(Originally written February 18, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Chapter 8 - Islam
Name
The name Islam literally means, "submission".
Muslim is translated as "one who submits to God".
Muhammadism and Mahometism and derivatives should not be used to describe Muslims.
Numbers and Distribution
There are 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide. 5-7 million Muslims live in the U.S.
The largest populations of Muslims are actually in Asia, not the Middle East.
- India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Symbols
The most common is the crescent moon with a star inside it.
The meaning of the crescent is obscure. Most frequently it is deemed to stand for representing the new moon because many Muslim practices are tied to a lunar calendar.
History
According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca, in A.D. 570.
Muhammad meditated and received messages from God and passed them to the people. These messages were collected in the Qur'an (Koran).
Muhammad preached that there is only one God and all human beings will be held accountable to him at the last judgment.
The idolatrous religions of the Arabian peninsula and their leaders took offense at Muhammad's message and persecuted the new Muslim community. They fled Mecca.
Muhammad and his followers formed an army in nearby Medina. They returned to Mecca and purged the city of idolatry and claimed it for Islam.
After Muhammad died the Muslim community split over who would be his successor. This is where the Shi'ite and Sunni division took place.
During this time of inner strife, Islam spread rapidly. Over 30 years nearly the entire Middle East and Northern Africa was conquered by Islam.
Islam is not simply a religion, ti is aching that encompasses an entire community, including government.
Scriptures
Only one book contains the complete and true revelation of God, the Qur'an.
Islam recognizes the Law of Moses, the Psalms of David and the Gospels of Jesus as holy books, but they have been corrupted and thus, are unreliable.
Also the Hadith is a collection of several words from Muhammad and stories of his life. The Hadith is not the word of Allah, but it is an authoritative interpretation of the Qur'an.
Major Beliefs
There are Five or Six Essential beliefs in Islam
1) God
- Allah is one God
- He can neither be divided nor multiplied
-Islam rejects polytheism and Christianity's idea of the Trinity
2) Angels and Spirits
- There are beings who were created to serve humans and Allah
- The angel Gabriel presented Muhammad with his first revelation
- The jinn are malicious spirits
- Iblis is the spirit who refused to bow to Adam and became the devil
3) Prophets
- God has designated individuals to be prophets in order to declare his standards
- Muhammad is the "seal of the prophets". He brought the same message, but it has been preserved without corruption or alteration
- Noah, Adam, Abraham and Jesus are some notable prophets recognized by Islam
4) Books
- Some prophets (Moses, Jesus, David and Muhammad) embodied their words in books. Jews and Christians have flawed books, but their devotion to Monotheism, gain them a special standing as "people of the book"
5) Judgment
- all will be judged at the last judgment
- at the final judgment a book of their actions will be placed in every persons' hands by an angel. If it is placed in their left hand they are condemned. If it is placed in their right hand they will spend eternity with Allah in Heaven.
- If you submitted to Allah you will spend eternity in Heaven. Some who have never even heard of Islam will be deemed to have submitted while those who claim to be Muslim may be deemed to have not submitted
- "Allah's judgement will be harshest on hypocrites and lapsed Muslims" (Corduan, 84).
Subgroups
There are two major divisions amongst Muslims:
1) Sunnis
2) Shi'ites
The split is primarily historical, but there are few belief/practice differences as well.
Sunni Muslims followed Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad's fathers-in-law, upon Muhammad's death.
According to the Sunni tradition, Muhammad's spiritual gifts died with him and the Qur'an is the final say on all matters.
The Shi'ite Muslims followed Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law. Ali, according to the Shi'ite tradition, possessed a spiritual endowment from the prophet.
Shi'ites believe that their leaders, the imams, have, if not authority on par with the Qur'an, the final say on interpretation.
Sunni Islam does not have a central authority, is fairly uniform and believe Mecca is the only pilgrimage. The Shi'ite tradition has a hierarchy with 1 imam, 12ish ayatollahs and many local mullahs, is split into further divisions and has other major pilgrimage sites like the tombs of Ali and Hussein.
Sunnis have a vague expectation of a future leader, the Mahdi.
Shi'ites believe that an important imam went into concealment hundreds of years ago and continues to live there. He will return as the Mahdi.
The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni.
Yemen, Lebanon and Iran contain significant numbers of Shi'ites.
Iraq is mostly Shi'ite and contain most of the Shi'ite holy sites. Ironically, Iraq has almost always been ruled by a Sunni government from the Turkish Sultans to the Hashemite Kings to the Baath party.
Worship Practices:
The Five Pillars of Islam
1) Confession: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah". This must be recited by all Muslims
2) Prayer
- Muslims must pray five times daily
- After prayer is called, the worshiper must rinse one's hands, feet, eyes and mouth three times as a purification ritual
- Men and wormen pray separately
- They pray side by side and perform ritual moments while silently reciting the Qur'an
3) Fasting
- During the month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset
- It is a month of meditation and reflection
4) Alms giving
- Muslims must provide for the poor and needy
- The Zakat is required annual contribution of about 2.5% of one's income
5) Pilgrimage
- All muslims should visit Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime.
Jihad: Holy War
- Sometimes called the 6th pillar
- Literally means "struggle"
- "Greater Jihad" inner struggle of each individual to submit to Allah
- "Lesser Jihad" -outward struggle to defend the Islamic community
- The Qur'an forbids conversion by force
- Physical warfare is legitimate in two cases:
1) To protect an oppressed Muslim minority
2) TO reclaim what was once Islamic territory
Religious Buildings
Islamic places of worship are called mosques
Mosques traditionally have turrets with balconies for the muezzin to call to prayer.
A niche indicating the way to Mecca is in the front of the empty hall of the Mosque.
There is also a separate place for women to pray away from the men.
Sermons are given on Friday afternoons.
Home Practices
Most prayers are said at home.
The Qur'an states that a man may have up to four wives, so long as he treats each of them equally in all respects.
Clothing
Men and women are expected to dress modestly in public.
The full face veil is not a Koranic requirement for women.
Women must keep all but their faces covered while men must keep everything down to their knees and above their elbows covered.
Diet
The Halal is the food laws followed by Muslims.
The halal is similar to the Jewish Kosher laws.
Muslims mustn't eat pork or anything that has come into contact with pork.
Calendar
The Islamic Calendar has 12 months of approximately 29 1/2 days.
The Islamic calendar is 11 days shorter than the Western one.
The calendar began with Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina called the hijira in A.D. 622. It is designated 1 A.H (Anno Hegirae).
2000 A.D. roughly coincided with 1421 A.H.
The two major holidays are:
1) Ramadan - the month of fasting
2) Eid-al-Adha pilgrims sacrifice animals outside of Mecca to observe God's gift to Abraham
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