Islam Overview

Islam: A Way of Life

• Islam is a way of life that practitioners stake their lives on, even if it means suffering and death.

The Way of Submission

Muhammad (570 - 632 CE)

• Born and raised in Mecca.

• The last and authoritative prophet, an exemplary human, not God.

• “Seal of the prophets,” who seals Mecca as a most sacred place.

• The Quran came to Muhammad from God’s messenger Gabriel as the perfect and eternal word of God.

• Muhammad had a miraculous life like Jesus.

• Night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem on a winged stead; met Adam, Moses, and Jesus.

• God taught him the five daily prayers.

• Married to Khadija for 24 years and had a daughter, Fatima.

Death of Muhammad

• In 632 CE, after a triumphant entry into Mecca, he performed the Hajj, returned to Medina, and died.

• He was buried in a tomb next to his mosque.

• Muhammad left both a religion and a state at death.

• As head of state of all Arabia, a successor needed to be chosen.

• At the death of Muhammad, the Sunnis and Shias split over who would be the successor to Muhammad.

• The Caliph, meaning “successor” or “deputy,” was the head of state.

Islam 101

Adam

• Adam is the first human and first prophet.

• Demonstrated human ability to forget true nature and neglect God.

• Did not make humans sinful.

• Upon Adam’s repentance, God appointed him prophet and sent him to Mecca in Arabia.

• Built the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, furnished with the black stone.

• Circled Kaaba, stood at Arafat, threw stones at the devil.

• Children of Adam not born with original sin.

• Humans are a forgetful and ungrateful lot.

• Adam and Eve had children in and around Mecca.

Six Articles of Faith (Iman)

• The system of belief in Islam.

• Six elements (Surah 4:136):

  • One God

  • Angels

  • Holy Books (Torah, Psalms, Gospel, Qur’an)

  • Prophets (Muhammad, Jesus, Moses)

  • Day of Judgment

  • Predestination

One God

• God is one!

• God is supreme, eternal, and omnipotent.

• God has 99 names.

• Depiction is God whom one reveres, of whom one is in awe, to whom one is obedient.

• Negative statements: neither eats nor drinks, not begotten, depends on no one, has no needs.

Angels

• Angels are messengers of God; neither male nor female.

• Utter continuous praise of God.

• Bear his throne.

• Accompany believer in prayer.

• Record deeds of every person.

Holy Books

• There are sacred scriptures revealed to humans throughout history (over 100).

• Four books remain:

  • Tawrat (Jewish Torah)

  • Zabur (Psalms of David)

  • Injil (Gospel revealed to Jesus)

  • Quran (revealed to Muhammad)

• The Quran is the last and definitive revelation.

Prophets

• Messengers are given and give new laws and new books.

• Prophets are sent to transmit and implement previous revelations.

• Prophets are free from sin.

• Muhammad is the last messenger and prophet.

Day of Judgment

• Unknown future day; a Friday, 10th day of Muharram.

• Dead resurrected.

• Signs: increase in sin, disobedience of parents, debauchery, more men than women, incompetent people get positions of leadership.

Predestination

• Final article of faith.

• God controls the past, present, and future of each individual Muslim.

• Firm belief in God’s preordination of all things, often verging on fatalism.

• This article “has given rise throughout history to a dynamic debate about the degree of human ability to determine events, within an overall framework of God’s predestination.”

The Law (Shari’a)

• Islam is more explicit about the quality of life that God has ordained for his creatures than about the nature of God himself.

• Sacred law of Islam is called Shari’a.

• Four main sources:

  • The Quran: revealed by the angel Gabriel (Jibril)

  • The Sunnah: custom of the Prophet Muhammad

  • The Ijma: consensus of the Muslim community

  • The Qiyas: analogy from the 1st three

Five Categories of Shari’a

• What God has commanded.

• What God has recommended but not made strictly obligatory.

• What God has left legally indifferent.

• What God has deprecated but not actually prohibited.

• What God has expressly forbidden.

Interpretation of the Law

• At first, jurists could go back to original sources to derive a rule, the right of independent deduction (Ijtihad).

• Ijtihad was progressively replaced by the duty to accept authority of jurists of the past (Taqlid).

Four Sunni Legal Schools

• Hanafi School (Abu Hanifa, 699-767 CE):

  • Most liberal & speculative school.

  • Open to jurists and public interest.

• Malaki School (Malik ibn Anas, d. 796 CE):

  • Earliest Islamic legal school.

  • Based on Medinan practice of the prophet’s time.

• Shafi School (Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi, 767-820 CE):

  • Rooted in the Sunna of Muhammad found in Hadith.

  • Used analogical reasoning.

• Hanbali School (Ahmad ibn Hanbal, 780-855 CE):

  • Socially conservative legal school.

  • Adhere to Quran and Hadith with rigid literalism.

Notable Writings

Quran

• Words of the Quran were dictated to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel (Jibril).

• Written down 20 years after Muhammad’s death.

• Divided into Suras (chapters) and verses (ayas).

• Distinction between earlier (in Mecca) and later (in Medina).Meccan suras are shorter on theology and spirituality.

• Medinan suras are on legal and practical concerns.

• Many Old Testament and New Testament characters are mentioned.

Quran Characteristics

• Quran is revelation of God’s word in written form.

• Co-eternal with God.

• Memorizing Quranic text is considered an act of piety.

• Quran Themes: authority over all aspects of life, no separation of sacred and secular.

  • Morals, parables, legal, encouragement, traditions, and biographical material for Muhammad.

• Mary, mother of Jesus, is mentioned often, only named woman in the Quran; has her own sura.

  • Model Muslim with strong and enduring faith.

• Emphasizes social justice and the world to come.

• Abrogation: later verses abrogate earlier when contradictory.

Hadith Sharif

• Writings which tell of Muhammad’s deeds.

• Key source on how to follow Muhammad and for ruling on Islamic law.

• For something to be hadith, it must have a chain of transmission from Muhammad to the person reporting it.

• Six main collections of hadith.

• Together with the Quran, the hadith provide the basis for “sunna,” the customary practice of Muslims.

Torah and Psalms

• Islam recognizes the Pentateuch as a holy book.

• Adds and subtracts details from the Hebrew and interprets it differently.

• The psalms of David are holy.

• David is considered a prophet, as are many figures in the Hebrew scriptures.

• The category of prophet is expanded in Islam such that Adam, who has not such designation in the Hebrew scriptures, is considered a prophet.

• Although all prophets in the Hebrew scriptures are recognized as prophets, their writings are not considered part of the holy books.

Gospel of Jesus

• Not a reference to any particular Gospel.

• Reference to the news about Jesus.

• Information about Jesus sometimes comes from gospels that are not a part of the Christian canon, like Thomas.

• Islam considers Jesus as an important prophet and Messiah.

• Who will come again to judge humanity, followed by the Mahdi.

• No atonement by Jesus, no incarnation, no crucifixion.

• Mary, mother of Jesus, is highly regarded by Muslims.

• She is mentioned more often in the Quran than the NT.

• She is the only woman named in the Quran and has her own chapter.

The Branches of Islam

Sunni

• 85% of Muslims.

• Muhammad was ‘the seal of the prophets’.

• Successor is no more than guardian of prophetic legacy.

• Caliph had subordinate authority as social and political leader.

• Determined by consensus from Muhammad’s tribe.

• 4 immediately after Muhammad; rightly guided caliphs.

• Comprise authoritative sunnah, or custom.

• Sunnis developed community law, Shari’a.

• Caliphs were guardians of Shari’a until 1924.

• The community (Umma) is the religious authority.

Shi’a (most Shi’as live in Iran)

• Social, political, and religious authority is Imam.

• Muhammad appointed as his successor an imam.

• He established the cycle of initiation for continuing guidance.

• Inspired and infallible interpretation of the Qur’an.

• 1st imam was Muhammad’s cousin, Ali.

• Intimate family member inherited the spiritual abilities; Muhammad’s wilayah.

• Most Shi’as wait for messianic return of 12th imam.

• 12th imam accessible now through ayatollahs who have the right to interpret the Shari’a.

The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs

• Shias do not recognize the first three, only Abu Bakr died of natural causes, others killed.

• Abu Bakr (632-634 CE):

  • Battled those who left community after Muhammad’s death.

• Umar (634-644 CE):

  • United warring tribes against Romans and Persians; took Jerusalem; reached from Libya to Persia.

• Uthman (644-656 CE):

  • Produced standard text of the Quran.

• Ali (656-661 CE):

  • Son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad.

  • Shias believe he should have been prophet’s successor from the beginning.

Family Tree of Muhammad

• Diagram showcasing the lineage of Muhammad, important figures, and the succession of Imams.

Sufism

• Sunnism & Shi’ism are doctrinal varieties of Islam.

• Sufism is the inner life of both.

• Seek intimacy with God through spiritual purification.

• Its core is love of God; love is that which obliterates from the heart all except the Beloved.

• Sufi is a person whose heart is purified.

• Comes from early Islam; people who prayed constantly in the mosque of Medina wore a tunic of wool (Suf) symbolizing obedience to prophets.

• Sufis don’t describe self as sufi; a sufi is dead to himself but lives by the Truth.

• Self-mortification is way (tariqah) of purification.

• Follow guidance of a spiritual master (Shaykh).

Sufi Purification

• Self-mortification is called mujahadat.

• Connected to jihad which means ‘struggle’.

• Sufi path is a ladder; each successive rung is a stage of spiritual striving.

• Stages are repentance, conversion, renunciation, trust, gratitude, poverty, patience, and love.

• Human effort by itself is insufficient.

• A special grace (hal) bestowed by God is necessary; recipient cannot attract or repel them by his/her own effort.

• Graces include satisfaction, certainty, intimacy, separation, love, union, and knowledge.

Wali

• Sufis seek to internalize worship and law of Islam.

• Extra mosque forms of worship: quiet recitation of the names of God, singing hymns and praise of the prophet Muhammad.

• Use music & dance to intensify the emotional side of worship.

• Person who reaches intimacy with God is a Wali: annihilates all that is impure, only the pure remains.

• Questionable notion in Islam is denial of separation of duality between God and the purified human heart.

• Tension between Sufism as spiritual internalizing of Qur’an, and Sufism as mystical doctrine emphasizing unitive knowledge of God.

Islamic History

Arabia

• Arabs believed in themselves, fatalistic about events, familiar with Jews and Christians.

• Islam began among city-dwellers; commercialism.

• Muhammad; born in Mecca, CE 570.

• c. 610, believed that he was receiving messages from God conveyed by angel; messages were collected; became the Qur’an.

• God was One (Allah); merciful and all-powerful.

• A Last Day will judge people; assign to heaven, or hell; led Muhammad to expect generous use of wealth.

Mecca

• In Saudi Arabia.

• On a trading route from East to West.

• City of Muhammad’s birth.

• City of Islam’s largest mosque and Kaaba shrine.

• Geographic center of the Muslim world.

• Prayers are said facing Mecca.

• Qibla wall in a mosque is in the direction of Mecca.

• The Great Pilgrimage (Hajj) occurs in Mecca.

Trade Routes and Islamic Expansion

• Diagrams illustrating trade routes at the time of Muhammad and Islamic expansion to 750 CE.

Hijrah

• Emigrated to Medina, 622 CE.

• Meccan merchants opposed Muhammad due to criticism of their practices.

• Merchants spoke of old pagan gods, but Qur’an came to emphasize no deity but the one (Allah).

• Became impossible to carry on religious activity.

• Seventy men and their families emigrated to Medina, and this emigration is called Hijrah.

• This marked the beginning of the Islamic era.

• Islamic calendar begins with the “year of the Hijrah” (AH).

Calendar

• Comparisons of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic calendars.

Medina

• In Medina, the religion of Islam took shape.

• Main ritual forms took shape:

  • Worship (or prayer).

  • Almsgiving.

  • Fasting (for month of Ramadan).

  • Pilgrimage to Mecca (including ceremonies at neighboring sites).

• Followers first called Muslims.

• Hostilities with Meccans erupted; Mecca was taken in 630 CE.

• Many tribes in Arabia became Muslims.

• Muhammad’s authority as head of state was unquestioned.

Muslim Traditions

• Fundamental dividing line is between Sunni & Shia; split over who should lead their communities and how to interpret Islamic law and theology.

• Sunni: “imam” leads congregational worship, selected from community, invested with social and political power, Muslim community (Umma) is invested with religious authority.

• Shia: select their imams from descendants of Muhammad, invested with social, political, and religious authority, regarded as infallible.

  • 89% of Muslims are Sunni; 10%, Shia; 1%, smaller groups.

Jihad

• English: “struggle.”

• Inner struggle: a struggle in which all Muslims engage: women, children, seniors Sufi self-mortification is called mujahadat.

• Outer struggle, in which only military men engage Mistranslated as “Holy War.”

• An expedition for conquest was called a struggle (Jihad).

• While there are passages of peace and sword in the Quran, how to interpret these passages must be checked with Muslims.

• Suicide bombing is almost universally rejected by Muslim jurists; Quran in Sura 4:29 rejects taking one’s own life.

Conquest

• Raiding was normal occupation of Arab tribes.

• Muslims organized raids (razzias) in Syria and Iraq; established base camps instead of returning to Arabia.

• Military expeditions were called “holy war” (Jihad); raids for booty, not to make converts.

• Minorities were protected and well treated; the notion of giving the choice of Islam or sword is false.

• Members of the minorities, though protected, saw themselves as second-class citizens; minorities were sometimes better off.

• Jews in Palestine were better off under Muslim rule than under the Byzantine Empire.

Expansion

• Within 12 years of Muhammad’s death, occupied Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, advancing into Libya and Iran ongoing expansion for a century.

• Occupied N. Africa to Atlantic, crossed over into Spain, into S. France North as far as Constantinople East through Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan.

• Through such expansion, Islam became the dominant religion in original home of Christianity; many Zoroastrians in Persia voluntarily converted to Islam.

• Umayyad dynasty ruled from Damascus.

Map of Islamic Expansion

• A map detailing the expansion of Islamic territory at different periods.

Classical Islam (750 - 1258 CE)

• Abbasid dynasty of caliphs ruled from Baghdad, CE 750 – 1250: cultural forms of a great empire flourished.

• Central place was development and elaboration of Islamic law (Shari’a): formed basis of social structure, derived from Qur’an, & the example of Muhammad (Hadith-stories of his deeds and sayings).

• Greek books were translated into Arabic: sciences, philosophy, literature, arts, and in skills of government.

House of Wisdom

• Islamic thought needed an incentive to move beyond the notion that Allah was impenetrable which carried over into the unapproachableness of his creation.

• Ma’mum, caliph of Baghdad, dreamt Aristotle convinced him there was no contradiction between religion and reason; built “house of wisdom.”

• Adopted Greek notion that behind the visible chaos of the world there is a fundamental order, ruled by general laws, and accessible to human reason.

Advances in Science, Art, and Culture

• Ibn Rushd (in Spain) and Ibn Sinna (in Baghdad) brought about a rediscovery of Aristotle in the West.

• Ibn Sinna’s writings as philosopher and physician were used as textbooks in Europe until the 17th C.

• In mathematics, Islamic academics adopted the decimal system, the use of zero, and developed the subject of algebra.

• In music, spread lute, guitar, trumpet, horn, and flute.

• Zenith of cultural cooperation was in Spain, especially Cordoba; from Cordoba, Islamic cultural influence spread throughout Europe.

Eastern Expansion

• Military expansion slowed down except in India climax of Muslim control was CE 1556 – 1707: the Mughal empire, most of population remained Hindu.

• Peaceful expansion: Muslim traders went into W. African steppe to East African coast, sea traders went to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines.

Impact of Colonial Europe

• Eastern part of the Islamic world: Vasco da Gama reached India around Cape of Good Hope, disrupting trade on E. African coast.

• Western part of the Islamic world: Ottomans took over caliphate & conquered SE Europe; which put them in military & diplomatic contact with Europe.

• Napolean invaded Egypt, 1798: many-sided impact: economic, political, intellectual, and religious; began with ocean-borne trade, went to political interference, and then to colonization.

Western Impact

• Development of technology in 19th and 20th centuries: richer Muslims wanted to share in its comforts and conveniences.

• Colonial powers introduced Western-type education Christian missionaries brought education and medical care to Islamic countries.

• Movements for political independence grew among Muslims: until end of WW2, Muslims united in struggle to be free from colonialism.

• Since then, a split between “progressives,” and conservatives has occurred: both groups strengthened by Islamic fundamentalism.

Sharia Mixed with Civil Law

• Codes of law derived from Western world replaced or became mixed with Shari’a, especially French, and English.

• Most Muslim countries have mixed law, except in the case of family law which is Shari’a.

• Islamic fundamentalism has influenced changes in criminal sanctions and economic practices.

Islam in Today's World

Muslims in the Population

• World’s second-largest religion; growing at a faster rate than Christianity.

• Asia: overwhelming majority of Muslims live in Asia, 216 million in Indonesia, next 3 largest; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

• 3 in the top ten are in Africa; Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria.

• 3 in the top ten are Turkey, Iran, Iraq.

• Muslim majorities are in countries of Central Asia: leading religion in Kosovo and Albania.

• Western Europe; 9.4% in France, 8% in Sweden and Belgium; 7% in Austria and Netherlands.

• North America; 3.7% in Canada; 1.5% in USA.

Muslim Diversity

• The Muslim religious community contains multitudes: speak Arabic, Urdu, English, French, play professional basketball, football, soccer, hockey, are traditionalist, progressive, and secular Muslims believers and experiences don’t always match those prescribed by religious authorities.

• Some drink alcohol and eat pork, some not, some pray five times a day, some only on Fridays, some not at all, some wear no head covering at all; others wear a full veil called a “burka”.

Islam and the Modern World

• The aim of radical reformers is to Islamize modernity rather than modernize Islam.

• There is a reactionary movement to Westernization; in a climate of political secularism, people like Ayatollah Khomeini want to establish Islamic principles as the foundation for their nation, however, Muslim leaders worldwide express long held concern over the dangers of religious extremism, or fundamentalism.

• On the other hand, corruption and repression by regimes supported by Western governments in places like Iran call for debate in Islam and with people of other nations and religions.

Radicalism

• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was installed as Shah of Iran after a CIA-led coup uprising against the Shah led to the installation of Ayatollah Khomeini as the ruler of Iran.

• Shah and his family sought refuge in USA Khomeini became supreme leader of an Islamic state led by clerics: the new nation had anti-American sentiment Iranian students took 60 American hostages in Iran students released after the election of Ronald Reagan.

• Osama bin Laden orchestrated the attack on the towers: a Saudi-born leader of Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda was engaged in global warfare against not only Israel and USA, but also the vast majority of the world’s Muslims.

Islam in the United States

Entry

• First entry of Islam in America is through writings: “The Arabian Nights,” which contains folk tales like “Aladdin’s Lamp” and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”.

• First entry of people are Muslim slaves from Africa Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is the first recorded, 1731 Muslims entered as free people after the Civil War: 1st mosque built in Cedar Rapids, 1934.

• Nation of Islam organized in Detroit, 1930: African American converts; loosely Muslim in practice; 1964 Malcolm X embraced the Sunni tradition Louis Farrakhan further emphasized Sunni practice, progressive Muslims push against Islamist radicalism and corporate capitalism; committed to social justice.

Mixed Reactions

• George Bush and Barack Obama distinguished between Islam as a religion of peace and the terrorists.

• Donald Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” Islamic extremists tried to restore an Islamic State (ISIS) as a caliphate for all Muslims.

• Muslims worldwide have an “overwhelmingly negative” view of ISIS Saudi Arabia forbids churches and synagogues Indonesia officially recognizes and protects Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity.

• Neither the “Christian West” nor the “Islamic world” speaks or acts in one voice.

Lived Islam

Five Pillars of Islam

• 1st – Bearing Witness (Shahadah)

• 2nd – Prayer (Salah)

• 3rd – Almsgiving (Zakat)

• 4th – Fasting (Sawm)

• 5th – Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

Bearing Witness (Shahadah)

• “There is no god but God; and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Shias add “and Ali is the friend of God.”

• First words breathed into child’s ear at birth, last words uttered with dying breath: point to final word of god given in Qur’an Muhammad, “the seal of the prophets” bearing witness is what summons Muslims to worship its meaning is the heart of prayer and meditation.

Prayer (Salah)

• Duty of Muslims to observe at fixed hours; fixed hours (preceded by washing hands, head, feet), dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset, night.

• Called to prayer by the muezzin from the minaret people at prayer turn toward Mecca Fridays, salah is a communal act Imam leads men and women assemble separately in rows pray as a single body engage in series of ritual movements from standing to kneeling (foreheads on floor).

• Allahu akbar repeated after each of 5 prayers ends with each passing peace to right & left except of Shi’as.

Symbolic Action: Salat (praying five times a day)

• Diagram illustrating prayer times and positions.

Plan of a Mosque

• Diagram detailing the plan of a mosque.

Almsgiving (Zakat)

• Pillar of social action: sharing one’s wealth with the poor, needy, debtor, prisoner, and wayfarer, less fortunate, but precious to God inward attitude of compassion for the needy is all-important.

• Attitude is purification of the soul, means of atoning for sins is worthless if attitude of finding fault is present contemporary practice is 2.5% of cash balance (for alms!).

Fasting (Sawm)

• Total abstinence from food and drink through the daylight hours of the entire month of Ramadan; communal; affects social behavior of whole community period when social relationships are reaffirmed reconciliations are encouraged solidarity of community expressed.

• Night of Power (toward end of month) commemorates descent of Qur’an and beginning of Muhammad’s ministry intention of fasting is thanksgiving disciplining the soul to wait patiently upon God, who guides and provides.

Ramadan

• Description of Ramadan practices and significance.

Ihram (Preparation for the Hajj)

• Preparation for the Hajj: six thresholds mark the transition from everyday life into the sacred precinct pilgrims cut their nails, comb their hair, and bathe pilgrims wear clothing of 2 white cloths (purity) to be buried in these at death women also wear white clothing. announce intent to perform Hajj in prayer in Ihram, no sex, quarreling, killing animals, perfumes, shaving or cutting hair men cover head and women cover face move toward the cube in the center of the courtyard called the Kaaba.

Hajj (Great Pilgrimage)

• 8th day of the 12th month of calendar, Dhu al Hijjah; takes five days gather in the Great Mosque 1st circumambulation around Ka’ba, counterclockwise, 7 times 2nd run 7 times between 2 small hills (recalls plight of Hagar & Ishmael) after the events at the Mosque, pilgrims travel to Mina, which is five miles away and spend the night. 3rd the next day they journey to Mount Arafat, stand from midday to sunset in meditation at sunset the pilgrims go to Muzdalifah to spend the night they gather 49 pebbles that night for the next day.

Hajj (cont.)

• 4th the next day pilgrims travel to Mina and throw pebbles at the pillars in Mina recalling Abraham’s resistance of evil and his throwing of stones at the devil at the offering of Ishmael after throwing stones, men have their heads shaved; women, hair trimmed pilgrims bathe and put on normal clothes on this day Muslims worldwide remember the provision of a ram at the sacrifice of Ishmael offer ritual sacrifice of sheep or camels and celebrate the Festival of the Sacrifice the next two days pilgrims throw pebbles at Mina then return to the mosque to go around the Kaaba one more time.

The Route of the Hajj

• Diagram outlining the seven stages of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Worship & Festivals

• Each person is described as an abd of God; worshipper and servant: Islam means “submission to God” Muslim means “one who lives his/her life according to God’s will.”. worship and worldly activities are joint expressions of the character of abd; no separation, or distinction body and spirit are inseparable external acts depend on their internal intention law provides code of practice discipline of the soul is to remember God always.

Mosques

• Images of various mosques around the world, including Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque Complex, Hassan II Mosque, Cordoba Mosque, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Rustem Pasha Mosque, Great Mosque of Xi'an, Assalam Mosque, and Islamic Society of Brevard County Mosque, Taj Mahal.

Holy Sites

• Diagrams illustrating the locations of Ka'ba, Mecca, Prophet's Mosque, Medina, Muhammad's Tomb, Dome of the Rock, and Jerusalem.

Holy Days

• “Eids” is the word for festival 2 main festivals for Muslims: Eid al-Fitr, Festival of Fast Breaking three days after Ramadan exchange gifts, eat with families and friends Eid al-Adha, Festival of the Sacrifice four days at the end of the Hajj sacrifice animals and offer meat to the poor. Muharram new years celebration on 1st day of the month follow lunar cycle (cycle of moon is 29.5 days: lunar year is 354 days: 11 days shorter than solar year: beginning of each year advances 11 days).

Veneration of Saints

• Since God alone is worshiped, jurists are opposed to lavish markers to remember the dead practice is sometimes at odds, like in all religions tombs of Sufi and Shia saints are visited by many Taj Mahal in India is a memorial to Shah Jahan’s wife devotees of saints bring offerings and make vows at tombs come away with talismans and amulets for protection relics of Muhammad are venerated hair, a tooth, and pieces of his clothing.

Contemporary Controversy: Women and Islam

Status of Women

• Muslim families are traditionally patriarchal, “father knows best” mosques were segregated, attended more by men at the beginning of Islam, the lives of women were improved outlawed infanticide, marriage is a contract, women receive dowries, women inherit property later, women founded mosques, taught Islamic law.

• Women could lead countries; Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan women follow same path to paradise as men offer new interpretations of Quran and hadith Amina Wadud led a mixed-gender prayer service in New York City.

Hijab

• Word is associated with veiling; a partition or screen Quran speaks of dressing modestly veiling varies from person to person and from society to society 9 out of 10 women in Turkey say women can choose to cover, or not to cover, 1 out of 3 women say they can choose in Afghanistan Merve Kavaki could not take her elected seat when she wore her Hijab into the National Assembly building in Turkey Shah of Iran forbade Hijab; Khomeini required it some wear it as a rebuke to colonial powers and a sign of Muslim pride.

Family and Society

• Marriage has divine and prophetic sanction & takes consent of both male and female advised to meet before marriage takes two witnesses Islamic judge is present bridegroom gives bride a dowry of cash or kind which is used by her at her discretion polygyny is permitted, but monogamy is ideal concession to circumstances that require care of widows or orphans or death of large numbers of Muslim males (war).

Divorce

• Divorce is permitted in Islam, but hateful to God men have greater authority to effect divorce waiting period of three months (no pregnancy) three pronouncements of untying (talaq) are required: children are to be treated with care, affection, and responsibility care of family takes priority over charity for religious purposes children are looked upon as a gift from god boys and girls are equally prized in cases of divorce, mother gets custody husband is provider for family: wife maintains home and nurtures children.