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Islam:
History, values and culture
We are all Muslims; some have the Gospels,
others have the Quran
A Patriarch from Syria
Islam:
Myths and Reality
Terminology:
The religion is called ISLAM.
The people are MUSLIMS
or Moslim.
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Myth #1:
Most Muslims are
Arabs who live in the
Middle East.
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Reality:
Of more than 1 billion
Muslims worldwide, only
about 1/5 are Arabs.
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Try to Guess:
Which country has more
Muslims than any other
country in the world?
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Answer:
Indonesia - with over 200
million Muslims.
Note: The U.S. has about 5
million Muslims.
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http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/arthistory/ah369/islam_map.jpg
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Myth #2:
Muslims have a
strange religion and
worship a god called
Allah.
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Reality:
Muslims are
monotheistic and
worship the same one
God as Christians and
Jews. ?????
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Note:
Allah’ is the Arabic
word for ‘God.’
‘
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Myth #3:
Muslims believe it is
o.k. to kill civilians in
a holy war (“jihad”).
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Reality:
Only Muslim extremists
believe this. (Just like
most Christians do NOT
believe in bombing
abortion clinics.)
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Practice versus practitioner.
Creator versus creation.
Myth #4:
Most Muslim women
wear veils over their
faces and are treated
very badly.
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Reality:
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Muslim women have many different styles of
dress. (Very few cultures require women to
cover their faces.)
The treatment of women varies from country
to country and family to family.
Some Muslim countries, like Pakistan, have
had female prime ministers. The U.S. has
never had a female president.
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Pakistani dress (left); Saudi
Arabian (right)
Shariah TV website
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Iranian woman
Green Cine.com
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Somali (left); West African (right)
Shariah TV website
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Malaysian (left); Indian/
Bangladeshi (right)
Shariah TV website
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Afghani women wearing burqas
International Medical Corps photo 19
Muslim girls in Texas protesting
discrimination for wearing head
scarves
http://www.cairdfw.org
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Something to think about:
Should women in a Western country
be allowed to wear a headscarf if
they choose?
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Main Beliefs of Islam
5 Pillars of Islam
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Faith:
Belief in one God and that
Muhammad is His prophet.
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Prayer:
5 times a day – facing
Mecca
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/galleries/salah/images/5.jpg
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Alms
Giving money to the poor is
REQUIRED, not optional
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Fasting
During the month of Ramadan,
Muslims cannot eat or drink
anything during the daylight hours.
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Pilgrimage
Once in their lives – If they
can afford it, Muslims make a
pilgrimage to Mecca
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In Mecca during the pilgrimage
www.thefaithclub.com
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Vocabulary:
MOSQUE: a Muslim
place of worship
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Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
http://islamicbooks.info/H-21-Madh'habs
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Mohammed Ali mosque, Cairo,
Egypt
http://www.solarnavigator.net/geography/egypt.htm
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Inside the Mohammed Ali Mosque
http://www.ask-aladdin.com
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Dome of the Mohammed Ali
mosque
http://www.ask-aladdin.com
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Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet
Mosque), Istanbul Turkey
http://cs.ua.edu/~greg/personal.html
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Interior of the Blue Mosque
http://www.britannica.com
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Dome of a mosque, Esfahan, Iran
http://www.perceptivetravel.com/issues/1106/maclean.html
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Interior of a mosque in Iran
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/73022/photo621.html
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Mosque in Djenne, Mali (West
Africa)
http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/17028.html
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North African mosque
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/
tunis.htm
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Indonesian mosque
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Travel/Brunei/index.html
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Islamic architecture in Spain
http://www.islamservices.org
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Muslim mosque and tombstone in
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Yugoslavia: Republics and Provinces
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Mosque in Tempe, Arizona
http://www.4uth.gov.ua/usa/english/society/muslimlife/mosques.htm
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Vocabulary:
QURAN (or KORAN):
Muslim holy book
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The Quran
http://www.minhajsisters.com/home/articles/index.minhaj?id=8
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1. Which of the following is a true statement:
A. All Arabs are Muslims
B. All Muslims are Arabs
C. Iran is an Arab country
D. None of the above
1. Which of the following is a true statement:
A. All Arabs are Muslims
B. All Muslims are Arabs
C. Iran is an Arab country
D. None of the above
2. During prayer a Muslim should face:
A. Mecca
B. Islamabad
C. Jerusalem
D. Washington, DC
2. During prayer a Muslim should face:
A. Mecca
B. Islamabad
C. Jerusalem
D. Washington, DC
Islam
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Founder: Muhammad Ibn (son of) Adballah
Born: 571 AD in Mecca, Arabia
Descendant of Abraham
Nicknames: Almustapha (the chosen), Alamin (the faithful)
Titles: The prophet, the messenger (Alrasul)
Tribe: Quraiysh
Holy Book: The Quran, derived from ‘read’
Abraham
Ismail
Adnan
Quraiysh
Qussaiy
Abdmanaf
Abdshams
Hashem
Adbelmuttalib
(Amneh+) Abdallah Abutalib Hamzeh Alabbas
Muhammad
Ummayah Dynasty
(661-750)
Abulahab Alhareth
Ali
Abbbassides Dynasty
(750-1258)
Islam by the death of Mohammed 632
632-661: the Four Elected Successors (Caliphs)
• Abu-Bakr - 632-634
• The first elected official.
• Omar Ibn Elkhattab - 634-644
• Othman bin Affan - 644-656
Collected and compiled the Quran
• Ali Bin Abitalib - 656-661
Islam at 644, the year Omar died
732, 100 Yrs after Mohammed
The Abbassides Dynasty, 750-1258
• The center of the Empire moves to Iraq and Iran
• Baghdad, built 762 AD by Almansur (2nd Caliph).
• With over 2 M, Baghdad becomes the glamorous center of the world
 Science, art, architecture, learning, and wealth
 Lighted streets, public baths, public libraries and hospitals everywhere
• Cairo, built 968 AD
Islam as Monotheistic Religion
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The Quran:
114 Chapters (chapter = Surah)
 Special place for Virgin Mary, the only female
(the Chapter of Mary)
 God = Allah (Arabic) = Eluhim (Hebrew) = El
(Aramaic)
One and only one God, no trinity
Arabic as the language of the Quran
Jihad and the Conduct of War
• Jihad in Arabic does not mean "holy war”. It means "struggle”
or “strive”.
• The "greater jihad” in the Quran is that of the soul, of the
tongue, of the pen, of faith, of morality, etc. The "smaller
jihad" is that of arms.
 Three levels:
– Personal: That of the soul
– Verbal: "The most excellent jihad is the speaking of
truth in the face of a tyrant"
– Physical: Combat waged in defense against oppression
and transgression.
Jihad and the Conduct of War
 Since good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou evil with
something that is
better, and love he between whom and thy self was enmity
may then become
as though he had always been close unto thee, a true
friend" (41:34)
• God does not allow harm of civilian, and requests the
protection of women,
children and the elderly during war (4:96; 9: 91; 48: 16,17)
 “If any one slew a person--unless it be for murder or for
spreading mischief in the land--it would be as if he slew
the whole people; and if anyone saved a life, it would be
as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (5:32)
Jihad and the Conduct of War
 "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do
not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors."
(2: 190).
– Notice: Defensive war, fight back
• ‘Martyrdom’: Those killed during fighting or while doing civic
duties (martyrs) are promised a place in heaven (several
passages, e.g., 2:154; 3:169-172)
• However, suicide is not allowed; it is forbidden and
condemned (e.g., 6:151, 17:33, 25:68)
 'Do not attack a temple, a church, a synagogue. Do not
bring a tree or a plant down. Do not harm a horse or a
camel’
Relation with other Faiths
• Like the Torah, the Quran permits retaliation eye for eye, tooth
for tooth.
But, like the Gospels, it says “it is meritorious to forgo revenge
in a spirit of charity (5: 45)
• Acknowledges Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses,
David, Solomon, Zacharia, Jesus, John the baptist, and others
as the “the good prophets of God”
• A special place for Jesus and Mary (e.g., 3:45,46; 4:156-158;
19:1-98)
• Accepts that Mary’s conception is from God’s soul.
• Rejects the divinity of Jesus (no trinity).
• Jesus was not killed (e.g., 4:155-159; 5:17-19)
Relation with other Faiths
 "And dispute ye not with the People of the Book,
except with means better,
unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong: but
say, 'We believe in
the revelation which has come down to us and in
that which came down
to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to
Him we bow.”
• In one of his last public sermons Muhammad said
 “God tells all human beings, "O people! We have
formed you into nations
and tribes so that you may know one another" (49:
13). Do not conquer,
convert, subjugate, revile or slaughter but to reach
out toward others with
intelligence and understanding”
Sunni and Shiha
Sunni
• 90% of Muslims
• Follow the Quran and the Hadeeth as we have them today,
and as interpreted by the Sunni scholars
Shiha
• Came to be as a sect after 680 A.D.
• Believe in the Quran and Hadeeth, like Sunni
• However, they place Ali very high as a holy figure, and think ‘main stream’
Islam discriminated against him
• Today Shiah is mainly in Iran (90%), Iraq (55%) and Lebanon (~40%)
Important Holidays
Al-adhaa (the sacrifice)
• Symbolizes Abraham attempt to sacrifice his son Ishmael by God’s request.
• Should sacrifice an animal and give the food to the poor.
• The pilgrimage to Mecca
Alfetr
• Observed at the end of the holy month of Ramadan (the fasting month)
The Islamic New Year
• Yr 1, Islamic calendar = 622 A.D.
Alisraa Walmaaraj
• Symbolizes the ascending, in Jerusalem, of Mohammed's soul to heaven
The Birthday of Muhammad
Ashuraa day (Shiha only)
Islam Today
• 1.3 Billion worldwide, three continents
 0.3 Billion Arabs
 Indonesia (200 M) > India (180 M) > Pakistan (160
M) > Bangladesh (120 M) >
China (80 M) > Egypt (70 M)
• There are about 20 M Christian Arabs
 Egypt > Syria > Lebanon > Palestine > Iraq
• About 7 M Muslims in the USA, 3-4 M are Arabs
 Roughly half of the Arab Americans are Christians