Islam:

History, Values and Culture

Shawqi Kassis, Ph.D.

Words to Know

Arabian PeninsulaMeccaJerusalemMuslims/IslamMuhammadAbrahamCaliphThe QuranSunniShiite/Shia

Ethnic group vs Ethnic group vs Religious GroupReligious Group

►Ethnic groups share many Ethnic groups share many common characteristics such as common characteristics such as language, physical features, language, physical features, customs, and traditionscustoms, and traditions

►Religious groups share a common Religious groups share a common belief system but are not belief system but are not necessarily composted of a single necessarily composted of a single ethnic group.ethnic group.

IslamAn Abrahamic Religion

IslamAn Abrahamic Religion Muslims are strict monotheists.

They believe in the Judeo-Christian God, which they call Allah.

Muslims believe that the Torah and the Bible, like the Qur’an, is the word of God.114 suras (chapters).

Written in Arabic.

The Origins of IslamThe Origins of Islam

Muhammad Ibn (son of) Adballah-born in Mecca in 571, descendent of Abraham. Muhammad received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel in the Cave of Hira in 610.

622 Hijrah Muhammed flees Mecca for Medina. The beginning of the Muslim calendar.

‘Missionaries’ sent all over Arabia building peaceful coalition

Muhammad’s revelations were compiled into the Qur’an after his death.

Monotheistic

• 629 Muhammad conquers Mecca peacefully (NO REVENGE!!!)

single-handedly, brings peace to war-torn Arabia

• 632 Muhammad dies in Almadinah. Unmarked grave (his will)

Arial view of present day Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Caliph-Spiritual leader of Islam

Abu-Bakr - 632-634• The first elected official. Wise leader, crisis manager

Omar Ibn Elkhattab - 634-644

• A first-rate statesman. Honest, modest and just.

• Conquered the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, Persia Damascus (9 / 635) and Jerusalem (5 / 638) surrender peacefully

– Omar’s pledge to the Jerusalemites

• A modern state: Treasury, communication, defense. Engraved currency.

Othman bin Affan - 644-656• Collected and compiled the Quran• Emergence of power struggle

Ali Bin Abitalib - 656-661

• Power struggle escalated to armed conflict

• Emergence of political parties

• End of democracy. Ummayah Dynasty in Damascus, Muawyia (661-680)

632-661: the Four Elected Successors (Caliphs)

Islam: • ”Surrender”, related to ‘salaam’, or peace. • Abraham, father of all prophets, is the first Muslim

• Islam is also a code for social conduct • Gabriel highest ranking angel

The Quran: • Confirms most narratives and prophets of the Jewish and Christian faiths

Special place for Virgin Mary, the only female (the Chapter of Mary)

• Allah is the word for God used by Christian and Muslim Arabs God = Allah (Arabic)

The framework for Muslim life. Essential practices

1. The declaration of faith: • "There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God"

2. Prayer: • Five obligatory prayers each day.

* dawn * noon * late afternoon * sunset * before going to bed•Wash before praying•Face Mecca and use a prayer rug.

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam

► 3.Zakat: ►Obligatory charitable giving. ►Wealth belong to God and it is held in trust by

humans.►Zakat, or, "purification" by setting aside a

portion (2.5%) for the needy 4.Fasting:

►From sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam

5.Pilgrimage: ►A pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, Arabia.

Only those who can.► Must be done at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime.►2-3 million Muslims make the pilgrimage every year.

Other Islamic Religious PracticesOther Islamic Religious Practices

Up to four wives allowed at once.

No alcohol or pork.

No gambling.

Sharia Islamic law toregulate daily living.

Jihad and the Conduct of War

• Islam is not addicted to war, and jihad is not one of its "pillars”

• Jihad in Arabic does not mean "holy war”. It means "struggle” or “strive”.

• It is the difficult effort needed to put God's will into practice at every level

Jihad and the Conduct of War

• God does not allow harm of civilian, and requests the protection of women, children and the elderly during war (4:96; 9: 91; 48: 16,17)

“If any one slew a person--unless it be for murder or for spreading mischiefin the land--it would be as if he slew the whole people; and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (5:32)

• You shall feed and protect prisoners of war, and you shall not expect a reward (4: 25,36; 5:24)

Thus, the only permissible war in the Quran is one of self-defense, you cannot kill unarmed (civilian), and you have to protect prisoners of war• ‘Martyrdom’: Those killed during fighting or while doing civic duties

(martyrs) are promised a place in heaven (several passages, e.g., 2:154;

3:169-172)

• However, suicide is not allowed; it is forbidden and condemned (e.g., 6:151, 17:33, 25:68)

Relation with other Faiths

• Like the Torah, the Quran permits retaliation eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But, like the Gospels, it says “it is meritorious to forgo revenge in a spirit of charity (5: 45)

• Acknowledges Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Zacharia, Jesus, John the paptist, and others as the “the good prophets of God”

• A special place for Jesus and Mary (e.g., 3:45,46; 4:156-158; 19:1-98)

• Accepts that Mary’s conception is from God’s soul.

• Rejects the divinity of Jesus (no trinity).

• Jesus was not killed (e.g., 4:155-159; 5:17-19)

The hijab or head scarf• Modest dress apply to women and men equally (Quran and Hadith). • Women are required to cover their bodies so that their figure is not revealed. • Women are not required to cover their faces.

• The forbidden or ‘taboo’ (muharramat) include pork, blood, improperly butchered animals, no chargine interest and no gambling.

Alcohol drinking was gradually disallowed

Other Values

Sunni and Shia(Shiite) Split

Like many other religions the Islamic faith is divided between two separate groups (the

Sunni and the Shia). Approx 90% of muslims are Sunnis. Shias are Muslims who follow Ali, Muhammad’s closet relative. Ali was Muhammad’s

cousin And was married to his daughter. After Muhammad died, Muslims split over

Who would succeed Muhammad as leader of Islam. The Sunnis wanted the Community to choose the best leader to succeed Muhammad, while the Shia favored Ali, feeling that leadership should stay within the prophet’s family.

The split between the two main branches of Islam is nearly 1,400 years old, and started with a fight over who should lead the faithful after the prophet Muhammad's death in 632. One side believed that direct descendants of the prophet should take up the mantle of the caliph – the leader of the world's faithful. They were known as the Shiat-Ali, or "partisans of Ali," after the prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali, whom they favored to become caliph. In time, they came simply to be known as Shiites.

The other side, the Sunnis, thought that any worthy man could lead the faithful, regardless of lineage, and favored Abu Bakr, an early convert to Islam who had married into Muhammad's family. "Sunni" is derived from the Arab word for "followers" and is shorthand for "followers of the prophet." The Shiites were the eventual losers in a violent struggle for mastery that lasted decades, a fact now reflected in their minority status within global Islam. Another difference between Sunnis and Shiites has to do with the Mahdi, “the rightly-guided one” whose role is to bring a just global caliphate into being.

The Koran is the sacred text for both. The Koran (Quran)

Islam Today

• 1.3 Billion worldwide, three continents 0.3 Billion Arabs Indonesia (200 M) > India (180 M) > Pakistan (160 M) > Bangladesh (120 M) >

China (80 M) > Egypt (70 M)

• There are about 20 M Christian Arabs Egypt > Syria > Lebanon > Palestine > Iraq

• About 7 M Muslims in the USA, 3-4 M are Arabs Roughly half of the Arab Americans are Christians

Though a majority in Iran and Iraq, Shia make

up just 15 percent of the world's Muslims.

Mount Moriah Rockwhere Muhammad ascended into heaven.

Three holiest cities in Islam: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem.

The Dome of the Rock is one of the holiest sites in Islam. Its The Dome of the Rock is one of the holiest sites in Islam. Its significance is from the religious beliefs regarding the rock at its significance is from the religious beliefs regarding the rock at its center. According to Islamic tradition, the rock is the spot from where center. According to Islamic tradition, the rock is the spot from where Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel.Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel.

The stone hillside over which the Muslim shrine was built is also the The stone hillside over which the Muslim shrine was built is also the holiest site in Judaism. Just as Muslims pray towards the Kaaba in holiest site in Judaism. Just as Muslims pray towards the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, Jews pray towards the site of the the Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, Jews pray towards the site of the the Foundation Stone, the holiest site in Judaism.Foundation Stone, the holiest site in Judaism.

In Christianity it is called the Church of the Holy Wisdom.In Christianity it is called the Church of the Holy Wisdom.

So who’s religious site is it?

The Ka'aba (literally "the cube" in Arabic) is an ancient stone structure that was built and re-built by prophets as a house of monotheistic worship. It is located inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Ka'aba is considered the center of the Muslim world, and is a unifying focal point for Islamic worship.

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

House of Worship= MosqueIslamic public place of prayer. Mosques are the centre of community worship and the site of Friday prayer services. Essentially an open space, usually roofed, with a minaret sometimes attached. Statues and pictures are not permitted as decoration. The minaret, originally any elevated place but now usually a tower, is used by the muezzin (crier) to proclaim the call to worship five times each day. During prayer, Muslims orient themselves toward the qiblah wall, which is invariably oriented toward the Ka'bah in Mecca. The mosque has traditionally been the centre of social, political, and educational life in Islamic societies.

Islam's Sunni-Shiite split. Dan Murphy | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0117/p25s01-wome.html

Bibliography