Understanding The Muslim World

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Understanding The Muslim World

• University of Texas College of Liberal Arts
• Aga Khan Development Network
• Islam in World Cultures Project
• November 18-21, 2004

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Think About It!

• By recognizing the stereotypes we hold about
  others and others hold about us we can begin
  to understand each other better.

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Think About It!

• What stereotypes of the Muslim World do
  Westerners have?
• What stereotypes of Westerners do people in the
  Muslim World have?

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Stereotypes About Muslims
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Stereotypes About Westerners
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Where is the Muslim World?
United States 7 Million Muslims 53
Indo-Pakistani 47 African-Americans
Middle East 400 Million Muslims
Arab World 270 Million Muslims
U.S.
Middle East 130 Million Non-Muslims
Arab World
Middle East
Muslim World
Muslim World 1.3 Billion Muslims India
Indonesia Pakistan Bangladesh Great Britain
Canada
Audrey Shabbas, Middle East Policy Council
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Political Influences
Economic Influences
Area and Geographic Influences
P.E.R.S.I.A.
Intellectual and Arts Influences
Religious Influences
Social Influences
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Political Influences
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Political Influences

• European Imperialism All the great powers of
  Europe Britain, France, Germany, and Russia
  sought to control natural resources, create
  markets for their industries, and establish
  colonies around the globe.
• Egypt and North Africa
• South Africa
• India and South Asian Subcontinent

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Political Influences

• Ethnic Minorities
• Kurds Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria
• Berbers North Africa
• Albanians and Armenians Eastern Europe

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Political Influences

• Political Structures Today
• Royal families Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
  Oman, Morocco
• Strong leaders Syria, formerly in Iraq
• Democratic governments Turkey, Iran

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Political Influences

• Should The West attempt to democratize the
  Middle East and other Islamic areas?
• Is democracy compatible with Islam?
• What role does religion play in politics in the
  Muslim world?
• What are the pressures for and against democracy
  in the Muslim world?
• Does the United States have the right to remove a
  government and impose democracy?

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Political Influences

• Islam is a complete way of life it covers the
  entire spectrum of human activities. Islam means
  total commitment and subordination of all aspects
  of life individual, social, economic,
  political, international to God. Hence, Islam
  is both religion and politics, church and state,
  joined in a single goal of serving God and
  implementing His commandments.
• Dr. Mumtaz Ahmad

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Speech by President Bush, November 7, 2003
http//www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-de
c03/democracy_11-07.html
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Political Influences

• YES, the United States SHOULD impose democracy.
• Human rights records among the worst in the world
• Connections to terrorism
• Model democracy might lead other Arab governments
  to follow
• Could remove our troops
• Oil prices might dramatically drop

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Political Influences

• NO, the United States SHOULD NOT impose
  democracy.
• Anti-Western sentiment could grow in the region
  environment of distrust
• Islam is not fundamentally compatible with
  democracy
• Clash of modernity vs. traditionalism

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Political Influences

• Take a stand! Where do you fall on the spectrum?
  Do you agree or disagree with the following
  statement..
• The United States should impose democracy on
  undemocratic regimes in the Middle East and the
  Muslim world.

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Economic Influences
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Economic Influences

• Water is important for its scarcity rather than
  its abundance
• Disputes over water rights threaten political
  relationships in the area
• Egypt, Iran, and Turkey are the only countries in
  the region with abundant fresh water sources

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Economic Influences

• Turkey plans to build a series of 24
  hydroelectric dams on the Euphrates River for its
  growing population and industries that would
  drastically reduce water to Syria and Iraq
• Syria dammed part of the Euphrates River choking
  off the supply of water to Iraq

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Economic Influences

• Oil has created opportunities and problems for
  the Middle East
• Nations have learned to manipulate their
  production of oil as an international strategy
• Uneven distribution of oil deposits has created a
  large gap between rich and poor

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Economic Influences

• By 2050 Central Asia will provide more than 80
  of oil distributed to the US making Afghanistan
  and Turkey of strategic importance

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Religious Influences
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Religious Influences

• Five Pillars of Islam
• Sunni and Shia
• Spread of Islam
• Crusades

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Religious Influences

• Five Pillars of Islam
• Profession of faith
• Prayer five times per day
• Almsgiving charity
• Fasting from sunrise to sundown during Ramadan
• Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime

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Religious Influences
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Religious Influences

• Spread of Islam
• Fatimids and Mamluks in Northern Africa - Cairo
  (656-661)
• Umayyads - Damascus (680 to 750)
• Abbasids - Baghdad (750 to 1258)
• Muslim Spain - Cordova (711 to1492)
• Seljuq Turks and Sultans of Rum -
  Constantinople(1055 to 1243)

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Religious Influences

• Crusades
• Seljuq Turks took control of Jerusalem in 1070
• By 1095, the Muslim World included the land
  where Jesus Christ had lived
• Christians believed that Christians, not Muslims,
  should control the holy lands of the Middle East.
  

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Social Influences
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Social Influences

• The sacred book of Islam is the Quran
• A compilation of practices, traditions and
  sayings of Muhammad is the Hadith
• Pork and pork products are forbidden and
  considered unhealthy
• Ablution before prayer washing hands, face and
  feet

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Social Influences

• Muslims must abstain from alcohol or drugs
• Muslims seek forgiveness from Allah and no one
  else asked for through daily prayer
• Womens dress - The outline of a womans body
  should not be revealed

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Social Influences

• Some women choose to wear the hijab (scarf or
  veil) to cover their hair
• Muslims should always respect their parents, even
  if they disagree

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Women and The Veil
http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/
questions/women/
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Social Influences

• Conflict in Context Palestinians and Israelis
• Partition after World War II in 1947
• One of the most enduring, explosive conflicts in
  world history
• Root in the historic claim to the land which lies
  between the eastern shore of the Mediterranean
  Sea and the Jordan River

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Social Influences

• Conflict in Context Palestinians and Israelis
• Jews want to return to the land of their
  forefathers after persecution around the world
• For Palestinians, the last 100 years has brought
  a long search for a homeland after colonization,
  expulsion, and occupation.

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• Jews declared the state of Israel in 1948
• Between 1949 and 1967, Israel controlled western
  Jerusalem and Jordan controlled eastern Jerusalem
  including the old walled city containing
  important Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious
  sites

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• Israel captured all of Jerusalem in 1967
• Israel is determined that Jerusalem be undivided
  and controlled by Israel
• Palestinians are seeking to establish their
  capital in East Jerusalem
• Israel is able to monitor and control travel in
  much of the West Bank

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Social Influences

• Conflict in Context India and Pakistan
• Partition after World War II in 1947
• An estimated ½ million people died in violence
• Territories of Jammu and Kashmir remain in
  dispute majority Muslim
• Both India and Pakistan have weapons of mass
  destruction

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Intellectual and Arts Influences
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Intellectual and Arts Influences

• Religious Art and Architecture
• Secular Art and Architecture

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Intellectual and Arts Influences

• Religious Art and Architecture
• The Mosque is at the heart of Islamic art

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Intellectual and Arts Influences

• Religious Art and Architecture
• Arabesque

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Intellectual and Arts Influences

• Secular Art and Architecture
• Princely cycle

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Intellectual and Arts Influences

• Secular Art and Architecture
• Ceramics

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Area and Geographic Influences
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Area/Geographic Influences

• Adapting to Land and Climate
• Vast Geographic Differences

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Area/Geographic Influences

• Adapting to Land and Climate
• The rich fertile soil of the Middle East led
  early civilizations to settle, domesticate plants
  and animals, and thrive
• The hills of Lebanon were forested in ancient
  times for their fragrant and structurally
  reliable wood

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Area/Geographic Influences

• Adapting to Land and Climate
• Mountains have provided refuge for oppressed
  minorities, such as the Ismailis in Afghanistan
  and the Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
• The Indian Ocean has served as a commercial link
  for thousands of years providing spices, silks,
  coffee, and tea to countries in The West.

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Area/Geographic Influences

• Vast Geographic Differences
• Desert Climate is Extreme
• Fertile Oases Provide Vegetation
• Agriculture in Coastal Plains
• Mountains Make Survival Difficult
• Oceanic Cultures Provide Trade and Commerce

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Area/Geographic Influences

• Geographic Features Bring Political Power
• Irrigation
• Oil
• New, high-yield varieties of products
• Nutrition and public health are improving

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Think About It!

• How do these important aspects of The Muslim
  World influence current events?
• What difference does this make to me in todays
  world?