Ten things people should know about Islam

[gurrato_alaien]

Ten things people should know about Islam

1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-“g” god, perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I’ve even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a “desert god,” as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism – the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator – is the central and most important aspect of Islam. (And it’s pronounced uh-LAH, not “Al, uh?”) Even most English translations of the Qur’an I’ve seen do not translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English equivalent.

Along these lines, I’ve taken several Muslims to task for using the Arabic term for God when they’re speaking in English: all it does it serve to confuse those for whom it’s never been made clear that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of them. You’d never know, though, from the way these groups act with each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.)

1. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: “associating partners with God.” Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of anything other than God, whether it’s a human being, any natural/human creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain other religious groups.

You can imagine from this that expressions such as “Holy Mother of God!” give most observant Muslims the theological willies.

1. Muslims don’t believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, “Isa”) as a prophet, and an extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or metaphorically), although they do believe he is the son of Mary (in Arabic, “Maryam”). They further believe that at the time of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to look like him. Jesus was then raised up, “body and soul” by God into heaven.

This is probably the most significant point of difference between Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and elevating him to God’s level, but that’s an argument for another time and place.

1. Muslims don’t worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to have been the human being with the best character, he is still regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits and characteristics, those being of the highest quality.

Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it now and then. It’s actually profoundly offensive, since it implies shirk. (And while we’re on it, it’s Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur’an or Quran, not Koran.)

To be cont…

 

[gurrato_alaien]

Cont…

1. Translations of the Qur’an are not the Qur’an. It’s well-known that something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers who don’t ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and whatever other languages in which its component texts originally appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred translation. But only the Qur’an in its original Arabic is considered to be the Qur’an; translations are treated with great respect but are simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur’an; it was not completely written down until after the Prophet’s death.

There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since it was first written down; plenty of them are bad – a few of them deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But it’s imperative to remember that any translation is at best an approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments based on translated verses, especially in isolation.

1. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, it’s understandable: the Qur’an was revealed to an Arab speaker in Arabia, and two of Islam’s holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the world is not even an Arab country: it’s Indonesia. Only about twelve percent of the world’s Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to can convert to Islam, and it’s actually only a minority of Muslims who are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that they can understand the Qur’an. And while I would really, really like to believe this doesn’t even need to be said, recent events have proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a Muslim or an Arab.
2. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, “honor” killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo-Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although it’s always “justified” sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of scripture.

If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the “law,” women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries currently operate.

1. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic scripture, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% of Muslims), Shi’ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes to the diversity within its adherents. It’s absolutely essential not to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all Muslims.

The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of Muslims have united for a few days, putting aside all differences of race, ethnic background, class, gender and language, to participate in a ritual established by the Prophet Muhammad.

To be cont…

 

[gurrato_alaien]

Cont…

1. Jihad does not mean “holy war.” This has to be one of the most damaging, most persistent myths about Islam. The Western media have helped perpetuate this, but there are plenty of benighted Muslims who insist on misapprehending and incorrectly using this term. Jihad, (which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, meaning “to toil, to exert oneself, to strive for a better way of life”) is correctly translated as “struggle” or “endeavour,” and can easily apply to such things as a student working to earn a medical degree or a group of people raising money to build a mosque. It can apply to the struggle to control one’s temper, or to learn to read and write. Part of my husband’s jihad as a Muslim is the effort it takes for him to get up in time to offer the first prayers of the day, which occur before dawn. It encompasses the idea of struggling or fighting for good or against evil, but that does not necessarily mean with violence, and it certainly does not mean that any crackpot claiming to be Muslim and waving a Qur’an around can decide who is good and who is evil, and start killing people.

There are certain extreme circumstances under which the notion of jihad might encompass aggression or armed conflict, but these are only to be engaged in as a last resort, when all legal, political, economic, social, and diplomatic attempts to defend Muslims and their right to worship, or to combat other severe oppression (and not only against Muslims), have failed. Any kind of military action is, at best, a subset of the concept of jihad. In fact, there is a well-known Islamic saying indicating that any kind of military conflict is the “minor jihad”; the “major jihad” is the struggle to control and improve oneself. Some of the passages in the Qur’an describing battle and aggression (the passages militants often quote out of context to support their agendas) are narrating actual historical events, not advising them as a course of action or a religious duty. They are also offset by many other passages enjoining peace, mercy, goodness, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, restrictions in warfare, etc. It seems the bin Ladens and “Muslim” militants of the world just haven’t gotten to those parts of the Qur’an yet.

1. Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder. The smear campaign against Islam (during the twentieth century in particular) has been extremely thorough and successful.

Salam.

 

[Rhubarb]

Thank goodness someone took the time to post this. I see so many people twisting the name of Islam. Just like I see so many people twisting the name of Catholicism.

If not one person hates the Catholic Church, but thousands hate what they mistake the Catholic Church then millions hate what they mistake to be Islam.

 

[mjdonnelly]

Aren’t clerics allowed to interpret the Koran? Is there a type of consensus for interpretation and telling those who interpret it wrong that they are wrong and need to get in line?

About your #10. It appears that those “radical” Islamics have determined that since almost everyone in the US pays taxes, we are all considered to be supporting the military and are therefore legitimate targets. Just like a weapons factory would be, even if the workers were still in the building.

 

[janG]

RE: Jihad

Please show me where Mohammed taught that Jihad is this internal struggle that Muslims claim is the true meaning of Jihad. I’ve spent hours reading the Koran and Hadeeth and in everything I’ve found, Jihad is killing and slaughter. Where is this teaching BY Mohammed that Jihad is the internal struggle for good???

 

[JimG]

Presuming that your No. 10 is a correct interpretation of Jihad, then everyone should be condemning Al Zarqawi, Zawahiri, Bin Laden, and ‘insurgents’ for promoting incorrect understanding of Islam. Given the current world political climate this point (“Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder.”) should be emphasized and repeated in mosques all over the world.

 

[b_justb]

These 10 things were written very well. Good job.

I have to agree and echo JimG’s post, however. Is it that the media doesn’t cover the message from the Islamic leadership condemning terrorism, or is it the message of condemnation of the terrorists acts are absent?

 

[jcaz]

JimG:

Presuming that your No. 10 is a correct interpretation of Jihad, then everyone should be condemning Al Zarqawi, Zawahiri, Bin Laden, and ‘insurgents’ for promoting incorrect understanding of Islam. Given the current world political climate this point (“Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder.”) should be emphasized and repeated in mosques all over the world.

It does happen all over the world.

 

[jcaz]

b_justb:

These 10 things were written very well. Good job.

I have to agree and echo JimG’s post, however. Is it that the media doesn’t cover the message from the Islamic leadership condemning terrorism, or is it the message of condemnation of the terrorists acts are absent?

It would be the latter.

We do some instances, in the media, of their covering these condemnations. But for all intensive purposes, they are not covered the way they should be. Why? I will leave you to come up with conspiracy theories in that regard.

But rest assured, mosques all over the world are constantly condemning these acts of terrorism. And further, know that the Saudi Imaams, the ones who are appointed by the Saudi government, the ones who teach in the large mosques, know that these imaams do nothing except condemn these acts of terror and constantly explain how they are far from Islaam.

 

[b_justb]

jcaz:

It would be the latter.

We do some instances, in the media, of their covering these condemnations. But for all intensive purposes, they are not covered the way they should be. Why? I will leave you to come up with conspiracy theories in that regard.

But rest assured, mosques all over the world are constantly condemning these acts of terrorism. And further, know that the Saudi Imaams, the ones who are appointed by the Saudi government, the ones who teach in the large mosques, know that these imaams do nothing except condemn these acts of terror and constantly explain how they are far from Islaam.

Thanks. If there are a good amount of Islamic leaders condemning terrorist acts, how can that be made more public? I think some people here in the states grow suspicious because all we see on TV News is, “Terrorist attack of was done by …” and we don’t hear any outrage by the Islamic leadership.

Are there web sites where we can read speeches or open letters (or whatever) from various Islamic leaders where they condemn various acts? Or condemn terrorism as a whole?

 

[jcaz]

janG:

RE: Jihad

Please show me where Mohammed taught that Jihad is this internal struggle that Muslims claim is the true meaning of Jihad. I’ve spent hours reading the Koran and Hadeeth and in everything I’ve found, Jihad is killing and slaughter. Where is this teaching BY Mohammed that Jihad is the internal struggle for good???

No Problem Jan.

First off, and you can correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe you accept that the word jihaad means struggle. I do not believe you are questioning this. You are simply wondering if the word jihaad (or the verb jaahada/yuhaahidu) are used in that sense either in the Quraan or in the authentic teachings of Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam.

Allaah says in the Quraan:

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَجَاهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا​

“So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them, with the Quraan, a great striving.” (Surah Al-Furqan 25:52)

The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallama, said in an authentic hadeeth:

افضل الجهاد من جاهد نفسه​

“The best of jihaad is the jihad against one’s own self.”

And in another hadeeth, Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallama, said:

أفضل الجهاد أن تجاهد نفسك وهواك في ذات الله عزوجل​

“The best type of jihaad is that you make jihaad against your own self and your own desires for the sake of Allaah.”

Also, the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallama, said in an authentic hadeeth:

المجاهد من جاهد نفسه في طاعة الله​

“The mujaahid (the one who makes jihaad) is the one who struggles against himself for the obedience of Allaah.”

And another hadeeth:

أفضل الجهاد كلمة حق عند سلطان جائر‏​

“The best type of Jihad is speaking a true word in the presence of a tyrant ruler.”

There’s a few hadeeth. Please advise if you require more.

Regards,
Jonathan

 

[jcaz]

b_justb:

Thanks. If there are a good amount of Islamic leaders condemning terrorist acts, how can that be made more public? I think some people here in the states grow suspicious because all we see on TV News is, “Terrorist attack of was done by …” and we don’t hear any outrage by the Islamic leadership.

Well, if you have a good idea of forcing the media to cover these things, please advise.

Lance, had a post asking for users to give three things Muslims can do to help “change their image”. Here is my response, and pay attention to point number 1.

Okay Lance, here’s my go at it.

But first, let it be clear, that Allaah says in the Quraan:
“Today I have perfected for you your religion, I have completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you as your religion Islaam.”

Islaam, as a religion, is perfect and in no need of change. I’m sure Catholics would hopefully feel the same about their religion.

Now, what can Muslims do to help improve the general publics’ perception of Islaam, ie, what can Muslims do to help the public understand the true teachings of Islaam? That is the question I will answer.

1. Have the media constantly interview these MILLIONS of faithful Muslims and their THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of events across America, thus showing to Americans that these events, which denounce terrorism and show true Islam, DO happen. Most colleges have an MSA (Muslim Students Association) and these groups have events all throughout the year. That adds up to tens of thousands of events throughout the year. Last year, when I was assisting the MSA here at the local university, we even called the religous correspondent for the newspaper (Orlando Sentinel) here in Orlando, FL, and informed him of all the events. We suggested he write an article, as the public would have loved to see such an event and here the words of true, moderate Muslims. DID HE WRITE IT? The answer is obvous; no. And that is very sad. Everyone knows there is a bias in the media, and that is just something Muslims have to work with. And Catholics also have to work with the bias daily. It can be very hard to change public perception when the main medium is the media, and they media has their own agenda. How many of those tens of thousands of events were reported? How many speaches denouncing terrorism were reported? Yet, was just about every terrorist act reported and smeared on the news?

1. Education. Muslims need to educate themselves first, then their families, and then their communities. Because with education comes liberation from ignorance. And these terrorists are extremely ignorant of their religion. No person would conciously commit an act if they knew it would put them in the fire of Hell. So people must be educated. And this education needs to come from the lands of Islaam, from the true scholars of Islaam…and this does happen in Saudi Arabia regardless of what the media tries to attribute to those schools. There are well known Islamic universities in Saudi arabic that “produce” imaams, if you will, and the teachers of those schools are the very scholars who write books upon books denouncing these terrorists acts. And mind you, these are the HUGE well-known Muslim universities. Now the media, on the other hand, they will try to tell you that these schools preach hate and that they do this and do that, that “they teach wahabism”. The media is only trying to serve its own agenda. NONE of that is true. These known schools are producing the very kinds of people that Catholics on this board would hope to have come to america and teach Islaam (these students are Americans).

1. After education comes action. Muslims need to then act in accordance with this knowledge they have been blessed with. The need to examine themselves and purify their actions. Knowledge without actions is useless.

1. After implementing this knowledge with correct actions, Muslims need to begin calling others to this truth. And by others, I mean Muslims and non-Muslims. Yes, Muslims need to then speak out against these so-called imaams who preach this hate and they need to be removed. And mind you, this is happening now. And also, please do know, that these “imaams” are only coined imams by media and others who want to inflate the power of their statements. There is not ONE true scholar of Islaam who supports these terrorist actions. Not one. Rather, all of them constantly talk about the sin and gross oppressiveness of those actions.

But the starting point of all of this is knowledge of the individual. And this knowledge must be sought after, implemented and then called to.

 

[b_justb]

This link was posted in the news thread area ]

I think this is a good example of what I was trying to convey earlier about what most Americans see and think. jcaz - please give it a look.

 

[jcaz]

b_justb:

Are there web sites where we can read speeches or open letters (or whatever) from various Islamic leaders where they condemn various acts? Or condemn terrorism as a whole?

Of course there are thousands of websites condemning this.

Again, here’s a previous post on the subject:

jcaz:

Here are several links (all on www.fatwa-online.com) with the statements of several true/accepted scholars regarding suicide attacks for your reference:
Haram Imams Denounce Terrorist Attacks
“Don’t Abuse the Concept of Jihaad” - Grand Mufti
Imams of Makkah and Madeenah condemn “heinous crime”
Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh says suicide bombings are un-Islaamic…
Attacking the enemy by blowing oneself up in a car
Regarding suicide bombings
Concerning suicide bombings
Saudis Stand United Against Terrorism
Regarding WTC 9/11 attacks: Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh says attacks are an “oppression, injustice and tyranny”…
Hijacking planes and kidnapping
Grand Mufti condemns attack on U.S. consulate

Okay, at this point, I have to stop, as I have spent the last eight minutes simply cutting and pasting these links, AND THIS IS JUST FROM ONE SITE!

 

[cestusdei]

Sorry I don’t buy it. For example jihad doesn’t mean war? Uh, yes it does. They use it that way themselves esp. when we are supposedly not listening. Read about how they treat Christians in their countries. Our brothers are enslaved, tortured, and sometimes murdered. Our churches are burnt or desecrated. This won’t stop until we stop with the platitudes and realize there is something wrong with Islam.

 

[manualman]

Thanks for the perspective. But from this side of the fence, it looks like you have a bit of a civil war within Islam.

I hope you and those like you win that jihad! You won’t unless you 'fess up to the existence of this struggle and work hard at winning it.

Come to think of it, we’ve got a similarly destructive, if not so physically violent problem in catholicisim (relativism).

How about we both go clean some house?

 

[jcaz]

manualman:

Thanks for the perspective. But from this side of the fence, it looks like you have a bit of a civil war within Islam.

No “civil war” within Islaam. Perhaps a “civil war” amongst ignorant Muslims who do not know any better. But Islaam’s teachings are very clear.

In the similar manner of there being many “Catholics” by name, and these Catholics commit pre-marital sex, does this mean that there is a “civil war” within Catholicism regarding pre-marital sexual relations? Of course not.

manualman:

I hope you and those like you win that jihad!

Insha Allaah.

manualman:

How about we both go clean some house?

Sounds good.

 

[mjdonnelly]

No one to respond to my question?

 

[Maranajewell]

Just my two cents here, but I wonder if “Fundamentalist Christians” would want to pay closer attention to just how easy it is to take a teaching in this case happens to be in Islam and mis-apply it in order to further their own agenda? Can anyone imagine an America run by Fundamentalists? Just go to any of their forums as a Catholic and many of you have, and you’d have a pretty good idea. Extremism in any religion gives all religion a bad name. - maranajewell