Religion Paper

profilestudent.x
islam_1.ppt
Home>English homework help>Religion Paper

Islam

What it means to be Muslim

Background

  • Since 9/11 there has a been a tremendous hunger for reliable information about Islam. It’s been in the newspaper almost daily for the past 13 years.
  • Additionally, there’s been centuries of misinformation in the West regarding Islam dating back 1000+ years.
  • First example of inter-religious dialogue was Francis of Assisi conversing with a Sultan peacefully.
  • Also ahead of his time was a Dominican priest in the middle ages who wrote about Muslims and their seven “works of perfection.”
  • What students first realize is that Islam is as complex as Christianity, given the amount of denominations, etc.
  • Is Westborough Baptist Church an accurate portrait of Christianity? “Godhatesfags.com” is their webpage, by the way.
  • Clarification: Arab doesn’t = Muslim. Only about 20% of the Muslim world is from the Middle East.

Islam and Geography

  • More than 30% live in south Asia (Pakistan, India and Bangladesh)
  • Most populous Muslim nation is Indonesia which has more than 200 million Muslims.
  • About 1 percent of Americans are Muslims.

Bad blood between the West and the Muslim world

  • In distant history, there were the Crusades.
  • In more recent history, the US has had drone strikes in about 7 Muslim countries, and we’ve invaded 2 Muslim countries (soon to be 3 with Syria). Consequently, tens of thousands of civilians have died even though we have not tried to kill them. Nevertheless, US military action has led to many lost innocent lives, and a deep anger towards us and a questioning of why so many Muslim nations have been attacked.

  • Islam means “submission,” meaning we get a certain peace when we submit to the will of God.
  • One who is a Muslim follows Islam.
  • Allah means “the God,” meaning there’s only one.
  • Same lineage as the Christian Bible (through Abraham), but the path splits: Ishmael went to Arabia and that began the Muslim lineage; Isaac went to Palestine and that lineage marks the Judaic path.
  • The lifestyle on the Arabian pennisula was “bedouin” or nomadic.

Muhammad

  • Born in 570 in Mecca and was named Muhammad (highly praised). Orphaned at a young age; his uncle raised him. He came from a middle class, merchant family.
  • This made him particularly sensitive and committed to those on the margins (widows, orphans, and the poor).
  • Called the Seal of the Prophets, the greatest (& last) of all prophets
  • Life in Arabia during the 6th century was unrealiable and harsh, not to mention evil flourished. He turned inward during this time.
  • At the time, the culture was polytheistic and animistic. In Mecca, there were 360 gods and altars. Ka’ba was originally a pilgrimage sight for polytheists.

The Early Years

  • In 610 during the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel delivered messages (recitations) to Muhammad from Allah.
  • The basic message of the Qur’an was to accept ONE God, Allah, and to turn from paganism, to practice charity, and to prepare for the final judgment.
  • Justice and charity towards the needy were pillars of Islam, as was women’s rights.
  • With Muhammad, women received new rights, such as inheritance, ownership of land, and the capacity to refuse a marriage proposal.

Historical Factors

  • Mecca was a thriving trade city on the Arabian peninsula.
  • People were experiencing extreme economic hardship. This is a contributing factor that shaped the character of Islam.
  • The disparity between the rich and the poor was a pre-condition for Islam.
  • Allah was known as a god but most Arabians were politheistic.
  • Animism was the belief that God resided in all things – stones, trees, water.

  • He married Khadija, a woman 15 years his senior.
  • He went to a cave and prayed fervently.
  • La ilaha illa ‘llah! There is no god but God.
  • These words were branded on his soul.
  • He realized he was either a madman or a prophet. His life was no longer his own.
  • Journey from Mecca to Medina (hijra) to establish first Muslim community (umma) in 622.

The quick spread:

  • In Mecca, the prophet’s message wasn’t accepted. He and his few followers emigrated to Medina (the hijra) in 622. Eight years later, they returned and captured Mecca.
  • Muhammad cleared the Ka’ba of the many altars and instituted only one for Allah.
  • By 632 all of Arabia had converted.
  • In less than 125 years most of North Africa, parts of Europe, the Middle East, and as far as China there were converts.

411 on Islam

  • Jesus: Christianity:: Qur’an: Islam
  • Jerusalem: Christianity:: Mecca: Islam
  • Qur’an means “recitation”
  • Allah means “the God” in Arabic.
  • Jesus was a great prophet, but wasn’t God.
  • The scriptures are treated differently:
  • Qur’an 100% God
  • Bible: part God, part human

Who is this One God?
What does submission look like?

  • Orthopraxy (right practice) is more important than orthodoxy (right belief)
  • [Clarification: Muhammad isn’t divine.]
  • Caliph – high ranking religious leader

5 Pillars

  • 1. There is One God, and Allah is his name (“Shahada” is the most important of the 5 pillars).Muhammad is his prophet.
  • 2. Pray 5 times a day towards Mecca: formal and includes purification ritual beforehand.
  • 3. Hajj: Take a pilgrimage to Mecca once in your lifetime if you can afford it (financially and health wise). Common dress code (white garb) to get rid of external differences.
  • 4. Fast during Ramaddan (no food, sex, liquids, smoking)
  • 5. Moral obligation to give to the poor (at least 2.5% of income).
  • [Giving to the poor stemmed from 2 factors: Muhammad was an orphan and because there was great tension between the rich and the poor during the prophet’s life.]

The Qur’an

  • The Qur’an is the single most memorized and recited sacred text in the world.
  • The only true Qur’an is in Arabic.
  • It is a guide for daily living as well as law.
  • Style is poetic, not narrative
  • Qur’an renews the Torah and the Gospels.
  • It is the last and most complete revelation from God – the first and second being the Old and New Testament.
  • The Qur’an contains many of the same Bible stories: Creation, Noah and the flood, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and the exodus, and Jesus.
  • One who has memorized the entire book is called a hafiz.

Other religious texts:

  • Muslims also consult the Sunna, which is a collection of the tradition and customs of Muhammad recorded in the Hadith (sayings).
  • The Sunna is considered second in authority to the Qur’an.
  • Six major collections of the Hadith were complied during the first 300 years of Islamic history.
  • The Hadith provides a valuable supplement to the Qur’an.

  • A danger in Islam is shirk: meaning to associate something or someone with God.
  • Therefore, no Islamic art or images of God.
  • Blasphemy extends to both God and the prophet Muhammad. In some countries, like Pakistan, there is a death penalty for this.
  • Jihad: striving against evil. Commonly misunderstood and misused. 2 types: militaristic, and the internal version which the Prophet said was the greater of the 2.

Religious Parallels

  • The Muslims defeating the Qurashis is much like the Jews defeating Pharoah’s army in Egypt.
  • Jews:Canaan::Muslims:Mecca
  • Both describe original sin by Adam and Eve (no mention of her name in the Qur’an). Christians put more blame on Eve who tempted Adam, but the Qur’an makes it clear that both are equally at fault.
  • Women are mentioned a lot more in the Qur’an than in the Bible. Interestingly, in the former both women and men are commanded to dress modestly despite the contemporary Muslim dress code for women.

Islam on Christianity

  • Muslims do not regard Jesus as the Son of God.
  • The Qur’an does not refer to any of Jesus’ teachings.
  • It denies Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, but asserts that God took Jesus alive to heaven while another man was killed instead.
  • God would not allow an authentic prophet to die on a cross, the belief goes.
  • Unlike Christianity which uses a calendar that begins with Jesus’ birth, the Muslim calendar begins in 622 with the first established Muslim community.
  • Prior to that, Muslims refer to the era of ignorance (jahiliyya)

In today’s world

  • Islam is the 2nd largest (and fastest growing) religion: 1.6 Billion (v 2.5 Billion Christians).
  • Sunnis comprise 85% of Islam, and Shi`a 15%.
  • Shi`ites live primarily in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
  • Over 50 countries have Muslim majorities.
  • Largest Muslim populations: Indonesia, Pakistan, and India.
  • Only one fifth of Muslims live in the Arab Middle East.

Islam and the State

  • No real separation between church and state.
  • Theoretically, all Muslim rulers are to submit to God’s will.
  • The range is from intentionally religious states (Iran)
  • to secularized military dictatorships (Pakistan, Syria),
  • to limited democracies with some Islamic character (Jordan).

Militant Muslims

  • Militants attempt, using violent and political means, to convert governments to strict Islamic rule.
  • Most Muslim countries have two legal systems: one secular, and a religious one steeped in Shari`a (Islamic) law.
  • Shari`a law is based upon the Qur’an and the Sunna, or way of the Prophet, together with human reason and community consensus.
  • Shari`a courts often deal with matters related to inheritance and divorce.

Wahhabi movement

  • Began in 18th century in Arabia
  • Known as very conservative
  • Critical of Sufism (mystical branch of Islam) which was seen as not sufficiently grounded in fundamental teachings, and too nebulous. Also erroneously promoted saint worship.
  • Pushed for a return to pure Islam practiced in the 7th century.
  • Iconoclasts – destroyed statues/tombs of saints and venerated pilgrimage locations.