What do you know about Muslims? What do you know about Islam? These days, I am seeing more and more evidence of the effects of Muslims and Islam on our everyday lives. I see more women wearing head scarves at my local grocery store, more hookah bars dotting chic shopping centers, and hummus everywhere. More and more people are neglecting Chinese and ‘Tribal’ tattoos in favor of Arabic calligraphy. Muslims are everywhere now. Islam (both the culture and the religion) is too. Here’s a little information on the difference.
As you hopefully already know, Islam is a monotheistic religion with more followers than any other religion other than Christianity. The Arabic term for Muslims’ one God is Allah, but note that Allah is considered to be the same thing as God, YHWH, G-D, Brahman, Elohim, the Holy Ghost, what have you. The most holy scripture for Muslims is the Quran and the most ‘significant’ prophet for Muslims is Mohammed. Some other aspects of the Islamic faith are various religious requirements such as daily prayers, fasting, and charity.
Like any other religion, it is followed by people, and the People of Islam are called Muslims.
What makes a Muslim? Is it a matter of birth or culture or faith or lack thereof? In a (really) broad sense, a Muslim is anybody who submits to the one God. By loose definition, as my grandmother told me, Hindus could be considered Muslims because, although they believe in different sub-dieties, all things (gods, the world, etc.) are part of the same one thing (the Brahman). But to narrow down the definition of a Muslim, for better understanding (which I presume is the reason you are reading this article), Muslims have a further sub-definition of “People of the Book.” This refers to other exclusive monotheists, such as Jews and Christians, probably because their core belief system is much closer to that of Islam than other religions.
Ultimately, and most exclusively, however, a Muslim is a person. It is as simple as that. In order for a person to be a Muslim, he or she must ultimately consider him- or herself to be a Muslim.
The reason I am making this distinction is because oftentimes all Muslims are lumped together. When a Muslim tells any other American they are a Muslim, all of a sudden their relationship changes. By taking on the ‘Muslim’ label, it is automatically assumed that one prays five times daily, is not allowed to interact with members of the opposite sex, and is restricted from otherwise ordinary activities.
Remember, however, that a Muslim is a person, primarily. A Muslim may have been born into an Ethiopian family, for example, or may have been raised Catholic, or may be of Palestinian descent. Like any other person, though, all Muslims have the same free will of other people. A Muslim may or may not choose to follow all of the regulations of the Islamic faith, just as a Christian may or may not go to church weekly or a Jew may or may not eat pork.
Here are a few common stereotypes of Muslims. Like all stereotypes, they have a slight basis in fact, but are often taken much further than they really apply to the real world.
Muslims dress modestly. Islam teaches Muslims to dress modestly, but the Quran does not go in to great detail of what to wear. As far as Muslims go, the mode of dress can vary a great degree. In my family, ordinary western clothes are considered fine. Women in my family typically do not wear any head coverings except for during religious services. Some Muslims approve of pants and shirts, but may not agree with wearing shorts. Other Muslims, mainly as a part of their cultural upbringing, may adhere to stricter modes of dress including head scarves, khuffiyas, body-length cloaks, white loose-fitting robes, etc. When thinking of Muslims and dress codes, compare it to the Christianity. Some nuns and priests may wear head coverings, robes, stoles, and hats, while others may wear a business suit or even a cowboy outfit.
Muslims speak Arabic. Reading the Quran is an important Islamic rite of passage. The Quran is only considered ‘official’ if it is completely in Arabic, and any translation, although considered useful for study, is not the same as the original Arabic Quran. However, not all Muslims truly comprehend Arabic. For example, in my family, people are taught to read Arabic phonetically. We are taught to interpret the letters to make sounds, and can read that way. We are not always taught how to interpret the language, however. My grandmother, although she has probably read the Quran several times by herself and by teaching her children, only truly ‘read’ the Quran by reading the English translation. A Muslim is about as likely to comprehend Arabic as a Christian is to comprehend Greek.
Pork is Muslim Kryptonite. As Halal meat markets are increasing in number across the nation, more and more Muslims are adhering to the code of life (and specifically the code of dietary restrictions) which encompasses the concepts of Halal and Haraam. Halal and Haraam apply to all aspects of life for Muslims. Halal is good or clean and Haraam is bad or forbidden. In Islamic-majority countries, it is often understood that food is prepared in a ‘clean’ way, which forbids pork, alcohol, bottom-feeder fish, and certain cuts of meat. In America, however, most food is not prepared in such a way. Machine-slaughtered meat, pork, catfish, and gelatin are considered normal by most western standards, and Halal food is sometimes unavailable. Many Muslims refrain from eating pork, while eating other improperly-slaughtered meat. Others simply ignore the rules, and may enjoy bacon and beer. Again, Muslims are people. Just as some Hindus enjoy a nice steak and some Jews eat cheeseburgers, Muslims have to choose for themselves what to eat.
All Muslims follow the “Five Pillars of Islam.” I first heard of the Five Pillars in a Sixth grade religions lecture. I knew all of these things were required by my faith, but I had never heard about these specific delineated “Pillars.” Because all Islamic cultures are a little different, the specifics of the requirements of faith may be interpreted differently. For example, many Shia Muslims do the five daily prayers at three times during the day (rather than five times a day). Different Muslims may observe various traditions in different ways. Like most religions, Islam is a religion of tolerance and forgiveness, so people who are not able to observe certain practices are pardoned.
Muslims do not ‘date.’ This, like the methods of dress, varies highly between different cultures and different people. Some Muslims may “date” like the rest of western society, while others are arranged to marry someone. A modern arranged marriage to me is analagous to a dating service. The man and woman are allowed to meet and get to know each other before marriage is even considered a possibility. For others, however they may be arranged way ahead of time to marry someone they may have never met.
Muslims do not believe in Jesus. This is incorrect! Some Christians assume that, since Muslims aren’t Christians, they must hate Christ. This simply is not true! Jesus, like Moses, Mohammed, and John the Baptist, is considered to be a prophet by Muslims. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not believe that Jesus is God or the son of God, but rather they believe he was a man, the son of Joseph and Mary. Many Muslims believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus, but consider this a miracle rather than evidence of God being Jesus’ father. The Arabic equivalent of Jesus is “Isa.” Other names have Arabic equivalents too, like Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and Yaqub (Jacob).
Muslims consider men to be superior to women. Although this goes against Islamic teaching, many cultures do repress women and woman’s rights. According to Islamic teaching, males and females are equal, but they perform different roles. Naturally, a man can not give birth and a woman can not sing bass. However, men and women are supposed to be equal. In some cultures, which may seem to Western eyes to be repressing women, women actually welcome and respect traditional female roles like housekeeping and raising children. Once again, it all depends on a particular Muslim, his or her particular culture, and his or her specific upbringing.
Hopefully this article will enlighten you to the difference between Islam, Islamic culture, and Muslims. Remember that Muslims are people like anybody else, and their particular religious experience may vary depending on their personal values, culture, and upbringing.
Salaam!
