The Practice of Islams Teachings Varies among Countries and Cultures - Research Paper Example

 The Practice Of Islam’s Teachings Varies Amongst Countries And Cultures. Islam, the global religion is closely connected to the principles and teachings of Christianity and Judaism. At the same time, the foretold religion can be evaluated on religious and political grounds. The basic teachings of Islam are based on one god and universal brotherhood. But when these teachings are interpreted by religious fundamentalists, the ultimate aim of Islam becomes manipulated. Islamic teachings deeply influence a number of world nations and cultures. But one can argue that the Islamic teachings influenced the Asian countries and African continent by invasion. On the other side, the Islamic teachings spread to the American continent and Europe through large scale migration. So, this difference accelerates the variation in practice of Islam’s teachings amongst countries and cultures. Thesis statement: An investigation to unearth the difference in practice of Islam’s teachings amongst countries and cultures. I. Teachings of Islam- interpretation or practice in different countries and cultures Islam originated in the Middle East as a well organized religion with rigid rules and regulations. In the initial stages, Islam and Islamic teachings spread to other parts of the world through invasion. For instance, almost all the parts of Middle East Asia were conquered by Islamic rulers and the people were forced to follow Islam. This helped the Islamic rulers to spread Islam and Islamic teachings to other parts of Asia and Africa. Besides, trade relation with other parts of Asia and Africa deeply influenced the wide spread of Islamic teachings. The United States The Muslim population in the United States comprise of migrants from Asia and African Americans. Roy (2004) makes clear that the Muslim community in Europe is economic migrants but Hispanic and Asian migrants dominate the migrant population in USA. The democratic view of life and religion helped the American Muslim community to be free from rigid customs and beliefs of Islam. This helps the American Muslims to view and interpret Islamic teachings from a different angle. Besides, the multiracial, multilingual and multicultural characteristics of American society help the Muslim community to dissolve themselves to the core of the society. Great Britain Kung (2006) makes clear that Muslim community is the second largest religious group in Europe. For instance, the Muslim community in Great Britain is a well knit group with a number of religious institutions aiming to spread Islamic teachings. But this does not prove that Muslims in Great Britain keeps aloof from the mainstream of the British society. The Shahjehan Mosque in Britain is the most important centre of cultural and religious activities of British Muslims. The religious institutions help the British Muslims to educate their youngsters to follow the teaching and principles of Islam. The Middle East Islam originated in the Middle East and spread to the other parts of the world. But the Arabian Peninsula did not show acceptance towards Islam in initial stages. Gradually, almost all regions of the Middle East embraced Islam and its teachings. Now, the countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, etc are under the influence of Islam. As Islam originated in the Middle East, the followers in the Middle East consider the core elements of Islamic teachings as most sacred. India The history of Islam in India is deeply influenced by the trade relations with the Middle East. The merchants from the Middle East exploited their relation with India to spread Islamic teachings in India. The era of colonization and partition of Pakistan and Bangladesh to two independent nations diminished the scope of Islam in India. Besides, India is the birthplace of four major religions, i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. So, Islamic principles did not attract the majority of Indians. Pakistan The history of Islam in Pakistan is interconnected to the history of Islam in Indian sub-continent. When the colonial powers accepted to withdraw from India, Muslim majority claimed for the formation of an Islamic nation under Islamic principles. So, one can see that the spread of Islam in Pakistan is closely connected with politics. Now, Islamic principles deeply influence Pakistan’s national politics. The formation of religious institutions and Islamic education provided to the people helps Islam in Pakistan to be a well knit religion. Other Asian countries Other Asian countries (beyond Middle Eastern countries, India and Pakistan), shows mixed response towards Islamic teachings. For Instance, the South Eastern countries like Malaysia, Philippines, and Brunei accepted Islam without much resistance. But other nations in Asia like China (under communism and Taoism), Japan (under Buddhism), and Nepal (under Hinduism) did not show acceptance towards Islam. This proves that Teachings of Islam got mixed response in other Asian countries. So, Islam and Islamic teachings did not influence the United States and Great Britain because there existed less scope for invasion and forced conversion. But Islamic teachings entered the United States and Great Britain by migration from Africa and Asia. This resulted in different interpretation or practice of Islamic teachings in the United States, Great Britain, the Middle East, India, Pakistan and other Asian countries. II. How is Islam understood in each country’s culture? The countries which were invaded by the Islamic invaders from the Middle East faced the problem of conversion with force. This cannot be considered as acceptance shown towards Islamic teachings. But after some generations, Islam gained acceptance. In this situation, Islam was accepted as an innovative religion with political, moral and philosophical aspects. The interpretation or practice of Islamic teachings in the United States is different and it helps the American Muslims to keep themselves away from religious fundamentalism and terrorism. On the other side, the British Muslims are trying to shed their misconception towards other religions. This helps the British Muslims to re-interpret their religious teachings in a different cultural context. The political side of Islam or the formation of Islamic world under Islamic teachings and principles deeply influenced the Middle East. But it is less applicable and acceptable in a diverse society. In India, the teachings of Islam were interpreted as the religious principles of invaders. This limited the scope of rapid spread of Islam in India. In Pakistan, the influence of religious leaders in politics is helpful to preserve and practice Islamic laws. But manipulation of Islamic ideology accelerates the spread of religious fundamentalism, which is against democracy and world peace. The acceptance gained by Islamic ideology and teachings in some Asian countries were limited to an extent because there were other religions with strong philosophical foundation than Islam. III. How is Islam contrasted with Christianity and Judaism? As pointed out earlier, one can identify similarity among the basic principles of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. But difference in practice tends these religions to face dissimilar interpretation in different cultural contexts. For instance, Islam is based on strict rules and regulations with an aim to form a world based on Islamic law. But, this aim is impractical in the modern world. In addition, this aim badly affects the Muslim community in host countries. The hidden agenda of Islamic fundamentalists poses threat to world peace and forces other religions to look at Islam with prejudice. Christianity originated from Judaism and is similar to Islam on ideological grounds. But practically, Christianity is far ahead of Islam because it does not consider democracy as a threat. Besides, Christianity shows acceptance to the characteristics of its host nations/cultures. At the same time, Islam believes in universal brotherhood of its followers and does not show acceptance towards its host nations/ cultures. These are the basic differences between Islam and Christianity. On the other side, Judaism can be considered as the mother of all religions. For instance, one can trace the origin of Christianity in Judaism. But there exists much dissimilarity among the principles of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Besides, Judaism allows less scope for democratic communication and co-existence with other religions. For instance, the Jews like to lead community life and this allows less scope for mingling with other religions. All these religions believe in life after death. But Islam considers ‘Jihad’ or holy war as the way to form an Islamic world. Besides, Islam considers death in ‘Jihad’ will help one to attain salvation. This fundamental attitude or belief in a world based on Islamic principles leads to difference in interpretation Islam. The Kung and Homolka (2009) opine that proper communication among three major religions of the world (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), may lead to world peace. So, one can see that these religions stemmed from similar circumstances but shows difference in practical side. IV. How do these understandings impact the ways that Muslims and non-Muslims interact and communicate with one another? The difference in understanding Islamic principles deeply impact the ways that Muslims and non-Muslims interact and communicate with one another. Among the American Muslim community, the rigid principles and teachings of Islam is less influential. But Ramadan (2005), states that the religious education in an artificial environment may not help a Muslim student to be successful in future life. In addition, American Muslims were aware of the fact that rigid teachings are impractical in a modern democratic society. For instance, the term ‘universal brotherhood’ is strictly limited to the sphere of Islamic brotherhood. This limits the scope of universal peace. Similarly, in Great Britain, the fear of religious fundamentalism and rapid spread of terrorism limits the scope of the interaction and communication among Muslims and non-Muslims. Migrants from South Asian countries and the Middle East comprise of the majority of Muslim population in Great Britain. The presence of Islamic organizations and institutions in global spread of terrorism forces the British Muslims to reconsider the scope of their teachings and practices. As the Middle Eastern countries are Islamic nations, the governments provide ample support to preach Islamic principles among the people. One can see that the influence of Islamic teachings, laws and principles deeply influence the political scenario. So, this affects the interaction between Muslims and non-Muslim population in the Middle Eastern region of Asia. On the other side, in India, the spread of Islamic teachings was initiated by merchants from the Middle East and later it was accelerated by invaders. For instance, the Muslim invaders formed Delhi Sultanate in India and started forced conversion. But British colonization limited the rapid spread of Islam and Islamic teachings in India. This helped the Muslim community to connect the Indian values to their religion in Indian context. The religious background of Pakistan as a nation based on Islamic teachings and principles limits the scope of a democratic society. So, less tolerance is shown towards non-Muslims, interaction and communication is limited to an extent. The other parts of Asia, was deeply influenced by major religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. At the same time, Islam conquered some parts of Asia with force. Major religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism originated in India deeply influenced South East Asia, but without forced conversion. This resulted in a different way of interaction and communication between Muslims and non-Muslims in Asia. Theoretically, one can see similarity among basic principles of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. But practically, Islam’s teachings vary amongst countries and cultures because a minority of religious fundamentalists manipulated Islamic teachings to meet their selfish motives. Besides, one can easily identify difference in interpretation and practice of Islamic teachings. In the United States and Great Britain, Islam is less popular and interpretation of Islamic principles is different. At the same time, in the Middle East, Pakistan and some other Asian countries consider Islamic teachings and principles as most sacred. In Asian countries like India, Japan, Nepal, China and other Asian countries, Islam is less popular due to the presence of other popular religions with strong philosophical background. This difference in understanding hinders mutual understanding and co-operation between Muslims and non-Muslims. References Kung, H. (2006). Tracing the Way: Spiritual Dimensions of the World Religions. Great Britain: Continuum International Publishing Group. Kung, H., & Homolka, W. (2009). How to do good & avoid evil: a global ethic from the sources of Judaism.USA: SkyLight Paths Publishing. Roy, O. (2004). Globalised Islam: the search for a new Ummah. England: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. Ramadan, T. (2005). Western Muslims and the future of Islam. USA: Oxford University Press. Read More