Introduction
In his book, Ways of the World, author Robert Strayer explores the main pillars of the Islamic religion that he refers to as the Voices of Islam. These are the voices of; Allah, Prophet Muhammad, the law and Sufis.
Strayer expresses that these four voices are the ones that have characterized the Islamic religion throughout the years. The voices differ in a lot of aspects and one common observation among the Muslims is that they tend towards one voice that they view as more favorable and reject the ones that deem unfavorable (Strayer 2010). Throughout the years various advocators of the different voices have emerged. For example, Al Ghazali was a great advocator of Suficism and campaigned for the adoption of orthodox beliefs into the Islamic religion.
There are a variety of themes that are exhibited by the voices. An example is the impact that religion has on the society. The sharia law is very oppressive in nature, particularly to the female gender where it goes even as far as depriving women of their basic rights! On the other hand, the voice of Prophet Muhammad clearly expresses that everyone in the society should be treated equally. Another common theme is society’s blindness towards religion. It is a mystery how a society would follow a particular voice without actually finding out the impact that it might have on their lives (Strayer 2010). Another theme that is prevalent in the voices of Islam is religion rebellion. The voice of Sufis in particular can be seen as resulting from rebellion towards fundamental Islam by people who wanted to create their own brand of the Islam.
As expressed earlier in this discussion, the four Islamic voices vary significantly and this has been a source of huge controversies among the Muslim faithful. This is an issue that is not entirely unsolvable. Although they are minimal differences among the voices, all of them are essentially aimed at improving one’s faith and belief in Allah. Every Muslim aspires to completely abide by the teachings of Allah as written down by Prophet Muhammad in the Quran. It is therefore essential that the controversies that emerge from different view points be reconciled through collective thinking for the common good of the Islamic faith.
References
Strayer, Robert W. (2010). Ways of the World Combined Volume: A Global with Sources. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
