Islam - Lecture Notes - Fall 2010 | REL 1000, Study notes of Anthropology of religion

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Islam  To submit to God; submission
Muslim  One who submits to God
Monotheism  “Allah”
Muhammad  “Seal of Prophets” = last and final prophet o 5 major prophets – Noah, Jesus, Abraham, Muhammad  Time line (570-632) o 610 – “Recite,” “Night of Power” o 620 -- Persecution increases, Night Journey  Quraysh – ruling oligarchy in Mecca o 622 – Hijrah  Migration from Mecca to Medina  Calendar starts o 630 – Victory over Mecca  Rededicated Ka’bah to God o 632 -- Death
Pre-Islamic Arabia  Tribalism o Loyalty to family, clan, and tribe  Polytheism  Trade o In the middle of trade route o Different people with different cultures and ideas  Raiding
Al-Jahiliya  Refers to all of the time before Islam is taught  “Time of ignorance”
Religious Reform  No God but God o Monotheism  Between Hijrah and death  Was a political leader as well as prophet  Leads to Social Reform o Equality o Compassion o Orphans and widows o Elevated rights of women o Forbade female infanticide o Criticized greed  Sawm – Ramadan fasting o Purifies the body  Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca  “6th pillar” – jihad – striving, struggle to realize God’s will o Greater – inner, individual exertion to overcome ego o Lesser – external, peaceful missionary, defensive armed struggle o (Be better person, help community, fix neighborhood, etc.)  Prominent Themes o Islam  Imam  Ihsan  Surrender to God  faith  excellence, faith in deed o Orthopraxy > orthodoxy  Suspicion of theological debate  Religion = ritual patterning of life under God’s lordship  Jihad – continuous effor required  “Worship God as though you see Him” Chapter 10 – Islam 04/21/2010
Sunni-Shi’a Split  “Sunnah” (tradition) o 85% of Muslims o Abu Bakr, Aisha  Aisha  Muhammed’s wife o Community consensus  Picked person who they though would best lead the community o Caliphs, Quran, Hadith, Legal school, Scholarly interpretation o Great cultural variety o Many reform movements emerged  Shi’a o Partisans of Ali  Wanted to pick someone who was from Muhammed’s family o 15% of Muslims o Ali, Fatima  Fatima  Muhammed’s daughter o 680 Massacre of Karbala (Ali’s son Hussein)  This is when the split is evident for the Shi’ites o Fondness, devotion to Muhammed’s family o 12 Imams – spiritual leaders (or 7 or 5)  First was Ali o Martyrdom, “underdog” consciousness
Orthodox, “Rightly Guided” Caliphs  Must know first four caliphs names  Abu Bakr 632-634 o Preserved unity of Arabia  Umar 634-644 o Most successful rule, established many practices and institutions of Islamic society  Uthman 644-656 o Criticized for nepotism, murdered o Authoritative version of Qur’an  Ali 656-661 o Civil war, criticized by Aisha for not dealing harshly enough with Uthman’s murderers o Accepted arbitration, murdered by group who saw both sides to deviate from earlier norms of Islam
Growth of Islam Beyond Arabia  Umayyad Dynasty 661-750 o Damascus (Roman-Syrian influence) o Hereditary, kingship  Abbasid Dynasty 750-1258 o Baghdad (Persian influence) o Golden Age of Islamic Civilization 750-950  Strong centralized government, prosperity, and cultural flourishing o Ijtihad – independent reasoning by a legal expert (mufti) to issue a legal ruling (fatwa) that could then be used by judges and litigants, to be accepted or rejected by the community  Option when the Quran and Hadith were silent on an issue, and if analogy and consensus had failed to deliver a solution  Outlawed by the traditionalist Sunni Ulama, 10th century  Never closed for Shiites (Ulama or Ayatollahs are all Mujtahids, i.e., interpreted of law), greater autonomy than Sunni ulama o 5-7 Legal Schools (4 Sunni, 3 Shiite)
Sufism  Way of devotion, mystical core of Islam  Uses stories, poetry, art, rituals, dance movements, prayer, meditation o Rumi’s poetry, saints from other tradition, erotic love poetry, men, and wome  Aim is elimination of all veils between individual and God  Response to growing materialism and wealth  Emphasized interior path (not explicit asceticism)  Missionary success of devotional practices  13th century: Sufi brotherhoods become mass movement  Allegorical, symbolic interpretation in addition to literal meaning  Themes: remembrance of God (dhikr), love and service to God’s creation, self-reform  Chapter 10 – Islam 04/21/2010
Quran Response to Women  Equality + complementarity, men and women equally responsible for adhering to 5 pillars  Forbids female infanticide, allows women to work, earn money, own property, right to own dowry, financial maintenance from husbands  Marriage o Contract (written, negotiated, dissolved) o Divorce allowed, but restrictions on husband’s repudiation of wife o Limit on polygamy (no more than four wives, equal treatment, very rare in practice, seen as desirable in certain cases – after war)  Inheritance rights, 2 female witnesses = 1 male  Veiling and seclusion applied originally to Muhammed’s wives, later extended under Uthman’s rule to all women o Hijab  Several different interpretation of Quran 33:59 (lower gaze, protect private parts, don’t show adornment, draw veil over bosom)  Interpretations:  Be modest  Cover Hair  Cover everything but face and hands  Cover everything but eyes  Different apparel: Hijab, bourqa, abaya, chador  All are interpretations, rely on traditions of commentary  Changing interpretations of Qur’anic revelation (what is eternal, universal, unchanging vs. what was contextual response, appropriate for 7th century audience)
Status of women in Islam vs. Women’s experiences in Muslim world  Varies widely, historical-cultural predominance of patriarchy, predominantly male interpreters, male leaders, and male rulers  Chapter 10 - Islam 04/21/2010 0 Modern Challenges