The word Islam or Muslim conjures up many feelings and images in the mind of the person who hears them. In the 20th century this faith has seen a dramatic transformation, from being little known, to being called the reason for much of the world’s turmoil. How has Islam been brought into the spot light in recent years? And why is it said to be the most misunderstood religion? This paper will explore the origin of Islam, look at where it’s practiced today, identify the two groups within it, open up their sacred text and talk about their main beliefs.
ORIGINS
Islam’s very beginning starts with a story from the Old Testament in the Hebrew Bible. Abraham and his wife Sarah are trying to have a child together, but Sarah can’t seem to get pregnant. Sarah’s solution to this problem is for him to have a child with someone else, someone younger. Genesis chapter 16 of the Hebrew Bible tells us more: “…so she said to Abram [Abraham], ‘The LORD has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai [Sarah] said…He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.” (Genesis 16:2-4) Ishmael, or Ismail as some spell it, was born of that union and this is where Islam begins-Muslims are said to be descendants of him. Hagar and Ishmael eventually leave Abraham’s family and end up in present day Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Over 2000 years later this town is still important to Muslims. At least once in their lifetime, a person of the Islamic faith is to go to Mecca on what they call Hajj, or pilgrimage.
The most common name associated with the Muslim faith is Muhammad, and many people credit him with starting this religion. He himself never took credit for starting this new religion because he was under the impression that God was using him to reform an already existing one that was being practiced incorrectly. To Muslims, Mohammad is the human prophet who spoke words of God and put together a written account of God’s word by publishing the Qur’an.
HOLY BOOK
Like many religions, Islam has a sacred text that is read and followed by its adherents. This text is called the Qur’an, being spelled commonly with a K, Koran, in the West. This book is thought to be the direct word of God, therefore no human author is named. Mohammad is the person who put these words into print, therefore he is usually credited with starting Islam. Interestingly, I learned from John Esposito’s book that the Qu’ran isn’t organized by subject or relevance: “Its chapters were assembled from the longest chapter to the shortest, not editing or organizing thematically. This format has proved frustrating to many non-Muslims, who find the text disjoined or disorganized from their point of view.” (Esposito p. 9) This book was originally printed in Arabic; therefore the being of God is referred to with the Arabic word Allah, both in the Qur’an and when Muslims speak about their God.
Muslims place a high honor on the ability to recite parts of the Qur’an from memory. This is especially hard for non-native Arabic speakers, who usually don’t know what they are saying when reciting unless they have read it in their own language first. However, it is preferred that one reads it in its original language so as to ensure all the original meanings are read.
WHAT THEY BELIEVE
While doing research for this paper, I was fascinated by all the similarities that Islam has with Christianity. Not only do they believe in one God who created all things, but they acknowledge many men from the Hebrew Bible, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus and John the Baptist. However, this is where the two religions diverge: for Muslims, these men are all just prophets, like Mohammad is a prophet, and are all equal to each other. Since the Hebrew Bible was already in formation, the Qur’an contains many parts that are very similar to the Bible, and therefore some of the same people. Islam has The Five Pillars of Islam that concisely explain their beliefs. Items on the list include belief in Allah as the one true God, prayer five times per day, giving money to charity, fasting during the month of September, and taking a trip to Mecca. Even when looking at this list, we see more similarities to Christianity. The main difference lies in what each of these mean to the Muslim practice and how God interacts with humans.
PRAYER
Prayer is an important ritual to the Muslim faith. In fact, they do it five times per day. In predominantly Muslim countries, an actual alarm will sound signaling prayer time. Before praying, the person must was their face and hands in order to be clean before Allah. Prayer is done while kneeling on a prayer rug facing the direction of Mecca. There are certain prayers that can be recited, a different one at each of the five times, or they can use their own words.
TWO SECTS
Islam has two branches or sects: The Sunnis and the Shi’ites. Within these groups are even more smaller groups, but one usually identifies as first belonging to either Sunni or Shi’ite, then also belonging to a sub group. The biggest difference between the two groups is their set of beliefs and political views and how they’re expressed in their countries. Shi’ites sprang up by following Muhammad’s cousin ‘Ali after Muhammad died. This group makes up about 90% of Iran and the majority population in Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain. Being that they are followers of ‘Ali, Shi’ites believe that the leader of Islam must be one of Muhammad’s descendants in order to be a valid leader. When we hear of terrorist attacks, it is people claiming to be Shi’ite Muslims, although their extreme acts are very against what the Qur’an teaches.
Sunnis make up an overwhelming majority of today’s Muslim population, around 90% of it. They trace their starting point back to Muhammad and are followers of him specifically. Between the two groups, Sunnis are the more conservative.
PILGRIMAGE
A ritual that all Muslims are not able to take part in, but are strongly encouraged to if possible, is a pilgrimage to Mecca. This town is very important in the faith because many significant things occurred there during the early days of Islam. As Malcolm Clark writes in an extensive book on Islam, “The requirement is that each Muslim make the pilgrimage once in his or her life, if able to do so. Muslims don’t go into debt or sacrifice the material well being of their families in order to undertake the trip. Not surprisingly, then, to go on hajj gives prestige to the individual who can use the honorific title of hajji (hajja for a woman).” (Clark p. 154)
This pilgrimage is a weeklong trip to Mecca consisting of many activities all designed to honor God by how the adherent performs them. The main components of the trip are walking around a large square structure, the Kabbah, in the center of the Grand Mosque, reciting a certain prayer while circling the Kabbah, running between two hills outside of town. These are to be done seven times each and if possible, one is suppose to touch the Kabbah with their hand at least once. The hajj can be taken anytime, “However, people who go during Ramadan (September) are especially looked upon highly by other Muslims” says Kosar Meman, an Iraqi native who immigrated to the United States at age eight. All the activities are symbolic of something which happened in Islamic history. For example, the running back and forth between the hills represents Hagar looking for water when she and Ishmael first arrived in Mecca.
CONCLUSION
Writing a paper about Islam helped me understand my own Christian faith more. I was most surprised at all the similarities I found between the Qur’an and the Bible. Islam is still going strong in its position of number two of the list of world religions according to website adherents.com.
Perhaps the only people who will truly understand Islam for all that it is are the belongers of the faith itself. The Hebrew Bible and Qur’an have many answers to problems still existing between Jews and Muslims and explains why the Gaza Strip is fought over so ferociously today.
WORKS CITED
Al-Quattan, Omar (director). (2002). Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet [DVD].
Clark, Malcolm (2003). Islam for Dummies. Wiley: Indiana Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Esposito, John L. (2002). What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. New York: Oxford
University Press, Inc.
Manji, Irshad (2003). The Trouble With Islam. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Meman, Kosar S. (personal interview, May 2, 2010) endorses this view.
Sader, Ziauddin (2007). What Do Muslims Believe. New York: Walker Publishing Co.