Islam in Turkey and Iran has gone through various stages. Turkey has for a long time been inert towards the Muslim countries despite its Ottoman heritage. The Ottoman state emerged as one of the most powerful Muslim states and tried to enhance as much as possible its tolerance of all interpretations of Islam. However, the conflict between modernity and the Islamic world led to developments like a parliamentary system and debates about democracy, elections, legislation and parliament in the Muslim world. This resulted in the integration of religion into the democratic system and establishment of checks and balances through political authority other than religion.
The fact that Turkey was not colonized by the foreign powers may have made Turkish Islam be more self-critical leading to more intellectual productivity. Other Muslim countries, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed gradually fell under domination by the European powers leading to merged efforts amongst the countries to solve problems of backwardness and hostility to western powers through anti-western ideas.
In most of those countries, Iran being one of them, Islam and polities had a radicalizing effect on each other. Due to imbalance between religion and politics, creating a national caste of intellectuals and administrators became a difficult process. Due to a ban on Islam co-existing with modernity, many problems came about and reactionary, radical and violence-prone approaches became prominent (Sedat, 2005)
Turkish Islam does not use coercive measures; rather it utilizes cultural and social tools in place of political and military action. Most of Turkey’s population is Muslim, about 99 percent. The country has however undergone much secularization which began in the Ottoman Empire with the abolition of the caliphate, the supreme religious and political office of Islam. Following this other religious authorities had their secular powers reduced and later eliminated. Most religious foundations became nationalized and for some time even religious education was prohibited.
Despite secularizing at an official level, religion was still a strong force at the popular level and some leaders tried to use this by seeking support for programs that appealed to those with religious inclinations. Those efforts were however opposed by the political elite who viewed secularism as important. The situation became more polarized in the 1980s, with the emergence of educated but religiously motivated local leaders who challenged the secular political elite. They led to a revival of Islamic observance in Turkey. This has led to much admiration from other Islam countries which see Turkey as Islam and who also recognize the impact of secularism and western relations in enhancing Turkey’s economy.
The constitution of Turkey allows for freedom of religion. It however prohibits religious teaching schools so as to preserve secularism. The government is responsible for the running of a religious high school Imam Hatip Lisesi which prepares the graduates to be clerics rather than to seek higher education since it is perceived that they may later use religion to cause discrimination in society. Muslim religious facilities and education are overseen by the Government through its Presidency of Religious Affairs which appoints local and provincial Imams.
These are basically two cultural communities the Alevis, who have until recently hid their religious identity due to assimilation pressure from the government. Alevis are a Twelver Shia Islam sect but most Alevis do not see themselves as Muslims. Folk Islam derives its practices from Sufism which is characterized by veneration of pious individuals after death to be saints and pilgrimage to their graves and shrines. This is however discouraged by the government (World History, 2002).
Iran has had Islam as its official religion for a long time; with about 98% of Iranians being Muslim, 89% Shia and 9% are Sunni. When the Islamic Republic of Iran came to power, a revival of political Islam occurred. After World War II, Iran was among the first countries to adopt political Islam as its ruling ideology. The goal of Islam fundamentalism was to get power through Islamization of all the aspects of life. This was in response to the imposition of western models and outlooks through coercion by Western states. Most anti-western attitudes among Iranian Islamists are said to have roots in Marxism and communism rather than Iranian Islam. The new Islamic Republic of Iran through its Islamic foreign policy has led to the creation of Hezbollah, provides for subsidies to Hamas and is greatly involved in opposition to Israel (World History, 2002).
Islam has been responsible for much of the gender inequality in Iran. This can be attributed to the patriarchal nature of the Iranian society and Islamic religion. Many Islamists take strong positions on gender segregation in public areas as well as in issues that favor gender inequality such as those in legal discrimination and issues of unveiling and veiling. Generally, Islam laws show discrimination against women in issues of divorce, child custody rights marriage and inheritance.
In Twelver Shii Islam, the majority sect in Iran, a specified-time temporary marriage is permissible; however the laws are more stringent for women than men and a woman’s rights to child custody are limited to the first two years after the child is born (Kazemi, 2000).
Turkey is different in that the move towards secularism has reduced some of these social inequalities since Islamic law is not used much to govern the people’s way of life. The influence of past empires has been significant in the political and social trajectories of both countries. Were it not for the secularization that began in the Ottoman Empire Turkey may have turned out differently. Iran on the other hand has its origins in the Persian Empire and when the Arabs conquered this Empire, Arabic language but not Arabic culture was imposed on the people. Islam was at the time associated with the ethnicity of Arabs and consequently Persian cultural values remained. Later a shift from an Arab empire to a Muslim empire occurred and this resulted in adoption of Persian language and culture with the adoption of Islam.
Most of the dynasties in both Iran and Turkey were patriarchal in nature leading to a general inequality of genders. This has changed much in Turkey due to secularization efforts. In Turkey unveiling is supported by the government and often students have demonstrated while veiled to express their dissatisfaction with government pressures to assimilate and do away with veils. Iran is different in that veiling is a requirement for the women enforced by the state especially because of Islam ideology (Kazemi, 2000).
Islam in Turkey has made it a significant member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Turkey’s identification with Islam has made it a country that other Islam countries would like to emulate even with the adoption of democracies since the economic success of Turkey can be attributed to its largely democratic political system. Iran has not been able to achieve economic independence rather there have been numerous episodes of violence and abuse of human rights which can be linked to extremist Islamic views. Turkey may also have had various violations of human rights freedom of expression in attempts to make secularism official.
Works cited
Kazemi A, 2000, Gender, Islam and Politics, Iran Iran Chamber Society. Web.
Sedat L, 2005 Turkish Islam and Turkey’s EU Membership. Web.
World History 2002 Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents. Web.
Mohammad Abdu was an Islamic jurist who was born in Egypt in 1849. In addition, he was a religious scholar and reformer who contributed greatly to Islam. He is regarded as the founding father of Islamic modernism, which encouraged use of reason in efforts to keep up with the changing world (Sedgwick 19).
Abdu was born into a peasant family that could not afford a lavish life. However, his parents hired a private tutor who taught him the basics of Islam such as how to recite the Quran. His contributions to Islam were based on his study of philosophy, logic, and Muslim mysticism at the University of Al-Azhar (Sedgwick 20). One of his instructors at the university (Jamal al-Din al-Afghani) influenced him significantly. Abdu used the influence of al-Afghani to advance his study of politics, Muslim mysticism, and journalism.
He advocated for reforms in the Egyptian society through education. He believed that quality religious education was key to good morals in children, which would help them to improve the society (Sedgwick 21). In addition, he believed that scientific knowledge was necessary because it was important for better reasoning abilities. He highly criticized corruption, lavish living, and fallacies.
Abdu’s contributions to Islam
Abdu’s main contributions to Islam include pioneering the Islamic modernist movement and reinterpreting Islam thought to modern thought. His contribution of developing Islamic modernism was significant in liberalizing the Egyptian education system, transforming Islamic worldview, fusing western and Islamic ideals to form a liberal Islamic society, and restructuring the jurist consult agency (Sedgwick 23).
He championed Islamic feminism, which had been disregarded in Islamic teachings and ways of life. He constructed an Islamic model of thought that valued feminism and that distinguished the Islamic view of feminism from the western view of feminism.
He pioneered Islamic feminism, and his ideals spread to other Muslim countries around the globe (Sedgwick 24). He advocated for gender equity and maintained that women had equal rights to men. Therefore, he taught that the preferred Islamic ideal for marriage was monogamy because polygamy would not foster justice and equality for all partners in the marriage.
Modernity refers to renunciation of old ideals and values in favor of new values and ideals. Islamic modernism refers to religious reform that attempts to eradicate inflexible beliefs from Islamic teachings in order to facilitate change (Sedgwick 27). Abdu was a supporter of modernity because he believed that Islam would advance only by adapting to societal changes. His ideals and thoughts on Islamic modernism were based on concepts of rationalism, nationalism, liberalism, and the universalism of Islam (Sedgwick 28).
Abdu reiterated the importance of embracing modernity in Islamic civilization. As such, he stated that Islam’s religious disposition depended on its ability to adapt to changes. His contributions are apparent in his contributions to the fields of philosophy, Islamic theology, hadith, and tafsir (Sedgwick 34). For example, he began the Quran commentary that was interrupted by his demise. However, one of his students carried it on although he did not complete it as Abdu had intended.
Abdu did great work in presenting a modern and rational interpretation of the Quran. The Tafsir al-Manar is Abdu’s greatest work. In the al-Manar, he demonstrated how modernity could be fused with Islamic ideals in order to advance the Islamic community. He postulated that embracing western ideals was imperative for liberation of Muslims from religious decadence, stagnation, and primitivism (Sedgwick 37).
Abdu was a key figure in the resurgence and restructuring of Islamic intellectual thought and movement. The movement’s main aim was to revive religious consciousness among Muslims. Moreover, the movement aimed to challenge the assumption that Islam was incompatible with modern thought and ideals that were the foundation of civilization and religious advancement (Sedgwick 41).
Abdu believed that Islamic reforms could be achieved through embracement of western ideals, and reformation of Islamic legal and social ideals and thought.
His reformation agenda involved reinterpretation of Islamic ideals and reconciliation of faith and reason (Sedgwick 43). He intended to create ideals that could respond to contemporary issues in the political, religious, social, and scientific fields. Islamic reformation involved the study and exegesis of the Quran (Sedgwick 53).
He believed that studying the Quran was more important than studying Islamic theology because the Quran was a better source of truth for Muslims. In addition, reformation involved simplifying Islamic theology in order to improve comprehension, and reforming religious understanding of Islam through revival of important beliefs and values. His idea of Islamic reform was greatly influenced by his instructor, al-Afghani.
The reform movement that Abdu formed influenced Islamic thought significantly because it revived religious ideals that were missing in Islam at the time (Sedgwick 48). As the Chief Mufti of Egypt, Abdu reviewed Islamic law and issued judgments based on teachings of the Quran.
Moreover, he insisted on issuing fatwa guided by teachings of the Quran and Sunnah (Sedgwick 52). This represents Abdu’s dynamism in developing inclusivity and universality in Islamic ideals. The contribution of Abdu had great influence on reformation of Islamic thought.
This is evident from his work. He taught Muslims to adhere to Islamic ideals and values without compromising them, identified ways to solve problems that had caused the decline of Islamic faith, and protected Muslims against religious criticism (Sedgwick 53). Opponents of Islamic ideals claimed that Muslims could not advance by following principles of Islam that were considered backward. This criticism was one of the factors that encouraged Abdu to initiate reforms of Muslim thought to include modern Islam values and ideals.
Conclusion
Mohammad Abdu was an Egyptian reformer, religious scholar, and jurist who had great influence on Islam religion. He is considered the father of Islamic modernism owing to his immense contributions and work. Abdu was a supporter of modernity because he believed that Islam would advance only by adapting to societal changes.
His ideals and thoughts on Islamic modernism were largely based on concepts of rationalism, nationalism, liberalism, and the universalism of Islam. His contributions to Islam are based on his study of philosophy, logic, and Muslim mysticism at the university of Al-Azhar. His main contributions to Islam include pioneering the modernist movement, reinterpreting Islam thought to modern thought, transforming Islamic worldview, coalescing western and Islamic ideals, and restructuring the jurist consult office.
In addition, he championed Islamic feminism by advocating for gender equity. He initiated a reform movement that revived Islamic ideals and thought that had been discarded even though they were important. Abdu also simplified Islamic theology to improve its comprehension by all people, and reformed religious understanding of Islam through revival of important beliefs and values. His idea of Islamic reform was greatly influenced by his instructor, al-Afghani.
Works Cited
Sedgwick, M. Muhammad Abdu. Oxford: Oneworld Publishers, 2009. Print.
Religious extremism cropped up from diverse Islam’s Jihad teachings. The research focuses on the reasons for the religious extremism. The research centers on the different interpretations of the Koran’s Jihad verses. Religious extremism precipitated from some Muslim religion devotees’ diverse interpretation of Koran’s Jihad verses.
Initially, Paul Heck stated Islamic extremism centers on two aspects of the issue. The first aspect is extremism. One group of non-Muslim people may classify the Islamic attacks on innocent civilians as extremism. On the other hand, the Islamic perpetrators of the suicide bombings do not classify themselves as extremists.
Paul Heck mentioned the second aspect is on the Islam religion. Some Islamic fundamentalism groups do not accept violence as a last resort. However, all Islam devotees affirm that Jihad is part of their duties. Some groups of Islam devotees prefer to use extreme means to perpetuate their goals for spread Islam. Islam accepts assassinations and bombings, specifically suicide bombings, as the duty of every serious Islam devotee.
Likewise, Shireen Burki emphasized Islamic terrorism or Jihad is part of the duties of Muslims to achieve their political and religious goals. Islamic terrorism cropped up in many strategic locations around the world. The Islamic extremist attacks occurred in Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States starting in the early 1970s. The most recently devastating Islamic extremist attack occurred in New York on September 11, 2001.
Al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama Bin Laden authorized the Islamic extremist attacks. The plane attacks focused on stopping the United States’ political and military presence in the Middle East as well as in the Arabian states. The extremist attacks also focused on the removing the corrupt and inefficient leaders of the Arab states. Another very loud reason for the extremist religious attacks is to put a stop to the United States’ military, financial, and other aids to Israel.
In addition, the extremist attacks focus on returning East Timor and Kashmir under Muslim authority. The extremist members are very active convincing people to join their religious extremist acts. The terrorist attacks include kidnappings for ransom, hijackings, and suicide attacks.
Shireen Burki opined religious extremism is an offshoot of Islamic teachings. Alia Brahimi reiterated the Islam religion teaches violence as part of the necessary acts of their religion. Religious extremism is the ideology or political act that violates the norms of society. Society norms consider killing a crime. Consequently, an extremist is any person who uses religion as a basis for killing another person.
Demetrios Caraley shows a vivid example is the unforgettable horrors of the September 11, 2001tragedy that hit New York and the Whitehouse. The incident is a direct act on the United States’ democratic ideology. The incident shows that Muslim religion devotees’ religious beliefs may translate to the loss of innocent lives.
Osama Bin Laden was instrumental in the attack of United States soil. The secularization of the September 11, 2011 issue equates to the harmful effects of the Islamic religion’s attack on New York City that fateful day. The horrors of the September 11 event awaken the people around the world on the power of religion to kill and maim innocent civilians.
The people around the world will not forget the mass suicide of the four groups of Muslim religion devotees who hijacked the four planes. The four Islamic martyr groups did not think twice before using the planes to commit suicide. The Islamic martyrs consider themselves rightful heirs to the king of their God, Allah.
Andrew Langley stated 19 religious extremists hijacked four planes. Two hijacked planes jets crashed on two skyscrapers in New York. Another group rammed the Pentagon complex in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane, destined for Washington D.C. crashed before reaching its destination.
The airplane passengers were able to fight against the fourth plane’s hijackers. Everyone in all four hijacked planes died. In addition, a majority of the people trapped in the twin towers of New York were murdered. The September 11, 2001 casualty reached 2,974 dead and thousands more injured.
In other parts of the world, David Cook stated women and men sometimes join suicide bombings are normal activities of religious activities. Cook mentioned many radical Muslims are using the Jihad process to widen their appeal to idealistic Muslim men and women to join in the battlefield’s martyrdom operations. The religious extremist straps bombs inside one’s clothes. When they reach their targets, the religious extremists blow themselves up.
As a result, the bombing activities kill both the suicide bomber and a majority of the intended targets. In addition, the suicide bombings often cause massive property damages. Normally, the suicide bombers use huge explosive charges to ensure the infliction of a huge toll on major property damage and huge human lives.
Malik Mufti theorized the Islam religion explains that suicide bombers will receive rewards for killing non-Muslims. For the religious extremists, it is a duty to kill nonbelievers. It is the duty of the religious extremists to persuade the nonbelievers to convert to the Islam religion.
The non-Muslim’s refusal to convert to the Islam religion would precipitate to the Muslim’s consideration of the Muslims as enemies. The religious extremists’ killing of non-Muslims for the sake of religious obedience is part of religious activities. Thus, the religious extremists do not have second thoughts on killing innocent civilians.
Killing itself may be legal or illegal. Normally, the law allows the killing another person in a self-defense capacity. It is one’s fundamental right to protect oneself against dangers to one’s person, one’s family, and one’s property, especially the home. In addition, the state courts hand down death penalties to some convicted felons.
The convicted felons are meted the death penalty for heinous crimes. The killing is classified legal. However, societal norms dictate that the killing innocent civilian, in the pursuit of one’s political or religious ideologies, is illegal. This is true for every suicide bombing activity.
Historically, many empires have suffered under so-called extremist religious organizations. The implementation of widespread Islamic terrorism complies with the Islamic religion’s duties. The extremist attacks are religiously approved attacks on the apostates. The Koran states Apostates are non-Muslims. Non-Muslims are infidels or enemies under the Koran.
However many Muslim scholars and leaders opined the Koran verse on Jihad or attacks on the apostates has been taken out of context. Some Muslim leaders emphasize that the Muslims warriors should implement the Jihad or holy wars only to protect the Muslim people from outside attacks.
The Muslim warriors should start a Jihad or holy war to defend their religious beliefs, in case of attacks. Osama Bin Laden emphasized that the United States is an aggressive enemy of the Islam religion. Osama Bin Laden theorized the September 11, 2001 attack on New York City was a defensive Jihad attack. The Muslim leaders are more acceptable to the defensive Jihad attack when compared to the aggressive Jihad attacks.
One of major causes persuading Muslims to join the Jihad or holy war is a strong bond. The family bond encourages one member of the family to successful implement a suicide bombing attack. The strong community bond encourages members to be a martyr for the group. A martyr is one who sacrifices one’s life in a suicide bombing attack.
Other factors are not as influential in convincing a Muslim devotee to murder innocent Christian civilians. Poverty is not a strong factor. Trauma is a major factor in convincing the Muslim convert to engage in the Jihad or holy war. Being in a mad state is not as influential in convincing the Muslim individual to kidnap a Christian Pastor. Ignorance will not be an equally effective factor in terms of persuading the Muslim adolescent to engage in the Holy war to kill one’s innocent neighbors.
The environment is a strong factor in terms of convincing the Muslim devotees to engage in Jihad activities. Muhammad Akbar stated the Koran’s Surah 9 verse 111 states “Allah hath purchased of the Believers their person and their goods; for theirs is the Garden of Paradise. They fight in his cause and slay and are slain.” The quote clearly shows that all Muslim religion devotees must comply with all the religious instructions of the Koran, without exception.
Research conducted showed that more Algerians living in France join extremist groups. Likewise, the more Moroccans taking up residence in Spain favor the Jihad activities. Lastly, more The Yemeni persons taking up residence in Saudi Arabia are eager to join the suicide bombing activities.
Many Muslims offer terroristic attachments to the Jihad concept. The Jihad is a struggle to succeed. The Jihad is a Muslim struggle. The Koran imposes the Jihad on the persons, communities, or groups for having harmed a Muslim person, group, or community.
John Esposito explained the confusion regarding in interpretation of Jihad is understandable. Muslim devotees have to comply with the five pillars of the Islam faith. The Muslim religion devotees consider the Jihad or holy war as the sixth compulsory pillar. The Koran commands Jihad actions in the Muslim devotees’ struggles.
Jihad is the Arabian word for struggle. The Prophet Muhammad used the Jihad or holy war to capture reach territories previously controlled by other religions. The Koranic verses serve as the law of the Muslim religion devotees. The Koran verses teach the Muslim religion devotees self-understanding, piety, mobilization, expansion, and defense (Jihad).
Depending on the Muslim religion devotees’ situation, one’s daily life focuses on fighting injustice, oppression, and spreading the Islam faith. Other Muslim religion devotees’ daily activities include establishing a society that implements just policies on all its residents. The Muslim religion devotees’ daily duties include joining the Jihad or holy war to defend one’s faith against infidels (non-Muslims).
In terms of overall impact, the communities have to protect themselves from the extremists. The United States has stepped its homeland defense to counter the Islamic extremist. The camaraderie of Muslim religion devotees creates a strong bond among the Muslim religion devotees around the world. The Islamic brotherhood includes Muslims from North Africa, Southeast Asia, Sudan, Algeria, the Gulf regions, and the United States.
Leaders of the brotherhood include Hasan al-Banna (1906 -1949) and Sayyid Qutb (1906- 1949). Some of the leaders distributed Islamic books and other Islamic reading materials. The materials focus on the fundamentalist principles of the Muslim faith. The Islamic religious leaders do their best to use the Koran’s verses to legitimize their extremist killing activities. The increasing distance between the Muslim religion devotees and the Christians continues to widen.
Similarly, Abdul Gafoor theorizes the literal meaning of Jihad is “to exert”. I t is the exertion of the intellect as recognized by the Islamic Law, Sharia. Jihad can be accomplished by using one’s heart, tongue, hands, or sword. Jihad is the battle against sin and Satan in the Muslim devotees’ life. Koran’s Verse 110 states “Ye are the best of peoples evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah.” The Koran verse does not literally state devotees are required to kill innocent civilians.
The above verse clearly shows that the devout Muslim religion devotees must comply with all the Koran’s instructions. The Koran states that each Muslim religion devotees must forbid what is wrong. What is wrong includes not helping in the spread of the Islamic faith. All Muslim religion devotees should go out of their way to punish all infidels for maligning or attacking the beliefs of the Muslim faith. In turn, their god, Allah, will reward them for defending their faith against the infidels.
For example, Geneive Abdo mentioned Essam al Eryan actively complies with all policies and instructions of the Muslim Brothers organization. The Brotherhood is the Middle East’s most powerful Muslim religion devotees ‘ group. Eryan is a doctor and a radio commentator.
He often attacks the government’s policies. In return, the government has been irritated by Eryan’s antigovernmental radio commentaries. As a deputy secretary general of Egypt’s medical doctors’ syndicate, he is a very influential person among the citizens. Essam al Eryan was monitored by the state police for his possible contribution to a future Jihad or holy war attack on the top government officials and bombings in public places.
Further, the Brotherhood of Muslims covers many countries around the world during the 1990s. The Muslim religion devotees’ extreme efforts to spread the Islamic teachings of their Prophet Mohammad. In Egypt, the Muslim religion devotees live in an environment having a dynamic as well as different relationship among the Muslim religion devotees.
The Egyptian experience includes the radical, as well as violent revolutionary Islamic activities and institutionalization of the Muslim religion devotees’ lives as politically and socially comfortable. The police were trying to find the link between Essam al Eryan’s radio commentaries and killings of policemen and tourists in Upper Egypt. The police are finding evidences to prove that Essam al Eryan is instrumental in the firing of shots on visiting Egyptian cabinet members walking along Cairo’s busy streets.
The suspecting of Essam al Eryan is grounded on his caustic criticism of the Egyptian government’s running of the state’s affairs. Essam al Eryan was a radio commentator on British Broadcasting Corporation. The government did its part to try to control the media, including Essam al Eryan’s radio commentaries.
However, the Muslim Brotherhood’s primary policies include renouncing the use of violence to pursue their religious goals and objectives. A majority of the Egyptian population were critical and against the government’s secular policies.
Based on the above discussion, religious extremism is a different interpretation of Islam’s Jihad teachings. ‘Some groups interpret Jihad to include attacks on innocent civilians. Other Muslim religion leaders and scholars Jihad is allowed only to defend one’s religion, family or community against the infidel attackers. Indeed, religious extremism precipitated from some Muslim religion devotees’ detoured interpretation of Koran’s Jihad verses.
Works Cited
Abdo, Geneive. No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam. New York: Oxford Press, 2000:71.
Akbar, Muhammad. The Shade of Swords Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity. New York: Routledge Press, 2002:12.
Burki, Shireen. “Haram or Halal? Islamists’ Use of Suicide Attaks as “Jihad”.” Terrorism and Political Violence 23.4 (2011): 582-601.
Caraley, Demetrios. September 11, Terrorist Attacks, and U. S. Foreign Policy. New York: Political Science Academy Press, 2003;39.
Cook, David. “Women Fighting in Jihad?” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 28.5 (2005): 375-384.
Esposito, John. What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002;117.
Gafoor, Abdul. Islam & Jihad: Prejudice versus Reality. New York: Palgrave Press, 2002;45.
Heck, Paul. “Jihad Revisited.” Journal of Religious Ethics 32.1 (2004): 95-128.
Langley, Andrew. September 11: Attack on America. New York: Compass Books, 2006;8.
Mufti, Malik. “The Art of Jihad.” History of Political Thought 28.2 (2007): 189-207.
Palmer, Monte, Islamic Extremism: Causes, Diversity, and Challenges. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008: 271
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world with converts spreading all over the world following the many conversions that are taking place every day. In the recent times, the religion has witnessed the emergence of differences among its followers both in the interpretation of their holy writings and religious beliefs.
Traditionally, this religion was based on the teachings of Prophet Mohammad and the Quran. Some religious leaders have however emphasised what is now regarded as radicalism, which is the strict interpretation of the Quran and Mohammed’s teachings. This essay seeks to find the differences between classical and radical Islam life with reference to faith, values, beliefs, practices, and understanding of God.
Differences in Faith
The holy book on which the Islamic religion is based is the Quran, which is the book written directly word for word as communicated by God and memorised by the prophet. It has 114 chapters that were written at around 600 CE. Every Muslim considers this book to be the source of his/her faith and the template to their behaviours and morals. Classical Islam follows the Quran.
However, it discourages any form of violence, which they claim is not advocated for in the Quran. They believe that Muslims should refrain from acts of aggression to practice prayers and respect for Allah (Umar 125).
On the other hand, Radical Islamists are considered violent, a trait they use to propagate their faith. Strict observance of the law is followed with punishments being instituted to those who do not follow this to the letter. While the basic beliefs and faith are common to both groups, there exist few differences. The Quran advises Muslims to pray as many times in a day as possible with the minimum being five times (Ibrahim 34).
God is described as having strengthened their faith by giving them a direction in which to pray. In the Quran, it is written that, “Turn your face to the holy mosque and wherever you are, turn your’ face towards it” (Saheeh International 23). The expression of faith is therefore most importantly portrayed by this prayer practice. While classical Islam leaves the decision of prayer to individuals, it is a sin in Radical Islam not to pray to Allah.
This strict observance of the law means that they practice more of faith in relation to their counterparts. However, this is not genuine, as true faith is based on an individual and not on coercion based on the holy teachings. The Sharia law is responsible for the daily life of the ordinary Muslim. For a radical Muslim, the Sharia law is a doctrine that is to be followed to the letter including the killing of those Muslims who convert to other faiths such as Christianity.
The moderate or classical Muslim teachings do not emphasize a strict adherence to the Sharia law. There is more freedom in the beliefs and practices. Violence among women is popular in the radical Islamic communities with most of them suppressing women and denying them their rights. The girl child in this community is a social responsibility with most of the rules meant to punish her.
Sharia law traditionally allows holy wars for Muslims where they force other religions to Islam with grave consequences for those who do not. In the past, religious conflicts involving Muslims and other religions have almost been by radical Islamists. In both classical and radical Islam, prayer is defined as a basis of faith in the ordinary life according to the Quran, which states, “God would never leave your faith to waste” (Saheeh International 23).
In the teachings of radicalism, prayer is a vital teaching with more emphasis on faith. Another example of faith is the belief that people should do their best to die for the course of religion to go directly to heaven. Radical Muslims believe that death will earn them a prestigious place among the dead if they die while on a mission to kill other people viewed as offensive. The respect for human life is therefore minimal here (Umar 125).
Values, Beliefs, and Practices
The Hadith is the written doctrine for the religion with the main content being the life of Mohammed. This varies among the various sects of Islam as handed down through history. The Shi’ites and the Sunnis are the main groups of Muslims with differing thoughts and interpretation on the Hadith.
For the classical Muslims, Sufism, which is the expression of the inward love for God and respect for the world around is emphasized. The five pillars of Islam, which are Ramadan, Sawm, Zakat, Shahada, and Salat, are strictly followed in classical and radical Islamism (Nadwi 7).
However, in the radical Islam, teachings are that followers have to attend all of them during their lifetime. In both classical and Radical Islam, Jihad is a concept that clearly distinguishes the two. In classical Islam, the jihad is necessary only when considered as a form of preventing evil in the society and or correcting perceived wrongs. Its use is to achieve meritorious deeds in the society, as it tries to achieve the truth besides maintaining what is socially right according to this form of Islam (Qutb 45).
To the Radical Islam, the Jihad is a holy war where members participate to redeem their religion, attain political scores, and punish those perceived as being against the religion. Those countries, organizations, individuals, as well as members of other religions perceived to be a threat to the religion are fought using the jihad (Daniel 24). One may wonder why the radicals spend most of their time creating enemies and practising for the jihad even when they are not aggrieved.
For most of the jihadists, killing the enemy is the main target. Death is not feared. In most of the terrorist activities that are religious-based, radical Islam is blamed for most of the acts. There are implications in areas where radicalism exists to these kinds of activities. The current teachings of radicalism allow the murder of people of different religions without sparing those of the same religion considered as external or too moderate.
These teachings however are not included in the Quran, which teaches peace and living in harmony with other people. Radicalism is therefore not supported by the classical Muslim doctrine. In the daily life of Muslims, there exist distinct differences between radicalism and classical or moderate Islam. In radical Islam, women are inferior, as they dress to cover their whole body. Punishments are harsh especially for those who commit adultery, women in particular.
Another difference is the belief in slavery. Radical beliefs allow Muslims to take in slaves to work for them although this is not indicated in the holy teachings. It is not legal in classical Islam. In Radical Islam, religious leaders dictate all the daily activities of individuals. There is little if any independence. The community is covered with the strict rules as discussed with violation being faced by strict punishment.
Understanding of God
To all Muslims, Allah is the only Supreme Being in the universe. He is to be revered and worshiped alone. The belief in Allah is the foundation of Islam. A difference in this belief exists in Radical and Classical Islam. There has been varying beliefs between classical and radical Islam on the role of Prophet Muhammad and the abilities of God.
In the differences, Radical Islamism allows the belief that the death of a person in the jihad or when fighting for the course will give him/her automatic access to God. Therefore, many malicious Muslims characterize Radical Islamism. To them, they will seize any opportunity that can earn them death and hence the long-awaited destiny of Heaven where God resides.
Conclusion
As discussed above, there exist distinct differences between classical and radical Islam. The foundations of Islam are respected in classical and Radical Islam. These include the common belief of Allah and Prophet Muhammad. Faith is also similar in both though the radical Islamists encourage and or enforce strict forms of the faith.
Major differences include the use of violence especially the jihad. Radicalism has had negative effects on the Islamic world with major wars and bombings being associated with it. It therefore does not represent the teachings of the prophet. Hence, it is not in line with the Quran.
Works Cited
Daniel, Norman. Islam and the West: The Making of an Image. Oxford, England: One-World Publications, 1993. Print.
Ibrahim, Ishmael. A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam. Houston: Darussalam, 1997. Print.
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“Establishing an equilibrium between the Islam of truth and Islam as an identity is one of the most difficult tasks of religious intellectuals.” Abdolkarim Soroush
Introduction
There are several most ancient religions with long-standing traditions and centuries of interaction, rivalry, and opposition in the world; they are Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism. These religions have fundamental differences in their approach to Allah, to the destiny of man, and the position of man in the world, to the sin, good, and evil, to the Judgment day and the code of virtuous, religious behavior. All these religions have delineated areas of influence and geographical regions of domination. However, one can see a clear distinction between the sub-disciplines within every single religion as well, marking their varied and complex development, and their overall complex entity within the scope of human inquiry.
An illustrative example of this case can be Islam; there are two distinct scholarly traditions within the framework of the Muslim religion – Islamic theology and philosophy. As researchers repeatedly note, these two disciplines, though being very closely connected and indispensably tied to the concept of Qura’n, have been largely isolated from each other throughout the history of the Muslim world’s evolution and formation. The disciplines were juxtaposed, and the followers of these two trends in Muslim thought were educated in different educational institutions, were brought up based on different traditions, etc. The influence of one field on the other (which was typically observed from the side of philosophy towards theology) was through polemics (Watt, 2008).
However, the evolutionary processes of historical development have made the Islamic philosophy field mostly obsolete. Though being opposing disciplines, theology and philosophy were gradually merged in the framework of Islamic religion, and some activists such as al-Ghazali contributed to the incorporation of Islamic philosophical principles in Islamic theology. Nowadays the status of Islamic philosophy is gradually revived, mostly due to the activity of a prominent Pakistani philosopher, thinker, and poet Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) who revived the meaning of Islamic philosophy in the 20th century and worked profoundly on the re-introduction thereof to the scientific insight of Islam (Runner & Runner, n.d.).
Even though there have been so many diverse relationships between the Islamic theology and philosophy field, one should pay much more attention both to the historical roots and the fundamental principles of both to identify the modern state of relationships between the two areas of research. To do this, Islamic theology and philosophy will be at first considered separately to identify the key characteristic features of each area. Ultimately, the two will be compared and contrasted to identify the nature of differences between Islamic philosophy and theology and to identify the touching points of both as well.
Islamic Theology – History, Fundamentals, and Modernity
The nature of Islamic culture is highly diverse, but its core remains stable – it is deeply philosophical, theological, and metaphysical (Tymieniecka & Muhtaroglu, 2010). The basic features of Islamic theology are derived from the supreme holy writing – the Qura’n, and the prophetic traditions – Hadiths (Runner & Runner, n.d.). Though there has been much debate over whether the Islamic religion propagates orthodoxy (the unified dogma) or the orthopraxy (right practice), there is little agreement on the issue, since the basis of Islam is the teaching of right conduct, while the existence of a single, omnipotent Allah is also not doubted (Brown, 2009).
Since ancient times, teaching, discussion, and writing about Qura’n has been conducted in Arabic, the authentic language of the writing, only, and the enlightenment centers were Iraq and Iran (Hourani, 2007). The first religious group that undertook the responsibility of interpreting the writings of Muhammad was the Mu’tazilites – the ‘party of unity and justice’, as they claimed1. They emerged one century after Muhammad’s death and practiced very strict adherence to the Qura’n writings. The polytheism (on the example of the Christian trinity) was fully rejected, and the Qura’n was considered created by one eternal being – the Allah. Mu’tazilites claimed that man would be treated by Allah with intelligible justice, and would be punished by Allah on the Judgment day only in case he committed sins. Thus, Mu’tazilites gave the power and freedom of will to the hands of believers, stating that it was the decision of man whether to sin or not (Hourani, 2007).
However, the group of Mu’tazilities faced much opposition; in particular, Ibn Hanbal (d. 855) accused them of transforming the Qura’n truths through the prism of human ideas, thus distorting the messages incorporated in Qura’n. More than that, theology was considered idle speculation, and having no practical use for believers, being capable of only casting doubts in their souls (Hourani, 2007). Therefore, a major breakdown in the development of Islamic theology was observed until the emergence of Shi’ite tradition.
Shi’ites disagreed with the fundamentals of Mu’tazilites’ theology, debating their transcendental doctrine.2 They interpreted Qura’n more literally and insisted on the movement of Allah in space and the changeability of His knowledge with the changeability of things. However, they soon adopted some basic postulates of Mu’tazilites such as the freedom of will and choice of men, as well as Allah’s objective justice (Hourani, 2007).
Finally, the development of Islamic theology witnessed the emergence of the Sunnite tradition; they represented the traditionalist trend in interpreting Qura’n and were very careful interpreters, insisting on Allah’s omnipotence and unity as the basic attributes of Allah according to Qura’n. They rejected the values of justice and truth in the human understanding since what was wished by Allah could not be wrong, and the laws of Allah were considered the only justice possible (Hourani, 2007). Since then, the only profound change in the development of Islamic theology was the contribution of Ash’ari of Basra who generated a subtler theory of justice and included the argument of man’s responsibility for his actions and culpability for sins, and of Maturidi of Samarquand who secured the role of creating deeds to Allah, while leaving the choice of how to act to Allah (Hourani, 2007).
Islamic Philosophy: Roots, Focus of Scientific Attention, Prominent Representatives
The Islamic philosophy has a considerably shorter period of development in comparison with Islamic theology, as it emerged only in the 9th century with the translations into Arabic made by Syriac Christian scholars. They translated the works of Plato, Aristotle, parts of “Enneads” of Plotinus, Galen’s medicine, Ptolemy’s astronomy, and geography, Euclid’s geometry, etc. (Hourani, 2007). Therefore, there are only two sources for Islamic philosophy – Greek philosophical teachings, and the Qura’n. There have been two distinct traditions in Islamic philosophy: Kalam and Falsafa (Runner & Runner, n.d.). The first Islamic philosopher was Kindi (d. 870) who wrote much on philosophy but retained considerable autonomy from the ideas of Greeks due to the idea of the world as not everlasting but created in time.
One more prominent philosopher was Farabi (873-950); he wrote much on Aristotle but followed the Neoplatonic philosophy. He stated that the emanation of the world should occur in successive steps from Allah and other higher intellectual beings; the rules for living encompass reaching happiness by improving the intellectual discipline in the pursuit of unity with the Intellectual soul, the world’s active intellect. The ideal community as seen by Farabi was the caliphate, with a philosophical prophet educating people about Islam and interpreting the Qura’n for them (Hourani, 2007).
Ibn Sina is considered one of the brightest philosophers in the Islamic tradition; he has written much on the metaphysics of the efficient causality, single expressions, and subject-matter of metaphysics (Marmura, 1984). Ibn Sina founded the school of Avicennism and introduced philosophy to Persians and Arabs in the 9th century. He combined Aristotelianism with Neoplatonism and thoroughly recorded the ideas so that to present the unified philosophy of Islamic religion to the Christian world later (Runner & Runner, n.d.).
Another significant thinker and contributor to the field of Islamic philosophy were Ibn Rushd – he defended philosophy against the attacks of theologians, especially al-Ghazali, and claimed that Islam allowed latitude for interpreters to explore the truths of Qura’n, and philosophers were the most suitable personas for doing this due to their background knowledge of sciences, high education status, knowle4dgeabiltiy, and competence (Hourani, 2007). Ibn Rashd was sure that science and philosophy should not contradict each other, since they both explored the single truth, while religion and philosophy could contradict due to the different angle of approaching the divine (Hourani, 2007). However, Ibn Rashd’s serious attacks at theologians made him fall in disgrace with the authorities of the Muslim world, which led to his legal condemnation and exile.
As it has already been mentioned, the destiny of the modern philosophy of Islamic religion is very vague, since it was incorporated in theology without any evident need to sustain two separate disciplines. However, due to the basic differences distinguishing these fields of scholarly inquiry in Islam, the modern philosophical tradition is emerging, and it was revived by Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal in the form of Hikmat (“wisdom”) (Runner & Runner, n.d.). There is much hope that the modern philosophical tradition will not be lost, and its authenticity will be preserved.
Conclusion: Similarities and Differences in Islamic Theology and Philosophy
There is a clear conclusion seen from the present review of the historical and modern relationships between Islamic theology and philosophy – both disciplines have very much in common, and they both attempt to clarify, explain, and expand the understanding of believers related to the writings of Qura’n. Since the Islamic tradition has a great number of regulations, laws, and restrictions about the true Islamic conduct, virtuous life, and non-sinning, Muslims have to understand what they believe in, and they have to have a clear idea of Allah, the world, truth, good and evil. Hence, both Islamic philosophy and theology address the same issues.
However, there are clear distinctions as well recorded in the approach taken by philosophers and theologians towards the Islamic religion. The Islamic philosophy is not philosophy as such, as it relies purely on Islam, so it is better to call it the philosophy of religion (Landolt, Lawson, & Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2005). It relies on the models of practical reasoning cultivated by the ancient Greek philosophers from which much of the Islamic philosophy has been borrowed; however, religion in itself is irrational, and some concepts related to Allah cannot be subject to reason and common sense – they have to be believed in simply and blindly. There is always an element of trust in religion – while some issues go beyond the scope of practical reasoning, but they are taken for granted in a religion, it is clear that people have to choose whether to look for proofs and practical evidence or to believe. Muslims are choosing the second variant since the influence of Islam is incomparably higher in Muslim countries.
Hence, the role of philosophy is not as high as the one of theology. Islamic theology, in its turn, has emerged as a natural response to the appearance of many opposing trends in interpreting the Qura’n, and it serves as a clarification for believers. The need to distinguish truth from error is essential in delineating the guidelines for the right behavior of Muslims; this is the function of theology – to study the Qura’n and to offer reasonable interpretations, thus leveling the impact of various doubtable schools, trends, and teachings that distort the teachings of Allah, mislead the believers, and may even bring them to sin.
There are many overlaps in the Islamic theology and philosophy, both teaching people to live virtuously, both exploring the place and essence of Allah, the nature of the world, the significance of the single truth existing in the world. Philosophy supports the need for and the existence of prophets and expands the boundaries of knowledge by referral to natural knowledge (Hourani, 2007). Both Islamic theology and Islamic philosophy have been considered unnecessary and redundant in the framework of Islam at certain periods of their development; nonetheless, they explore the intricacies of Islam and add validity and reliability to the interpretations existing nowadays. Through thorough research, debate, and discussion the truth is revealed, which makes the Islamic practices more reasoned, unified, and clear for believers, which is clear religious progress and transparency so essential in the modern changing attitudes to religion, and ambiguity in interpretation contaminating religious awareness.
References
Brown, D.W. (2009). A New Introduction to Islam. (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons.
Hourani, G.F. (2007). Reason and Tradition in Islamic Ethics. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Landolt, H., Lawson, T., & Institute of Ismaili Studies. (2005). Reason and inspiration in Islam: theology, philosophy, and mysticism in Muslim thought : essays in honour of Hermann Landolt. New York, NY: I.B.Tauris.
Marmura, M.E. (1984). Islamic theology and philosophy: studies in honor of George F. Hourani. New York, NY: SUNY Press.
Runner, J., & Runner, J. (n.d.). Islamic Theology and Philosophy. Web.
Tymieniecka, A.-T., & Muhtaroglu, N. (2010). Classic Issues in Islamic Philosophy and Theology Today. New York, NY: Springer.
Mu’tazilites are known as ‘people of justice and unity’, condemned as “Zoroastrians of the community”. (Brown, 2009).
The transcendental doctrine of Mu’tazilites claimed that Allah’s oneness is absolute, that nothing else but God is eternal (thus rejecting the eternal force of Qura’n); that Allah’s justice is exercised according to each person’s acts. Some other points in their doctrine were “the promise and the threat”, the intermediate position of a grave sinner, and the necessity to oppose injustice (Brown, 2009).
Most of the world’s largest religious groups- Christianity, Islam and Hinduism have undergone major reforms for a long period of time.
Islam religion has had a system that is not a centralized hierarchy whereby it depends on the community participation of all believes (Riley 2005 pp 52). The religion depends on the most learned pious to lead in the religious activities. The absence of a hierarchical clergy who was capable of acting as a fount of religious authority and interpretation is one reason that led to the decentralization of the religious authority of Islam.
Main text
The rise of a political society in the middle age that was united by the social structures of Islam had an adverse consequence on the development of the world of Islam. There was a centralized form of culture provided by the Abbasid era, which gave way to a rich pluralism of languages, aesthetics and ethnic groups, which in the end helped to diversify the Islam religion and thus its rapid expansion (McKay 2003 pp 71). The expansion of Islam by the conversion to the southern & eastern India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia and Central Asia also added a large ethnic diversity to the Muslim community. Arab was promoted as the only language of literacy and bureaucracy during the time of Caliphate, but after its demise there was a renewed patronage and literary revival (Riley 2005 pp 65).
Once the religion had distanced itself from the centralized authority, some forms of local traditional artifacts started to be incorporated into the religious architecture. There was also the elaboration of law in terms of religious matters. This was especially in the areas that had new converts so that it could allow the new converts to have greater social mobility and independence without having to necessarily threaten the continuity of the local customs and practices in the area.
After the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate, there was no any other political regime that was capable to unite all the Muslim faithful and more so, on a single religious authority. The de-politicized societies in the Middle Ages were also caused by the tribal movements that occurred due to climatic changes the societies experienced. The Turkish for instance had to move in to the Middle East. Their movements had also a great impact on the Islam religion in the area and the extended political decentralization during that period (McKay, 2003, pp 176). The societies that were on a constant move caused the displacement of the local communities and opened up a new era for their settlement.
The Turkish movements into the Middle East brought about the establishment of Turkic as the spoken language in the area, ousting the previously used means of communication that was Iranic. The Turkish presence also helped to strengthen Mamluk practices in the region, thus keeping the military elite of the region cut from the urban population.
Conclusion
The invasion by the Mongolians in the area was resisted by the locals, showing how Islamic religion could be resilient to the political upheaval but might have occurred (Riley, 2005 pp 147). The Mongolian invasion set up a political system that did not, however, disrupt the Islamic system, and thus left the Islamic culture relatively unscathed. In essence, the Mongolian invasion helped in playing a crucial role in re-decentralizing the Middle East, and thus renewing the pluralism system in the region.
Work cited
McKay J.P. A history of world societies, ISBN 0618301976, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Riley P.F. The Global Experience: Readings in World History to 1550, ISBN 0131178172, Pearson Education, 2005.
Sufism was born out of the growth in Islam towards inner growth. It is the philosophical view of Islam. Sufism is supposed to have grown in and around Basra. It is found that Sufi was more of a saint in Islam than something that existed by itself. Sufism was more of a part of Islam itself influenced by philosophical thinking that was happening in the Persian and Byzantine courts.
Relationship with Islam and Philosophy!
Sufism took its birth in the medieval period and most scholars look at growth in Sufism as a natural requirement. Most of the masters of Sufism were in the Middle East, Iraq, and Pakistan. A number of books were written to highlight the philosophical outlook of Sufi thoughts. Sufi thoughts were primarily aimed at lessening the impact of the Islamic conquerors in places where other thoughts were rampant. This ensured that the practices of Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhist, and Christian thoughts do not go through a major change when the new laws of Islam were introduced. In the course of many years, it was found that the Sufi thoughts even preceded the Islamic laws laid down by Quran in Islamic courts. In the initial run, the milder thoughts ushered in by Sufism ensured that the people were at ease with Islam and it swiftly spread with lots of converts to the new sect; whereas, this also brought out anti-Sufi thoughts among the Muslims.
Conclusion
Sufi, with the growth in simple ways of spreading the Muslim thoughts as stories, ensured that there was a rapid growth in Islamic conversions. However, it also brought about major changes in the way people looked at Islam. Over a period of time, with the growth in Industrialization and modernization, the Sufi thoughts started losing their significance for the Muslims. But still, their thoughts and the way they proposed life and the style of living, ensured that Sufism continued to exist in the world.
Just war from an Islamic perspective is the war aimed at defending the religion of Islam. Jihad (meaning struggling or striving) is generally understood in the West as the holy war. The followers of Islamic teachings believe that it is unholy to start the war, however, in some cases, the war is justifiable. Muslims share the calling to work for peace, as specified in Quran, with Christians and Jews but have different visions of how to achieve global peace.
War in Islam, West and from Kant’s Perspective
Quran supports non-violent values and stresses the duty to pursue justice. The war in Islam becomes just only when it is caused by the necessity of doing good to others through struggling against violent oppression. The same value is underlining the Western definition of the just war. Islam, similar to Christianity, grants equal rights to all people despite their race or ethnicity. Muslims are urged to exist in peace with all humans, and the war is justifiable only if it inevitable. The main difference is that Quran permits the defense of religion, while Christianity stresses the value of the non-violent spread of religion. The events of September 11 and the reaction of the American government clearly indicate that the factors underlining the attack and the resulting war in Iraq were examples of an unjust war. Romans valued freedom and orderly government and justified the wars if the threat to freedom appeared. Muslims are ready to protect their religion, and the war is just if it is triggered by religious factors. Western world marks the war just if it is aimed at national security protection. Thus, the desire to maintain peace is shared by Muslims and Christians, while the perception of fair war differs. Kant wrote that global peace could be achieved through universal hospitality when the stranger coming to the foreign land is not treated as the enemy. He also offered that no state should be granted the right to interfere with the government of another state, and no state should come under the domination of another state. His advice was not followed either by Muslims or by Westerners.
Conclusion
Islam, Christianity, and Kant’s philosophy agree on the need to achieve global peace and avoid wars. This value is supported by the global community today as well. The present does not uphold the ideas of Kant about preserving global peace, however. Despite the shared meaning of just war and peace, the attack by Muslims on September 11 and the resulting interference of the United States into Iraq contradict the honored values of both religions.
The analysis of the three textbooks has been taken up on three fronts. On one side, the history and the birth of Islam as a religion and how the three books present it is looked at; on the second side, the implication of Islam to the rest of the world, whether it is in line with the thinking of the other religions or to what extent is it dramatically varying. This has been checked out in all three books. Finally, the social and cultural ethos that isolates religious beliefs have been studied to see and notice the extent it differs from the Western understanding and belief system, according to the three textbooks is also analyzed and presented. Most of the points are taken from these three books. Though the citations are not given throughout the essay, the major contributors to the work are the three textbooks.
History and Birth of Islam
All three books talk of Mohammed as the final Messenger of God. They also lay down that the Quran was given to Mohammed by God, directly with no intermediaries. No one, not even the Prophet has been the interpreter. While other Messengers of God are sent for their tribes alone, Mohammed was sent for the entire mankind. After Mohammed, the growth of Islam has largely followed the growth of the Muslim rule in the world. It expanded with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The Caliphs have nominated heads of the state as well as the head of religion. This brought together the religion and the state making it a deadly combination that could force many converts on one side and give morality for wars. Ottomans literally ruled the then known world of Central Asia, Asia Minor, up to India in the East and up to Spain in the West. This ushered in the large-scale growth of Islam in all these countries. All three textbooks concur with this version of the birth and growth of Islam. However, they differ in some of the finer points of history.
Whereas, the Introduction to Islam looks at the history from a neutral perspective and is not trying to convince any one of the validity of its arguments or trying to disprove the negative or positive aspects of Islam. In the case of Following Mohammed, Carl Earnest tries to identify the reasons from the history to why Islam has become a hated religion in the West and why the West looks at the happenings in the Middle East as the ones of the devils. The arguments presented by Earnest put forward the historic growth of animosity between the Islamic and Western cultures. He also by looking closely at the social structures tries to identify the reasons behind the differences which was not existing according to him, during Mohammedan times.
The Two Treatises that have been said by al-Hadad and translated by al-Badawi is not exactly a chronicle of history nor does it list the historical happenings in the Arab nation during the days of Mohammed and later. But it does speak of manners and behavioral discipline. As it explains these, the historical events are also traced by the author. This is more in line with the history as depicted by David Wines. However, history is intercepted by the words that are uttered by the Prophet and others close to him. This has been an explanatory note on various facets of life.
Islam and the Rest of the World
This topic is more in focus in the book by Carl Earnest. The impact of Islam and the interaction between the West is the core of the book. Islam has influenced the history of the world for over six centuries. This was forced by the large-scale subjugation that the Islamic rulers resorted to by conquering the countries and bringing them under their rule. But when the systems turned around and the West started dominating the happenings in the world and the world politics, the religion that they followed became the rule. The preaching of Christianity and the culture that came with it was against the Muslim influence that was already present in many of the countries colonized by the West. This reasoning has been amply brought out by Earnest and the reasons that led to the increase in hostilities between the two from the beginning of history. As a matter of fact, Earnest observes, that the West was anti to most of the other religions. A few turned to the positive side of the West over a period of time. This includes Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions of the East. In the case of Judaism too, the West made a volte-face after the Holocaust and anti-Semitism became a bad word after that, according to Carl Earnest.
David Wines insists on the Eastern and the Western culture both being influenced by Islamic principles. The influence of Islam is seen in the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Great Wall of China in the East. It has made an impact on every aspect of life in these places. In some locations, the influence was too high. It even resulted in large-scale conversions of the people from their native religion to Islam. In others, there was the influence of art and culture that Islam ushered in. The thoughts of Islam amalgamated with the Persian and Byzantine thoughts, according to Wines, to create variations in them. This gave rise to Sufism as a modified form and also saw the birth of a number of other religions like Sikhism, Din-e-lahi, etc., In the same way, the influence of Islam on Christian thought and action is seen in the Iberian Peninsula with the influence in art and architecture ruling more than on philosophical thought process. However, the scientific thoughts of Arab nations did percolate into Europe through the Iberian and the north African connection. Al Haddad on the other hand does not set out to see the influence of Islam on other religions or other cultures. But looks at more on the way Islam is adopted and followed by everyone who became a Muslim. Every Mohammedan had to adapt to these treatises before he could formally claim himself to be a Mohammedan.
Social and Cultural Impact of Islam
Islamic law is controlled by Shariat that is derived exclusively from the Quran. In order to ensure that there are no issues in giving decisions on cases that come up for hearing in the court, the Shariat rules are explained for interpretation in Hadiths. The strict rules of Shariat and treating the people who are not in concurrence with the Islamic law harshly is clearly said by Wines. The culture, according to Earnest, was influenced by the happenings in the rest of the world. This also evolved with the difference in opinion on who is the rightful inheritor of the prophet. All this brought about major changes in who would decide on cases that come up for hearing at the court. This gave rise to the Sunni and the Shia acceptance of laws. There were subtle differences between the two; though the deciding document in both cases was the Quran with no difference in the document per se.
The treatises by al-Haddad are a comprehensive work on cultural and social life. It describes the ways in which life has to be lead by Muslims. ‘Live as long as you wish, you shall die! Love whatever you wish. You will be separated from it! Do whatever you wish, you shall be rewarded for it!’ Prophet said the way life has to be looked at. He also mentioned the practices that have to be adopted in order to lead a complete life. It is important that the words of the prophet are fully understood and laid out for other people to understand and appreciate. It is also important that the rewards that one receives at the end of the Judgment day are not based on the position that he holds in the current life but based on the deeds and actions one does during its tenure. God would only weigh the acts done by the individual, even if he has been a lowly person on the earth, he will be rewarded if his actions are good.
Al Haddad also brings to focus the futility of having long hopes and high passions. According to him, the Prophet said that high passions and following passions would take the person away from the truth. In the same way, long hopes would tend to make one forget the Hereafter and make them greedy. Al-Haddad also lists all those actions that may be done and should not be. The treatise on Good Manners specifically mentions the tendency to repent whenever sin is committed. It is human to make a mistake or a sin, but the Prophet insists that there should be repentance. God is very kind and would forgive the sin if only, the committer would repent for it and submit himself to the will of God.
Conclusion
On analysis of the three texts on Islam, it is found that the happenings in the history of Islam have been recorded in the Introduction to Islam more elaborately compared to the points raised in the other texts. While at the same time, the comparison between the East and the West and the happenings in the history, its impact on the two, the views of both Islam and Christianity, and how they differ are all brought out more elaborately in the Following Mohammed by Carl Earnest. The Two Treatises are translations specifically on the way life has to be lead by a Muslim. The importance attached to the practices. It also talks about what is Good Manners and what is not. They also talk about the way God has to be looked at; with fear and awe first, then with obedience and worship, and finally, to free oneself from sins and make themselves purer or Taqwa. The practices need to be adopted by oneself and practiced as cited in the Two Treatises.
The ancient world might have been much influential in the modern living and it has greatly determined the current relationship amongst tribes, religions, and even global connection. Judaism and Islam have been among the earliest religions that have existed with their relationship in the current days indicating a subtle connection between them (Catherwood 12).
It has been eminent in recent decades that the world has been witnessing interminable controversies between followers of Judaism and Islam arising from the two religions especially those located in Israel and Palestine where such cases have turned into international concerns (Schwab et al. 4). Confrontations between the two religions do not simply result into strained religious relations, but normally lead to violence and death.
Nonetheless, a closer view of the historical backdrop of the two religions reveals a remarkable connection between them, contrarily to how they behave presently. Therefore, this research seeks to explain why mutual respect is possible, and at the same time why conflict is inevitable.
Common beliefs shared between Islam and Judaism
Despite having interreligious differences in the current days, history depicts that there has existed a great connection between amongst religions, viz. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the wisdom that in most cases the three religions share numerous common beliefs and practices (Brockopp et al. 10).
Rather, “Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are traditional in a more complex and encompassing way…they do indeed preserve centuries of accumulated judgments about the value of certain beliefs and behaviors” (Corrigan et al. 1). The connection amongst these religions steams from the biblical perspective to historical standards of living in which they became collectively known as “Abrahamic religions” as postulated by Catherwood (21).
This assertion holds because the three religions stream their religious philosophies from the covenantal life made between God and Abraham in the Hebrew Bible including all its teachings. While trying to understand how these religions, especially Judaism and Islam, correlate spiritually and historically, one common term, viz. monotheism or monotheistic religions, is integral to developing a comprehensive understanding.
Monotheism or monotheistic religion
The contemporary conflict between Judaism and Islam may bar anyone from understanding the existing correlation between them, though understanding monotheism or monotheistic religions may be imperative in this case.
Schwab et al. posit, “At the heart of the two faiths is an ethical-monotheistic vision that determinedly resists any compromise on the idea of the transcendence and unity of God” (63). Monotheism typically refers to the religious beliefs or philosophies based on the existence of single or solitary God who they believe is most holy and powerful.
According to the intuitions of the two religions, there is only one God, who is the sole creator of the universe and the world. They believe that God is the only Supreme Being and human history is just akin in all these religions and that Satanism, resurrection of Jesus, life after death, existence of prophets, and even resurrection are religious aspects(Neusner and Sonn 9), because these religions share common beliefs and traditions accustomed to Abraham.
Central practices of prayer and almsgiving
Giving a closer look at the shared practices between the Muslims and Jews, one might conjecture what is really causing conflict between the two religions. Two common practices and tradition shared between Muslims and Jews are prayer and almsgiving that are on common observation and remain respected among the traditions and beliefs of these religions (Catherwood 17).
Ritual praying are common in both religions where adherents pray for forgiveness of sins, thanksgiving to the only Holy God, recitation of common prayers in scriptures, and praying during particular religious functions (Brockopp et al. 31).
Angels and demons all exist spiritually where prayer in both religions involves these spiritual beings. The two religions also acknowledge the essence of considering the disabled and the poor and in this case questions are arising on who between them deems more considerate. They both agree with the practice of giving alms to the poor.
Elements of ritual cleanliness, fasting, eternal life and nutritional regulations
Most common to the practices and traditions of the two religions is the “aspects of ritual purity, the practice of fasting, and the presence of dietary laws” (Corrigan et al. 4).
They have a notion that God is the Supreme Being and human history lies in the hands of God’s supremacy and wheneveradherents disobey His will, there is a need totake appropriate actions to repent through ritual cleansing, prayers, and thanksgiving practices (Schwab et al. 5).
Fasting is the practice where adherents plan special prayer occasions with Muslims believing that meals during the fasting should be taken during the night, while Jew have a different opinion in this tradition.
The aspect of the afterlife in eternity is a common belief with the two religions believing that there is eternity after life in eternal paradise in Muslims and either heaven or no afterlife in Jews (Brockopp et al. 19). Each of the religions observes dietary practices where calendars of religious festivals including marriage and divorce are common.
Relationship confirmed from the religious scriptures
The correlation between Judaism and Islam is not merely a connation bestowed in the modern teachings of priests, Imams, or even false prophets, but the relationship between Jews and Muslim has been evident from human history as it prevails in almost all Holy Scriptures of these religions (Catherwood 29).
Both the Quran and the Bible have been reflective on the aspects relating to common beliefs and traditions including important teachings that connect the two religions from religious to historical perspectives. Another common interconnection between Judaism and Islam or simply between the practices accustomed to Muslims and Jewish adherents is the prevalence of Hebrew teachings that seem contradictive in both faiths (Brockopp et al. 15).
Central to this aspect, it is important to consider Quran views on Abraham’s stories as well as how it interprets biblical stories of Isaac and Ishmael, Abraham’s sons. It is also noteworthy to consider how Islam interprets itself regarding Judaism from its holy scriptures including the Quran.
Quran interpretations of the biblical stories of Abraham
Quran refers to the spiritual scriptures used by Muslim adherents and bestow the belief that it possesses the verbatim word of God, while Judaism adherents use the Bible as a holy scripture. Before commencing, it is important to understand that Islam is more prevalent in Middle East and Southeast Asia, while Judaism seems concentrated in the US, Israel, and parts of Europe (Brockopp et al. 19).
The connection between religious practices associating Judaism and Islam remains evident in a number of scriptures that discuss similar issues including Hebrew’s bible or Hebrews Pentateuch (the Torah) and the Koran.
The Quran interpretations of the biblical stories of Abraham are imperative in understanding this connection. Just as postulated earlier that both Judaism and Islam belong to the monotheistic religion, the two religions have similar perceptions about the story of Abraham’s obedience to God’s holy summon. The Koran interprets that Abraham (in Judaism) who in Muslim bears the name Ibrahim, was neither a Jew nor Christian, but Muslim because he submitted to Allah.
Quran interpretations of the biblical stories of Isaac and Ishmael
Another crucial potion that may give a considerable reflection on the connection between Judaism and Islam that influences the rapport between the Israeli state and Palestinian Arabs is how Quran interprets the biblical stories of Isaac and Ishmael.
Just as noted earlier, “much the same religious narrative and similar religious injunctions are found in the Hebrew Pentateuch (the Torah) and the Koran” (Schwab et al. 63). Isaac is an important actor in the practices and beliefs of the two religions, though they carry quite different opinions in these religions.
The story still lies within the descriptions of Torah concerning God’s promises and series of covenants to the land of Israel. Isaac was the son of Abraham (Catherwood 28). Both religions believe that God ordered Abraham/Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, but instead provided him with a lamb for the purpose of ritual sacrifice. These notions, as embedded in the traditions and religious beliefs of Genesis of Abraham, are agreeable in the two religions.
However, a contradiction in the story of Abraham and his two sons Isaac and Ismail between the Jews and Muslims is that Jews’ traditions in Bible believe that God ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac while Muslims’ traditions believe that God ordered Ibrahim to sacrifice Ishmael as his only beloved son (Brockopp et al. 10).
Therefore, in this regard, the Muslim community conviction is that Ismail is the father of the Arab people who are staunch Muslims, while they regard Isaac as the progenitor of the Israelites who are staunch Jews by religion (Catherwood 27).
This perspective brings a confusion and disagreement between the two religions on who between the two sons of Abraham in Jewish and Ibrahim in Islam deserved to undergo the sacrifice torment. From their standpoint and perceptions, Corrigan et al (15) explains that Ibrahim was never the first Jew and thus he was a staunch Muslim in which the modern Muslim community it remains misconstrued between Jewish and Muslim exegesis.
Why conflict is still inevitable between these religions
One might wonder why the continued conflict between Judaism and Islam continues to attract much attention, but considering aspects of religious differences, it may be clear that conflict is still inevitable between these religions (Catherwood 23).
The prevailing controversies might not have resulted really from the political influences between the West and the Muslim world countries, but much of the religious convictions might be greatly fuelling conflicts between these religions (Swab et al. 8). The Holy Scriptures between the two religions, with one using the Koran and the other using the Bible, and the stories that each portray have a momentous impact on the prevailing conflict between these religions.
Both religions have the perceptions that scriptures and their interpretations in the two religions emerge due to formal or informal decisions of these two communities, and bore no evident realities (Corrigan et al. 4). Since the two religions constantly disagree on certain important aspects of religious convictions, this element becomes the source of conflict.
How Judaism interprets itself with a view to Islam
While trying to comprehend why the conflict is still inevitable between these religions, one must consider Judaism’s perception over the Islamic religion streaming from scriptural interpretations and beliefs (Brockopp et al. 15). Coupled with international politics where Judaism and Christianity seem to have power over the Western nations, Corrigan et al. assert, “different segments of larger communities (between Judaism and Islam) might dispute whether this or that writing is truly authoritative for all members” (4).
Judaism interprets the views of the scriptures and beliefs of Muslim and deceitful, unrealistic, and that the Muslim community is just but a religion full of false faith with counterfeit prophets who have emerged to destroy Judaism (Catherwood 33). The Jewish view the Muslim community as a community involving inhumane individuals influenced by wrong Prophetic judgments of the scriptures, with the ability to disregard the significance of quality of life as expected by both religions.
How Islam interprets itself with a view to Judaism
The Jewish perception of God, the prophecy surrounding Jesus, and faith in the divinity of Muhammad and God influences the differences between the two religions. The disparities between the two religions are fuelled by the intuitions bestowed in both religions and the Jewish misinterpretation of Islamic views of spiritual living (Neusner and Sonn 20).
The belief in Islam rests upon one individual true prophet who is Muhammad and that Jesus in the Jewish biblical interpretations is false and misleading the world. The Muslim scriptures were written under the influence of Mohammad and as the Jewish community believes in divine revelation and forgiveness in relation to God’s role in salvation, the Islam community believes in predestination (Brockopp et al. 23).
This Muslim notion, coupled with several contradictions between their beliefs in the stories regarding prominent people in the Bible and Quran, is influencing the disparities between these two distinct religions. Jesus, who is a prophet according to Muslims, is just a false notion to the Jews.
Conclusion
The world in the current days has been witnessing continuous decline in the rapport between the West and the Muslim world with much of such circumstances remaining unknown to the public. Since the events of September 11 in the United States, political leaders have been findings ways to establish common grounds for the West and the Muslim world nations and dialogue strategies are becoming essential.
There seem to be a great connection between the conflicts arising from the Israel/Palestine nations and their religious differences that stream right from the scriptural beliefs and interpretation of historical events that concerned prominent people. The two religions have the notions that any of the texts regarded as scriptures emerged from communities’ formal or informal decisions and that do not have any proof of existence of such occasions, events, or traditions.
This area is normally the source of the underlying conflict between the two religions as they dispute which writing proves authoritative for all adherents. The stories of Abraham and his two sons are common grounds of contradiction between these two religions. Given that the two religions have decided to remain fixed on their traditions and beliefs, the conflict between them is inevitable.
Works Cited
Brockopp, Jonathan, Jacob Neusner, and Tamara Sonn. Judaism and Islam in Practice: A Sourcebook. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Catherwood, Christopher. A God Divided: Understanding the Differences Between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Colorado: David C. Cook Publishing, 2007. Print.
Corrigan, John, Frederic Denney, Carlos Eire, and Martin Jaffee. Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
Neusner, Jacob, and Tamara Sonn. Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.
Schwab, Klaus, Rick Samans, Fiona Paua, Sherif Diwany 2008, Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue. PDF file. Web.