Islam: Faith and Practice

1. Islam: Faith and Practice Mehdi Noorbaksh Ph.D., MBA, MHA Associate Professor of International Affairs Coordinator of General Education Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Fellow, Center for International Studies, University of St. Thomas President, Southwestern International Studies Association

2. Islam: Geography • Population is 1.66 billion • 25% of the worlds Population • 52% of Africa • 30% of Asia • 7% of Europe (Germany with largest Muslim population 4 million, and France with 3.5 million) • 2.3% of North America (United States with 7 million and Canada with close to 1 million) • The largest Muslim population in Americas, Argentina with close to 1 million Muslims • The Most Populated Muslim Countries • Indonesia 203 million • Pakistan 174, India 161, Bangladesh 145, Iran 74, and Turkey 74 million • The Middle East and North Africa • 315 million in the Middle East • 20% of the world Muslim population

3. Islam: Geography II • The percentage of Muslim population • Afghanistan 99.7% • Azerbaijan 99.2% • Bangladesh 89.6% • Bulgaria 12.2% • China 1.6% • India 13.4% • Indonesia 88.2% • Iran 99.4% • Israel 16.7% • Spain 1% • Switzerland 4.3% • United Kingdom 2.7% • United States 2.3%

4. Islam: Tenets of Faith • Pillars of Faith • Declaration of Faith (Shahda), There is no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger • Prayer (Salat), Five times during the day-at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening • Thanksgiving to God by supporting the poor (Zakat), 2.5% of wealth • Fasting (soum), one month during the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset • Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca in Saudi Arabia • Islam is followed by Sunni Muslims(85%) and Shiite(15%) • Theology is based on: • Quran, Sunnah (tradition of the prophet), Aghl (reasoning) and Ijma’ (consensus) • Recognized school of theology: Hanbali, Shafei, Maliki, Hanafi and Shite Ithna Ashari

5. Islam: Other Faiths • No compulsion in religion • “There is to be no compulsion in religion,” Quran 2:256 • “O humankind, We have created you male and female and made you nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another,” Quran 49:13 • “Surely the believers and the Jews, Christians and Sabians, whoever believes in God and the last day, and whoever does right, shall have his reward with his lord and will neither have fear nor regret,” Quran 2:62 • “Say, We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us, and in what has been sent down to Abraham and Ismail and Isaac and Jacob and their offspring, and what has been revealed to Moses and Jesus and to all prophets of our Lord. We make no distinction between them and we submit to Him and obey,” Quran 3:84

6. Islam: Other Faith II • In Islam the concept of prophecy is broader than Judaism and Christianity • Muslims distinguish between “prophets” and “messengers” • While all messengers are prophets not all prophets are messenger • Abraham, Noah, Joseph, and John the Baptist are all prophets • Moses, Jesus and Muhammad are Messengers in the tradition of Abrahamic faith

7. Islam: Reading and Interpretation • There is no structure for priesthood in Islam • There is the concept of Ijtihad (reasoning in matters of faith and society). Anyone can have Ijtihad as long as he or she is relatively knowledgeable about the faith • Two spectrums of reading and interpretation in Islam • Reformist Islam • Puritanical Islam

8. Islam: Reading and Interpretation II • Reformist Islam • Relies on reason and Ijtihad • Relies on modern science to understand complexities of society, is not superstitious and deterministic • Advocates want to purify faith from traditional cultures and misinterpretation • Sees faith within the confine of rationality • Relies on faith to enhance norms and values within society • It is the religion of the intellectuals and educated • It rejects structured religion

9. Islam: Reading and Interpretation III • Puritanical Islam • It is the religion of the literal reading of faith • This reading of faith relies on determinism • This reading of faith is attached to emotion and colored by culture and tradition • It uses social institutions and resources for the promotion of the faith • It is a conservative reading of religion as against the intellectual and informed understanding of the faith • It is highly authority oriented and hierarchical

10. Islam: Politics and Government • Politics in Reformist Islam • All who support Reformist Islam are political • Sees total compatibility between faith and democratic norms • The advocates of Reformist Islam are in the forefront of the battle for democratic rule and government in their societies • In many parts of the Muslim world, they collaborate with secular forces to establish democratic institutions in their society • They are not tolerated by authoritarian regimes and puritanists alike • They are not necessarily against the Western values

11. Islam: Politics and Government II • Not all supporters of puritanical Islam are political • Those who are: • They see incompatibility between the faith and democratic norms • They are for establishing theocratic governments • If they can, they join forces with authoritarian regimes for the promise of a theocracy • They resort to violence for achieving their goals • They are not tolerated by secular authoritarian regimes • They are mostly against all Western values

12. Islam: Politics and Government III • Muslims participation in government: • India: Muslims contributed to Indian democracy • Indonesia: successful to fully establish democratic government and institutions • Malaysia: Established democratic government • Turkey: Took over the government from military and secular bureaucrats • Iran: Advocates of Reformist Islam are in a battle with puritanist theocrats • Muslims fully participated in the politics of the Western democracies

13. Islam: Politics and Government IV • Three failed government by Puritanists: • The experience of Jamaat Islami in Pakistan under Zia ul-Haq in the 1970’s • The Experience of Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini • The Experience of Sudan under Bashir governmet in the 1990’s • Advocates of Piratical Islam when gained power • Establish theocratic regimes in which Islam is used as a mean for discipline and control • These regimes start with authoritarianism and lean toward totalitarianism

14. Islam: Jihad and Terrorism • Jihad in Arabic means to strive in the path of God • Non-violence (the greater Jihad): Struggle against one’s own ego, selfishness, evil and misdeed • Violent (the lesser Jihad): The right to defend faith and community • Political Puritanists combined militancy with messianic vision to inspire violent act against what they interpret enemy • They are marginal groups who participate in terrorism • Supporters of Reformist Islam and even non-political Puritanits condemn their violence

15. Islam: The Future • The battle between Reformist Islam and Puritanical Islam will continue • In countries with poverty and authoritarian rule, political puritanists will have more chance of success to recruit • In countries with better economy and an educated middle class, the advocates of Reformist Islam will win the battle against the Puritanists • In countries benefiting more from globalization and its economic benefits, the danger of radicalism is lower

16. Islam: The Future II • Policies that can help eradicate radicalism and terrorism • Eradication of poverty by development and education in countries with high level of poverty • Western support for democratic change especially in the Middle East • Resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict • Western attention to democratic forces and not authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world