, and Is lam accepts all these revelation s, known and unknow n, but the Qllr'al1 is seen as the final revelation, needed because previous revelations, through rime, became mixed with human experience.

Islam is one of the three Abrahamic faiths. Along with Judaism and Chris tianit y, it looks back to the patriarch Abraham as a source. According to Genesis, God called Abraham from Haran, promising him a land and his blessing (Genes is 12: 1-3) .· Sa rah , Abraham's wife

ISLAM

THE ORIGINS OF ISLAM

13 I

ISLAM

~~------------------------------­ was long past the age of child bearing, but because Abra ham had obeyed God he was raid that he would be rewarded with progen, Sarah assumed that, since she was sevenry·five years old, Cod m_ have meant Ab raham to take another woman, and she offe red her maidservant Hagar, as a concubine. Hagar became pregna nt by Abraham and started to treat Sarah with contempt, so much so, that Sarah drove Hagar from rhe household.

132

After fleeing from Sarah, Hagar, we are to ld, was approached by an ange l who to ld her to return and submit ra Sarah. The angel also told Hagar that she would bear a son, and that his name would be Ishmael (Cod shall hear ). Hagar returned as instructed and Abraham d urifuU, named the boy as the angel had requested. Some thirteen yea rs later with Sarah now in her ninetieth year, Cod informed an as to nished Abraham that his wife wou ld bear a son who would be called Isaac, but reassured Abraham that Ishmael would not be forgotten.

I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; hro shill! be the father of twelve princes. and I will make him a great nation (Genesis 17:20 ).

Nevertheless, Cod's covenant would be established with Sarah's son, Isaac, not with Ishmacl.

Not one but tWO great nations were to look back to Abrah:un 3S thei r father - two great nations, that is, twO guided powers, twO instruments to work the will of Heaven ... Abraham was thus the fountain·head of two spiritual srreams, which must not flow rogether, but each in irs own course ... Two spiritual streams, two religions, twO worlds for Godj two circles. thereforro twO centres. '

The one centre was well known to Ab raham already, for he had been an, albeit semi-nomad ic, resident in the Promised Land for twenry- four yea rs. The othe r centre was unknown to the parriarch, but it was here that Hagar and her child would eventually settle. Once Sarah had borne Abraham a son, she no longer wanced H agar and Ishmael, a potential riva l to Isaac, in her household, and so she drove them o ut.

Hagar and Ishmael ned southwards towards Mecca, bur ran out of water. H agar was becoming increasingly aware that the infant Ishmael was dying of thirst and in her efforts fa find help ran back and fo rth between two hills, seven times in all (note the discrepancy here, Ishmael is, according to t he :lccounf in Genesis, by now at least [hir- teen (Ge nesis 17:25 ), and thus an adult). The frantic Hagar, a t her wit's end suddenly noticed the lad playing wi t h the sand, with wa tcr gushing at his feet. The resu lting well was called the zamzom well a nd soon became a drinking station for the great c:lmel (mins whic h brought thcir wares from South Arabia to the Meditermnean.

ISLAM ------------------------------------------------~~

According to Muslim belief, God guided Abraham to his son in the \'alley of Mecca and they were instructed to build the ko'obo, a sa nc· rtl3 ry, close to the zamVlm well. Ko'aba is Arabic for "cube" and this waS (0 be the shape of the new building. with its four corners aligned "".i th the cardinal points of the compass. Its most ho ly part is a black scone which Abraham and Ishmael built into its eastern corner. Abraham was also instructed by God to institute the rite of pilgrimage [0 Mecca. This he did, but over time this practice was discontinued.

God's instructions, however, were sometimes painful, for Abrah:lm \\'35 (Old by Cod to sac rifice his son, Ishmael, and Abraham prepared, albeit with a heavy heart, to do as Cod instructed. At the last minute, how ever, God substituted an animal which Abraham sacrificed instead. (The same story is also to ld in Genesis, with the exception that here it is Isaac who is prepared for sacrifice.) Abraham had been willing to obey God in all things and to submit to his will- according [0 Muslims the only possible response to God. He is therefore held by Mu slims to be an exemplar. This action is commemorated in the pilgnmage to Mecca, which all Muslims try to make once in their life- tim e, and by the sacrifice of an animal during this period. Hagar's frantic search for water is also commemorated with pilgrims passing seven rimes between the mounts Safa :lnd Marwa h.

Over time Mecca came to be dominated by the tribe of Quraysh, and in 570 CE a woman of th is tribe called Aminah, whose husband Abd Allah was already dead, gave bi rth to a son whom she named Muhammad. It was common practice at the time to send infanrs from the tOw ns to wet nurses in the desert, and Muhammad's mother followed this tradition. During this period an extraordinary incident is said to have happe ned. Muham mad and his brother were with some lambs behind the rent when his brother came running back saying that two men had seized Muhammad. Some years later Muhammad was able to describe the incident in de tail:

There came umo m(' twO men. clot hed III whlre, with a gold basin fuJI of snow. Then they lay hold upon me 11Ild. splittHlg open my breast they brought forth my heart. This likewise they sp lit open and took from it a black clOt which they cas t away. Then they washed my heart and 10)' breast with the snow.'

When his fosrer parents looked there was no sign of rhe men nor any wound, bur nothing would make the boys shift from their story. Not long after rhis Muhammad re turned to his mother in Mecca, but shortly after his mothe r died. Now an orphan, Muhammad was entrusted to the ca re of his grandfather, 'A bd al·MutTalib. Two years later he roo died and Muhammad was brought up by his uncle Abu Talib.

THE LIFE OF MUHAM MAD

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I SLAM ~~------------------------------------------------------------

134

Tradirion sees Muhammad from yo mh as a thoughrful and ques- tioning indi vidual, with a growi ng reputatio n fo r prudence. Under hi. uncl e's rutors hip he learned to pursue a wIding life. and tradi tion san that on one ca ravan jou rney into Sy ria hi s reli gio us vocation was iden- tifi ed by a Chri stian monk, B:-.hira , wbo as ked Abu Talib ro take great ca re of th e bo y as he had already the signs of a great prophe t.

The Meccan background Mecca was at that tim e a very proSpe roUJ city, being the cenue of trad e routes cO llnec ting for example the POn of Yemen with Eg ypt, Palestine and Syria, and also with Meso potamia across rhe Arabian dese rt. Thus th e Mecca ns were wealthy and. powe rfu l middl emen in th e co mmerce of lux ury merchand ise. Muhammad wa s born into th e tribe of Quraysh, the mOSt influential tribe in Arab ia, whi ch until co mpa.ratively rece ntl y had been nomad ic. but through co nquest had transferred to a se ttled life in th e valley of Mecca. This is notewo rth y, fo r th e mo ral standard s a nd social behav. iour of the rece nd y setrled M eccans und erwem considerable cha nge which Muhammad later questioned. Indeed Ruth ven com ments that:

In Ihe rribal sociery. poverty, like we-allh, was s hared ... Now, in thC' emergent social orde r of Mecca, somet hing approaching class divisions had ~gun to appc;tr. ~

Thus almough th ere was so me ret'ention of me o ld nom adic o rgani- za tion and ethics, th ere was a considera ble break with the strict et hical norms of Bedo uin tribal ex.istence. Ln the ha rs h and precarious tribal existence the pleas uIcs o f the mom ent were o ften taken where and when available. In se ttl ed society, howeve r, suc h pleasures wert readil y avai lab le to some, but nor all, and rhe res ultin g social tcnsions produced problems wi th in Mecca n society.

There was a great dea l of ri va lry betwee n clans. and war wa s a part of everyday life. Even in th eir se ttled state, th e peop le of Quraysh would still be vulnerable to rival attack. Thi s si tuation tended to produce a Stong clan solidarity and th e obligation to protect the indi- vid ua l dan member; offence against an indi vidual member provoked th e offe nsive of the dan and tribe. This mea nt that if o ne belonged to a powerful clan. one had a certa in degre e of immunit y fro m th e res ults of o ne's deed s. In addition, raiding, even in mercantile settled days, wa s an occ upation which many indulged in. Raid s, in the o ld t ribal day s, tended to be cattle raids, bm the trad ing caravans were a tempting targe t to these raid ers, and were often attacked.

The increase in wea lc h brought abom what to mOst mora l codes would be calJed deprav ity, gam bling, excessive wine drink in g, trea t- ment of women as goods and charrels, and slavery. Although th ere was Strong mora l code in th e dc se rt, it was also the case, as was previously stated, thac pleas ure was tak en as it came, fo r it mi ght not be there for

I S I. AM ---------------------------------------------~~ lon g. There was also no real se nse of un iversal religion o r of purpose 'n life that might have underpinned a wider moral code. Ce rrain de ities ~'erc acknowledged s uch as the planets and stars, and spirits and demons, a nd a lso the co ncep t of dahr. all -cons uming " rime" . a blind, impersona l fotce which ha d simply to be acce pred. There was, however, no Strong religi o us force whic h cou ld pro\' ide a focu s for the people.

Muhammad see ms to have been somew hat set apart from chis mil ieu. He developed a reputation fo r high moral sta ndards, he decried g:tl1lbJing and wine drinking, and refused to tak e parr in idol worship. He was ca ll ed by hi s friends, al Amitt "The Trustworthy " . He also see ms to ha ve felt the injustice of the concentration o f wealth in pri vate hands - th e new merchant class.

During this ea rl y period of Muhammad 's life a blood feud broke our between two clans, th e Hawa1. in a nd the Kinan ah . QUr:lysh were not directl y involved but were to so me extent drawn in o n the sidc o f the Ki nan a h. There we re s poradi c outbreaks of violence over a four- to five-yea r period . Muhamm ad was take n by hi s uncl e to o ne of rh e battles but, though a good archer, did nor take part. As a res ult of thi s war so me of t he leaders of Quraysh became disillusioned with the way disp utes were se rried. Man y we re widely t ravelled and had see n in th e Roma n Empire, Abyssinia, and Syria how justi ce could be achieved without so mu ch vio lence. This problem beca me mo re urge nt as a result of a di spute between two more of th e trib es in Arabia. Quraysh split between those who wanted to s upport o ne of the tribes, a nd those who wanted th e dispute sertled on the basis of just principles rather than naked power. Some o f the leaders fro m both sid es ca me together and made a pa ct to s uppOrt th e poo r and th e weak within a nd beyo nd thcir sociery in th e !lallle of justice. It is said that Muhammad pa rtic~ ipatcd in thi s pact known as the Hilf-al-Flldlll. He had realized th e futility of such wars, and, being an orpha n himself, recognized the weakness of tho se without powerful family a nd clan suppo rt. Thi s resulted in a new direction in Arabian society und erpinn ed by social justice.

Muhammad 's reputatio n for prudence a nd hones ty is evidenced in his meeting with his first wife. She was a ve ry wea lthy widow ca ll ed Kh adijah who, as a result o f his tru srwort hiness, asked him to lead a carava n into S)' ria. She o ffered herself in marriage [ 0 Muhammad a nd in 595 ct, at th e age of twenty-five. he married the fo rty-year-o ld widow. His three SO ilS dj ed in infancy but hi s four dau ght ers survived. His marriage lasted until th e death of Khadij a h at the age of sixry-fi ve.

The rebui lding of the ka'aba Ten years after Muhammad married Khadi jah, Quraysh de cided to reb uild th e ka 'a ba. There had been a rece nt theft of treasures from a vault inside th e edifice which was easy to ge t into. as th e sa nctua ry was without a roof a nd the walls were

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-liule more (han head height. The rebuiJding was hindered, hownoer by a huge snake which lived in the vaul t and which emerged only U; the heat of the day. One day an eagle appeared, carrying the sna ke off. and this was seen as an omen that building work should commrntt immediarely. Quraysh razed the ka'aba to rhe ground and rebUi lt ita walls unril it was time to reposition the Black Stone. At this POUll, however. a furious row broke out, for each of rhe clans Involved in the rebuilding project thought that its leader should be rhe one to lay the Black S(One in place. The problem was referred to al.Amm, rbr Trustworthy. Muhammad sp read a cloak on the ground, and placed the Black Stone in the middle he then instructed the leaders of theclaaa ro grasp the border of the cloak, and lift it.lr was carried in this fash iOQ ro the wall where Muhammad himself repositioned it.

Throughout the early years of hi s marriage, Muhammad developed a meditative, prayerful life, and for periods of rime he became a med.j.. tative recluse. These periods climaxed in a momentous religious vision which set Muhammad o n the path he was to follow for the rest of hit life: the proclamation of rhe word of God.

The visio n According to tradition, the call came one night during the month of Ramadan {6 10 cEl, when Muh:!mmad was forty years old. As was his habit, he had withdrawn ro the cave ca ll ed Hira on the mount of Noor, to meditate and seek divine guidance. The revelation came in the form of a vision of gold lettering and a vo ice asking him to recite. Since Muhammad was illiterate these words meant little to him. The request was repeated three times, then he felt hi s throar. indeed his whole body, in a vice·like grip. To his asronishment he now found himself able (0 recite:

Recife: In the name of thy Lord who created, crea ted man of::l blood- clOi. Rr<:ile: And thy Lord is the Most Generous, Who laught by the: Pen, mughl m::ln Ihat he knew nOl.I

Muhammad, rerrified, swiftly left and as he was running down the mountainside the angel Gab ri el told him that he was a prophet of God. On his rerurn to his home, he told Khadij:lh what had happened. She believed him and gave him her support and encouragemcnt. There wal obviously complete confidence and tru st bctween them, and it is spec-- ulated that it was perhaps necessary for Muhammad to have an older and more mature wife whose tru st and stability were able to SUStain him through the early revelations.

Muhammad had been instructed to "proclaim" and he began to do so to friends and relatives, bur maintained a level of secrecy about t his. After his wife, the first person to accept his message was his ten·year old nephew 'Ali. He was followed by ot hers, including Abu Bakr, a Meccan dignitary, whose influence helped to spread Islam. Most of

I SLAM ~-----------------------------~== Muhammad's converts came from amongst the poor, the slaves, and rhe younger sons of the .tribal elders. Eventually Muhammad came into rhe open. He asked 'All to prepare a meal, a leg of mutton and a glass of mi lk, and invited all his relatives. Most of the clan accepted and attended. They were fed in groups in a relay sys tem and a ll were fed from the meal (d. the feeding of the five thousand). The next day ~Iuhammad asked 'Ali to do the same, but this time Muhammad spake to them about the one God a nd his (Muhammad's) rol e as prophet. He was rejected.

The leaders of Quraysh were incensed by his teaching for a number of reasons. Muhammad's arrack on immo ral ity undermined Quraysh leadership and traditional aut hori ty, which were Strong componentS of a tribal system rooted in ances tra l patterns; genealogy was one of rhe main gro unds of esteem in ancient traditions.

The ~virtue" of::l cribc W::IS conceived of as something inherited: a man would aCI nobly becauS(' of the noble blood which ran Ihrough his veins ... The tri bes' honour, ::Ind adherence to its norms, were impera t ives to be followed::ll all times.'

The denial of their deities probably provoked little strong objection, what was objected to was the o utrage agains t tradition. Moreove r, Muhammad's teaching appeared as a threat to the Quraysh rulers, for if he was a prop het, he must be accep red as a leader. It also threatened the wealth of the rich, for they thrived on privilege, whe reas Muhammad stressed the rights of the poor to sha re in this wealth.

After ten years preaching at Mecca, Muhammad had only a small following, mainly of the poor and slaves, who were persecuted heav ily by Quraysh. So Muhammad advised his followers to migrate to the oasis of Yathrib, 200 miles north of Mecca at Medina. The Medinites Ihemselves, ha vi ng heard of Muhammad's preaching, were favourable 10 the migration of hi s followers. Negotiations conti nued over twO years until lafer in the aurumn of 622 CEo Muhammad himself fl ed Mecca for Medina. This is a very momentOuS event in Islamic tradi- tion. It became known as the IJiirab and is the date from which the Islamic ca lendar is reckoncd.

Mcdina At Medina ve ry differenr circumstances obtained than at Mecca. The comm unity was agricultural and nOt merca ntile, and it was a disturbed and divided conulluniry engaged in warfare between rival tribes. Muhammad's first task was to uni fy the people and create a community. In th e oasis were several different tribal groups. Some of them, a lthough Arabic speaki ng, were of Jewis h reli gion. One of his first actio ns was to draw up t he "Consritution of Medin:!", deda ring all the people of Medina - Muslim and Jews - to be one community under hi s leadership, and laying down rights for each group. This was

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nor easy and Muhammad had ro struggle to escablish himself fu ll y .. Medina: opposition was growing from those who feared his increasina power. and the hostility of Quraysh cominued to increase. A rift occurred with t he Jews, who refused to accept Muhammad as I genuine prophet. Tradition rells us that he was ridic ul ed 3S misguided and ignorant of Jewish prophecy. Muhammad had expected to be accepted as a prophet by both Jews and Christians. Over the co urse of time Muhammad dealt with these Jewish tribes: some Jews Wert expelled, others were sold imo slave ry or killed. Whilst esrablis hll18 himself at Medina, Muhammad also extended his power thrOUgh alliance with Bedouin tribes. The 1111I11Ial1 (religious commu niry ) wa. divided into a federation of tribes which he rrained as missionaries and warnors.

In 624 C E he was challenged by Meccan power. Greatly Outn um. bered, he defeated a large force of Meccans at the Battle of Badr. This served to confirm rhe Muslim se nse of their divine mission. Funher barrles followed until, in 630 CE, Mecca was forced ioro sub mi ss ion after a supreme attack. The aim was to sp ill no blood and indeed very few were killed. The ancienr ka'aba was reconstituted and rhe idols destroyed. In Mecca, Muhammad proclaimed th e mercy a nd forgive- ness of rhe one God and urrered prayer from the fOp of th e mosque to which future pi lgrimages were made from all places into whic h Islam penetrated.

In a subsequent pi lgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad preac hed his last sermon, from the moumain of Arafar. On rhat day rhe last revela rion was given: "Toda y I have perfected your religion".I D In 632 <.E., Muhammad died in Medina after a shorr iUness. He was buried in the house which was later ro be incorporated in the Mosque at Med ina. For Islam, Muhammad was rhe last in line o f the prophets of God. The Q" 'rail makes clear that Muhammad was divinely chose n but in every sense a human being. Indeed, Muhammad on more than one occasion became exrremely annoyed with Companions who wished ro elevate him ro being the greatest of rh e prophets.

Islam is no t confined to one race o r one nation. Anyone who acce pts the message of Muhammad may become a Mus li m. Simple and direct. Islam a ppea ls to ma ny people. By rh e end of Mu hammad's life a ll of Arabia was und er Muslim contro l. On his death Muhammad was succeeded by four of his closeSt Companio ns, each of whom bore the ririe Khalifah (ca liph ).

Abu Bakr 632-4 CE (11-1 3 AH) 'Umar 634-44 CE ( 13-23 AH) 'Urhman 644-56 C E (23-35 AH) 'A li 656-6l CE (35-40 AH)

A number of the Muslims had felt that 'Ali, who was rhe son-in- law

ISLAM _ -------------------------------------2== and nephew of Muhammad, should have been Khalifab earlier, but he waS nor accepted by all, and even afrer becoming Kbalifah he expe ri - enced opposition and was eventually assassinated. The office of KIJlllifah then went ro two powerful Quraysh dynasties:

The Umayyad Dynasty 66 1-750 CE (40-132 AH) The Abassid Dynasty 750 - 1517 C E (132-656 AH )

Thcn the rule passed to th e Onoman Turks umil 1924, when the svstem of Kbalifah rule was abolis hed by Turkey, The followe rs of 'Ali, [he fourth Khalifah, contin ued to regard him and hi s descendants as rh e true lea ders of the Muslim conllllwliry. Called Shi'as o r Shi'ites, a title derived from the Shi'at Ali, rhe followers of 'Ali, rhey are one of the rwo major secrs of Islam. The Sllnfl;s, the other major sec t of Islam, who do nor accept this view of 'Ali, cons tirute approxima tely 85 per cent of the wo rl d-wide Muslim population, the Shi'ites 15 per cent: the Sbi'ites are the majority communi ty in Iran.

The firsr revelation was given to Muhammad on rhe n ight which is THE QUR'AN known as rhe Lailat It! Qadr or "Night of Power". He was given the verses previously quored.

Recite: In th~ Name of thy Lord who created, created Man of a blood- clot. Recite: And thy Lord IS I-he ,"lost Generous, who taught by the Pen, taught Man that he knew nOI. 11

The reve lation advised Muhammad thar he was ro be a prop het. There had been man y prophers before, bur none of the ir revelations had surv ived inta ct. Muhammad was urged to bring himself closer to God throughout his life and, [houg h his message was nor hing new, to deliver it to (he people in no uncertain terms. "We sent forth among every narion a Messenger, sayi ng: 'Serve you God, and eschew idols' . n il

The word Q Il r'an comes from the verb qara'a, to read or to reci te, and means literally recitation. Muhammad was given the command to reeire, and this com mand, and th e words given as reciration, we re relayed directly from God. So the Qllr'al1 "embodies the word of God - unchanged, unabridged, and ullcompromised" ,u Acco rding to Muslims rh e recitations were learnt by Muhammad and his followers, and a lso writren on various artides, s kin, ston es, leaves, bark ere., being brought together into one final collecrion a r th e latest during the reign of 'Uthman, th e third Khalifa/). Great care was taken to preserve nor only rhe message, but t he form in which it was give n. This is an impo rtant point, and Nas r appropriately points Out that:

nOI only the COnlent and meaning comes from God but also the container

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and form which arc thus an Int~ral pan of the revdatlon.14

It is still true for Muslims today that the actual words in the Arabie language are fundamental to the revelation;

thr (ormu]ar of the Qur'an read m prayers and acts of worship must be m the sacrrd language of Arabic which alont rnables ont to penetrate mto the content and br rransformrd by the DIVIne presence and grace (barakah) of the Divme Book.15

This is why the Qu,'att is still read in Ihe original language in which it was given. II is seen not simply as a book to which one can go for information, but as a vehicle of inspiration and, indeed, 3S a means of transformation, the divine word penetrating and changing the believer;

metaphysically, the QUT'an has an aSp«t of knowlrdge connected with ils text as a book, and an aspect of bringconnccted with its inner nature as the archetypal blue-print of the Universe."

The Q ll r'att has three names in traditional Islam; al·Q ur'an, • reciratioll; al+Furqmt , a discernment or discrimination, in this case between truth and falsehood; and U",,,, al-kitab, the mother of aU books or of all knowledge. The Qur'all is seen as co nraining the pri .... ciples of all knowledge, though in a general rather than a partic ular sense_ 17 It expou nds the nature of reality and the human ~ing's posi- tion within it, and contains a set of moral and juridical instructions, as well as a certai n amount of his[Qry, and in addition, it con tains a power separate from its content because it is the word of God. It as both tadumti - written or composed, and takwmi - ontological in the sense that it pertains to cosmic existence. II The message of the Qu,'/JIlI was unequivocal; believers had to put God before everything and everyone~ and this included th eir own families as well as ancient customs. The Qur'an was to take precedence over everythi ng and was to be believed with heart and mind. This was Is lal11 (submissio n) and those who submitted were ro be known as Muslims.

The reve lations contin ued both in Mecca, and laeer in Medina. The voice Muhammad heard was on some occasions very clear like high- sounding bells, and accompanied by visions, o n other occasions the bells were more muffled. Thougb he would a lways return to nor mal afterwards, he was profoundly influenced by each and every revela- tion. Those chapters of the Qur'an which were revealed before the hijrah are refer red to as the Meccan su,ahs, those revealed afte r the !Jijrah as the 1\lledinite surahs. The Meccan surahs offer terse adv ice about human emotions, God and his creation. The)' are full of hope for reward but ther also contain dire warnings of punishmenr. The

ISLAM --------------------------------~~ longer Medinitc surahs, on the other hand, offer advice on ordering life in this world. The Jujrah and subsequent settlement in Medina necessitated guidance on how to Jive an ordered life in accordance with the total life system of Islam: the Medinite surahs provided this guid- ance. Muslims do not, however, see a division between these twO periodS: the Qu,'an i~ a whole, and whilst it covers diffe rent aspects, il is nevertheless a umty.

The Qllr'an today is divided into 114 surahs or chapters_ A single \·use is known as an ayah (plura l ayat). The 66 16 ayat total 78,000 words making the Qur'an approximately the length of the New Testament. From the very beginning there grew up a practice of memo- rizing the Qur'alt, which is still popular today. Memorizers are known as Imffa'l.. a man who has memorized rhe Qur'alt earns the honour of bearing the tide hafiz, a woma n hafhah.

the primacy of God After the first chap ter, the openi ng prayer, the Qur'an is arranged with the longest chapters first, reducing gradually in length until the short ones are rea ched. The short chapters were mostly utte red by Muhammad at Mecca. They a re brief, forceful prophecies, telling of the oneness of God, calling human beings to serve him and abandon their idols, and warn of coming judgment. The chapters revealed at Medina are lo nge r and many of them are concerned with the li fe of th e Muslim community there, dealing with questions abo ut property, marriage, work and war.

There is a clear statement near the beginning of the Qur'an that it "is th e book, wherein is no doubt. "I~ God is spoken of many tim es and his uniqueness is stressed. Nothing may be associated with God, placed a longside God, or even be seen to come close to God. This is the one truly unforgivable act; "God forgives not that augh t should be with Him associated. " 20 Since nothing may be associated with him , great emphasis is placed on the belief that God is "one'" [here is no mulriplicity. The central concept in Islam is that of lawhid - oneness, unity. This is applied in general to the Muslim comm unity in the belief in one world-wide Islamic tlt1IlItah or community, and specifically it relares to God -God is one, an indivisible unity. This concept is centra l TO any understanding of Islam. No one can begin to comp rehend Islam without acknowledging r.hc centrality o f tawhid. As one Muslim scholar has remarked; "The enrire Islamic system is, in fact, the conse· quence of its Doctrine of Tawhid".ll

From this unity, from rhis esse nce, God has creared all that exis rs. Norhing existed before God, therefore everything th at exis ts must have come from God. Since God is one, a nd an indi visible unity, then everything must stem from [hat unity;

He who c.r~atrd th~ h~a\tlls and earth, and ~nt down for you out of heav~n wat~rj and Wt cau~d to grow therewith gard~ns full of lovcli-

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ness whost' frttS you could never grow. Is there a god with God? Nat, but there arc people who assIgn to HIm equals. He who made the eart h a fixed place and set alllldStll nvers and appomted lor It finn mounrallb and placed a partitIon betwttn the tWO seas. Is there a god with God? Nay, but the most of them h:l\'e no knowledge.ll

Nor is God simply creator, he is also susra iner - he underpi ns all of reality, he "originates creation, then brings it back again".u In the Islamic framework God is not there JUSt to watch over his creation to make sure everychjng is running smoOlhly, rather he is necessary fw the universe's momellt to moment existence. Were God to cease for one second from " bringing it back again", chen the universe and every.. thing in it would cease to exist.

This is much more than the idea that God is in heaven looking do..a on his creation with benevolence, it is a phi losphical belief in a Struc. ture of rea lity, and God's relationship to it, which emphasizes a boyt all else God's supreme omnipotent power:

Say: "0 God. MaSier of the Kingdom, Thou givest the Kingdom to whom Thou wilt, and sciuslthe Kingdom frOI11 whom Thou will, Thou cxahest whol11 Thou wilt, and Thou abasest whom Thou Wilt; in Thy hand is the good; Thou art powerful over everythmg. Ht<

There is nothing in the universe which is not dependem on God, not simply for its creation, bur for irs continued existence. Without rhe will of God to suppOrt ir nothing could remain in existe nce for a second. God does nor simply underpin the universe 3S a whole, bur by his will he sustains every panicle of being wirhin it. He has se t up a stru Cnlll within which every panicle exists as a result of his divine will, and everywhere he supports it: "To God belong the EaSt and the Wesa; withersoever you rurn, there is rh e face of God" Y

God is also omniscient as well as omnipresent, for how else would he have the know ledge necessary to so underpin the life of the universe: "'He knows what lies before thcm and what is after them, and they comprehend nor anything of His knowledge" .2' H is power, his knowl- edge, indeed his vcr)' being are beyond comprehension; yct, dcs pite thi s, human beings can rely utterly on him - he is steadfast, never· changing, in fact, immutable. All of crcation is subject to the laws of change and deca y, but God is not part of creation, he is the force of creation which is not subject to its laws. He never changes, neva' a lters; nOthing in creation has the power to affecr him, and there is nothing beyond crearion except God himself.

Despire this, God is still seen as a personal God, one w whom Muslims can rurn for help, guidance and support:

He who answers Ihe constrained, whc:n he calls upon Him, and removes

I SLAM ------------------------------------------------~~

[he eVil ... He who gUIdes you in [he shadows of Ihe Land and [he sea and loses ,he wmds, beanng good ndlngs before hiS mercy.I>

God's mercy a nd forgiveness arc continually stressed throughout the Qu r'01l. Human beings arc urged ro fUrn to him for forgiveness and suppOrt: ~do nor despair of God's mercy; su rely God forgives sins alw- gether"'.18 He will ~Ot fail ~hose who turn. to him. He has creared, he provides and he Will sustam. As Abdalatt stares: "[he mercy of God relieves the distressed, consoles the sick, stre tlb'Thens rhe desperate, and cOmforts the needy".l!> God urges justice on all people as a dury, they are bound as Muslims to do right, for God himsel f is a God of justice who will do what is right by his people. He becomes angry with those who break hi s commandments, who mistreat the poor, o r are unjust ro others, and he is pleased with those who perform actions in confor- mity with the justice he has laid down.

So God is seen by Muslims as one who is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and immutable. Yet he is also a pe rso nal God who is the provider of justice, mercy and benevolence. There arc many philo- sophical problems with this accoum, and great co ntroversies arose during the early centuries of Islam on these points. For instance, personal relationships, by their very nature, change those involved in them, but, accordin g to Islam, God cannOt change so it wo ul d be impossible for him to enter ioro personal relationships. The answer for Muslims is [he doctrine of mukbolofoh - absolute difference. God is so absolutely different from human beings, that it is illegitimate to use arguments stemming from human experience and apply them to God: such compa risons arc invalid. A further argumenr concerns the "problem of evil". If God created everything, then by necessiry, God must have created evil, bur why would he do this if he is merciful and compassionate? The answer according to Muslims is beyond human und ersta nding: God did create evil, he hates it, and those who wish to obey hun must do {he same. Such philosophical quesrions and answers, briefly summarized here, can only highlight what were extended and ferocious debates, and an in-depth study of them is beyond the scope of chis chapter.J(I The Qur'all itself is nor primarily concerned with metaphysical doctrines or eve n theological explana- tions. It does not so much reveal God, rather it revea ls the wi ll (a nd power) of God. Muslims wish to achieve a good re lationship with God, but feel thar God is beyond comprehensio n. For Muslims, there- fore, the best way to achieve such a relationship is to obey t he commands of God. Thus they need to know what it is that God commands - they need divine guidance, they need the Qur'ofl.

The Qur'on is so important to Muslims that the)' ofren read parts of it every day throughout their lives. It is the focal point of Islam and the main source for the behaviour o f the individual and society. It speaks of God's power and his creativity, and discusses each human

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being's relationship and responsibility to him. It speaks of thecertainry of the Day of Judgment when all people wi ll stand before God to receive their reward or punishment. It a lso tells the SfOries of So me of the ea rl ier prophets as examples of the correct approach to life. The dynamism of the Qllr'an is well expressed by Ahmed when he says:

Th~ Qur'on IS nOI a srrucrurw book or an academic set of arguments in r«ogrlll,able sequence. It IS like a vibrant powerful OUlpourmg of dlvme mrssages_ At one place it warns, 3t anOlher it encourages.. at another reflects. The rness3ges cove r all aspects of Iife.J 1

To Muslims the QJI,'on is the most wonderfuJ book. They handle it very carefully and hold it in a very high regard. It is never placed on the floor, neither is anything placed on it. and it has a special place in th e hom e. A Muslim must be clean to hold or read the QJI,'atJ, and if the book is too old to handle it must be burned. No pious Muslim would ever smoke, drink or make a noise while the Qu,'ml is being read aloud.

And when the Koran IS r«itw, give yo ur cat IO it and be silent:"

Haditl! There is a clear distinction in Islam between the divine word and the prophetic word. The former is the QII,'atJ, the literal word of God, whilst the latter is composed of the va ri ous messages from God to human beings given to the prophets who used their own words to explicate them. There is, therefore, a hierarchy in that th e Qllr'an, the divine word, is on a higher plane than the prophetic word, though both are sacred word. The sayings of Muhammad (t he prophetic word l, known as hadith, run inro many thousands. A whole science h .. grown around the hodith, an d Muslims are very rigo rous in subjectina any particular badi,h to dose examination before admitting it to the corpus. Admittance is on the basis of inrad - support. Each bodith must have a reliable chain of transmitters going back to Muhammad.»

Some schola rs, howe\ler, have argued that there were intermediary links between the divine word and the prophetic word. Within tbe I,adith tJobowi - the prophetic tradi tion - are found the hadith quJs;i. also known as hadith itahi and hodi,,, ,abboni, o r divine sayi ngs. These are a variety of sayings ascribed to God which are not in the QlIr'alt. One scholar has suggested that in early Islam there was not such a firm distinction between divine and prophetic word as exim today. l-4 Another sc holar, Ri cha rd Bell, has even argued that owha and wohy, translated in Islamic theology as- reveal and rev ela rion, mC;lnt, in fact, suggest and suggestionY The QII,'OIl itself states th at Gabrid brought th e message down to Muhammad 's heart,lfi which co uld indi- care inspi rati on rather than direct verbal revelation . There have, after all, been alterations made to the Qur'al1: .. And for whatever verse We

__ --------------------------------------------------__ ~I S~L~A~M abrogate or cast into oblivion, We bring a better or th e like of it".)1

Th is, a nd o rher sayings, have resulted in alt-tUlsikb wa-l-ma1lslIkb _ the doctrine of abrogation. This maintains that certain commands in (he QlI,'OtJ only had temporary ap plication and when circumstances changed they were abrogated or replaced. If, however, th e word of God can be abrogated, then can a dear distinctio n be maintained between rhe divine word and (he prophetic word ? Muslims argue that there is a very imponant linguistic di stinction between hadith and Qur'olt, a distinction which is co nsidered to be proof that the words of the Qllr'on cannOt be those of Muhammad:

The ',udith IIrc in [he ordinary spoken Arabic of Muhammad's nme; the saymgs in ,he Qur'an are in a unique and special sry le thai 15 differenl from IIn y other book or writing. Mu slims believe Ihe Q.lr'a/l was the word of Allah, exactly as Muhammad received 11 . Muha mmad was Simply the- transmitter, the mouth -pi ece through which the words were revealed to people. ,.

If Muhammad had simply bee n inspired to write the QlI,'all, then there would not be this dear difference. Indeed MusLims a rgu e that the poetry of the QII,'a" is such that no human being could have produced it.

There are, howe\ler, distinctions between th e various prophets. Prophecy, a lthough derivi ng from God, is gi\le n in a different form, or rath er in different forms, for in Islam there are three levels of prophecy: (t ) the nobi, the prophet, a person chosen to speak God's message, but this is not necessa rily a universal message; (2 ) th e roslIl, the apostle, wh o docs carry a universal message to be give n to all people; and (3) the 11111 '/ 'ozm, (he possessor of firmness and determination, one who will found a new religion. Muhammad was all three of these, and he also marked th e end of the prophetic cycle - he was th e "seal of the prophets" .

Prophe(hood is seen as:

3 Sta fe bestowed upon men whom God has chose n because of ce rta in perfccllons in them by vi rtu e of which the y become th e instrument through whom God rev~als His message 10 the world. l '

According to Islam there have been many prop hets, in many places, in man y rimes, bringing revelation and a " book". The knowledge the prophet brings comes dircctly from God, "his Ithe prophetJ knowl - edge marks a direct inter\lcntion of (he Divine in th e human order":40 God intervenes in (he world, These prophets are all seen as parr of Isl am and some are even referred to by name - such as Adam, Abra ham, Moses, David and Jesus. Although these prophers are mentioned and their memory is respected, it is to Muhammad, th e seal

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of the prophets, that Muslims turn for their example. He was the una.. feted prophet and , being iIIirenuc and unread, there was nothi ng to disrupr the flow of the divine word: he was, in a se nse, a tabula r_ upon whIch God could writc with ease.

Muhammad 's position is a specia l onc uis-a-uis humanity for, although the Qllr'a" tells him to say fa the people that, '" 3m only, morral,like you arc .... 1 it a lso declares, "0 be li evers, obey God and bit. Messenger."41 and states that, " You have had a good example in God', messenger ":u So Mu slims try to follow th e example of Muhamtnlcl in the way th ey live their lives. Because o f th ese words in the Qur'. t here deve loped the belief that the prop hets, at leas t after they bcca.ne prophets, were sinless, protected fr om error. If Muhammad we re tb. s inless then all human beings should follow the way. the smmoh, of the prophet.

This example is essential for human beings, for, al th ough we hate in the Q ,,,'a'l the perfect book, without the swmah:

men wou ld in most cases rea d their ow n limltanons III the Holy Book and the whole ho mogeneIty of Musitm socicty and Ih e harm o ny eXlsllllg betwttn the Qur"an and the relIgious li fe of Islam would be disrupted ....

Thus Muslims depend on t he personal inspiration of Muhammad to interpret the word of th e Qur'an. As W. G raham states:

all $Il cceedin ggenera ri ons would look ba ck upon th e tim e of th e prophet as the paradigmatic age, the era hallowed by the divinely o rdained mISSion of Muhammad and the divine revelatio n comm unicated through hlm.4J

This indeed has been rhe case for, as Graham continues:

when revea ltn g cnded and proph ecy ccased, the re\'ela tio ns and propheti c guidance aln:ad y given became the o nly fixed sta ndards upon whIch lire cou ld be panerncd.~

For I\lluslims Muhammad provides the mea ns, in both his words and deed s, by which the timeless truths of rhe Qur'a tl ca n be interp reted in the eve rc ha nging si tu ations which are encountered in t he wo rld.lbe Qur'o" provides guidance, "a guidance [0 the godfearing", ~ ~ " a guid- ance [0 the people " .~S Muh ammad sta nd s as one who was guided.

The sbari'ah is ofte n spoken of as rh e Islam ic legal syste m, whda indeed it is: bur many non-Muslims regard it, therefore, as akin to tbt Ro man o r Napoleonic legal codes, whi ch it is nOt. In the wo rds of Murad:

___ -------------------------------------------------------------~l s~L~A~.~, IlfilS tht: fu lfilme nt of Ih( fOral man - Inncr and ou tcr, IIldlvldual and corporate - as he seeks to !Lvc by th e will of hi S o ne and only God.4 •

Shari'ah means literally "way to water" , o r "the way to a walering place", It is the "~I ea r path " to G~ th e fou,n,rainhead o f life and s uste- oance. hence the Image of an oasIs so famlhar and so essential to t he Arabs o n th e Arabian peninsula. It is a way of li vin g one's life; in many ways It IS Is lam, the heart of the fai th . " Law is, therefore, in Is bm an Integral aspect of reve lation and not an alien eleme nt " . .50

The sJJa ri'ah is comprised of four elemems. First. a nd without equal, is the Q ll r'o" , in which there are approxi mately 500 verses of lega l instructi o ns. Second is the swmah - Muhammad is seen not s impl y as prophet but also as exemplar, H e lived hi s life in acco rdan ce with God 's will, and rhus Mus lims who also see k to live th eir li ves in acco r- dance with th e will of God sec him as the beSt example to follow . So, for c.xam ple, the Q" r'Qll urges Muslims to "keep up prayer ", but it \\IllS Muhammad himself who, by his own act io ns, gave the derai ls of th e service, " Pay alms " is frequen tl y repeated in th e Q ll r'a", bur it was Muhammad who gave the ru les a nd regula tions for irs payment and collection.

In addi ti on, Muhammad is al so seen as the beS t hum an inter preter ofrhe Q llr 'a ll, There is a sayin g that th e Q ll r'a" is rh e best interp reter of th e Qur'OIl, meaning that if one is un su re o f th e meaning o f a passage in th e Q llr 'all, then one sho ul d look elsewhere in th e book to see if there is a clearer statement 0 11 the issue. It is a tenet of Mus lim belief that ch e Q ll r'a ll ca nn ot co ntradi ct itself. If, ho wever, it is still unclear, or th e Qllr'o" does not cover the specific iss ue, then th e sayings and deeds of Muhammad, the hadit", are cons ulted, Muh ammad's word and example are binding o n Musli ms, Clearly, howe ver. even th e Qllr'all and the SUWIO!J co mbin ed did no r cove r C'very problem and eventu ality, and th ere arose the need fo r further mterpretarion, This is provided by the third and fourth elements of th e shari'all - ;;ma' or consensus, and ii rihad o r reason, the latt er being 50metimes referred to as qi)'as o r ana logica l deduction.

Consensus is ac hi eved by mea ns of sJm ra o r consultation, a process iancrioned by the fact that it was empl oyed by Muhammad himself as well as his imm ediate successors, The Muslims would co me toge th er to disc uss a particu lar problem or debate a particular iss ue, a nd hope - full y a co nse nsus wou ld be ar ri ved a t, th ough the final deci sion was One fo r rhe leader to ta ke, Clearl y, ir is not now possible, and has nO[ ~n si nce the early days of Islam, fo r all l\!l uslims ro come together ro dISCUSS a pa rticular issue. It is left, th erefo re, to the theologians and scholars of the Islamic world to discuss an y problem ro see if co nse ns us can be obta ined . This is acceptab le to most Muslims because any discussion must be based on t he inte rpretation o f th e Q u r'a" and the had;rh, No consensus is acceprable whi ch deviates from these. Those

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who have studied them in depth arc thus the best placed to intClJlllt them.

The same is true of i;tihad or reason: reason muse nOf be connar, [0 the Qur'an or hadith, bur rather reasoning must draw Ollt the rra. meaning of these things. Despite the prominence of scholan ... theologians in this process it is incumbenr on all Muslims to rry .. work OUf their own path through life. Muslims will often cOftlllt scholars about problems they may have, indeed most mosques WiI have at least one I",alll or religious leader and reacher, bur Simpip following the word of another is unacceptable: taqltd or blind lfIIiaa. tion, is strongly condemned in Islam:

1f II man rakes the findings of any person or InsmUllon which art! not substantiated by the revelaTion s, as final and accepts Them as gospd truths he is committing thr gravr offence of associanng othrr gods wu b Allah ."

In the end ir is {he individual person who is alone responsible for the decisions he or she makes and the act io ns he or she carries out. Human beings have been given the capacity to reason and it is God's wish ad their destiny to use it. Ahmed comments that:

II IS to fulfil [hIS d~tiny that i/m, knowledge, IS so rmphaslzed; /Im IS the second mosl used word in the Qur'an after the namt of God. Human bemgs art told to uS(' their mind and thmk In at 1e.1s t 300 places.·J

Shi'ite Islam has a different emphasis on these points. The Qur'. and the swmah have the same role and function as within Sunni Islara, but [he Shi'ites give far greater weight to the religious leaders. The Imams are the leaders and teachers within the Muslim commu nities and, within Shi'ite Islam. are seen as the hcirs to 'Ali, and the tnII aurhority on any point of debate. In 874 CE there occurred the Occulation of Muhammad Mahdi, the last Shi'itc Imam. This Jar Imam did not, according to Shi'ite doctrine, die; rather he was hiddea from human sight and remains so (Q this day. There was then a period of specific agency in which the Hidden Imam was represented by deputies. After the death of the fourth and last of these deputies came the era of uelayat- e-amt1/ah or general agency in which the Ulama , rbe Shi'ite clergy, acted, as they still do today, as representatives of me Hidden Imam , and thus as interpreters of the Qllr'au and the Slur,"""

A code to li ve by The shari'ab is the path through life of the Mus lilll, governing all actions in this world. It is derived from the word of G<Ml and the example of his prophet, and is not simply a list of do's and dom's, bUl a way of being in the world. Clearly, however, there all specific prescriptions. There is a distinction in Islam between halil

I I

I SLAM ---------------------------------------------------~~~ which means pcrmirred, and haram which means forbidden. Halal refers to those things which it is acceptable for Muslims to take or to do. So. for exam ple, any meat which a Muslim eatS must be halal meat, hat is meat which has been slaughtered according to Musljm regula·

;ions. Within the province of halal there are funher distinctions between that which is wa/lb (co mpulsory ); that wh.ich is malld"b (recommended); that which comes under the heading of m"bah (i.e. nO opimon has been expressed and il is thus perm..irred through silence _ mOSt things fall into this category); and that wh.ich IS makruh (dis ljked ). Smoking would be placed under Ihis lasl heading by many Muslim authorities, bUI an example of the way thai the Shi'ites can devune from rhe Muslim norm is given by the ba.nning of smoking in Iran. The Ayarollah Khomeini banned smoking in Iran, and it was generally recognized that he had both the right and the power to do so.

A furthe r concept ro be noted within shari'ah law is istibsan or the idea of the public good. Although some things may be prescribed, the law may be ove rrul ed in cases where it is felr to be in the public good. Thus a woman is forbidden to show certain parts of her body to any man other than her husba nd , bUI this law may be put aside if it is neces- sary for her to be exanuned by a doctor, and the only doctor available is male.

Weslern attitud es to the sbari'ab The shari'ah is often looked on in the West as a barbaric remnant from a past age, and many Wesreners are bemused as ro why Muslims should wish to see it implemented toda y. The preceding comments may give some idea as to why Muslims regard the sbarl'ab as so important: it is the way they can live their faith. There are also points where many people in the West wou ld agree with Islamic ideas. For IIl Sta nce, the principle of qisas or retri- bution is fundamental to rhe Islamic idea of justice: '"'the recompense of evil is evil the like of it", jJ a life for a li fe. The idea is that those to whom injury has been done will feeItha! justice has been served if the guilty party is punished in a way that reflects the crime, an idea which would be acceptab le to many, though not a ll , in the West. However, if the gui lry person repents, rhe wronged parry or parties ca n choose to accept this (or nor ), o r the)' can accept payment in recompense, referred to as blood-money, w hi ch would be seen as less acceptable in rhe West.

There are also points on which there would be a direct clash. For instance, zina is unlawful sex, and within this overall classification there are various punishments prescribed. Premarital sex merirs a hundred lashes be the person male o r remale: "The fornicatress and the fornicato r - scourge each one of (hem a hundred stripes", f4 whilst adultery merits stoning to death. The Khalz(ab ' Umar's second son was given a hundred lashes for ti"a and died from them, thus emphasizing

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the equality of all Muslims before the law. For Muslims the fa m ily the ~drock of (he Muslim mmnah, and irs mainrenance essent'ial tIS the good ordering of society. Anything which wouJd seem to unde ~ mine the family, such as UllO, falls, therefore, within the crlm lnal la;

The punishment for theft is :lInputarion, for drinking or tak , n~ intoxicams it is flogging, for apostacy it is death. This last point w~ part of the case against Salman Rushdie, th e author of Satame; Verses who had been brought up in a Muslim household and, in the eyes of many Muslims, had turned and attacked Islam. Faith unde rpinS not only society, but the very soul of all human beings: to attack t hi s, there. fore, is, for Mus lim s, ro commit the greatest of crimes. Ma ny people in the W~st are, for historical reaso ns, relucrant to allow t heology to wield a vew ove r what may be thought and said, and many West~rn theo logians would concur with [his reluctance. Disagreements on thiJ point within a multi·fa ith society are, therefore, inevitable.

Some Muslims have attempted to argue that although these pU Olsh. ments are prescribed, the circumstances in which they co uld be given are so ringed round with qualifications that they would hard ly evc r be employed. Most Muslims fake the view that rhe Qur'a" wo uld not be likely to lay down punishments which could nOt be used, and wo uld therefore see them as integral to the sbari'ah. The argume nts o f rhls larrer group of Muslims (the majority ), in favour of these aspects of sbari'ah, are first that they are given in the Qur'all, whic h is the word of God; hence they feel there is no need to apologize for the m. The gifts of God to human beings arc said to be the Book (the QIlr'a ll ), the Balance (justice), and Iron (punishment) . Punishment is referred to as hadd (plura l Imdud ), which means lite rally " boundaries": t he gUllry person has crossed the boundaries laid down by God, and is thus rightly punished in a way laid down by God. They h3ve also argued that flogging, for instance, is preferable to imprisonment, the tak ing away of a person's liberry, which is not only terrible fo r tha t person, but may punish innocent parties such as rhe prisoner's wife and chil· dren, who wi ll be deprived of both hi s presence and his earnings, They wou ld also argue that crime in Muslim counuies is mu ch less beca U5t of the presence of these punishments, and thus that t here is actua ll y less need to use memo The further poinr is made that the Westem obsession, as Mus lims sec it, with these aspects of the shari'ab, whic h, in fact, comprise such a s mall part of the shari'ah, is another exam ple of the West's bias against Is lam and its distortion of the message of Is lam.

These arguments, however, have nOt convinced most people in the WCSt, and it seems likely that, whilst punishments such as ampmacion for theft, flogging for premarital sex and death fo r apostacy a re supported by Mus lims, areas of strong disagreement will remain.

___ -------------------------------------------------------------~I '~L~A~.~t jhe Five Pillars of Islam are the five obl igatory acts which all Muslims 3re expected to carry OUl , these are,

/. 2. J. 4. 5.

The declaration of faith Prayer Almsgiving Fasting (th roughout the month of Ramadan ). Pilgnmage to Mecca.

fh ese acts are obligatOry for all Mu slims.

fh e Firs t I)ill ar: the decl aratio n o f faith (shahadah ) La ilaha ·illa '/Iab muhammadu11 ras,liu ·,kih. This means " I bear witness that there is no god but God and Muhammad is hi s Mcssenger." Although not found in complete form in the Qur'all, bur in tWO separa te halves, thi s is rhe basic expression of faith for the Mus lim. The expression and declaration of belief in one creator and sustainer, is the central belief of Isla m. This all-powe rful God has the right to demand complete submission, comp lete obedience from his worshipper. As previously stated it is obedience and not understanding which is required. Jornier points our that:

The use of a negative phrase /there is no god but God) m [he $/'ahada formula gives the expression a manifest cJarilY. 11 docs away WJlh Ih al which IS not God, but it preserves Ihe question of Ihe mystery of God 10 himself, a mystery which it does nOi penetrate, and which Ihe believers keep lhemseh'cs from touchmg on by Virtue of a characteristic atutude of Islam. "

This declaration mU St not simply be a verbal statement, rather it must come from the heart of the Muslim. It rea ll y s ignifies the roral orien· tation of all the human being's goals and imerests towards what God will s. The shahadah must always be spoken III Arabic, the language of the QUT'a". God spoke these exact words [Q Muhammad and, in repearing them, the Muslim reinforces rhe special nature of the decla· ranon.

The second parr of rhe declaration of belief, thac Muhammad is t he prophet (messenger ) of God, implies eh e acceptance of his teachings in Ihe Q ll r'an as the revea led sc ripture. This belief accepts t hat Muhammad was rhe last of a line of prophets streechi ng from Adam, and therefore the culminating definitive word on religious an d moral trurh. Inherent in rhe declaration, then , is nOt only belief, but accep· tance tha t God's word as revealed in rhe Qllr'an shou ld be followed. Muhammad has often been called rhe "seal of the prophets", because hi s wo rd is final. The message of fo rmer prophe ts who had also broughr the word of God, had so metimes been misunderstood or

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indeed deliberarely tampered with, until Muhammad delivered the message.

The declara£ion of belief in Muhammad as messenger of God, then. IS tantamount to belief in his revelations. Other revelations accepted by Muslims include the biblical PetJtatellch, revealed through the prophel Moses, and called Tallrat. the psalms (Zab"r), revealed through the prophet David, and the New Testament (I"iil) revealed through Jesus. Only the Qur'all, revea led through Muhammad, is be li eved to be in irs original form.

The Second Pillar: prayer (salat ) An old tradition says: " Praye r is like a stream of sweet water which flows past the door of each of you. A Muslim plunges into it five times a day." Of the five pillars in Islam, prayer takes second place only after the declaration of failh:

The institution of prayer helps to remove weaknesses in individual chaT- acter and strengthen the wall of the Islamic commu nity with the cement of discipline. obedience and love. ,t

There are two types of prayer. There is du 'ah, which means petition. supp li cation or invocation, implying that human beings in this world a re weak and helpless without God's mercy. These prayers may be performed at an)' time, in any place and are most often done in the worshipper's own language. The other rype of pr3yer is sa/at, w hich is the name given to the formal prayers and their essential ritua l move-- ments which have to be performed five times a d3y at sel rimes, lhougb these times comp rise a pe riod rather th3n a fixed moment. These pm ye rs are compulsory and follow a precise pattern. The rimes of day when the y must be performed are d3wn (th e fair ), after midday (zlIhr). mid-afternoon (asr), sunset (maghrib ), and night (isba).

In Britain some of these prayers can be very close together. In win ter, zIIhr, asr, and tnaghrib do not have many hours separating rhem, even given the periods of time allowed for each. Thus zubr can be performed in winter, between 1.00 and 2.00 p.m., asr between 2.30 and 3.30 p.m., and maghrib between 4.00 3nd 5.00 p.m. In summer, the rimes (or zllhr arc more relaxed, between 1.00 and 4.00 p.m. , so there can be a greater period of time between this prayer and asr, but maghrib (sunset). isha (nig ht ) and fair (dawn ) a re very close tOgether. and sleep is broken as a result. h requires a firm commitment, (here- fo re, to keep up praye r.

Before prayers Muslims must wash themselves in a sel of proced ures known as WI/dim or ablution. This procedure involves the repetition of the phrase "' In th e name of God th e Be neficent, the Mercifu l", w hile washing the hands up to the wrists three rimes, rhen the elbows three times, foll owed by the washing of the mouth three times, with wa ter then being inhaled into the nostril s. Then the head is washed, the ears

ISLAM -------------------------------~= and neck and lastly the righl and left foot to the ankle are washed three rimes. This removes physical impurity and is also symbo li c of an inner cleansing. During this process the Muslim rurns his or her mind to concentrate on God, and so il involves mental as well as ph ysical preparation. In order to stand before God they must wash to be pure, (0 be fresh, and to be alert for this very important and significanr act. The Muslim sho uld a lso perform glms/, balhing from head to toe, at least once a week.

After performing the ablutions Muslims take off their shoes, stand on clean ground, or a prayer mal, and face in the direction of Mecca. The direction of Mecca is freque ntl y indicated by arrows in cities, espe- cially al rai lway stations, to encourage the u3vell er to pray, and o ften prayer matS are see n outside roadside cafes for the use of travellers. Then they ca ll for prayer, saying:

God IS th~ greates t (four tunes). I bear Witness tha t there is no god bu t God (twice). I bear WitnesS thnt Muhammad IS the messenger of God (twICe) Come to Jlraye r (twice). Come 10 Security (twice). The re is no god but God.

This, and the p raye r itself, are always said in Ar3bic. for not only is this the sacred language, bur "prayer through the bond of a common language serves 3S a g reat unifying force among the Muslims"Y

When praying at the mosque, Muslims are summoned by a call 10 prayer, th e adha". Before the beginning of each set of daily prayers a mao ca ll ed the muezzin goes up into one o f th e rowe rs of [he mosq ue, called a minaret, and chanrs a set prayer. It is as above: "'God is the Greatest" and for the first prayer ca ll of the morning he adds the line: "Prayer is better than sleep." In side the mosque the congreg.n ion faces Mecca, with the prayers being led by the se nior male presem, often t he Imam. If no male is present, as may happen for instance within the home, the senior female may perform this role. Each person decides on the number of rak'alJs he or she is going to make. A rak'ah is liter· ally " bending", it is the movements of prayer whi ch accompa ny th e spoken wo rd s. "The postures of bowing, kneeling and p rostratio n a re specifically designed to evoke humility and reve rence in Ihe worshipper".s. A Muslim begins by lifting che hands to the ears a nd saying, AI/aim akbar "'God is the Greatest". The righe hand is then lowered and placed on tOp of the left JUSt above the navel; he or she recites the opening verses o f the Qllr'a1l and any other shorr chapter or verses. Then the words "God is the Gre:ues t" are said and the worshipper bows with hands on knees a nd legs stra ight, repeating rhree times, ~ All glory 10 God the Greatest". Into the upright position next and the words "God has liste ned to him who has praised Him our God: Praise be to thee" are said. Then on t he knees, placing hands on the ground and nosc a nd forehead on the ground berween th em.

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This position fully symbolizes the spirit of Islam in submission to God In this position the worshipper says" All Glory to God the Highest'; Then he o r she sits back on the heels and says, "0 God, forgive m~ and have mercy upon me", prostrates again and repeats, "'All Glory to God the Highest".

This is the end of the first rak 'ab. Once t he designated number of rak'ahs is finished du'ah are said and the ceremony is completed b), saying, " Peace be upon you a nd the mercy of God", with head rurned to look once ove r the right and once over the left sho ulder. It is said thar the purpose of this is to say as-salamlll- 'a laikllm (peace and bless- ings of God be upon youl to the rwo angels who si t on ei ther shoulder. The one on th e left reco rds the person's bad deeds. the one o n the righ t records the good deeds. The geslUres involved in the whole ritua l symbolize the humble submission of the believer before God. Rahman well illustr:ues the deep meani ng behind the rirual when he States tha t:

The physicnl postures and the movements in prayer also piny a very significaru role In revitaliZing and reigniting the potential and latent sources of power In man 10 enable him to open a channel between himself and th e Crearor.l •

The purpose of salat for Muslims is that first God has instructed them to pray. Second. they pray in order to praise and glorify God: it is their dury. tn addition, those who faithfully keep God in mi nd throughout their li ves in this world ca n expect reward in Paradise and, a lso, prosperity in this world. Note [hat God docs not need the prayers of Muslims for he is entirel y self-sufficient; rather Muslims need to pray to God in orde r to infuse th emselves with taq wa - God- co nscious nes s.

The private devotions (du'ab) come most naturall y at rhe end of th e salat. The worshippers raise th eir hands, palms upwards 10 abou t chin- level and petition God on their own behaU and for others. Muslims may a lso use a kind of rosary c:llled :I subha; it comes from wo rds meaning "praise" :IS the subba is:ln instrument for co untin g the n:lmes of God. A subha consins of three gro ups o f beads, each group being separated by IWO larger be:lds set transversely. There are 33 beads in each group, making a total o f 99. The number represe nts the 99 beau- tiful names of God: names such 3S "merciful", "beni fice nt ". It actS as an aid to concentration so that the believer co mes to be more aware of the presence and inner reality of God, A subha is also used in the counting of prayers by the individual worshipper.

On Friday the midday prayer is replaced by a co ngregario nal service at noon (;lImab). when the Imam delivers a sermon. Attendance at the mosque for prayers is always encouraged, but on Friday it is as eve n more important that all attend. This comm un a l prayer brings the Muslims together as a commumty in worship before God. In the

I S LAM -------------------------------~~ mosque the worshippers stand in straight rows, shou lder to shoulder expressing the solida rity and order of rh e Muslim commu nity. As st3tcd, [he actio ns involved in prayer are expressions of submissio n and adoration, and the whole rirual of salat demands self discipline. Salat is a continual reminder of a direct relationship with [he Creator: it is thus a consranr reminder of the ultimate reality,

Men fry 10 pray in groups, again emph asizing (he sense of com mu - niry which lies at the hea rt of the religion. This is particularly true during special festivals and on Fridays. Women do not attend (he mosques as regularly as men, and when they do, they usually worship in a different room from th e men. Sometimes th ey eve n use different entrances and worship in a separate ga ll ery. In Britain, however, there are mosques where women wo rsh ip in the same room as th e men, in which case they will stand behind them. Women normally say prayers at home, together or alone.

Muslim worship, chen, revolves very much around pra ye r. Although the emp hasis within the seco nd pillar is on devotional prayer, any action which follows the will of God is also seen as an aCI of worship: ~eating, drinking, sleeping and th e other wordly acts to satisfy o ne's physical needs become acts of worship if th ey are performed with rrue religious morives" ."" A Muslim will a ttempt to act with true religi ous mOtives. and, after doing hi s or her best,learns ro accep t what happens in life because it is God's will. The vagaries of fonune ~He accepted because devour Muslims believe that God knows what is best for all human beings. Islam is truly a religion of submission and this is mani· fested in the bowings, prostrations and devorional words o f (he formal prayer, salat.

The TIlird Pill ar: a lmsgiving (z;aka t ) The QU"{JII spea ks of: ~[he believers who perform th e pra ye r and pay the a lms, and bow th em down" .' . Literally rran slated, zakat means purifica ti on: in th is con text it means purification of wealth. This is the prescribed " poor due" of Islam, and in this, the Musli m exp resses hi s or her lo ve for God through the care of other human beings. " Love of Allah should be the motive behind all acts of char ity". 62 Zakat is not a tax on necessa ry possessions, but o n income , The tax is approximately 2.5 pe r cent and is assessed yea rl y for eac h individual who qualifies.

Zakat is a further example of belief in action , in proclaiming prac- tically what the Muslim believes. Everything a Muslim has, includ ing life itself, he or she owes to God. In returning something of th is bou nty to the poor and needy, converts to Islam who experience marerial hardship, trave ll ers, debtors, those in prison, rh e what actua lizes the prescription o f the Qllr'a1l ro give to the poor and to visit those in prison. Abdalati declares that: "Zakah is a vivid manifesta ti on o( the spiri tu:!1 and humanitarian spirit of responsive inret:Jctions between the indi vidual :!nd society" .'1 The Muslim. in giving to other human

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bemgs, rerurns somerhing to God of whar has been given (Q him Or her in trust. Thus "by paying poor due, the rich are nor doing any favo ur ro the poor or sociery but .lre doing their normal moral as well as legal dUty".M This purifies or sanctions the individual's possession of the remainde r of hi s or her property. Zakat also has a community func_ rion in srrengthening the wl/mah by alleviating any jealousy or binerness. Muhammad had always held that material excess in the midst of poverty was unjust. The rax is a move toward s greater sOCit) equality without arrempling (Q create a situation of lotal egal itari- anism, somethmg which Muslims feel would be an impossibi lity since we are all created different ly.

Apart from specific takat, chanty as a voluntary response to humaq need is expected of the Muslim. This is called sadaqah and it is differem to takat in (hat it can be given by any Muslim from w hat is surplus to their needs and can be given to anyone, Muslim o r non- Muslim. The Qllr'a1l states: "They will question thee IMuhammad) concerning what they should expend. Say: "' The abundance".~ As one sc holar has remarked;

The: spirn of Muhammad's Messagt' IS manifest in the fuct that by rendering th e poor tax, the ~Iusllm does nOi absolve hnnsdf from further claims to his posseSSions; as long as Ihere IS need for the exercIse of benef- icence and cha rilY. Ihis need musl be mel."

In the early da ys, zokot was collected by the authori ries and distri l> ured. Today it is often paid to t he mosque commitee.

The Fo urth Pill ar: fas ling (sowm )

o believers prescribed for you is the Fasl.··

Mus lims are ins tructed to fast for the whole of the month of Ramadan. This is the month when, according to Mus lim belief, Muham mad received his first revelation. The Muslim ca lendar is designed o n • lunar pattern, each month being 28 or 29 days long. Ramada n is the ninth month. Sawm in Arabic means abstention from food, drink and sex ual intercourse. So a Mus lim is requi red throughout the day rime to abstain completel)· from these until the fast ends at sunset. The command [Q fast was received du ring the period at Medina, when it: was the practice of Muhammad to recite the Qllr'a" within the space of the momh, and many present-day Mus lims follow this aspect o f the S1l1l110h, "the Prophet's Practice". Fasting would not have been new to Musli ms. Most religions, in ancient and modern tim es, include a period of fasting ofren at special times of the year. Jews and Christia ns at the time of Muhammad would have faned :1t certain times and probably other peoples also.

Because of the lunar calendar, Ramadan does not always fall III the same season of the year; It falls eleven days earlier each year. Thus it sanctifies the whole year as it passes through it. In summer, when hours of daylight are longer and th e temperature IS higher, abstinence from food and drink is more difficu lt. Howcver, even after sunset Muslims arc nor encouraged to eat or drink to excess. This would deny the spirit of the fast; "the stomach is emptied so spirir may be filled With piety and righteousness"."

Some carcgories of people are exempt from th e fast - th e old, the sick, young children, women who are pregnant, and travellers (trav- cUing cou ld be a very firing occupation). The aim of the faSt is to bring onc's self closer to God, but not to the poim of imposing an intoler- able burden. Those unable to faSt are urged to do so at a J:ltcr period. Children are also exempt from the fast, though the age at which they would be expected to commence their participation differs between various Mus li m communities, and indeed between different families. Man y children, however, seeing their parents and older siblings fasting, will voluntari ly elecr to participate, at leas t in so me days of the fast. C hildren as young as seven will do this.

The last ten days of Ramadan are the climax of thc momh. Mus lims try to spend more time in the mosq ue praying and reading th e QUr'OIl during this period. The)' seek to bring themselves closer to God and also closer to their fellow Muslims who are united with them in the fast. The Night of Power is celebrated during Ramadan, in remem- brance of the time when Muhammad received the firs t vision and revelation. No one knows on which day it was, but by long established custOm it is celebrated on the 27th of Ramadan. 511rah 97:2 in the Qllr'a" states: .. Behold, \'(Ie sent it [the Qllr'Oflr down on the Night of Power". Since it is impossible to eat or drink throughou t the daylight hours it is necessary for the Muslim to get up before sunrise to ear a meal called s"hoor. This has to be completed twenty minutes befo re sunrise. Then, throughout th e day Muslims are nor expected to chew or swa llow anything external, neith er are they permitted to take medi- cine via the momh or nose (t hough not if irs exclusion would be life-threatening). They can, however, use external medications such as skin creams or ointments or even perfume, and they are also permitted to clean their teeth. The breaking of the fasr takes place after sunset and is called iftar. Mus lims will usually have:1 very light meal for jftar, perhaps consisting of jusl a few dates. Before they eat they will say:

o God, I have f,Uled for you. and I have belitvcd in You, and wnh your food I break (he f:lSI. In the name of God, the MercifuL

Then follows the magbrib, the sunset prayer after which a full mea l will be ealen. If the fast is broken a penalt), has to be paid unless there is so me extenuating circumstance. The transgressor may be asked to

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- fttd sixty people, or to give ItS eqUivalent in money to charity. He or she may even be asked to considerably extend the fast.

At the end of this ten-day period comes, Eid- III-Fitr, the "festiva l of bre3king [he fast" . Since Eid-u/-Fitr is one of the high points of the Muslims' ye3r, it is a lso a religious obligation to keep this fest ival. Muhammad left instructions for the two main festivals of the year, Ont being Eid-ttl-Fitr (Eid = Arabic for Festival or time of happiness). ThIS rakes place on the first day of the month ofShawwal. lr origina tes from [he time when the Prophet went to Medina and found a divided city where pagan gods were worshipped. He abolished a ll the pagan fcsti. va ls and esmblished the tWO main festiva ls instead. Before Ramadan ends, Muslim families give generously to charity - "'Zakat ,,1·Fit,". The offering must be food or money and it is anOlhe r of the dUlies of all Muslims. After this comes rhe festival prayer, when all go to the mosque, and then families and fr iends come rogether in their homes. New clOlhes are worn, presentS are given and sweets are a major trea t. Cards are sent to each other, bearing the greeting Eid mubaralt. (Blessed a nd happy festival), homes are decorated and parries held. In India and Pakista n there are wrestling m,uches, fairs and horse races. It is a time also for reconciliation when old quarre ls are forgotten.

The meaning behind Ramadan The discip line of fasting is believed in Islam, as in many other reli gious traditions, to increase moral and spiritual wholeness by concentra tin g tbe mind on the inner spirit ual life: "fastin g develops a very stro ng sense of nearness and closeness to God and of His Presence everywhere" .'~ This teaches restraint and self-knowledge, strength of purpose, chara cter and self·discipline. The deprivation involved creates an awareness of those things norma ll y tak en for granred; Muslims realize and apprecia te the good th ings of life which a.re given by God. 1.ike fasting in a ll religions, it is intended to heighten th e spiritual expe ri ence of the human being by making him or her less dependent o n material benefits. Over indulgence in food , drink and marital relations oftcn make people slaves to their desires. Ramadan is a means of overcoming this dependence on desires. The ascetic implications of such a fast have been highlighted by Ruthven:

In general it can be said thaI the faSt confers on the communIty m:lny of the benefits of ascetiCism. such as self-dIscipline and mental comrol over bodIly needs. withOUT falling into the excesses of the eaSTern churches, where "spmrual athleticism", by sep:lrating the :lscelics from Ihc ordl ' nary I:lY behevers, tended 10 undemlme group cohesIOn .....

Ramadan is most particul .. rly the momh in which the Muslim mUSt obey the cth ica l prescriptions of Isbm, particu larly the act of charity. Thc fast should produce empathy in the Muslim for those who are habitually deprived and poor. This awa rencss is then channelled infO

ISLAM

--------------------------------~ positive practical conrribU[ions to charity: Ramadan makes the rich feel what (he poor feel. In addinon, as with so many Muslim customs, II has a communal meaning and spir it which a re important because they rcLnforce the sense of belonging to the conununity of Islam, which is felt by all Muslims:

It oTlgio:ues m man the real SPirit of Socml Belonging, of UOI!)' and Brotherhood. of Equall!)' before God as well:ls before The Law. "

rhus, ro [he Muslim, Ramadan provides tbe greatest opportuniry for lhe development of his or her relationship with God; it is a time, as with many aspects of Islam, when belief is put inro acrion. Many Muslims report a sense of real well-being during Ramadan because of the increase in self-awareness and spiritua li ry. There is a requiremenr on the Muslim to be devour, and this is not easy; but Muslims believe through the practice of their faith that God is guiding them to the life which begins after death, and they can feci confide nr and happy about this. Submission to the laws of Islam brings security and peace of mind.

The Fifth Pillar: pilgrimage (hajj) Surah 3 v. 90ff of the Qur'Q/1 states that:

The first "Iouse ~t3blishw for the people was (hat at Bekka JMeccal ... II is Ihe dUTY of all men towards God, to come ro (he house a pilgnm, if he is :lble 10 make his way there.

The hai;, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, is th e fifth Islamic obligatory act of wo rship. It is a once-in-a-lifetime requiremenr for those who can afford it. This latter poinr is usually strictly interpreted. It must be financed fr om one's own money, one must be free o f debt, one must be supporting one's parcnrs where this is necessary, and no money mUSt be diverted from th em to the hajj. Indeed if one's neigh- bours are stan!ing o ne must first support them, and this wou ld sti ll be seen as a form of hajj. This is so because the ha;; is symbo li c of the human being's journ ey towards God and, by obeying the commands of God, in th is case by an act of charity, the Muslim would be making JUSt such a journer.

In the hai;, the Mus lim (male or female) assumes the status of the pilgrim, the scrvanr of God. There is a traditional belief amongst Muslims that:

in performmg the Haj, Ihey are literally rc-enacring the birth of the primordial Islam of IbrahIm (Abraham), the "first monothclsl

ft

, his bondswoman, Ilagar, and rus son Isma'll (ishm:lrl J. ancesTor of the Arabs.~l

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During this pilgrimage th e M us lim foregoes luxury, comfort and worldly Status: th e Arabic word haii means "to set o ut for a dcfinltr: purpose". Haii takes place in th e first days of the lunar momh of Dh"l_ Hiiiah, the rwelfth month of the Islamic year, reaching its mOSt impo rrant poim o n the ninth day.

Before th e age o f mod ern tra nspo rr th e pilgrimage could take a long time, in some cases man y years. Today t hin gs are so mewha t easie r pilgims will usually travel by a irplane to the seapo rr of J iddhalJeddah a nd rake th e remainder o f the jo urn ey to Mecca in th e rea l fashion of pilgrimage. The pilgrims become consecra ted as ihram: men unde rtake riru a l ba thing, th e s having of th e head and the removal o f normal dress, and a ll SIgns o f worldly status. They put on tWO whi te unsewn and sea mless sheers, a lso ca ll ed ihram. and expose o nl y th e head and hands. There is, however, no presc ribed dress for women, though they would no rmall y wear white. In this sta te o f Ihram the pilgrim must refrain from a buse, quarre lling, harmin g any living rhing (e.g. hunting ), from sex ual interco urse, the use of jewell ery o r perfume, from curtin g hair o r nails, a nd for men, from cove rin g th e head.

While maki ng the jo urn ey to Mecca th e pilgrim s cham the words Lab baika AI Laimmma Labbaik. "Here we co me in answe r to your ca ll,O l o rd ". The area around Mecca is sac red . It is called the haram a nd no non -Muslim ma y emer it. The first act of a pilgrim on arrival at Mecca is to wo rs hip at the ko'aba, The ka'aba, as it sta nds today, is a recta ngula r St ructure 4 5 feet high, 33 fee t wide a nd · 0 feet lo ng, and is conta ined within th e sacred mosque in the centre of Mecca. The black Stone - the Stone of celestial origin acco rdin g to traditio n and known to be pa rt o f rhe original ka'aba - is se t in a comer. The ka'aba is hi ghl y reve red and is ceremoni a ll y dra ped in a black cloth. Embroidered o n it with go ld thread are so me of the verses of the Q Ur'an. Th is d o th is replaced annua ll y with a new drapin g. The ka'aba is th e focal paim o f Muslim worship through o ur the wo rld. When rhey pray, Muslims shou ld face it. The term qlblalJ is used for th e directio n of the ko'aba from a nyo ne point on th e earth's surface. Thus con tinu a ll y, through da y and nighr, t here is throughout the world an unending focus of prayer on th e ka'aba.

On enterin g th e mosqu e, (he pilgri ms make a humbl e peti ti o n a nd o ffer a sa lar o f greeting. They t hen approach the ka'a ba and perform th e rite of raluar (ci rcumambulation ). With a vast num be r of ot her pilgrims they begin the procession in th e vas t courtya rd o f the mosque and make seve n ci rcui ts of th e ka'aba, moving in a n ant i-clockwise directon. During the seven circumambulari o ns Qf the ka'aba the pilgrim ki sses, tou ches, or rai ses his or her hand towards the black sto ne. In this vas t crowd, all here to do the bidding o f God, the Muslims feel their own s mallness co mpared to th e will and purpose of the Creator. After a fin al salar the pilgrims a re directed to the UlmW11I well.

___ ---------------------------------------------------------~IS~L~A~M Accord ing to Muslim tradition this was the s pring which God gave

to Haga r, the conc ubme of Abraham when she and her so n Ishmael were abandoned in the desolate valley of Mecca. The rite pe rformed in this pa n of the hajj is called sa'i meaning literally "hastcning". The pilgrim run s be rween rwo small mo unds of lava rock, Safa a nd Marwah, along a marble-hned cor ri dor adjacem to the counyard of th e mosque. This commemorates H aga r's sea rch fo r water in the deserr. According to Islamic tra d itio n, she ran back a nd forth seven times between th e hills bur found none and returned to Ishmae l. Then God revealed th e spring of wmwm flowing from the feet of Is hmael. ihis wa ter had atrracted th e se rrl ement at Mecca. The "'hastening" is also symbol ic of the qu es t of th e human so ul for div ine sustenance. pil grims will then rake water fro m this well.

The hai; reach es its most imporrant poim o n th e nimh day of Dlml- Hiiiah. on the da y of Arafat. At this rime, the vas t crowd of pilgrims jou rney to Arafat, 3 vast barren plain, some 12 miles east of Mecca , where there is held a da y of devoti on. In th e ce ntre o f th e plain is th e moumain o f Arafat, th e "mountain of mercy", {rom which Muhammad deli ve red hi s last se rm on. Gat hering th ere is the greates t experie nce of the ha;i:

Then 15 no high~r rdl&IOU5 expem:nce fo r thr mdlvidual M us lim nor any greater expresSion of brotherhood for the ~'Iusllm commumry than th e HQI1.~ '

The pilgrim s leave Araf3t 31 sunset fo r a resting place called Mu zdalifa h, a wasteland o f lava roc k. Here th ey pe rform sun set and night pra ye rs and ga th er stones for the rite of milia, th3t is, th e sto ning of three colu mns (jamras) on three consec ut ive days in th e village of Mina. It is said that the devil tried to tempt Ishmae l three times when Ab raham was leading him to th e place of s3crifice. Bur Ishmael wo uld nor rebel ag3inst his fath er and stoned the devi l o n three occasions. Afte r milia man y of th e requirements of ihmm are lifted. After the SToni ng of th e first pilla r co mes the sacrifi ce o f a sheep, goa t or camel which is eaten in co mmemoration of Ab raham 's sac rifice of the sheep (i nstead of Ishmae l). Thi s occ urs on 10 l'h of Dlml Hiiinh and is called Eid- ul-AdIJa, rh e Fes tival of S3crifice. This does nOt only take pl3ce o n the haii. a ll over th e wo rl d such sacrifices will be m3de by Muslims. In Weste rn cou ntr ies Muslim butche rs wi ll prepa re the sacrifices for people, at the time of Eid- u/-Adha. O n the third day of mina, before s unset, th e pilgrimage is ended and th e pilgrim s haves o r cutS o ff a few strands of hair to signi fy the end Qf ;11ra",. The pilgims then leave; rhey may return to Mccca to perform talUar aga in, and often travel to Medin3 to pay their respects to the p ro phet Muham mad at his tomb.

In a ll th is co mple." me of haii, M us lims experience an intense feeling of community. This is a uni ty w hi ch transcends national, raci al and

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class differences. In this act, they are first and foremost a Muslim before God, and therefore equal to other Muslims. This is weD expressed by Rahman when he says:

Peoplc of all colours. all nationalmes., all races, and of all ranks, frorn all (hc four comers of the world corne here and meet and live together. They ha\'c all come beforc their Lord In extrcme humility, wearmg two White sheets. as membcrs of the Umversal Muslim Brotherhood : '

There is also in the pilgrimage a sense of spiritual unity, and for many Muslims an awesome feeling of the greatness of God. It is so impor_ rant that if a Muslim dies before undertaking the hai; he or she may appoint one of hi s or her descendants to undertake the Im/; for them. Similarly, a sick person can choose someone ro go in his or her place. When someone undertakes 1m;; for anorher he or she performs e\lery_ thing twice, once for his or her self and once for rhe sick or deceased person. Those who ha\le performed the hali are known as Ha;;is and are highly respected in their communities.

The fi\le pillars of Islam are designed to reinforce taqlVa - God- consciousness for the Muslim and to bring him or her into direct awareness of God. The)' strengthen rhe faith both at an indi\l idual and communa ll e\lel. As a result of the former they discipline the belie\ler so that an approach to the ideal of the Islamic way of life becomes a greater possibility. As a result of the huter they consolid ate in the believer a sense of rhe unity of Muslims, reinforcing the ideal of community - the ummah; and they make demands on the who le pe rso n spi rituall y, mentally and physically.

THE MOSQUE After lea\ling Mecca Muhammad stayed for a few days ar Quba', an oasis just outside Medina, and here bid the foundations for the first mosque. Since rhen, many thousands of o th er mosques ha\le been built all o\ler [he world. Some of them have been very sl11all, plain build- ings, others magnificent feats of a rchi tecture; all of them have bee n influenced by the types of buildings already existing in Muslim co un - tries. Howe\ler, th e basic essentia ls of any mosque are very simple. The mosque usually has rwo main sections - the inner part, or the sanc- ruary, and rhe ourer part, or courtyard. The inner part is the main part of the structure and is built ro face Mecca. There must be a place for Muslims ro wash themsel\les before they pray; in hot countries [his is often outside (but in Britain this would not be very practical). The re must also be so mewh ere for worshippers to leave rhei r shoes. The washing facilities may take many different forms from separate building with ladies' a nd gentlemen's cloakrooms to si mpl y some jars of water.

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Inside rh e mosque is almost bare, and non-Muslim \lisitors are often disappointed because the re is, in the majority of mosques, nothing to

actually see (though some of the older mosq ues do contain beautih.1 tiling ). There 3re no scats because space must be left for worshtppcrs to go through the \la rious positions of prayer which include sitting on the ground (Muslims worship in bare feet so the floor is usually carpeted). Islam operates a strict prohibition against gra\len images, to avoid any danger of idolauy. There is, however, a strucrure known as 3 ",mbaT from which the Friday sermon is preached. It consists of at 1e3sr three sreps. Muhammad used to preach from rhe third step, and, in acknowledgement of his statuS, some Imams only mount to rhe second step. In large mosques, howe\ler, there may be a wooden plat- form which is much higher so Ihal the speaker can be seen and heard d ea rly. The men and women 3rc usually sepa rated, or th e women will stand behind the men so that the men are nOt distracted. There is a small alcove called a mibrab in the ce ntre of one wall, the purpose of which is to point the Muslims in the direction of Mecca when th ey are pra ying. It is also the place where the Imam stand s to lead th e prayers.

KllrsJ-al Qllr'an (lecterns) were introduced into [he mosque at a time when the Q llr'fI11 was written In the form of a book which, in [hose days, was toO hea\ly to be held in both hands. Most mosques arc squa re or rectangular, often wit h a domed roof, borh to symbolize the Universe and ro magnify the \loice of the tmam. There a re towers, often in each corner, fronl the rap of which the mtleuiu cal1s the faithful to prayer. One of Muhammad 's companions had OJ dream in which he heard a call ro prayer, so Muhammad ordered Bilal, an Ethiopi:ln and an ex-sla\le, to go upon the roof and call the faithful to prayer: he was the first mtuluin. In the early days, the lItu eu;n went on to [he roof of the mosque and called [he adha1t. Later, in the se\lenth century, mlOarets were buih.

The functio ns of th e mosque The early mosques, as well as being places of prayer. were also administrative ce ntres - places where foreign delegates were recei\led and housed, treasuries, command headquarters for the army, and many other things. In Muhammad's time it used to be the centre of administration , where he had his head - quarters a nd whe re decisions of government were made. Today one of the mOSt important functions of the mosque is that of acting as a school for Muslims. E\lerywhere in the Muslim world th ere a re Qtlr'aft;c schools for reaching the Qtlr'an and the tradition of Muhammad. Muhammad himself used to teach and train Muslims. One of the mOSt impo rtant sc hools is at the AI Azhar Mosque in Cairo from where many of the world 's Muslim teachers of theo logy grad- uate.

The mosque is the heart of the Muslim community where people meet and discuss their problems. One of the most important functions of rhe mosque, howe\ler, is still a peaceful, quiet place of worship. The mosque in Islam is called mas;id (a place of prostration ) or ;ami'a (a

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gatherer). The mosque in Britain is often a building with many roo which, beside being a place of prayer and education, as mentio: above, may a lso be used as a community cencre. Weddings may be celebrated th ere a nd part of the building may be used by the lead (Imam) as a home for himself and. his fa mil y. The Imam's function: as a teacher a nd pra yer leader 10 thc mosque. He has no divin authority but, as a man of knowledge, the Mus lims seek his adv ice o~ everyday maners.

The family, according to Musli ms, came into existe nce wit h crea tion wi th Adam and Eve: "the human ra ce is a produc t of this instiru[io~ and not the oth e r way around" . ~j This is no t to say th a t Isla m concen_ trates o n the co mmunity at the expe nse of the individual , fo r eac h person has a direct, personal relatio ns hip wi th God. Rath er Islam looks for a balance in family relationships be tween [he individual and th e conununiry. Indi viduals have been given freedom and respo nsi. bility by God, and God wi ll judge th em on how they m:lke use o f th Ls freedom. The refore no one has [he ri ght to take aW:ly t his God-given freedom from a nother. The re arc, however, tWO forces at work On human beings, the divine and the sa tan ic, affecti ng the different elemenrs in our na rure. So stru ctur es are provided to help the indio vidual in c hoosi ng th e ri ght path. The ma in struct ure fo r this purpose is the fami ly.

For Mus lims, the family is, and a lways has been, o f viral importance a nd all Muslims a re urged to ma rry. Indeed, Ahmcd goes as far as to say that: "The position is no t that ma rriage is o nl y permitted or toler. a ted as unavoidabl e. It has been positively e njoi ned . ,., -, M a rriages a re no t JUSt bonds between twO individuals, bu t between two fami lies, and they thus increase ove rall harm o ny wit hin the Mu slim com munity. Above a ll th e family is see n as acti ng as th e premie r co nditi o ning agent within society, e nsuring social, ideological and c ultura l stabi lit y:

IIIS lhe baSIC unit o f society imegnning its members within a nd enabli ng them to play their ideological and culrura l role m the worl d ... If this lIlSIltUIIOn LS weake ned or destroyed, th e furure of th e entire culture and CIV lhs..1110n wLIl be th reatened .'"

Th e whol e of Muslim society is secn as a n interrelating nex us wit h the families as the basic units which refer co nsta nrl y back to society as a whole. According to Elkh o ly:

the genera l underl ying facto r of t hi S highly complex Muslnn commulll ty is the spiritual identifica tion of each cell wit hin the system as the hislOf- leal mamfestatlon of the un iversa l commumty. '

The importance of marriage can be seen in The fact that approximately

---_thi rd of the leg:l! in junctions of the Qllr'all relate to it, the fami ly, on~ the prope r regu lations for both. Marriagc for Mus lims nccessari ly .In pli es a fami ly since deliberately c hil dless mar ria ges wo uld not be Lin proved of. Despite the va lu e placed on it, marriage is nor see n as ap cramentai in th e sen~ of bei ng a n unbreakable covenant with God, SIior is it seen as purely a civil afff:l ir, si nce for Is lam no aspecr of life ~ divorced f.rom the religiOUS.

The ethical principles of the husband·wife relati o nship arc belie:ved to derive from a conSCie ntious commitment by both Sides to the dlvme designauon of mamal umon as an abode of peace and sereni ty, a link of mutual lo\'e and co mpassion - all bemg God's Sign for thoSt' who reflect ....

This last point is a refe re nce to th e Q u r'a ll;c state me nt:

He created for you, of you rselves. spouses. th at you might repose m them, a nd He ha s set between you love and mercy. Surely in that are sIgns for a peo pl e who cons lder. 1IO

So not onl y are mar riage and th e family designated by God, but they also act as a sign that God exists, for they a re pa rt of th e harm ony of God's c rea t ion.

Since thi s is so, fami ly rclations should fo ll ow thc pattern la id dow n by God in the Q llr'an a nd the slIImah. In his analysis of family str uc- ture in Is la m al Ati emphasizes th e particular imerrelation of family and society:

Family rights and oblig:lllons are nOi pnvate fam il y aff:urs of no concern to the rest of SOCiety ... Lf the Situation becomes unmanageable, religion commands socu~:ty ... 10 lake whatever action IS necessary ro Implemenl the IaW.'1

h might be objec ted tha t thi s would be gross violati on of indi vidual freedo m, but in Islam " pu blic moral ity a nd t he indi vidual 's own inregrity take prio ri ty over pe rso na l freedom when the y come into con flict ".11 If creation is a hannony designed by God, rhen the di srup- tion of th ar harmon y affccts 110[ on ly th e individu al di sruprer, but th e society in which such di sr upti on takes place. Muslims would a lso argue th ,i[ wi thin th ese clear bou nd aries th ere is a great dea l of ind i- vidu al [reedom:

Is lam , whIch is no t a re lig ion of oppressIon. allows to man a very wide margm m hIS persona l and social eXIstence. so thai the va rious qualities. remperaments and psychologica l mclmallons of different individuals shou ld find thelf wa} to positive development according 10 thelT mdl-

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vidual prNisposition. Thus a man may ~ an aSCl!lic, or hI! may t:nJoy thl! full measure of hIs sens ual possIbilities wlthm thl! lawful limits; hI! may be a nomad roam mg thro ugh th e:- de:-scrts, wllhout food for tomorrow, or a rich merchant su rrounded by hi s goods. As long as he sincerely and co nsciously submits to the laws decreed by God, he is free to shape his persona l life to whatever form hi s narure directs hllll. His dury is to make the besr of himself so that he might honour the life-gift which his Creator has bestowed upon him; an d to help his fellow-beings, by means of hIS own development, in th ei r spi ritual, social a nd material endeavours·1I

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Clearly s uch choices as are made depend nor just on the individual bur on the society in which he or she is living. Alth o ugh Muslims p13~ great emphasis on the unity of the 11l1I ma11, the community, there are

• nevertheless, wide cultural divergences berween different Mus lim countries. These divergences arc welcomed by most Muslims, who would~ however, argue that within thi s diversity there is a ce ntral cart of Islamic vi rtu es. Islam attempts to usc a good upbringing in a stable family to instil these Islamic virtues. The rwo most important of these virrues are spiri tual unity and material solidarity. The love and feeling of belonging that exist in all good families should extend to the rest of society. This sho uld result in acts: '"those who have given refuge and help - those in truth are the believers ".8~ So material prorection and help become part of the Isla mi c mores. Thus:

every ci tlzen of an islamiC Slate, whether he IS a Mu sli m or a non- Muslim , has [he right to live decently. to ample food, decent clothes, a suitable dwelling and opportunities for educauon. ' l

Islam attempts to ex tend the love and support found in all good fami· lies to the who le of society, and to use the family as an example fo r, and the underpinning of, that society.

Thus Muslims arc clear in their view of th e roles of the individua l, the family and society:

These three elements are inseparable and interdependent ... acco rding to Islam there is no co ntradiction between the interests of the indi\.idual. the welfare of the family and the imeresls of society."

The individual is parr of the family's inter-relations hips, and rhe family is parr of society's inter-relationships. The famil y is rhu s the centf3 1 pivot for the individual and rhe community. The aim of th e family is to pass on rhe Islamic principles by providing spi ritual and material sustenance both within itself, and outside itself in the community. Saud puts this well when he says : "man is a nucleus, (he family is his plasma and society is his organismic ti ss ue" Y Man~' of th ese aims would , of course, be shared by o ther commu nities, bur lslam clearly

and speci ficall y lays out the terms of the human being's religious responsibilities in thi s regard.

Many people in the West have pointed (0 the gap between the ideal pur fo rward here, and the reality of oppression and discriminatio n which exists in so me Muslim counrries. Ma ny Muslims would agree, to an extent, wirh thi s point. The y would, however, make a distinc- tion between Musli m countries, those countries which have a majoriry Muslim population, and Islamic countries, those countries which make a serio us arrempt to introduce an Islamic str ucture. For many Muslims there are at present no Islamic co untries, rhough so me would rnake a case for considering Iran to be one. The ideal, therefore, stands as bOth the acme of Muslim aspiration, and the srandard by which present Muslim countries can be judged .

Marriage in practice In Isiam, marriage is looked on as a bond of love and mercy. Marriage customs vary in Muslim communities and marriages are often partially arranged, that is to say th e parems of the yo ung man or woman find a su ita ble parrner, and if both the man and woman are co mp atib le and rhey agree to the pannership, wedding arrangeme ms are made. In so me Muslim communiries, providing a man can treat them equa ll y and the first wife agrees, four wives arc permitted . .. Marry suc h women as seem good to you, nyo, three, four; but if you fear you will nor be equitable, then only one. nas

This custom would be illegal in most Western countries. Some women now insist t hat their husbands sign a clause in th eir marriage contracts to the effect that th ey will never take a seco nd wife. Since it would be impossible to treat two, three o r four wives equally emotion- ally and spiritually, some s uggest that the Qllr'o/l does not really endo rse polygamy. It is pointed out that this particular passage was revealed during the struggle with Quraysh after the barrie of Uhud where, despite a Muslim victory, over 10 per cent of [he Muslim army had been killed. This left rhe problem of widows and a su rplus of single wome n, and polygamy was a solution ro thi s situation. but could be see n as unnecessary now. As with the debate surrounding the punish~ ments laid down under rhe shari'ah, however, thi s view is strongly o pposed by the orthodox. The Qur'all permits this practice, therefore the vast majority of Muslims would nor question it. However. ;n prac- tice most Muslims marriages are monogamou s

A Muslim female is nOt permitted to marry a non -Muslim male. In Islam [he man is designated as the head of th e house hold, and it would be unacceptable to Muslims for a Muslim female ( 0 be under th e au th ority of a Ilon -I\lluslim within [he home. It is felt thar it could not provide the right environment either for her o r for her children, and she miglH indeed feel pressurized to compromise, or even abandon her fai th. The male, being the head of the household. can marry outside his religion. Though when this occ ur s, if rh e female is not a Jew or

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Christian, she has fO convert to Islam. Thus the man can rake:

bellevmg women m wedlock , and In wedlock believing women of Ih~ who were given Ihe Book before you [i.e. Jews and Chrisuansl,"

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bU[ is fO ld [hat he may not "marry idolatresses, until t hey believe ..... In many Muslim countries marriage was undertaken at an ea rly age.

This does not speci ficall y re late (0 Islam bu t rather to peasant-based, agricu ltural economies. In the twentieth century, modernization of many Muslim countries a nd the increased freedom of wome n hal meant the modification of many traditional practices. Chi ldren can, now, voice agreement or disag reement co nce rnin g their marri age (in theory they a lways could - "'The widow sha ll not be marr ied until she is consulted, and the virgin shall nor be married unti l her consent is obtained" ,'I said Muhammad), and child ma rri ages are less com mon. In Egypt, for e..xample, t he min imum lega l marrying age is 18 fo ra boy, 17 for a girl, though many specia l dispensations for girl s fa marry at 15 can be obtained. It is also the case that marriages of those even younger are offen allowed desp ite being theoretically illegal.

The marriage ceremony can take place at the mosque or at rhe house of the brideg room or bride. There are no p riests o r ministers in Islam, bur it is customary ro invite th e loca l Imam from the mosq ue to conduct [he ce remony. Celebrations can be elaborate and most Muslim co untri es have the ir own naditions of dress and ce remony. It is a time of grea t happiness for all t he relatives and fri ends who have been invited and preparations will have been made long before th e day of th e wedding.

In Muslim co untri es, when the conaact is signed, the girl is usua ll y raken from her parents' ho use direct to her new one. Then rhe mall is paraded through the town to announce th e new marriage. Sometimes there are fireworks as well as music and refreshments. The exre nt of th e cele brati o ns depends o n the wealth of the fami lies co nce rned. In Britain, co uples often have a traditional British wedding reception. Wedding presents, however, are given on a sma ll er scale than Weste rn custom. The dowry, the bri de-gift - mabr - is fa r mo re important; it is negoti a ted by the families beforehand, being dependent on the wealth of the man 's fa mil y, and is part o( the marri age COntraCt. Ir ca n be given in rhe form of money or property and is a paymem from the man to hi s future wife, tho ugh rhe wife can, if she wis hes, defer payment. In this case it wou ld normally o nl y be paid if the marriage is broke n by divorce. It is then given by the husband [Q his wife to help her arra nge her affairs until she goes back to her family or (inds anothe r husband, an d would ce rtain ly help to deter di vo rce.

Divorce Divorce is accept3ble in Is lam. AJthough if wou ld seem to be easy for Muslims to divorce, in faCt , it is nO[ encou raged. Muslims

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------------------------~ believe that divorce is hateful to God: "Of all lawful things, the. one \\,hlCh God dislikes most is divorce".91 God has nevertheless permlned divorce in cases where the re has been a breakdown of the marri age. If rhe wife wishes to divorce her husband she must sue for divorce in the courts, a procedu re which can be difficult. The husband, however, can obtain a divorce by pronounci ng: " I divorce thee" three times. In the past , the only consolation a repudiated wif~ had was. t he dowry. In many Muslim cou ntries she had no recourse 111 law agall1st the neglect or cruelty o f her husband, no rights ove r marital property or ove r her children, and no rights to main tenance. Enli ghtened Muslim o pinion is nor satisfied with rhi s sta te of affairs, and man y Muslim societies ha ve given women so me rights in law. Of these, the laws of Egypt ate probably t he most humane, a ll owing the woma n to sue for divorce in the case of cruelty, neg lect o r dese rtion an d giving her rig hts of custody over her chi ldren. Cert ai n crite ri a sho uld be met before di vo rce is allowed. Both parties must try to solve rhe problem, and if uns uc- cessful, two relatives or dose frie nds, one for each side, must be appoinred to try to senle the difficuhies. A four-month ~riod ~u s t pass before the mar riage is finally ended: even after thiS there IS a waiting period befo re re-marriage is possible, in case of pregnancy. Howe ver, it must be said that the position of a divorced Muslim woma n in a Muslim counrry, or even in Britain, is a mise rable one. She is not likely ro find another husband, is di sgraced, humiliated and isolated, and fear of divorce can sti ll be a nightmare for many Muslim women in th e wo rld .

Women The position of women in Islam has been a source of fric- tion between Muslims an d the West, and there a re many misconceptions as to t he place of women within Muslim society. In pre- Islamic Arab ia wome n were subservient ro men. Some women by dim of persona lity, or more likely via con nectio ns, could achieve wea lth and a degree of power in society (d. Muhammad 's first w ife), bur in terms of their legal status women were charrels. Indeed it seems it was t he practice for unwanted baby daughters to be buried a li ve.

The posirion of women in Islam was different. They held spiri tua l equality w ith men. Eve is not blamed for the fi rst sin. Adam and Eve both sinned, bo th repented an d both were forgiven. Muhammad, referring to a man's mother, dec la red: "pa radi se is beneath her twO feet ".'} Nor was the equa li ty of women confi ned [0 si mpl y spiritua l mane rs. Education has usuall y bee n see n as very important in Islam, and education was for both sexes. Muhammad said: - It is the duty of every Muslim male and female to seek knowledge" .'. There ha ve been a number of wo men scholars in Islam, as wel l as reac hers, writers a nd poets.

There is also Western misunderstanding o n other issues. Muslim wome n a re exempt from prayer and from fasting during menstruation

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. -and. pregnanc~. This IS nOt because women arc regarded as uncleaQ durmg these nmes (th ough the ac ru al menstrua l blood is), rather . to spa re them such obliga ti ons during these rimes. Also women do Il. ha,'e to cove r t heir faces, but arc ex pccted to cove r th eir heads. -n:; s~ould also we~r loose fitting clothin g that does not emphasize their ~tgu res, and whIch cove rs (hem apart from their ha nds and feet. Tbia IS so that th ey do nor djsplay their sexuality [0 mcn, who are IlOl expected 10 look. on wome~, apart fro~l their wives, as sex ual bei ....

Women we re ms tru cted m the Qur an to "d raw their veils close to th em".'J imcrpretation of this po im has varied according to the tune a nd country. For ma ny c~~(Uries, th e practice of vei ling among women ,,:,~s com mo n, bu t. the ve il ,s less co mmon th ese days, especially in lalp cines an d small villages, and is less co mm on among th e wealthy, rhe young and the edu cated. There is, however, ge neral agreemenr a mo ngst Muslims thar modesty, decency a nd morali ty, as defined by J\I\ u5lims, entails [hat a woman's legs and arms should be covered. Ofren loose-fitting trousers gathered at th e ankles and waist called slUJ /war and a runi c ca lled a kameez. is worn by both girls and women. Wome n's heads should also be kept covered. Women a re required not ro ~ exr~a~a~anr in the u~e o f silks and go ld but encouraged ro keep th eir femmlJ1lty. On occaSio ns, however, these restrictions have been interpreted as sa ncti o ning the practice of purdah , whe reby once a woman was married she remain ed shut up in her husband'S compo und. If she was a ll owed to go o ur a t a ll , she went veiled from head to foot, including her face.

The image in th e West as rega rd s th e position of women in Islam has ofren been (hat they are op pressed and submissive. In some Muslim societies this is rhe rea lir)" b ut ma ny Muslims wou ld argue that rh is is a product of culture a nd nor re.l igio n, a nd tha t withi n Islam women have gua ra nteed righ ts and freedoms. Many in th e Wes t poi nt to what th ey see as a restrictive dress code, and some Muslim women have rejected the imposi ti o n of the ve il a nd the hi;ab (the traditional cove ring). But others welcome it , arg uin g th at it forces men to view th em not as o bjects of sexual desire, but as human beings whose minds, intellects and perso nalities are the first things encountered. Indeed th ere is a small bur growing Muslim feminist mo ve ment, and th e women in vo lved believe th at it is th ro ugh Islam that the y will bt' ab le to gain th e rights and freedoms th ey des ire.

Men are less res tri cted in matters o f dress, but the y (00 have been ins tru cted to dress modes tl y. This, however, has been much more loosel y inter preted than is th e C:lse with wo men. They sho uld bt' covered fro m th e nave l to the knee, and sho uld a lso avoi d tigh t fini ng cloth es. They a re also encouraged to retain th eir masc ulin ity an d not dress like women in a ny way; rh ey a re forbidde n, for insta nce, from wearing gold an d silk.

As fa r as wealth a nd property are co ncern ed, Muslim women ha"e

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num ber of legal emid ements. When th e couple mar ry rh e husband ~usr give th e wo man mahr- a bride-gtft (though th e woman ca n defer r) - which the woman rerains. Indeed she retai ns a ll her property and :~.ealth as her ow n, a nd any money she rece ives in income (for exa mple from rent ), is hers to do with as she wis hes. She can of co urse contribute this to the household, bur is no t lega ll y obliged to. (We should not forger rhat it was nOt until 1870 th at Britis h married ~'omen gained lega l ri ghts to their own property.) Women also have nghts of inheritance: a daughter is entided to ha lf the a mount in her· ited by a so n. This may appea r inequitable, bur it should be remembered that when the woman ma rri es, she ca n keep this money for her own USts; the husba nd , o n th e other hand, is respo nsible for providing for t he family, for the home, food, clothing, transport, education a nd medical ca re.

Wo men retain their indi vi duali ty in marriage; rhe tWO partners do not merge, and the woman retains her own name, rhou gh th e children t:lk e their fath er's. There is, however, a clear rol e·differentiati on in Isla m. The ho me is the responsibility o f the wife, whilst rhe man has responsibility fo r relati ons betwee n t he famil y and th e o utsid e world . Ahmed reaso ns that:

This is a funCtional dlSlnbuuon of roles and ;Iclmri es and is rcga rdt"d as essential for the propt:r funcllonlng of the different institutions or soclery , and for its moral and social health and wcll· be.mg ....

Th is also has (he effect that men and wome n do not gene rally mi x SOCIa ll y ou tside the home. which is rega rd ed by most Muslims as correct as it lessens the likel ihood of sexual liaisons outside o f marriage. Pre-marital sex is totally fo rbidden si nce it fall s under the category of zilla. This applies to both sexes, bur as in ma ny orher SOCIeties, th e emphasis usually falls o n the fe male. In deed a girl who did conse nt ( 0 pre-marital sex wo uld bring fOtal shame o n her who le family . Somc Musli m parents ha ve their daughters ci rcum cised before puberty to avoid rhe problems which puberty might prese nt. This prac- tice, though support ed by so me Muslim authorities, is nor Isla mi c. It is no t fo und in th e Q llr'a ll , and Muhammad did n OI in any way autho· rize it, so it is nor part o f th e smmah .

Man y Muslim s have argued th ar t he clear role differentiatio n prescribed for the sexes d ocs nor impl y inequal ity but simply acknow l- edges th e different strengths o f eac h. The Q llr'all, however, stares that the man is head of th e house ho ld: "Women have such honourable rights 3S obligations, bur their mcn have a degree above th em".'7 On any decision women can expect [ 0 be consult ed, bur th e man 's word IS fina l a nd it is her du ry fo obey him. "A nd th ose who yo u fear may be rebellio us adm onish; banish them to t hei r couc hes, a nd beat them ".'· Thi s is not a license fo r men ro beat women, Muhammad

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- said: '"The most perfen believers are the best in conduct and the be..: of you are [hose who are beS t to their wives"." Nevetheless [he a bove quotation from the Qur'a" is nor a passage which recommends itself to many Western women.

This clear role·differenriarion is justified by Muslims on the grounds of the different pyschologica l and physical attributes of men and women . Men are nor only Stronger, bur 3re seen as more ratio nal. w hereas women are seen as more emQ[iona l, more likely, th erefo re , to make rash judgements. Again, Ahmed commentS on [h is poi nt:

The rules for marned life in Islam are dear and m harmony wilh uprigh l human nature. In consideration of the physiological and psychological make-up of man and woman, both have equal righrs and dallns on one anorhe r, except for one responsibility, Ihat of leaders hip. This is a maner which IS natura l In any collecuve life and which is conslsleru wilh Ihe nature of manY'"

A Western woman who has co nverted to Islam has stated that the previous quotation from the Qllr(m - "Women have such ho nourab le rig hts as obligations, but th eir men have a degree above them",I ol_ provides all she needs for her happi ness:

II grams me [he right to depend on my husband. ~ il in maners of my livelihood or in regard ( 0 ally important decisions thai have to ~ taken for the benefit of the family. On the husband. however. rests the grea l responslbllty of ca ring for his family and finding by consuhing his wife and making use of his wisdom, the best possible solutions. Does it not lie III the very nature of a woman that she wantS:1 powerful, JUSt, wise and considerate husband who is capable of making these decisions? 10.1

Children Children a re considered to be gifts o f God and joys of life. Islam makes it the responsibility of th e parenrs to look after t hei r chil- dren and give them a good chance in life, providing them with a so und education and good manners. Chi ld ren a re encouraged to show ihsan - kindness, compassion, reve rence, conscientious ness and so und pe rfo rmance - towards their parents. 1l1deed i/Js{l/t sho uld be rh e bas is of aU famil y relationships, so that balance and ha rm on y become the characteristics of rh e Muslim family - a renecti o n of the ha rm ony t hat God has built into crea ti on. The father is res ponsible for hi s chi ldren all t hei r lives. When a da ughter marr ies, she docs not fake her husband's name, bur uses her father's nam e and he wi ll sti ll be respo n- sible fo r her. Children are expeCted to obey their parents in eve rything. even when grown up. If a se rious in jury is done to one member of t he fami ly, especially a woman, it is considered to be a reflection on the family'S honour. Sometimes the famil), may deal with the offender themselves.

Education Education has always been ve ry imponant, and tradi tiona ll y was focused on the Qllr'all. Elementary education consisted of memorizing long sections of th e Qllr'a" and acquirmg the rudiments of literacy and numeracy. Schools operating 011 these hnes sti ll exist, and some of them have expanded the cu rriculum to include modern subjects so as to prepare young Muslims for the wor ld today. Tradiriona ll )'. higher education was a lso focused 011 the Qllr'a", which became the basis for studies of the Arabic language and Islamic law. Western-style education was introduced into many Muslim co unrries, o n a lim ited scale, by Western colo nial powers, such as Britain and France. In dependence has led to t he spread of mass educa tion, bur in some countries t hi s is uneven and not always avai lable fo r t he poor, and it was a desire for their ch il dren to be educared which led many Muslims TO move their fa milies [0 Westcro countries.

The values a nd beliefs of these Muslims, however, are often in o ppo- sition to Western schools' va lues. Most Muslim parents would prefer single·sex ed ucatio n. Some object 10 their chi ldre n receiving non- Isla mic religious education. Others dis like their chi ldren havi ng to participate in art, physica l education, music, dancing and , in pa rt ic- ular, sex education. Somerimes, school uniform, particularly in the case of girls being forced to wear skirts, and di et present a problem. Some of [hese problems have led to t he settin g up of supplementary schools by mosques and Muslim educationa l orga ni zations. Classes are held in rh e eveni ngs or at week-ends. The emphasis is on teachi ng [he QJlr'al1 and the Arab ic language.

Diet Everything a Muslim ears mus t have been lawfully obtai ned. Some foods are completely forbidden - pig meat (pork, bacon, ham ); foods prepared with pig fal (e.g. some ice cream); mea t from the domestic ass; all carnivorous animals and birds. As with th e Jews, there is a Strong prohibition agai nst blood: "Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, th e flesh of swine, what has been hal10wed to ot her than God" .10) The slaugh ter of animals for consumptio n has [ 0 be carried out in a specified manner. It must be done by a Muslim, a nd the windpipe, jugular vein and oeso phagus must be cut. A blessing must be sa id to ack nowledge that, w hilst it is an ani ma l, it is a lso o ne of God's crea tures and must nor be kill ed th ough tl ess ly. Meat sla ugh· tered in this way is balal. Anima ls which die of other ca uses o r are killed in the name of a ny ot her dei ty than God a re not balal but haram, though Jewis h kosher meat is acceptable.

To [he devour Muslim, food is someth ing to be ea ten in moderation an d not to be wasted. It is a lso something [0 be shared, and sha rin g a meal with a Muslim is a mark of friendship. Ea ring is done wi th the righ t hand. IndC(:d Eastern custom in genera l regard s [he right hand as th at which docs what is pleasant while the left does what is

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unpleasant. Also forbidden are alcoholic drinks and food whic h has alco hol in irs preparation. "0 believers. wine a nd arrow-s huffling Igames of cha ncel ... are an abomination, some of Satan's wo rk; so avoid it" .1(\04 Muslims be li eve th at alcohol leads to addic t io n and It diminishes a person's control ove r his o r her min d, a nd damages the abi li ty (Q relate to God.

Death

Every soul shall rosie of dealh; Ihen UniO Us you shall be retumet!.IGJ

When a Musli m dies, t here are ma ny rites to be observed w hich are nor found in th e Q ll r'afl bur in th e lawbooks. The lan er sometimes di sagree about ritual and th ere are also diffe rences in rites for Muslims in di fferent co untri es. In Britain [here arc va riati ons beca use mosques d iffe r in the provisions they mak e for Muslim burial s, as d o loca l authori ties. Muslims prefer to ha ve th eir ow n burial plo ts in o rder to have a specific nli gnmem o f graves, one bod y [0 a grave, and the grave rai sed a linle above the gro und to preve nt a nyo ne wa lking 011 it. British Muslims, however, have to pur more than one body in a grave because of a s hortage of land, a nd nOI many loca l aut hori ties provide Muslims with a sepa rate buria l plm in th ei r cemeteri es, th ough t he number is increasing. Muslims like to prepare a fe ll ow Muslim's bod y prio r to goi ng ro an un dertaker. The bod y is placed with the head in th e direc- tion o f th e qibla. Major ritual was hing follows . using soa p and swee t -smelling s ubstances. The body is th en wrapped in a s hroud (kafall), placcd in a coffin and given (Q the undertakcr. Briti sh law rc quires coffins to be used fo r burial, bUi Muslims in Pakistan an d Indi a place the body in thc ground prolected by planks of wood which are then covered over with earth.

Fo r the funeral, a salat is performed either in th e hou se of (he dea d person o r in thc mosquc. Th is is like an o rdin ary salat exce pr that it indudes prayers for (he dcad. Buria l sho uld tak e placc as soon as possible after death. Brirish Muslims tr y to mak e this rhe day afre r death , but this is not always possible, nor is it co mpul so ry wit hin Islam. Somc Muslims prefer th ei r dead to be nown back to their home co unt ries, s uch as Pa ki stan o r IJldi a, to be buried . Muslims belicve t hat rh e body sho uld be buried wit h th e face to the no rth and facing Mecca: a gra ve in Britain should therefore run north -cast ro so uth-w est, with th e head at th e so uth-west end, fa cing right.

More than one thousand million Muslims accoum for one·fifth of the world pop ulati on. In over 120 countries Muslims turn five times a day to face Mecca. Although o ften perceived as a re ligion of th e Midd le E.1sr and Central Asia, Is la m has s pread ro man y parts of t he wo rld. The largesl Musli m pop ul ati on is in fact in Indonesia , where almos t

90 per cem of the population is Muslim . Large indigenous Muslim co mmunities are presem in Eastern E.urope, includ ing Albanja, Macedonia and what was formerly sout hern Yugosla via, as well as in the southern srates o f the former USSR. There arc a lso berween five and six million Muslims li ving in Western Europe, with large Musli m communities ro Ix: fou nd living in Italy. Germany, Britain and the

etherla nds. Fivc per cen t of the Frenc h population is Musli m: o rigi- nally immig rant in origin, these communities now comprise first- second- and cven third-generation European Muslims. Islam is a lso a expanding in the United Sta tes where th ere are between four and five million Musl ims:

The arrival of millions o f MuslIms In Europe dunng the lasl four decades rc prescnts lhe blggesl chan ge In the religiOUS nl:lp slIlce Ihe Rdormanon . Inmall)" Impertal Imks WIth Afrlc:l. the MIddle EaSt and As ia led [0 hundreds of thousands of Mu sli ms moving 10 Europe. In Bmain Mu slims c:lme from I':l kistan, Indi:l and Africa, in the Netherla nd s fro m Indonesia. and in Fran ce and hal y from NOrt h Africa. Thi s has bee n fo ll owed in Ihe past twcmy years by the a rri \'al of migrnm workers to meel Europe's ind ustrial dem:lIlds, such as Turki sh workers in Germany and Morocca ns In Franc~ and Ih~ Low Countries. IOft

Although Muslims form th e largest religious minority in Britain - there are now a lmost twO milli o n Muslims in Britain - (he public at large has littl e knowledge o f Is la m a nd even less personal contact with Muslims li ving in the Unitcd Kingdom. Most rega rd Musl ims as devout people with stro ng beliefs, a lth ough {hose with negative tendencies towards Islam have assoc iated Muslims with fa nat icism and extremism. Prio r to the Second \'(Io rld War few Mus li ms were to be found living in Brira in, and th ese were settled largel y in the dock areas of London, Glasgow, Cardiff and o th er large po rts. A Mosqu e was built a r Woking in t 889, an d , after th e First \'(Iorld War, ano ther was constru ctcd at Ald gate in Eas t London. Aftcr thc Second World Wa r, there was an acute I3bour s ho rta ge in Britain , a nd recruirmenr offices were set u p by a number of Britis h com panies in th e fo rmer colonies, including India and Pakis tan :

the Brit ish a Ulhori ries d rew on th e Commonweahh fo r me pwp[e Ihey needed. The resuh was a sudden o n·rush of male Pakistanis. Ind ians and Bengalis. The pr~-panition killings m Ihe Punjab and Bengal also led many pwp le to come to Bru am and. in 197 1. th ere was a no ther rush of immigrant s from E.1S[ I'akisf:l n (now Bangladesh ), because of t he civi l war there. In 196 1. th e British Governmenl allowed all Commonweahh people to opr fo r Brmsh na ll ona lity .'1r'

The origina l intemio n of these new arriva ls to Brita in 's shores was to earn enough money fa retur n home and li ve comfortably with their

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families. A few years after the menfolk arrived, however, permlssioo was granted for their families to join them. This changed the etbot considerably, especia ll y since this meant that their children Could receive a standard of education which was not available to them iD th:ir .home c~untries, Gradually the Muslim f~milies bega n to regard Bntaln as th eIr new, permanent, homeland: dus was particularly true of second- and third-generation Muslims who were not only bo rn and bred in Brimin, but were bilingual, having learnt English throug h ~i .. educated in Britain's schools. Commonly termed "Asian" (tagedtel' with peoples of other religious persuasions) the British Muslim communiry is in fact quite diverse, consisting of people from cou ntria; such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Somalia and from many Arab states.

Alrhough there is an immense sense of IImntoh (com munity) amongst Muslims worldwide (partic ularl y when they feel a com mOD cause) each country of origin has its own customs and traditions to which Muslims adhere. The Qu'ra", it is true, is a lwa ys read in Ara bic. but this is not the lingua {rollca of all Muslims: a disparity of tongues cements the cu ltural differences. Unlike some ot her ethni c minorines sertled in Britain, Muslims have never been assimilated into British society nor integrated fully into British culture. Indeed there has ~ a conscious effort on their part to resist assimil:uion. This has caused resentment in some quarters with the common complaint: " If they choose to live in our country they shou ld speak our la nguage and 6t in with all o ur ways - orherwise they should go back home ." This seems a curious complaint when viewed in the li ght of the behavio ur of British se ttl ers overseas. For centuries, people native to these shores have emigrated to far-flung reaches of the globe, ye r seldom have thty endea red themselves to rhe indigenous peoples by adopting their cu ltures and life-sryles.

For the Muslim, Islam is a totallife-sryle wh ich at many points is at var iance with the dominant Western culture. These areas of co nflict are a source of great a nxi ery to Muslims, not least because of the fea r that some of their children may forsake Islam (and their parents in o ld age) and marry non-Muslim spo uses. Western society, with the accent on individua ll iberry can appea r a threat and embar rassment to all th at Muslims ho ld dear. This is particularly true in the area of sexua lity, where television programmes, magazines, advertising hoardings, a nd other forms of media, are quite explicit in their use of sexua l images. Sex·educa tion lesso ns in British schools teach "safe sex" and instru ct the child ren on vario us methods of contraception. Most Muslims are opposed to this. As one parent at a co nference stated: " It is in t he nature of men and women to know what to do when the right time is blessed by ma rriage",I 08

Privacy and modesty are twO values dear to Muslims which they feel are under threar in schoo l. Communa l changing rooms, where chi 1-

isLAM ---------------------------------------=== dren of the same sex appear naked before their peers, are unaccept- able to Muslims. Girls are expressly forbidden the wearing of shorts, shorr skirts, or swimming costumes, and compu lsory physical educa- rion in schools is a great area of conflict: many Muslim girls have never had a swimming lesson. Muslims consider that school uniform should include the option of trousers for girls, who should be permitted to do physical education in track suits, and that as soon as the sexua l urge arises in children, boys and girls should be educated separately.

As fax payers, Muslims feel strongly that ba/al meat (where th e animal has been slaughtered according to Islamic law) should be readily available in sc hools and hospitals, ye r seldom is rhi s the case. Indeed many Westerners feel a strong repulsion to th e ritual slaughter of anima ls and regard it as all unnecessary cruelry - a charge vigor· ously denied by Muslims.

Muslims consider a dog to be a polluting animal, conmet with which brings ritual defilement. For the Muslim who prays five times a day, any dog which wishes to befriend them and nuzzle them is a rea l nuisance since this act, albeit frie ndly, necessitates a change of clothing and repeating umdlm (ritual washing). Sniffer dogs are equally unwel- come:

Alrpons now send Als:arian dogs o n board TO Sniff OUI drugs and explo- SIVes. Thi s presents a problem when the plane is bound for the Middle EaSt. esp«i:Jlly planes for HaJj. smce on any long journey many Muslim s will want to pray at the corrt~ct times. Officials might susp«t any fuss made to be due to terrorISts fearing detection. when really it is only that [he plane was prepared for prarer. and was then made unclean agam.!'"

Then there is the question of employment. Not a ll employers are sympathetic to Muslim employees who wish to pray during working hours, and who require rime off at Friday midday to visi t the mosque: few employers provide ritual washing facilities. Friday mosque visits are also required of Muslim youths, w ho may have to miss lesso ns at schoo l. Whereas Muslim employers and reachers sympathize fully with human weakness which accompanies the o nsc t of fasting and expect only a reduced workload during Ramadan, non-Muslims do nor often understand this disinclination to work.

Islam is one of the world's great reli gions: it is a faith practised around CONCLUSION the globe with a long and proud history. Today, however, it seems it is more likel y to inspire distrust amongst non·Muslims than respect. The reasons for this are many, some historical! some political. There is often a scepticism towards absolute truth claims, a scepticism stretching back to the En lightenment. The Inqu isition, the religious wars! the witch burnings all conspired to produce, with the En li ghtenment, a feeling that religious be li ef must never be allowed to

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dornin:ne the political agenda. So when people see the acts of o ppres.- sion and . vio~ence d~ne in the name of 1~13m . - rhe randolll car-bombings In Algeria, the excesses of the taltball In Afgha nistan _ their feelings are one of revulsion for those who carry out such aeQ and for rhe religion which inspires them.

Fear and mistrust of Islam is, however, nor a modern phe no men on. As early as the Crusadcs, Islam was being portrayed in the West as a heathen faith whose adherents indulged in unspeakab le and disgraceful practices. The truth is that, at the time, Islam was a far more civi lized and tolerant faith than Christianity. It uti lized Greek ph ilosophy and science, and indeed a great deal of Greek kno wledge came to the West via Islam. Jewish and other scholars were we lcomed and allowed a degree of religious freedom denied them in the West.

Mus li ms are not instructed by their faith to show hosti li ty to wards othcr faiths. Indeed Jews and Christians arc dcscribed as " People of the Book " , that is, those who have their own revelation, given by God, albeit one which has, according to Muslims, become so mewhat distorted over rime. M uslims are urged to show tolerance to such people, and to live in peace with them.

Dispu te not with the People of the Book [Christians and Jewsl sav~ in the fairer manner ... and say, -We believe: in what has bee:n sent down to us, and what has been stnt down to you; our God and your God IS One, and w Him we have surrende red." 1>0

Ye t as Gum ly and Redhead aptly rema rk:

Even today, the heart of Isla m - the message which he [Muh::ammadl preached - is caricatured by the exesses, not by the excellence, of its followers. The Hezboll::ah in the Lebanon no more encapsulate the leach· ings of Muhammad th::an the paramilitary forces in Northern Irel::and repreS(:nt th e way of Christ. II I

Terrorist groups are often referred to as " Islamic", bur such actions go agai nst the teac hings of the Q ll r'a" itself.

From the Crusades onwards, the Western view of Islam has been a negative o ne. Colonialism and the theories used co justify ir such as, "civili zi ng the heathen", added to this general fee lin g. The media reporti ng on Mus li m affairs raday is heavily weighted towards the negative. There arc always members of any faith who a re poor ad ver- tisemems for their religion; unfortunately, it is this sma ll mino rity within Islam whic h is given a prominent place in the reporting of the Western media.

Some Muslims, however, argue rhat the ir faith is widely misre pre- sented, not due to some accident of history, bur because rhe irs is rhe one ideology left in the world which still presents an alrernative to

I SLAM --------------------------------~ \'(lestern, free-marker capitalism. They argue that the ideal of Islam is far superior ro anyth ing the West can offer. The open discussion in rhe \'(lestern media of such social phenomena as child-abuse, prostitution and alcoholism is viewed with horror, and so me Muslims look on this as proof o f what they see as the degeneration of the Wes t. They compare the ideal aspired to by Muslims with the day-ro-day reality of Western life, and unreservedly condemn a ll things Western. Yet as Malvise Ruthven sta tes:

This attitude o f mor::al superi ori ty towards eve rything We:stern compen · sates psychologically for Ihe experie nce of powe:rlessness: but It also relllfo rces Muslim isol::allon. Ihe se nse of bemg a peoplt apart in a hostile world. lll

There arc some on bot h sides of th is argument who seem determi ned on con frontation. Unde rstanding is the key [0 avoid ing confro nta tion. This does nOt mean that understanding can of itself eliminate disagree- ment, it cannOt and will not: there are a number of issues on which Musli ms and many in the West will differ. Understa nding will, however, enable each side to see that the positions adopted by [he others arc not simply arbitrary, not endo rsed as a means of attacking them, but genu inely held, and unde rpinned by ratio nal choice based on a particu lar world-view.

The Wc:stcm media must look al Islam objectively, eyen with some empathy, and not respond to eye:nts in Muslim areas wilh constanl aggression and hostility. It is also crucial that Ihe)' should nOI impose their own inlellectual frame on Islam. more co nferences and semi - nars for the general public need to be organised to explain Isl::am in the West. There is a grea t demand bur nor e:nough is done in rhis fie ld. Si milarly an exercise in Ihe oppos il e direction is necessary to e:xplain the West to Mu slim societies. Too often in the rhetoric Ihere: is the implica· tlon thaI because the }.,'Iuslim ideal LS suc h a fine and noble one everything else is to be sneered al and rejected. "'

Most Mus li ms have a genuine desire ro live in peace with rhei r neigh- bours, and this is true of all the other faiths in th is book. The promotion of unde rsr::mding is the key to tolerance.

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