Question 1: On Muhammad and the Quran
Firstly, Muhammad is portrayed as the last prophet of God in the Quran. It is said that Muhammad received a revelation from God, particularly through the Angel Gabriel, when he had retrieved to the caves in order to pray and meditate. The appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad was the first revelation, and according to Islam, Muhammad had several other revelations. Muslims believe in the worship of one true God, Allah, and that Muhammad was his messenger. In most Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Judaism, God would send prophets to the people to proclaim his message, and in most instances, to tell people to change their deviant ways and worship God. Similarly, Muhammad is portrayed in the same manner. Muhammad is not thought to have begun another religion; rather he preached the old monotheistic faith of Abraham, as well as that of other biblical prophets, which according to the Muslims, the Jews and Christians had betrayed. Since Muslims believe that the Christians and Jews had strayed from the original faith, the role of Muhammad was to point the people back to the true path.
Far from being a religious leader, Muhammad is also portrayed as a political leader. After escaping torments from Mecca in 622, Muhammad established a thriving Muslim community in Medina. The establishment of a Muslim community, which had not existed before indicates that Muhammad had significant influence. Muhammad, together with his army, would later destroy the army of Meccans. Muslims would then become the dominant political power in Arabia, and most of the non-Muslims would be compelled to embrace the religion (Al-Olaqi, 2015). Muhammad was also a leader in the social realm; he would create laws that guided people in their daily lives and issues. The Quran has various laws which guide issues such as marriage, inheritance, property ownership, among other aspects.
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Muhammad is also portrayed to have roles similar to those of Jesus and Moses. Moses received a revelation from a burning bush, was given the Ten Commandments, and was also given the role of delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Moses was a leader in all aspects to the Israelites, and similarly, Muhammad is also seen as a prominent leader to the Muslims, who came to deliver them from false religions; that he guided Muslims to the right path (Al-Olaqi, 2015). Muslims opine that Jesus was a prophet just like Muhammad; he came to deliver Christians from sin, and supposedly died on the cross to accomplish that objective. The objective of Jesus coming in the world was compelled by how sinful people had become. Before starting his mission, Jesus went into the wilderness where he fasted for forty days while praying and meditating. In the Quran, the person of Muhammad is not very different. Muhammad retreated to the caves, prayed and meditated before a revelation came to him. He came also to deliver people from a supposed wrong path to the right path.
Question 2: The Five Pillars
The first Islam pillar is the declaration of faith or Shahadah, where all Muslims must declare publicly the basic belief that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger. This declaration essentially means that Muslims forbid worshipping of idols and they cannot associate God with any other thing or being. The second pillar is the daily prayer or the Salat, where pious Muslims pray five times a day at specific times, which include: at dawn, noon, late afternoon, sundown, and evening (Dogan, 2013). The prayers involve the recitation of verses from the Quran in Arabic, which is usually accompanies by specific postures and movements. While praying, all Muslims face Mecca, which is considered Islam’s holiest site. The third pillar is Almsgiving or Zakat, which means charitable giving. All Muslims are required to give 2.5 percent of their annual net worth, which is collected by government or religious officials, and subsequently distributed, to the poor, widows, orphans, and other religious purposes such as building mosques and hospitals. The fourth pillar is fasting during Ramadan or Sawn. Fasting gives Muslims an opportunity to reflect on their religion, and many other aspects of their lives. The last pillar of Islam is pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj. Mecca is considered to be the holiest Islam sites and Hajj should only be performed during the last ten days of the lunar month of Dhu’l-Hijja. Muslims, especially those healthy and prosperous enough are encouraged to travel to Mecca at least once in their lifetimes.
Since all Muslims are expected to adhere to the five pillars, a sense of unity is created among all Muslims. For instance the culture of praying five times a day while facing Mecca at specific times of the day creates a feeling of togetherness. Muslims know that at specific times of the day, all pious Muslims in the world would be praying and meditating. Indeed such practices evoke a sense of solidarity. Additionally, the five pillars give the image of people who are serious with their religion and worshipping. Although other religions state the importance of worship and prayer, many of them do not have enforcements. For instance, Christianity has many splinter groups, with different cultures and practices. However, for the Muslims, whether Shia or Sunni, all of them adhere to the same practices; they may have ideological differences but on matters religion, they never compromise.
Question 3: American Muslims Post-9/11
September 9/11 considerably affected the public’s perception towards Islam as a religion, and Muslims in general. The Al-Qaeda group, which conducted the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, comprised of extremist Muslim groups. Some of the attackers had stayed in the United States, and worshipped in the mosques as they planned the attack. Additionally, the Al-Qaeda group was also involved in other heinous attacks and crimes, in different countries of the world, especially in Europe. To most Americans, the underlying denominator was that the attacks were perpetrators by Muslims, and some conservative Christian groups in the United States labeled Islam as an evil religion.
One thing that most Americans do not understand and perhaps would not want to accept is that in Islam itself, various groups could interpret different verses of scriptures differently. For instance, Muslims often add a sixth pillar to their faith, which is, the duty of jihad. Moderate Muslim groups interpret Jihad as the internal Muslim struggle to become better people. That means that all Muslims should strive all the time to reflect on their behavior, and character, and become the best they could be. However, for the extreme Muslim groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, their interpretation is mostly flawed, and according to them, Jihad means armed struggle to slay non-Muslims with the sword, and to establish a caliphate. A caliphate in essence means a state ruled by Islam rules and laws. Therefore, in this light, some of the extremist groups strive to spread Islam forcefully in an attempt to have an influential Muslim community in the world.
The activities of the small extreme groups usually make most Americans quite suspicious of Islam activities and the religion itself. Most non-Muslims brand Islam as a religion of violence. Especially post 9/11 American Muslims continue to be discriminated against because of prejudice. Whenever one Muslim perpetrates an attack because of extremist ideologies, the whole Muslim community in the United States is always on the receiving end. Currently, some right-wing individuals in the United States believe deeply that Islam is a threat to the stability of the country as well as pursuit of their interests (Interfaith Alliance, 2020). The United States Department of Home Affairs has also come up with another category of looking at terrorism known as home-grown terrorism. The perception is that although the borders may be sealed, the extremist Muslim groups may inspire individuals within the country to commit terror crimes. The focus, therefore, is mostly on the American Muslims and that means that a lot of surveillance focuses on the American Muslims more than on other religious groups.
Additionally, the United States immigration policy seems to have changed after the 9/11 attack. Although covertly, citizens from Muslim countries are denied entry into the country, and if they are allowed, a lot of screening and surveillance is done on them. Even within the larger United States society, people are always suspicious of Muslims, and some of them could be arrested from time to time. Nevertheless, the United States has been having diverse religions, and Islam has been one of the most prominent, second after Christianity. Malcolm X, who was at the forefront of advocating against discrimination based on race, was a Muslim (Interfaith Alliance, 2020). Muhammad Ali, despite being a Muslim is still loved and celebrated for his achievements in the boxing scene. Perhaps these examples could demonstrate that Americans do not loathe Muslims after all; rather, they only become bitter and suspicious whenever terrorists commit crimes. However, it seems American Muslims will still have to endure criticism and discrimination if some reforms are not made in Islam or if Muslim clerics do not condemn and counter the extremist groups.
Question 4: From the Anthology
The passages about inheritance are very similar to those of the Quran. The Quran has very clear guidelines about inheritance, especially among siblings, and devout Muslims are supposed to adhere to those guidelines. Secondly, the verses about helping the orphans and how to treat them are very similar. These verses are just lifted from the Quran, and therefore, despite a few changes in the wording, they have similar messages. The verses about treating of those at a disadvantage are also closely tied to those about repentance and forgiveness. In the Quran, there is emphasis on forgiveness of people who commit sins without knowing, and that for such people to be forgiven, they need to repent (Koenig & Al Shohaib, 2014). On the contrary, people who commit sins deliberately and wait till they are about to die for them to repent are said to face undesirable consequences; burning in fire. The anthology text accurately quotes these verses.
However, the text about tolerating the belief of others may be disputed. In the Quran, Q9:5 says “ But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the polytheists (mushrikun) wherever you find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem” but the quote in the anthology text reads “Then, when the sacred months are drawn away, slay the polytheists wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.” The differences in these verses may be subject to misinterpretation because of the differences in the wording and some omissions.
References
Al-Olaqi, F. M. T. S. (2015). The Prophet Muhammad’s Leadership: An Islamic View. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal , 2 (9).
Dogan, R. (2013). Five pillars of Islam . FB Publishing.
Interfaith Alliance. (2010). What is the Truth about American Muslims? Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/What_is_the_Truth_About_American_Muslims%281%29.pdf
Koenig, H. G., & Al Shohaib, S. (2014). Muslim beliefs, practices, and values. In Health and Well-Being in Islamic Societies (pp. 27-41). Springer, Cham.
