Reflection on Islam

            One of Prophet Muhammad’s sayings is, “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow beings first.” 

Living in the United States, I feel that the media has worked very hard in portraying Islam and the Muslim community in a negative stereotype by saying that they do not love other people, and if they do love anyone, they only love their fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. The Islamic community has been viewed in such a negative light that it is a shame that the rest of the world do not know the real truth. I believe as I have gained further understanding about Islam, I have been able to mature in my knowledge, and I can appreciate both the Muslim people and the teachings of Islam far more.

           

Islam means to submit or to abandon one’s self under the power and the will of God. That is why the teachings of Islam seem a bit strict. I believe that they are truly expressing that having God in charge of your life means that you truly have to submit yourself to Him. You cannot simply say that you believe in God, but your life not reflect that truth. For them, they must reflect the full extent of that truth. In Islam, Muhammad was given the Quran through the words from the angel Gabriel. His intention was not to create a new religion, but he was to remind the people of things God had said before which people forgot or chose not to follow. They even recognize Jesus as a prophet, and they give him high esteem, but they do not consider him to be the Son of God or the Messiah of the world. They also reiterate several truths that are given in the Torah, and they discuss the teachings of Moses as well.

            In the lectures, the primary focus was on justice and equity in Islam, but that message was carried as a beacon, not only for all the religions but for the people of the world. Justice is a personal value, and the believer is encouraged to attain justice as part of his God-consciousness. Seeking justice is definitely a value within both Christianity and Judaism. One group should not have more focus than another group. As humans, we tend to not be able to attain justice at the fullest extent, and God is truly a just God, but as we seek justice, we will move in the direction God wants for us. The Golden Rule is something that is familiar to all religions, and there might be different ways that the verse is expressed in the various teachings of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, but the centrality of the message is clear. We ought to treat others the way we expect others to treat us, and we also must love the way we expect to be loved. Yet, justice cannot be decided forever. The world is a changing world, and we as humans grow in our knowledge and understanding. The way humanity viewed the world in the time of the Quran, the Bible, or the Tanakh is not the way the world is in the present age. Justice is dynamic, and there must be a sense of flexibility to the teachings that we can undertake. For example, in the United States, there was a time when people had African Americans as slaves, but in our time and context today, African Americans are not going to be slaves. Everyone should be paid for the work that they do, and they must be paid equally, without regard to color, creed, or gender. When the Constitution was first written, equality and justice was only intended for the “rich, white man,” but justice and equality today must be for all men and women. That is the case of the United States, and the Quran should be understood in a way that the rules are not all rigid.

            Mr. Shady Ammane, our lecturer shared with us the concept of the dynamics of group which I felt were very important. In a sense, the dynamics of group was looking through the lens of a Muslim. Usually, we only consider two parties are involved in injustice. There will be a victim, and then there will also be a group who pick on the victim. Yet, in order for a group to pick on a person, there must be an initiator that has the power to start or stop an attack on an individual. I view the dynamics of group in a school playground setting. There is a little child being picked on by a group of kids, and the kids laugh and harass that child, but how did that child begin to get harassed? There was one other child who felt the need to hide his or her own insecurities, so he or she begins to pick on a smaller child, and then gathers a group to join along, thus creating the dynamics of the group.

            Sharia law is something that the media has misconstrued, and the world has misunderstood. First and foremost, Sharia law is not intended for the world, but that is the law for Muslims. In Christianity, we all have the Bible as our fundamental teaching, but each denomination has their own dogmas and beliefs that are continuously passed on, and each member of a particular denomination must uphold those values. Yet, just as I mentioned before, there must be a sense of flexibility and not rigidness. As time progresses, we too must progress. Several people feel that they must hold onto the ideologies from the beginning. In Islam, there are those that believe one should do everything like the Prophet Muhammad did, but they fail to realize that in such a situation, one would not be able to drive a car, have air conditioning, and have smartphones. Similarly, in Christianity, there are those that feel they should hold onto their faith traditions and will refuse to let go of what they have. Yet, Mr. Mahmoud Hammoud said something that truly stuck with me. He said, “Faith traditions do not require for us to be idealistic but work on the betterment of the future for our children.” Regardless of what belief an individual has, they ought to realize that their children live in a very different time than they do. What, then, is the primary focus for them to impart to their children? Should the primary focus not be to provide for the child’s future in a better way? That is what should be truly expressed in each of our three religions.

            Finally, the media has misconstrued and the world has misunderstood the concept of jihad as well. There are two types of jihad: greater jihad (inner jihad) and smaller jihad (outer jihad). The greater jihad means to fight against one’s own personal urges and selfish desires. The smaller jihad states that if someone else attacks you first, you should only retaliate. The greater jihad is the primary focus though. Also, context applies! The Prophet Muhammad had no other option but to go to war in that time setting, so he did. Yet, if he did not have to go to war, then he would not have.

            I learned a lot about Islam in these past two days that I did not know, and a lot of things that I did know were reinforced. I truly enjoyed these sessions.

"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother or sister."

-I John 4:19-21