Download CCST 431: Introduction to Islam

Muslim Diversity
Muslim Unity
► Muslims
make a strong claim to universal unity.
► “And hold fast, all together, unto the bond with
Allah, and do not draw apart from one another.”
(Sura, 6:159)
► Unity in customs, values.
► Most Muslims have Arab names (Abdsammad in
Kyrgystan)
► Celebrate the same feasts, recite the same prayers
Muslim Unity
► There
is Dar as-Salaam (“house of
Islam/Peace”) or the present Muslim
community.
► Dar al-Harb (“land of the ignorant or
disbelief”) or those outside of Islam.
► Generally, Sunnis and Shi’is regard one
another as brothers.
Muslim Diversity
► Muhammad
(hadith) predicted sects within
Islam:
► “Verily, it will happen to my people even
as it did to the children of Israel. The
children of Israel were divided into
seventy-two sects, and my people will be
divided into seventy-three. Every one of
the sects will go to hell, except one sect.”
Q: Cause for diversity?
►Historical
developments (i.e. choice of
caliph; see Braswell, 89)
►Reform movements (i.e. Wahhabis)
Sunni Islam
► The
majority Muslim group— 85-90% of all
Muslims
► Regarded as the orthodox group.
► Originated with the death of Muhammad
and choice of Abu Bakr to be the caliph.
Sunni Islam
►A
decision for Abu Bakr was made by
consensus (ijma)—the community should
select the new leader.
► The “rightly guided” caliphs (Abu Bakr,
Umar, Uthman, Ali) led from Medina (632661)
► These caliphs administered the sunna
(hadith)
► Sunni’s developed the comprehensive
system of law (sharia)
Shia (Shiite) Islam
► The
Shi’is were birthed with the succession
of the caliphate.
► Sunni’s believed the caliph was a decision of
the community (umma)
Shia (Shiite) Islam
► Shi’is
insisted that the caliph should be
taken from the “house” or blood line of
Muhammad.
► Shi’is claim tradition that Muhammad
wanted to appoint Ali as his successor.
► Formed the Shiat Ali (“party of Ali”)
► Of course disputed by Sunnis.
► See
http://www.redtears.co.uk/karbala/trailer.html
Shia (Shiite) Islam
► Ali
was murdered
 His tomb is in Najaf near Kufa, Iraq (map)
 For Shi’is, a pilgrimage to Najaf is worth
100,000 martyrdoms and forgiveness of past
and present sins.
► After
Ali’s murder, his son Hassan was
briefly named caliph
 Abdicated to Mu’awwiyah and then was
poisoned in Medina
Shia (Shiite) Islam
► Hussein,
Hassan’s brother also was in
Medina
► Hussein sends a delegation to Kufa to
sound his support as the caliph—they
were killed.
► Hussein and left with his family and
followers to Kufa— they were surrounded
and killed at Kerbala on the 10th day of
Muharram.
Shia (Shiite) Islam
► Now
Kerbala is a key Shi’a place for
pilgrimage worth a thousand pilgrimages
to Mecca, a thousand martyrdoms, a
thousand days of fasting
► 10th of Muharram (celebrates Hussein’s
martyrdom)
 There are sermons, special stories, and prayer
meetings about Hussein.
 Also passion plays (taziyahs).
 Men don white cloths and beat their chests to
the point of shedding blood
Shi’a Doctrinal Distinctives
► The
Shi’a Quran has a few variants in it
not used by the Sunnis.
► Shi’a have their own collections of hadith
collected in the 10th century.
► Shi’a Islam stresses the imamate
(succession of prayer leaders) more than
the caliphate.
Shi’a Doctrinal Distinctives
► In
the Shia version of the shahadah, an
additional phrase is added that Ali is the
commander of true believers and the
friend of God.
► Light (nur)
 A divine light is passed from imam to imam; a
near sinlessness and infallibility.
Shia Splinter Groups
(Ithna Ashariya)
► Seveners (Ismailis)
► Khariji (“Seceders”)
► Twelvers
► Mutazilites
► Ahmadiyans
Twelvers (Ithna Ashariya)
► Make up the majority Shi’is
► 90% of all Twelvers live in Iran
► They accept the line of twelve imams
from Ali to
Muhammad al-Muntazzar (b. 878) of Samarra
(modern Iraq)
► Al-Muntazzar’s father declared him to be the
mahdi (“messiah”)
► At the age of 9, he disappeared and during the
“concealment” the Muslim community was to be
led by guides (ayatollah)
► At the end of the world, he will appear and
convert the world to Islam.
Seveners (Ismailis)
► Accept
the first seven imams in the house
of Ali to Ismail ibn Jafar
► Tend to be more radical and secretive in
their activities
► They helped the Fatimid Empire in Egypt
(969-1174) to come to power through
being revolutionaries
Seveners (Ismailis)
► Helped
to found Al-Azhar University in
Cairo
► Seveners split into two groups:
 Nazaris who look to a modern imam known as
the Aga Khan
 Mustalis (Bohoro Muslims) who believe in a
hidden imam not descended from Hassan or
Hussein.
Khariji (“Seceders”)
► Initially
favored Ali, then broke with him.
► Ali was murdered by a member of the
Khariji
► Distinctives:
 The caliph and all Muslims must be pure
 Equality among believers is stressed
► Historically
a large presence in North Africa
where the corrupt Arab leadership was
opposed.
Mutazilites
► Arose
opposing the fanaticism of the
Kharijites
► Defended free will and moral responsibility
► Denied forgiveness for repeated sinners
Mutazilites
► Incorporated
thought




Greek metaphysics into their
Resisted attributing human characteristics to God
Insisted on the unity of God
Opposed the idea of an uncreated Quran
Provoked thoughtful reflections among Muslims
► Al-Ashari
(d. 935)
 Initially a Mutazilite, later a Sunni
 He elevated revelation over reason then later used
reason to support revelation
Ahmadiyans
► Founded
in India in the late 19th century
► Founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, declared
himself the imam of Islam
► Regarded as heretical by other Muslim
groups
► 500,000 mostly living in Pakistan
► Yet very missionary oriented (i.e. Ahmad
Deedat)
 http://www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/frameset.asp
Ahmadiyan Distinctives
► No
verse in the Qu’ran can be abrogated
► Jihad is no more (no coercion in religion)
 Caner and Deedat
► To
say that Muhammad is the seal of the
prophets does not make him the last one
► Jesus is dead and did not ascend to
heaven
 very anti-Christian
► Hell
is not eternal
Ahmadiyan Distinctives
► Apostasy
is not punishable by death
► Innovation in worship is forbidden, including
worshipping saints
► Consensus was limited to Muhammad’s
companions
► Belief in Ahmad is obligatory
 that he is the mahdi
► Spirituality
is more important than legalism
Sufis
► Sufism
is a mystical branch of Islam stressing
emotions, the personal attributes of God, personal
relationship with God, love and heartfelt religion
► Means “wool” or “purity”
 Possibly because of garments worn by early mystics
► Developed
as a reaction to
 Islamic legalism (law, ritual, duty) and focus on the
intellect; A direct experience with God was desired over
ritual
 The worldliness of Ummayad leaders in Damascus
Sufis
► How
to find God?
► Through introspection and inward
experiences
► God is a light that burns through the lamp
(man)
► Enabled through prayer, fasting, selfdenial, discipline
► Dhikr sessions or constantly repeated the
name of God
Sufis
► Muhammad’s
night journey is interpreted
allegorically to mean the ability of the soul
to rise to God through prayer and
discipline and to be unified with God.
Sufis
► Some
Sufis see the Qu’ran as an allegory for
the soul’s quest to be united to God
 Could this be “sonic?”
► Consider
an 8th century Sufi woman:
 Against worshipping God out of fear of hell or
the promise of paradise
 “If I worship you for your own sake, withhold
not your everlasting beauty”
Al-Ghazali (d. 1111)
► Most
famous Sufi thinker
► A professor of Islam in Baghdad, he began to
have doubts about his faith
► Trying Sufism, he had a personal experience
with God
► He taught that
 Religious certainty could only be found through
religious experience
 The love of God, more than union with God, was the
key to religion
►A
moderate Sufi who combined Quranic and
traditional study with mysticism
Sufis
► Orders
and brotherhoods were formed
► Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273) found the
“whirling dervishes”
 Devotees whirl or dance while repeating the name of
God
 http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/
► Music
and poetry is an important part of Sufi
worship
 As music was not allowed in the mosque, Sufis have
built their own lodges
 “House of blessing” in Tunis
Wahhabis
►A
reform movement that began in Saudi
Arabia in the late 17th century.
► Eventually the house of Saud, the ruling
dynasty of Saudi Arabia, adopted Wahhabi
thought.
► Strict legal interpretation of Islamic law
► Similar ideologies in Libya, Saudi, Iran, and
Pakistan have created an environment for
Islamic fundamentalism.
Wahhabi Distinctives
► Against
veneration of saints, folk Islam.
► Doctrine must only come from the Quran and
Hadith.
► Mosques must be simply adorned.
► No music.
► No smoking.
► No bad language.
► Men must have a beard.
► Jihad is an obligation.
Nation of Islam
► Founded
by Elijah (Poole) Muhammad in the
1930s
► Mixed African American liberation with Islam
► Has never been accepted by orthodox
Muslims
► Made famous by Malcolm X
► Presently led by Louis Farrakhan
Q: Reasons for Muslim Diversity?
► Political
discord (Kharijis, Shi’is)
► Theological differences (Mutazalites)
 They surely occur in a large religious movement
 More tolerance has been shown to non-Muslim
thought than to inter-Muslim thought (Akther)
► Mystical
movements (Sufis)
► Reform movements (Wahhabis)
► Advent of charismatic leaders (Ahmad)