Introduction
Islam is the next largest religion worldwide after Christianity, and the second largest religion in the United States. In the United States, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the country. In any part of the world, Muslims are everywhere as neighbors, co–workers and fellow citizens. Some Americans and Europeans think that Muslims are different, strange, and frightening, even worst, they are associated as terrorist individuals. It is necessary that people change their perceptions of the Muslims. This is will only happen if the public will be provided with better information and deeper understanding especially in the teachings of Islam. The terror, hatred, or aggression as dictated by other people’s ignorance needs to be changed with its purpose, peace and harmony among other countries all over the world. All Muslims are monotheists like the Jews and Christians who really believed in one God. Muslims believe that Allah is the Creator, Sustainer, Ruler, and Judge of all things in the entire universe. All Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet and they worship Allah through His teachings written in the Holy Qur’an. The Qur’an is the powerful source of inspiration of all Muslims. In addition, Muslims believe in heaven, angels, hell, and the Judgment Day and practices of the five Pillars of Islam faithfully. The Five Pillars of Islam represent the core and strong dedication that unites all Muslims all over the world. A true Muslim has the genuine dedication of his mind, body, feelings, and possessions. The presence of Allah in all Muslims reminds them that unity binds their faith through eternity as faithful believers. Islam is not a new religion with a new scripture, it is the oldest religion that represents the original and final revelation of God. Muslims, like the Jews and Christians, believe that their faith is a unique covenant with God that constitute in the community to serve as good examples to other countries with social orders for everybody.
What is Islam?
Islam is not only a religion, it is a unique culture and a way of life for all Muslims. Islam is a word that translates as the total submission to Allah. Muslims are dedicated to offering themselves to the will of Allah. Muslims perform the active form of Islam that means I surrender. The Muslim community is called Ummah that refers to the global community who worships in the mosque or masjid or the house of worship in Islam. The Qur’an or Koran is the Holy scripture with an Arabic language considered as an authentic scripture in accordance with the governing rules in the Muslim life. However, the Qur’an was translated into many languages, and many non-Arab Muslims can learn to read and understand the content. In fact, Qur’an recitation is one of the popular competition in Arabic worldwide.
Core Beliefs
Traditionally, Muslims have their core beliefs that they adhere to, such as (1) there is only one God; (2) Muhammad is the last Prophet (mercy and blessings of God be upon him); (3) Qur’an is the revealed Holy scripture; (4) God’s angels exist; and (5) there is only one Judgment day. The will and knowledge of Allah are complete; it only implies that all Muslims are subject of predestination or fate. One simple example is that, among the fate is the expression Inshallah or God willing; it is a common expression among Muslims that simply reflects the tradition of the destiny of a Muslim, and believes that the world itself is in the hands of Allah.
Five Pillars
The commitments of Muslims to their religion are the Five Pillars of Islam, the foundation of Islam faith, such as Shihada or Shahadah, Oneness of God; Salat or the Prayers; Zakat or Charity; Sawm or Fasting; and Hajj or Pilgrimage . The Shahada is to bear witness through the declaration of faith that Allah is the only God and Prophet Muhammad, the last prophet or messenger of God. The Salat is for the Muslims to perform the prayers five times each day: Salat al-Fajr, at dawn before sunrise; Salat al-Zuhr, at midday after the sun passes its highest; Salat-al-‘Asr, at later part of the afternoon; Sala al-Maghrib, just after the sunset; and Salat al-‘Isha, between the sunset and at midnight. The Zakat is to give a portion of income or charity to benefit the khoums or needy; it is based on the Islam belief that pureness in the society has no misery. In addition, alms or charity of 2.5 percent of one’s wealth is compulsory as regarded as a self-purification worship. Sawm is a fasting during the Ramadan. Muslims need to fast on the ninth of the Islamic calendar and all adults must give up food or drinks, smoking, and sexual activity during the hours of daylight. However, Muslims who are unwell physically or mentally are excused to fast, those are the twelve years old below, elderly, traveling, and women who are menstruating, breastfeeding, and pregnant. The fifth pillar of Islam is the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that happens once a year. Every Muslim ethnic group, social status, culture, and color are gathered together in Mecca, a holy place wherein non-Muslims are not allowed to enter. Muslims are praising Allah, standing before the Kaaba and wearing Ihram, a simple white clothes. The main purpose of the pilgrimage is to promote the Islamic brotherhood and sisterhood through equal treatment with each other in the eyes of Allah. In addition, through Hajj, Muslims feel the real significance of the renewed sense of purpose of their lives on earth and the afterlife; they stripped away all markers of wealth, pride, and social status, truly equal.
Prophet Muhammad
In Islam, Prophet Muhammad (mercy and blessings of God be upon him) is a man dearly loved by billions of Muslims all over the world. Prophet Muhammad taught the Muslims with great patience despite the misfortunes of life and to live in the world and seek eternal life in the afterlife, the salvation. Allah revealed the holy words to Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an. His life was the Qur’an, he understood it, he loved it, and he lived his life in accordance with its standards. When Muslims declared the Shahada as the faith in One God, they also declared their genuine belief that Prophet Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is proper to mention “mercy and blessings of God be upon him” when Muslims hear the Prophet Muhammad’s name. The Prophet Muhammad was a human being, however, his genuine love for humanity sets him apart from others. He wept in tears for his Ummah and for humanity. In the Qur’an, God sent Prophet Muhammad into all that exist in the world, a prophet like no other and one whose message will spread wide that is applicable in different places at all times. For all Muslims in the world, Prophet Muhammad was gentle, kind, generous, and loving. He was a selfless man who devoted his entire life to teaching his followers to worship God and to respect humanity. As a clear point, Muslims do not worship prophet Muhammad, they fully understand that he was only a man. However, he was a man worthy of the utmost respect and love and Muslims only worship Allah.
Misconceptions
When people discussed religion, they encountered many misunderstandings on beliefs and practices. Islam is one of the religions around the world that has many misconceptions. Muslims are simply those who are in Islam; those who surrenders to Allah alone. The word Islam has no religious connotation or a title of something, even some people used it as a title nowadays. There are people who are willing or unwilling to surrender everything to God. The main idea of Islam is as old as the universe itself; there is a significant reflection and many people need to realize that Islam is not a state of being, and not a title of a religion. Islam is an inclusive system that promotes the beliefs and actions that are not exclusive to any group. The system in Islam as is written in the Holy Qur’an is to promote unity, just, and it is beneficial to the society regardless of faith. Islam allows every person to live and to grow to full potential in their faith.
The common misconceptions about the Muslims in Islam are: (1) Muslims live in the Middle East and are Arabs; (2) Muslims do not believe in Jesus and they have no interest to know who Jesus is; (3) Muslims worship the moon and the Moon-God; (4) Muslims support terrorism and violence, and engaged in Jihad or war against the other community; and (5) Muslims are either Shi’a or Sunni, and they oppress women. Another misconception about the Muslims: (6) Muslims contain less importance on their education, culture, arts, and it made them ignorant; (7) Muslims show less importance on Muslim women, children, and their family life; (8) Prophet Muhammad founded Islam and all Muslims must worship him; and (9) Muslims deny about peace, never speaks against terrorism, and the religion grows faster compared to other.
Clarification of the Misconceptions
It is not true that Muslims only live in the Middle East; there are billions of Muslims who live in Asia, in South and Southeast Asia in particular. There are 300 million Muslims who live in Africa, and the four largest Muslim populations live in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It is not truthful to say that Muslims who live in the Middle East have the largest population. An Arab is a person that speaks Arabic as his native language; it only implies that not all Arabs are Muslims. In fact, millions of Arabs are into Christianity, and about 300 million Arabic speakers worldwide. The Iranian, Turkish, Pakistans, Indonesians, and other Muslims should not be generalized as Arabs. Jesus is highly respected and valued his teachings by Muslims, only as the prophet of God and not a Savior. In Islam, Jesus is called as Isa; it is mentioned in the Qur’an for 93 times and performed many miracles, was born of a virgin Mary and a Messiah. Some people will say that the word Allah is an idol or a moon god. The accusation is very offensive to all Muslims. The word Allah is an Arabic name that means God. The majority of the Muslims suffered from terrorism and violence than non-Muslims, in fact, 93 percent of Muslims are against the extremist views of terrorism. Jihad is an Arabic word that means struggle; a struggle of a Muslim’s soul against selfish and sinful desires. Jihad refers to the inner struggle such as social campaigns to end the poverty and sufferings. In Islam, there are also sects similar to Christianity. The Sunni and Shi’a are the two major branches; however, there are thousands of subgroups with different doctrines, theology, Islamic schools, and laws. Islam never permits violence towards women; the oppression is a global issue and is not an isolated case in the Islamic oppression. One of the strongest teachings of Islam is to care for widows, orphans, and poor women and the Muslim community worldwide value the family life. For many generations, Muslim family lives together in the same household and take care of the elders as an honor and not a burden. Most Muslims have a high value on education, culture, and the arts; they are now highly educated with master’s degree and doctorates. In the Islamic universities, the world leaders are Muslims who are proficient in medicine, law, mathematics, science, and linguistics. Muhammad was of great esteem; however, not to be worshiped by Muslims. Muslim reserved their worship of Allah alone, and to worship anything or anyone is strictly forbidden. Muslims honor God and see Islam as a religion of peace.
Christianity vs Judaism and its Barriers between Muslim and Non-Muslims
The three of the most influential world religions in history are Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Judaism has its impact on the world, even though it is not as large as the Christianity and Islam. These three influential religions are called as Abrahamic religions; they trace their history to Abraham in the holy scripture. Every religion believes in God, it sees the universe, the people, and the afterlife differently and similarly. The factors necessary to identify the differences and similarities among the three religions are statistics, origins, religious beliefs, and history.
Christianity
Approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ founded Christianity. In the world history of religion, Christianity is one of the most influential religions. In the first century, the faith in Christianity started on a small sect of Judaism. In the early 21st century, billions of followers can be found in every corner of the world. The Church is the institution that is strongly observing the Christian faith; the church is the people itself. There are three major branches of the Christian church; the Roman Catholic, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodoxy. In Christianity, the major branches have differences and similarities on beliefs, practices, holidays, and doctrines. In Christianity, the beliefs are very significant. The world view of the New Testament is founded through God’s doctrine existed in three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three personae are the Trinity; though, it is not found in the Holy Bible, it is understood as the summary of the teaching of the Scripture that solely concerns God’s identity. Traditionally, the Christianity has taught that Christ was born to the Virgin Mary. God created the world as believed by most Christians; however, they do not agree about how it happened as demonstrated on creation and evolution in science. The Christian belief system involves the unseen realities such as angels, Satan, demons, and the exorcism. Christianity views human nature is being corrupted by rebellious acts against God. In the Catholic tradition, they recognized the Seven Mortal Sins and has strong convictions about the life after death. Heaven is the destination of those who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and repented their sins. Conversely, hell is the destination of those who did not ask forgiveness and believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior. Today, Christians have many expressions that share the same core beliefs such as Trinity, the Bible, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. The cross, numbers, and colors are symbols significant to Christianity. Christianity celebrates many holidays such as Sunday Sabbath, Advent, Christmas Day, Twelfth Night, Epiphany (Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday, and Easter Day.) Other holidays are Saint Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, All Saints Day, Saint Andrew’s Day, Reformation Day, and Boxing Day. In the United States, Thanksgiving is a holiday. In terms of Christian practices, important markers for the believers are the Christ Baptism, Christian Hymns, Sign of the Cross, Catholic Mass, Holy Water, Honoring the Saints, The Stations of the Cross, Catechisms, and Praying the Rosary, Icons, Altar Calls, and Speaking in Tongues.
Judaism
Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world. Its history started through the ancient Hebrew and Israelite people to Abraham. Judaism continues to exert its profound influence all over the world, despite the centuries and millenniums of persecution, suffering, dispersion and victory. The basic facts of the religion are found in their history, beliefs, and practices. The Judaism has a strong conviction that there is only one God; it is revealed in the sacred writings of men, Moses, and the Prophets, and the most significant is the Torah. In Judaism, religion is a life, and not just an aspect of life. They celebrate holidays like bar mitzvahs and Passover; to commemorate the life of God in the past and the effect of it at the present generation. In the 12th century, Maimonides, a Jewish Philosopher summarized the Jewish beliefs in the 13 Articles of Faith. The doctrine of God is the center of the Jewish theology, and the central figure is the Messiah. They view the human nature as an established dignity for both male and female as creations of God and with God’s image. The Judaism inherent sinfulness of the people and ask for forgiveness, and the afterlife is significant to them. They celebrate holidays such as Sabbath, Passover, The Day of Atonement, The Jewish New Year, The Festival of Trees, Purim, Days of Awe, and Hanukkah. The most important texts in Judaism are the Torah or Law, Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, Responsa, and Zohar. They also have cycles of rituals such as naming Ceremonies, Redemption of the Firstborn, Brit Milah or Circumcision, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, marriage, death, and mourning. In addition, Judaism practices are obeying the 613 Commandments, keeping Kosher, and Worship and Prayer. The things they used with significance are the synagogue, kittel (white line robe), mezuzah (small parchment), tallit and tzitzit (prayer shawl), and tefillin (two small black leather boxes that are worn on the left arm and forehead.)
Islam is the second largest religion worldwide and many Muslims are practicing the Islam religion, and over six million are residing in the United States. Islamic culture hailed from philosophical backgrounds. The intensified cross – cultural exposure generated deeper engagement between the Muslims and the non-Muslims residing in America. There are many barriers identified in the nation culturally. The cultural differences are the stumbling blocks to the positive relationship between the groups, especially in the case of the Islamic culture that tends to stand out against the secular Western society. The Muslims become the target of the different misunderstanding and prejudice the result to hit the cultural shell. For example, Muslim women wear their traditional dress showing nothing except the face and hands, or wear donning Niqab to cover the entire face except the eyes and they wear a Hijab. The traditionally-dressed Muslim women in America suffered disrespectful comments often or some acts of violence in response to their clothing. Consequently, the natural response to the disrespectful comments or violence is a complete withdrawal of the victim of the society. Many of the non-Muslim American women dress has equal potential to disturb a conservative Muslim. Muslims feel shameful about the culture non-Muslim women the way they dress. The cultural contrast becomes a barrier that leads to the difficult approach and how to engage socially.
Conclusion
When Muslims submitted their lives to the will of God, they were considered as genuine Islam. Muslims performed the primary emphasis in obeying Allah faithfully. The world view of Islam visualized the moral responsibility of the individuals. Muslims strived and performed Jihad, declared faithfully the Five Pillars of Islam, and defended the Muslim community. The purpose of all the teachings of Islam is the key to the salvation of all Muslims. The teachings provided guidelines and requirements to interact between the human beings and Allah both in public and private dimensions. Islam has prominent roles in the Muslim community; Islamic teachings are highly sensitive, especially when people of different religions like Christianity and Judaism have less understanding of the Islamic ways, culture, practices, and beliefs. With the clarity of the teachings of Islam, the misconceptions are clear and people can understand about the culture and traditions of Muslims. The teaching of Islam can help interpret the differences and similarities of the religions.
Reference
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