ISL451 - Islam in the Modern World

Can culture be avoided when practicing Islam?

BY HYDER GULA M 11578139

M A ST ERS I N I SLA M IC ST UDI ES , CSU

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ObjectivesAt the end of this presentation, the audience should be able to learn:

• What is culture?

• What is practicing Islam?

• The relationship between culture and practicing Islam: Urf.

• Culture in Muslim societies and communities? Examples of positive and toxic.

•Form their own conclusions whether culture can be avoided when practicing Islam.

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Definitions• Culture: Core of a cluster of communal habits that serve to shape the everyday lives of individuals sharing a sense of identity. (Ozalp, 2012, p.107).

• Islam: Islam is to surrender and to submit to the commands of Allah Most High. (Yusuf, 2007, p.178)

• Practicing Islam: Belief in one God read and reflect on the Qur’an, belief that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the final Messenger of God, belief in life after death, and practice the five pillars (Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj) (Ozalp, 2012, p. 73-74 and p.109).

• Urf: recurring practices that are acceptable to people of sound nature (Kamali, 2003, p.369). Usually associated with the word ma’ruf (good), which is what the Shari’ah considers to be good (Nyazee, 2000. p.257)

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Islam and CultureImportant to differentiate between what is culture and what is religion (Ramadan 2009).

Important to understand the interplay between religion and culture to understand the diversity that exists, especially in relation to Islam.

Religion never exists within a cultureless vacuum.

Many variations in the way that Islam manifests itself in cultures around the world.

Irrespective of which Muslim country one may travel to, the core of Islam, the essentials of faith and personal practice serve as the same common denominator for all Muslims.

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Practicing IslamCommonality amongst Muslims is the practice of Islam, and Arabic to recite the Qur’an, and in prayer.

Unity in cultural diversity was the hallmark of traditional Islamic societies (abd-Allah, 2004, p. 366)

Islamic law takes an open-minded attitude toward customs in general, and, when judging cultural norms, it prefers to err on the side of leniency and not rigidity.

Much of what became the Prophet’s sunnah (Prophetic model) was made up of acceptable pre-Islamic Arab cultural norms, and the principle of tolerating and accommodating such practices—among Arabs and non-Arabs alike in all their diversity—may be termed a supreme, overriding Prophetic sunnah (abd-Allah, 2004, p. 367).

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The relationship between culture and practicing IslamCustom and culture which does not contravene the principles of Islam are valid and authoritative; it must be observed and upheld by a court of law.

Ottoman Majallah: (Art . 36) – Custom is proof and (Art.37) – The usage of people is a proof that must be acted upon.

The ulama have generally accepted ‘urf’ as a valid criterion for the purpose of interpreting the Qur’an (Kamali, 2003, p.371).

Islamic legal theory regards sound cultural norms as constituting an independent and authoritative source of Islamic law.

Islam has inherited the legacy of the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians, the heritage of the Hellenistic philosophy, the subtleties of Person statecraft, the reasoning of Jewish law and the methods of Christian theology (Bowering, 2015, introduction)

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Culture in Muslim societies and communities? Examples of positive and toxic.•R v Dincer [1983] 1 V.R. 460

•The Queen v Najibi [2015] VSC 260 (10 June 2015)

•FGM

•Forced marriages

•Honour killings

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Culture in Muslim societies and communities - contWhat do Australian ulema think in the Australian context? Does this shape a unique identity?

1, There is no conflict between Islamic rules, values and norms and taking up Australian citizenship.

2. As citizens of Australia we should exercise our right to participate in key institutions in the country; be they political, economic, legal, security or social; while observing the fundamental teachings of our religion.

11. The commitment of a Muslim to Shari’ah does not conflict with their ability to abide by Australian law.

12. Much of what the Shari’ah requires of a Muslim can be implemented without government regulation — for example: the five pillars of Islam, the need to stay away from sins or crimes Islam specifies, the ethical and moral values of honesty, fulfilling one’s promises, and dealing with people gently and kindly.

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Questions?

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a. Do you think that Muslims as a minority in a majority non-Muslim culture should adapt, if so how?

b. How do we distinguish the timeless and universal teaching and principles of Islam from the cultural layer of interpretation often placed over this teaching and these principles?

c. If culture leads to identity, is there a distinct Australian Muslim identity? If so, what is it?

References:

Abd-Allah, U.F. (2004). Islam and the cultural imperative. In Crosscurrents, 56(3), pp. 357-375.

Al-Saqqaf, A.A. a-Q. (19th April 2010). Did Egyptian Customs Lead to a New Shafi’i School? Shaykh Alawi Abd al-Qadir al-Saqqaf (translated by Anas Hlayhel). Accessed from Muslim Matters at http://muslimmatters.org/2010/04/19/did-egyptian-customs-lead-to-a-new-shafii-school/ on 21 Nov 2015

Bowering, G. (ed) (2015). Islamic Political Thought: An Introduction: Princeton University Press. Accessed at http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10510.html on 22 Nov 2015

Dogan, R. (2014). Ahkam Shar’i (Values of Islamic Law). In Usul al-Fiqh methodology of Islamic jurisprudence. Clifton, NJ. : Tughra Books.

Gibril, H. (2003). The Four Imams and their Schools. Spain: Muslim Academic Trust.

Kamali, M. H. (2003). Principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society.

Laldin, M. A. (2011). Introduction to shari’ah and Islamic jurisprudence (3rd edition). Kuala Lumpur: CERT Publications.

National Imams Consultative Forum (2015). An Australian Muslim perspective on some key contemporary concerns. National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies Asia Institute (University of Melbourne). Accessed from nceis.unimelb.edu.au/about/projects/national_imams_consultative_forum on 21 Nov 2015

Nyazee, I. A. K. (2003). Islamic jurisprudence. Selangor, Malaysia: The Other Press.

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References:

Ozalp, M. (2012). Islam between tradition and modernity: An Australian perspective. Canberra: Barton Books.

Ramadan, T. (2009). Radical reform: Islamic ethics and liberation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Unknown author (n.d.). Reflections: Did Imam Al-Shafi Change Islam According To Changing Times And Places? The politically aware Muslim. Accessed from http://awaremuslim.blogspot.sg/2015/01/reflections-did-imam-al-shafi-change.html on 21 Nov 2015

Woodlock, R. (2011). Being an Aussie mossie: Muslim and Australian identity among Australian born Muslims. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 22(4), 391-407.

Yusuf, A-R. (2007). Fiqh-al-Imam: key proofs in Hanafi fiqh. California: White Thread Press.

Cases:

R v Dincer [1983] 1 V.R. 460

The Queen v Najibi [2015] VSC 260 (10 June 2015)

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End“‘...Then I will use my independent judgment and I won't spare any effort (to try to come to the correct solution“(Mu'adh Ibn Jabal)

Once, a group of Ethiopian converts began to dance with drums and spears in the Prophet’s mosque in celebration of an annual Islamic festival. The Companion ‘Umar (RA) attempted to stop them, but the Prophet (pbuh) intervened and urged them to continue. In one Hadith, he said to them: “Play your games, sons of Ethiopia, so that the Jews and Christians know that there is flexibility (fusḥa) in our religion.” By this and similar acts, the Prophet (pbuh) set the precedent of affirming cultural differences and made it clear that, for non-Arabs, entering Islam did not require them to give up their own cultural norms for those of the Arabs (abd-Allah, 2004)

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