Islam

I gave a talk a while back about Islam based on my wonderful experience of Muslims while growing up. I made the following points (in bullet form here)

• We in the States tend to think all Muslims are Arab fundamentalists, terrorists at heart and a fairly small sect. In reality there are one billion Muslims of whom only 20% are Arab, only a very small handful of Muslims are terrorists, and only a minority are of Muslims are fundamentalist in their beliefs. Five million of them are fellow Americans and an increasing number are my students. In other words, the average Muslim is very different from the image that many Americans carry in their heads.
• I grew up in a world where church, mosque and synagogue co-existed happily. Interfaith meetings always involved pastors, imams and rabbis. Muslim weddings were very colorful affairs accompanied by horses and landaus. New Year was brought in by the superb music of Muslim bands. We each had our preferred religion but respected the other’s.
• Muhammad, not unlike biblical prophets, began his ministry to protest social injustice in Medina. Muslims still respond to his call to go beyond a self-centered existence to establish a just society. We think of ourselves as a “perfect” society; they see segregation, inequality, pornography, violence, and the exploitation of women and the poor. It would help our conversain with them if we acknowledged that that they have something of a point — before we point out that there are also inequalities and injustices in their own societies.
• I presented a potted history of Islam, which led to the point that the European Renaissance owes a huge debt to Arab scholars. Many Arabs are angered that we forget this debt. At the same time, it is sad to note that the great universities of the Muslim world have fallen into neglect in our own time.
• The Muslim faith believes in a state that is subject to God, not unlike the Calvinists who believe that while politicians might be voted on by the people, the people do God’s will. Many Christians used to and many still do side with Muslims in this regard. Consider the remnants of our own religious past: religious holidays and tax deductions for churches, priests and pastors.
• Muslims hold to five principles:
  • Shahada: Faith in one God
  • Salat: Daily prayers
  • Zakat: Charity
  • Ramadan: An annual fast
  • Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one’s life
• Muslim law (the Shariah) begins with Ten Commandments and uses the Quran (the written record), the Summa (the oral record), precedents set by the early fathers, and analogical reasoning. There are a variety of schools i.e., different opinions as to how the law should be treated but all hold firm to the belief that law begins with God.
• The role of women is probably the most contentious issue in the States. There are a couple of points that are worth remembering:
  • One is that the treatment of women is not monolithic and tends to be more culturally than religiously driven
  • Muhammad himself had two important women in his life: Kadijah his mother and Aishah his aide. Both had more importance than many churches give to women.
  • Women may own property
  • Marriage is treated as an investment rather than a heavenly contract. As a result walkng away from a marriage has more financial overtones than the breaking of vows that go with Christian marriage and divorce.
  • As one studies strict Muslim practice in regard to women, it becomes apparent that it is fairly biblically based. We are the one’s who have moved on from a strict application of Old Testament practices.
  • To their credit, they reject the commodification of women.
• Quran
  • The Quran has many parallels to the Bible with stories of Isaac & Ishamael (called Hagar in the Bible). The Joseph story is recounted and Jesus is included as a great prophet. One great dilemma is that their stories differ slightly from ours. We claim ours as inspired; they claim theirs were inspired.
• In conclusion, we don’t have to become Muslims to hear the prophet’s call in our own day:
  • God first in all things: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.”
  • Love your neighbor as yourself
  • Practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting and pilgrimage.