Download Islam - John Provost, PhD

Islam
Chapter Objectives: After learning this material you will be able to:
1. Describe the life and teaching of Muhammad.
2. Understand the importance of the Qur’an to Muslims.
3. Discuss the faith and practice of the Five Pillars in the life and
practice of Muslims.
4. Describe the five daily prayers Muslims observe.
5. Understand the “Golden Age” of Islam and its contributions to
literature, philosophy, science, and theology.
6. Explain the difference between Sunni and Shi’a Islam.
7. Discuss Islamic mysticism known as Sufism and the role it has played
in Muslim spirituality.
8. Understand the position of Islam in the modern world, its varied
responses to changes, especially the growth of Islamic
fundamentalism.
9. Describe the role of women in Islam, the importance of how one
interprets the Qur’an, and how women are managing the changes in
contemporary Islam.
Preface
Islam deserves a preface (as did Christianity) to help all of you approach
Islam in a way that will facilitate learning. It is all too easy to apply a layer
of preconceived notions unconsciously to Islam. Christianity deserved a
preface because so many students in the class identify with Christianity that
it is sometimes difficult for them to study it in a philosophy class without
feeling defensive. Only a few students each quarter are Muslims, yet we still
need a preface, but for the opposite reason, namely, so little is known about
Islam that our ignorance gets in the way of learning. Finally, I learned that
saying a few words at the beginning of this study helps students approach
this subject with an open mind.
There may be things about Islam that you choose to disagree with, but as
always in this course, I want you to make the effort to find out what Islam
actually teaches before you disagree. More often than not I find that people
disagree with a version of Islam that is not correct. This information is
usually picked up from hearsay and the popular media. Why does the media
1
report false information? This is a complicated question and something I
cannot fully go into in this course, but there is one important thing to
remember about the media. It is a business out to make a profit. It is not that
the media tries to lie, but they do try to find what will sell. That is why the
media is full of bad news. Bad news sells, good news does not sell; so there
is very little good news reported.
Then, to make their report “true,” all they need to do is back it up with
support. That is not as difficult as it seems. In the case of Islam you just find
a “Muslim” willing to say that what they are claiming is based on the
religion and it is “backed up.” But we all know people who claim to be
followers of a religious faith. Their claim is just that, a claim. It does not
mean what they say is true or representative of their faith. To bring it closer
to home, some of you may remember David Koresh and the Branch
Davidians. This was a group who had a compound in Texas that was raided
by the FBI in 1993 and eventually burned down to the ground in a
controversial assault where many people were killed. David Koresh claimed
to be the Messiah and holder of the true understanding of Christianity. My
question is does Koresh’s claim make it true? It is true that he claimed this
and it is true that he had followers who would back up his claims, but the
vast majority of Christians would claim that David Koresh does not in fact
speak for Christianity. In fact, most Christians would claim that he was an
insane fanatic and therefore could not represent authentic Christianity.
Instead they would point to someone like Mother Teresa or Martin Luther
King and say “there is an authentic representative of the teaching of Christ.”
Koresh’s movement was not referred to as “Christian Terrorism.” He was
not considered a “Christian terrorist.” If he is not referred to as a Christian
terrorist then why are terrorists in the Middle East referred to as “Islamic
terrorists?” Do these suicide bombers and terrorists represent the teachings
of Islam? Are they putting into practice the teachings of the Qur’an? These
are the type of questions all students of philosophy need to ask themselves.
There are many Islamic teachers who claim that these terrorists are ruining
Islam and do not speak for the vast majority of Muslim people. Are they
right? Are they the true representatives of Islam? This is for you to decide
after you sort through the evidence. In the meantime, I ask that you try to
learn with as open a mind as possible and then disagree if you want, but at
least you will be disagreeing with the teachings of Islam and not simply with
what the media tells us that Muslims believe.
2
On a separate note, you will notice that I frequently used two names, Islam
and Muslim. Islam is the name of the religion and Muslims are adherents to
the religion of Islam. You can talk about a Muslim or Islamic civilization
interchangeably and be grammatically correct but you cannot say the Islam
people. That would not be correct grammar. You would need to say the
Muslim people or the Islamic people.
Another reminder: Islam began in the Middle East (as did Judaism,
Zoroastrianism, and Christianity) and its sacred language, the language of
the Qur’an is Arabic, but nevertheless most Muslims are not Arabian! This
means the religion has spread around the world and the majority of Muslims
do not live in the Middle East. This means one of the challenges you have to
face is figuring out where Islam stops and Arab culture begins. Are you
agreeing or disagreeing with Islam or Arabians? For example, most
feminists object to the way Islamic women are treated. But are they talking
about a modern American Muslim woman? No! They are talking about
Arabian women. Is there a difference? Yes!
When I taught this class in person I would have a modern, white American
Muslim woman visit class to give a guest lecture just to surprise people!
Needless to say they were “surprised” that their stereotype of the Arab
woman covered in black was not true. This does not mean that Islam does
not have responsibilities for Arab culture and customs. It does mean that
things, as usual, are more complex than we tend to think.
Finally, I urge you all to consider attending a mosque for your final project. I
have had students tell me they did not go because they were afraid about
how they would be welcomed. But this says much more about media
propaganda then it does about reality. All of the students (every one!) who
have gone have been glad they went and talked about how warmly they were
welcomed and how glad Muslims were to show them their faith in its best
light rather than in the glare of media lights. Which is not to say they came
away ready to convert, but they at least came away with a new experience
under their belt that led them to greater understanding rather than greater
fear. What more can you ask of an educational experience?
Introduction
Islam is an important religion to know about for many reasons. One of those
reasons is that it is the world’s second largest as well as the fastest growing
3
religion. “Over 1 billion of the world’s population adhere to the faith of
Islam, the youngest of the world’s great religions” (Robert S. Ellwood and
Barbara A. McGraw, Many Peoples, Many Faiths: Women and Men in the
World Religions, Seventh Edition, [Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall, 2002], p. 377. Hereafter referred to in the lectures as MPMF.)
Many Muslims are moving to the United States and, as a result, those of us
who do not know Muslims yet will soon have that opportunity. Obviously
politics is full of news of the Middle East and Islam. Knowing something
about Muslim people and the teachings of the Qur’an is an important task for
all modern educated people.
Islam is a monotheistic faith that believes surrendering to the will of God is
the greatest human task. “The very heart of Islam is submission to the total
will of Allah, or God. (Allah is not the name of a god, but simply means
“The God” – the one and only God.) God’s will for humanity, Muslims
believe, was most fully given in the Qur’an, the book revealed through the
prophet Muhammad. The word Islam means “submission,” and the name
tells us that the central idea of this faith is simply full and complete
submission to the will of God. An adherent of the faith is called a Muslim,
one who has made the submission” (MPMF, pp. 377-378.) It is important to
note right away that Islam is about God and his teaching, not Muhammad
the Prophet of God. Muhammad is not worshipped or considered divine as
Jesus is in Christianity. Muhammad is simply considered a channel of God’s
message to humans.
These messages were revealed to Muhammad by an angel. They were
revealed over many years as an oral tradition for as long as Muhammad
lived and led his people. These teachings and revelations “were recorded by
scribes after the Prophet’s death [and then] were compiled into the Qur’an,
the book believed by Muslims to be the last and greatest Divine revelation to
humanity, just as Muhammad is seen as the last and greatest in a line of
prophets sent to restore the simple, primal religion of justice and pure
monotheism” (MPMF, p. 430.) In this sense, Islam honors other
monotheistic faiths, but considers that they were corrupted over time. For
example, the teaching about the Trinity in Christianity is considered a
corruption of pure monotheism. As we will see, Islam holds an honored
place for Jesus, but does not consider him divine.
There are a few religious duties that all Muslims agree to abide by as being
standard. “The practice of Islam centers on what are commonly called its
4
Five Pillars: reciting the creed that states that there is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is his Prophet; praying five times daily; giving alms; keeping a
fast during the month of Ramadan; and once in one’s life, if possible,
making the pilgrimage to Mecca” (MPMF, p. 430.) Reciting the creed is
what makes one officially a Muslim. There is not a formal baptism
ceremony as in Christianity. By agreeing to submit one’s will to God, called
Allah by Muhammad, one becomes a Muslim.
Praying five times a day is a way of consecrating all of our days to Allah.
The prayers are not lengthy. It is not that you are supposed to spend hours in
prayer and neglect your other duties, but it is a way to try and remember
what is most important in one’s life. Giving alms is a way of making sure
that all people have their basic needs met. Spiritually, it is a way of
affirming the importance of the community. We are not separate and fully
independent. People need each other and as we will see, Islam places a great
deal of emphasis on community.
The fast during the month of Ramadan is a fairly difficult feat. One does not
go without food or drink for all of that time, but food and drink (and sex and
smoking for example) is very restricted so that one goes many hours without
sustenance. The idea is to practice self-discipline and place the good things
of life in their proper perspective and it is also a way of practicing solidarity
with those who have less. Pilgrimage is the expectation that you will try to
go to Mecca at least once in your life. Exceptions are allowed if, for
example, you are too poor or disabled. But in general you try to make this
trip at least once. This pilgrimage is important for a number of reasons we
will look at, but it is also an event that creates and supports community,
especially now that Islam attracts people to Mecca from all over the world.
Islam arose at a time when Christianity was entering a period known as the
“Dark Ages.” One reason this age was considered dark was because the
Roman Empire had fallen apart and society was not united and many of the
benefits of civilization such as education were lost for a long time and kept
alive only in the monasteries. Islam quickly became not only a religion but
also an empire. This happened much faster than it did in Christianity.
Muslims ruled the Middle East, North Africa, parts of Europe (Spain,
Hungary), and their empire went all the way to India as well. During this
time leaders known as Caliphs ruled Islamic civilization. “During the
Golden Age of the Caliphate, science, philosophy, and theology were
extensively cultivated. Learned men not only preserved the best of classical
5
thought but made important advances, which were finally transmitted to
Europe” (MPMF, pp. 430-431.) It was contacts with Muslims, especially in
Spain, that helped jump start European and Christian civilization once again.
The knowledge of Aristotle, for example, had been lost in Europe until the
Muslims brought their translations to Spain. As we saw with Thomas
Aquinas, the philosophy of Aristotle would lead to scholasticism and a
revival of Catholic philosophy and understanding for many hundreds of
years.
Shortly after the death of Muhammad there was confusion and argument
about who was to succeed Muhammad as leader of Islam. This caused the
first major division in Islam, although the division is much more political
than theological. “Islam is divided into two main groups. Sunni Islam
emphasizes the traditional path of Islamic life as interpreted by the
consensus of scholars and the community. Shi’a Islam, while following the
traditional path, also puts its faith in the authority of Imams who are
Muhammad’s hereditary successors” (MPMF, p. 431.) For the most part,
both types of Muslims believe and practice in the same way. For example,
they share the same Five Pillars and join together on pilgrimage to Mecca.
I have been told that the most popular and best selling poet in America today
is the Sufi poet (who lived long ago) known as Rumi. His religious love
poetry that sees God as the “Friend” and “Beloved” speaks to the perennial
mystic impulse in human aspiration. “Islamic mysticism, called Sufism in
the West, focuses on the presence of the Divine oneness everywhere and
offers paths to the attainment of union with God” (MPMF, p. 431.) Many
Western people see Sufism in such a bright light that sometimes they are
surprised when they learn that Sufis are Muslims. Sufis sometimes even
shock Muslims, and as with most mystical movements, have sometimes
been a source of controversy and contention within the Muslim world.
After its Golden Age, Islam went into a certain decline and entered its own
“dark age.” During the last hundred years, as Muslims have thrown off the
colonization of Western countries, so have they renewed and restored their
religious beliefs. The last hundred years has seen all sorts of movements that
have sought to understand Islam in new ways as well as recover what had
been lost and forgotten. “This resurgent Islam is a major force in the world
today” (MPMF, p. 431.) Part of the conflicts in the modern Muslim world
stem from arguments about what is the best way to restore the faith of the
Islamic people. As we have seen in the other religions, the arguments fall all
6
across the board from the conservative and traditional folks at one end to the
liberal and progressive folks at the other end of the spectrum.
Some of these arguments have to do with the role of women in Islam. As we
will see there is currently no consensus on how women should fit into Islam
and what their place is to be. Conservatives want to restore older and more
culturally bound patriarchal beliefs about women. Others want to look again
at the Qur’an and the early teachings of Islam which, (we will see), can be
seen in a liberalizing light and seek to renew the understanding of femininity
in the light of modern studies. As a result, “it is very difficult to make
generalizations about women in Islam as its practices differ in the many
places it can be found around the world” (MPMF, p. 431.) Modern
American Muslim women for example, see the “requirement” of veiling
women in a very different light. Instead of completely hiding women they
see it as a simple request to dress modestly, which, by the way, does not
exclude good tastes and being fashionable.
The veiling of women may have more to do with patriarchal culture than it
does with the teaching of the Qur’an. “Yet, just as we have seen in many
other religions, attitudes and customs form the social context in which Islam
has found itself have been assimilated into Islamic culture and religious
justifications have been found for them” (MPMF, p. 431.) Religions do not
develop in a vacuum. A religion must decide what to do with a society’s
culture and values when they are encountered. Much later it is sometimes
difficult to imagine that accepted customs are not part of the original
religion.
Islam is now a worldwide religion. But because it started in the deserts of
Arabia there is a certain Arabian Nights quality to many people’s
perspective on this unique religion. “Islam is a community that does indeed
cut across many cultures. Non-Muslims often envision Islam as the faith of
romantic (and now tremendously oil-wealthy) Arab sheiks and caravaneers,
but only a minority of Muslims are Arab, and only a tiny minority are
wandering desert dwellers. The largest single Muslim nation is tropical
Indonesia, where the faith of Muhammad is superimposed on an East Asian
culture” (MPMF, p. 377.) This is one of those facts that are important to
keep in mind when Muslim often means “Arab” to so many people.
Nevertheless, the mosque, the Muslim place of prayer and worship, has a
distinct Arab feel to it. Most of us would recognize a mosque because it has
7
such distinct characteristics. “Few would mistake a mosque for a church,
synagogue, or Hindu temple. The mosque, a place of prayer to the infinite
Lord, has no picture, image, altar, flowers, or candles – only a vast, clean,
cool, austerely beautiful empty space” (MPMF, p. 377.) The floor surface
will often be covered in Persian rugs. There are no pews. Muslims do not
believe that one should make images of Allah and so there are no pictures.
Islam is not meant to be a religion separate from culture and society. Islam
does not believe in the separation of church and state (which is one source of
conflict between Islam and the modern Western world.) A Muslim’s life is
to be submitted entirely to God and this is best done in a culture that
supports this submission. In a traditional Islamic culture, everyone stops to
worship. This makes it easier to pray at the five times a day that are required.
In some countries the call to prayer is quite public. “On the streets of a
Muslim country, the pervasive influence of the religion is felt, too. Five
times a day – sunrise, noon, afternoon, just after sunset, at dark – a crier,
called the muezzin (nowadays often replaced by a recording and a loudspeaker system), summons the faithful to prayer from the minaret, the tower
attached to every mosque. His plaintive cry replaces the bells of
Christendom. Then believers prostrate themselves in prayer in shops and
homes, wherever they are, as well as in mosques” (MPMF, p. 377.)
Muslims in America find ways to make this practice possible by praying
during breaks at work and school, but it is much simpler to live in a society
where everyone stops for the few minutes necessary for prayer.
One takes time in prayer to renew the effort to submit one’s life to the will
of Allah, which means recognizing God’s greatness in all of one’s affairs
and in the community’s affairs as well. One does this joyfully because one
wants to please Allah who has given life and all its blessings. “That is the
central motif of Islam – the greatness of God alone. Because Allah is great
and sovereign, all the world and all the affairs of humankind belong only to
him. For this reason, Islam does not lavishly embellish the religious sphere
with rites and symbols and priesthood; if Allah is truly great, Islam says, he
can be worshipped anywhere by anyone in the simple forms prescribed by
the Qur’an and tradition. If God is truly sovereign, what he has commanded
for all of society – law, ethics, government – is just as important as the
religious commandments and inseparable from them. For this reason, Islam
is experienced as a total and indivisible way of life (MPMF, p. 379.) In
many ways this gets back to the ideas found in the world’s earliest tribal
8
religions that all of life is sacred and that everything, therefore, is essentially
sacred.
Because everything is sacred and all of life is to be brought into harmony
with this sacredness, secular government is seen as problematic. “It is deeply
consistent with the basic premise of the faith – the absolute sovereignty of
God over all situations and over every atom of the universe – that whenever
feasible Muslims not only establish Muslim worship but create Muslim
societies under Muslim rulers based on Qur’anic law. Modern conditions
have often mandated reinterpretations of this ideal. But the Qur’an remains
the fountainhead of the true law and true culture and a summons to
submission in every area of life, the “secular” – political, economic, and
family life – as well as such conventionally religious matters, as how one
says prayers” (MPMF, p. 379.) This is a real challenge to some Muslims
who have seen many of the benefits of the modern Western world and its
ideas regarding freedom of conscience and democracy. One of the modern
challenges to Islam is to figure out a way to submit fully to God in a secular
culture. Christianity had the same problem and has come to an uneasy truce
in the modern Western world. Many Christians feel that Christianity has
compromised itself too much to fit in with modern values and customs.
Many Muslims feel the same way.
Now that we have had an over view of Islam it is time to go back and take a
closer look at these issues ands some others we have not touched on.
Muhammad
While it is true that Muhammad is not seen as divine and he is not
worshipped, it is also true to say that without Mohammad there would be no
Islam. “At the core of Islam lies the experience and faith of Muhammad
(570-632) himself” (MPMF, p. 379.) Who was this man who lived in Mecca
(located in modern Saudi Arabia) so long ago?
Muhammad was born into a merchant family and became a camel driver
concerned with trade and the caravans across the deserts. The people of
Mecca were polytheistic and had many different gods and goddesses. Mecca
was a city that had a central holy spot that was considered a place of peace
where people had to put aside their differences. It was a place where there
were many altars to the many divinities, but it was also a rich area because
9
this place of pilgrimage and worship brought much wealth to the city and its
merchants. With this wealth came the usual corruption.
Muhammad married Khadijah, a wealthy widow who was fifteen years older
than himself, when he was twenty-five. They had a daughter named Fatima.
Muhammad had a contemplative and solitary nature and he used to spend
free time in a cave in the hills above Mecca praying and meditating. It is
interesting to know that before anything happened to Muhammad he was
seeking for the truth. “About the 611, Muhammad began to have a
remarkable series of experiences in these solitary meditations in mountain
caves. A mysterious darkness would come over him, and then the luminous
figure of the archangel Gabriel would appear and recite words to him, which
he could remember clearly. These words were first of all about the unity of
God – that there is but one single God, ‘Lord of the worlds’ who abominates
idolatry and will judge the earth on a day of fire and anxiety; and God calls
upon all humanity to accept his sovereignty” (MPMF, p. 379.) Like so many
prophets before him, Muhammad was not sure at first how to think about
these words, but eventually he learned to trust and accept their authenticity.
Muhammad spent about ten years trying to convince others of the
truthfulness of these revelations about the oneness of Allah and the need to
submit to Allah’s will and laws. But he had little success and in fact was
seen as a threat to the people of Mecca who made their wealth from having a
multitude of gods for people to come and worship. “In 622 he accepted an
invitation from the city of Yathrib (now Medina) to teach there. His journey
to Yathrib is called the Hijra. The date of the Hijra is the date from which
the Muslim calendar starts; it marks the beginning of Muhammad’s public
and organizational work on a large scale” (MPMF, p. 380.) So when you see
a Muslim calendar you will notice that Islam is nearly 1400 years old.
Muhammad lived another 10 years and during this time was able to lead a
great movement that swept through Arabia and onto many other parts of the
world. “Using Medina as a base, he brought all Arabia, including Mecca,
under his control. He became at once the religious leader of the Arabs, their
political ruler, and military commander. Right up to the end of his life,
which occurred just after his return from his triumphal progress to Mecca in
632, the Divine revelations continued. Together they make up the text of the
Qur’an, the Holy Scripture of Islam” (MPMF, p. 380.) Muhammad was not
known to be a miracle worker as was Jesus for instance. But the Qur’an is
considered his “miracle” and the validation for all that he taught. As a result,
10
it is important for us to take a closer look at it remembering that while
Muhammad is not central to Islam, the Qur’an certainly is.
The Qur’an
Many people make the obvious analogy that the Qur’an is to Muslims what
the Bible is to Jews and Christians. But this is only superficially true and not
very accurate. It would be more accurate to say that the Qur’an is to
Muslims what Jesus (not the Bible) is to Christians. “Unlike the JudeoChristian Bible, the Qur’an is not a collection of diverse material from over
a thousand years. It was all delivered in a period of no more than twentytwo years to one man in the form of communications from God through his
angel” (MPMF, p. 381.) The Qur’an is the manifestation of God’s concern
and love for the Muslims in this world. Many Muslims have memorized the
whole Qur’an, which is about the size of the Christian New Testament.
Non-Arabic Muslims are strongly encouraged to learn Arabic so that they
can study it in its original language. While it is possible to buy copies of the
Qur’an in translation, this is not encouraged because the Arab language is
filled with certain sounds and rhythms that are not translatable, and,
therefore, other languages are inadequate for study. To be a serious Muslim
one must try to assimilate this language. “To Muslims, the Qur’an is a
miracle – the most convincing miracle of all as validation of their faith. It is
said to be untranslatable, but to be in the original Arabic of exquisite,
incomparable beauty of rhythm and expression. That one man, and he
illiterate according to tradition, could be the merely human author of ‘the
Glorious Qur’an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move
men to tears and ecstasy,’ seems to Muslims incredible” (MPMF, p. 381.) I
have heard the Qur’an’s Arabic compared to Shakespeare’s English. It is the
standard by which all other Arabic is compared and found wanting.
While Muslims respect those they call “people of the Book” (Jews and
Christians) they believe that some of the Bible has been corrupted over time.
That is why God sent to Muhammad his definitive revelation. Many people
are surprised to find that the Bible and the Qur’an share similar stories and
personages. But if there is a conflict between a version of a story found in
both the Bible and the Qur’an then Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the
accurate version. In fact it is important to note that Muslims trace their
ancestry back to Abraham, as do the Jews and Christians. When Abraham’s
wife Sarah could not have children he had a son named Ishmael by Hagar,
11
his wife’s maid. Arabs trace their ancestry back to Ishmael just as Jews trace
their ancestry back to Abraham’s son Isaac by Sarah, who eventually
conceived. Some people would trace the Jew’s and the Arab’s problems all
the way back to these two half brothers!
Another big difference between the Bible and the Qur’an is the way the
words come across. While many Christians strongly believe that the Bible is
the Word of God, they also recognize that the form of the Bible is partially
stories about God in the third person voice. The Qur’an is written in the first
person voice. Muslims believe it is God speaking directly. It is not about
God’s words and thoughts. It is God speaking: a direct transmission. “The
Holy Qur’an, they deeply believe, is the full and complete message of the
infinite Divine Mind to humanity. Thus, it is not only studied, but also
chanted, memorized, and recited on all sorts of occasions, venerated both as
words and as a book. Even its way of speaking is Divine; it represents the
personal style of Allah and so transmits something of God’s essence. Its very
choice of rhythm, metaphor, and rhetorical method, in other words, reveals
something of how God thinks and feels, just as do its contents” (MPMF, p.
381.) This is one of the reasons why the physical book containing the words
should also be respected. To profane the Qur’an would be like a Catholic
having to see Holy Communion misused and abused.
Sometimes it is easy for Westerners not familiar with Islam to take offense
at the Muslim’s differing versions of some Bible stories. But there is really
no basis for a real argument because who can decide what is true except on
the basis of his or her own faith? Each religion must try to be faithful to its
own revelation. “If the accounts of some matters common to other faiths,
such as the lives of Abraham or Jesus, seem twisted to those of such other
faiths as they appear in the Qur’an, it must be remembered that Muslims are
not, after all, Jews or Christians. They are under no obligation to regard the
versions the latter consider authoritative to be fully authentic or complete.
In fact, they consider the older Hebrew and Christian scriptures to be
incomplete and corrupted by human intervention. On the other hand, they
view the Qur’an as being complete because it was dictated directly by God,
Muhammad being only, in effect, a scribe” (MPMF, p. 381.) Philosophically
the question that interests me is why each major religion that believes in
revelation, (that is in the idea that God reveals himself to humanity), also
believe that they have the only legitimate revelation or as with Muslims,
Muhammad is the last prophet? I always wonder why does someone have to
be the last prophet? Why can’t prophecy and revelation go on and on? From
12
a religious point you can accept it on faith and I suppose that is what most
believers do.
For example, take the role of Jesus. Islam honors Jesus as a great prophet.
But they do not believe Jesus was divine and they do not believe the Romans
crucified him. They believe he slipped away just before capture and was
taken to heaven by God until he returns at the end of the world. They also
recognize many other people such as Moses as great prophets. “The role of
Jesus in the Qur’an and in this series of prophets usually puzzles Christians.
The Qur’an makes Jesus the greatest before Muhammad. He was called to
preserve the Torah of the Jews and was a wise teacher of deep inward
holiness. (This last quality has made him especially beloved of the esoteric
mystics of Islam, [the Sufis].) Jesus has, to say the least, been far more
highly regarded by Muslims than Muhammad has been by Christians”
(MPMF, p. 383.) Muslims also honor Mary the mother of Jesus. Muslims do
not believe in Jesus the way Christians do, but the fact that they honor him
could be an important source of peace and dialogue among these two largest
religions of the world.
For those of you who have never opened a Qur’an it might be interesting to
see how it reads in English. Remember that Muslims do not consider the
English translation completely accurate, but nevertheless it can give you a
“taste” for what the Qur’an is like. “In the Name of Allah, the
Compassionate, the Merciful, Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Creation, The
Compassionate, the Merciful, King of Judgment-day! You alone we
worship, and to You alone we pray for help. Guide us to the straight path,
The path of those whom You have favored, Not of those who have incurred
Your wrath, Nor of those who have gone astray. (MPMF, pp. 381-382.) The
immediate focus is on the compassion and mercy of Allah. This focus is
renewed again and again. It will be important to remember this as we
explore other ideas in Islam.
Muslims believe that Islam is a correction to earlier monotheistic faiths
partially because Islam simplifies things and brings worship of the one God
back to its original purity. “Muslims believe that Islam is the ultimate
religion, the complete religion. It is the religion of Abraham, the primal
monotheism of the beginning, come back in finalized form. It is the ultimate
form of religion because it is in fact the simplest and clearest. It is just the
essence of religion, plain and perfect submission to the absolute God in all
areas of life” (MPMF, p. 382.) It is true that much of religion can be reduced
13
to a believer seeking a personal relationship with the divine. To be in a right
relationship with God is to follow the path he has laid out for humans.
Muslims believe that this path to a relationship with Allah was laid out in the
Qur’an. That path is summed up in the Five Pillars, which we will look at
shortly.
Can the message of Islam be summarized easily? Yes. “All the way through,
then, the central message of Islam is oneness: the unity of the line of true
prophets, the oneness of final prophet and book, the oneness of the People of
God, the one submission to be made, and finally the supreme oneness of
God” (MPMF, p. 384.) This focus on the oneness of God and of all life is
what allows Islam to remain fundamentally simple. It is also the key to the
Sufi’s understanding of reality. Their whole practice takes off with unity and
oneness as the starting point. After all, if we are all one with God then the
separation we experience must be an illusion. More on this when we discuss
the Sufis below.
Anyone familiar with psychology knows that great ideas like the oneness of
God can lead people to believe that they have a special or unique
relationship with God. This is the legitimate danger of prophets. That
prophets may be real can be accepted on faith, but we also all know that
there are serious problems with “false prophets” taking advantage of people.
To avoid these problems of “spiritual materialism” Islam has instituted a
series of rules that function much like the Jewish Torah. It becomes a way of
life, a way of living out the unity that is spoken of in the Qur’an. “The
tradition has tried hard to combat the human proclivity to mix piety and
egotism through the shari’a, or law. Islam makes the Qur’an not only a book
of God’s self-revelation but also a source of practical regulations covering
such matters as marriage, almsgiving, relations with non-Muslims, and
punishment of criminals” (MPMF, p. 384.) To study the Qur’an is to realize
that all of life falls under religious law and is one of the reasons that many
Muslims prefer to live in a Muslim ruled state.
The Law has been added to over the years in much the way the Talmud was
formed in Judaism. It allows people to find ways to apply God’s law in new
situations and contexts. “Shari’a is the Qur’an as it is explicated and
expanded by recognized jurists who depend in this process upon hadith,
traditions based on extra-Qur’anic sayings and examples in the life of
Muhammad” (MPMF, p. 384.) The Qur’an is the only scripture in Islam. But
because Muhammad is so respected people pay a lot of attention to the way
14
he lived his life and the things he said. These traditions are known as the
hadith and it provides the first commentary upon the Qur’an. If the Qur’an is
the direct words of Allah, then hadith is the direct words and stories about
Muhammad.
One word we have all heard so much about is the word jihad. “Out of the
community ideal of Islam comes the concept of jihad, or holy war, which is
designed to defend Islam and allow its social practice, though not to force
individual conversions, which is forbidden by doctrine, if not in actual
practice in some places” (MPMF, p. 385.) Jihad is about defensive war, not
offensive war. So when you hear of terrorists who claim to be fighting a
jihad, a holy war, you need to ask yourself: is it true? Part of that question is
to ask yourself if terrorists feel that they are defending themselves or not.
For example, the attack on the World Trade Center comes across at first
sight as an unprovoked attack upon the United States. And it is perfectly
acceptable to see it as that as so many do. But some folks argue that while it
appears to be offensive, it was in fact an act of defense against the Western
world.
Why? Because some Muslims feel that Western moral values, materialism,
and disregard for traditional religious obligations is an attack on the Muslim
way of life. Muslims may not have been defending themselves against
American soldiers, but some felt they were defending themselves against
American values, products, entertainment, etc. Again, this is too
controversial to settle in a philosophy class. My point in bringing it up is to
have students look at it with fresh eyes and ask themselves two questions. 1)
Is jihad as currently expressed self-defense? 2) And if it is, what are
Muslims defending themselves against? What are they afraid of? By asking
these questions you will at the very least have a more intelligent discussion
then falling back on how “stupid” it is.
Claiming that jihad is only about war makes another mistake so common in
the study of religions, which is to reduce very profound ideas to their most
common and low level. “On the deepest level many Muslims interpret the
jihad as allegorical of the spiritual struggle” (MPMF, p. 386.) It makes more
spiritual sense to translate jihad as “holy struggle” rather than “holy war”
because then it would include self-defense but also much more. Any act of
self control and discipline can be seen as a “holy struggle.” Even on the
simple and common level of our human body think about the difficulty some
of us have to lose some weight, quit drinking, or quit smoking. Surely these
15
disciplines are jihads, holy struggles! To practice a discipline of prayer or to
fight injustice - these too are jihads. It is important to not reduce great ideas
to their lowest levels. That is one advantage to studying great ideas in a
philosophy class. We get the chance to step back from our usual take on
ideas and ask ourselves again what else they could mean.
Now let’s take a closer look at the Islamic way of life.
The Five Pillars of Islam
As mentioned in the introduction, Islam has five general forms of religious
practice called “The Five Pillars of Islam: the confession of faith, prayer five
times a day, giving of alms to the poor, fasting in the month of Ramadan,
and the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca” (MPMF, p. 386.) It is now time to take
a closer look at each of these five practices and try to gain an understanding
of what they mean to Muslims and the role these pillars play in their daily
lives.
The confession of faith is much like a creed. It is a simple statement of faith.
It is a way of stating “this I hold to be true.” “The first of the Five Pillars is
to say, “There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the rasul
(prophet or messenger) of God.” (MPMF, p. 386.) While short and succinct
it nevertheless has the power of implying: “therefore what God and the
prophet of God require I will believe and do.” It is also a community
statement. Like the Pledge of Allegiance before public events in the United
States, it is a statement declaring one’s union with, and commitment to, the
community.
Because Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last prophet, they also
believe he was the greatest prophet. And while they are careful not to deify
him or worship him, they do hold him and what he taught in the highest
regard. “Muhammad is considered a paragon of virtue and fountain of
wisdom, so that his sayings and acts, as transmitted by tradition, are basic
precedents in Muslim law. But he is not a saint, seer, wonder-worker, divine
incarnation, or even a profound mystic like the Buddha or a peerless
philosopher like Confucius” (MPMF, p. 386.) So when they claim in their
confession of faith that Muhammad is the prophet they are not claiming to
follow Muhammad so much as they are claiming to follow what he revealed
about God and God’s will for human life.
16
I will examine the second pillar regarding prayer separately when we discuss
the mosque below.
To give charity is fundamental to most of the religions of the world. “The
third pillar is almsgiving. The fundamental obligation is to give a relatively
small percentage of one’s wealth to the needy within the Muslim community
on a regular basis; expanded, it covers good works and comradely attitudes
in general, a helping hand and friendly smile for one’s neighbor. This pillar
reaffirms the social and ethical dimensions of Islam” (MPMF, p. 386.) The
idea behind charity is solidarity and a celebration of unity and oneness.
Sometimes the charity has become a bit rigid in Muslim societies where it is
collected as a tax. It becomes automatic and impersonal. The idea is to not
simply give money, but to give of oneself. To be of service and to do so in a
cheerful way is also part of this pillar. The idea is not for it to be a
“sacrifice” but for it to be a joy to be able to give to others. It is fun to have
money to do things we want, it is good to save and invest, and it is also good
to be able to give. It is a part of life. It is also an expression of thankfulness.
To have enough money to not only meet your own needs, but also to give is
a privilege and expression of gratitude for all the good things in our lives. It
is also a reminder that we may be the people in need at some point.
The lesson for all of us is that the poverty and starvation in the world is
completely unnecessary. It is true that the growing population of the world is
a problem in many people’s eyes, but it is also true that currently there is
enough to go around. The problem is in distribution. For example, the
United States throws away tons of food and even pays farmers to not grow
food so that prices will remain stable. The idea of charity is not that
everyone has to have exactly the same amount. There will always be people
who have less and others who have more. There is not even necessarily a
moral issue with that. The moral issue is not with poor people but with
people who are destitute. Poor is one thing; homeless and starving is
another. Because of this it seems significant that Islam makes almsgiving
central to the spiritual life of its believers.
The next pillar also has to do with community solidarity and self-control.
“The fourth pillar of Islam is the fast of Ramadan. Ramadan is a lunar
month of about twenty-eight days in the Muslim calendar; during this period
the faithful are neither to eat nor drink between daybreak and dark, but to
give attention to prayer and religion” (MPMF, p. 387.) The fasting is an act
17
of community because everyone is doing it together. You are all hungry and
thirsty together, but then after the sun sets in the evening families join
together for a meal. The month ends with a big celebration and feast, much
like the American Thanksgiving, that is also a time of gathering together and
joy.
I don’t know how many of you have ever tried to fast, but if you have you
know that it can be quite difficult. As a result one can become kind of
focused on the hunger or thirst to the exclusion of all else. This is natural,
but it can also lead to missing the whole point if you don’t try to do
something about it. Ultimately, religious fasting is to help people spiritually.
It is not simply a physical thing. Muslims are not fasting to lose weight even
though that might be a nice side benefit. Fasting is a reminder of humanity’s
spiritual hunger for union with God. If Muslims let their physical hunger
remind them of their spiritual hunger and let that reminder turn their hearts
to prayer then they are beginning to gain the benefits intended. Fasting
during Ramadan is not just about food. People are also asked to forego sex,
smoking, and “evil thoughts” during the same period of sunrise to sunset. By
evil thoughts are meant gossip, bitterness, unforgiving thoughts, etc. The
idea is to turn the month of Ramadan into a month of spiritual renewal.
Muslim bodies become leaner and more disciplined, but so should their
thoughts and emotions. To focus only on food is another example of taking a
great idea and reducing it to its lowest common denominator.
Finally there is the trip every Muslim is asked to make at least once in their
life to Mecca. “The fifth pillar is one known to almost everyone who has
heard anything about Islam: the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj”
(MPMF, p. 387.) On an external level, the trip to Mecca is focused around a
visit to the Ka’ba, which is connected to Abraham. “Abraham under God’s
instructions built the cubical shrine at Mecca – the Ka’ba – with the help of
Ishmael” (MPMF, p. 388.) It is believed to be the first structure dedicated to
the Oneness of God, or in other words, monotheism. It is also a great
community act as most pilgrims go at a time when more than a million
fellow pilgrims join them.
One interesting note about pilgrimage is that everyone wears the same outfit
and therefore there is a loss of rank, wealth and privilege. You might be
standing next to a poor person or a princess. There are a bunch of ritual acts
everyone performs together such as the circling around the Ka’ba a number
of times and the visits you can make to other important holy sites and places
18
involved with the early history of Islam. If you are familiar with the life
story of Malcolm X or have read his autobiography you will realize how
important an event it is to go on pilgrimage. Malcolm X was involved with
the Black Muslims in the United States and really hated white folks for the
most part. But he had an enlightening experience in Mecca where he saw
white people, brown people, black people, etc. all worshipping Allah
together in peace and harmony. This changed him and his ideas about how
to change racism. Unfortunately he was killed shortly after his return to the
United States.
So, as with the other pillars, there is more than just the physical act in going
on pilgrimage. Ultimately it is to be seen as a spiritual event. “Perhaps the
best explanation is that of the great medieval theologian al-Ghazali. He
pointed out that the hajj is meant to be a supreme act of Islam, of submission
and self-abnegation. That which is less than rationally appealing or
satisfying to refined feeling can do much to purify and eliminate the egotism
that easily lingers in a heart that considers itself refined. The hajj is an act of
sheer devotion and of sheer identification with the inscrutable mind of God
and with the Islamic tradition. It affirms that at the center of true religion is
the finite human facing the infinite mystery of God, not the satisfaction of
human inclinations” (MPMF, pp. 389-390.) It is considered a real honor to
have completed a pilgrimage and it is a significant turning point in the life of
each person who goes. Much like a baptism or Bar or Bat Mitzvah, this is a
“before and after” event.
While all people are encouraged to make the pilgrimage it is realized that not
everyone is able to go due to financial or health problems, etc. So it is not
like breaking a commandment. If you don’t go you don’t end up in hell or
something awful like that. But it is considered sad and unfortunate, like
missing the wedding of a close family member or best friend. It is something
you want to make every effort to attend if you can. Needless to say, the
pilgrimage was a much more difficult and time-consuming event in the days
before jet travel!
Prayers and Mosques
Earlier I skipped over the second pillar of Islam regarding prayer. Now it is
time to take a closer look at that pillar which is so important to the practicing
Muslim. “Five times a day the faithful Muslim’s mind and heart, perhaps
prompted by the muezzin, turns away from the things of the world to prayer”
19
(MPMF, p. 390.) The muezzin is the prayer leader who traditionally stands
on top of the tower located on most mosques and calls the people to worship.
More often than not in modern times, Muslims will make use of a
loudspeaker system and a recorded message. If you ever visit a
predominantly Muslim country the call to prayer will be one of the
outstanding memories you will have.
Prayers begin with a ritual washing. All mosques contain fountains and
running water for this purpose. “Before prayers, one must be in a state of
purification. This is attained by formal washing” (MPMF, p. 390.) This
washing is a symbol of the deeper purification that is sought. A Muslim tries
to let go of the stresses and worries of the moment, clear his or her head, and
focus on Allah. This is the real purification and spiritual discipline required
by regular prayer. “Several further conditions should be met, if possible, out
of respect for this sacred action. One should pray in a clean place free of
defilement. For this reason, many Muslims use special small carpets, prayer
rugs, which they spread over the place of prayer. One must be modestly
dressed. Before beginning, one must articulate in one’s mind the intention to
say the right prayers. Finally, one must pray facing in the direction of
Mecca” (MPMF, p. 390.) This may sound overly complicated, but once the
Muslim is use to the routine he or she can quickly fulfill these outer
conditions. For example, modern American Muslims will keep a prayer rug
with them and set it up facing Mecca in an empty room or office during their
breaks at work or school.
Most of the time a Muslim prays alone or with family at home, but whenever
possible a Muslim will prefer to pray with the community. “The mosque is
the ideal place for corporate prayers, and the noon prayers on Friday are
generally recited there. This is the major weekly Muslim service; in it certain
additional prayers are offered, and two sermons, separated by a short break,
are delivered by the Imam, or learned teacher, retained by the mosque”
(MPMF, p. 391.) This Friday service is important to keep in mind if you
decide to visit a mosque for your final project. You won’t be able to find
services on a Sunday like you will at a Christian service or a Saturday at a
Jewish service. However, some people pray at a mosque every day you may
be able to attend a service any day of the week if you call around.
Mosques are usually very simple. They are often a large empty room whose
floors are covered by Persian rugs for the comfort of those praying. “The
typical architecture of the mosque was originally inspired by the Arab house
20
with its large courtyard and by the basilica-type Christian churches of
conquered lands, some of which were converted into mosques … Far
simpler in ornamentation than most churches and temples of other faiths, yet
imposing and monumental, the mosque well reflects the austerity and
majesty of Islam and its God” (MPMF, p. 392.) It should be noted that
prayers in Islam are quite physical as people move, bow, and place their
foreheads on the ground in front of them in a number of stylized movements.
People familiar with a Roman Catholic service where there is sitting,
standing, and kneeling will be more comfortable with this style of prayer.
Historic Islam
We have discussed some of the religious aspects of Islam such as
Muhammad, the Qur’an and the Five Pillars. Throughout those discussions I
stressed the role of community in Islam and the fact that Islam is a culture
and society as well as a religion. Now it is time to take a closer look at Islam
as a historical movement. Besides being a religious leader, Muhammad was
a very strong political leader. Arabia at the time of Muhammad was broken
up into a bunch of tribes who were often at war with each other. There were
the Persian, Ethiopian, and Byzantine empires, but they did not include
Arabia. Muhammad knew that for his people to thrive they needed to unite.
He was able to bring all of Arabia under Muslim rule before he died.
How was Muhammad able to do this? What was he really like? “Unlike
other religious founders, Muhammad died a popular hero among his people,
a ruler, a successful diplomat, politician, and general. He was also a mystic
visionary, but there was nothing ethereal about him. Instead he seemed to
his people a man larger than life in many senses: warmhearted, full of
cheerful humor, a planner of stratagems, a marshal who rode into battle with
his troops and held his following together by the force of his personality
when all seemed darkest – yet also a seer deep in prayer and vision alone in
the desert, a rock of convinced faith and principle and of a trustworthy and
sympathetic nature. From this complex and extraordinary man came the
Islamic faith that seems at once made for humans as they are, with their
needs for politics, laws, war, and sexual expression – and made for God as
he is at his most magnificent: personal, creative, sovereign, and glorious,
calling humans to total submission” (MPMF, pp. 393-394.) Like Judaism,
Islam is very much a “this world” religion. They do have an afterlife to
which they look forward to arriving, but this life here and now is not to be
21
slighted. It is not a monastic religion, but a religion of real people struggling
with the real world. This trait is still a large part of Islam and part of the
reason it still attracts so many people.
Muhammad’s followers expanded Islam past the borders of Arabia to
include much of the known world. “Within a century, the caliphs (“deputies”
of the Prophet as temporal ruler), who were successors of Muhammad, ruled
from Spain and Morocco to the Indus in the East” (MPMF, p. 394.) If you
remember how long it took Christianity to spread and how Christianity was
confined to Europe for many hundreds of years it gives you some
perspective on how fast Islam spread.
This rapid spread of Islam was also its most vibrant time. These were the
golden years. “The years of the Baghdad caliphate (750-1258) and of the
Cordova caliphate in Spain (755-1236) were the glorious years of early
Islamic civilization. In the caliphates, art, science, and philosophy matured
– thanks in part to Muslim revival of ancient Greek wisdom and the
transmission West of lore from India. Modern mathematics has roots in the
Arabic system of numbers and the zero, which the Muslims borrowed from
India but whose use they explored. The Greek classics, including the
philosophy and science of Plato and Aristotle, came back to Europe in the
late Middle Ages and the Renaissance by way of the Muslim world”
(MPMF, p. 394.) Muslims invented Algebra and made many scientific
advances.
Muslims did not experience a division between science and religion like
Christianity did for so long. Science, the exploration of the natural world,
was an honored field and also considered a way of coming to know God.
The Church would often suppress scientific knowledge if it felt this
knowledge conflicted with the Bible or Church tradition. Muslims never
encountered these types of problems, at least in its early years. But as we
have seen with other religions, the belief in divine revelation can become a
conservative trait as things change in the world and people try to keep the
original tradition alive and healthy. New ideas and new trends begin to seem
threatening. We have seen this stagnation occur in both Christianity and
Judaism.
While Islam expanded and thrived in the external world, internally things
were becoming frozen. “Internally, the shari’a had a stultifying effect, as in
case after case it became more and more fixed. The rule of law believed to
22
have Divine sanction inevitably made society static, putting a premium on
conformity rather than innovation and new ideas” (MPMF, p. 394.) Each
religion has to figure out best how to do this. Reformers are needed who
have the magic of renewing the tradition in its deepest sense without so
watering down the religion that it is no longer recognized as itself.
Throughout Islamic history, its civilization has found unique ways to express
itself in artistic creation; perhaps the most outstanding form would be
calligraphy. As with the Jews, Muslims do not believe that artists should
make pictures of Allah, for he is believed to be beyond any human image or
likeness. “Although not directly Qur’anic, the idea that representation led to
idolatry early became almost universal in the Muslim world” (MPMF, p.
396.) Even though it is not forbidden in the Qur’an, this tradition has the
force of law. It is one reason you will not see images in mosques. But you
cannot completely suppress the need to create art. Many people have a real
need to find a creative outlet and express themselves. One Islamic form of
art that has become famous and has to do with their love of the Qur’an is
their very beautiful calligraphy. Since Allah is revealed in the written Qur’an
there is no fear of making the words as beautiful as possible.
As in the Eastern Orthodox tradition in Christianity, Islamic art has taken on
the values of what the Orthodox call icons. That is, sacred art reveals
something of the mystery of the spiritual world. “So also the paintings that
illumine the pages of books and sometimes the walls of schools and tombs
give more a sense of conveying mystical rather than ordinary reality”
(MPMF, p. 398.) A person is drawn in and is asked to look past the surface
to the hidden meanings of the text.
Sometimes a text written in calligraphy is surrounded by arabesque designs,
which will also sometimes decorate mosque walls and ceilings. “In the same
way as the arabesque [calligraphy like drawings], these ostensibly
representational works actually do not show the world as it is but as it
appears to one whose eyes are opened to the presence of the God within and
above all that is, and so they preserve a sacred, not a worldly or idolatrous,
vision. The famous Persian carpets also often have a comparable sacred
message; the spot in the center upon which the elaborate design focuses is an
opening from time into eternity” (MPMF, p. 398.) For many people
spirituality and creativity go together and help nurture each other.
23
In literature, Islamic civilization created some of the world’s greatest poetry.
As stated earlier, the best selling poet in the United States is a Sufi poet who
lived long ago named Rumi. “In Islamic literature, poetry has been of far
more importance than prose, for the two most influential literary languages
of Islam – Arabic and Persian – lend themselves well to poetry and have
highly exalted poetic feeling” (MPMF, p. 398.) The Qur’an itself is
considered a work of not only religious and spiritual genius, but also a
literary masterpiece. Perhaps because so many Muslims memorize great
sections of the Qur’an they have it working deep in their minds and it helps
give expression to the great poetry of Islam.
The Sufi’s took this love of poetry and their love of Allah and used it to
write some of the greatest verse in the world. “It is in the mystical tradition,
above all in Persia, that the spiritual verse of Islam flowers. As much
influenced by the secular poetry of wine and love as by the Qur’an, these
songs of the spirit boldly use the language of intoxication and carnal passion
to speak of the relation of the soul to God, the supreme Friend and Lover.
They celebrate the “inebriate of God” beside himself with Divine love, yet
still able to express that love in soaring verse” (MPMF, p. 398.) Rumi wrote
that we should “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds
of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” One meaning of this is that the
infinite God can be served and worshipped in an infinite number of ways.
Philosophy, Science, and the Intellectual Life of Islam
Intellectual life was very much alive during the golden years of Islamic
civilization. When you have a text that needs to be read, studied, and then
applied to society it fosters the intellectual life of those charged with this
task. “Another very important motif, intrinsic to Islam and related to court
and mosque alike, is the prestige given to scholarship because of the
importance of the law and so of its right interpretation. Members of the
ulama, or body of learned men, adorned courts and presided in mosques;
they also founded universities and searched out the philosophical
underpinnings of faith” (MPMF, p. 399.) It seems that once the initial
revelation is accepted in the religions we have studied, then it becomes the
task of theologians to explain this text to the people. To do this it is
necessary to understand the culture and the worldview of the people you are
talking to. This is how philosophy enters the picture. We have seen this in
Judaism with the formation of the Talmud and in Christianity as it
24
encountered the world of Greek philosophy and Roman law. Religions must
adapt to their surroundings to some extent. How much they should adapt is
always one of the crucial questions faced by religious leaders.
Islam was able to make advances in knowledge at a time new intellectual
breakthroughs were at an all time low in Europe. “The scientific work of the
Golden Age of Islamic civilization has rightly been much acclaimed.
Learned Arab men of the Baghdad caliphate and the Spanish caliphate
preserved classical Greek and Roman scholarship and transmitted to Europe
much of importance from farther East” (MPMF, p. 399.) For example, in
math the concept of the number zero was brought from India to the Western
world by way of Islam. This allowed mathematics to make progress and this
progress allowed science to continue to develop. “They also made
substantial advances in such varied fields as astronomy, optics, medicine,
geography, and chemistry. Had it not been for the world of Islam, ancient
learning would undoubtedly have been lost to a much greater extent than it
was, and important advances that set the stage for modern science would not
have been possible” (MPMF, p. 399.) Progress was seen as a good thing in
Islam, an unfolding of Allah’s will for humans.
Rationalism and Mysticism in the Development of Islamic Thought
Whenever you study religion you see a number of basic ways of relating to
spiritual revelation. One of these ways is the way of the rationalists and
another way is the way of the mystics. As with all generalizations you must
be careful to not make them too rigid, for many people bridge both ways.
But it is still a good way to approach the study of religion and how people
respond to revelation. People with a philosophical bent want religion to
make sense. They see the universe as composed of laws that follow a certain
logic. Because of this they assume that the creator of the universe is a lawful
being that can be understood best when the laws of existence are understood
and put into practice. These people are often called rationalists.
An example of a rationalist school of philosophy in Islam: “A very
significant early school of Islamic thought was the Mu’tazila, founded by
Wasil ibn Ata (699-749). It exhibited a strong rationalist tendency. What
God does is always what is best according to reason, and reason is equal to
revelation and superior to tradition as a source of truth, according to the
Mu’tazila thinkers” (MPMF, p. 400.) Many times it is easy for religious
people to put a great deal of stress on how things have been understood or
25
done in the past. This is called tradition. Tradition is very important in
organizations like the Roman Catholic Church. It is believed that not only
the revelations of God are important, but also the ways those revelations
were first understood and applied is very important. But rationalists want
traditions to be subject to the law of reason. If a tradition does not make
sense then we should be able to let go of it. Revelation is important, but so is
using the mind that God gave us. This sounds fine until one person finds him
or herself struggling to make a decision where the mind says one thing and
the heart says another. Then what is one to do?
We all know people who will follow their heart rather than their head. To the
logical person this may seem like a mistake and yet time tells a different
story. Often the person who followed their heart is the one proved right in
the end, or if not absolutely right then at least happier with the results of
their decisions. Mystics tend to fall in line with those who follow their
hearts. They see a purpose for reason and rationality, but they also see its
limits. They tend to respond differently than the rationalists. “A reaction that
was to condition all subsequent mainstream Islamic theology came through
the writings of Abul-Hasan al-Ash’ari (873-935), from which Ash’arism
developed. He taught that Divine actions couldn’t be explained in terms of
human reason. God is simply absolute power and grace, mysterious rather
than reasonable on the human level, to be adored and obeyed” (MPMF, p.
400.) At this point it is good to remember our discussion of the pre-rational,
and trans-rational distinction. To admit that God may be bigger than we can
rationally take in does not mean that we have to live and act on a pre-rational
level. Mystics are not stupid people. They argue that reason must be used
until it no longer serves a purpose. At that point one must allow a transrational (but not irrational!) understanding to take the place of reason.
Mystics accept the fact that the universe and God have more mystery to
them than we can solve with all of our knowledge. While Islam has its own
unique understanding of these two ways - rational and mystical - it is
important in a philosophy class to see that these two ways are universal and
found in all of the world’s religions.
One way of understanding the above distinctions if you find them difficult is
to think of personality differences. People are very different from one
another and yet it is also easy to group people in two basic categories - the
extroverts and the introverts. Some people are more social and outer directed
than others. These are the extroverts. Other people are more solitary and
inner directed. These are the introverts. They have much in common as
26
human beings, but they also have unique ways of relating to the world. The
same can be said of religious traditions. Sometimes the mystics have more
influence and sometimes the rationalists. The important thing to keep in
mind is that these ideas are not to be seen in rigid categories. Many people
have a pretty nice balance between being extroverts and introverts. If we will
look at our own lives we will see that sometimes we are more introverted
and other times more extroverted. From an Integral Philosophy perspective it
is good to have both ways. Neither the mystical nor the rationalist position is
“better” than the other. Both are needed. In fact, the most holy people are
often very mystical and very rational at the same time. There are not a lot of
stupid saints in this world!
Sunni and Shi’a Islam
Besides rationalists and mystics, there are two other divisions in Islam that
are important to know about. These divisions tend to be more political than
spiritual or mental, but they are notable and need to be addressed. These
divisions go back right to the beginning of Islam and had to do with
differences over who was to succeed Muhammad as leader of the Muslims.
“The most important division today is between the Sunni and Shi’a
traditions. Sunni Islam is the normative Islam of most places except Iran.
Shi’a Islam is the official Islam of Iran, is dominant in southern Iraq, and is
represented by minorities in Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Yemen, and
elsewhere” (MPMF, p. 401.) Sunni Islam contains the great majority of
Muslims, about 85%.
“Sunna means “well-trodden path,” and it refers to the consensus of
traditional legal and social practices, as well as referring to the majority
Islamic community that claims to be founded on the authentic and correct
consensus tradition” (MPMF, p. 401.) Rather than have a single, central
authority (a Pope like figure) Sunni Islam relies on the consensus of a group
of scholars to reach decisions regarding beliefs and practices. During the
heights of Islamic civilization, when Caliphs ruled the empire, there was a
greater central authority located in their courts. But today, each Muslim
country is self-governing. It is true that certain leaders may gain a great level
of respect and are, therefore, looked upon as a greater authority, but this is
not a hereditary or an elected position. Rather it is a natural authority.
27
However, this traditional position is not accepted in Shi’a Islam. “Shi’a
Islam, the Islam of Iran, southern Iraq, and minorities elsewhere, is different
in tone and more complex. Shi’ites believe that after Muhammad there was
intended to be a succession of Imams, divinely appointed and authoritative
teachers of Islam, to guide the faithful” (MPMF, p. 402.) These leaders,
believed by Muslims as divinely chosen, have as a result a great deal of
authority and charisma. Interestingly, they believe that the twelfth Imam
who was born in 869 is still alive but hidden. He will be revealed at the end
of time as “the Imam Zaman, or Mahdi, the Imam for All Time” (MPMF, p.
405.) In many ways this Imam plays a messianic role (bringing justice and
peace to all of the earth), a role familiar from Judaism and Christianity. Jews
are waiting for a messiah figure and Christians are waiting for the second
coming of Christ. Now you see that Shi’a Muslims are waiting for the Mahdi
to arrive. Abraham Joshua Heschel once asked: “Since all three religions are
waiting for a messianic-like figure to appear, wouldn’t it be great if they
could wait together in peace?”
The Sunni’s and Shi’a Muslims share much the same faith in the prophet
Muhammad, the holiness of the Qur’an and the Five Pillars, but they are still
divided today as can be seen in the aftermath of the United States war in Iraq
when Sunni’s and the Shi’a are at odds about power and control in postSaddam Iraq. “The basic difference between Sunni and Shi’a Islam on the
question of authority is clear: for Sunni Islam it derives from ijma,
consensus of the community; for the Shi’a it is entirely centralized, in
theory, in the Imam or his deputies, whom the faithful are to hear and obey”
(MPMF, p. 405.) Many people have made claims to be the Mahdi until times
prove him false. But while in the ascendancy he is able to attract almost
fanatical devotion from his followers. Many Shi’a Muslims wondered if the
Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran (during the Islamic revolution in the 1970’s and
1980’s) would be revealed as the Mahdi. This was one reason why he had
such great authority.
Islamic Mysticism
In a strange twist of fate, Western people tend to be more familiar with
Islamic mysticism than they are with Islam itself. With most religions people
tend to know more about the mainstream beliefs than they do the more
hidden and esoteric beliefs of the mystics. But, if only for the poetry alone as
mentioned before, Islamic mysticism is fairly well known in the West and is
called Sufism. No one knows for sure where the word “Sufi” comes from
28
but many scholars thinks it comes from the Arabic word suf that refers to the
woolen garments worn by many Islamic mystics at one time. “A discussion
of Islam would be superficial if it dealt only with its outward, official history
and practices and left out the mystical wing, which has frequently given the
faith of Muhammad another face. This tradition is known to the West as
Sufism and its practitioners as Sufis. Their God is the same God as that of
the Qur’an and the tradition. But they seek not only to follow his external
commandments but also to know him intimately and even to lose themselves
in love into the depths of his being. Around the Sufis’ mystic quest have
clustered a number of auxiliary practices, many of great beauty: spiritual
masters, parables and wisdom tales, spiritual fraternities, schools of
meditation, and techniques of attaining ecstasy through music, chanting, and
dance” (MPMF, pp. 407-408.) As we saw with the division in religions
between rationalists and mystics, another common motif in religions is some
form of monasticism. While neither Judaism nor Islam has formal monks,
they both have movements that are somewhat similar. In Judaism the
Hasidic folks gave themselves to religious devotion and service with the
same degree of commitment as Catholic monks. These folks in Islam are the
Sufi’s.
Sufi’s often gather around an acknowledged master of the spiritual life. On
an outer level they live as ordinary Muslims. They have jobs and get married
and have families and must follow the Five Pillars and all other ordinary
rules. But they also add a great deal of special practices to their lives. These
practices go all the way back to beliefs about Muhammad meditating in the
cave where he received his revelations. Surely, Sufis believe, Muhammad
was undergoing special rites known to the mystics of all times. These are the
ways one becomes open to the presence of God. “Many Sufis believe not
only that their way is that of Muhammad himself, but also that Sufism is
really a timeless path known to the wise in all generations, just as in a sense
Muhammad’s declaration was but a restoration of the true primordial faith of
Abraham and of Eden. Doubtless there is truth to this, represented
historically by the parallels and possible influence between Sufism and
Asiatic shamanism, Greek Neoplatonism, Christian monasticism, and the
lore of Hinduism and Buddhism” (MPMF, p. 408.) The more you study
world religions the more you become aware of not only similar beliefs, but
similar practices.
As we saw in Christianity, monasticism flourished when Christianity
became aligned with the Roman Empire. One of these reasons is that
29
Christianity was no longer difficult and dangerous as understood by the
common person. Monasticism gave people a chance to really give
everything to God. Islam also experienced a certain level of “easiness” with
its quick success in becoming an empire. It should not be surprising at this
point to realize that whenever a religion becomes too comfortable, there will
be those who seek a more difficult path of purification, sacrifice and love.
“Within Islamic history, Sufism became visible as a movement about a
century after Muhammad. Like Shi’a but in a different way, Sufism was a
reaction against the luxury and corruption, the loss of original desert
simplicity and pure faith, which many serious Muslims saw overtaking the
newly triumphant Islamic world of the caliphates” (MPMF, p. 408.) We see
this even in sporting events. It used to be that a marathon was a big deal. But
now that thousands are completing marathons there are those who seek a
more difficult challenge by doing super marathons like the “Ironman” in
Hawaii.
As Sufism became more defined it also became more structured and
philosophical. It developed systems and those systems saw one’s spiritual
life in developmental terms. One progresses from a state of ignorance to
awakening to complete union with God where the identification with God is
so strong that one is no longer aware of oneself as a separate self. “Abu
Yazid al-Bistami (d. 874) described the stages of the spiritual life leading up
to fana, complete passing away of the separate individual self into God. The
fana state was often manifested in ecstatic spiritual intoxication. In that state,
al-Bistami, hardly knowing whether it was he or God in him whose words
they were, did not shrink from such expressions as ‘I am your Lord,’ ‘Praise
be to me, how great is my majesty,’ or ‘My banner is greater than that of
Muhammad.’ The conventional were duly shocked” (MPMF, p. 409.) The
shock comes from a “normal” person believing that the mystic is on a
massive “ego trip” and is blaspheming God. This is a classic “pre-trans
fallacy” where a trans-rational comment is understood on a pre-rational
level.
Most religious traditions have a history of persecuting mystics. Mystics are
considered problematic because they are not easy to control and do not
always follow the standard rules and expectations. As a result they make
ordinary religious folk feel uncomfortable. “In 922, one of these Godpossessed persons of uninhibited rapture, al-Hallaj, was executed at Baghdad
for saying “I am the Truth” – “Truth” being an attribute of Allah. The tragic
al-Hallaj had taken Jesus, in Islam the exemplar of the inward mystic, as his
30
model of the God-incarnate man, and he was sentenced to the same fate as
Jesus: crucifixion” (MPMF, p. 409.) Many religious people “believe” in God
without actually “knowing” God. When someone comes along who claims
that they know God than the believer assumes that they are lying or deluded.
Many of the great saints of all of the world’s religions have been persecuted
and condemned and even killed before they are later recognized as saints.
While it is true that some people after a radical mystical experience will
think that they are above normal expectations and rules, this is not traditional
or accepted by the true masters of the spiritual life. Mystics are expected to
live up to all the normal rules and expectations, but they are also expected to
go beyond them not by dropping the rules but by deepening them and
making outward actions symbolize inner actions. “Sufi masters generally
have emphasized doing the normative devotions of Islam but with a special
mind to the inward as well as the outward aspects. But beyond that, there
are particular ecstatic techniques for knowing God that the shaykhs [a
spiritual guide] taught: practices such as dhikr (or wird), reciting the
beautiful names of God on beads; or even whirling dances like those of the
dervishes.” (MPMF, p. 410.) Sometimes you will hear in the paper about a
demonstration of the Whirling Dervishes. I encourage you to check it out. If
you have never read Rumi or some of the other Sufi poets you might want to
check them out sooner rather than later. They are extremely beautiful and
moving words.
Islam in the World Today
You only have to glance at the evening news to realize that Islam has a large
presence in the modern world. “At the beginning of the twenty-first century,
Islam finds itself second only to Christianity in number of active members
among the religions of the world” (MPMF, p. 412.) Not only is it large but it
is also experiencing a renaissance of spirituality, activity and political
strength. Only a hundred years ago Islam was considered a backward and
devastated religion. “In 1900, the Muslim world was notoriously in decline
compared to Europe and America. It was sunk in poverty and
technologically backward. Much of it was subject to humiliating European
colonial rule” (MPMF, p. 412.) The Muslim world was going through a time
much like the Christian “dark ages.”
So much changed during the last century. Christianity could envision a
whole world turned Christian, but instead, many of the traditionally
31
Christian lands have seen a loss of interest in religious practice. The
Orthodox are making a slow recovery in nations under the former Soviet
Union and Buddhism was nearly wiped out in China under Communism.
Despite these setbacks for two of the oldest religions, Islam has managed to
turn things around and move forward. “By the last quarter of the twentieth
century this situation [of Islamic decline] changed dramatically. Rarely since
the stunning spread of Islam in its first century have the fortunes of a
religion changed so remarkably in so short a time. Virtually all Muslim
nations have attained independence” (MPMF, p. 412.) As a result of this
independence many countries are trying to reestablish modern nations under
traditional Islamic law. This is an ongoing and controversial policy and we
have yet to see how it will all turn out. But no one who knows the histories
of religious movements can express anything other than surprise at the turn
around of Islam in the last century or so.
Islam is not only the second largest religion but it is currently the fastest
growing religion in the world. “Islam is growing rapidly, both through a
high birthrate in many places and through missionary efforts. Emigration
and the establishment of Islamic centers have given the religion a new
visibility around the world. Islam is also experiencing vigorous intellectual
ferment and powerful movements for simplification and purification of the
faith and its practice” (MPMF, p. 412.) By having a strong belief system,
strict rules and laws, and a strong emphasis on community, Islam proves to
be a popular source of support for many people who find the rapid changes
of modern life disconcerting and troubling. We see the same type of support
in the United States with the growing support for “traditional family values”
and conservative politics. Obviously we are dealing with a human
psychological need that then manifests itself in unique ways depending on
the religious tradition closest to the heart and mind of the people. But the
energy that fuels the movement is the same energy, or so it seems to many
scholars who study this kind of sociological phenomenon. The irony is that
conservative Americans (religious or not) often have the biggest concerns
and worries about the growth of Islam. But they might have less to fear if
they understood the underlying dynamics and saw how much they shared
with Islam’s desire to preserve a way of life that they believe is ordained by
God.
Knowing some history, especially the history of ideas, can help a person
keep things in perspective. “However one assesses it, Islam seems in a
period of religious ferment and renewal associated with nation-building and
32
expanding confidence, perhaps comparable to the Protestant Reformation in
the Christian world. As did the Protestant Reformation, the Islamic
resurgence has also produced much war and bigotry. Yet nonetheless, the
Reformation helped wrench Europe into new stages of historical
development. What Islam will generate remains to be seen” (MPMF, p.
412.) Or one can think of the Civil War in the United States where so many
bad things happened but in the end most people believe that the country
emerged not only stronger but better as well. Islam is in the midst of many
changes and it is all too easy to come up with quick judgments about what it
all means. Perspective is so important here.
“Four principles have been fundamental to the Islamic resurgence since the
late 1970s:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The shari’a, or systematized code of Islamic law based on the
Qur’an and the traditions, must be the fundamental law of the state.
To ensure that state policies and actions are consistent with the
sharia’a, Muslim teachers and scholars should have an important
role in government, thus achieving what in the West would be
called a union of church and state.
Wealth must be fairly distributed in accordance with Islamic ideals
of justice and brotherhood.
Outside (non-Muslim) influences in society must be resisted, and
the lifestyle of the people should conform to Islamic rules and
values, as in matters of dress, family life, education, and the role of
women” (MPMF, p. 413.)
Before one can judge whether or not he or she agrees with something like
the union of church and state (as in point two above) one must at least be
able to see this idea from the perspective of Muslims. For example, Muslims
look at the history of the United States, Soviet Union and China and they do
not see so much to admire. They see problems with both communism and
capitalism. They understand that the history of both movements is not as
pretty as many of us would like to think. At the very least they look at the
100 million people killed in wars during the 20th century as being primarily
the victims of the Western world not Islam. If these religions and political
philosophies are so great then why were there so many killed? Why is there
so much poverty and unemployment? Why are there homeless people on the
streets and so many working people without medical insurance? The
answers to these difficult questions may not be easy and they may not be
33
found in Islam, but that the West has serious problems gives Islam at least
the right to question the values that so many of us born in the United States
or other modern countries have taken for granted such as the separation of
church and state.
This perspective is important when looking at a country like Afghanistan.
We see women veiled and not allowed to go to school. This is a real
concern. But let us remember the horrible history of recent years to gain a
better understanding of why a conservative and traditional understanding of
Islam might have had some appeal to many of the people desperate for some
stability and calm. “Perhaps it is no surprise that, after the nineteen-year war
with the Soviet Union ended with the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and the
several years of civil war that followed, a promise of peace and stability, and
a return to Islamic fundamentals, was welcome by the majority of the
people” (MPMF, p. 416.) This explains the rise of the Taliban.
The Taliban (“students of Islamic studies”), a fundamentalist Islamic sect,
recently controlled the country of Afghanistan. “Soon after gaining power,
the Taliban introduced repressive policies based on narrow interpretations of
Islamic law, even from the perspective of those in other Islamic nations”
(MPMF, p. 416.) While not all Muslims agreed with their interpretations of
the Qur’an and Islamic law, the Taliban did offer stability to a country that
had been overwhelmed with more than twenty years of war and destruction.
Understanding how these movements grow and gain support does not mean
that we have to approve of them. The Taliban are so conservative even most
Muslims disagree with the Taliban. But at least we can disagree with some
perspective on what needs these movements serve. In doing this we may be
able to provide more acceptable alternatives that seek to meet these same
needs for structure, stability, and safety.
While the majority of Muslims disagree with the Taliban, Afghanistan is not
the only country to give them support. “Although American Muslims, as
well as other Muslims around the world, condemned the Taliban, decrying
the Taliban’s policies as contrary to the Qur’an, there has been considerable
support for the Taliban elsewhere, for example in Pakistan” (MPMF, p.
417.) This shows that those who care about peace and prosperity and human
rights have to find ways to meet the needs of people who are exhausted from
constant war and all its accompanying worries.
Islam in America
34
There are about 7 million Muslims in the United States. While still fairly
small in numbers, there are more Muslims than Hindus or Buddhists. “Islam
is a minority but a growing religious presence in the United States.
Immigration, important diplomatic and commercial relationships between
the United States and the Islamic world, and conversion have all contributed
to the remarkable growth in numbers and visibility of this faith in the United
States since the middle of the twentieth century” (MPMF, p. 419.)
Immigrants often have to put up with the suspicions of others. These
suspicions are based on stereotypes that are as dangerous for Muslims as
they are for others who get caricatured by popular thought and the media.
Just look at movies. Movies always seem to have the need for bad guys and
good guys going back to the “Cowboys and Indians” films of early
Hollywood. During the Cold War years most movies featured the free West
fighting the Russians and other Communists, but not so long ago these
movies were discontinued and the new enemy were Arabs and terrorists
from the Middle East. This one example demonstrates how popular images
of people become engrained in human consciousness and begin to influence
the way we think about others. Hopefully students of a class on world
religions will not fall prey to such shallow representations of peoples and
their philosophies.
Muslims are gaining a whole new understanding of their religion as they
combine their faith with American citizenship. Many religions have come to
America and the United States has been influenced, but America also
changes the religions that come here. The United States was founded on
some philosophical ideas (such as freedom of religion) that are really quite
new in this world and very challenging to religions which see themselves as
the “one true faith.” These religions are suddenly among a people who share
political rights and responsibilities and yet might share very few religious
values. In the past this was considered unheard of. “At the same time,
learning how to be a Muslim in America has helped many Muslims to
understand their religion in new and exhilarating ways. They have come to
discriminate between what they now hold to be the essentials and what they
hold to be merely cultural. Most Islamic centers serve Muslims from many
parts of the Islamic world – Arabs, Africans, Iranians, Pakistanis,
Indonesians, and others – contributing to a fresh and vital sense of Islam as a
world community. Like religionists of all other faiths in the United States,
they have learned to hold to it without any sort of state support in a
pluralistic and open society” (MPMF, p. 419.) While people are often
35
threatened by freedom they usually find it helpful when they get used to it.
Freedom does not mean that one has to give up his or her faith. It just means
that one is not forced by law to attend services, etc. As a result, there is even
hope that those who do attend services and participate in their religions do so
out of faith and commitment rather than fear of condemnation and
punishment.
Many of you may have heard of the Nation of Islam. This is a uniquely
American movement and a controversial version of Islam, at least in its
earlier stages. “Many converts to Islam in the United States have been
African American. The most influential force in this activity has been the
work of Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975), founder of the “Black Muslims” or
Nation of Islam, as they were called. The movement originally possessed
unorthodox doctrines and staunchly advocated the separation of African and
white Americans, but since Elijah Muhammad’s death it has moved closer
and closer to normative Islam. Its best known adherent, Malcolm X,
supported this move toward the end of his life” (MPMF, p. 420.) If you
remember from earlier in this lecture, Malcolm X was profoundly changed
by his pilgrimage to Mecca and his experience of community with Muslims
of all races from around the world on this trip. It was at this time that he
realized that the racists’ ideas of the Nation of Islam, while understandable,
were not authentically Muslim, for Muhammad and the Qur’an taught the
brotherhood and sisterhood of all people.
As the population of Muslims grow, Islam “is bound to have a gradually
increasing influence on American life” (MPMF, p. 420.) It is difficult to
know for sure where this will lead, but both conservatives and liberals have
much to watch for. Conservative religious folk will find that they have many
friends among Muslims who share their values regarding how life should be
lived. There may be some differences in opinion but as long as all agree that
a spiritual life is marked by somehow submitting to the will of God then
they have much in common. Liberals tend to see that they have much in
common with the Sufis. The mystics of all traditions agree that what is
important is living a life transformed by the love and presence of God. Such
a life is a life of compassion and gratitude lived in service to others. No
matter what their individual differences, mystics of all world traditions can
share their love of compassion as the hallmark of a holy life.
The Negative Side of Islam
36
In some ways it feels wrong to have a section on the negative side of Islam
only because the negative side is all that so many know about. Nevertheless,
it is important to look more closely at some of the stereotypes to see if we
cannot figure out where they come from. As usual with the Western
patriarchal religions the negative side is most easily seen in the relationship
between Islam and women. Due to this importance and in keeping with the
tradition of this course we will have a separate section on Islam and women
following this section.
Islam suffers from what any religion encounters when they believe they have
a monopoly on truth. Because the Western religions have a shared belief in
revelation, (the belief that God reveals his truth to humans), they tend to take
their own revelations as definitive and final. Jews, as we have studied, had to
be constantly challenged by their prophets to live up to their revelation and
had an early history of persecuting those they encountered in the ancient
Holy Land who did not follow the Jewish God. Christians, having
experienced much more political power, were also guilty of gross distortions
of their own teachings in the persecution of others who did not follow their
beliefs. Islam too has had great power and so it too shares this dark history.
Islam did preserve some respect for “people of the book,” that is Jews and
Christians. So often enough Jews and Christians were left unharmed when
Muslims took over a new territory, although they were subjected to greater
taxation and special laws. But often enough, even this supposed respect for
the other Abrahamic religions was not put into practice and as a result
Christian and Jews often had to choose conversion, death, or enslavement.
We are all too familiar with suicide bombers today due to recent political
activities. This is a dark side of Islam that is hard to explain. But there seems
to be some element of Islam that allows people to give vent to great
fanaticism. Part of what makes people fanatical is an extreme devotion to a
certain literal understanding of a teaching or revelation. Somewhere in the
Qur’an it is remarked that one who dies in defense of their faith goes straight
to heaven. This is no different than the Christian understanding that the
martyrs who were killed in various persecutions demonstrated their holiness
in their deaths and were thus honored immediately by God as saints. In
Islam, perhaps because Islam is often seen as a society as well as a religion,
someone can be convinced that if they die in a suicide bombing they are
essentially dying the death of a martyr and this death is thus honored. The
problem, as usual, depends on how we interpret these teachings.
37
The traditional idea of the martyr is some defenseless person who will not
give into the authorities and thus allows him or herself to be killed rather
than compromised. This is very different than someone who volunteers for
not only death, but also a death that will take the life of innocent people.
This person is not forced to die, but chooses to die. This is the big
difference. There have even been people, such as Buddhists monks during
the Vietnam War, who burned themselves to death as a protest against the
war. Many religious people had a real problem with this. But at least the
Buddhist monk only took his or her own life; they did not kill a bunch of
innocent people. On the other hand, as we saw when discussing jihad, some
Muslims believe that they are fighting a defensive war against the values of
the United States infiltrating their countries and culture. They believe that
nothing less is at stake than the survival of Islam.
For the purposes of this class it is important to know that the vast majority
of Muslim people reject these fanatical teachings about suicide bombers and
see it as a gross distortion of the Qur’an. Islamic scholars and religious
leaders from the Middle East as well as other areas of the world have
repeatedly stated this even though it gets very little media coverage. The fact
that suicide bombers continue to justify their understanding of what they are
doing does not mean that fanatical Muslims accurately represent traditional
Islam any more than fanatics accurately represent the faiths of any people.
Strong devotion and committed faith is one thing. Fanaticism is another.
Again perspective is all-important.
Another dark side to Islam is its tendency to view difficult problems in a
dogmatic fashion. Any time a revelation is written down this becomes a
problem. A living tradition becomes written in stone and no one is allowed
to suggest changes and different interpretations without the danger of being
persecuted and excluded form the community. As we have seen, Islam was
presented as a whole way of life. How is one to live that life in the modern
world?
Is it possible to live in a modern pluralistic society and still be Muslim? The
many modern American Muslims who are making it work answer that
question in a positive fashion. Take the example of something like
pornography. Most Muslims would say that pornography is not a good thing.
In a traditional Islamic society pornography would be illegal. But in a
society like the United States pornography is legal for adults. So what is a
Muslim to do? The same thing as Jews, Christians, and others who disagree
38
with pornography; they don’t have to buy it or look at it. Just because it is
there does not mean you have to participate. Does that mean the temptations
are more difficult? Possibly. But that does not mean they are
insurmountable. Eventually people see that to not look at pornography when
it is available actually has a power of goodness that is different from not
looking at it just because it is not available. The same goes for drinking and
other such things. Just because you can have an affair on your spouse
without being punished for it does not mean you should. Choice, including
making the wrong choices, is the price of freedom.
Now it is time to look in more detail at the tale of women in Islam.
Women in Islam
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind when we discuss this
subject is that the Muslims are not all the same all over the world. When we
see a picture of a woman all dressed in black with nothing but her eyes
showing in Afghanistan that is not the only image of a woman in Islam or
even in the Middle East. “While all have the Prophet Muhammad and the
Qur’an at their core, Islam’s many sociological expressions, theoretical
interpretations, and practices have been greatly influenced by the cultural
contexts in which Islam is found. Accordingly, the Islam of Egypt differs
from that of Saudi Arabia, just as both differ from Islam found in the United
States” (MPMF, p. 420.) This understanding of context and also the effort to
separate Islam from Arab culture will be very important in this study. Also,
an important part of this course that is surely obvious by now is to see how
much these religions have in common. Islam and women is much like
Christianity and women. Why is this? Because of what is known as
patriarchy. All of the religions we have studied (except the early tribal
religions) spring out of the last few thousand years when the world has been
patriarchal. This has greatly influenced the context of the religions we are
studying and it is another reason why knowing the world and history of ideas
is so important.
In this sense one of the first shared traits between Christianity and Islam in
this area is that both Muhammad and Jesus showed a progressive attitude
toward women that was far ahead of their times and that was quickly
suppressed after their deaths. The fact that it was suppressed has not helped
millions of women but it does allow modern feminists to go back and look at
the original documents and come up with some surprising ideas about what
39
might have been had the disciples of these religious leaders been able to
follow their founders in this area. And it leads to hope that more equitable
solutions to pressing problems are still possible within the religions
themselves. While women have the option in many societies to leave their
religion they do not have this choice everywhere. And despite the way many
women have been treated, they love and are devoted to their faith and simply
want their faith to catch up with modern studies that tell a different story
than the one we are currently familiar with.
What did Muhammad and the Qur’an teach about women? “It is often said
that the founding of Islam improved the status of women in its time”
(MPMF, p. 421.) In fact, it is often argued that “Islam proclaimed the equal
status of women at a time ‘when Christians were still contemplating whether
women were fully human beings with souls!’” (MPMF, p. 421.) Muhammad
himself “pronounced in favor of choice and rights for women, a position that
flew in the face of the prevailing abuse of woman in tribal society of his time
and place” (Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells, [New York, New York:
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2000], p. 151 Hereafter referred to in the lectures
as ORMW.)
Muhammad also said: “All people are equal, as equal as the teeth of a comb.
There is no claim of merit of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a white over a
black person, or of a male over a female. He who honors women is
honorable, he who insults them is lowly and mean” (ORMW, p. 151.)
Muhammad is also recognized as being a good husband. He was respectful
and kind and expected others to do the same. At a time when many female
babies were killed for not being sons he said: “He who has a female child
and does not insult her and does not prefer his sons over her, will be ushered
by God into paradise” (ORMW, p. 152.) And on his deathbed Muhammad
said: “I urge you to treat women kindly. They are a trust. Be in awe of God’s
trust” (ORMW, p. 152.) Before Muhammad women were treated as the
personal property of fathers and husbands. They had no rights and could be
used and abused as seen fit by the males around them.
Islam taught that women were to have some say over their own finances. “A
trust fund [was] established before the marriage in the woman’s name so that
if she were divorced that fund would go to her. In Islam, women were
allowed to inherit whereas previously they were forbidden inheritances.
Women were no longer to be part of an inheritance, nor could they be taken
as prisoners or booty in war. Islam established the right of women to own
40
property a full thirteen hundred years before Western culture established it
as a right. Islam established the right and duty of women as well as men to
learn” (ORMW, pp. 152-153.) These things are so much taken for granted
now that we tend to forget that women were allowed to vote less than a
hundred years ago in the United States. What Muhammad thought and
taught was very radical. In fact, it was too radical for his followers and very
soon after his death Islam retreated into more traditional patriarchal ways of
dealing with women. How did they ignore the Prophet’s teaching? “The
interpretation of passages in the Qur’an can lead to very different
conceptualizations of Islamic law respecting women” (MPMF, p. 421.) As
we have already seen when it comes to written text, they each have to be
interpreted and the interpretation often says as much about the development
of the interpreter as it does about the text. “Throughout the centuries and in
different localities, the ambiguities arising from seemingly conflicting
passages and different interpretations have resulted in various views of
Islam’s injunctions with respect to women” (MPMF, p. 422.) The story of
these various interpretations is what follows.
Early Islam after Muhammad: The Continuation of Patriarchal
Patterns
There are a few examples of women, such as Muhammad’s wife Khadija,
who seemed to have taken on some economic independence, but they were
unusual. After Muhammad died women were soon restricted to their homes.
“Whatever may have been intended regarding the status of women, soon
after its founding, Islam adopted most of the patriarchal patterns of the
monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism – that
prevailed in the Middle East and the Mediterranean at the time of Islam’s
founding. It also supplanted the polytheistic religions that had remained,
along with their goddesses and the priestesses who served them (MPMF, p.
422.) Many women had found their spirituality nurtured by the polytheistic
religions with their access to traditions about the goddess, but now women
lost this outlet and source of inspiration.
Some progress was made. In the past, when women were only considered
property, women had no rights regarding whom they married. “In many
ways, Muslim women were provided with rights unavailable to other women
of the same time and place. For example, marriage was not to occur without
the bride’s consent” (MPMF, p. 422.) This provided some protection, but in
practice this was difficult to enforce. A woman may have to give her
41
consent, but there are many family and social pressures that can be put on a
woman to make her submit to the arrangements made for her.
As mentioned above, women could inherit property for the first time. There
were some restrictions around this, but at least they had their rights
established. “Under the Qur’an, women could own and inherit property,
although a woman could only inherit one-half that of a man because she was
not expected to provide for a family as was he. In addition, women’s
religious obligations were the same as men’s, reflecting the Qur’anic
teaching that men and women are equally worthy in the eyes of God”
(MPMF, p. 423.) Making religious obligations the same without regard to
gender is very important because it helps people realize that they cannot be
just dismissed out of hand. If people (and thus women) count to God, then
they have some inherent value that needs to be recognized by the
community.
Another controversial area regards polygamy. Many people automatically
resent this idea, which is fine. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to most of us
today. But it is important to know where the idea came from and what it was
based on. “In addition, polygamy (marrying many wives), which was a
common practice in pre-Islamic society, was severely limited. In some preIslamic tribes, each man had numerous wives – over seventy-five in some
cases. However, the Qur’an permitted men to marry only up to four wives,
and then only if the wives could be treated equally by the husband. The
Qur’an also states that it is unlikely that wives can be treated equally and so
urges the husband to choose only one” (MPMF, p. 423.) The fact that a man
is required to treat his wives equally pretty much precludes more than one
wife! In practice the vast majority of marriages are monogamous. While we
may not like the fact that the Qur’an allows polygamy, it is important to
realize that this restriction was a huge improvement at that time for women.
And it is true that in those days due to incessant warfare there were far more
women than men and women had almost no means of support if they were
not married.
However, rules on paper are not always put into practice. Many of the laws
would have done much for women’s rights if they had been consistently
practiced. But in fact they were not. “However, many of these developments
were, in practice, greatly diminished as Islam developed. By the third
century of Islam, despite the rights granted in the Qur’an, practices and
customs of the localities prevailed” (MPMF, p. 423.) Local customs were
42
patriarchal and this is really the context in which women were treated for
many centuries up until the present day. It is important to acknowledge this
as one of the serious negative sides of Islam. The only caution is to not be
blind to the fact that all of the religions we have studied have this same fault.
We have already discussed the fact that humans seem to have a very difficult
time living up to the teaching of the founders of each of the religions we
have studied.
One of the ways people rationalize not following the teachings of their
founders is to talk about the problems of interpretations. “Whatever the
source of such restrictive practices for women, religious sanctions for them
were soon found by those interpreting the scriptures, and such practices have
prevailed to such a degree that they have become identified inextricably with
Middle Eastern Islam. By medieval times, the shari’a was codified and
many customs and traditions of the times regarding women were included,
despite dubious authority for them in the Qur’an” (MPMF, p. 423.) Jesus
complained that the Jews had made too many “man made laws” rather than
just following the Torah. Christians have been criticized for not living up to
the great commandment of loving their enemies and praying for those who
curse them. The human ability to rationalize away the great ideals of the
religions is one way humanity has delayed living up to these ideals for
hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
Another very controversial subject sometimes addressed by the media is
female circumcision. While this is important enough to talk about it must be
emphasized that this is a practice to which only a small minority of Muslims
in Africa subscribe. It is by no means a universal practice or requirement.
“Islam continued the common practice of circumcising male children. In
addition, the practice of female circumcision was adopted in many places,
and continues today, despite there being no authority for it in the Qur’an.
The circumcision of females is much more involved than that for males
because it involves a clitoredectomy, usually without anesthesia when the
girl is between 7 and 8, and in some areas the operation is even more
involved” (MPMF, pp. 425-426.) Female circumcision not only has nothing
to do with the Qur’an, it is also not a necessary hygienic measure (as it
supposedly is for males) and seems to have nothing to do with anything
other than males trying to control the sexuality of females. Male
circumcision does not ruin sexual pleasure for men, but female circumcision
does exactly that and preventing a woman from enjoying sexual activity
seems to be the only point to this operation. This procedure is very
43
controversial not only in itself, but also because some Muslims want to
perform this operation in the United States where it is illegal.
The controversy is that the argument is not based on medical issues but on
religious issues. People who advocate for this surgery do so on the basis of
religious freedom. We have seen that it is very easy to make illegal the
things we do not understand. For example, Native Americans were
prevented from using Peyote in their ceremonies and from participating in
the Sun Dance. They are now allowed to do this since there has been
increased understanding of the importance of these rites to their
indigenousness traditions. The same argument is made here. And this also
provides an excellent example of the problems of interpretation. Our country
has passed laws that allow religious people to not receive medical treatment
if it is against their religion, but they are not allowed to prevent their
children from receiving medical treatment. In other words the government
found a compromise in that it respects the rights of adults to make up their
own mind but not to decide for their children. Perhaps the same issue will be
used here. Perhaps some day adult women will be allowed to decide to have
this surgery but young girls will continue to be protected. In a country like
the United States where we have a separation of church and state these
issues raise a lot of emotions for people. When does the government need to
step back and not interfere with the right people have to practice their
religion and when does the government need to step in and protect people?
These are never easy questions to answer.
Modern feminists look at many of the practices regarding women and ask
the question: “What is their religious value? For example, is there a spiritual
reason women need to be veiled? Or are these practices simply for men to
control women?” “Veiling, segregation, seclusion, and female circumcision
(where it has been practiced) can all be seen as the strategies adopted by
Islam to achieve the same goals we have seen in nearly all of the preceding
religions we have studied – the control of women’s sexuality for the
preservation of chastity and the reproduction of sons for the husband’s
family” (MPMF, p. 426.) If the issue is not spiritual but political then many
women who want to stay in their religion demand that changes be made so
that what is of spiritual value is guarded but what is of a bygone era and
actually harmful to the dignity of women be changed. It can’t be emphasized
enough that this is an ongoing struggle in all of the world’s traditions.
44
Throughout history there have always been some women who have managed
against great odds to have an impact on Islamic spirituality. “From the
beginning there have been women who have figured proudly in Islamic
heritage and have served as models” (MPMF, p. 426.) Besides Khadijah
who is respected for supporting Muhammad in his early quest to share his
revelations, there was Aisha who he married after the death of Khadijah.
Aisha was much younger than Muhammad and lived for forty years after his
death. She had a huge influence on Islam because much of what we know of
Muhammad’s life and teachings came from her lips. Without her testimony
Islam would be much the poorer. “It is said that the Prophet told his
followers to take half of the knowledge of his revelations from Aisha and the
other half from the rest of his companions. More important, Aisha
apparently had considerable authority in the early fledgling Muslim
community. (Some reformers have argued that this provides evidence that
women held high status in the early Medina community, and, therefore, that
it should be so today) (MPMF, p. 427.) Muhammad’s daughter Fatima is
also highly regarded as a saint and mystic.
Today’s Middle Eastern Muslim Women and the Winds of Change
While women’s rights are not nearly as advanced in some parts of the world
as in the modern West, it does seem that changes have been started that
nothing is going to stop even if there are setbacks here and there. We have
seen similar changes in other areas of human rights such as the elimination
of slavery first in one area and then eventually from all over the world.
“Today economic considerations are influencing changes in many Islamic
countries. Women have moved out of the home and into the workplace”
(MPMF, p. 428.) It is still true that women in many places are restricted to
what they are allowed to do for work and are usually segregated from men,
but the fact that they are moving out of their homes and into the work world
is a significant change.
In other places women have broken down barrier after barrier to enter all
sorts of fields that had been restricted to men alone for centuries. “In some
countries, such as Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, and Jordan, many
Muslim women hold important positions in leadership. Women are
governmental officials, doctors, and professors, and hold positions in other
professions as well. As these women shatter the mold of the stereotypes of
women, there is an increasingly loud call to shatter the religious
45
justifications for restrictive practices as well” (MPMF, p. 428.) As women
begin to take political leadership roles and do well in them it is difficult to
avoid the question of why they can’t take religious leadership positions. And
in fact, much of the modern scholarship challenging the roles of women in
Islam are coming from women who are doing their homework and asking
the critical questions about Muhammad, the Qur’an and early Islamic
history.
These questions are critical to shaking up the foundations of rigid and
dogmatic teachings that were originally alive, fresh, and dynamic. “Women
and men who favor women’s rights are reinterpreting the Qur’an and the
shari’a and pushing for reforms that they contend are consistent with the
original egalitarian spirit of Islam. There has been a revival of the principle
of ijtihad (creative original interpretation) that was used by the early
interpreters of the Qur’an but was abandoned when the shari’a became
codified in the twelfth century. Reinterpreted texts through ijtihad have
provided fodder for a feminist critique and reconsideration in modern times
of Islamic practices regarding women” (MPMF, p. 428.) If you really want
to see an old and established religion change then you usually need to know
that tradition very well and argue from its own texts the changes you are
seeking. Just as it is obvious that the best way to convince most Christians of
a truth is to know the Bible really well and be able to quote it in support of
your ideas, the same is true in Islam. There is no quicker way to bring about
change than to understand the Qur’an and the history of its interpretation.
As with the other religions we have studied it is important to not only
understand the primary texts, but to also understand the philosophical ideas
about context and relativism. “Today it is argued by reformists that the
Qur’an must be read in the context of its time. This means that the
egalitarian spirit held by such reformists to be at the core of the Qur’an is
what should hold sway, particularly with respect to women, rather than
applying the law in contemporary situations as it was applied then. The law
as applied then, they argue, has more to do with acknowledging the social
circumstances at that time rather than establishing set rules for all time. For
example, they argue that when the Qur’an states that men are to be women’s
“protectors”, it is acknowledging the precarious position that women
experienced in the Prophet’s time; it did not establish a permanent
paternalism that should apply in all times and places” (MPMF, p. 429.)
Sometimes it is easy to fall into ruts in our thinking. We see the “protection”
46
of women as something ordained by God forever rather than a comment on
what was relevant at the time.
Some people will never change their ideas. But others find these type of
reformist arguments liberating for suddenly they are given the words to
articulate what before then had only been an intuition about what a modern
revelation would say regarding women and women’s rights. If we believe in
“absolutes” about God like justice and compassion then we need to ask
ourselves what these qualities look like today realizing all along that each
generation has to face these questions anew.
Summary
Islam is a religion that is very important to become familiar with in today’s
world. It is growing very fast and becoming more popular in the United
States. Because of problems in the Middle East and the popularity of
fundamentalist forms of Islam the popular image of Muslims is very poor. If
we are to continue to live and work together in peace in this country then it
will be important for us to come to understand some general points about
Islam. Islam is a religion of submission to God. A Muslim is one who
submits their whole life to God. You show this submission by not only
following the outer rules regarding the Five Pillars, or obligations, but also
by trying to submit one’s inner life to the rule of Allah, the Muslim name for
God.
It is important to know that Muhammad is greatly respected but that he is
not worshipped, as is Jesus in Christianity. He is not considered divine or
uniquely special in any way. If there were any comparison to Jesus then it
would be to the Qur’an, not Muhammad. The Qur’an is the revelation of
God to the world. It is considered the last revelation by Muslims and not to
be replaced by any other teaching. It is written in a beautiful Arabic that is
impossible to adequately translate. Muslims often memorize the whole
Qur’an and if not all, then great sections of it.
Of central importance to the life of a practicing Muslim are the Five Pillars:
“Reciting the creed that states that there is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is his Prophet; praying five times daily; giving alms; keeping a
fast during the month of Ramadan; and once in one’s life, if possible,
making the pilgrimage to Mecca” (MPMF, p. 430.) Many of these are best
practiced as parts of the community. For example, while it is important to
47
pray alone if you cannot pray with others, you are encouraged to pray with
the community in the mosque.
Part of the propaganda regarding Islam is that it is a backward religion. Not
only is this not true in any absolute sense, but it also misses the rhythms of
history. Islam has had a golden age. “During the Golden Age of the
Caliphate, science, philosophy, and theology were extensively cultivated.
Learned men not only preserved the best of classical thought but made
important advances, which were finally transmitted to Europe” (MPMF, pp.
430-431.) More importantly, after centuries of repression, Islam is on its
way back as a world religion full of new life and many changes that make it
a power and spirituality to be reckoned with in no uncertain terms. “This
resurgent Islam is a major force in the world today” (MPMF, p. 431.) There
is no reason why Muslims can’t look forward to a new golden age.
We also looked at how Islam divided shortly after the death of Muhammad.
“Islam is divided into two main groups. Sunni Islam emphasizes the
traditional path of Islamic life as interpreted by the consensus of scholars
and the community. Shi’a Islam, while following the traditional path, also
puts its faith in the authority of Imams who are Muhammad’s hereditary
successors” (MPMF, p. 431.) The Sunnis are the much larger group
comprising about 85% of Muslims worldwide. Some of the internal
divisions in modern Iraq are between these two groups.
Muslims have their own mystical understanding of Allah and spirituality.
“Islamic mysticism, called Sufism in the West, focuses on the presence of
the Divine oneness everywhere and offers paths to the attainment of union
with God” (MPMF, p. 431.) Many people in the West are familiar with Sufi
poetry and the Whirling Dervishes. These are outward expressions of the
special practices and disciplines followed by those who undertake the Sufi
path. All Sufis are required to follow the ordinary rules and obligations of
Islam. But they also take on special responsibilities and duties in addition to
the ordinary ones. Often they have a spiritual master who functions
somewhat like a Hindu guru or a Christian spiritual director.
We also looked at the negative side of Islam. As is usual at this point in the
course we saw that most of the negativity does not lie within the original
teachings themselves, but in the way they are put (or not put) into practice.
A big part of this negativity is found in the way women are treated.
However, “it is very difficult to make generalizations about women in Islam
48
as its practices differ in the many places it can be found around the world”
(MPMF, p. 431.) Women are treated differently in different parts of the
Islamic world. “Just as we have seen in many other religions, attitudes and
customs from the social context in which Islam has found itself have been
assimilated into Islamic culture and religious justifications have been found
for them” (MPMF, p. 431.) Women are making rapid progress as they
challenge local customs and the contexts of the times and ask people to
rethink their traditional interpretations of the Qur’an in the light of modern
studies and understandings of the feminine. Not surprisingly, it is in Sufism
that women are the most highly regarded.
Summary Based on Joachim Wach’s Three Forms of Religious
Expression: MPMF, p. 385
Fundamental features of Islam
THEORETICAL
Basic Worldview:
The world is for humans but under the
absolute rule of God.
God or Ultimate Reality:
God, sovereign, personal, revealing himself
and giving specific guidance to humanity.
Origin of the World:
Creation by God.
Destiny of the World:
To be destroyed on the Last Day, the day of
judgment.
Origin of Humans:
Created by God.
Destiny of Humans:
To be judged on the Last Day and receive
reward or punishment in the Second
Creation.
Revelation or Mediation
Between the Ultimate and
The Human
The revelation in the Qur’an given through
Muhammad, the last and greatest of the
prophets.
49
PRACTICAL
What Is Expected of Humans: To worship and serve God in accordance
Worship, Practices, Behavior with his commandments: to observe the Five
Pillars and the rest of shari’a.
SOCIOLOGICAL
Major Social Institutions:
The whole Islamic community; the local
Friday mosque community; the ulama, or
body of teachers and preachers; Sufi orders;
the ideal of the Islamic society.
Islam is a fascinating religion. Once again, I urge you to keep this lecture
and our text reading in perspective. They are short introductions to a major
world religion and need to be studied much more carefully and fully. While I
hope to have not led anyone astray about this faith and wisdom tradition, I
also hope you realize how this was just a beginning. I hope you will use your
newfound knowledge to talk to Muslim people. I can’t stress enough how
important it is to learn about a religion from someone who actually practices
it. At the same time you don’t have to take just any Muslim’s word as a final
say either. Just as many Jews and Christians have differences among
themselves, so do Muslims. We only gain a balanced view by talking to as
many people and reading as much as we can. I also hope some of you will
attend a service at a mosque for your final project. The vast majority of
Muslims are anxious for you to know that they are peace loving and despise
terrorists as much as anyone. And the best way to do that is to expose you to
their beliefs and community.
Bibliography:
Robert S. Ellwood and Barbara A. McGraw, Many Peoples, Many Faiths:
Women and Men in the World Religions, Seventh Edition, [Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002]
Mary Pat Fisher, Living Religions: A Brief Introduction, [Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002]
50
Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells, [New York, New York: Jeremy P.
Tarcher/Putnam, 2000]
Lewis M. Hopfe and Mark R. Woodward, Religions of the World, Eighth
Edition, [Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001]
Huston Smith, The Illustrated World’s Religion: A Guide to our Wisdom
Traditions, [New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994]
51