Lecture Notes on Islam - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | RELI 1001, Study notes of World Religions

Download Lecture Notes on Islam - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | RELI 1001 and more Study notes World Religions in PDF only on Docsity! Islam Notes DAY 1 *Basics -One God (“Allah”= “God” in Arabic). Believed to be the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. God is supreme, Just, the Creator, and has infinite love -Prophets beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad -Major Texts -1.) The Qu’ran- God’s Truth revealed to Muhammad (610-632CE) -2.) Hadith- sayings by and about Muhammad -Belief in souls, Heaven, Hell, Satan, angels, demons, “jinn”, and Day of Judgment -Equality of all humans before God. No original sin (instead: “forgetfulness”) -Humans: servants of God and mirrors of God’s attributes -Most Important Place: the Kabah in Mecca, a shrine believed to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael. First shrine to the One God -Over 1 billion Muslims worldwide. Although Islam begins in Arabia, the largest Muslim populations today and elsewhere (highest Muslim population in Indonesia) *Origins -“Islam” means “submission” in Arabic and signifies the commitment of its adherents to live in total submission to God -A person who professes Islam is called a Muslim, meaning “one who submits to God” -“Generic” vs. “Voluntary” Islam -The prophet Muhammad was born into the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, in Arabia, around 570CE. Was orphaned as a child -Once a year, during the month of Ramadan, Muhammad spent days in seclusion in a cave on Mount Hira’ -It was during one of these retreats in 610 that he received the call to become a prophet and the first revelation of the Qur’an -The angel Gabriel appeared to him and said “Recite!” *Beginnings of Revelation -Prophet Muhammad did not tell anyone about his revelation because it was frightening and scary. -For twelve years Muhammad preached the new faith of the One God to his people with mixed success -Much corruption in the society of Arabia at that time, and mostly polytheistic -In 622, Muhammad, under persecution, was offered an invitation by the city of Yathrib, about 400 km north of Mecca, which thereafter came to be known as median, “the city” of the Prophet -622CE begins the Islamic Calendar -In Median, Muhammad est. the first Islamic commonwealth: a truly theocratic state, headed by a prophet whose rule was believed to follow the dictates of a divine scripture -Jews were granted full religious freedom and equality with the Muslims, on the condition that they support the state and refrain from entering into any alliance against it -Increasingly though, Islam began to distinguish itself from Judaism *The Mi’raj (Night Journey) -612CE (Just before migration to Medina in 622) -Though exact location is not given in the Qu’ran, Muslims believe that Muhammad traveled to Jerusalem on a miraculous night journey, and from there he ascended into heaven where he spoke with God -The traditional location of his ascension is on Temple Mount in Jerusalem: the same location as ancient Israel’s temple and where Abraham nearly sacrifices Isaac (or Ishmael for Muslims) -Jerusalem: the third holiest city for Islam after Mecca and Medina *From Medina back to Mecca -Without the means to support themselves in Medina, the Muslims who had fled Mecca began raiding Meccan caravans returning from Syria -This led to armed conflict, such as the Battle of Badr wherein the Muslims inflicted a crushing defeat on the Meccans -Eventually, in 630, the Prophet set out for Mecca at the head of a large army -The Meccans surrendered and accepted Islam en masse -Muhammad completely forgave all of his former enemies and persecutors -Rededicates the Ka’Bah- a shrine believed to be built by Abraham and Ishmael -Muhammad returned to Medina and died there in 632, but not before giving his last sermon from the Mount of Mercy -Within 80 years the Muslims administered the largest empire the world had ever known *Prophets -Islamic tradition maintains that God sent many prophets into the world, including Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus -A prophet (nabi) is one who conveys a message from God to a specific people at a specific time -A messenger (rasul) is also a prophet sent by God to a specific community; but the message he delivers is a universally binding sacred law (shari’ah) -Muhammad is understood as a Messenger of God -In Islam, Jesus is a rasul but he is not God, and he does not die on the cross, However, Islam does believe Jesus was born of a virgin, and Mary is highly revered in Islam -Hadith os the most important component of the sunnah because it is the most direct expression of the Prophet’s opinions or judgments regarding community conduct. Written down ~9th cent CE -There are six canonical collections of hadiths -The term Shari’ah means “the straight way” that leads the faithful t Paradise in the hereafter -In Shari’ah law, action is classified in five categories. -Halal= obligatory acts. Haram= forbidden acts -Jurisprudence, or fiqh, is the theoretical and systematic aspect of Islamic Law and was developed in various legal schools DAY 2 *Rumi Reading and Reflection due Monday* *Islamic Philosophy and Theology -A part of the science of fiqh or jurisprudence -Caliph al-Ma’mun and the “House of Wisdom” 9th cent. -Early Islamic philosophy was Aristotelian in its logic, physics, and metaphysics; Platonic and its political and social aspects; and neo-Platonic and its mysticism and theology -Islamic philosophy had a lasting influence on medieval and Renaissance Europe, particularly though its use of Aristotle -Important Figures (~9th-14th cent): -al-Kindi: early philosopher and defender of Islam -al-Razi: Platonist. Denied creation ex-nehilo -al-Farbi: a musician. Platonist. All emanates from God -Ibn Sina (Avicenna): Developed Farbi’s though. Denied resurrection of the body and eternal punishment in Hell -al-Ghazali: used philosophy to attack philosophic knowledge. “ocassionalism”-God causes everything at every instant -Ibn Rushd (Averroes): commentator on Aristotle. Attacked al- Ghazali’s attack on philosophy. Believed philosophy was above religion but that both led to truth *Shi’sm -Shi’sm -The Muslim community was permanently divided soon after the death of the Prophet, when a political party (shi’ah) formed around his cousin and son-in-law ‘Ali in support of his right to succeed Muhammad as leader or imam -Characterized by devotion to the Prophet’s household -The smaller of the two major movements (Sunni and ~10%Shi’ah) -Imami (‘Twelver’) Shi’sm -Mainstream Shi’is believe that the line of imams connected to Ali continued until 874, when the 12th Imam, Muhammad ibn Hasan al-‘Askari, disappeared at the age of four -Twelver Shi’is believe he went into hiding (‘occultation’) and will return with Jesus at the end of the world as the Mahdi, ‘the rightly guided one’ -Isma’ili (‘Sevener’) Shi’ism -Recognizes the first seven Imams. Today, led by the ‘Agha Khan’ -Well integrated into much of Western society *Sufism: Islamic Mysticism- “Die before you die” -Not a distinct group, but a mystical way of practicing Islam -Early Muslim mystics were said to wear a garmet of course wool over their bare skin in emulation of Jesus, and were thus called Sufis (from the Arabic word meaning ‘wool’) -Rumi (13th cent): great Sufi poet -Suhrawardi (12th cent): saw the cosmos in terms of divine light and darkness -Ibn Arabi (13th cent): Spanish mystic. Saw all religions going to God -The most characteristic Sufi practice is a ritual called the dhikr (remembrance) of God, which may be public or private -Another distinctly Sufi practice is the sama’ (‘hearing’ or ‘audition’), in which devotes simply listen to the often hypnotic chanting of mystical poetry, accompanied by various musical instruments -The Sufi traditions, as with other mystical movements, provided a major outlet for women to be recognized as leaders *In the Middle East -Islam, like Christianity, is a missionary religion -Ideologically, Islam sees itself as one of the religions of the Book, which confirms the scriptures that preceded it, notably the Torah and the Gospel -The Qur’an regards Jews and Christians as People of the Book, thus Jews and Christians were promised full freedom to practice their faith in return to paying a poll tax -After conquering what came to be the historical heartland of Islam—Syria, Egypt, and Persia—the Muslim moved into North Africa in the second half of the 7th century -The Umayyads est. their capital in Damascus -The capital shifted under the Abbasids to Baghdad in 762 -Contrary to former stereotypes, historians and archaeologists have found that Islam did not spread ‘by the sword’ *Empires -Arab Muslims arrived on the Iberian Peninsula in 711 -Islam may have arrived in sub-Saharan Africa as early as the 8th cent, spread first by traders and then by preachers -Under the Samanid dynasty, which ruled larger areas of Persia and Central Asia in the 9th and 10th centuries, Persian culture flourished -Early in the 11th century, the Samanids succeeded by the Seljuq Turks in the Middle East and the Karakhanid Mongols in Persia and Central Asia -As Turkic tribal populations from Central Asia moved into parts of the Middle Eastern Muslim heartland, they were converted to Islam mainly by Sufi missionaries -In 1299, Osman I took over the caliphate from the Abbasids, est. a dynasty the “ottomans….. *In Asia -Islam may have made contact with China as early as the 8th century, although the first written sources referring to slam in China do not appear until much later (17th) -From the beginning Persian and Arab merchants were allowed to trade freely so long as they complied with Chinese rules -It was not until the 13th cent that they began settling in China and est. mosques -Islam arrived early in India, carried by traders and Arab settlers -By the 14th cent, most of India had come under Muslim rulers from Iran and Central Asia -For the first time, the majority of the conquered population did not convert to the new faith -Tensions between Hinduism and Islam -By the 15th cent, Islam had spread widely in Southeast Asia -Indonesia: the highest Muslim population *Practice -1.) To bear witness that thee is no God except God (la illaha il Allah), and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God (Muhammad al-rasul Allah): the Shahada -2.) To establish regular worship or prayer (slalat 5x a day) -3.) To pay the zakat alms (2.5% of total wealth) -4.) To observe the fast Ramadan -Ramadan was the month in which the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet -Fasting during the day and a celebration at the end of the month (fasting: only if physically capable) -5.) To perform to Hajj pilgrimage -This ritual is understood as a re-enacting of the expressions of Abraham, whom the Qur’an declares to be father of prophets and the first true Muslim -Only if one is financially and physically able to take the Hajj *Practice and Beliefs -Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, sees the world as God’s creation. -There are bad things in the world, but ultimately the world is good. It is real, and it should be enjoyed -Basic moral restrictions -No Gambling, theft -No charging interest: on other or self (no credit cards) -No alcohol/ drugs -State Islam and the Islamic Revolution -Following a coup in Sudan in 1969 there was a bloody conflict between the Muslim north and the generally Christian south -Likewise in Pakistan, the introduction of shari’ah following a coup I 1977 led to violent social and political conflict -The question always remains, how much of this violence is “Islam” and how much is political, economic, post-colonial, social (or just plain ‘human’) *Revivalism cont. -In almost every Muslim country there is at least one revivalist movement advocating some form of Islamic state (many moderate, some not) -Throughout the long period of Shi’ah secular rule in Iran (1501-1979), the authority of the religious ‘ulama’ operated in more or less continuous tension with the secular authorities until the movement of the Ayatolah and Islamic Revolution in 1979 -Islam in Western Europe -The Islamic presence in Western Europe began with the est. of Umayyad rule in southern Spain in 711. Expelled from Spain, along with Jews, in 1492 -In the 20th century some Muslims migrated to Europe from various colonies as students, visitors, and for work -Today, there is much (and in many places, growing) Islamophobia in Europe -Swiss ban on minarets -President of Iran does not have some power as president of the United States, the real power is in the hands of the Ayatolah *Islam in North America -First Muslims came as early colonial slaves -About 7 million Muslims in the United States today (about same number of Jews) -Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America (esp. among African Americans) -Generally, more cultural assimilation among American Muslims than European Muslims *Modern Values -Beginning in the late 19th century, many African-Americans made conscious efforts to recover their Islamic Heritage -In the early 1930s, Elijah Muhammad founded the Nation of Islam in America. Criticized as extreme by many Muslims -Malcom X: abandoned his violent response to racism after he went on the Hajj (was assassinated for this) -Women and the Family -Marriage under Islam is essentially a contractual relationship negotiated between the prospective husband and the woman’s father or guardian, but primarily between the couple -The Qu’ran allows polygyny (simultaneous marriage to more than one wife), but it limits the number of wives to four at a time and demands strict justice and equality in a mans material and emotional support for all his wives -The vast majority of Muslim marriages are monogamous -Justified historically helpful to widows and orphans in hard times -The Qur’an allows women to own property and dispose of it as they please -Western Muslims generally advocate sexual equality, but many Middle Eastern nations are still highly-conservative *Sexual Issues -The Qur’an does not refer at all to the hijab or veiling of women (barqa) as we know it today -It only demands that women dress modestly -In the very next verse it also demands modesty of males -Hijab vs. burqa -Sexual Diversity -In general, Muslims born and raised in North America are more open to diversity than those born abroad -However, the great majority of Muslims in Canada and the United States are still relatively recent immigrants from places where social norms regarding gender and sexuality are starkly conservative -Groups seeking to challenge conservative ideas are developing, bur homosexual Muslims, in particular, continue to face condemnation from mainstream Muslim society -These issues are only becoming prominent as Muslim immigrants surmount their first obstacles: establishing a community, freedom of religion, equality of worship, etc *The Future of Islam -Muslims who, through migration, have moved from majority to minority status are being spurred to define the priorities of their faith -1979, when the Soviets Union invaded Afghanistan, Muslims from around the world volunteered to fight with the Afghans for their liberation, and the United States contributed heavily to their training (became the Taliban) -Muslims around the world have repeatedly condemned terrorist activity and pointed our that the use of suicide bombers violets mainstream Islamic teachings that prohibit both suicide and the killing of civilians during war -Some other issues today: -Modernization vs. Westernization -Muslim brotherhood vs. Nationalism -Tolerance vs. Cultural Relativism -How can Muslims overcome the stereotypes created by a few extremists/terrorists? Is this a problem for them or us? -Where does Islam fit in to politics? What is the Shari’ah? *Osama Bin laden when he issued his attack on US he also issued attacks other Muslims as well because he didn’t believe he was attacking fellow Muslims*