Introduction
I chose to have a conversation about Islam because it is one of the most widely practiced religions globally. Comparing it with Christianity can identify similarities and sharp contrasts between the two religions. Islam was invented by Prophet Mohammed, who received divine revelations from God. Mohammed started spreading the message about Islam in Mecca and Medina, where he succeeded in gaining followers despite experiencing severe opposition from the local leaders (Mayer, 2018). The culture of Islam was influenced by the traditions of the Arabs, who formed the first group of Muslims. The Quran, the holy book in Islam, was written in Arabic, leading to the spread of the Arabic culture throughout the world. Following recommendations provided by Daley (2014), I asked one of my close acquaintances about his religion while maintaining a humble attitude, and he was happy to share his honest experience with Islamic Religion. I specifically chose him because he established himself as a very open-minded person.
Belief System
The belief system of Islam is derived from the interpretation of the Quran and the lifestyle of Prophet Mohammad, which guides Muslims on their way of life and how they should pray. Islamic beliefs are formed from five central pillars, including Shahadah (Creed), Salat (Prayer), Zakat (Charity to the poor), Sawm (Fasting during Ramadan), and Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) (Molloy, 2020). In shahadah, there is no god but Allah (God), and Muhammad is the only messenger of God. Salat guides Muslims on how they should pray and the direction they should face when praying. This pillar directs Muslims to pray five times a day, including at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night. When praying, believers are required to face the direction of Mecca, where the sacred site of Kaaba is located. Zakat guides Muslims on donating a fixed percentage of their income to the needy in society. Donations involve building mosques and social amenities such as schools, hospitals, and charity centers. The pillar of Sawm directs healthy Muslims to abstain from food and drinks during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
Community
The five pillars of Islam define every Muslim’s common practices and beliefs regardless of origin or ethnicity. These beliefs, therefore, form an ideology that unites all Muslims into one community. Muslims majorly meet in places of worship, especially in the mosque, for daily prayers and sermons on Fridays. Additionally, religious practices, especially Ramadhan, unite Muslims together during Iftar, the meal eaten after sunset to end the daily Ramadhan.
Central Myths
The main story that expresses the religion’s history and gives meaning to religious beliefs focuses on Muhammed’s escape from Mecca to Medina to avoid persecution. Another common myth in Islam is the story surrounding the death of the Prophet Muhammad. While others believe that he died out of impairment well-being, some believe that a Jewish woman poisoned him, Zaynab bint Al-Harith after Muhammad led a military conquest in her territory, Khaybar.
Islamic Rituals
Islamic rituals are based on the five major pillars that define Muslims’ practices and beliefs. Prayer and fasting are among significant rituals that bring Muslims closer to God. Other rituals involve visiting Mecca to pray and ask for forgiveness and guidance from God. Before praying, Muslims are usually encouraged to purify themselves by washing their hands, face, arms, and feet with water. Before slaughtering an animal, Muslims must purify themselves and say a prayer for the meat to be blessed by God. Various religious celebrations such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha bring Muslims together to celebrate and share meals with the needy in society.
Ethics
Muslims refer to prohibited acts as haram and tend to be derived from the lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad. Commonly prohibited acts include alcoholism, smoking, prostitution, adultery, and gambling. Additionally, fraud, bloodshed, and eating pork and its products are highly forbidden. Keeping dogs is highly discouraged among Muslims because they are considered dirty. Muslims are highly encouraged to be prayerful and righteous by kind, loving and peaceful to attract God’s blessings and mercy.
Characteristic Emotional Experience
The Quran strongly encourages followers to express positive emotions and promote experiences in daily life. Islamic religion suggests that peace is achieved when people prioritize positivity in all areas of life. Therefore, by constantly praying and communicating to God, Muslims experience an inner peace that enables them to overcome many challenges. A peaceful world promotes unity and caring for the needy, which is essential for the well-being of people. Besides, it is assumed that a sense of peace comes when Muslims recite the verses of the Quran.
Material Expressions
Muslims highly disregard statues and symbols that depict humans for fear of practicing idolatry. Additionally, the use of gold and other precious materials for purposes other than God’s work and charity is highly prohibited and can result in painful punishment. The mosque is one of the most sacred places in Islam that should be treated with respect. Muslims are not required to enter the mosque without washing themselves or with shoes. As the religion prohibits the use of precious metals, Mosques are decorated with colorful mosaics with no presence of paintings of religious figures or other embellishments. Lastly, mosques do not store human remains, unlike churches in other religions.
Sacredness
Visiting Mecca is one of the sacred events in the Islamic tradition. Muslims are required to visit the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime to seek God’s guidance. Mecca has Kaaba that is believed to have been created by Abraham and is blessed by God. During their prayers, Muslims are required to face the direction of Mecca. All mosques are built with the qibla facing Mecca for Muslims to pray in the direction of the Kaaba. Additionally, the deceased are usually buried facing Mecca as a symbol of sacredness during burial.
The Conflict between Islamic Traditions and Personal Beliefs
The conversation identified several personal beliefs that contradict Islamic traditions. While Islam insisted on praying five times a day, my partner prefers praying once a day in the morning due to work schedule interference, which makes it difficult to fully adhere to the Islamic traditions. Additionally, my partner confessed to having difficulties keeping the rule prohibiting jewelry wearing. He argued that wearing jewelry is a personal choice that religion should dictate.
Religion’s Origins
Different religions’ origins are sourced from different human needs and perceptions. The most suitable religious theory that defines the origin of Islam in my opinion is the fear theory. This theory asserts that people develop religion by believing that pleasing a certain force would help them in their endeavors and that they are likely to harm them by displeasing them. Most of the beliefs in Islam encourage Muslims to please God to attract His blessings and mercy. Muslims believe that defying Islamic teachings attracts God’s wrath and punishment. These beliefs align themselves with the principles of the fear theory.
Challenges in Facing Islam in the Modern World
One of the major challenges that face Islam is extremism and jihadism. The rise of Islamic terrorist groups that continue to commit social injustices in different parts of the world portrays beliefs of violence and horror, contrary to the belief that Islam promotes peace (Von et al., 2021). Additionally, the Islamic traditions that portray women as inferior have highly undermined women’s rights (Nigora & Viloyat, 2022). The tradition’s response to extremism and jihadism suggests that both can be considered products of politics that have no relation to religion. Furthermore, considering the feminist approach and promotion of women’s rights in the Islamic religion, experts differently interpreted the initial sources to reconstruct the patriarchy in Islam. Based on my partner’s report, the tradition of Islam is generally orthopraxis. The conclusion is sourced from Muslims’ beliefs about attracting God’s favor by observing the right behavior prescribed in the Islamic traditions.
Lastly, comparing the information about Islamic beliefs and practices from the conversation with my religious upbringing on separate items allowed me to define several similarities and differences. Compared to Christianity, even though both religions originate from fear, Islam is more prohibitive. Furthermore, both religions use places of worship to unite the community, but their furnishings are drastically different as Islam prohibits the use of idolatry practice. Lastly, while Christianity focuses on following the rules to receive God’s love and forgiveness, Islam promotes positivity among followers to create a peaceful society that will take care of needy people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I learned a lot about Islam from my conversation with my partner. Given the challenges surrounding the Islamic religion, especially the violence perpetrated by Islamic extremists, I find the Islamic faith highly peaceful and advocates for unity and love. Sharing with the needy is highly important, which I do not find being insisted on in many religions, especially Christianity. I was surprised about the myths surrounding the death of Prophet Muhammad and his ascension to heaven. This conversation has taught me to appreciate my religion and respect other people’s religious beliefs.
References
Daley, B. (2014). Talking about religion – at last: Old taboo is fading, but broaching the subject still requires restraint. Chicago Tribune; Chicago, Ill. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
Mayer, A. E. (2018). Islam and human rights: Tradition and politics. Routledge.
Molloy, M. (2020). Experiencing the world’s religions: Tradition, challenge, and change (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Nigora, Y., & Viloyat, D. (2022). Rights of Women in Islam at Accession and Into Marriage. Zien Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 7, 189-195. Web.
Von Sikorski, C., Matthes, J., & Schmuck, D. (2021). The Islamic State in the news: Journalistic differentiation of Islamist terrorism from Islam, terror news proximity, and Islamophobic attitudes. Communication Research, 48(2), 203-232. Web.