What Muslims Believe

What are your questions about Islam? Some of the frequent ones include: Does the Quran teach violence? Is Allah a different God than that of the Jews and Christians? Is Islam oppressive to women? Do Muslims believe in Jesus? Are all Muslims Arabs? And what about terrorists? As you read below, you will find many misconceptions corrected.

Rahman Khan

Rahman began his presentation dressed in traditional clothes and speaking in Arabic. Then he said, “Now I will give you a minute to think about what I said” as he changed into his suit.

Starting again, he opened the lunch presentation with the Muslim Surah, Al Fatiha (The Opening)

1:1 In the name of Allah (God), the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1:2 Praise be to Allah (God), Lord of the Worlds,

1:3 The Beneficent, the Merciful:

1:4 Owner of the Day of Judgment,

1:5 Thee alone we worship; Thee alone we ask for help.

1:6 Show us the straight path,

1:7 The path of those whom Thou hast favored; Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

Rahman continued, “The first image of me dressed in traditional clothing and speaking words in Arabic can be misleading. Sometimes it is easier to understand me when I am dressed in a suit and speaking in English.

I am here today to talk about the misperceptions, stereotypes of Islam. I am honored to be here and thank Mecklenburg Ministries for this opportunity.

I am glad to be called, “Muslim,” which means one who submits myself to God.

Islam is based on 5 pillars:

1. There is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.
2. Prayer – five times a day. We can pray all day and pray any time but there are 5 formal ritualized prayers each day.
3. Charity – we are to give 2.5% of our net worth. Also, charity can be a kind word, a smile, good deeds, etc.
4. Fasting – we fast for purification during the month of Ramadan.
5. Pilgrimage – we are all to go on Hajj to Mecca (as able) sometime during our lifetime.

Things can get so confusing when we talk about Islam. When we hear someone talk in another language we often find it mistrusting. I have heard people say of Latinos, “Why don’t they speak English?” Or when you women get your nails done and attendant speaks Vietnamese, it is easy to mistrust what they are saying. And then, when people talk in Arabic get so excited when talk….!

Who is this Allah?

When I sometimes hear a co-worker say, “It doesn’t matter if you talk to God or Allah” I chuckle because Allah is the Arabic word for God. There is a perception that Allah is a separate deity. No, Allah is God translated literally: Al = “The” and ah = “God.” Allah = “The One God.”

Some people say it is a different God because we believe differently. We believe there is only one God who created us all and all creation.

There is no such thing in Arabic as a lower case “god” but only God, the beneficent, gracious and redeeming. We believe God loves us.

Our first source of authority is the Quran, the unchanged Word of God given to His messenger, Mohammad. We also believe in the Gospels, Torah and Psalms of David.

Our second source is Mohammad who was a human being, not a deity, but serves as our example.

What do we believe about Jesus?

One difference we have from Christian faith is the concept of Jesus. (Some folks say, “Ahhh, here we go, now here it comes….) As Mohammad told the Christian king who gave him refuge in (present day) Ethiopia, “We love Jesus. We believe Jesus was a perfect man and followed the revelation of God. We believe in Jesus’ miracles, that he healed the lepers and blind. We believe in the miraculous birth. In fact, there is a chapter in the Quran called, “Mary.” The difference is we do not believe Jesus is God himself. We don’t see God as 3 in 1 as in the Trinity but we believe God is One. We understand Jesus to be like Moses and Adam and Mohammed who all fulfilled great missions for God. We believe there is only One God who is God of all.

Misconceptions

Jihad What have you heard that “jihad” means? Holy War. In the Quran God does talk to the prophet about war but no where in the Quran do you see the words “holy war.” God dislikes war and there is no concept of it being holy.

Islam means, “the religion of peace.” Muslim means, “One who submits self to peace.” Salaam means “Peace.” Assalamu Alaikum means, “peace unto you” and is a greeting and also a prayer. It is an obligation in every greeting to be peaceful.

So if Islam is a religion of peace then how can war be holy? This is a contradiction that is not in Quran or our teachings.

The word “jihad” literally means “to struggle.” You might have had a tough struggle to get to Mecklenburg Ministries’ lunch today. That’s jihad. Mohammed said the biggest struggle, the biggest jihad, is the struggle against self. For example, do I give money for good causes or keep it all to myself?”

Women What have you heard about women in Islam? (That women are oppressed, must walk 5 steps behind a man, have to wear all this stuff even when it is hot outside.)

Mohammed lived in a time when women were treated like property. Mohammad said that Paradise lies at the feet of the mother. When asked, who should I revere most? Mohammad answered, “Your Mother.” Mohammad believed in education of daughters. The 4^th Chapter of the Quran is called, “The Women” and talks about how we are to respect women, educate women, etc. The Prophet’s first wife was a business woman and she was the first person Mohammad went to after he received God’s revelation.

Women actually have more rights in the Quran than men. Women do not have to work in Islam. My wife works at Wachovia as an economist but all she makes is hers and she is not obligated to give it to the household. Now….she does, thank God!

Clothing You will see a range of women’s dress in Islam. The Quran says women are to be modest. The Quran never says women are to cover your head. Modesty for some people means head coverings. There are different cultural traditions and customs for what modesty means. Look at Orthodox Jewish women or nuns who cover and dress modestly. And I’ve heard that many women, under their burkas, are very stylish!

Modesty is to protect men from lustful ways, especially when praying. The ritualistic way we pray with head bowed down to ground – picture that – if women were to pray in front of men bowed down it could cause the opportunity for other thoughts rather than praise to God.

Men are also supposed to dress modestly.

All all Muslims Arabs?

There are 22 Arab countries. Most Muslims, however, are not Arab and not all Arabs are Muslim. The media portrays Muslims as angry Arabic speaking men but Islam has been in America for several hundred years. The biggest Muslim population is in Indonesia.

People ask, “Where did all these Muslims come from? They just seemed to pop up after 9-11.” But we’ve been here for several hundred years.

What about terrorism? Muslims are angry and decry terrorism. We feel like terrorists are hijacking our religion. Suicide is a sin in Islam. There is no such thing as blowing someone up and you go to Paradise. Muslims yearn for peace. We believe in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, that we are truly one nation under God. We believe that we are all created with certain unalienable rights. We want freedom and justice for all people.

Questions and answers

What do you believe about other religions? I believe that there are other paths to God and do not believe Islam is the only way to God. I don’t believe all are created to be Muslim.

How do you explain radicalism within Iraq and how acceptable violence is? It is not acceptable at all. Some people are easily influenced by religious leaders who take a stand, even when against the Quran.

I understand that Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world and in the US. Do Mulims have missionaries? No. The growth of Islam is a phenomenon but we believe God is in control. I think the appeal is the simplicity of Islam, the belief in one God, and the discipline.