Also, since this blog is now linked to a public website, if you are an outside visitor please understand that, though I am the world's biggest champion of freedom of speech, rude, derogatory or inappropriate comments about Islam or any other faith are not welcome here and will be deleted. Exercise that freedom somewhere else.
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Let me begin by warning you that I am going crazy right now, because I have about 100 blog posts in my head, and every day there are a million new things to write about. I'm the luckiest reporter in the world. I have a definite audience, no deadlines or word limits, a whole under reported-on country at my fingertips, daily interviews with some of the best sources in that country and, best of all, no editor. So sorry if I go a little crazy and start posting three times a day. I can't help it.
Anyway, today's post is on Islam, but I have an even better post brewing. However, it still requires some research and I'm going on vacation for a couple days (see facebook status for further details) so that will have to wait til I get back. Stay tuned.
Okay Islam. The most distinct difference between Islam and Christianity and I think Hinduism too (I can't speak for Judism, because I don't know enough about it, but the books say its more like Islam) is that Christianity and Hinduism are systems of beliefs. The religions center your moral compass and guide your faith. Islam, on the other hand, is a way of life. They say the central question to Christians is "What do you believe?" To Muslims it is "What do you do?" This is very difficult to acurately describe, because I'm sure many of you who are both Hindu and Christian are now a little annoyed and thinking, "Hey, I live my religion. I'm a good person, I pray before meals, I go to church or temple, I've read the Bible or the Gitas." And thats all true. I don't mean to say that you aren't good practicioners of your respective religions, at all. What I mean is that the way you practice Islam is inherently different from the way you practice other religions. Its requirements are different and its teachings are different. And in many ways this accounts for why the Middle East is the way it is.
To really understand Islam, you have to think about its context. Islam came about in the desert about 1300 years ago. This was an eat or be eaten society. Every day was a fight to survive. Islam and the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) message was meant to give order and morality to these desert people. So while Christianity says "Hey, don't kill people and treat your neighbors as you would like to be treated," Islam literally seeks to reform society itself. You are not a good Muslim, your society is a good Muslim society. Islam lays down laws, rules for marraige, requirements of the individual and the community. And at the time it came about, many of these changes altered these desert peoples' lives for the better. So when Islam says that a woman can't travel without a male companion, we hear chauvanism. But think about it. How dangerous would it have been for a woman to travel alone or even for a few women to travel together across the desert 1300 years ago. That restriction was probably meant to keep fathers from selling their daughters to neighboring tribes and then sending the poor girl off to her new husband three hundred miles away alone on the back of a camel. (Islam also created laws that said the woman has to have a say in her own marraige, something that did not exist before.)
Another example: one of the five pillars of Islam is observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan (this year it is August 22-Sept. 22 so I'm getting a crash course in Ramadan righ now). During the Holy Month it is forbidden to eat, drink or smoke from sunrise to sunset. In Jordan it is illegal to eat or drink anything (including water) in public during this month. And people, almost everybody, actually, really do it. They all fast. It makes words like fanatic come to mind. But, again, think about it. The idea behind Ramadan is that everyone should know what it feels like to be poor, to have an empty belly. In addition every time your stomach growls you are supposed to think athat three times in the presence of a witness.bout God and show your committment to him by ignoring it. Its not so different from the Catholic's Lent. Actually, in practice its a lot like Christmas. All month stores close early so that people can spend more time with their families, everyone walks around saying Ramadan Karim which is Happy Ramadan, its all they sing about on the radio. Every night Iftar, the breaking of the fast, is a big family celebration. We have really gotten into this part of Ramadan, although most of us don't fast. Tonight the boys are making a few of my friends and I a macaroni and cheese Iftar. At the end of Ramadan is the Eid. It is one of the biggest festivals of the year.
The other pillars of Islam (requirements for being a true Muslim) are that you must give 2% of your total wealth to the poor each year, that you must pray five times a day, that you must, once in your life, make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and that you must believe that "There is no god, but God and Muhammad is his prophet." Actually, all it takes to become a Muslim is to say But, again, these aren't just requirements, they are a way of living. I spoke to one girl who says that the prayer is like both yoga and meditation for her. If she misses a prayer she feels physically tired, achy and may even get headaches. It is a time for quiet reflection and peace during the day. The haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is a great right of passage. Maybe like a graduation ceremony for us. For those that are very poor this might be their only opportunity to travel at all.
Jihad is another part of living Islam. In the west that is a word we have come to fear. It has been ruined by the politicians and the media (yes, we are more guilty than anyone. No one checks facts anymore). To clear the record, each person is responsible for their own Jihad, which means holy struggle, not holy war.
There are three levels of Jihad. The first and most important is the personal struggle to be a good Muslim. As you can see from above, that isn't easy to do. You're constantly looking for places to pray and starving your self one twelfth of the year. But its more than that. Muslims leave their lives completely in the hands of God. I don't know about Hindus, but I know Christians say they do that too. But really, we don't. We say "oh, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." and "I know God has a plan for me" and we believe that. But in an abstract sense. We make our plans anyway and fully expect to execute them. Muslims don't. They don't expect to carry out their plans, and if they do it is because it was the will of God. One of my professors today told us that we have a test next week and followed that sentence up with, Insa Allah, which means, if that is the will of God. Meaning if it isn't, don't plan on taking the quiz.
The second level of the Jihad struggle is to struggle toward being a good Muslim community. Everyone gives of their wealth, no one has sex outside of marraige, etc. It goes deeper than that, but I don't really know all the values and standards they hold themselves too- oh, no drinking alcohol, ever. Thats one I forgot. Anyway, you get the idea.
Finally, Jihad means a stuggle to protect your community from outside invasion that threatens it. I would guess this is why the 18th and 19th century imperialists always found it hard to colonize the Arab world. Islam was having none of that. This is the part of Jihad that gets perverted by terrorist factions. They justify what they are doing as an act for God. That is bullshit and any good Muslim will tell you that. Worse, terrorist groups that use Islam as justification are twisting God's words to achieve their own ends. Definitely haram. This is a very important distinction. Peace is paramount to Islam. In Arabic goodbye is ma salam which translates directly to 'go with peace.' Around Islam, at least in Jordan is a peace loving culture. If you ask me, not that you did, many of the problems in the Middle East develop out of two distinct characteristics of these countries. 1. Islam, which was laid out to, and was hugely successful in improving and stabalizing life for tiny impoverished tribes living in the desert over a millenium ago has never been successfully readapted to fit into the modern context. This is not to say that they are not trying to do that. They are, but they disagree about how to do it and so it hasn't happened yet. And 2. there is no democracy and at this point any attempt to establish a democracy is going to turn out looking a lot like Iraq.
Sorry, I know that was really long, but I felt like I should get it all out there. After two years of studying Islam on the side, this is the accumulation of my knowledge. If you have questions, though, post them and I'll ask my professors for the answers. In the U.S. we are taught not to ask questions about religion, but that isn't the case most places in the world. The truth is that our faiths are a huge part of our identity and for many of us they really define how we live our lives. They are something to share and celebrate, not avoid. It is important for us to understand the different religions in the world because it helps us understand the people behind them and the lives they live. So to that end, I have a proposal: I actually know for a fact that there are Roman Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, a former Buddhist and possibly Jews reading this blog, which is very very cool. So if you feel the urge, post a response with a little insight into your faith (I'm serious about this, so if you don't know how to post email or facebook me what you would like to say and I will post it for you). I know I'm not the only one who would love to read it.
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