Islam Theme: Religion’s impact on society

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IslamTheme Religions impact on society

• Lesson 15

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ID SIG

• Allah, Five Pillars of Islam, jihad, Mecca,
  Medina, Muhammad, Quran, Ramadan, sharia, Shia,
  Sufi, Sunni, umma

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Islam and Muslim

• Islam means submission
• Signifies obedience to the rule and will of Allah
• A Muslim is one who accepts the Islamic faith
• Means one who has submitted

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Muhammad

• Born in 570 into a reputable family of merchants
  in Mecca
• Lost both of his parents by the time he was 6
  years old
• As a young man, Muhammad worked for Khadija, a
  wealthy widow who he married around 595
• This marriage gained him a position of some
  prominence in Meccan society
• By the age of 30 Muhammad had established himself
  as a merchant

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Muhammad

• Muhammads status as a merchant undoubtedly
  brought him in contact with both Jews and
  Christians and he would have had a basic
  knowledge of both faiths
• About 610, when he was about 40, Muhammad had a
  spiritual experience that convinced him that
  there was only one true deity, Allah (God)

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Allah

• Elements of Muhammads spiritual transformation
• Allah rules the universe
• Idolatry and the recognition of other gods
  amounts to wickedness
• Allah would soon bring his judgment on the world
• Muhammad received messages or revelations from
  Gabriel, the archangel, instructing him to
  explain his faith to others

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Quran (Koran)

• Muhammad originally just shared the message with
  his family and close friends, but gradually
  others became interested
• By about 620, a zealous and expanding minority in
  Mecca had joined Muhammads circle
• As the Muslim community grew, Muhammads
  followers began writing down his oral recitations
  into written texts
• During the 650s these writings were issued as the
  Quran (recitation)

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Medina

• The growing popularity of Muhammads preaching
  brought him in conflict with Meccas elites
• In 622, Muhammad fled to Medina, some 214 miles
  north of Mecca
• The move became known as the hijra (migration)
  and marks the starting point of the official
  Islamic calendar

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Reasons for Muhammads Conflict in Mecca

• Insistence that Allah was the only true god
  clashed with many polytheistic Arabs
• Muhammads denunciation of greed as a moral
  weakness that Allah would punish threatened
  Meccas wealthy merchants
• Muhammads attack on idolatry represented an
  economic threat to those who profited from the
  many shrines to the various deities
• Kaba was one such shrine

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Umma

• In Mecca, Muhammad had lived within an
  established political framework and therefore
  concentrated on moral and religious dimensions
• In Medina, the society in exile needed guidance
  in more than just spiritual matters
• Muhammad organized his followers into a cohesive
  community called the umma (community of the
  faithful)

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Umma

• Muhammad provided a comprehensive legal and
  social code
• He led the community in prayer and in battle
• He provided economic support both by organizing
  commercial ventures and by raiding caravans from
  Mecca
• He provided for the relief of orphans and widows
  and made almsgiving a prime moral value

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Umma

• Individuals belong to a community
• The positive benefits of all who embrace Islam
  (social justice, solidarity and purpose, and
  political stability) are enjoyed by all in areas
  guided by Islamic law (dar al-Islam means the
  house of Islam and refers to lands under
  Islamic rule)

Mecca
East London
Detroit
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Return to Mecca

• In 630, Muhammad attacked Mecca, conquered it,
  and forced the elites to adopt the faith
• Destroyed pagan shrines and replaced them with
  mosques
• Imposed a government dedicated to Allah
• Building on the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad
  launched other military campaigns and by the time
  of his death in 632, most of Arabia was under his
  control

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Kaba

• Muhammad spared the Kaba from destruction and
  preserved it as a symbol of Meccas greatness
• In 632, Muhammad led the first pilgrimage to the
  Kaba
• Established the hajj as an example for all devout
  Muslims

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Five Pillars of Islam

• Acknowledge Allah as the only god and Muhammad as
  his prophet (iman)
• Pray to Allah daily while facing Mecca (salah)
• Observe a fast during daylight hours of the month
  of Ramadan (sawm)
• Contribute alms to the relief of the weak and
  poor (zakah)
• Those who are physically and financially able
  must make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

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Translation of the Adan (Call to Prayer)

• God is Great. God is Great. God is Great.
  God is Great. I testify that there is none
  worthy of worship except God. I testify that
  there is none worthy of worship except God. I
  testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God. I
  testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
  Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to
  success! Come to success! God is Great! God is
  Great! There is none worthy of worship except
  God.

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Ramadan

• Ninth month of the Islamic calendar
• A time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and
  self-control
• Daily period of fasting from dawn to dusk
• Observers totally abstain from food, drink,
  smoking, and sex
• Ramadan ends with a joyous celebration called
  Eid-ul-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking)

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Anticipated Days for Ramadan

• First Day 2010 Aug 11         
•   Last Day 2010 Sept 9
• First Day 2011  Aug 1 
• Last Day 2007 Aug 29
• First Day 2012 July 20          
•   Last Day 2012 Aug 18
• Muslims use the lunar calendar which is 11 days
  shorter than the Gregorian calendar
• Takes about 35 years to go through the entire
  cycle

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Jihad

• Sometimes called the sixth pillar
• Jihad is more than a holy war
• It is an exertion or struggle in achieving the
  ways of Allah
• It requires a vigilance against all that
  distracts us from God and exertion to do His will
  within ourselves as well as preserving and
  reestablishing the order and harmony that He has
  willed for Islamic society and the world about
  us.
• Seyyed Nasr in Our Religions, ed. Arvind Sharma,
  475

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Jihad

• In the late 20th and early 21st Centuries,
  extremists began using the concept of jihad to
  rationalize and legitimize terrorism and
  revolution
• in compliance with Allahs order, we issue the
  following fatwa a legal pronouncement issued by
  a religious law specialist on a specific issue
  to all Muslims
• The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies
  -- civilians and military -- is an individual
  duty for every Muslim who can do it in any
  country in which it is possible to do it, in
  order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy
  mosque Mecca from their grip, and in order for
  their armies to move out of all the lands of
  Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any
  Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of
  Almighty Allah, and fight the pagans all
  together as they fight you all together, and
  fight them until there is no more tumult or
  oppression, and there prevail justice and faith
  in Allah.
• World Islamic Front Statement, 23 February 1998

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Islamic Ethics

• Islam values practice over belief
• Of the Five Pillars, four concern practice (acts,
  deeds or endeavors) that adherents must fulfill
• Prayer
• Fasting
• Almsgiving
• Pilgrimage
• Living correctly takes precedence over creeds and
  doctrines

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Sharia

• After the death of Muhammad, the sharia, Islamic
  holy law, emerged to give detailed guidance on
  proper behavior in almost every aspect of daily
  life
• Drew its inspiration from the Quran and
  historical accounts of Muhammads life and
  teachings
• Through the sharia, Islam became more than a
  religious doctrine
• It developed into a way of life complete with
  social and ethical values derived from Islamic
  religious doctrine.

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Expansion of Islam

• Muhammad made no provisions for a successor after
  his death
• Serious divisions arose
• Within a short time however, the Islamic
  community launched a series of military campaigns
  that extended its influence far beyond the
  boundaries of Arabia

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Caliphs

• Since Muhammad was the seal of the prophets, no
  one could succeed him as another prophet
• Abu Bakr, one of Muhammads closest friends and
  disciples followed him as caliph (deputy)
• Caliphs would lead the umma as lieutenants or
  substitutes for Muhammad, rather than as prophets

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Expansion and Problems

• Islamic warriors gained remarkable victories over
  the Byzantine and Sasanid empires which were
  exhausted from fighting each other and besieged
  by internal problems

Expansion of Islam to 750
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Expansion and Problems

• As Islam expanded, it was faced with problems of
  governance and administration
• One problem was selecting the caliphs
• Political ambitions, personal differences, and
  clan loyalties complicated the process
• Disagreements over succession led to the
  emergence of the Shia sect

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Shia

• Shia (party) are the most important alternative
  to the majority Muslim group, the Sunni
  (traditionalists)
• Shiites favored Ali, Muhammads cousin and son in
  law, as caliph instead of Abu Bakr
• Ali did become the fourth caliph (656-661) but
  was assassinated and his killers imposed their
  own caliph
• Shiites vigorously resisted and struggled to
  return the caliphate to the line of Ali

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Shia

• Shiites strengthened their identity by adopting
  doctrines and rituals distinct from the Sunnis
• Observed holy days in honor of their leaders and
  martyrs
• Taught that the descendants of Ali were
  infallible, sinless, and divinely appointed to
  rule

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Differences Between Shia and Sunni

• Shiites
• About 15 of all Muslims
• Islams leader should be a descendant of Mohammad
• Qualified religious leaders have the authority to
  interpret the sharia (Islamic law)

• Sunnis
• About 85 of all Muslims
• Leaders should be chosen through ijma, or
  consensus
• The sharia was codified and closed by the 10th
  century

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Iraq

• Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was 60-65 Shia and
  32-37 Sunni but Sunnis dominated the government
  and economy

The Sunni Triangle
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Sufi

• Sufi is a third Muslim group
• Encourages a personal, emotional, devotional
  approach to Islam has a very mystical and
  spiritual component
• Do not insist on fine points of doctrine or
  formal religious teachings instead work to
  deepen spiritual awareness
• Most lead pious and ascetic lives
• Very effective as missionaries, brought Islam to
  India

Representation of Sufi theologian al-Ghazali
(1058-1111)
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Islam in Africa(Review from Lesson 9)

• Contact with Muslim merchants encouraged
  sub-Sahara west Africans and coastal east
  Africans to adopt Islam
• It served as a cultural foundation for business
  relationships
• Yet African ruling elites and merchants did not
  convert for purely mercenary reasons they took
  their new faith seriously

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Major World ReligionsSource About, Inc
http//christianity.about.com/library/weekly/blrel
igiontop.htm

• Religion Members
• Christianity 2 Billion
• Islam 1.2 Billion 
• Hinduism 785 Million 
• Buddhism 360 Million 
• Judaism 17 Million 
• Sikhism 16 Million
• Bahai 5 Million
• Confucianism 5 Million
• Jainism 4 Million
• Shintoism 3 Million
• Wicca .7 Million
• Zoroastrianism .2 Million

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Review

• What elements of Islam help it build a sense of
  community among its believers?

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Review

• What elements of Islam help it build a sense of
  community among its believers?
• Umma
• Sharia
• Certain of the Five Pillars such as the
  pilgrimage and giving alms
• dar al-Islam and governments dedicated to Islam

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Religions Compared
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Next

• Review and Midterm