Islamic Culture - Essay Example

Islamic Culture: An overview of the cultural practices and norms College Lecturer Islamic Culture Introduction Since timeimmemorial, matters of traditional beliefs and religious affiliation have always defined the way of life as adopted by different people from all corners of the world.1 In this case, the ideologies of culture transcend the fundamental spheres of human interaction including communication, dressing, cuisines, marriage, music and art. It follows therefore that culture is the portrayal of these attributes through interaction in a manner that reflects the beliefs, customs and norms of a given society.2 Thus, culture is an inseparable part of mankind envisaged to cultivate harmony, peace and a common way of life to all that ascribe to it defined norms. There are different cultures that drive the world of today without necessarily undermining the classical perspectives of the contemporary society. These include, but certainly not limited to the Western Culture, the Islamic Culture and the African Culture.3 As it stands, all these cultures are multidisciplinary in nature and are not confined to specific geographical boundaries. They bring together the beauty of diversity and in-depth understanding of the historical development of wisdom, belief and behaviour as the culture is passed down from one generation to another. While culture is a philosophy of daily practice, it remains a time-tested reality whose influence dominates the psychological, spiritual and physical wellbeing of the people. With that in mind, this paper seeks to examine the fundamentals of the Islamic Culture that has enabled it to stand the test of time since the early 7th century. In particular, the essay focuses on the cultural aspects of worship, family relations, mannerism, art and traditions upheld by the Islamic Culture. Drawing valuable insights from various literary works, the discussions presented in this essay will add to the body of knowledge in cultural studies while offering an objective perspective of the Islamic culture as a beautiful, multifaceted and rich culture. Historical Background of Islamic Culture Islamic culture refers to the traditional norms and practices that Muslims observe in their daily life.4 It cuts across the social realms of law, religion and customary belief that not only include Arabic Muslims but also all the people who subscribe to the teachings of the Islamic faith. Like Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism, the Islamic culture has its roots in some religious doctrines. This culture draws its mainstream strengths form the provisions of the Qur’an. However, religious scholars also argued that a significant proportion of the Islamic cultures can be traced back to the Hadith and Sira all of which defined that the customary practices of the Arabic society and the local communities respectively.5 From religious perspective, the Islamic culture technically began with the teaching of Prophet Muhammad who is believed by Muslims to be the last prophet of Allah. In his teachings, this prophet articulated the message of God as delivered to him by Allah and inscribed in the Qur’an. One unique element of these teachings revolves around the fact that the message of Allah as taught by Prophet Muhammad synchronized well with the customary ways of life of the local community.6 Thus, it embraced whatever was customarily deemed good and shunned all that were detrimental to peace and good health. As such, the Qur’an historically set the centre stage of the Islamic cultures. Although the cultural practices may vary from place to place and among different Islamic communities, the underlying principles of the Islamic culture have remained the same to the modern day. It is worth noting that the culture is based on the Qur’an, and that the other two cornerstones of Hadith and Sira are harmonized with the teachings of the Qur’an. This is the most important unique attribute that holds the Islamic culture in one accord regardless of whether one is a Sunni or Shia Muslim. In any case, the literal meaning of word Islam is peace.7 As such, peaceful coexistence is the main objective of the Islamic culture contrary to the misconceived opinion that terrorism and women oppression are common attributes of the Islam culture. In its entirety, the Islamic culture revolves around individual commitment and submission to the will of Allah. That notwithstanding, this culture embraces the need for societal modesty, respect and courtesy across all ages of life. It does not discriminate people on the basis of religion, age, race or gender. If fact, the Islamic culture protects the right of women and children while appreciating other non-Muslim communities are provided in the Qur’an.8 To that end, the beauty of the Islamic culture is well illustrated in their way of worship, dress code, dietary habits, arts and architecture.9 Islamic Culture and the way of Worship Traditionally, the culture of Muslims follows the religious teaching of the Qur’an as already mentioned. In practice, the followers of this culture often worship at least five times a day as way of submission to Allah and His will. As such, the culture creates a common bond between people by way of worship and religious belief in one God. This practice has made a popular phenomenon of the Islamic respect for the taqiyah white cap worn as a sign of seeking the love of Allah.10 In addition to its being a symbol of honour to God, the taqiyah and the plain collared white, black or grey robe worn by Muslins on their day of worship portrays a call for peace and respect to Allah and His creation. According to their belief, Muslims embraces the religious teachings of the Qur’an that requires each Muslim to offer alms to the Creator, assist the needy, have mercy on their maidens, promote peace, and to uphold decency.11 Similarly, the Islamic culture advocates for unity in diversity and that is why many Muslims often offer aid to the victims of calamity while pursuing worldwide business relations without much problems. It is no longer uncommon to see Muslims go for their salah or prayers without interfering with the normal affairs of other religions. The pilgrimage to Mecca, the cultural fast in the month of Ramadhan, Eid al-Fitr are among the memorable and globally celebrated annual festivities of the Islamic culture and religion.12 Dress code, Mannerism and Cuisines in Islamic Culture The most intriguing identity of the Islamic culture relate to the phenomenal hijab of the women.13 Ideally, this dress code promotes decency and modest dressing among the Muslim women. As opposed to popular opinion that the hijab is used for gender-based oppressive, the concept is even seen among the Mongols, catholic nuns and orthodox priests among others. Besides covering the head as a form of respect to God, hijab is well appreciated by both the classical and enlightened female Muslims who understand the value of moral decency. Today, even the modern beauty models of the West are increasingly appreciating the splendour of hijab. In terms of cuisines, the Islamic culture is well known for its traditional delicacies of biryiani, mughlai, rongajosh, shammi burgers, korma, and curry-kheema recipes just to mention but a few.14 The cooking is often done with traditional considerations to taste and spicing. Walk to any Islamic restaurant and you will be lost for choice. From China to West Africa, Mexico to India, each region has a wide range of internationally recognized Islamic dishes the people enjoy irrespective of their religious affiliations.15 The only unique element of the Islamic cuisines is that all meat products must meet the Halal requirement and exclude all products of pork. Alcoholic drinks are also unacceptable, but there cuisines always come along with an assortment of soft drinks and non-alcoholic wines of all varieties. The other fascinating factor in the Islamic culture is mannerism. Ordinarily, the issue of good manners respect, courtesy, civility. In the Islamic world, greetings are very important. The use of assaalam alaikum and the replies of alaikumus salam are coined in the spirit of peace and blessing unto the personas.16 Normally, the culture makes its rather optional for women especially those over 40yrs to shake hands with the opposite sex. The younger women are however discouraged from hand shaking with the opposite gender for purposes of chastity. In the same way, the culture and the Qur’an emphasizes that men should respect and love their wives while doing justice to them all in cases of polygamous marriages. It all these, respect is keep and the young are required to always respect their peers and anyone above their age for this is the commandment of Allah to His people.17 Conclusion The practices and traditions of the Islamic culture are mostly ordained by Allah in His Qur’an while appreciating and embracing the customarily acceptable ways of life as observed in Hadith and Sira. Primarily, the essence of the Islamic culture is rooted in the tenets of peace, modesty and unity in diversity as precisely articulated by its ways of worship, family relations, mannerism and dressing. The culture is growing fast and million of people all over the world are increasingly becoming aware of the magnificent nature of the Islamic culture. It is apparent that the Islamic culture has nothing to do with acts of terrorism or women oppression as normally misconceived. Muslims are human beings like any other member of a different religion. They are a peace loving society and are quick to bless with steadfastness in submission to the will of God as depicted by the Islamic culture. Bibliography Blair, Sheila and Jonathan Bloom. Rivers of paradise: water in Islamic art and culture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Farouq, Umar. “Islam and the Cultural Imperatives”. Nawawi Foundation, May 2, 2013. www.nawawi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Article3.pdf‎ Guillain, Charlotte. Islamic Culture. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2013. Hirji, Zulfikar. Diversity and pluralism in Islam: historical and contemporary discourses amongst Muslims. London: IB Tauris & Co Ltd, 2010. Khan, Arif. History of Islamic Culture. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House, 2011. Khorasani, Ali. “Understanding Muslims: culture verses religion”. Yahoo Voices, May 2, 2013. http://voices.yahoo.com/understanding-muslims-culture-vs-religion-3889310.html Lewis, Bernard. The World of Islam: faith, people, culture. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1992. Schäbler, Birgit and Leif Stenberg. Globalization and the Muslim world: culture, religion, and modernity. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2004. Read More