The Misunderstood Islamic Religion

This paper will strive to elucidate the Islam religion. The Islam religion will be described in terms of its teachings, how it has spread across the world, and how cultural differences influence the practices and beliefs within the religion. Similarities and differences between Islam and Judaism and Christianity will be explained. The last portion of this paper will address Islamic-U.S. relations, explain why relations are strained, and offer suggestions on the direction that needs to be taken in order to improve relations.

The Teachings of Islam: Contrary to Christianity and Judaism

The foundations of Islam cannot be explained without describing how it contrasts with Christianity and Judaism. Sarker (2004) explained the teachings of Islam. Muslims believe that the prophet Mohammed received teachings from the Archangel Gabriel to clear up misconceptions that have occurred because of misinterpretations from Christianity and Judaism. All three religions believe in one God. Christians and Jews believe there is an afterlife, while the Jews believe that they will rise up after death after the Messiah comes. Muslims agree with Christians and Jews that the Old Testament conveyed stories of several different prophets, such as Adam, Abraham, and Moses. Jesus, the Muslims feel, is also a prophet and messenger, but not the son of God, because the only person that could be the direct son of God is Adam because Adam and Eve were born directly from God, and Jesus had an earthly mother, Mary. According to Muslims, people are not born into sin as Christians and Jews think. People are born essentially good and do not need to be saved, and if they do enough good acts, they will outweigh any bad acts and will go to Heaven upon passing, thereby proactively saving themselves. Also, the faith of angels is very strong, and angels are seen as servants of God without free will, which is similar to Christianity and Judaism.

According to Beliefnet (n. d.), the way the Muslims practice their faith in God also differs from the Jewish and Christian faith in some ways, but are similar in others. Christians believed (until the Protestants) that people did not have direct access to God, and needed an intermediary, a priest, to communicate with God. While Judaism differs from Christianity in this regard, it is similar to Islam. In Judaism, Rabbis are seen more as teachers rather than the gatekeepers of all communications with God. Muslims are similar to the Jewish faith. When an adult has memorized the Qur’an, they can then act as guides and teachers for children and young adults as they learn the ways of the Muslim religion. The Muslim religion is also similar to the Jewish faith in women and men worshipping separately. Moreover, Muslims follow a complete set of guidelines of the right and wrong ways to live, which also differed from Christianity and Judaism, who used only the Ten Commandments and the words of the bible to philosophically help them guide their daily decisions. The Five Pillars convey these guidelines in order of importance: acknowledge and state one’s belief in Allah (God or higher being) and the prophet Mohammed as his messenger, pray five times a day to reflect on God, give 2.5% to charity, fasting during Ramadan from sunrise to sunset for an entire month, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once a lifetime.

Islam’s ideas refute many Christian and Jewish beliefs. Most importantly, it is stated in the bible that no addendums shall be added to the bible or taken as the word of God (Sarker, 2006), so immediately, the Christian and Jewish faiths would not recognize the Muslim faith as a valid faith. In order to understand why the religion is different according to its host culture, the spread of the Islamic religion must be explained. The next section explains Islamic history and how it is intertwined with how the religion was adapted across different cultures of the world.

The History of Islam: The Spread of the Faith

As Yale University (n. d.) stated, the spread of the Islamic faith is one of the most interesting areas of world study, from the Golden Age of Islam in the Middle East led by the prophet Mohammed in 570 C. E. to its spread across the world. The religion brought about changes in societies and has been adapted to fit the culture of the host country. Yale University (n. d.) conveyed that the spread of the Islamic faith had two engines. One was the military conquests of the prophet Mohammed, which is referred to as the holy wars, and the other was the drive of commerce, through trade. However, most of the battles fought were in protection of persecution of the followers of the Islamic faith. As Yale University (n. d.) posited, even when new territory was acquired, the prophet Mohammed always strove for it to be a mutual agreement rather than a military conquest.

However, as Yale University (n. d.) relayed, while the religion of Islam had to fight for its beginnings and its right to survive, a majority of the reason why it spread gradually but with strong progression was because of a few different reasons. Islam appeals to the masses because of the belief that all men are equal in the eyes of Allah and must give alms to the poor to follow God’s will. Moreover, Muslim countries had progressive governments, where other religious beliefs were tolerated, Yale University (n. d.) explained. State and religion were also not separated. The Middle East was strong in trade, known as the epicenter for commerce amongst the Arab nations, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The contacts established through trade allowed the spread of the religion through this network, the flourishing of commerce and trade encouraged by the charitable aspects of the religion.

Yale University (n. d.) explained that after the death of the prophet Mohammed in 632 C. E., the Muslim army conquered much of the Arab states, and spread into Africa and parts of Asia. Their tolerance of local religions had more to do with saving the religion for the Arabic people rather than a belief that all people had the right and freedom to practice their religion of choice. However, local peoples were attracted to the religion, and a great many cultures adopted the religion despite these efforts and ensured the spread of the Muslim faith as well.

However, as Yale University (n. d.) explicated, the Sufi faction of the religion, which began in 900 C. E., spread the religion to other parts of the world. They felt that many of the factions of the religion were too prosperous and casual about the religion, as well as adding to the religion information regarding the possible metaphysical aspects of human existence. Some groups of Sufis took aspects from Buddhism, others from Christian beliefs, and impassioned people to join the pious movement of Islam, which encouraged its spread into Europe, Asia, and other areas of the world.

Through the spread of Islam, a difference in the way the religion is practiced in each host culture has to do with how widely it was adopted in the host country. Some countries fully adopted the ways of Islam, others only adopted parts of the doctrine, while others were a barely tolerated a minority of people. Moreover, when the prophet Mohammed died, the religion split into two main factions, depending on whom the followers thought was the rightful successor to the prophet Mohammed, Mohammed’s father-in-law (Shi’as), or the community-elected friend of Mohammed, elected because they believed that Mohammed never appointed a successor (Sunnis). In addition, each division divided into other groups, and there is a great deal of disagreement which group is the valid religion as stipulated by Mohammed. The two sects also vary in the practice of their religion. The following is a brief description of the two sects.

Shi’a and Sunni Similarities and Differences in Practice

As Sarker (2006) relayed, most Muslims consider themselves just Muslims. Both groups also believe in the main components of the faith, the articles of faith and the five pillars. There are some beliefs that differ, however, and are dependent upon their divergent history.

Sarker (2006) stated that the Shi’as believe the leader of the community is appointed by God and is therefore incapable of doing wrong. According to Sarker, the Sunnis, the majority of the world’s Muslims (estimated 90% [Pew Research, 2012]) believe the leader is appointed by the community and should do acts to earn the faith and trust as the leader of the Sunnis, and if the leader does not act within expectations, he can lose the top leader position. As Sarker stated, to the Sunnis, there is not any precedent text that supports the notion that the leaders are a special class of people and should be worshipped in the same manner as God. However, most noteworthy in the two stances of leadership is to the Sunnis, their leader is a political position, and there isn’t a characteristic separation of state and religion. To the Shi’as, their leader is appointed by God, and there is a separation of state and religion.

Sarker (2006) also explained that after the schism, the Sunnis adopted the tradition to share the stories of the prophet Mohammed as recounted by his friends, the ones that elected the new leader by-election. There is still a certain amount of friction regarding the issue of the schism with the Shi’as. The Shi’as do not acknowledge these practices as valid.

Therefore, a great deal of the practice of the religion is also credited to whether or not the host country is predominately Shiite or Sunni. This factor, combined with the adaptive stance of the religion since its beginnings, often melding into the cultural particulars of the nation’s culture, produced minor differences in beliefs and practices, offshoots of both the main factions, from a zealous stance to a more relaxed stance, to exploring the mysticism of the Sufis, and how predominant orthodox practices are (Pew Research, 2012), are, as well as how important religion is in their daily lives. The next section explains how each culture adopted the religion in select regions: the Middle East, India and Pakistan, other Asian Countries, Great Britain, and the U. S.

Differences in the Practice of Islam

The following chart is summarized from Pew Research’s (2012) study. The regions included in the chart are the original path of the spread of Islam in the first couple of millennia after Christ’s death and spread from the factors of war and trade (Yale University, n. d.). Great Britain and the U. S. will be discussed separately due to their small minority population. India was not included in the Pew Research and will be discussed separately. Pilgrimage to Mecca was low for all areas, not even topping 20%. The farther away from Mecca, the lower the numbers were.

(Table omitted for preview. Available via download)

In India, there is a long history of tensions between the Hindus and Muslims, and the Muslim population is only 12%, but this translates into over 100 million of the world’s Muslims according to Godlas (n. d.). In the U. S., a majority of the Muslims emigrated to the U. S., and some American-born people converted to Muslims. Fifty percent of the Muslim converts are of minority status, and there is a noteworthy amount of converts in the prison system. Godlas noted that the anti-discriminatory nature of modern Islam appeals to people of low socioeconomic statuses. Also, offshoots of Islam are more likely to be created in the United States, tailored to the historical circumstances of the U. S. (slavery). In Great Britain, the Shi’as view temporary marriages, a step to take before a full marriage that allows a man and woman to have sex, as an accepted practice, while the Sunnis are against the practice (Mahmood & Nye, 2013).

U. S. – Muslim Relations

Relations were strained between the U. S. and Muslims when the U. S. went to war against Afghanistan when President George Bush was in office, according to Grand and Lord (2012). Later, after 9-11, tensions grew considerably between the U. S. and Muslims, most people believing that the world’s Muslims were represented by Osama Bin Laden’s radical faction. President Obama is in the process of repairing Muslim relations. His most recent exchange to reach out to the Muslim communities of the world, closing Guantanamo Bay where all suspected terrorists were sent, was a first extension of goodwill. However, as Grand and Lord stated, the U. S. will have to do a lot more to rebuild severed relationships. The U. S. as a nation, from businesses to universities, needs to do all it can to encourage relationships, cultural exchanges, and understanding to sustain Obama’s efforts to repair relationships. As Deeb (2001) cited, the politicizing of religion, present since its roots, is presently being recognized as a feature that might encourage a difference in future practices in the Muslim world.

In conclusion, the world needs to work towards fostering an environment of open communication and mutual respect for differences before more can be done to bridge the gap between two opposing points of view, begun centuries previously, for a more peaceful tomorrow.

References

Beliefnet.com (n. d.). How do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Differ? Retrieved from http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/fattah/courses/islampolitics/threereligions.htm

Deeb, M. J. (2001). Understanding Islam. Library of Congress Information Bulletin, 60(11). Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0111/arkoun.html

Godlas, A. (n. d.). Islam, the modern world, and the West. University of Georgia. Retrieved from http://islam.uga.edu/countries.html

Grand, S. R. & Lord, K.M. (2012, March 26). To rebuild U. S. – Muslim world relations, Obama not enough. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2009/03/26-muslim-world-relations-grand

Mahmood, S. & Nye, C. (2013, May 13). I do… for now: UK Muslims revive temporary marriages. BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22354201http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22354201

Pew Research (2012). The world’s Muslims: Unity and diversity. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-executive-summary/

Sarker, A. (2004). Understand my Muslim People. Newburg, OR: Barclay Press.

Yale University (n. d.). The spread of Islam. New Haven, CT: Author