Chapter 11: Islamic Ethics

Chapter 11: Islamic Ethics Allah written in Arabic PHIL 104: Philosophy of Cultural Diversity: Challenge and Change Melissa Gholamnejad, M.A. in Philosophy , Claremont Graduate University

Islamic Faith • Muslims form a majority in over 48 countries. • Islam is the 3rd largest religious group in U.K. and U.S. The 2nd largest religious group in Germany and France. • Most Muslims actually come from non-Arab cultures. For example, the most populous Muslim country is Indonesia.

Prophet Muhammad • Prophet Muhammad was born in thriving commercial city of Mecca around 570. • Both parents died while he was young. Thus, raised by relatives. • Married a wealthy widow. • Trader by occupation, but would spend most of his time in caves meditating. Muhammad written in Arabic.

Prophet Muhammad • Around 610, the archangel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad in a cave on the mountain of ‘Arafat in the present-day Saudi Arabia and relayed to the Prophet God’s design for the world. • Because Muhammad himself was unable to write, his revelations were recorded by his relatives and later put together into a collection called the Qur’an, or “Verses”.

Qur’an • Written in Arabic, the “Verses” are intended to be recited out loud in Arabic. For the sound of the verses represents the divine speech of God, or Allah. • The message from the angel essentially emphasizes submission to the will of Allah, thus the term for this message is “Islam”, which means “submission”. • A Muslim is “one who submits” • It is a message of both discipline and universal love.

Muhammad’s Message • Muhammad died in 632, his message of submission to the will of Allah had become the dominating belief in that part of the world. He had transformed Mecca into a holy city. • Muslims regard Muhammad as Allah’s messenger. • For Muslims there is no other gods but Allah. The rooftop of Al-Masjid al-Haram (The Holy Mosque) filled with worshippers in Mecca

The Five Pillars of Islam • Grounded in the Qur’an, they convey the ethical and moral duties of all Muslims, regardless of sect. • Islamic morality is not about Muslims simply seeking their own individual salvation. Stress the building of a just community. • Muslims must work to bring about a social order that is free from any type of oppression. • Being pious, and just, promises eternal reward to Muslims, whereas impiety mean certain misery in the afterlife. • Muslims have the obligation to bring abut a good and just society. Avicenna makes this clear in his Book of Healing when he prohibits activities such as gambling.

First Pillar: TAWHID • There is no god but God and Muhammad as his prophet. • Muslims are required to recite this credo in public. The credo expresses devotion to one God and to his prophet. • The most serious sin is to worship another god besides Allah. • The glorification of material comforts and monies is therefore contrary to worshiping the one God. • To capture the image of God in statue or paintings is viewed as blasphemous.

Second Pillar: SALAT • Muslims are required to pray 5 times each day: just before sunrise, early afternoon, later afternoon, soon after sunset, just before retiring. • When praying they are required to face toward the Ka’ba the holy temple in Mecca. The Ka’ba the most scared site in Islam. The Mosque al-Haram is build around this in Mecca. The building is believed to predate Islam and build by Abraham.

Third Pillar: SAUM • Muslims are expected to fast during the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar year, from sunrise to sunset. • During this time Muslims are prohibited from smoking and sex. • This strict fasting reminds each Muslim of the poor and destitute throughout the world.

Fourth Pillar: ZAKAT • Muslims are required to give alms each year to the poor and destitute. • Reminds each Muslim of the poor who have no financial mean to support themselves.

Fifth Pillar: HAJJ • Once during his or her lifetime, each Muslim is expected to make a pilgrimage, called Hajj to the holy city of Mecca. To the Ka’ba as long as he or she is physically able and can afford it.

Difference between Sunnis, Shiites, and Sufis • Sunni Muslims claim that succession stems from the leadership of Mu’awiyah (661-750) and his resulting Umayyad dynasty. • Sunni movement remains the mainstream tradition in Islam and, long with all Muslims, advocates strict submission to the will of Allah. • Sunnis are referred to as orthodox Muslims. • Shiites claim Ali and his son Husain are the rightful successors. • Shi’i teachings still prevail in Iran and Iraq and few other countries. • Shi’i hold the notion of an Imam as the spiritual leader of all of Islam. • There is succession of 12 Imam of whom the last, named Muhammad, has yet to appear. The hidden Imam currently exists in Allah’s paradise.

Sunnis and Shiites • Both Sunnis and Shiites require that Muslims practice the 5 pillars of Islam. • Demand absolute devotion to the one and only God, Allah, and chastise the worship of another god. • They both require that every Muslim strive to achieve good and just society. • Although both Sunni and Shiites share the basic moral teachings, Shiites tend to interpret these teachings in more extreme ways. Those cities underlined in red are the site of Shiites Muslims.

Sufis • For orthodox Muslims (Sunnis) there is irreparable distance between the human and the divine. Any attempt to approximate or identify with the divine is viewed as blasphemous. Sufis however, claim that human have an essential oneness with Allah. • Mainstream Muslims are generally critical of Sufis because they see them as more concerned with their own individual salvation than with working actively to establish a just society. That is they place personal piety above the common welfare. • The great Muslim philosopher Avicenna (980-1037) tends to exhibit the Sufi emphasis upon personal devotion. • Most Muslim scholars admit that Sufis come closer to the core meaning of devotion, which is spiritual in nature and not at all military or political.

The Islamic Law • Islamic law or Sharia covers all sorts of topics from civil law to morality. • To avoid conflicting interpretations of the law, Muslim scholars proposed 4 criteria for establishing legitimacy. • 1st—the Qur’an • 2nd—Tradition, called Sunna, which often relies upon the works that record the life and statements of Muhammad, called hadith. • 3rd—use of critical thinking to arrive at analogies. • 4th—social approval and consensus. • For example: woman wearing the veil or hejab. Picture of university of Al-Azhar’s courtyard in Cairo, Egypt.

Women And The Veil • The wearing of the veil is deeply symbolic, it signifies that the woman is Muslim and thus submits to the will of Allah. • Wearing the veil embodies her personal decision to follow the teachings and example of the prophet, Muhammad. • So why is the veil viewed as being oppressed? • It is not only the wearing of the veil but rather the inequalities found between men and women in Islam that gives the impression of oppression. • For example, only men are allowed multiple wives not women. Qur’an permits husbands to inherit twice as much property and possessions as their wives. Although women have learned basic instructions of Qur’an, in contrast to men they were/are excluded from receiving any further education. Play no role in public and political affairs. • All of these together has led the veil to become symbolized as oppression.

Nevertheless • The Qur’an makes it clear that drawing unnecessary attention to oneself, whether man or woman, detracts from the selfless obedience and submission required by Allah. • Muslims believe that true feminity and physical beauty are not one and the same. • Wearing the veil is a way for the woman to reveal her feminity while concealing her sexuality. • By wearing the veil, the Muslim woman chooses to make a statement about her identity, namely that she is a true Muslim, and that means she chooses not to be looked upon as a sex object by others.

Islamic Image Problem • Treatment of woman in Islam • Defense of polygamy • Islam is often linked to the extremely political fabric in middle east countries. • Americans have come to think of Islam as a religion of violent fanatics. • It is important to know there is a difference between Islamic extremists and a devout Muslim who follow the creed of nonviolence that is found in the Qur’an. Picture of Louis Farrakan the leader of Nation of Islam in America.

Prevailing Misconception of Islam • Islam is against the West. • However, the view is due to the dualist view of Islam. World of Believers (dar al-Islam) and the world of heretics (dar al-Harb). It is this second one that leads to Islamic extremism. • On one hand we have suicide bombings in Hamas or “istishhadi”=“self-chosen martyrdom” • In contrast Islam tends to be more conservative in monarchy of Saudi Arabia, which has consistently been an American ally. • Not to deny that there are Islamic extremist but to not confuse them with devout Muslims.

Does Islam Promote Violence? • Islam is essentially a religion that preaches nonviolence as in Buddhism, compassion is a key virtue in Islamic ethics. • Muslim encourages a just society and to rid society of all forms of oppression. • However, even though Islam upholds nonviolence as an ideal, there may be times when violence is permitted in order to restore injustice and to resist oppression. • Violence is permitted only when it is absolutely necessary for the purpose of defense. It must be the last resort.

Jihad • West thinks of jihad as “holy war” between Muslims and non-Muslims • Jihad literally means “struggle”. It is an interior and personal struggle within a Muslim to remain true to his or her beliefs. • Also refers to the struggle to apply these beliefs to the social realm with the aim of bringing about a better world. • However extremists in Muslim have interpreted this version of jihad in brutal, literal fashion. Picture above depicts what a jihad extremist looks like or is thought of as looking like in the West. However, this is NOT what the Qur’an refers to as being jihad.

Mohammad Abd al-Salam al-Faraj • Was executed in 1982 after the attack on Egypt's president Anwal Sadat in 1981. • He wrote the pamphlet “The Neglected Duty” • According to him Qur’an offers valid sanction for assassination. • Supported violent overthrow of enemies of Islam whether soldiers or civilians. • In his pamphlet Faraj proposes a 6th pillar of Islam. • 1. belief in one God, 2. daily prayers, 3. alms to the poor, 4. fasting during Ramadan, 5. pilgrimage to Mecca, 6. all devout Muslims to conduct a jihad against enemies of Islam like Americans and their allies. • Examples: The Muslim Brotherhood, Afghanistan, the Taliban and Osma Bin Laden • Unfortunately this text remains a pivotal text for modern militant Muslims even though written in 1970s • Muslim scholars from the esteemed university of al-Azhar insist that jihad represents a spiritual struggle that can be resolved through proper knowledge and reflection.

Revision of Islam Khatami and Roxana Saberi • Revision that challenges both extremist views and the more traditional perspective. • Iran—the election of Khatami as president in 1997 • At the time Khatami urged to confront western influences not by rejection , as preached by traditional clergy, and not through militant opposition, as encouraged by extremist. Rather argued that Muslims need to face up to scientific advancement. • Duty of every Muslim to adapt Muslim beliefs to changing realities. Khatami and Ahmandinejad after the 2005 election.

Weakness in Islamic Ethics • Terrorist violence is still justify their action by appealing to Qur’anic teachings. • Drawing a distinctions between the extremists and devout Muslim does not resolve this critical problem of interpretation. • Is there room for individual conscience in Islam? • Women wearing veil, should be a free decision undertaken by women. Yet many women are strongly pressured by their families and by their society into wearing the veil • Does Islamic teaching support individual choice? • Islamic teachings appear vague here. • Feminist point to double standards in applying certain rules.

Strength in Islamic Ethics • Islamic ethics lies in its simplistic reliance upon its religious teachings. • Ultimate aim in Islamic ethics is to pursue the Truth—Allah and his message constitute Truth. • Emphasis upon balance and avoidance of the extreme positions of materialism and spiritualism. • Similar to Aristotle’s teaching concerning virtue. Avoidance of excess and deficiency. • Has a harmonious vision of understanding between the individual and the collective. • Recognizes the organizational and social roots of oppression. • The reason why Islamic teachings seek to transform both the individual and the society.

Chapter 11: Islamic Ethics