More on Islam...a lesson in the faith

I'd like to return to our topic on Islam for the next couple of blogs. It seems to have generated some interest, both within my blog and in the wider community. First, thank you to those who posted comments on the previous blog about Islam. I greatly enjoyed the insights and I shared them with my World Religion class who found them very insightful as well. I continue to encourage you to please post your comments...it gives me something new to read too :-)

The news this morning reported the terrorist attack on the Askariya shrine in Iraq (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq). This mosque is a Shiite holy shrine and is especially prominent becuase of its golden dome that could be seen throughout the city of Samarra. Unfortunately, the explosion all but destroyed this beautiful dome.The Shiites blame the Sunnis for the attack as well as placing some of the blame on the U.S., of course. The Shiites responded by attacking numerous Sunni mosques throughout the area.

There are a couple of reasons I bring this up. First, it is another example of how violence is being used in the 'name' of Islam. Again, this is a sad distortion of a faith whose true focus is that of peace. In fact, the standard greeting given by a Muslim is as-salamu 'alaykum meaning "peace be upon you" which is quite similar to our opening greeting at Mass.

My second reason for bringing this up is to point out that Muslim radicals are seeking not only to destroy Western infidels, but also attack their own, fellow Muslims. Much of the motivation behind these attacks is political although it is also doctrinal. Regarding the political element, these attacks alway come with them some type of blame against the U.S., Israel and Western nations in general. I remind you, this is NOT the bulk of Muslims, rather the radical and extremist 'followers' of Islam.

To better understand this 'civil war,' we need to briefly explore the Shiite and Sunni sects. Both the Shiites and Sunnis are followers of Islam. They both believe in the three core tenants of the faith: oneness of God, the belief in the revelations of Muhammad, and the belief in resurrection on the Day of Judgment. There are some important differences, though, that separate these two sects. I'll try to give a crash course in their differences...and I do mean crash course as I had a one, single day of it in my World Religion class.

The Shiites believe that Muhammad's son, Ali, was the legitimate successor to Muhammad. The problem is that after the death of Muhammad, three others were appointed as his successor (caliph) before Ali became the fourth caliph. Shiites reject the first three caliphs and any caliph after Ali that is not a descendant of Ali's bloodline. For the Shiites, only those who are descendants of Ali are legitimate and are referred to as iman whereas the Sunnis use this term to refer to any of the spiritual masters of the faith. Another important factor is that Shiites often rely on sources outside the Qu'ran for their guidance, especially the imans, who they believe, as descandents of Muhammad, have a closer connection to the divine. Sunnis rely soley on the Qu'ran and hadith, the holy sayings and actions of Muhammad. They also rely on the interpretation of these two by theological and juridical schools of Islamic study. In fact, the Shiites and Sunni even have a different set of hadiths which further complicates things. Lastly, they even differ on their prayer. Shiites pray three times a day whereas Sunni pray five times a day.

Sunnis make up about 85% of the Islamic faith & Shiites make up about 10 to 12% of the faith, but this number is misleading as these sects are not evenly distributed throughout the Muslim world. For example, in Turkey the vast majority of Muslims (90%) are Sunnis. In Iraq and Iran, the Shiites make up the majority of Muslims (nearly 88%). Since these countries are fairly close together, one can see how disputes can easily arise.

I made that rather complicated description of the Shiite and Sunni beliefs so we could better understand the conflicts and almost civil war like disputes going on in our world today, especially in Iran and Iraq. A weak analogy of the primary difference regarding leadership for these two sects might be the Catholic belief in the popes as successors to Peter as opposed to Protestants who believe in no successor of Peter or in the legitimacy of the popes. We both believe in Christ as the Son of God and the core of our faith, but after that many differences arise.

Well, I hope that wasn't TOO boring, but I thought that if we're going to continue discussing the Islamic faith, and it seems we are since it is a topic of interest both on my blog and certainly in the world lately, it'd be nice to have some basics to go from.

I would ask that if anyone is very knowledgable of the Islamic faith and sees that I have misrepresented either sect or forgotten any important elements that they please feel free to correct me or add any necessary information I left out. I am learning about this faith just as we all are. For everyone else, as always, I welcome comments, insights, thoughts, etc and always look forward to hearing from my readers. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 19:02 | link | comments (3) |
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Comments:

#1  22 February 2006 - 20:07

 

I would be hesitant to call Islam a religion of peace. Sure, it has peaceful elements in it...but there are also other elements to it. I have a book on it I have to reread. Hopefully, I am mistaken.

Anonymous

#2  22 February 2006 - 20:09

 

Sorry...that was me that posted that first comment..."I would be hesitant...."...still trying to get the hang of this thing....

Peace

KYSeminarian

#3  23 February 2006 - 07:05

 

I understand your reasoning and can agree with the fact that Islam is not a peaceful religion in its actions. But its roots and the Qur’an itself promote peace. One reads in the Qur’an: "And make not Allah because of your swearing (by Him) an obstacle to your doing good and guarding (against evil) and making peace between men, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing" (2:224). In fact the word 'peace' is found over 50 times in the Qur’an. There are also many references to fighting those who are unbelievers and those who oppose you, but look at our own Scriptures, especially the Old Testament and see how many times battles and wars against others unbelieving nations occur.
I believe that at the heart of Islam is a belief in peace. Their history and even current actions may be contrary to this, but remember our own history. The Crusades were, by no means, a peaceful or even Christian-like time for us. Also the Inquisition was a low point and shameful part of our Christian history.
Interestingly, both of these occurred about 500 to 700 years ago. The Islam faith, which has its beginnings about 600 or 700 A.D., is about 500 to 600 years younger than the Christian faith, so their misuse of the faith currently coincides with the Christian misuse of the faith at about the same time in its 'life'.
Overall, I believe the actions of a few extremists and fanatics cannot be used to judge a whole religion. Christians and Muslims live in peace in many parts of the world and indeed cooperate in service to the poor, the oppressed and the needy. That is the true root of both their and our faith: peaceful service to the People of God.
Thanks, bro, for your comments...I always enjoy your insights because they give me a new angle in which to look at things.

crossman

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