INTRODUCTION
ISLAMIC DOCTRINE
THE KORAN
THE SUNNA
GOD
ETHICS
PROPHETS
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
PILLARS OF ISLAM
ISLAM AND SOCIETY
THE COMMUNITY OF THE FAITHFUL
EDUCATION
ISLAMIC LAW
SCHOOLS OF EDUCATION
JIHAD
THE FAMILY
HISTORY
MUHAMMED
THE CLASSICAL PERIOD
THE MUTAZILITES
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
SUFISM
THE SHIITES
OTHER SECTS
ISLAM IN THE MODERN WORLD
ISLAM AND RELIGIONS
The two fundamental sources of Islamic doctrine and practice are the Koran and the Sunna, or the exemplary conduct of the Prophet Muhammad.
Muslims regard the Koran as the speech of God to Muhammad, mediated by Gabriel, the angel of revelation; they believe that God himself, not Muhammad, is the author and therefore that the Koran is infallible. The document called the Koran is the collection of the passages revealed to Muhammad during the approximately 22 years of his prophetic life (610-32). It is divided into 114 chapters of unequal length, the shortest containing only 3 short verses, the longest containing 306 long verses. Both Islamic and non-Islamic scholars agree on the essential integrity of the text of the Koran throughout its history.
The second substantive source of Islam, the
Sunna, or example of the Prophet, is known through Hadith, the body of
traditions based on what the Prophet said or did regarding various issues.
Unlike the Koran, which was memorized—either in whole or in part—by many
followers of Muhammad during their lifetime and which was compiled in written
form quite early, the transmission of Hadith was largely verbal, and the
present authoritative collections date from the 9th century.
Unlike the Koran, Hadith is not considered
infallible. In the early Islamic period, whether or not the Prophet himself
was infallible (apart from the revelations in the Koran) was a point of
controversy. Later, however, the consensus of the Islamic community was
that both he and the earlier prophets were infallible. Because Hadith was
mainly transmitted orally, however, it was conceded that error could enter
into the human transmission. Hadith, therefore, is a source secondary to
the Koran, although it is almost equally fundamental for most Muslims.
Recent research, not yet accepted by the large
body of Muslims, has demonstrated that much of Hadith was not derived from
the Prophet but represents the opinions of the early generations of Muslims,
opinions that were subsequently attributed to the Prophet. In some cases
a genuine statement of the Prophet was preserved, but additions to it were
later made by Muslims who wanted to advance certain theological or legal
opinions.
Monotheism is central to Islam—a belief in
only one God, unitary and omnipotent. Belief in a plurality of gods or
in the extension of God's divinity to any person is emphatically rejected.
God created nature through a primordial act of mercy; otherwise there would
be pure nothingness. God provided each element of his creation with its
own proper nature, or laws governing its conduct, so that it follows a
characteristic pattern. The result is a well-ordered, harmonious whole,
a cosmos in which everything has its proper place and limitations. No gaps,
dislocations, or ruptures, therefore, are found in nature. God presides
over and governs the universe, which, with its orderly functioning, is
the primary sign and proof of God and his unity. Violations of the natural
order in the form of miracles occurred in the past, but although the Koran
accepts the miracles of earlier prophets (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus,
and others), it declares them outdated; Muhammad's miracle is the Koran,
the like of which no human can produce.
According to Islam, God has four fundamental
functions with respect to the universe and to humanity in particular: creation,
sustenance, guidance, and judgment. God, who created the universe out of
sheer mercy, is bound to sustain it as well. All nature has been made subservient
to humanity, which may exploit it and benefit from it. The ultimate purpose
of humanity, however, is to be in the “service of God,” that is, to worship
him alone and to construct an ethical social order free from “corruptions.”
The Koran declares that “reforming the earth” is the ideal of human endeavor. The basic criticism of humanity in the Koran is that it is too proud and too petty, narrow-minded, and selfish. “Man is by nature timid,” says the Koran. “When evil befalls him, he panics, but when good things come to him he prevents them from reaching others.” This pettiness causes individuals to become so submerged in nature that they lose sight of its Creator—only when nature fails them do they, in their utter frustration, turn to God. Because of their shortsightedness, people fear that charity and sacrificing for others will result in their own impoverishment. This, however, is Satan's influence, for God promises prosperity in return for generosity to the poor. The Koran insists, therefore, that individuals transcend their pettiness and enlarge themselves. By doing so, they will develop the inner moral quality that the Koran calls taqwa (usually translated “fear of God,” but actually meaning “to guard against danger”). By this quality humans can discern right from wrong and, above all, can evaluate their own actions properly, escaping self-deception, a danger to which they are always exposed. Often people think they have done something consequential, but the deed has no importance in the long run. The real worth of a person's deeds can be judged only through taqwa, and an individual's aim should be the ultimate benefit of humanity, not the immediate pleasures or ambitions of the self.
Because of humanity's moral weakness, God has sent prophets to teach both individuals and nations correct moral and spiritual behavior. After creation and sustenance, God's mercy is consummated in these acts of divine guidance. Although right and wrong are inscribed in the human heart, the inability or refusal of many people to decipher that inscription has made prophetic guidance necessary. This guidance is universal; no one on earth has been left without it. Adam was the first prophet; after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, God forgave him his lapse (for this reason Islam does not accept the doctrine of original sin). The messages of all prophets emanate from the same divine source, which in the Koran is called “The Preserved Tablets,” “The Hidden Book,” or “The Mother of All Divine Books.” Religions are, therefore, basically one, even though their institutionalized forms may differ. Prophets are one indivisible unity, and one must believe in all of them, for to accept some and reject others amounts to a denial of the divine truth. All prophets are human; they have no share in divinity, but they are the most perfect exemplars for humanity. Some prophets are superior to others, however, particularly in steadfastness under trial. Thus, the Koran describes Muhammad as the “Seal of all Prophets.” From this arises the Islamic belief that prophethood was consummated and finished with him and that the Koran is the final and most nearly perfect revelation of God, consummating and superseding all earlier ones.
The divine activities of creation, sustenance,
and guidance end with the final act of judgment. On the Day of Judgment,
all humanity will be gathered, and individuals will be judged solely according
to their deeds. The “successful ones” will go to the Garden (heaven), and
the “losers,” or the evil, will go to hell, although God is merciful and
will forgive those who deserve forgiveness. Besides the Last Judgment,
which will be on individuals, the Koran recognizes another kind of divine
judgment, which is meted out in history to nations, peoples, and communities.
Nations, like individuals, may be corrupted by wealth, power, and pride,
and, unless they reform, these nations are punished by being destroyed
or subjugated by more virtuous nations.
Practices and Institutions
Five duties, known as the “pillars of Islam,” are regarded as cardinal in Islam and as central to the life of the Islamic community.
Profession of Faith
In accordance with Islam's absolute commitment
to monotheism, the first duty is the profession of faith (the Shahadah):
“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.” This profession
must be made publicly by every Muslim at least once in his or her lifetime
“by the tongue and with full assent from the heart”; it defines the membership
of an individual in the Islamic community.
Prayer
The second duty is that of five daily prayers.
The first prayer is offered before sunrise, the second in the very early
afternoon, the third in the late afternoon, the fourth immediately after
sunset, and the fifth before retiring and before midnight. In prayers,
Muslims face the Kaaba, a small, cube-shaped structure in the courtyard
of al-Haram (the “inviolate place”), the great mosque of Mecca. A single
unit of prayer consists of a standing posture, then a genuflection followed
by two prostrations, and finally a sitting posture. In each of these postures
prescribed prayers and portions of the Koran are recited.
All five prayers in Islam are congregational
and are to be offered in a mosque, but they may be offered individually
if, for some reason, a person cannot be present with a congregation. Individual,
devotional prayers are not obligatory, but Muslims are encouraged to offer
them after midnight; they are called tahajjud (“night-vigil”). In the Middle
East and Indonesia, women also join the congregational prayers, although
they pray in a separate room or hall. In the Indian subcontinent, Muslim
women pray at home. Before praying, the worshiper must make ablutions.
Before every congregational prayer, a formal
public call to prayer is made from a minaret of the mosque by the muezzin
(from azan, “call to prayer”). In recent times the call has been made over
a microphone so that those at some distance can hear it.
Special early afternoon prayers are offered
on Fridays in congregational mosques. These are preceded by a sermon from
the pulpit by the imam, also called the Khatib. On the two annual religious
festival days called Ids (one immediately after the end of the fasting
month of Ramadan and the other immediately after the pilgrimage to Mecca),
there are special prayers followed by sermons in the morning. These prayers
are not held in mosques but in a wide space outside set apart for this
purpose.
Almsgiving
The third cardinal duty of a Muslim is to
pay zakat. This was originally the tax levied by Muhammad (and later by
Muslim states) on the wealthy members of the community, primarily to help
the poor. It was also used for winning converts to Islam; for the ransom
of war captives; for the relief of people in chronic debt; for jihad (the
struggle for the cause of Islam, or holy war), which, according to the
Koran commentators, includes health and education; and for facilitating
travel and communications. Only when zakat has been paid is the rest of
a Muslim's property considered purified and legitimate. In most Muslim
states zakat is no longer collected by the government and instead has become
a voluntary charity, but it is still recognized as an essential duty by
all Muslims. In a number of countries strong demands have been made to
reinstate it as a tax, but this would entail a complete revision of its
rates and structure to conform with the needs of a modern state.
Fasting
The fourth duty is the fast of the month of
Ramadan. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, Islamic festivals are not
confined to any one season. Even during hot summers, most Muslims meticulously
observe fasting. During the fasting month, one must refrain from eating,
drinking, smoking, and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset. Throughout
the month one must abstain from all sinful thoughts and actions. Those
who can afford it must also feed at least one poor person. If one is sick
or on a journey that causes hardship, one need not fast but must compensate
by fasting on subsequent days.
Pilgrimage
The fifth duty is the pilgrimage to the Kaaba
at Mecca. Every adult Muslim who is physically and economically able to
do so must make this pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime. Held
during the first ten days of the last month of the lunar year, the rite
requires that the pilgrims enter into a state of purity in which they wear
only a seamless white garment, abstain from shedding blood and cutting
either hair or nails, and avoid all forms of vulgarity. The main constituents
of this lengthy rite are seven circumambulations of the Kaaba, walking
fast between two mounds near the sanctuary seven times, marching three
miles to Mina, then proceeding six miles to Arafat, staying the afternoon
and listening to a sermon there, then marching back to Mecca, offering
a sacrifice in a memory of Abraham's attempted sacrifice of his son, and
once again circumambulating the Kaaba.
During recent years, air travel has allowed
Muslims from all parts of the world to perform the pilgrimage. In 1977
the reported number was close to 2 million. Through the centuries, the
Kaaba has played an important role as a meeting place of Islamic scholars
for the exchange and diffusion of ideas. For the past two decades, the
pilgrimage has also been used to promote political solidarity in the Muslim
world.
Besides these five basic institutions, other
important laws of Islam include the prohibition of alcohol consumption
and of eating the flesh of swine. Besides the Kaaba, the central shrine
of Islam, the most important centers of Islamic life are the mosque, where
daily prayers are offered, and the cathedral mosque, where Friday services
are held.
The Islamic view of society is theocratic in the sense that the goal of all Muslims is “God's rule on earth.” This does not, however, imply clerical rule, although religious authorities have had considerable political influence in some Muslim societies. Islamic social philosophy is based on the belief that all spheres of life—spiritual, social, political, and economic—form an indivisible unity that must be thoroughly imbued with Islamic values. This ideal informs such concepts as “Islamic law” and the “Islamic state” and accounts for Islam's strong emphasis on social life and social duties. Even the cardinal religious duties prescribed in the five pillars of Islam have clear social implications.
The basis of Islamic society is the community of the faithful, which is consolidated by the performance of the five pillars of Islam. Its mission is to “command good and prohibit evil” and thus to reform the earth. The community must be moderate, however, and avoid all extremes. During the Middle Ages, Islamic religious authorities began to claim a degree of infallibility for the community, but the European colonial domination of Muslim countries led to speculation that the community must have erred and was being punished. In the 20th century, Islamic thinkers have consequently offered various diagnoses of Muslim society and proposals for reform.
The Islamic university system contributed to
the great cultural developments of Islam. The universities were founded
as institutions of religious learning, where the ulama (religious scholars),
qadis (judges), muftis (interpreters of the law), and other high religious
officials were trained. These officials formed an important political class,
especially in Turkey and India, where they had much influence over state
policies. In many 20th-century Muslim countries, however, the ulama have
lost much of their former influence, especially among Western-educated
Muslims who do not wish a strictly religious code of government; in Turkey
the ulama have been stripped of legal power altogether.
In the 9th century the caliph al-Mamun founded
an academy at Baghd?d for the study of secular subjects and for the translation
of Greek philosophical and scientific texts. In the 10th century, at Cairo,
the Fatimid caliphs also established an academy for secular learning, Al
Azhar, still the most important center for Islamic learning. Rulers and
wealthy patrons usually made funds available for individual scholars. Medieval
Islamic scholars made important contributions to the fields of philosophy,
medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and the natural sciences; between the
9th and 13th centuries the Islamic community was the most productive civilization
in the world.
Among other famous Islamic universities, the
Nizamiya, founded (1067) at Baghd?d by the Iranian statesman Nizam al-Mulk,
taught law, theology, and Islamic tradition and had on its staff the famous
philosopher al-Ghazali; the Mustansiriya, founded (1234) at Baghd?d, taught
religious law and other subjects.
Islamic law, called the Sharia, spells out
the moral goals of the community. In Islamic society, therefore, the term
law has a wider significance than it does in the modern secular West, because
Islamic law includes both legal and moral imperatives. For the same reason,
not all Islamic law can be stated as formal legal rules or enforced by
the courts. Much of it depends on conscience alone.
The Four Sources
Islamic law is based on four sources, or “roots
of law.” The first two are the documentary sources, the Koran and the Sunna,
or Hadith. The third source is called ijtihad (“responsible individual
opinion”). It has been used when an issue is not covered by passages in
the Koran or Sunna; a jurist may then resolve the issue by using analogical
reasoning (qiyas). Such reasoning was first employed when Islamic theologians
and jurists in conquered countries were confronted with the need to integrate
local customs and laws with the Koran and Sunna. Later, Islamic authorities
considered this original thinking a threat to the Koran and Sunna and laid
down strict rules limiting its use. Because of the profound changes in
the Muslim world community during the last few decades, however, a renewed
emphasis has been placed on the innovative thinking of ijtihad. The fourth
source is the consensus (ijma) of the community, which is reached by gradually
discarding some opinions and accepting others. Because Islam has no official
dogmatic authority, this is an informal process that often requires a long
period of time.
Five schools of law developed in Islam, four Sunnite and one Shiite. The four Sunnite schools emerged in the first two centuries of Islam: the Shafi'i, the Hanafi, the Maliki, and the Hanbali. All use systematic reasoning to deal with areas of law not covered by the Koran or Sunna. They differ primarily in their emphasis on textual authority or analogical reasoning, but each school recognizes the conclusions of the others as being perfectly legitimate and within the framework of orthodox Islam. Each school tends to predominate in certain areas: the Hanafi in the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Turkey, and to some extent in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine; the Maliki in North Africa; the Shafi'i in Southeast Asia; and the Hanbali in Saudi Arabia. The Shiite school (called the Jafari) prevails in Iran.
The term jihad, usually translated “holy war,”
designates the struggle toward the Islamic goal of “reforming the earth,”
which may include the use of armed force if necessary. The prescribed purpose
of jihad, however, is not territorial expansion or the forcible conversion
of people to Islam, but the assumption of political power in order to implement
the principles of Islam through public institutions. The concept of jihad
was nevertheless used by some medieval Muslim rulers to justify wars motivated
by purely political ambitions.
According to classical Islamic law, the world
was divided into three zones: the House of Islam, where Muslims are ascendant;
the House of Peace, those powers with whom Muslims have peace agreements;
and the House of War, the rest of the world. Gradually, however, jihad
came to be interpreted more in defensive than in offensive terms. In the
20th century the concept of jihad inspired Muslims in their struggle against
Western colonialism.
The early Islamic community aimed at strengthening
the family at the expense of old tribal loyalties, although it was not
able to suppress the latter. The Koran stresses filial piety and “love
and mercy” between husband and wife. Men and women are declared equal,
“except that men are a degree higher” because they are charged with the
household expenditure. Sexual fidelity is sternly demanded, and proven
adultery is punishable by 100 lashes.
The Koran advocates measures that were intended
to improve the condition of women. The infanticide of girls, formerly prevalent
among certain tribes, is forbidden; daughters are given a share of inheritances,
although only half of that allotted to boys. The Koran repeatedly emphasizes
the kind treatment of women and grants to wives the right of divorce in
case of maltreatment. The Koran approves polygamy, allowing as many as
four wives, but also states, “if you fear you cannot do justice among co-wives,
then marry only one wife.” The abuse of polygamy and of the husband's right
in traditional Islam to repudiate his wife, even when her conduct is faultless,
has recently led to the enactment of reformed family laws in most Muslim
countries.
In Muhammad's time (circa 570-632), the Arabian Peninsula was inhabited by nomadic Bedouins engaged in herding and brigandage, and by city-dwelling Arabs engaged in trade. The religion of the Arabs was polytheistic and idolatrous. Nonetheless, an old tradition of monotheism, or at least a belief in a supreme deity, existed. Jewish and Christian communities probably contributed to a growing receptivity to monotheistic doctrines, although neither Judaism nor Christianity proved attractive to the Arabs. A number of monotheistic preachers preceded Muhammad but had little success.
Muhammed began his ministry at the age of 40,
when, he claimed, the archangel Gabriel appeared to him in a vision. Muhammad
confided to his family and close friends the substance of this and succeeding
visions. After four years he had converted some 40 persons to his views,
and he then began to preach openly in his native city of Mecca. Ridiculed
by the Meccans, he went in 622 to Medina. It is from this event, the Hegira
that the Islamic calendar is dated. At Medina, Muhammed soon held both
temporal and spiritual authority, having been recognized as a lawgiver
and prophet. Arab and Jewish opposition to him in Medina was crushed, and
war was undertaken against Mecca. Increasingly, Arab tribes declared their
allegiance to him, and Mecca surrendered in 630. At his death in 632 Muhammed
was the leader of an Arab state growing rapidly in power.
Muhammed's central teachings were the goodness,
omnipotence, and unity of God and the need for generosity and justice in
human relations. Important elements from Judaism and Christianity were
incorporated into the emergent religion, but it was rooted in the pre-Islamic
Arabic tradition; such central institutions as the pilgrimage and the Kaaba
shrine were absorbed, in modified form, from Arabic paganism. Muhammed,
in reforming the pre-Islamic Arabic tradition, also confirmed it.
During the first centuries of Islam (7th-10th century), its law and theology, the basic orthodox Islamic disciplines, were developed. Theology is next in importance to law in Islam, although it is not as essential as Christian theology has been to Christianity. Theological speculation began soon after Muhammad's death. The first major dispute was provoked by the assassination of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, and subsequent political struggles. The question was whether a Muslim remains a Muslim after committing grave sins. A fanatical group called the Kharijites maintained that the commission of serious sins, without due repentance, excludes even an observant Muslim (who continues to subscribe to the articles of faith) from the Islamic community. Good works, therefore, and not just faith, are essential to Islam. The Kharijites came to regard almost all Muslim political authorities as impious, and after numerous rebellions, they were finally suppressed. A more moderate faction of Kharijites, called Ibadis, survived, however, and still exists in North and East Africa, Syria, and Oman.
The translation of Greek philosophical works into Arabic in the 8th and 9th centuries resulted in the emergence of the first major Islamic theological school, called the Mutazilites, who stressed reason and rigorous logic. The question of the importance of good works persisted, and the Mutazilites maintained that a person who committed a grave sin without repenting was neither a Muslim nor a non-Muslim but occupied a middle ground. Their fundamental emphasis, however, was on the absolute unity and justice of God. They declared God to be pure Essence without attributes, because attributes would imply multiplicity. Divine justice requires human free will, because if the individual is not free to choose between good and evil, reward and punishment become absurd. God, because he is perfectly just, cannot withhold reward from the good or punishment from the evil. As rationalists, the Mutazilites maintained that human reason is competent to distinguish between good and evil, although it may be supplemented by revelation. The theology of the Mutazilites was established as a state creed by the caliph al-Mamun, but by the 10th century a reaction had set in, led by the philosopher al-Ashari and his followers. They denied the freedom of the human will, regarding the concept as incompatible with God's absolute power and will. They also denied that natural human reason can lead to a knowledge of good and evil. Moral truths are established by God and can be known only through revelation. The views of al-Ashari and his school gradually became dominant in Sunnite, or orthodox, Islam, and they still prevail among most conservative Muslims. The tendency of the Sunnites, however, has been to tolerate and accommodate minor differences of opinion and to emphasize the consensus of the community in matters of doctrine.
The Mutazilites were probably the first Muslims
to borrow Greek philosophical methods in expounding their views. Some of
their opponents used the same methods, and the debate initiated the Islamic
philosophical movement, which relied heavily on the Arabic translation
and study of Greek philosophical and scientific works, encouraged by the
caliph al-Mamun.
The first important Islamic philosopher was
the 9th-century Arab al-Kindi, who tried to bring the concepts of Greek
philosophy into line with the revealed truths of Islam, which he still
considered superior to philosophical reasoning. As were subsequent Islamic
philosophers of this period, he was primarily influenced by the works of
Aristotle and by Neoplatonism, which he synthesized into a single philosophical
system. In the 10th century, the Turk al-Farabi was the first Islamic philosopher
to subordinate revelation and religious law to philosophy. Al-Farabi argued
that philosophical truth is the same throughout the world and that the
many different existing religions are symbolic expressions of an ideal
universal religion.
In the 11th century, the Persian Islamic philosopher
and physician Avicenna achieved the most systematic integration of Greek
rationalism and Islamic thought, but it was at the expense of several orthodox
articles of faith, such as the belief in personal immortality and in the
creation of the world. He also contended that religion is merely philosophy
in a metaphorical form that makes it palatable to the masses, who are unable
to grasp philosophical truths in rational formulations. These views led
to attacks on Avicenna and on philosophy in general by more orthodox Islamic
thinkers, notably the theologian al-Ghazali, whose book Destruction of
the Philosophers had much to do with the eventual decline of rationalist
philosophical speculation in the Islamic community. Averroës, the
12th-century Spanish-Arab philosopher and physician, defended Aristotelian
and Neoplatonic views against al-Ghazali and became the most significant
Islamic philosopher in Western intellectual history through his influence
on the Scholastics.
The mystical movement called Sufism originated
in the 8th century, when small circles of pious Muslims, reacting against
the growing worldliness of the Islamic community, began to emphasize the
inner life of the spirit and moral purification. During the 9th century
Sufism developed into a mystical doctrine, with direct communion or even
ecstatic union with God as its ideal. This aspiration to mystical union
with God violated the orthodox Islamic commitment to monotheism, and in
922 al-Hallaj, who was accused of having asserted his identity with God,
was executed in Baghd?d. Prominent Sufis subsequently attempted to achieve
a synthesis between moderate Sufism and orthodoxy, and in the 11th century
al-Ghazali largely succeeded in bringing Sufism within the orthodox framework.
In the 12th century Sufism ceased to be the
pursuit of an educated elite and developed into a complex popular movement.
The Sufi emphasis on intuitive knowledge and the love of God increased
the appeal of Islam to the masses and largely made possible its extension
beyond the Middle East into Africa and East Asia. Sufi brotherhoods multiplied
rapidly from the Atlantic to Indonesia; some spanned the entire Islamic
world; others were regional or local. The tremendous success of these fraternities
was due primarily to the abilities and humanitarianism of their founders
and leaders, who not only ministered to the spiritual needs of their followers
but also helped the poor of all faiths and frequently served as intermediaries
between the people and the government.
The Shiites are the only surviving major sectarian movement in Islam. They emerged out of a dispute over political succession to Muhammad, the Shiites claiming that rule over the community is a divine right of the Prophet's descendants through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali. The Shiites believe in a series of 12 infallible leaders beginning with Imam Ali and are thus also known as the “Twelvers.” The 12th and last imam disappeared in 880, and Shiites await his return, at which time the world will be filled with justice. Until that time even the best ruler is only half legitimate. The Shiites, in contrast to the orthodox Sunnites, emphasize esoteric knowledge rather than the consensus of the community.
Several small sects have developed out of Shia
Islam, the most important of which is the Ismailis. The theological ideas
of the Ismailis are more radical than those of the Shiites and are largely
derived from Gnosticism and Neoplatonism. Ismailis are found mainly in
India and Pakistan; others have recently emigrated from East Africa to
Canada. An offshoot of Ismailism is the Druze sect, which arose after the
mysterious disappearance in Cairo of the Ismaili Fatimid caliph al-Hakim.
Many Druze believe al-Hakim to have been an incarnation of God.
In 1844 a young Shiite, Mirza Ali Muhammad
of Sh?r?z, in Iran, proclaimed himself the Bab (“gateway” to God) and assumed
a messianic role. His followers, called the Babis, were severely persecuted
by the Shiite clergy, and he was executed in 1850. Under the leadership
of his disciple Mirza Hoseyn Ali Nuri, known as Bahaullah, the Bahais (as
the group came to be called) developed a universalist pacifist doctrine,
declared Bahai to be a religion independent of Islam, and won many converts
in the United States.
The stagnation of Islamic culture after the
medieval period led to a reemphasis on original thinking (ijtihad) and
to religious reform movements. Unlike the primarily doctrinal and philosophical
movements of the Middle Ages, the modern movements were chiefly concerned
with social and moral reform. The first such movement was the Wahhabi,
named after its founder, Ibn Abd al-Wahhabi, which emerged in Arabia in
the 18th century and became a vast revivalist movement with offshoots throughout
the Muslim world (see Wahhabis). The Wahhabi movement aimed at reviving
Islam by purifying it of un-Islamic influences, particularly those that
had compromised its original monotheism, and by stressing the responsibility
of Muslims to think independently rather than blindly accepting tradition.
Other Islamic reformers have been influenced
by Western ideas. The most influential reformist of the 19th century was
the Egyptian Muhammad Abduh, who believed that reason and modern Western
thought would confirm the truth of Islam rather than undermine it, and
that Islamic doctrine could be reformulated in modern terms. Sir Muhammad
Iqbal is the most important modern philosopher to have attempted the reinterpretation
of Islamic doctrines. Other intellectuals in Egypt, Turkey, and India attempted
to reconcile with the teachings of the Koran such ideas as those raised
by constitutional democracy, science, and the emancipation of women. The
Koran teaches the principle of “rule by consultation,” which in modern
times, they argued, can best be realized by representative government rather
than monarchy. They pointed out that the Koran encourages the study and
exploitation of nature, but Muslims, after a few centuries of brilliant
scientific work, had passed it on to Europe and abandoned it. They argued
that the Koran had given women equal rights, but these had been usurped
by men, who had grossly abused polygamy.
Although the modernist ideas were based on
plausible interpretations of the Koran, they were bitterly opposed by Islamic
fundamentalists, especially after the 1930s. The reaction against modernism
has been gathering momentum since that time for several reasons. The fundamentalists
do not oppose modern education, science, and technology per se, but they
accuse the modernists of being purveyors of Western morality. They believe
that the emancipation of women, as conceived by the West, is responsible
for the disintegration of the family and for permissive sexual morality.
Some fundamentalists are suspicious of democracy because they do not trust
the moral sense of the masses. Moreover, modernist leaders and officials
in some Muslim countries have failed to improve significantly the condition
of the mostly poor and rapidly increasing populations of those countries.
Finally, and perhaps most important, the bitter resentment Muslims feel
toward Western colonialism has made many of them regard everything Western
as evil.
During the modern period Islam has continued
to win new converts, especially among black Africans and some black Americans,
to whom its fundamental egalitarianism appeals.
Convinced of the absolute truth of Islam, Muslims
traditionally have not sought dialogue with representatives of other religions,
although medieval Islamic scholars wrote fairly objective works about them.
Recently, however, Muslims have engaged in dialogues with representatives
of Christianity and Judaism, recognized in Islam as the two other “religions
of the book” (based on revelation). Nonetheless, memories of Western colonialism
have generated suspicion and impeded ecumenical efforts.
See Also Arabic Literature; Islamic Art and
Architecture; Arab Music. For additional information on historical figures,
see biographies of those whose names are not followed by dates.
Contributed By:
Fazlur Rahman
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