Learning About Islam

> It was Thursday afternoon, that March 5th 2004, and I was at my laptop at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Bahrain.  Two years I had been traveling to the Middle East for consulting projects, and I was even more keen to learn about its religion and culture. <

Al Qatif, Saudi Arabia (2004)

I’m learning about Islam in an effort to get a better handle on its people and impact on world events.  I read three great articles recently:   The Shiite Surge; From golden age to an embattled faith; and A historian’s take on Islam steers US in terrorism fight.  Additional references to consider purchasing:  What went wrong? The clash between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East; Islam: A guide for Jews and Christians; and Terror in the name of God.

In 610, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, a 40-year old businessman, was on a month-long spiritual retreat on Mr. Hira, near the Arabian city of Mecca. The archangel Gabriel commanded him to recite (Iqra), and words came pouring out of the soon-to-be Prophet.  Over the next 22 years, more such revelations came to Muhammad, which his followers documented to form the Q’uran.

A major fissure in Islam occurred in the first century of its existence: The sect that came to be known as Shiites believed that Imam Ali (son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, killed in 661) and Imam Hussein (Ali's son, killed in 680) were the rightful descendants. The Sunnis, on the other hand, followed the teachings of the Prophet’s companions.  This past Monday and Tuesday, March 1st and 2nd, it was the Ashourra holiday to celebrate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

From the 9th to the 14th Century, great minds and leaders from the youngest of the three major world religious forged ahead with great contributions. For example, an Islamic mathematician pioneered algebra. Arab astronomers plotted star locations. Muslim physicians were the first to use catgut to close incisions.

The advancements of the Islamic world were apparently so great that these lulled its people into believing that the West couldn’t possibly catch up.  Beginning with the Renaissance in the 14th century, then the Reformation, and the scientific revolution in the 17th century, the other religions apparently surged passed Islam. It “passed virtually unnoticed in the land of Islam.”

Islam was clearly divergent in its efforts to catch up, when it finally opened its eyes. This divergence alone was a bad sign. The misjudgment above, plus its lack of a cohesive force and leadership, remains a bane for Islam through today.

Al Qatif, Saudi Arabia (2004)

On the one hand, earlier this century, Kemal Ataturk established a secular state that is now Turkey, an attempt to copy the Western separation of church and state.  On the other hand, Mohammad Abdul-Wahhab had already called for a radical reform of the religion in the 18th century. He preached a return to the pure faith of the first Muslims in the 7th century.  The House of Saud adopted Wahhabism.  The royal family of Saudi Arabia didn't just adopt Wahhabism, but with their largess, they also reinforced and propagated it.

The most infamous Saudi, Osama bin Laden, was a Wahhabi, who railed against the US, for having “infidel” troops stationed in the Holy Land of the Arabia Peninsula during the first Gulf War, and against Saudi Arabia, for allowing such intrusion.

Since the destruction of the Baathist Party in Iraq and the capture of Saddam Hussein, the majority group of Iraqi Shiites are looking to assume power. But their approach to doing so is curious:  They are largely advocating caution and patience. There is a June 2004 date for the handing over of authority to the Iraqi people, from the Americans, and the Shiites are not keen on pushing the envelop. They’ve waited since 661, the murder of Imam Ali, about 1350 years ago, and they can wait another handful of months.

I have understood that the Qur'an, like the Torah and the Gospels, preach tolerance, kindness and peace, but can be interpreted with a more violent lens.  But it seems to me that this ambiguity cannot entirely explain the precepts that a militant minority of Muslims abides by, for apparently there are specific phrases in the Qur'an which call for violence: for example, “Slay the idolaters wherever ye find them…  Think not of those who are slain [such as by suicide] in the cause of God as dead. Nay, they live in the presence of the Lord and are granted gifts from him.”

There are specific phrases, too, that support the tolerant, kind precepts: for example, “Call unto the way of the Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better way…  And do not kill yourself, for God is indeed merciful to you.”

Al Qatif, Saudi Arabia (2004)

Here’s my thinking: It is apparent that the recorders of the revelations to Prophet Mohammad may have had very different views of how to interpret and live by Islam. As the early fissure occurred, perhaps its respective followers interpreted, or even rewrote, the Qur'an according to its particular beliefs.

In others, just as the Old Testament is full of violence (cf. Mel Gibson’s film “Passion of Christ”), violence, militancy and ultra-fundamentalism may have been very much a part of Islam from its inception. Indeed the Prophet Mohammad had to fight vicious battles against aggressions to defend the nascent religion. In this respect, the war against terrorism is a modern-day continuation of these violent battles among men.

> Notes

Ron Villejo, PhD

February 2013 <