Untitled - Rahnuma eBooks Library

324 Pages·2008·2.88 MB·English

V I
OICES OF SLAM

V I
OICES OF SLAM
•
Volume 1
V T
OICES OF RADITION
Vincent J. Cornell, General Editor and
Volume Editor
P P
RAEGER ERSPECTIVES
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
VoicesofIslam/VincentJ.Cornell,generaleditor.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0–275–98732–9(set:alk.paper)—ISBN0–275–98733–7(vol1:alk.paper)—ISBN
0–275–98734–5(vol2:alk.paper)—ISBN0–275–98735–3(vol3:alk.paper)—ISBN0–
275–98736–1(vol4:alk.paper)—ISBN0–275–98737–X(vol5:alk.paper)1.Islam—
Appreciation.2.Islam—Essence,genius,nature.I.Cornell,VincentJ.
BP163.V652007
297—dc22 2006031060
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright©2007byPraegerPublishers
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2006031060
ISBN:0–275–98732–9(set)
0–275–98733–7(vol.1)
0–275–98734–5(vol.2)
0–275–98735–3(vol.3)
0–275–98736–1(vol.4)
0–275–98737–X(vol.5)
Firstpublishedin2007
PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10987654321
C
ONTENTS
•
VoicesofIslam vii
VincentJ.Cornell
Introduction:Islam,Tradition,andTraditionalism xvii
VincentJ.Cornell
1. MiracleofSoundattheKa‘ba 1
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
2. PillarsofReligionandFaith 5
KarimaDianeAlavi
3. RamadanHouseGuest 43
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
4. TheQur’an,theWordofGod 47
MustansirMir
5. DrunkennessoftheWord 63
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
6. EncounteringtheQur’an:ContextsandApproaches 65
JamesWinstonMorris
7. MosesandtheSaint 97
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
8. ProphetsandMessengersofGod 101
JosephLumbard
9. TheLoomandTheBridge 123
BarryC.McDonald
10. TheSunna:TheWayoftheProphetMuhammad 125
HamzaYusufHanson
vi Contents
11. VisionoftheShariat 147
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
12. TheShari‘a:LawastheWayofGod 149
MohammadHashimKamali
13. AManontheRoadtoGod 183
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
14. WhatIsSunniIslam? 185
FeisalAbdulRauf
15. WhatIsShiiteIslam? 217
AzimNanjiandFarhadDaftary
16. BeginningthePrayer 245
DanielAbdal-HayyMoore
17. WhatIsSufism? 249
AhmetT.Karamustafa
Index 271
AbouttheEditorandContributors 291
V I
OICES OF SLAM
•
Vincent J. Cornell
IthaslongbeenatruismtosaythatIslamisthemostmisunderstoodreligion
intheworld.However,thesituationexpressedbythisstatementismorethan
a littleironic becauseIslam is also oneof themoststudied religions in the
world,afterChristianityandJudaism.Inthequarterofacenturysincethe
1978–1979IslamicrevolutioninIran,hundredsofbooksonIslamandthe
Islamicworldhaveappearedinprint,includingmorethanascoreofintro-
ductionstoIslaminvariousEuropeanlanguages.Howisonetounderstand
thisparadox?WhyisitthatmostAmericans andEuropeansarestilllargely
uninformed about Islam after so many books about Islam have been pub-
lished?Evenmore,howcanpeoplestillclaimtoknowsolittleaboutIslam
whenMuslimsnowliveinvirtuallyeverymedium-sizedandmajorcommu-
nityinAmericaandEurope?Avisittoalocallibraryortoanationalbook-
store chain in any American city will reveal numerous titles on Islam and
theMuslimworld,rangingfromjournalisticpotboilerstoacademicstudies,
translationsoftheQur’an,andworksadvocatingavarietyofpointsofview
fromapologeticstopredictionsoftheapocalypse.
Theanswertothisquestioniscomplex,anditwouldtakeabookitselfto
discuss it adequately. More than 28 years have passed since Edward Said
wrotehisclassicstudyOrientalism,andithasbeennearlyaslongsinceSaid
critiquedjournalisticdepictionsofIslaminCoveringIslam:HowtheMedia
and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. When these
books first appeared in print, many thought that the ignorance about the
Middle East and the Muslim world in the West would finally be dispelled.
However,thereislittleevidencethatthepublicconsciousnessofIslamand
MuslimshasbeenraisedtoasignificantdegreeinWesterncountries.Scholars
ofIslaminAmericanuniversitiesstillfeeltheneedtohumanizeMuslimsin
the eyes of their students. A basic objective of many introductory courses
onIslamistodemonstratethatMuslimsarerationalhumanbeingsandthat
theirbeliefs areworthyofrespect.AsCarlW.Ernstobservesinthepreface
to his recent work, Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the
viii Voices of Islam
ContemporaryWorld,‘‘Itstillamazesmethatintelligentpeoplecanbelieve
thatallMuslimsareviolentorthatallMuslimwomenareoppressed,when
theywouldneverdreamofutteringslursstereotypingmuchsmallergroups
suchasJewsorblacks.ThestrengthofthesenegativeimagesofMuslimsis
remarkable,eventhoughtheyarenotbasedonpersonalexperienceoractual
study,buttheyreceivedailyreinforcementfromthenewsmediaandpopular
culture.’’1
Suchprejudicesandmisconceptionshaveonlybecomeworsesincetheter-
roristattacksofSeptember11,2001,andthewarinIraq.Therestillremains
aneedtoportrayMuslimsinalloftheirhumandiversity,whetherthisdiver-
sityisbasedonculture,historicalcircumstances,economicclass,gender,or
religious doctrine. Today, Muslims represent nearly one-fourth of the
world’s population.Although manyAmericansare aware thatIndonesia is
theworld’slargestMuslimcountry,mostaresurprisedtolearnthathalfof
theMuslimsintheworldliveeastof Lahore,Pakistan.Inthissense,Islam
isasmuchan‘‘Asian’’religionasisHinduismorBuddhism.Thenewreality
ofglobalIslamstronglycontradictsthe‘‘MiddleEastern’’viewofIslamheld
bymostAmericans.Politically,theUnitedStateshasbeenpreoccupiedwith
theMiddleEastformorethanhalfacentury.Religiously,however,American
ProtestantismhasbeeninvolvedintheMiddleEastformorethan150years.
Thus,itcomesasashockforAmericanstolearnthatonlyone-fourthofthe
world’s Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa and that only
one-fifthofMuslimsareArabs.Islamisnowas muchaworldwidereligion
as Christianity, with somewhere between 4 and 6 million believers in the
United States and approximately 10 million believers in Western Europe.
Almost20millionMuslimslivewithinthebordersoftheRussianFederation,
andnearlyamillionpeopleofMuslimdescentliveintheRussiancityofSt.
Petersburg,ontheGulfofFinland.
TothinkofIslamasmonolithicunderthesecircumstancesisbothwrong
and dangerous. The idea that all Muslims are fundamentalists or anti-
democraticreligiouszealotscanleadtothefearthatdangerousaliensarehid-
ing within Western countries, a fifth column of a civilization that is
antithetical to freedom and the liberal way of life. This attitude is often
expressed in popular opinion in both the United States and Europe. For
example,itcanbeseeninthe‘‘Letters’’sectionoftheJune7,2004,edition
ofTimemagazine,whereareaderwrites:‘‘NowitistimeforMuslimclerics
to denounce the terrorists or admit that Islam is fightinga war with us—a
religious war.’’2 For the author of this letter, Muslim ‘‘clerics’’ are not to
betrusted,notbecausetheyfindithardtobelievethatpiousMuslimswould
commitoutrageousactsofterrorism,butbecausetheysecretlyhatetheWest
anditsvalues.Clearly,forthisreaderofTime,IslamandtheWestareatwar;
howeverthe‘‘West’’maybedefinedandwherever‘‘Islam’’orMuslimsareto
befound.