Analytical Essay

Introduction

We have now come full circle. At the beginning of this class, we outlined four paths to salvation. While not mutually exclusive, they do offer a paradigm for discussing world religions. Islam clearly falls into the "way of action." It is a practical, everyday, nondramatic approach to religion. It is also patterned, meaning it follows an ordered and disciplined path. Finally, it is traditional, with an emphasis on orthopraxis ("correct practice") as well as orthodoxy ("correct belief").

Islam: A Way of Action

Like Orthodox Judaism, Islam emphasizes practice over theology. Islam means "submission" or "surrender" to Allah, who guides the faithful in a straight path (Qur'an I, 6). While Islam can point to its own mystics, the heart of Islam is found in the daily obedience to the commands of God as dictated in the Qur'an.

The Islamic term is Shari'ah, or the path of duty, which is both ethical and ritualistic. The Shari'ah is found not only in the Koran but the hadith, traditions that have evolved over centuries within the Islamic community and which have been written down by its imams. James C. Livingston writes: "Islam's distinguishing mark is the law-abidingness of the Muslim in response to the commands of the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is – like the Torah for Judaism – a complex of obligations covering personal, civil, political, and ritual activity."

The Five Pillars express the heart of Islam.

The first pillar is the basic statement of faith: "There is no god but God (Allah) and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." The pious Muslim recites the Shahadah several times a day in prayer.

The second pillar is Salat, or prayer five times a day. A devout Muslim prays on arising, at midday, in the afternoon, immediately after sunset, and before retiring. The following is a description of a typical prayer in the Sunni tradition: Corporate prayer takes place on Friday when worshippers are called to prayer at noon, usually from a tower or minaret

" Both hands are raised up to the air in a standing position, with the face towards the Qiblah in Mecca, while the words Allahu Akbar are uttered. This is called the Takbir and is followed by a standing prayer and recitation of the opening surah of the Qur'an. Then the worshipper prostates himself, the toes of both feet, both knees, both hands, and the forehead touching the ground, and the following words expressing the divine greatness are uttered at least three times: "Glory to my Lord the most High."

The third pillar of Islam is Zakat, or almsgiving. While modern society has made it difficult to determine who is responsible for helping the poor, and its obligatory character has been interpreted variously, its religious significance has remained paramount. As Kenneth Cragg writes:

The doctrine is that property is validated as a private right and enjoyment, provided a portion of it is devoted to the common need, in token of the corporate awareness that should characterize all personal possession. This paid portion 'purifies,' that is legitimizes, what is retained.

The fourth pillar is Sawm, or fasting during Ramadan. Fasting is both physical and spiritual, and teaches us dependence on God. The Islamic fast involves total abstinence from food or drink during the daylight hours and is particularly rigorous during the summer. Kemal A. Faruki notes:

The benefits of fasting are primarily in terms of character. The abstention from food and drink and the other material pleasures for the long hours between dawn and dusk during the month of Ramadan is an act of self-discipline by which an individual asserts his or her ability to gain control over material pleasures and habits.

The fifth and final pillar is the Hajj, or Pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able is obliged to make this pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime. While circling the Kabah seven times, the pilgrim tries to kiss, or at least touch, the sacred stone that is at the center of the shrine. The pilgrimage, which lasts twelve days, ends with a ritualistic sacrifice. Malcolm X wrote the following upon his return from the Hajj:

Then I saw the Kabah, a huge block stone house in the middle of the Great Mosque. It was being circumambulated by thousands upon thousands of praying pilgrims, both sexes, every size, shape, color, and race in the world. . . . My feeling there in the House of God was a numbness. My mutawwif led me in the crowd of praying, chanting pilgrims moving seven times around the Kabah . . . Faces were enraptured in their faith. The seventh time around, I prayed prostrating myself . . .

For the Muslim faithful, the Five Pillars provide a practical guide for living. Like the orthodox Jew, the Muslim's religious life is carefully laid out, not only in the Qur'an, but the entire body of law called the Shari'ah.

Islam and the American Experience

Islamic history in America began during the colonial period, when the first slave ships arrived off the Virginia coast in 1619. A small but significant number of African slaves were Muslim. Omar Ibn Said's story (ca. 1770-1864) is illustrative of this early period. Said, a Muslim scholar and trader, was born in West Africa and suddenly found himself a captive in South Carolina. Sold as a slave to a certain James Owen, Said tried to escape but eventually returned to Owen and became well-known in the region for his ability to read and write Arabic. While these stories are not common, they do demonstrate that there was a Muslim presence in the United States before the Civil War.

The first significant Islamic immigration to the United States came between 1878 and 1924. These were mostly Middle Eastern Muslims from Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon; most were poor and many returned disenchanted to their homeland. Those who stayed built up Islamic communities in the most unlikely of places. Muslims came to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the early 1900s. At first, they prayed in homes throughout the community, but by 1934, they raised enough money to build a mosque. Imam Taha Tawil noted, "It became symbolic of Mecca because there was no mosque in the area." It would serve as the main place of worship until 1971, when a larger Islamic center was opened near the downtown. Other Islamic communities were founded in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Michigan City, Indiana, and Ross, North Dakota. However, Islamic immigration practically stopped with the severe restrictions on Asian immigration in the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924.

Muslim increases post-1924 were primarily due to African-American conversions to Islam. While most black leadership centered on traditional Baptist and Methodist churches, a few left Christianity completely and converted to Islam. Malcolm X (1925-1965) looked back at what "good Christians" had done to him, thrown his father under a streetcar and burnt down his childhood home, and rejected Christianity outright. After a brief time as a street hustler in Harlem, Malcolm X reformed himself in prison and became a member of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm set out to form a separate black nation within the United States. However, his rhetoric soon overstepped its bounds when he rejoiced over the killing of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. He soon split from the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque. After his hajj to Mecca, Malcolm X fully identified himself with Sunni Islam. His rhetoric softened, but he still dreamed of a separate black nation:

The political philosophy of black nationalism means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community. . . . The economic philosophy of black nationalism . . . only means that we should control the economy of our community. . . . The social philosophy of black nationalism only means that we have to get together and remove the evils . . . that are destroying the moral fiber of our community.

Less than a year later he was assassinated in New York City. The Nation of Islam lost influence, but Orthodox Islam made inroads into the African-American community.

The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 opened the door for increased Muslim immigration from the Middle East. Muslim immigrants fled oppressive regimes in Egypt, Iraq, and Syria for a better life in the United States. But the events of 9/11 profoundly altered Muslim life in America. Top Muslim organizations condemned the attacks and called upon all Muslim Americans to stay calm. There were numerous incidents of hate crimes against Muslims and even Sikhs. The Muslim community continues to deal with the aftermath of these tragic events. Muslims now form the largest minority religion in the United States. The number of mosques in the United States now numbers more than 2,000.