Category: Islam

Definition of the realm

The realm can be described as a dry world containing the expansive Sahara and Arabian deserts. The inhabitants of the region are known to live near water sources. They live along the Mediterranean coastal strip of north-west Africa, eastern Asia and north eastern shores of Mediterranean sea, Nile Delta,Tigris-Euphraites basin, oases and along the mountain slopes of Iran(south of the Caspian sea) and northeast of Turkestan. The people in this region lead a nomadic lifestyle and some carryout sedentary farming along the oases and trade.

Generally the realm covers North Africa and Southwest Asia regions. It is believed to be a center of the ancient civilization that thrived from its river valleys and basins. Out of the “realms culture, hearths diffused ideas, innovations, technologies that changed the world and also resulted into three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam” (Schaefer 289).

The natural “environment of the realm is majorly comprised of drought and unreliable precipitation” (Schaefer 290). Population settlement is “characterized by clusters around where water supply is adequate to marginal” (Schaefer 290). Some of the countries in this realm have enormous oil reserves that have created wealth for some and on the other hand doing little to raise the living standards for the majority.

The boundaries of North Africa and Southwest Asia realm is composed of volatile transition zones with conflicts over the scarce resources. Religious, “ethnic and cultural differences cause disharmony in the region and especially in the Middle East region where Israel lies at the center of the conflict within the region” (Schaefer 291).

An “Arab world”

This refers to North Africa and south west Asia regions. This term is used to refer to a uniformity that is not in existence. The name Arab is used to refer to the people who speak Arabic and other related languages though some ethnologists associate it to the Arabian Peninsula. The Turks are not Arabs in any case and are neither Iranians nor Israelis. It is a fact that Arabic is spoken across Mauritania in North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and Iraq but not spoken some parts of the realm.

For instance, in Turkey, Turkish is the language and has Ural-Altaic other than Arabic, Semitic or Hermitic roots. On the other hand, the Iranian languages belong to the Indo-European linguistic family. The Tuareg, the Jews. Berbers and the people living in the transition zone between the North and South Africa speak different languages though they all belong in the Arab world (MacLeod and Jones 705).

An “Islamic world”

The realm is also called the World of Islam. This is mainly attributed to the expansive spread of Islam into Africa, Asia and Europe during the Arab conquest and expansion age after the death of Prophet Mohammed in 632. However, it is worth to note that today Islam as a faith extends beyond this realm. Moreover other faiths such as Christianity (Egypt and Lebanon), Judaism and others exist in this region.

Middle-East

This is the commonly used name to refer to the realm. It is a name that might sound strange to someone in India who would rather go for Middle West. The Western world which was the source of the name was extremely biased because to them it was a Near East in Turkey, Middle East in Egypt, Arabia and Iraq and finally a Far East in China and Japan. In realty, the name can only be applicable in one region of this expansive realm and not the entire region covered by the realm (Kimble 614).

Works Cited

Kimble, Hebert. “The Inadequacy of the Regional Concept.” London Essays in Geography 2.17 (1951): 601-617. Print.

MacLeod, George and Jones Mother. “Renewing The Geography of Regions.” Environment and Planning 16.9 (2001): 669-800. Print.

Schaefer, Frankline. “Exceptionalism in Geography: A Methodological Examination.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 43.3 (1953): 298-305. Print.

Introduction

Islam does not grant equal rights to men and women, as many people wrongly assume. Women are obligated to wear veil, which is seen as the oppressive symbol of a woman’s subservience to men by Western feminism. However, Islamic women proudly assess the veil as the symbol of their identity. Such controversial perception of the women’s position in Islam has resulted in the widespread belief that feminism will never be a part of Muslim society and that Islamic women accept their subordinate status willingly.

Assessment of Women’s Position in Islam

Women living in Islamic environments are expected to be humble, supportive, and silent. There is a clear differentiation of female and male responsibilities and statuses in Islamic society. According to Quran and the Shari’ah, men and women are entitled to separate legal statuses, however, both men and women have been prescribed the right to conduct business and to possess property. If the woman is damaged or harmed, she has the right to demand compensation, just as the man. Islamic traditions allow one man to marry more than one woman, and while many non-Muslim marks this practice as unethical, Islamic women do not regard it as a threat. The law requires Islamic women to wear the veil, not to show their face or body to anybody except for the husband, even though not a single Islamic woman would note that this tradition is oppressive. On the contrary, Islamic women are confident that the veil signified their rejection of the modern value system, while Islam elevates women to the position of respect and honor. The law of Islam does not allow contraception, abortions, and marriage on a female’s choice. However, on the other side, Islamic women do not consider their position as inferior or required by traditions; they are willing to follow these laws. Therefore, their position should be assessed as welcomed by Islamic women themselves.

Conclusion

The position of women in Islam is hard to understand from a Western perspective. American or European woman is unlikely to support the lifestyle of the average woman living in accordance with the Islamic rules. Nevertheless, Islamic women enjoy a wide range of rights equal to men, including the right to conduct business and own property. The key point is that Islamic women are satisfied with their status and believe that Quran protects their rights more than any other law in the western communities.

Summary

Sexuality and gender are contemporary concepts that have led to historical inquiry into a contest over culture in Islam. The Quran places both male and female sexes about each other based on biological and physical standpoints. Nonetheless, Western feminist scholars have many times interpreted the patriarchal society of the modern world without ample consideration of periodization and inquiry into the underlying socio-cultural problems. The historiographical evolution of female sexuality in Islam can be traced from the time of prophet Mohammed until the Middle Ages. During this time, many female roles, such as motherhood and wifehood, developed across Muslim society. Based on these religious impressions, one would say that scholarship has superimposed modern theoretical contexts over ancient times. This reflection paper focuses on examining the issues faced by women in the firm rules of the Muslim community. The article brings out a better understanding of the precursors for contemporary constructs of gender and sexuality in Islam based on these historical concepts. The discussion narrows down to veiling as seen in the popular dressing culture of the Muslim woman. The reflection paper also relates Western to Eastern harem in a modern-world context.

A Critical Analysis of the Readings

Gender can be regarded as a social construct that identifies a person with a larger social group. In the article Downveiling: Gender and the Contest Over Culture in Cairo, Herrera points out dressing as a primary element affecting the lives of women not only in the Quran but also in the broader human society (265). Present-day concerns with democratization, colonial domination, and prevailing economic conditions are relevant throughout this work. The dressing is an argumentative topic in the analysis of gender and sexuality issues in Islam, and it brings out a better understanding of various concepts in the foundations of the Muslim community. The paradigms of veiling and unveiling are overly contested in different levels and cross-cultural contexts. The article reveals that the mobility of the veil has been transferred from one generation to the next without contravening the codes of Islamic female modesty. In the Egyptian context, women are required to wear hijabs regardless of the work situation in which they are involved. This rigidity in the Islamic culture has given rise to hot debates regarding the dressing requirements of certain professions, including medical fields where the staff is required to wear lab coats. The representation of the Muslim female in the area of contemporary fashion and curatorial projects is also limited.

The article Downveiling: Gender and the Contest Over Culture in Cairo demonstrates rapt attention of the Western media and the scholarly community. Although the work gives special attention to the subject of veiling in Cairo, Egypt, it represents the pressure mounting on Muslim women to keep abreast of modernism across the world (Herrera 265). Fashion is particularly popular among the youth, and this poses a challenge to the Muslim woman because she is entangled in the chains of blatant religious beliefs. Globalization is a primary factor in the spread of Western culture to almost every part of the world. The growth of TV shows and fashion competitions have either challenged or lessened the importance of modest dressing among ladies in many Islamic nations, including Egypt. The hijab is represented in highly ideological terms since it is rather a representation of cultural authenticity and feminist beliefs upheld in the Islamic doctrine than modesty and versatile dressing.

Changes in Egypt’s socio-political sphere have compelled scholars to view the subject of veiling from another dimension as Muslim women, and even men, adopt modern practices of dressing. Herrera refers to this phenomenon as “downveiling” (265). The article brings out the government’s move that “has discouraged and even tried to prohibit men and women from wearing particular types of Islamic attire” (Herrera 267, par. 1). The shaving of the beard is also observed as men are subjected to detailed security checks as they enter government recreational areas. Veiled women are also prohibited from taking part in “state-run televisions as presenters of any sort, whereas women wearing the niqab are banned…and workplaces” (Herrera 267, par. 2). These realizations are relevant in the modern world where terrorism and extremist behaviors have taken center stage in the security sphere. Veiling and the growing of long beards among men are characteristics that can inhibit the detection of people with criminal intentions, especially in Islamic nations. The relevance of downveiling, as demonstrated by Egyptian ladies, can be seen in instances where terrorists camouflage in religious attire to execute attacks.

Most Islamic states are now discouraging the wearing of the veil in government-sponsored schools and offices. Regardless of the religious beliefs attached to traditional Islamic attire, the element of modernity in today’s society stands out. The article shows the audience that Egypt’s elite community views veiling as backward and oppressive. Some of such interpretations have been fueled by globalization and the assimilation of foreign culture into Islamic traditionalism. The world has become increasingly small as people can travel to any destination physically or electronically via smart devices. Information in one part of the world is readily available in almost all countries provided individuals have access to computers, tablets, and smartphones with an active internet connection. Therefore, the concept of downveiling can be visualized from diverse standpoints.

Fashion, as mentioned above, is also represented as a primary contributor to downveiling as young men and women try to catch up with modern dressing styles. However, this notion is also challenged in the article Tracing Gender’s Mark on Bodies, Sexualities, and Emotions. In this piece, Mernissi presents the image of beauty in American society. She faces gender discrimination from her fellow woman due to her hips that “were too large to fit into a size 6” (Valentine, Mary, and Spade 285). This demonstration is also relevant in today’s society where beauty is deemed a vital element of a woman. The subject in the article is mistreated by the owner of a cloth collection store just upon seeing her size. Although sexuality does not reveal in this scenario, social bias and harassment are evident.

From a personal standpoint, the representation of beauty is overrated among women. The feeling that every woman should fit into size 6 is a violation of human rights by any means. This Western woman’s harem has ruined modern society as more ladies try many products to attain a slim physique. The author represents men as conservative on complimenting gorgeousness. Unfortunately, the idea of beauty is always shifting, and many of the masculine realms of attractiveness exclude larger women. It should be noted that beauty is subjective rather than objective.

The author portrays a personalized opinion on the attributes of attractiveness by assuming that the audience supports her claim. It is essential to realize that while a large percentage of people have similar perceptions of the factors that determine beauty, some individuals may have very different viewpoints. Nonetheless, cosmetics and style are reshaping what many people regard as beauty. The ideology that “women’s fashion is a man’s business” is fast-growing around the world (Valentine, Mary, and Spade 285). The article depicts how beauty is masked in cosmetics to hide physical aging as opposed to the Eastern harem, where men exercise dominance to exclude women from the public arena.

Both articles bring out the idea of a world that is still evolving in many aspects. Firm Islamic traditions are slowly wearing out as more people enter the realm of civilization. Herrera points out that women in Egypt are slowly changing the conventional hijab to less conservative and stylish dresses. In some areas, this tendency to deviate from the traditions of the religion has been regarded as modern Islam. Although both articles bring out common issues in society, the authors fail to choose a side for the audience. My opinion is that people should change with time and adopt modern ways of life without destroying moral decency in society. Islamic society is adamant about cultural change. However, interaction with other communities and the rise of extremist groups associated with the religion is compelling, and some people are gradually drifting towards cultural universalism. Further analysis can be included in future studies to address the applicability of collective social-cultural and political ideologies across diverse communities.

Works Cited

Herrera, Linda. “Downveiling Gender and the Contest over Culture in Cairo.” Middle East Report, vol. 31, no. 219, 2001, pp. 264-270.

Valentine, Catherine G., Mary Nell Trautner, and Joan Z. Spade, eds. The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities. Sage Publications, 2019.

The Data

This report examines the bottom-line performance of 19 Islamic banks and 50 conventional banks, all operating in the GCC, for the years 2005 to 2008. The data was culled from the Institute of Banking Studies (IBS).

The Variables and Variable Definition

From the list of 42 bank statement items compiled by the IBS for Islamic banks and 37 for conventional banks, three criterion variables were selected. These return on assets, return on equity and net income, defined as follows:

Independent Variables for the Model

Owing to the multi-bank composition of the database, the selection of independent variables was compressed to just one step: running pairwise correlations against each of the above criterion variables. Set aside were lagged and annual change correlations because these are not only extremely unwieldy but also mathematically unsound when multiple entities are concerned.

Segregated by bank group and criterion variable, the correlation-based shortlist of independent variables are as shown in tables 1 to 3 below and overleaf.

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Empirical Analysis

Modeling Net Profit, Conventional Banks

On the basis of the correlations reported in Table 1 above, we select Total Equity, Deposits, Total Assets, and Loans as possible determinants of Net Profit. The descriptive statistics for all six variables are shown below. When running the actual multiple regression model, however, we had to remove “total equity” since the data unaccountably had zero errors for the first year of the data series for all reporting banks. The results of the regression run are depicted in Tables 5ff.

Table 4

Table 5

In Table 5, the “adjusted R²” provides an estimate how much of the total variation in Y (conventional bank net profit) is explained by the three independent variables together. The result of 50.4 % is fine, given the dozens of variables (including qualitative market, environmental and political shocks) that impinge on bank performance in the real world.

In turn, the key value in Table 6 overleaf is the significance statistic for F. The ANOVA is a test of the null hypothesis that the three IV really has zero effect on Y, conventional bank net profit. The ANOVA result for the entire regression is an F value of such considerable magnitude that it is associated with a significance statistic p = 5.25^-30. This is a number with 29 leading zeros, more than enough to surpass even the rigorous significance standard p < 0.001. This means there is less than one chance in a thousand (much less than a septillion actually) that all the coefficients in this regression are really zero. In short, each IV with a non-zero beta coefficient (see below) does have an effect on the DV of net profit for conventional banks.

Table 6

Table 7

Table 7 above reveals that the regression model can be written as: Y_{CBank Net Profit} = 68.24 + 0.06 (Deposits) – 0.03 (Total Assets) + 0.002 (Loans).

This result suggests that, from an initial starting point of 68.24, Net Profit for conventional banks is more significantly influenced by the size of the deposit base, is less dependent on the size of the loan portfolio, and is actually degraded (but only marginally so) when total assets increase. In technical terms, Net Profit will typically raise about $60,000 for every $1 million increase in deposits generated and about $2,000 for every $1 million loaned out. So if one knew in advance that deposits and loans for a representative conventional bank in the GCC were to increase by this much on a year-to-year basis, one ought to have a fair idea of what net profits will be.

As to total assets, chances are that net profit will fall about $30,000 for every $1 million that total assets increase. Such an analysis does not bear to focus on because of the complex composition of commercial bank assets.

Figure 1 below shows the plot of the relationship for our best predictor, total deposits. This appears to be a fairly sturdy relationship, were it not for a handful of banks anomalously reporting “negative” deposits.

Modeling Net Profit, Islamic Banks

For Islamic banks in the GCC as a group, we select from table 1 above Total Equity, Cash, Nbr Employees, and Paid-up Capital but exclude the second-ranking item “Equity” since this will cause autocorrelation with “Total equity”. The main measures of central tendency and dispersion for the five selected variables are shown in Table 8 below.

Table 8: Descriptive Statistics for Selected Variables, Islamic Banks

Once again, we need to eliminate total equity from consideration because the raw data contained too many blank cells. After another minor data cleaning, the following tables reveal the results of the multiple regression runs.

Table 9

Table 9 reveals, first of all, an adjusted R² claiming that the three-IV model explains fully 86 percent of the movement in Islamic bank net profit.

Accordingly, the ANOVA as a test of the null hypothesis that the beta coefficients for all three IV’s are really zero (Table 10 below) returns the significance statistic 1.09^-30. This is a probability number with 28 leading zeros, thereby easily hurdling even the rigorous threshold of α < 0.001. We must reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the beta coefficients for each of the three IVs are really not equivalent to zero.

Table 10

Table 11

The model below states that, on average and starting from a negative intercept, a Islamic bank is likely to attain $314,000 in net profit for every $1 million rise in cash position, improve net profit by $15,000 for every addition of one to the bank staff, and about U.S. 16 cents for every $1 million in new paid-up capital. In short, Islamic bank net profits are primarily boosted by improvements in cash position and secondarily by enlarging staff size. Paid-up capital also has an influence on net profits but the scale of the amounts (Table 8 shows the median paid-up capital is $408 million) makes the β coefficient look positively minuscule.

Y_{IBank Net Profit} = -28.56 + 0.314 (Cash) + 0.015 (Nbr Employees) + 0.00000016 (Paid-up capital).

For illustrative purposes, Figure 2 shows how robust the relationship between net profits and cash position is.

Modeling ROA, Conventional Banks

From Table 2, we pick IV’s: Growth Rate, Equity to Assets, Liquid Assets to Deposits, and Cash to deposits. After minor data cleaning, we obtain the main descriptive statistics shown in Table 12 overleaf. Noteworthy are the low indices of central tendency for conventional bank Growth Rates because many institutions reported declines during the four-year period under review. The standard deviation for Growth Rate (GR) is also very high compared to the levels of mean and median reported, suggesting a great disparity in bank performance. On the other hand, the fact that the mean Growth Rate is nearly three percentage points higher than the median reveals that superlative performance (which has an inordinate upward influence on calculated means) is also possible in the GCC. In 2005, for instance, the International Banking Corporation reported a year-on-year GR of 101.8 percent.

Table 12: Main Descriptive Statistics for Conventional Bank ROA Model

So great is the variance in conventional bank performance generally and ROA in particular that the four-IV model explains just 6.8 percent of the average movement in the dependent variable (Table 13). Nonetheless, the IVs bear a valid relationship with the DV since the ANOVA test of the null hypothesis (that the coefficient values are zero) yielded a high F value with an associated statistic p<0.001. For the typical conventional bank in the GCC, chances are that the selected IVs do have an influence on ROA as DV.

Table 13: Summary Output for Regression Model: Conventional Bank ROA

Table 14: ANOVA for Regression Model: Conventional Bank ROA

Table 15: Coefficients for the Regression Model: Conventional Bank ROA

Taking the cue from Table 15 above, the regression model can be written as shown below. Essentially, this means that conventional bank ROA is likely to rise by one-third of a point for every one-point increase in the Equity to Assets ratio and increase by 0.19 point for every 1-point gain in the Liquid Assets to Deposits ratio but drop by nearly half a point when cash-to-deposits rises a full point,

Y_{CBank ROA} = 6.42 + 0.352 (Equity to Assets ratio) + 0.194 (Liquid Assets to Deposits ratio) – 0.45 (Cash to Deposits ratio).

Modeling ROA, Islamic Banks

Picking up the high-correlation variables in Table 2 and setting aside those that are true banking outcomes (e.g., Dividends and Dividend Payouts), our IV shortlist for Islamic bank ROA comprises: Total Income to Assets, Growth Rate, Equity to Assets, and Paid-up Capital. The key descriptive statistics for these four IV’s are as follows:

Table 16: Descriptive Statistics for ROA Model, Islamic Banks

This model explains over three-fourths of the total variance in ROA for Islamic banks (Table 17), based on the estimate that R² is notably high for a real-world regression model.

Table 17: Summary Regression Output, ROA Model for Islamic Banks

The test of the null hypothesis (Table 18) returns a high F value and an extremely low significance statistic: 1.5 with 19 leading zeros, way below the rigorous p < 0.001 that effectively eliminates chance occurrence. This suggests that the three IVs together do influence the DV, Islamic bank ROA.

Table 18: ANOVA for Significance of Differences: ROA Model for Islamic Banks

Excel reports (Table 19 below) that the model equation can be written as follows:

Y_{IBank ROA} = -2.814 + 0.39 (Total Income to Assets ratio) + 0.096 (Equity to Assets ratio) + 0.05 (Growth Rate) + 0.0000000004 (Paid-up Capital).

This means that from a negative intercept, the Total Income to Assets ratio has the greatest influence on the DV. The latter could, all other things equal, improve one-third of a point for every point gained in the Total Income to Assets ratio. As to the secondary IVs: a) ROA could gain one-tenth of a point for everyone that the Equity to Assets ratio gains; b) a one-twentieth point rise is likely when the bank’s growth rate rises by one percentage point; and, c) about half a point for every $1 billion increments in Paid-up Capital.

Table 19

Since the ratio of total income to assets appears to have the most bearing on ROA, we illustrate the strength of this relationship in Figure 3:

Modeling ROE, Conventional Banks

Referring to Table 3 above, we select as high-potential IV’s Growth Rate, Nbr Branches, Deposits to Assets, and Nbr Employees but set aside Dividends on the grounds that this is an outcome variable. The key descriptive statistics are as follows:

Table 20: Main Descriptive Statistics for ROE Model, Conventional Banks

A model comprising these four IV’s explains just under two-thirds of the total variance (0.63, see Table 21) in conventional bank ROE, which gives it considerable explanatory power indeed. Moreover, we can reject the null hypothesis that the collective influence of the IV’s on ROE is tantamount to zero since the ANOVA (Table 22) estimates the probability of that happening purely through random variation chance as three preceded by 40 zeroes, far surpassing the usually rigorous hurdle of p < 0.001.

Table 21: Summary Regression Statistics for ROE Model, Conventional Banks

Table 22: ANOVA Test of Null Hypothesis: ROE Model, Conventional Banks

Table 23 (overleaf) reveals that the model coefficients are:

Y_{CBank ROE} = 1.15 + 0.53 (Growth Rate) + 0.12 (Deposits to Assets ratio) + 0.04 (Nbr Branches) – 0.001 (Nbr Employees).

On average, therefore, the overall growth rate exerts the most sizeable influence on conventional bank ROE. ROE is predicted to rise half a point for every one percentage point gain in growth rate, one-eighth of a point every time the Deposits to Assets ratio rises by 1 point, one point for every 25 new branches opened, but decline about a thousandth of a point for every new staffer hired.

Table 23: Model Coefficients for ROE Model, Conventional Banks

Modeling ROE, Islamic Banks

From Table 3 above, we realize that the high-potential IV’s comprise Growth Rate, Total Income to Assets and Total Operating Income. Once again, we exclude outcomes like Dividends (on the grounds that these are decided after ROE is known) and Reserves (because regulatory agencies have something to say about the level these should be). The summary descriptive statistics are as follows:

Table 24: Descriptive Statistics for ROE Model Components, Islamic Banks

Table 25 reveals that the model as composed and run explains fully 61 percent of the variance in Islamic bank ROE’s.

Table 25: Regression Statistics for ROE Model Components, Islamic Banks

The results of the ANOVA (Table 26) suggests that the quantifiable impact of all three IV’s together cannot possibly be due to random chance alone. For the three degrees of freedom involved, the F value obtained is so high it is associated with an occurrence probability of 3^-11, meaning far less than the p<0.001 usually needed to rule out chance variation. This tells us that the β coefficients reported in Table 27 below are highly unlikely to be zero-impact on the DV.

Table 26: ANOVA for Test of Hypothesis of ROE Regression Beta’s, Islamic Banks

Table 27: Size of ROE Model Beta Coefficients and Evaluation Statistics, Islamic Banks

Table 27 above defines the model equation as:

Y_{IBank ROE} = 1.872 + 0.78 (Total Income to Assets ratio) + 0.39 (Growth Rate) + 0.003 (Total Operating Income).

This means that ROE for Islamic banks in the Gulf is best predicted by how well Total Assets are turned into income. On average, Islamic bank ROE could rise about 0.8 points whenever the Total Income to Assets ratio improves by 1. Secondly, the growth rate is also key. Every percentage point gain in the overall bank growth rate could yield a 0.4 increment in ROE. Third, the typical Islamic bank stands to record a 3/1,000 increment in ROE for every million dollars of Operating Income booked.

Given that Growth Rate appears to be most predictive of Islamic Bank ROE, we illustrate the strength of this relationship in Figure 5.

The Arabian Peninsula, which was the birthplace of Islam, has historically and culturally been defined by the religion. The region’s ethnoreligious landscape was diverse in terms of communities, affiliations, and beliefs, but centered around the core principles of Islam. In turn, this defined social and daily life in their norms as well as entirely interconnecting religion, culture, and politics for centuries to this day. Based on Marranci’s anecdotal dialogue in the first pages of his book, it is argued that Islam is inherently a cognitive process, formed by many maps with different variations to form the complexity of the Islamic religion, interpretation, and expression. This is the basis of his contribution to the anthropology of Islam, highlighting that the religion is best seen as a set of interpretive resources and practices based on texts and methodologies that Muslims view as holy and participate in centuries-old traditions that are similar across cultures and regions.

I partially agree with this perspective on the general approach to Islamic anthropology. Islam is one of the few religions historically which fully defines all aspects of life for its followers and is intimately interconnected with socio-political and ethnic events and practices. Muslims participate in a global tradition, and their worshipping practices, along with historic struggles, also provide the capacity to adapt and diversify. Social practices for Muslims are interpretations of textual traditions such as the Quran, which are legitimized and put into practice by organized religion. However, the question arises of how individuals, from an anthropological perspective, view, and grapple with the Islamic resources and practices in a meaningful way. In order to progress to a socially embedded tradition, practices have to undergo a semiotic uptake across societies, in a way, being “authenticated” by Muslims individually. This allowed for Muslims to construct the quality, unification, and legitimacy around Islamic practices in politics and prayer.

Marranci in the introduction of his book, states the challenges of studying the anthropology of Islam, particularly from an unbiased and epidemiological perspective. This is due to what he indicates a lack of proper research, with much anthropological religious research on Islam being highly debatable or portrayed through a colonial viewpoint on regions of the Middle East and Africa. Marranci makes a valid point, and the historical context of anthropological research has been euro- centered, as its Northern neighbors have consistently colonized the MENA regions throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. However, in a modern globalized world, the science of anthropology has evolved to include history, sociology, and religious studies that allows anthropological research to maintain both contingent and contextual aspects of analysis and interpretation. Therefore, the anthropological study of Islam must consider socio-historic elements, the importance of religious traditions to Muslims, and an emphasis on religious texts and ideologies in proper contexts. In a way, anthropology of Islam approaches the religion parallel to the way many Muslims do, through a series of interpretations and analysis of traditions.

Marranci provides a framework of four distinct approaches to the anthropological study of Islam, which will be discussed next. The first framework is the focus on subjective experience, which focuses on taking in interpretations given by others as well as any personal experiences one might have. This may have some benefits of understanding the subjective interpretations of Muslims in their religion, the so called “Islamic thought” that Marranci refers to which form the various schools and traditions. However, in the modern context, this is a highly critical and biased approach. Due to the politicization and radicalization of certain Islamic groups and traditions, the concept of Islamophobia has emerged, a unifying concept which produces a range of stereotypes and wrongful accusations against Islam as being violent extremists, oppressive of women, or culturally backward as an example. Shryock notes in his book that Islam has become an object of fear due to its association with terrorism. Nevertheless, both terrorism and Islamophobia are polemical in nature, and neither group to whom they can apply, accept such definitions. Referring back to the anthropological framework, it becomes increasingly difficult to study Islam as such through subjective experience since perceptions have been so heavily influenced by the socio-political and emotionally-hysterical paradigms forming stereotypes, connections, and models that do not emphasize an accurate representation or thoughts of particular groups.

A second framework to the anthropological study of Islam is a focus on historical development, seeking to study the origins of the religion and its ancient oral and written traditions. I have a mixed opinion on this since the historic-cultural aspects of Islam are so complex and controversial. Despite deep divisions stemming from the political-religious conflicts between Shiites and Sunni Muslims, the differences between various schools of through in terms of prayer and traditions are marginal. However, a subjective inward experience would not indicate so as each group values its uniqueness, and without an in-depth knowledge of Islamic history and culture, the differences and inconsistencies may become overwhelming. Since Islamic thought and tradition is so deeply inherent in historical events, anthropologists are forced into the challenges of identifying various forms and traditions of the religion as well as who decides which are correct. Furthermore, the rise of fundamentalist Islam which borders with extremism, suggests deviations in Islamic beliefs far from traditionalist perspectives and provides very literal interpretations of history, prophecies, and religious texts.

Another approach is to focus on differences and similarities, particularly in the context of various historical interpretations discussed earlier. The anthropological analysis does inherently need to examine these differences and their impact on Muslims, the cultures, and religious articulations. Marranci notes that the differentiation among Muslim beliefs is the foundation of forming the Muslim identity. This transcends into personal identity from an anthropological standpoint by how individuals identify as Muslim, through feelings, symbolic references, or forms of expression. I mostly agree with this approach as Muslims highly value their cultural and individual identities, defined through traditions and practices unique to each form of Islam. To some, it may be symbolic, while others view it as an expression of deep faith. However, it does raise questions for anthropological studies of Muslim communities as to how the seemingly unified religion able to manage sectarianism and theological disputes. Marranci notably highlights that many scholars use the term “Muslim community” due to the sense of belonging that is commonplace among Muslims, but anthropological evidence suggests there are divisions and emotions related to such beliefs and identity that may challenge the unifying concept of Islam.

The final framework, which I find most applicable and pertinent in anthropological studies of Islam, is the focus on practice such as doctrines and rituals. This is the focus on key texts, traditions, family teachings, and cultural practices that highly define Islamic practice. However, as Marranci rightly notices, that academic and popular discourse on Islam anthropology focuses highly on essentialism, falling into the fallacy of the “Muslim mind.” Marranci suggests in his book that emotions and feelings of being a Muslim are the key definitions to the individual’s Muslim identity rather than the doctrines which guide beliefs and identification with the religion. That is a problematic aspect to reconcile because of the high impact of Islamic traditions on Muslim beliefs and behavior. While, as noted, there are disparate heritages and experiences, the process remains similar. Personally, I do not believe it to be a fallacy from an anthropological study. In turn, it raises the question previously discussed on how to balance the concept of individual identity and societal identity when it comes to the analysis of Islam as both are interconnected.

Examining these potential approaches, it is evident that the practical study of Islam anthropology is highly complex. Essentialism has been the primary methodology of observation, with fieldwork meant to mitigate the potential fallacies somewhat but has specific difficulties as well. Marranci notes that the modern era has allowed for the rise of globalization and technological tools to conduct “fieldwork” research. The era of the Internet provides for the research and scholarly anthropological community to not be dominated by one voice of a researcher but numerous perspectives. I believe this allows for the rise of a new era of anthropological research, one discussed earlier that considers several interpretations, both inward and outward examination. Emotions and identity are valuable when placed in proper contexts similar to that of history and culture, to paint a larger anthropological picture of the ancient religion.

Introduction

The late 20^th and the early 21^st centuries were characterized by the revival of the role of religious ideology on the political stage. Radical Islam gained widespread popularity during the time due to the prevalence of Islamism ideology as an important facet in the rise of religious political ideology across the globe (Farmer, 2007).

In the past, the definition of Islam was clear and simple; all those Muslims who testify that God is one and Muhammad is His prophet and who pray towards Mecca (Farmer, 2007). Islam allowed for a substantial diversity of both beliefs and practice but certain limits had to be observed.

However, this changed with the emergence of radical Islam. Radical Islam, commonly referred to as Islamism, refers to a set of ideologies which hold that in addition to being a religion, Islam is a political system which has led to the emphasis for political unity among contemporary Muslims. The movement has thrived primarily due to the economic and political distress spread across most regions of the world as well as social strain and communal humiliation.

The rise of Radical Islam

Islamism is generally viewed as a struggle for religious supremacy and rejection for modernity. Radical Islam emerged as a movement against western influence and modernization which they considered as conflicting with the practice of pure Muslims. Consequently, the movement targets those who are responsible for these innovations such as the Western countries and perceives them as ‘The enemy’.

With the rapid and unstoppable spread of Western influence, the radical Muslims continue to perceive the world as “the prison for believers and the paradise for unbelievers” (Schanzer, 2002 p 1). While most Muslims were flexible and adapted to the rapid changes resulting from industrialization, modernization and westernization, radical Muslims rejected these changes and instead created a rigid ideology that borrowed heavily from traditional values and laws of the Koran.

This gave rise to the modern day radical Islamism. They argued that the Islamic laws were being replaced by Western values and further claimed that Allah was angered by His people for accepting the western values and was consequently punishing them. With time the radical Islam vision crystallized and in addition to rejection of the Western values, the movement began rising against Arabic governments which supported the West. Consequently, political reforms became one of the major agendas of radical Islam.

Consequences of Radical Islam on society

The ideologies and beliefs held by radical Islam have led to actions that directly or indirectly affect the society. Radical Islam introduces a conjunction between supreme value and rent seeking behavior which needs to be emphasized upon when discussing the economic impact of the movement in the society (Inbar & Frisch, 2008).

Supreme values prohibit tradeoffs or any distractions that may hinder attainment of priority goals. Consequently, the supreme values that guide radical Islam subordinate economic achievement to religiously ordained geopolitical goals (Inbar & Frisch, 2008). Since the movement seeks to achieve supreme value objectives, the radical Muslims often forego economic progress in the quest for achievement of their goals. Indeed, their activities tend to reverse economic progress in areas where it had been achieved (Inbar & Frisch, 2008).

The movement’s rent seeking is externally directed at changing institutions and belief system of other societies which results in internal economic deprivation. Further, terrorism and other crimes associated with the movement have resulted in property destruction and loss of lives which in turn affects the economy of their target countries.

The social impacts of radical Islam are worth noting. Since the radical Muslims aim at dominating the world through the Sharia law, their activities threatens the basic values and liberties of the Western society and the world at large.

The movement has resulted in widespread fear across societies through their terrorist attacks which they justify according to Sharia law which dictates that private and public lives should be subjected to the “Will of Allah.” Consequently, the movement supports torture and persecution of people which often conflicts with the basic human rights consequently impacting negatively on people’s livelihood. Radical Islam has had a major impact on the political framework of most countries especially in the Western and Arab world.

Since the radical Islam claim that politics is an inherent part of Islamic religion, the movement focuses on the fight for political reforms in Arabic countries that are allies with the Western societies and hits back when Western countries interfere with the issues facing the Arabic world. Consequently, the movement has formed various armed cell groups such as Al Qaeda, Muslim brotherhood of Egypt among others to fight against governments which in their view are oppressive and operate against the teachings of the Islam.

Conclusion

Radical Islam has been associated with activities such as perpetuating terrorist attacks, hate crimes against secular people and people from other religious groups, oppression of women in society, among other crimes.

Therefore, Islamism is a real issue facing the contemporary society and has caused severe damage to both Muslims and non Muslims. Unity among all people regardless of their religion and ethnic background is thus essential in the fight against such crimes which will in turn reduce the overall consequences of Islamism on society.

Reference List

Farmer, R. B., (2007). Understanding radical Islam: medieval ideology in the twenty-first century. New York: Peter Lang.

Frisch H., Inbar E., (2008). Radical Islam and international security: Challenges and responses. London: Routledge.

Schanzer J., (2002). At war with whom: a short history of the radical Islam. Web.

The major of the book

The characterization of women in customary Muslim society has been guided by many books which specifically address their strengths and weaknesses. One of these books is called Perfecting Women, written by Maulana Asharaf. The book has its focus on women in societal Muslim, how they are treated and various attitudes towards them.

Women in the Muslim world are supposed to be guided by certain virtues according to the Holy book. This work examines the behavior, weaknesses and strengths of Muslim Women in the 20^th century. There is strong criticism against women’s behaviors in some particular customs. In fact, when reading the book initially it seems that women are suppressed by numerous traditions and rules.

It becomes clear that a number of rules which are imposed by Asharaf do not aim at suppressing women. Still, the same book and the rules mentioned do not make women free and independent to develop their knowledge and skills which may be used to gain necessary respect and recognition in society. It is necessary to point out that the role of virtuous woman in society is very high since women are responsible for the household and children rearing.

Moreover, the book stresses the essential role of education which women should obtain and encourage their children to become educated as well. Thus, it is crucially important to remember that it is a woman who stimulates the development of society; and the main theme of the book under consideration is to portray the oppressed women and reveal the honorable status of women and hew essential role in the society chosen.

Oppression in the book.

There are several instances in the text which evoke thoughts about oppression to the women. By all means, the First Book is the most affluent in passages which may be regarded as evidence of oppression. In this part Ashraf provides a very interesting task for improving one’s reading which is a kind of a code of laws which women should obey. Some of these rules may seem too strict or oppressive.

For instance, the rule “to consider beating” from parents “to be an honor” at first sight suggests an image of a resigned woman who can be punished and has no right even to defend herself or even run from beating (Ashraf, 53). Other rules are even more striking since they assign what hands to use while eating or drinking, how many gulps to make while drinking, etc (Ashraf, 5). The existence of such strict prescriptions makes the reader feel the oppression women seemingly experience.

Other instances are especially associated with customary religious practices. However, it is necessary to point out that the most of these practices is regarded as sinful by Ashraf. For instance, ostentation is done when the barber’s wife displays the outfit as part of the wedding ceremony (Ashraf, 119). Maulana goes ahead to acknowledge this as a fine assembly of sins. This is because in the whole practice there is display of pride.

The cultural practice in which the new mother is taken out to see the stars on the sixth day also invokes strong criticisms by the text. After the mother is bathed and dressed expensively, she is taken out to the courtyard at night with her eyes covered. She is made to stand on the platform after which the women uncover her eyes so that she can only see the stars. The book criticizes this custom by stating that it is pretty irrational to make a normal person blind (Ashraf, 103).

The woman and seven other married women are often fed with many types of foods because they believe that by doing this, no food will ever harm the child. The chosen example is rather powerful to prove how oppressive the attitude to women could be. First, it is always mentioned that something is done over women and some people make a woman take this or that step. Women are limited in their actions as well as in their thoughts about their rights, possibilities, and duties.

The act of women gathering at the home of the deceased thinking that they are sharing in the sorrow of the house is also considered an illegitimate act. This is because women usually engage in cooking activities in the home of the deceased. If they do not get food, they will roam around the society claiming that that home has no food.

These are among other reasons why the custom is considered illegitimate (Ashraf, 153). Women often visit the deceased home wearing showy clothes and sit in groups in which they tell stories which do not concern with consolation of the bereaved.

They embrace them and begin to weep instead of comforting and settling the bereaved hearts. Thus, as the writer says, their main reason for coming is to avoid reproach (Ashraf, 153). So, even during the meetings when women think they can become free or, at least, follow their personal interests and demands, they are still oppressed and cannot do anything they find interesting.

They can gather together, but still, they can do it only under the already defined conditions and limitations. They can discuss any themes, still, their main purpose is to avoid reproaches. And to realize how dependent women are, it is enough to comprehend the rules which are set and have to be followed precisely.

The power of women.

Nevertheless, it soon becomes clear that women are not at all suppressed, especially if they behave in accordance with basic virtues. By highlighting certain customary issues which have been misconstrued by the society, the book actually helps the society function better. It instructs women to read because it is easier for them to learn because this gives a real taste for knowledge. It is also easier for women to learn than it is for boys since women do not have to go out to look for money (Ashraf, 294).

Women are involved in child rearing from the time the child is conceived to the time of their adulthood. The powerful role of a woman in child rearing is shown in this book when a woman gives birth to a young one. Women will converge to celebrate with the new mother in a series of cultural practices (Ashraf, 101).

Much as we may be able to see how the writer criticizes Muslim women, we can also demystify the importance of women in the Muslim community. Women have been mentioned in almost every aspect of the communal events. In some sense this shows that most of those events mentioned cannot take place without the presence of women because “there is no man in our house able to work, and we [women] must work” (Ashraf, 265).

The text also highlights the importance of women in the Muslim family. These strengths are exemplified in child rearing, education and domestic rights among many others. That is why the change from criticism to appreciation of women’s role in the family is a pretty important theme of this text.

The status of women in Muslim society.

Women in the Muslim world have been taught many issues by the Zewar. These teachings have contributed much in the welfare and maintenance of order in the Muslim world particularly to the women. It can be deduced that characterization of women in certain ceremonies should be such that there is no pride or show offs or even habits which aim at avoiding embarrassing natural prevailing situations. A characteristic attribute of this text is the way it changes its criticism to exposing and appreciating the strength of women.

It does not order women to refrain from certain important religious customs. It only appreciates their role in these customs and guides them on how they should conduct. In fact, the book reveals the crucial role which women play in Muslim society keeping their homes in order and rearing their children in accordance with religious traditions and orienting them at their self-development.

This crucial position of women in society is respected and appreciated by men. By all means, women help their husbands in many ways so men can concentrate on their major tasks of supporting their families and working for the sake of their country.

Moreover, being highly educated many women help their husbands, children to make some crucial decisions, for instance, encouraging their children to obtain the appropriate education. Thus, it is possible to conclude that the book reveals the beneficial correlation between the power of men and the power of women in Muslim society.

Reference

Ashraf, M. (1941). Perfecting Women, Ali Thanawi’s Bihishti Zewar. California: University of California Press.

Introduction

Islam is one of the youngest and most popular religions in the modern world. Today it is the second-largest religion, with around 1-1.8 billion followers in various states around the globe. It has its unique culture, philosophy, and beliefs impacting the development of nations, their evolution, and their role in the global discourse. Today, numerous fast-evolving and powerful nations are Islamic ones, with a tendency towards a further increase in their significance and population growth. For instance, the Middle Eastern region is one of the strategically important and fast-evolving areas that are viewed as centers of the Islamic world because of their economic power and culture. However, the process of Islamization attracts interest because of its unique peculiarities and numerous gaps in its understanding. Following one of the popular versions, Islam emerged because of the unique cultural peculiarities of the area and spread to the Middle East through the conversion, which implied a missionary mission, prolonged interaction, and formation of a unique culture.

Roots of Islam

An enhanced understanding of the Middle East’s conversion to Islam can be acquired by analyzing its roots and origin. Following the dominant view, religion appeared in Mecca and Medina, which are nowadays cities in Saudi Arabia¹. The period of Late Antiquity was characterized by specific changes in the religious background of the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula and a lack of centralized power². The political disorder created a vacuum of power that was beneficial for the emergence and rise of new states. At the same time, the first roots of Christianity, Judaism, and local beliefs introduced questions about the conversion to foreign religions or selecting a unique path beneficial for the rise of local entities³. As a result, Islam emerged as a composition of local views, beliefs, and philosophies⁴. It met the existing need for the idea that could unify divided entities and serve as the national idea. As a result, the fast evolution of Islam can be viewed as a result of the peculiarities of the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula.

The cultural roots of Islam can also be found in the Greek invasion of Asia Minor. Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire and created the basis for the massive migration of ancient Greek philosophy to the region⁵. The Ptolemaic period that followed Alexander’s conquest was characterized by the increased importance of Alexandria as the center of Greek culture, which facilitated its further spread and popularization in the region⁶. Thus, when Egypt became part of the Arab world, the strong impact of current values was preserved. As a result, the region became the place where Greek, Syriac, pre-Islamic, and Indian values interacted⁷. The unique mixture of values and beliefs resulted in the emergence of a new philosophic idea and the rise of Islam as one of the young religions.

Middle East Conversion to Islam

In such a way, while the cultural roots for the emergence of Islam remain clear, the way it spread to other regions, including the Middle East, is disputed. Thus, Carlson offers the idea accepted by most scholars, stating that conversion was the main mechanism by which the Middle East transformed into a Muslim region⁸. At the same time, there is a lack of understanding linked to the timeline of the conversion process, and people viewing Islam as their religion comprised 51% of the population⁹. The start of the first Arab Islamic conquests and the Islamization of the Middle East can be viewed as the period of the radical region’s transformation impacting all spheres, such as economic, cultural, and social ones¹⁰. As a result, the area became one of the most powerful centers of Islam in the world.

Missionary Endeavors

Moreover, the spread of Islam in the Middle Eastern region can be associated with missionary endeavors. Carlson argues that as against the common polemical European assumption of Muslims cultivating their religion through conquest, missionaries played a more critical role in popularizing Islam and teaching the population its basics¹¹. The lack of documents and information about this era complicates research; however, Carlson admits that the conquest helped to impact the elites and the ruling class and make them accept the faith of the conquerors, while most of the population preserved their values¹². At the same time, there is no evidence of repressions related to religion¹³. It means that missionary endeavors supported by economic factors and overall transformation associated with the conquest promoted the entry of Islam into the region and its popularization.

Culture

Furthermore, culture is often viewed as another factor explaining the emergence of Islam in the Middle East and its popularization. Carlson admits that the region was inhabited mainly by the agricultural peasantry with their specific culture and beliefs¹⁴. The process of their beliefs’ change was much slower compared to ruling elites that were part of a new state with its religion¹⁵. However, the gradual alteration of their values evidences the cultural exchange and similarities of philosophies, which simplified the conversion to a new religion and its acceptance by the majority¹⁶. In such a way, the process of the Middle East’s transformation into the Islamic region was successful due to the favorable conditions such as the mentalities of the local population and their readiness to accept a new religion as the factor differentiating them from others and helping to support their state’s development.

Role of Peaceful Interaction, Culture and Missionaries

In such a way, the emergence and spread of Islam in the Middle East can be linked to the unique mixture of cultures peculiar to the region’s rise and conquest of Arabian Islamic states and the successful conversion of the local population. Carlson views Islamization as a prolonged process that is linked to these factors¹⁷. Thus, these arguments are supported by other investigators, which proves their relevance. For instance, Knutson and Ellis view conversion as one of the most potent tools for Islam’s spread to various regions¹⁸. They assume that conversion to Islam is a challenging subject because of the lack of evidence; it remains one of the most probable ways of the radical cultural and religious changes in the medieval era¹⁹. Using the example of cultural interactions between the Muslim states and Medieval Europe, they prove that Islamic philosophy could peacefully attract new followers²⁰. It resulted in its spread in the Middle East and other regions. Acknowledging the benefits of a new religion and its unique nature, non-elites were ready to accept it to start belonging to a new fast fast-evolving entity.

The importance of the missionary endeavor discussed above is also evidenced by several works. For instance, Zadeh accepts the idea that the Arab conquest was one of the critical factors promoting the rise of Islam and its entering the Middle East²¹. However, Panchenko emphasizes that conquered peoples were allowed to preserve their religion, culture, and beliefs²². They were not forced to join Islam and avoid practicing old rituals or worship²³. It proves the tolerance of conquerors and their focus on another way of spreading their religion, which is missionary efforts. The Islamic elites comprised the minority on new lands, while the mostly uneducated and agricultural population had no access to knowledge²⁴. For this reason, the missionaries had several important missions, such as the population’s conversion to Islam and their education about the peculiarities of a new culture, religion, and state²⁵. As a result, the transformation required much time; however, the Middle East became one of the centers of Islam and promoted its entrance to other regions.

Furthermore, the role of culture in the pre-Islamic Arab Peninsula and Middle East is supported by other authors. For instance, Sahner says that the variety of beliefs and religions that. existed on the territory before Islam created favorable conditions for its entry and development²⁶. Moreover, sometimes Muslims who were minority at the start, converted to Christianity²⁷. The absence of the clash of cultures resulted in increased tolerance and the ability to interact with representatives of other religions. Thus, marriages between Muslim men and women belonging to other religions contributed to the further Islamization of the population. Children from these marriages were Muslims, which facilitated the conversion and the future transformation of the land into the potent center of Islam²⁸. That is why the absence of radical tensions between cultural and religious values and the peaceful approach selected by elites while dealing with local beliefs helped to attain the desired outcomes and cultivate a new paradigm of relations within a society.

In such a way, the idea of the Middle East’s becoming a center of Islam due to conversion is supported by numerous researchers. Carlson’s ideas of missionary endeavor, the similarity of cultures, and gradual transformation explain how a new religion managed to move with the Arab conquerors and became the dominant paradigm of relations in the region. At the same time, there is another view stating that the conquest and Islamization by the sword was the major facilitator of Muslim’s world development²⁹. Although this assumption might be reasonable, the long era of transformation and the pieces of evidence showing the gradual alteration of the region’s culture refute it. The emergence of Islam coincided with a period of political instability and a search for a new idea that could unite the nation. For this reason, the peaceful conversion supported by the political transformation and emergence of new empires supported Islam’s spread to other regions and its becoming a global religion.

Conclusion

Altogether, the emergence of Islam and its spread to the Middle Eastern region became one of the events that altered the world’s history. The young religion appeared in the lands now known as Saudi Arabia; however, the Arab conquest and the rise of Arab states contributed to its movement to other territories. Most scholars agree that conversion was the primary tool helping to make the population of the Middle East accept a new faith and join a new cultural entity. The process was supported by the missionary endeavor and similarity of views. As a result, the Middle Eastern region became one of the global centers of Islam, supporting its further development and movement to new regions due to trade, political and cultural ties, and international cooperation.

Bibliography

Carlson, Thomas. “When Did the Middle East Become Muslim?” Trends in the Study of Islam’s “Age of conversions”.” History Compass 16, no. 10 (2018): 1-10.

Esposito, John. Islam: The Straight Path. 5th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Knutson, Sara, and Caitlin Ellis. “‘Conversion’ to Islam in Early Medieval Europe: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives on Arab and Northern Eurasian Interactions.” Religions 12, no. 7 (2021): 544.

Panchenko, Constantine. Orthodoxy and Islam in the Middle East: The Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries. Translated by Brittany Noble and Samuel Noble. New York, NY: Holy Trinity Publications, 2021.

Sahner, Christian. “Swimming against the Current: Muslim Conversion to Christianity in the Early Islamic Period.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 136, no. 2 (2016): 265-284.

Wang, Shutao. “The Origins of Islam in the Arabian Context.” Master’s Thesis, University of Bergen, 2016.

Zadeh, Travis. Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the ‘Abbasid Empire. London: I.B.Tauris, 2017.

Footnotes

1. Shutao Wang, “The Origins of Islam in the Arabian Context” (Master’s Thesis, University of Bergen, 2016), 12.
2. Travis Zadeh, Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the ‘Abbasid Empire (London: I.B.Tauris, 2017), 43.
3. Christian Sahner, “Swimming against the Current: Muslim Conversion to Christianity in the Early Islamic Period,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 136, no. 2 (2016): 265.
4. Shutao Wang, “The Origins of Islam in the Arabian Context” (Master’s Thesis, University of Bergen, 2016), 12.
5. John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path. 5th ed. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016), 13.
6. Esposito, 13.
7. Esposito,13.
8. Thomas Carlson, “When Did the Middle East Become Muslim?” Trends in the Study of Islam’s “age of conversions”,” History Compass 16, no. 10 (2018): 3.
9. Carlson, 2.
10. Carlson, 2
11. Carlson, 2
12. Carlson, 3
13. Constantine Panchenko, Orthodoxy and Islam in the Middle East: The Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries, translated by Brittany Noble and Samuel Nobl (New York, NY: Holy Trinity Publications, 2021), 98.
14. Carlson, 7
15. Carlson, 7
16. Carlson, 8
17. Carlson, 6
18. Sara Knutson and Caitlin Ellis, “‘Conversion’ to Islam in Early Medieval Europe: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives on Arab and Northern Eurasian Interactions,” Religions 12, no. 7 (2021): 544.
19. Knutson and Ellis, 544.
20. Knutson and Ellis, 544.
21. Travis Zadeh, Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the ‘Abbasid Empire (London: I.B.Tauris, 2017), 43.
22. Constantine Panchenko, Orthodoxy and Islam in the Middle East: The Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries, translated by Brittany Noble and Samuel Nobl (New York, NY: Holy Trinity Publications, 2021), 34.
23. Panchenko, 44.
24. Travis Zadeh, Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the ‘Abbasid Empire (London: I.B.Tauris, 2017), 47.
25. Zadeh, 89.
26. Christian Sahner, “Swimming against the Current: Muslim Conversion to Christianity in the Early Islamic Period,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 136, no. 2 (2016): 265.
27. Sahner, 265.
28. John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path. 5th ed. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016), 33.
29. Esposito, 101.

Introduction

Islamic logic is a philosophical concept in Islamic theology and philosophical beliefs that guided great philosophers in achieving wisdom for them to understand philosophical and theological problems such as nature of humanity, existence of universe and societal ethics. Islamic philosophy does not only deal with the religious issues of Muslims, but also educational issues as philosophers want to unravel all mysterious in universe and society.

In ancient times, Islamic philosophers obtained their philosophical beliefs and ideologies from Greek philosophy, Indian philosophy, oriental philosophy, and the Quran.

Combination of the diverse philosophical ideologies resulted into Islamic logic, which has made marked contribution in the Islamic philosophy. “Historians of logic have long recognized that the medieval Muslim philosophers and philosophical theologians rendered variously as rationalist theologians, dialectical theologians and the ‘scholastics’ of Islam made some interesting contributions to the history of logic” (Corazzon 4).

The Islamic logic flourished between 8^th and 12^th centuries culminating into Islamic Golden Age that revolutionized Islamic philosophy and theology. Great philosophers like Al Kindi (801-813), Al Farabi (872-951) Avicenna Sina (980-1037) and Averroes Rushd (1126-1198) made significant contribution in the evolution of Islamic logic. Therefore, this essay examines evolution of Islamic logic and Islamic theologians who made significant contribution in the Islamic theology.

Evolution of Islamic Logic

Islamic logic is very important in modern philosophy because it forms part of the evolution of philosophical logic in the world of philosophy. Great Muslim philosophers and theologians concertedly worked together during the 8^th and 15^th centuries leading to the development of the philosophy.

As aforementioned, in the ancient times, Muslim philosophers and theologians relied on Greek philosophy, Indian philosophy, oriental philosophy and the Holy Quran in establishing Islamic philosophy with logic being the central aspect. Corazzon argues that, “when the Greek logical works were handed to the Muslim scholars in translation in and after the 9th century A.D., they studied them thoroughly and critically and wrote commentaries upon them” (8).

The commentaries have now become part of Islamic logic that revolutionized Islamic philosophy during the 12^th century when theologians came up with novel philosophical ideologies. Muslim philosophers delved on life’s mysteries such as existence, creation, human nature, determinism, and divine knowledge using logic. Logicians and theologians worked together in establishing philosophical ideologies that has become cornerstone in the modern philosophy.

Muslim philosophers during the 8^th and 12^th century dealt with two main philosophical ideologies, Kalam and Falsafa. Kalam philosophy involved unraveling of theological mysteries while Falsafa involved analysis and interpretation of Neo-Platonism and Aristotelian philosophies of Greek.

The Muslim philosophers aimed at merging diverse philosophical ideologies and incorporating them into Muslim religion. Other philosophers also benefited from Islamic perspective of philosophy as they struggled to unravel mysteries behind life, existence, human nature, and divine knowledge. In order to build philosophical foundation of logic, great philosophers established schools where harmonization of diverse philosophical ideologies from different parts of the world took place.

The philosophers recognized that, “modern scientific process may generate universally quantified assertions which are considered objectively valid was unknown in the days when syllogistic logic came under attack of Arabic scholars” (Bergstra 3). Thus, great philosophers like Al Kindi (801-813), Al Farabi (872-951) Avicenna Sina (980-1037) and Averroes Rushd (1126-1198) established ancient schools of philosophy that aided development of Islamic philosophy.

The development of Kalam and Falsafa formed the foundation of logic during the 11^th century as the head of Avicennian School of philosophy Al Ghazali introduced the concept of Islamic logic into Madrasah as a curriculum for children to understand their religion and universe.

The curriculum worked tremendously and led to the development of rational movement that advocated for the introduction and incorporation of Islamic logic into various aspects of curricula. Coupled with the emergence of Greek and oriental philosophies, the Muslim theologians dedicated their time in harmonization of diverse philosophical ideologies into their religion.

Herbert argues, “…systematic attempt undertaken by Al-Ma’mun who, being fascinated by the practical use of Greek philosophy and sciences, had issued the explicit policy of the state to promote the significance of the adoption of the ‘foreign culture’” (13). Therefore, promotion of foreign philosophical ideologies and incorporation into Madrasah led to evolution of Islamic logic.

Concept of Islamic Logic

The philosophical concept of Islamic logic has four aspects viz. historic logic, holistic logic, real logic, and crescent-star logic, and they all give evolution of Islamic logic across over time. Historic logic forms the infancy of part of logic development that is between the 8^th and 15^th century. During this period of historic logic, the dominant philosophies were Arabian, Greek, Welsh, Roman, and French. The evolution of Islamic logic in this period occurred very rapidly due to the establishment of schools and expansion of Islamic religion.

Muslim theologians seized the opportunity of philosophical revolution in carrying out in-depth studies of divine knowledge, and unraveling mysteries of life such as existence and the nature of human beings. Bergstra posits that, “Islamic logic as accumulated some 1000 years ago is comparable to what today is called informal logic rather than formal logic or to philosophical logic” (5). Though Islamic logic forms basis of modern philosophical logic, critics consider it informal and thus irrelevant in the modern philosophy.

Holistic logic is a Muslim philosophical concept that involves application of logic in theology with the objective of understanding mysteries of life and divine requirements. On the other hand, the Avicennian logic is a combination of theological and general philosophy that helped in the spread of Islamic religion.

Since Islamic philosophy is central to Islamic religion, theologians did apply Islamic logic holistically in resolving philosophical problems such as creation and existence of the universe. During this period, theologians focused their teachings on the need to have wisdom. Given that Islamic logic was the only effective philosophical ideology in Islamic religion, many people flooded Madrasah and schools to attain wisdom. Theological wisdom was very critical because it enhanced spiritual status of the Muslims.

As part of holistic logic, “development of Kalam in the Muslim world was not only triggered by an external factor of Greek writings but also by an internal factor, namely the need for the art of debate in defending their views against their adversaries” (Herbert 15). Hence, Islamic logic was very essential in spreading and defending Islamic religion.

Real Islamic logic focused on core Islamic values and identity. Muslim philosophers studied philosophy and established philosophical logic as a way of understanding divine mysteries and world’s wisdom. Aristotelian logic inspired Muslim philosophers to form real Islamic logic in terms of language, theology, metaphysics, and epistemology.

“In the spirit of Aristotle, they considered the syllogism to be the form to which all rational argumentation could be reduced, and they regarded syllogistic theory as the focal point of logic” (Bergstra 19). Thus, real Islamic logic was an instrument of rational argumentation in the development of knowledge, theological principles, and advancement of Islamic philosophy.

Crescent-star logic is an Islamic logic development model that is very important in developing of societal structures like finance, religion, courts, and social institutions that are essential in Islamization.

Muslim philosophers and theologians worked together in building societal structures that are critical in Islamization of traditions so that they can be in tandem with modern philosophy. Crescent logic is a versatile concept of philosophy that is applicable in controversial or opposing ideologies that often results into dilemma as in justice system and in theological analysis.

“Progress in Crescent-star logic may help to improve the usage of logic for the application in Islamic courts because it uses and integrates several logical themes which must come together forming a complex of reasoning methods of uncommon complexity” (Bergstra 7). Muslim philosophers and theologians applied crescent logic to build social institutions such as Madrasah, schools, religious and justice system in order to enhance human development in the society.

Conclusion

The Islamic logic originated from ancient philosophers of 8^th to 12^th century who came up with Kalam and Falsafa as foundations of explaining ancient mysteries and knowledge. Islamic logic then built from the philosophical ideologies of Kalam and Falsafa. These ideologies evolved with time and by the 12^th century, they resulted into great revolution of Islamic religion and philosophy.

Muslim philosophers and theologians took advantage of the philosophical revolution to spread Islam and develop social institutions. Islamic logic then became an important component of theology and education for it enhanced human development. Currently, the Islamic logic contributes significantly to the foundation of modern philosophy.

Works Cited

Bergstra, Aldert. “Real Islamic Logic.” Journal of Islamic Philosophy 47.29 (2009): 1-42.

Corazzon, Raul. “Ancient Islamic Logic and Ontology.” Theory and History of Ontology, 2005: 1-46.

Herbert, Davidson. “Modern Views on the Origin of Islamic Theology.” Journal of the

American Oriental Society 4.6 (2002):1-33.

Introduction

In the context of Muslim world, globalization generally refers to the global spread of ideas, cultures, institutions and attitudes, which are normally perceived to have originated from the west. With this regard, globalization is normally perceived as being equivalent to westernization in the context of Islam core beliefs and practices. As a result of this, globalization is perceived as a form of external threat to the Islamic religion (Mazrui 56).

The anti-globalization in Islam can be significantly attributed to the fact that cultural identity is an important aspect of Islamic religion, and therefore any occurrence that attempts to integrate the universal culture serves to undermine the doctrines of the religion (Tarabichi 78). This implies that the cultural exchange aspect associated with globalization is one of the core reasons why Muslims view globalization as having a negative influence on their core beliefs and practices of the Islam (Tarabichi 100).

There are different conflicting views regarding the effects that globalization impose on the Islamic beliefs and practices, making the subject a contentious that is yet to determine whether Muslims are actually against globalization as a whole or some certain aspects of globalization that have imposed negative influence on the aspect of cultural identity, which is a core characteristic of Islamic religion.

Some of argue that globalization has helped in the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism. This paper discusses the relationship between Islam and globalization, with a principal focus on the ways through which globalization are perceived to undermine the Islamic beliefs and practices.

This essay strongly suggests that globalization is a challenge towards the Islamic core beliefs and practices that are determined by the Islamic cultural identity. This is because globalization has accelerated the aspect of western homogeny in the Muslim world.

As a result, it can be perceived as a threat to the Islamic values and principles (Mazrui 102). Despite this potential threat, it is arguably evident that globalization cannot be avoided; as a result, the Muslim community can grab the opportunity presented by globalization to spread the Islamic beliefs, practices and cultural identity at the global level.

Globalization

The aspect of globalization is broad and covers various aspects that are aimed at integration of the world such as social, economic, cultural and political systems. The principal focus of this paper is to assess the cultural integration aspect of globalization and its relationship to the Islamic beliefs and practices.

Culture is considered to be an inherent aspect that is the core of the whole globalization process (Tarabichi 140). This implies that an assessment of cultural globalization is vital in order to have an in depth understanding of the reactions of the Muslim community towards globalization.

It is also important to take into account the fact that globalization is an ongoing process that results to the unification of the social relations across the global divide (Mazrui 125). The aspect of social process implies that globalization supersedes any forms of cultural, geographical and political constraints in order to ensure global integration of the core aspects of globalization (Tarabichi 152).

The potential outcome of cultural globalization is that it will impose a single global culture, implying that cultural diversity and individual choice are likely to be a thing of the past if the various cultural and religious units are not keen enough to resist cultural globalization in order to preserve the values, principles, beliefs and practices associated with their religion and culture (Mazrui 130).

Mazrui defines globalization as the sum of cumulative processes that result to a preservation of the cultural traits of the dominant group, whereas the cultural traits of the less dominant groups are assimilated into the dominant culture (Mazrui 145).

The Islamic religion presently comprises of approximately 20 percent of the global culture, and at the same time, the western culture is the dominant culture at the global level. The visible consequence of globalization is the spread of cultural aspects of a particular culture at the global level, resulting to absorption of the local cultures in a given region, implying that the dominant culture is likely to be transformed into the global culture.

In the current context of globalization, it is arguably evident that the western culture, sometimes perceived as the American culture is gradually being distributed to other parts of the globe, implying that local cultural identity and religious beliefs are likely to be absorbed by the western culture (Tarabichi). In addition, cultural globalization normally imposes changes regarding the daily routine lives, interpretations concerning the meaning of life and provides alternative approaches towards the daily life.

The cultural identity of the Islamic religion

Culture can be defined as behavior and ideas that are common to a particular group, which are socially acquired (Tarabichi 100). Culture exhibits some form of specificity owing to the fact that they are not similar. The culture of a particular group normally defines their social life, thoughts and individual behavior, which in turn influence the principles, values, beliefs, practices and the manner in which the group interacts with individuals of another cultural grouping.

Cultural identity on the other hand can be described as an essential part of a person’s psyche that serves to identify with one’s own culture, and is usually an outcome of cultural interaction (Tarabichi 102). It is important to note that cultural identity is subject to changes when a person is exposed to different cultural environments. Some of the components that make the cultural identity include religion, beliefs, practices, rituals, language and so on (Tarabichi 105).

Islam is usually perceived as a social religion because it lays emphasis on the group life instead of basing on an individualistic approach; this has played a significant role in shaping the Islamic cultural identity, which is supposed to be observed by the entire Muslim community (Mazrui 145).

A core aspect of the Muslim culture is that it entails a vibrant aspect of moderation, implying that it attempts to harmonize both the spiritual and material aspects of the individual personality. The Muslim culture is does not just impose sheer limitations on their beliefs and practices.

The cultural identity of the Muslim can be argued to be based on a dynamic pattern, which in most cases is misunderstood by the secular population and sometimes the Muslim community itself (Mazrui 150). The significant difference that exists between the secular western culture and the Islamic culture is the emphasis on the devotion to one God. It is arguably evident that Islamic faith is applicable to all aspects of life of its believers such as spiritual beliefs and practices, law, governance and way of life.

Despite the fact that Muslims across the global divide have different cultural traits, it is evident that they share some universal cultural identity, beliefs and practices owing to the fact that they are all Muslims (Mazrui 163). For example, the cultural characteristics of the Muslim community in Malaysia are not similar to the cultural characteristics of the Muslim community of Saudi Arabia.

Irrespective of this, they are both guided by the universal principle and values in accordance with Islamic religion. The Islamic cultural identity has core foundations on faith, emphasis on constructive work and humanism, which are used to strengthening the optimism, confidence, and righteousness, appreciation of beauty, flexibility and openness (Tarabichi 136).

The relationship between globalization and the cultural identity of the Islam religion

Globalization serves to accelerate the domination of western culture across the globe. In fact, globalization is one of the direct outcomes of the spreading out of the concept of westernization as evident through economic dominance, colonization and cultural retribution (Mazrui 158).

As a result, the western culture is gradually being integrated into the Muslim world, implying the meaning and the significance attached to the Islam cultural identity is bound to be lost during the process of globalization. The basic implication from this is that globalization poses a significant challenge to the integrity of minority cultures (Tarabichi 180). The Islam cultural distinctiveness has faced some significant cultural pressures from the western culture.

Because of globalization, the cultural uniqueness of the Islam religion has been faced with two conflicting alien cultures, which mainly comprises of the secularized pop culture that has been accelerated by the media, and the American (western) culture, which has been imposed by increasing modernization that is bound to integrate the values of the western culture into the Islamic culture.

Globalization has resulted into an inclination of non-Islamic culture in most of the Muslim community (Mazrui 165). This is widely evident as Muslims are increasingly demeaning their era whereby their level of accomplishments was comparable to the western societies, during which the western communities were constantly facing up the challenge of dark ages.

At present, the secular aspect of the western culture is one of the most superior cultures in the world, irrespective of the fact that it is characterized by lack of morality and devoid of religious principles and values.

This is contrary to the Islamic cultural uniqueness, which is characterized by a select cultural characteristic that plays an integral role in shaping the practices of the Muslim community. Moderation is an important characteristic of the Islamic cultural characteristics, which serves to synchronize the spiritual aspects and human personality.

Thus is evident from the fact that Muslims make use of the Islamic faith in almost all the fundamental aspects of life such as spiritual beliefs, economic activities, political systems, social life and governance. This implies that the Islamic cultural distinctiveness significantly emphasizes on the importance of values, meaning that it can be useful for everyone in the present world that is characterized by globalization. (Tarabichi 150)

The increasing struggle to fight the integration of the western values into Islamic beliefs and values, and the constant need to maintain the authenticity of the Islamic cultural identity is one of the most significant challenges associated with the onset of globalization among the Muslim community (Mazrui 148).

Contrary to the western viewpoint concerning the values associated with cultural identity that are as a result of the social relationships and the nature of the surrounding environment, the principle, beliefs and values of the Islamic religion are somewhat universal and are perceived as eternal because of the their divine nature (Mazrui 178).

The values of the western cultures can be said to be motivated by instances of sheer rationality, on the other hand, the values of Islamic culture are developed basing on both the principles of rationality and religious guidance (Mazrui 180).

The Islamic cultural uniqueness is entirely under the control of the ‘Tawhidic Paradigm’. The existing cultural barrier between the Muslim community and the westerners is needed in order to facilitate the differentiation between the acceptable cultural characteristics from the ones that are discarded (Mazrui 190).

The worldly western cultural imperialism is a significant challenge facing the cultural identity of the Islamic religion in the sense that the western values are at a replacement of the traditional values, practices and beliefs of the Islamic religion with an emphasis on material pleasure, which is considered to be the principal purpose of the human life.

For instance, the western culture is characterized by over-consumption of food and sometimes wastage, yet there are other individuals that do not have enough. In such a context, the Islamic beliefs and values requires that prior to organization of a party, families and people should ensure that other individuals and families in the neighborhood have sufficient food (Tarabichi 168).

A cultural crisis occurs in cases whereby the society fails significantly to undertake its responsibility of overseeing the behavior of people in the society, which in turn results to a damage of the social structure. In the current state of the world that is characterized by globalization, the cultural identity, beliefs and values of the Islamic religion is facing a crisis because of the instances of imitation and the aspect of cultural imperialism of the western culture (Mazrui 190).

An outcome of cultural globalization is that it facilitates the creation of a secular society that is devoid of religion, which in implies that the role Islam religion is bound to gradually diminish resulting a demolition of the Islamic cultural identity. The fundamental inference that can be made from this observation is that the globalization is a threat to the Islamic religious values, culture and identity (Mazrui 190).

Additionally, it is evident that global industries that are somewhat cultural are coming to the forefront regarding the creation and distribution of culture. An important characteristic of the global market is that it is offering the concept of cross-border civilization that emphasizes on the union of consumer preferences (Tarabichi 171).

Examples of this include the global brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, Adidas and many more. These global brands are founded on the values of the western culture, with their premise focusing on a world culture that embraces materialism and strives towards the achievement of greater wealth (Tarabichi 175).

The implication here is that the culture of the west is characterized by a hegemonic power, which results to an increase in the domination of the culture in the rest of the rest of the globe as it is becoming assimilated by people. The Muslim community is not an exception to hegemonic nature of the culture, beliefs and practices of the west.

The culture of the west is considered to be a value-free culture, sometimes referred to as an open culture that embraces all the other cultural variables on an easy access platform (Tarabichi 201). As a result, there are minimal or complete restrictions concerning the display of pornographic content. This is widely evident as the numerous television broadcasters. Movies, books, websites and magazines are promoting and commercializing pornographic content. The young generations are usually the prey of such a rotted culture.

The worldwide media is under the control of the west because they are the key determinants of what is published, watched and learned. The Muslim community on the other hand lacks a powerful media that can help in influencing and competing with the global media moguls (Mazrui 200). Because of this, there is a likely hood that the aspect of western media hegemony is likely to continue, which can result to a replacement of the Islamic cultural identity, values, practices and beliefs.

In this era of globalization, the media is an important factor that shapes the way of life ranging from eating, dressing, behavior patterns, family matters (Mazrui 201). The international media and the increasing popularity of the culture of the west have played a significant role in spreading the western values.

An observation of the current trends reveals that the there is cultural identity crisis, which is likely to affect cultural groups that are more conservative such Islam cultural identity. For instance, the introduction of the TV show named American Idol resulted to an introduction of the same in Malaysia, which was called the Malaysian Idol. In addition, the recent ignorance of the aspect of female covering, referred to as ‘awrah’, which is one of the most serious violations of the Islamic values and principles (Tarabichi 214).

Despite the fact that globalization has some additional benefits to some of the elements of the core Islamic beliefs and practices; regarding culture, aspects of education and information, globalization is arguably a challenge, and in most cases not compatible with the general Islamic aspects of human life, patterns of behavior, values and cultural principles (Mazrui 200).

This is because through the concept of globalization, the western culture gets to spread throughout the world and undermine the Islamic values and principles. An overview of the global pattern for exchange of information reveals that most of the information contests are under the control of the westerners. An outcome of this is that the core aspects of Islamic religious values and principles do not have any adequate presentation in the media.

Instead, the Muslim and Islamic culture is presented negatively in the theatres, movies and some television broadcasting channels. The most common form of presentation of the Muslim culture is associating Islamic religion as a whole with the terrorism and people who are backward in their undertakings. The implication from these findings is that the Islamic values and principles are being challenged by the concept of globalization, resulting to a dreadful portrayal of the Islamic values, beliefs and principles (Tarabichi 220).

In the current context of a world characterized by globalization, most of the members of the Muslim community have disregarded their authentic cultural identity as most of them are influenced by the hegemony of the western culture through aspects such as music, lifestyle and dressing. Some of the western pop culture entails heavy metal music, obscene music and rap music.

In addition, the traditional Arabic songs are gradually adopting the musical aspects of the western culture such as sexual contents (Tarabichi 236). The underlying reason for prohibiting heavy metal music in Islamic culture is that it usually derails the mind from remembering the cultural values and principles of the Islam religion, which means that they result to lack of celebration of Allah, which in turn results to profanity (Mazrui 230).

The eclipse of other cultures, especially the Islamic principles, beliefs and practices can be attributed to the onset of the western way of life because the Islamic youth are gradually lured to the generational change initiated the concept of cultural globalization.

Symbols associated with the western culture are found almost everywhere in the world, implying that people around the globe have embraced the western way of life. For instance, most of the young populations across the global divide are always listening to music from pop artists such as Michal Jackson, living their lifestyle in accordance with the western celebrities and so on (Tarabichi 258).

An inference that can be made from this observation is that cultural globalization is simply accelerating the process of domination of the western culture. An outcome of this is that cultures are bound to be westernized in almost every aspect of life, and the Islamic cultural identity is the most susceptible to this westernization of cultures across the globe.

Owing to the fact that the larger Muslim community is against this aspect of cultural globalization, the Islamic culture as a whole, beliefs and practices are negatively affected and in most cases looked down upon as being behind the changing times. The Muslim community is gradually being assimilated to the western culture. Therefore, it can be inferred that globalization is a challenge to the Islamic cultural identity, values, principles, beliefs and practices (Mazrui 238).

One of the core aspects of culture that is facing a challenge by the concept of globalization is language. Currently, English is perceived as the global language, which in most cases takes an American form and is constantly trying to serve as a replacement for other authentic languages in the globe. English is basically used for global communication as evident in the electronic media, print media, educational institutions and most of the avenues through which global affairs are communicated.

However, according to the Islamic practices and beliefs as in the Holy Quran, Arabic language is mainly for people to have an understanding of the Quran and other important aspects of the Islamic culture (Mazrui 241). Arabic also requires a similar accord since it is an important aspect of the language culture of the Islamic religion that should not be overlooked.

Furthermore, most of the educational curriculums deployed in most parts of the globe are based on English and the western form of education. This curriculum is not compatible with the Islamic cultural identity because it incorporates aspects such as secular values of the western culture, which are in contrary with the spiritual and divine principles and values of the Islamic culture (Mazrui 201).

Most of the Muslim scholars have argues that fast food chains such as Mc Donald’s have played a significant role in facilitating cultural imperialism. Constant eating at the fast food outlets usually develop individualist behavior among individuals, which is not in concurrence with the Islamic values, principles, beliefs and practices. For instance, the speedy lifestyle means that members in a family cannot find enough time take their meals together.

The fast food culture is affecting mostly the young generations, and it servers to undermine the family values of taking meals together. The consequence of the speedy lifestyle is not always visible in the Islamic culture; it has significant effects through the creation of a society that is individualistic, and devoid of social bonding at the family level (Tarabichi 239).

It is arguably evident that cultural globalization is a significant challenge to the larger Islamic values, principles, patterns of behavior, beliefs, practices and the way of life.

As noted above, globalization serves to accelerate the hegemony of the western culture that perceives the Islamic values, principles, beliefs and practices as being backward, and therefore, the Islamic cultural aspects are significantly looked upon. In addition, cultural globalization facilitates the spread of societal culture that is devoid of moral values, which are mostly strange and incompatible with the Islamic cultural identity (Tarabichi 258).

Irrespective of the negative influences of the cultural globalization on the Islamic cultural values, beliefs and practices, some scholars have stated that the cultural globalization has significant benefits at the individual and national level. The cultural globalization process has resulted to positive influence at the cultural identity of a person.

Most of them argue that the positive influences of globalization outweigh the negative influences of globalization. For instance, they propose that cultural hegemony is beneficial owing to that fact that it results to cultural integration and elimination of cultural barriers, which is essential in fostering brotherhood among the human population (Tarabichi 248).

The proposition that cultural globalization serves to reformulate the Islamic cultural identity in the sense that Islam is not only perceived as a religion, rather a complete way of life, which is mostly referred to as ‘one religion, one culture’ in the context of Islamic discourse. Furthermore, cultural globalization also tends to enhance individual freedom and helps in the revitalization of cultural aspects and beliefs (Tarabichi 157).

However, the basis of this essay is that despite the healthy cultural exchange associated with cultural globalization; most of the instances have negative influences on the values, principle, beliefs and practices of the Islamic religion. Cultural globalization is perceived as the process through which the western cultural values are distributed across the globe (Tarabichi 263).

The basic argument is the globalization is one of the contributing factors that accelerate the process of westernization across the global divide, which results to the domination and the strengthening of the western cultural aspects compared to cultures that are less dominant at the global context such as the Islamic cultural identity and their associated religious beliefs, values and practices.

For instance, the aspect of female covering is widely considered as backwardness in the context of the western culture, while at the same time mingling with people of opposite sex freely is considered a cultural practice that is superior. This is a perfect example of the dilution of the Islamic cultural values and identity. In addition, this serves to compromise the Islamic religion culture, and poses as a threat to the core Islamic practices and beliefs (Mazrui 270).

Furthermore, cultural globalization fosters the creation of a secular society that is devoid of the religion, implying that the there is a possibility of the role of Islam religion being subject to diminish, which is likely completely destroy the Islamic culture. The recurring fact from this is that the aspect of cultural globalization is a challenge that the Muslim community must face in order to preserve the cultural identity of the Islamic religion.

As a result, the Muslim community across the global divide has to re-evaluate the western culture, and be satisfied with the spiritual guidelines, beliefs, principles and practices that are outlined in the Holy Quran. Additionally, negative aspects of a specific culture should be removed before being assimilated into the Islamic way of life.

Revitalization of the cultural identity of the Islamic religion

It is arguably evident that the cultural identity of the Islamic religion is facing a crisis in this current era of globalization. The Muslim community needs to re-examine the approaches regarding the aspect of negative influences of cultural globalization on their religious beliefs, values and practices. In this era of globalization, it is important for Muslims to stick strictly to the teachings of Islam as outlined in the Holy Quran, which is the only effective way of maintaining the cultural identity (Mazrui 258).

The cultural aspect of acquiring knowledge is required in Islamic discourse in this current era of globalization. It is arguably evident that this is the most significant crisis that the Muslim community is currently facing.

Because of the moral and social connotations associated with knowledge, the Prophet suggests that knowledge acquisition is mandatory for every Muslim individual (Tarabichi 256). The increasing levels of development that are witnessed in the west can be related back to the focus towards knowledge acquisition an effective manner.

The significant limitation to this approach is that most of the Muslim countries are still functioning under the old traditional methodologies in most of the educational curriculum and syllabus, with limited interest concerning research. This implies that it is essential for the Muslim community to develop a new curriculum that integrates both rational knowledge and revealed knowledge, which will in turn encourage the larger Muslim community towards research.

It is arguably evident that a partial lack of critical thinking is one of the contributing factors that resulted to the cultural identity crisis that the Muslim community is currently facing (Tarabichi 235). Muslims in this current era of globalization tend to disregard their Islamic cultural practices and beliefs and follow the western culture without taking into consideration the negative consequences of the western culture.

In addition, the paper has proved that a majority of the aspects of western culture are not compatible and appropriate with the values, beliefs and practices of the Islam religion; as a result, they are not appropriate for emulation by the Muslims. The Muslim community should aim at following cultural traits that conform to the teachings of Islam and their ideologies of religion as outlined in the Quran and Allah’s prescriptions.

The Muslims should also evaluate every cultural traits, beliefs and practices basing on the divine guidance outlined in the Quran and Sunnah, which will play an important role in increasing their ability to handle the increasing pressures of cultural globalization on the entire Islamic cultural values and redirect it towards appropriate direction.

With these in practice, cultural globalization can have positive impacts through influencing universal unity of the human race, in combination with a cultural exchange that is healthy and prosperous. However, the Muslims must clearly and rationally evaluate the cultural aspects that are being embraced at the global arena.

Cultural globalization is an inevitable force in the present times, and this has played a significant role in integrating all the aspects of human life such as behavioral patterns, governance, lifestyle and social relations (Tarabichi 270). As a result, this is a perfect opportunity for the Muslim community to propagate its Islamic cultural traits, values, beliefs and practices to a global level.

Spreading the Islamic culture is in concurrence with the teachings of Islam, with the main objective of influencing the world using the various aspects of Muslim culture. It is for this reason that the Muslim community needs to adhere strictly to their cultural identity in all aspects of human life. Basically, Muslims need to be vigilant concerning emerging cultural trends that are bound to have a negative effect on the Islamic religious values, principles, beliefs and practices (Tarabichi 280).

Presently, the Muslim community comprises of different sects and groupings, which are mostly due to selfish reasons and personal interests. This means that the larger Muslim community should attempt at establishing a supreme Ummatic cultural identity and focus on brotherhood with the principal objective undertaking the task as ‘Khalifah’ during the human life on earth.

Their main duty is to achieve the pleasure of Allah by use of commitment and dedication, which are one of the core Islamic principles. As a result, all elements that attempt to enhance individualism among the members of the Muslim community should be eliminated at all costs.

Media is one of the principle facilitators of culture transmission across the globe; basing on this, the Muslim community is required to have many media houses that are dominant and influential within the global context in order to facilitate competition with the dominant world cultures such as the western culture.

For instance, Iran has undertaken initiatives to develop movies that have portray the values, beliefs and practices of the Islamic religion. A development of a strong and influential media is one of the most effective initiatives that the Muslim can use to influence the global culture and spread its values, beliefs and practices to the global level (Tarabichi 254).

The development of a strong moral trait by the members of the Muslim community helps in protecting them from the influences of the immoral cultural traits. Morality and value-based Islamic culture that integrates with all the aspects of life is integral in ensuring that the Islamic values and principles are strictly followed by the Muslim community, since it will help in the rejection of other cultures that serve to undermine the Islamic values and beliefs during this era of globalization (Mazrui 258).

The family set up is an important element of the Islamic cultural identity that should be relied on fostering positive moral values and teachings of Islam. In addition, it is a potential method that can be used for enhancing social bonding, which is important in upholding the Islamic values. In the context of Islamic discourse, the family is perceived as a unique institution that can be used for transmitting the Islamic social values, principles, beliefs and practices, language and influencing individual patterns of behavior.

The significant limitation witnessed in the present Muslim world is that increasing tendency of the family set up to be broken down in many of the Muslim nations, which has negative influences on the young generation of the Muslim community. The basic argument is that members of the Muslim community have the responsibility of strengthening the ties within the family set up in order to enhance the Islamic cultural identity (Mazrui 287).

Proper dressing codes for both the Muslim males and females are required and should be followed strictly among the Muslim community. In essence, clothing is not supposed to be closely fitting in order to eliminate the potent of unwanted attention because of the revealing of the body curves.

The marriage institutions are also regulated in accordance to the values and principles of Islamic culture, and the instances associated with the breaking of the family set up and weakening of the family ties should be eliminated at all costs. This means that the purity of marriage requires adequate protection.

This entails prohibition of same sex marriages and controlling the aspect of sexual liberalization. It is also important that Muslim women should not be limited only to the family life because they need to benefit from the aspect of freedom of choice and work in accordance to the limitations imposed by the Shari’ah law by upholding decency and humility (Mazrui 258).

Muslim reactions to the onset of globalization

There are diverse reactions of the Muslim society towards globalization; with a general consensus being that the Muslims reactions towards globalization is defensive, with the principal reason for this rejection being the penetration of the western culture into the Islamic cultural values, institutions and customs.

This means that globalization is perceived as a form of surrendering to a dominant standpoint that lacks authenticity as expected in Islamic beliefs and practices (Tarabichi 257). Islam is a religion that functions under its own set of laws that are vital in shaping the way of life of the Muslim community.

The rejection towards globalization by the Islamic religion based on the viewpoint that most of the elements of the concept of globalization are not concurring with the Islamic law, resulting to an Islamic community that is constantly defensive towards the perceived influences that globalization, or rather westernization is likely to have on the Muslim beliefs and practices.

Conclusion

This paper analyzed the impacts associated with cultural globalization in the context of Muslim world. The analysis identified two potential influences of cultural globalization, with the first perspective being that cultural globalization has positive impacts because it helps in the development of cultural exchange and integration that is health.

The second standpoint identified is that cultural globalization has negative influences on the Islamic cultural values, beliefs and practices, because they are constantly degrading the religious values of Islam (Tarabichi 236).

This paper stands for the latter viewpoint that cultural globalization is detrimental to the Islamic values, beliefs and principles. It is evident that cultural globalization serves to accelerate the spread of western culture across the globe, which serves to replace the traditional Islamic cultural identity, values, beliefs and practices with a post modern culture that undermine the Islamic way of life (Mazrui 258).

In addition, the western culture brings secular values into the Islamic culture, resulting to a diluted Islamic culture that is different from the authentic Islam culture that is value-based. The aspect of western culture hegemony in the Muslim world has been driven by media, which are based on the secular values and principles of the west.

The basic argument is that the core beliefs, principles, values and practices of the Islamic cultural is being conceded into the western culture, meaning that there is an increasing need for the Muslim community to revitalize the cultural identity of Islam. Therefore, globalization is a challenge towards the Islamic core beliefs and practices that are determined by the Islamic cultural identity. This is because globalization has accelerated the aspect of western homogeny in the Muslim world.

As a result, it can be perceived as a threat to the Islamic values and principles. Despite this potential threat, it is arguably evident that globalization cannot be avoided; as a result, the Muslim community can grab the opportunity presented by globalization to spread the Islamic beliefs, practices and cultural identity at the global level.

Works Cited

Mazrui, Ali. Globalization from the Islamic perspective. London: Westminister university, 2000. Print.

Tarabichi, George. From Araba renaissance to apostacy: Arab Culture and its discontents in the age of globalization. Beirut: Saqi Books, 2000. Print.