In the days
since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the
media have been full of discussion of the terrorists' presumed religion,
Islam. Does Islam promote this sort of violence? And within the United States,
there are reports that some Muslims have been mistreated and mosques attacked
by those who express their anger over the attacks.
What is
Islam? Who are Muslims? Islam means submission to God; a Muslim is one who
submits to God. The foundation of Islamic belief is expressed in the
declaration, "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet."
In this statement, Muslims make known their belief that there is only one God.
Allah, or The God, is the same as the deity Jews and Christians believe in:
Creator of all that is.
The second
part of the declaration attests that God chose Muhammad to restore the
revelation of his word to the world, a revelation given through many previous
prophets. Muslims see Noah, Jesus and others as those who brought God's word
to the world before the final, and perfect, revelation through Muhammad.
Muslims understand that this revelation is The Glorious Qur'an, the scripture
that provides the basis for Islamic belief and practice. Muslims are supposed
to pray five times a day, so that God is constantly called to mind, from the
time one rises, until one goes to sleep. When Muslims worship God, whether in
the Mosque or elsewhere, reciting parts of the Qur'an is central to prayer.
Muslims believe that God judges humans according to their deeds. Humans are individually responsible to God for all of their actions. Muslims are told to be the best community on earth, creating the conditions in which good can flourish, and forbidding what is evil. The Qur'an, and the words and example of the Prophet, provide a guide for moral life. This includes charity; every believer is to give of his or her income to provide for the poor.
For one
month of the year, Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day, eating only before
dawn or after dusk. During this month, they make extra contributions to
charity, and provide meals for the poor. If possible, once in life, a Muslim
should try to make a pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca, the place of the first
revelation to Muhammad. At Mecca, Muslims encounter the vast diversity of
worldwide Islam, as several million believers from all over the world converge
in one place to join in prayer.
The vast
majority of Muslims express shock that someone could commit mass terror
against civilians in the name of Islam. They no more see suicide bombings as
Islamic than most Christians would recognize the mass suicide in Jonestown in
1979, led by Jim Jones, as Christian. Rather, Muslims believe that Islam shows
the way to peace:
"Whose
word is better than his who calls to God and does the right, and says: 'I am
of the obedient?' Good and evil are not alike. Repel evil with what is good.
Then you will find your erstwhile enemy like a close, affectionate
friend." The Qur'an, Surah 42: 33-34.
Kamp is an
assistant professor in the UW Department of History.