How Is Islam Present in the Public Life of Asian Muslim - Coursework Example

HOW IS ISLAM PRESENT IN THE PUBLIC LIFE OF ASIAN MUSLIM? Introduction Islam is a way of life for the Muslim. All aspects of the Muslims life are guided by the words of the Holy Qur'an. The guiding principles of Islam cover every aspect of daily living, from government and military affairs to the very basic issues of ablutions and public conduct. Islam rests on five pillars which proscribe Islam as both a code of conduct and a religious prayer book (Ibrahim, 1997, p. 45). Nevertheless, there has been much controversy regarding the interpretation of some of the verses of the Qur'an. The section of the Muslim world that is called the Jihad are fundamentalist in their belief in the Qur‘an, to the extent of carrying out public beheadings based on the injunctions of the Qur'an. It seems therefore that Islam is informed by both the history of the Muslim people and by the teachings of the Qur'an. The five pillars of Islam include the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca (Makka) for the purification of the soul, while forsaking the material world for a higher purpose. This resonates with the Muslim practice of constant prayer. Praying five times a day is one of the pillars of Islam. Another pillar is observance of the strict fasting during the month of Ramadan. It is believed that fasting reduces the concupiscence of the flesh and brings people closer to God. During Ramadan the mood is palpable and people appear very prayerful, and very charitable. Another pillar is tithing, where it is expected that at least 2.5% of the Muslim's annual income goes to the poor. Another pillar of Islam is the recognition of Allah as the one and only God to be worshipped, and that a path to Allah does not require an intercessor, and using the exemplary life of the Prophet Muhammad as a template (Hazen, 2002, p. 17). The daily routine involves prayer and ablutions. Office meetings have to be temporarily stopped while the Muslims take a prayer break. The sound of the loudspeaker from the minarets of the mosque is a constant reminder of preparer time and of the fact that God is good (Allah waqba). There is strict separation of men from women in mosques where women have their own prayer room. The consumption of alcohol is prohibited. The dilemma of temptation is that in large metropolises the bootlegging joints and liquor off-sales are the haunt of men who ought not to be drinking. Consorting with women of easy virtue is a taboo that is often trespassed (Ibrahim, 1997, p. 65- 66). Women wear the hijab to cover the whole face and a pardha flows all the way to the ground covering her fully front hair to toe as soon as they want to appear in public. Women and men are prohibited from fraternizing in public. In schools boys have their own separate section as do girls (Ibrahim, 1997, p. 63). Atavism as applied to Islamic Shari ‘a Law Atavistic traits are throw-backs from ancient history when a long-lost trait suddenly reappears at a time far removed from when it was in use without evidence of that trait in the intervening period. The atavistic reference to ancient law identifiable in the way Islamic Shari’ refers to ancient rituals and standards in the conduct of present day legal and social conduct has been the subject of much international controversy (Kechichian, 1990. pp. 1-17). While the world has undergone a vast number of social, commercial, economic, political and religious revolutions resulting in the world-wide acceptance of international law, constitutional democracy, human rights and social freedoms, the same does not seem to have happened with Islamic Sharia which borrows verbatim from the ancient codes of Islamic practice and enforces that on modern society, and insisting that life be conducted according to those ancient rituals and observances. At international law there are various practical considerations which dictate how nations conduct business and enter contracts with each other, especially that there are rules of procedure which compel all participants to observe the rights of others. International tribunals have been busy since the onset of globalization, settling disputes among people of different nationalities, but always using the same interpretation of the law for consistency of interpretation. Islamic Sharia is a throw back from over one and a half millennia and is still practiced without modification and with no reference whatsoever to any codification at international law (USA Today, 2004). While the rest of the world moved towards globalization, necessitating that all countries adopt certain standards of conduct of business, social interaction, and jurisprudence in order to standardize daily conduct, Islamic Shari’ a stands apart and insists on ancient rituals and rules. This is predicated on the premise that no nation stands alone completely cushioned from the implications of the concept of a global village. The rules necessitated by this open and borderless interaction among people of many nations in daily commercial, social, political, religious and recreational intercourse require that there be consistency in the interpretation of justice and proper conduct. Islamic Shari’ a neither recognizes these international statutes, nor enforces any other law than is interpreted from the over one thousand four hundred years ago, most of which is not in alignment with the commonly accepted international best practice. Within Sharia itself there are varying interpretations of its own legal statutes. Islamic Shari ‘a law is practiced in almost all Muslim countries and governs the conduct of daily lives of Muslims from governance and military matters to the very process of performing personal ablutions (A' la Mawdudi, 1986, p. 13). The complication arises at law when the different schools of thought interpret the law differently often with devastating consequences for the litigant. It has been known that as a consequence of these differences in legal interpretation of Sharia some litigants elect which judge to hear their case based on his madhab or school of law's interpretation they prefer prior to the hearings. The problem at law becomes that of lack of properly agreed precedent, which cannot be established due to lack of interpretive consistency. Therefore the rest of the world's modern practice of appeals based on case law and precedent cannot be assumed within the Islamic Shari’ a context. Each case is deliberated on its own merits and often there is no cross-reference to any other cases no matter how similar the circumstances could be, and it is left to the judge to decide the case (A' la Mawdudi, 1986, p. 13). There has been much criticism of the traditional Islamic approach to issues of the law, social policy, constitutional democracy and religious matters, especially as it concerns beheadings. The practice of beheading has both a reference in history and in the Qur'an and is performed with the belief that it is ordained upon the Muslim to always behead the infidel (Ali, 1934 pp. 1378-9; A' la Mawdudi, 1986, p. 13). The reality on the ground seems to be that Islamic thinkers are increasingly adopting the values and procedures of occidental international practices and fitting the good ideas into such documents as the Iranian constitution (Sridhar, 2003). India: The particular case of Islam versus the Hindu According to Shah Waliullah's (Jablani, 1980, p.29) report of his 1731 dream during Ramadan in Mecca, the way in which Islam was to be re-established effectively and spread to the nations of kefir or infidels was by force not persuasion. He further proposed killing the leaders of these countries, decimating their communities, confiscating property, till they voluntarily accepted Islam. By proselytizing the Hindu and treating the peasant class as slaves and beasts of burden he proposed that way they may pay their jiziya (Rizvi, 1980, p.218). The attempts at revivalism of Islam has driven a wedge between Islam and the occident and the continuing wars of attrition between western industrialized nations and the Muslim countries continues to escalate the atrocities that have exhibited in the form of wars such as the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan, and the continuing wars between Israel and Lebanon, and assaults on the Palestinian territories. The Hindu people were particularly targeted for proselitization by Islamic revivalists and the status of Hindus in the Arab world remains desperately impoverished as they are given meager earnings and employed in the most menial of jobs. Their living conditions in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are pathetic and there is little regard for their health or safety at the workplace or in their living quarters. As a racial grouping they constitute one of the largest migrant communities in the Middle East and their principal niche is to supply cheap labour (Kechichian, 1990, pp. 1-17). . The case of Islamic Fundamentalism in Indonesia Indonesia has a disturbing level of Islamic fundamentalism whose excesses include public beheadings of westerners followed by graphic displays of these ritualistic killings on television and the internet (USA Today, 2004). In the Qur'an there are specific instructions as to what a Moslem must do in battle when he encounters an infidel soldier. Sera (chapter) 47 contains the ayah (verse) (v.3): "When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely; then bind the prisoners tightly." This is still taken literally in Shari ‘a law and used as a terror tactic by jihads, or Islamic fundamentalists in Indonesia. Leading Islamic scholars have attempted to interpret the meaning of this verse and there is still disagreement as to the exact meaning (al-Qur'an, 1972, p. 26; az-Zamakhshari, p. 530.]. Conclusions The fact is that Islam is a way of life within a religion, and full commitment to Islam also sanctions jihad, fighting vigorously for the cause of Allah in destroying anything considered evil. The controversy raised over the citing of the Holy Qur’an in the acts considered brutal by the occident, and the constant denial by Islamic spokespersons that the beheadings and brutal treatment of prisoners of war are sanctioned by the Qur’an only perpetuate the rift between the occident and Islam. The daily lives of Muslims are deeply steeped in the observance of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an. There is no room for deviance allowed, yet the Muslims in the Diaspora have found freedoms not normally available in their home countries and sometimes behave in a manner that would even make a hedonistic liberal shudder because of the excesses of temptation and availability of the means to explore without let or hindrance all the taboo items that are strictly forbidden under the Shari’ a law. Many cases in the courts involve Muslim men caught in acts not considered proper under Islamic Shari’ a, such as selling and consuming liquor, consorting with women of easy virtue for a price, drunk driving, and converting to alternative religions. Heavy penalties including death are levied against violations of taboos. All these are indications of the contradictions that are faced by the Muslim vis a vis the strict dictates of Islamic Law under Shari’ a. Travelling abroad has opened the minds of Muslims, especially men, to the possibilities considered social freedoms in western society yet taken to be taboos in the Muslim world and they tend to experiment and compare and find the alternative life-styles less restrictive and freeing. The treatment of women is another controversial subject that the Muslims vehemently deny is discriminatory yet any comparison with world best practices at a glance can reveal the anomalies between the world view and the Islamic perspective. The extreme case of the Taliban in Afghanistan is an illustration of the grim reality of Islam as oppressive against women. The denial of women any public role in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and to some extent in Iran and Pakistan shows that the freedoms the circular world considers to be normal, Islam strictly enforces actions it as a taboo, and when it affects women’s rights it takes on a global scale of condemnation as it is perceived as gender discrimination, which the Islamic spokespersons vehemently deny. REFERENCES A' la Mawdudi, S. Abul. (1986). The Meaning of the Qur'an, vol. XIII. Lahore: Islamic Publications Al-Qur’an, Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir. (1972). Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifah Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. (1934). The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, vol. II. Cairo: Dar al-Kitab al-Masri pp. 1378-9 Az-Zamakhshari, Mahmud b. Umar. (2010). Al-Kashshaf'an Haqa'iq at-Tanzil wa-'Uyun al- Aqawil fi Wujuh at-Ta'wil, vol. 3. Beirut: Dar al-Ma'arif Hazen, Walter. (2002). Inside Islam. Missouri: Lorenz Educational Press Ibrahim, I. A. (1997). A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam. Texas: Darussalam Publishers Jablani, G.N. (1980). Life of Shah Waliullah. Delhi Kechichian, Joseph A. (1990). Islamic Revivalism and Change in Saudi Arabia: Juhayman al 'Utaybi's 'Letters to the Saudi People.' The Muslim World (Hartford Seminary) pp. 1-17. Rizvi, S.A.A. (1980). Shah Wali-Allah and His Times. Canberra Sridhar. K. (2003). Sridhar. K. (2003). Islamic atavism renamed Moslem revivalism. Retrieved 19th January, 2011 from http://india.indymedia.org/en/2003/02/3335.shtml USA Today. (June 20, 2004). U.S. Muslims Condemn Beheadings. Islamabad, Pakistan: U.S. Embassy Veblen, Thorstein. (2005). The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study in the Evolution of Institutions. London: Macmillan Read More

There is strict separation of men from women in mosques where women have their own prayer room. The consumption of alcohol is prohibited. The dilemma of temptation is that in large metropolises the bootlegging joints and liquor off-sales are the haunt of men who ought not to be drinking. Consorting with women of easy virtue is a taboo that is often trespassed (Ibrahim, 1997, p. 65- 66). Women wear the hijab to cover the whole face and a pardha flows all the way to the ground covering her fully front hair to toe as soon as they want to appear in public.

Women and men are prohibited from fraternizing in public. In schools boys have their own separate section as do girls (Ibrahim, 1997, p. 63). Atavism as applied to Islamic Shari ‘a Law Atavistic traits are throw-backs from ancient history when a long-lost trait suddenly reappears at a time far removed from when it was in use without evidence of that trait in the intervening period. The atavistic reference to ancient law identifiable in the way Islamic Shari’ refers to ancient rituals and standards in the conduct of present day legal and social conduct has been the subject of much international controversy (Kechichian, 1990. pp. 1-17).

While the world has undergone a vast number of social, commercial, economic, political and religious revolutions resulting in the world-wide acceptance of international law, constitutional democracy, human rights and social freedoms, the same does not seem to have happened with Islamic Sharia which borrows verbatim from the ancient codes of Islamic practice and enforces that on modern society, and insisting that life be conducted according to those ancient rituals and observances. At international law there are various practical considerations which dictate how nations conduct business and enter contracts with each other, especially that there are rules of procedure which compel all participants to observe the rights of others.

International tribunals have been busy since the onset of globalization, settling disputes among people of different nationalities, but always using the same interpretation of the law for consistency of interpretation. Islamic Sharia is a throw back from over one and a half millennia and is still practiced without modification and with no reference whatsoever to any codification at international law (USA Today, 2004). While the rest of the world moved towards globalization, necessitating that all countries adopt certain standards of conduct of business, social interaction, and jurisprudence in order to standardize daily conduct, Islamic Shari’ a stands apart and insists on ancient rituals and rules.

This is predicated on the premise that no nation stands alone completely cushioned from the implications of the concept of a global village. The rules necessitated by this open and borderless interaction among people of many nations in daily commercial, social, political, religious and recreational intercourse require that there be consistency in the interpretation of justice and proper conduct. Islamic Shari’ a neither recognizes these international statutes, nor enforces any other law than is interpreted from the over one thousand four hundred years ago, most of which is not in alignment with the commonly accepted international best practice.

Within Sharia itself there are varying interpretations of its own legal statutes. Islamic Shari ‘a law is practiced in almost all Muslim countries and governs the conduct of daily lives of Muslims from governance and military matters to the very process of performing personal ablutions (A' la Mawdudi, 1986, p. 13). The complication arises at law when the different schools of thought interpret the law differently often with devastating consequences for the litigant. It has been known that as a consequence of these differences in legal interpretation of Sharia some litigants elect which judge to hear their case based on his madhab or school of law's interpretation they prefer prior to the hearings.

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