Traditions of Western Religion, Islam - Literature review Example

Traditions of Western Religion, Islam Islam is divided into several centuries’ old factions who share ahistory common to all Muslims but the various sects also have deep differences regarding beliefs, traditions and practices. When trying to better understand any religion and its people it is important to examine the various branches as well as the roots of the original tree. All the world’s major religions contain sects within it; some comingle with ease while others seem to share only mistrust and disdain. Much as Catholics and Protestants fought bloody battles for centuries, Sunni and Shiite Muslims are fighting territorial and political battles throughout the Middle East. This discussion will first address the similar history of all Muslims then the circumstances of the split. It will concentrate on Sunni, Shia, the Druze, a Shiite off-shoot belief and Wahhabism, a derivative of Sunni. The final section explores the contemporary conflicts of Islam’s two main sects. The central belief of all Muslims is that the Prophet Muhammad, who died in 632 AD, was Allah’s (Arabic for God) messenger. His revelations are recorded in the Qur’an and are followed by Muslims of all descriptions who also look to sayings of Muhammad, hadith, for inspiration and guidance. The concepts of justice, goodness and piety are essential to Islamic practices and belief system. Furthermore, all Muslims are directed to live their lives according to the five pillars of Islam: “(1) shahada—recital of the creed “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet”; (2) salat—five obligatory prayers in a day; (3) zakat—giving alms to the poor; (4) sawm—fasting from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan; and (5) hajj—making a pilgrimage to Mecca once during a lifetime if one is physically and financially able.” (Blanchard, 2009) The chief role of Muslim religious leaders is to interpret shari’a, or Islamic law. There are no strict codes or wording of laws such as westerners are accustomed. Rather, for both Shiite and Sunni Islam, shari’a allows for wider legal interpretations to fit the circumstance and greater flexibility for sentencing. The Sunni/Shiite split occurred near the beginnings of the Islamic religion. The main disagreement concerns the Prophet Muhammad’s successor and the type of leadership that would guide Muslim society. The long-standing and significant dispute centers on whether the leader(s) should be a direct descendant of the Prophet or could be a qualified, virtuous and devout person who would adhere to the customs of Islam. This issue was initially decided when Abu Bakr, a friend of the Prophet, was selected by community leaders to be the successor, or Caliph. While most Muslims accepted Bakr, a minority supported Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet’s and his son-in-law. Bakr was married to Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet. The term Shi’at Ali translates to “Ali’s helper.” Another important distinction that relates to modern times is the amount of reverence paid to the respective leaders of the two Islamic sects. Sunni Muslims give exalted status only to the prophets of the Quran and not to present day leaders. Shiites bestow imams with this lofty status. The Sunnis religious hierarchy is not adorned as elaborately, as highly esteemed and is not as politically powerful as the Shiite leadership. Because of this distinction, Sunnis tend to be more accommodating in permitting lay people to serve as spiritual leaders. Sunni religious leaders, as opposed to Shiites, have historically been subject to control by the state. Shiite leaders have enjoyed greater autonomy. (Blanchard, 2009) The Druze is a fairly populous yet little known yet sect of Islam because they want it that way. This mysterious group, numbering nearly one million in Syria alone, has endeavored for many centuries to shield their cultural lives from outsiders and keep their religious views secret. Druze prefers to live in isolation. They are continually persecuted by conventional Muslims because of their divergence from traditional Islamic beliefs. “Druze beliefs deviate markedly from those of mainstream Islam, consisting of an amalgamation of Neo-Platonic, Isma’ili, and extreme Shi’ite beliefs.” (Nielson, 2010) The Druze religion came into being during the 11th century fusing ideas familiar to Muslims, Christians and Jews into their belief system in addition to concepts of Gnosticism and believe the that members of the religion will be reincarnated as descendants of the Druze. Because the Druze have been relentlessly persecuted throughout the years they embrace the Shiite practice of taqiyyah, a custom which allows a person to pretend to follow the prevailing beliefs of the region they’re living in while secretly retaining their own religious convictions. The Druze primarily speaks either Arabic or Hebrew. It is unknown if they originate from a specific ethnic faction that existed before the advent of their religion but they are prohibited from marrying anyone outside the Druze religion and they remain an isolated culture. No one is allowed to convert to their religion. The Druze people are very secretive about their beliefs; in part because due to fear of harassment. In fact, not all Druze followers are allowed to know the details of the Druze religion. Their six volume sacred text is called the Book of Wisdom. The Druze people are monotheistic and follow the teachings of numerous prophets. They believe in gender equality and oppose alcohol, polygamy, slavery, pork, tobacco and non-Druze beliefs. There are several areas the Druze inhabits in the Middle East including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. The Druze in Israel has enjoyed more prosperity and stability of all the Druze communities. “Of all the non-Jewish communities in Israel the Druzes have been the most loyal to the state. The refusal of the Druzes to involve themselves in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the loyalty of the majority of the Druzes to the state of Israel has led them to be treated relatively favorably by the Israeli authorities.” (Nielson, 2010) Wahhabism is a well-known fundamentalist movement of Sunni origin. It is perhaps the most invasive revivalist group of the Islamic world. The Wahhabi movement was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab during the 1700’s in Arabia, Saudi Arabia as it is known today. Abd al-Wahhab advocated a more orthodox form of Islam as described in the Quran and more closely resembling the conduct of the Prophet Muhammad. The most traditionalist version of Wahhabi Islam considers Shiites dissidents and heretics. The Wahhabi became an integral part of the Saudi dynasty when the country’s founder, Muhammad ibn Saud, formed a coalition with Abd al-Wahhab, an alliance that unified the often warring tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. From that time through today, the Wahhabi religious hierarchy and Saudi ruling family have enjoyed a close affiliation. “Following the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Shiite Islamic revolution in Iran, Saudi Arabia’s ruling Sunni royal family began more actively promoting Wahhabi religious doctrine abroad and Saudi individuals and organizations since have financed the construction of Wahhabi-oriented mosques, religious schools, and Islamic centers in dozens of countries.” (Blanchard, 2009). Wahhabism, the most populous sect of Sunni Islam in Saudi Arabia is not to be confused with the Orthodox Sunnis who, unsurprisingly, believe it is they alone that follow the pure Islamic faith. The Wahhabis are self proclaimed “champions of Islam” and believe all other sects of Islam including other branches of Sunni Islam have not only followed the wrong spiritual path but are living a pagan existence. (Moussalli, 2009). The Wahhabi is tremendously anti-Shiite because Shiite religious practices and traditions conflict with their beliefs. For example, the Shia’s excessive reverence for the Prophet in addition to modern day religious leaders is considered un-Islamic by the Wahhabi. “Shiites constitute the ultimate “other” for Wahhabis, whose strict idea of the unity of God, a doctrine known as tawhid, is diametrically opposed to Shiite practices that include pleading for the intercession of saint-like mortals on behalf of humans” (Shi’a-Sunni, 2011). Only about 10 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia is Shiite, most of which live on the Eastern edge of the country near the Persian Gulf. This minority Islamic sect has suffered significantly in Saudi Arabia. They are, in essence, second-class citizens subject to arbitrary arrests and killings, job discrimination and cannot practice their traditional religious observances. “Testimony by Shiites is not valid in courts, Shiite prayer services are regularly disrupted and Shiite social forums in the Eastern Province have been banned” according to the most recent U.S. State Department report on Saudi Arabia (Shi’a-Sunni, 2011). On the whole, the Shiites has experienced some improvement in their treatment by the Saudi’s over the past several years such as being able to publish reading materials and, under great scrutiny, open Shiite mosques and schools on a limited basis. These modest gains are tempered with the knowledge that they could only be temporary. Each sect mistrusts the other intently and accused the other of promoting sectarian violence in Saudi Arabia and terrorism in other regions. For example, “Saudi Sunnis accuse Saudi Shiites of funding terrorism against Sunnis in Iraq, while Saudi Shiites accuse Saudi Sunnis of funneling funds to Sunni terrorists in Iraq.” (Teitelbaum, 2011). Saudi Sunni are concerned about extremist elements coming from Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation whose influence has grown throughout the region. Iran has been contesting Saudi leadership in the Islamic world which has caused additional animosity between Iran and Saudi beyond what has existed for centuries. Recently, Saudi King Abdullah urged the U.S. to “cut off the head of the snake” in reference to Iran. (Teitelbaum, 2011). To the Saudi’s, Iran and the Shiite enemy having possession of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. Abdullah views the “Shiite problem” as a clear and present danger to his Kingdom. The Saudi Sunni/Iran Shi’a wars have been fought by proxy in other nations such as Iraq and Bahrain. The “Arab Spring” has sparked intense sectarian violence most notably in Syria and Yemen. Both nations are possible candidates to experience an all-out civil war between Shi’a and Sunni factions. The volatile situation in these countries is not necessarily an indication that a regional conflict between the two sects will occur and not every Shi’a-Sunni conflict is connected with or supported by elements in Saudi and/or Iran. In Syria, President Assad and his military forces belong to the Shi’a minority which has been slaughtering opposition Sunni Arabs for the past year. The well reported killings in Homs were in Sunni rather than Shi’a dominated neighborhoods. The divide is not only between the very poor, which represents the majority of the country, and the very wealthy, it’s a sectarian conflict as well. The ranks of the opposition may soon be joined by the middle class. “To be sure, there is still a degree of crossover as many middle class, urban Sunnis have refrained from joining the protests against Assad, but that could well change in the near future as the state of Syria’s economy hangs in balance.” (Shi’a-Sunni, 2011). The balance of power in Bahrain is just the reverse. A Sunni minority, backed by both Saudi and the U.S. which parks a major naval fleet in that tiny island nation, brutally controls the Shi’a majority which has been protesting for more than two years. Iran claims Bahrain as one of its provinces and is openly blamed by Saudi and Bahrain for subversive tactics and instigating riots but that has yet to be proven. The religion of Islam cannot be correctly understood by painting with a wide brush, meaning its inner workings and underlying complexities are deep, vast and are considered very serious among the Muslim population. The sects within Islam are more deeply divided and combative than, for example, the different branches of Christianity, at least when considering modern times. These sectarian divides reflect resentments and arguments that have endured many hundreds of years. They all have strong and historic commonalities yet are irreconcilably divided. Islam is a religion of peace but little peace exists between the many sects of the religion, a circumstance that affects the lives of those far away from the Middle East due to the strategic and economic importance of the region. Works Cited Blanchard, Christopher. “Islam: Sunnis and Shiites.” Congressional Research Service (January 28, 2009) March 24, 2012 Moussalli, Ahmad. “Wahhabism, Salafism and Islamism: Who Is The Enemy?” Conflicts Forum (January 30, 2009). March 24, 2012 < http://conflictsforum.org/briefings/Wahhabism-Salafism-and-Islamism.pdf> Nielson, Paula Ph.D. “Druze - The Mysterious People of the Middle East.” (February 13, 2010) March 24, 2012 “Overviewing Shi’a-Sunni Conflicts” CrethiPlethi (December 3, 2011). March 24, 2012 < http://www.crethiplethi.com/overviewing-shia-sunni-conflicts/islamic-countries/syria-islamic-countries/2011/> Teitelbaum, Joshua. “Sunni vs. Shiite in Saudi Arabia” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (January 16, 2011). March 24, 2012 < http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=442&PID=0&IID=5719> Read More