Islam Uncovered

Islam Uncovered

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What comes to mind when you hear the word Islam? Terrorism…Saddam…Bin Laden…extremists…suicide bombers… almost any negatively-related connotation typically perceived by a non-Muslim. We cannot really blame ourselves for thinking like that, since we hear these things often in the news. These somehow give an adverse effect on a religion we barely know. But based on what I’ve read and researched, the Muslim creed is not at all terrible. The media only portrays a distorted view of the matter because of these “bad stuff.” Let us take away any prejudice we might have created, and fully understand what Islam is all about.

The word Islam basically means “submission to the will of God.” It is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world, having more than 1 billion followers. Its founder, Muhammad was born sometime in 570 AD (the exact date is not certain), in a time where chaos and ignorance were prevalent. These circumstances shed light for a new way of thinking & enlightenment for the Arabs who were polytheistic at that time. Islam can actually be traced to Christianity. Muhammad was a strong believer in God, and he was also influenced by Judaism. In a dramatic religious vision, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad that was to be a prophet of Allah (God). Allah is all-powerful; he determines who will be rewarded in paradise and who will be condemned in hell. The Koran (their holy book, like our Bible) is Allah’s eternal word.

Muslims revere Muhammad and consider him to be the last in line of the prophets that included Abraham and Jesus. He started his ministry in Mecca (located in Saudi Arabia), but during that time, his principles were rejected by the leaders and he suffered persecution**. Muhammad migrated to Medina where he was well received and eventually gained a large Muslim following. Medina was attacked by people from Mecca and beyond and Muhammad was guided by Allah to take up arms to defend the city. When he returned to Mecca in 630, he was whole-heartedly welcomed and there was a huge turnout of believers. When he died in 632, the whole of Arabia became Muslim. They supported this newfound, monotheistic belief of humanism and simplicity. Peace and unity reigned in the community for the very first time.

The main teaching lifted from the Koran is the “Five Pillars of Islam,” which is quite an equivalent of the Ten Commandments. This is the primary duties a Muslim must fulfill in his life on earth: 1) profession of faith only to Allah; 2) praying five times a day facing the holy city of Mecca; 3) zakat, which is giving alms to the poor and the mosques; 4) fasting in daylight during the month of Ramadan; and 5) a pilgrimage to Mecca in one’s lifetime, if ever possible. Islam teaches respect to elders, love of family, and kindness to servants and animals. Drinking of alcohol and eating of pork is not allowed; and creating and worshipping of idols or images is deemed sacrilegious**.

Islam rapidly spread in many regions of the world after the death of Muhammad, most prominently in the Middle East, Northern Africa and several parts of Asia. It is one of the youngest religions founded, but it developed a mass of believers in a short span of time that it became the 3rd most widely cultivated faith all over the world right now.

You might ask, “Why is there such thing as ‘holy war’?” It is because Jihad (holy war) is the internal struggle of each believer to seek the right path and do God's will. It was meant to preserve the faith and protect the believers.

Muslims are, as a matter of fact, peace-loving and gentle people. They value family and marriage among other things. Islam supports having large families, as with polygamy. Men are entitled to have four wives, as long as he can sustain them and their children’s needs. They regard matrimony as very sacred. Its main objective is to have children; the preservation of culture and beliefs; and maintaining the precepts of peace, love, empathy and respect towards other family members.

Islam also gives importance to education. Parents teach their children about goodness. The prophet also encourages Muslims to go to faraway lands to further gain intellectual advantage. This leads me to think about the order imposed by the US Justice Department sometime after 9/11, restricting foreign scholars (especially Muslims) with student visas to have access in America without undergoing intense interrogation; detention of Arab and Muslim people without charge; and monitoring ‘suspected terrorists’ (Arabs, right?) if they are doing ‘suspicious activity’ by wiretapping and extreme surveillance. This is so wrong in my opinion. This is already an intervention of human rights and civil liberties! It’s a disgusting form of discrimination and no one deserves that kind of treatment. I want to raise my point-September 11 would have been prevented if airport security was tightened and immigration bureaus strict by checking the person’s background well. If the attacks on New York never happened, I believe these agencies will still be conforming to its lax standards. But this is all an entirely different issue.

The greatest teaching of Islam is that everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah, and true happiness will be achieved through firmness of faith. So you see, Islam is not much dissimilar from that of the Christian ideal. We share the same God but it has another name; and we also share the same set of values. To think that we are superior among other beings only weakens this bond. Jesus calls on us to love our neighbor. It simply means accepting everyone to join our brotherhood, regardless of race or creed. Have we been listening to Him?

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**Muhammad was not welcomed in Mecca. After about 80 attacks on the Muslims, and the Muslims' successful defenses, Muhammad was instructed by Allah to conquer Mecca. And Muhammad did so but not without the Meccans resistance. Meccans feared death at the hands of the Muslim army but Muhammad forgave all, even Hindah, the woman who chewed the liver of his beloved uncle Hamzah in the battle of Uhad. Hindah was the wife of Abu Sufyan, one of the chiefs of Mecca. This act of Muhammad made the people accept Islam readily but not all people.

**Creation of images is allowed but not their worshipping.