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WHAT IS ISLAM? EIGHTY-THREE per cent of Britons know "little or nothing" about Islam By Maximillien de Lafayette* Contributors: T. Winters, David Waines, A. Jones, Malist Rhatveen
It is primordial to address the issue of the dangers of ignorance and misunderstanding between the Islamic world and the West, and to elucidate the need for these two worlds to understand better the beliefs and values which can bind us together more powerfully than they need divide us. " Islam and Christianity evolved around similar and convergent social, philosophical and ethical values from the dawn of Islamic conquests by Mou'Awiya, Tarek Bin Ziyad, Khalifah Haroun Al Rashid to the most recent speeches given by the Pope in his worldwide tours. Both religions are similar in so many ways at so many levels." A message from HRH The Prince of Wales "We share as Muslims and Christians a powerful core of spiritual belief - in one divine God, in the transience of our earthly life, in our accountability for our actions, and in the assurance of life to come. We also share many key social values in common; including a respect for knowledge and justice, compassion towards the poor and the underprivileged, and a respect for the importance of family life. The West and Islam have a history which has often been closely bound up together. The tragedy - and the reality - is that both sides have so often seen that history as one of conflict and cruelty. Both sides have suffered in their understanding because ignorance and prejudice, the extreme and the superficial, have hijacked our view of each other - and often for good reasons. The point is not that either side has a monopoly of the truth, or can lay claim more exclusively to a picture which is more true. But the dangerous result of each side failing to understand the other is that misunderstandings are perpetuated, and can so easily degenerate into suspicion and hatred. We need, above all, therefore, to appreciate how others look at the world, its history and our respective roles in it. Just as we in the West need to understand the Islamic world better, so we must also understand - as part of that knowledge - the extent to which many Muslims genuinely fear our own Western materialism and mass culture as a deadly challenge to their own Islamic culture and way of life. Maximillien de Lafayette is an international authority on Islam. He authored numerous books and in-depth articles on Islam history, culture, heritage and laws. Also, he is the editor of major publications on Islam published by leading organizations and universities. He taught Islam Culture in Europe and the Middle East.
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I spoke eight years ago of the urgent need for understanding and tolerance between Islam and the West, which seemed even at that time to be at something of a crossroads in their relations. That need is even greater now, not only because of the threatening international circumstances in which we find ourselves, but also because of the worries and concerns which exist within Britain between different communities. We need, therefore, to work ever harder on all sides to understand each other, and to lay this ghost of suspicion and fear if we are to create a better and safer world for future generations. I very much hope that this supplement will help that process." The religion is based on simple foundations
The Prophet was concerned that believers should show solidarity with the poor, and since his time, every Muslim has been expected to donate a minimum of one-fortieth of his wealth in charity every year. Traditionally an informal practice involving discreet handouts to indigent neighbours, the zakat is often administered through charities nowadays.
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ISLAM,
the Prophet said, is built on five pillars. They do not define the
religion, because its essence is traditionally taken to be its
spiritual life, rather than its formal practices. They are, however,
regarded as its foundations and, more than anything else in Islam,
they give Muslim societies their unmistakeable rhythm and texture. The
FIRST PILLAR, and the most fundamental, is called the "Two
Testimonies" (shahadatayn). These function as a sort of
miniature creed. Every Muslim is required to affirm that "there is no
god but God", and that "Mohammed is the messenger of God". The first
assertion, announcing that Islam is strictly monotheistic, might be
compared to the Old Testament's: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is
One." The second of the Two Testimonies tells the believer that this
One God wishes to make his preferences known to his erring creatures,
and has chosen a prophet - like Moses in the Bible - to do this.
Muslim theology claims that God has sent prophets to every people, and
that Mohammed was the last of them. After him, according to orthodox
Muslim doctrine, the believers are to expect not another prophet, but
the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The SECOND PILLAR of Islam
is the duty to pray five times daily. It is seen as more meritorious
for a Muslim to pray in a mosque and with a congregation, but quite
acceptable to pray alone. All men and women are required to
participate in the rite, which happens at dawn, midday, midafternoon,
sunset, and at nightfall. The prayer is virtually identical
everywhere, and has not altered in its form since the earliest days of
Islam. Muslims often proudly claim that they are the only people who
pray exactly as the founder of the religion prayed. The Muslim form of
prayer involves a series of solemn bowings and prostrations, evoking
the Islamic notion of the close bonding of body and spirit. There is
no priest to conduct the ceremony, because there is no concept of a
sacrament, in the sense of a visible sign of God's saving intervention
that needs to be administered by a hierarchy. Every believer is alone
before God, even when worshipping shoulder to shoulder with others.
Hardly less important is the THIRD PILLAR - the practice of
regular almsgiving, known in Arabic as zakat.