With a title like that you just have to click and read, right? Here we go.
As with most of my posts this too starts at church. Last night our church hosted a guest speaker, Hatim Kareem a practicing Muslim, to discuss what is means to be Muslim in the world today. I will admit, this is the one speaker in the entire lineup I was dying to hear.
I arrived about 10-15 minutes late due to our dinner chores but quickly found my seat. I was able to catch up quickly to what the speaker was discussing. He was giving the attendees a brief history on Islam faith. I had taken religion classes in college and had some background with Islam but never really to this extent.
I have to admit I was fascinated. I know that Islam and Christianity were similar but never really realized just how similar they are. Let's start with a little religion lesson; the 5 pillars of Islam.
1. The Testimony of Faith. This states that every Muslim must affirm that they believe in the one true God and will not worship any other gods but the one true God. Does this sound familiar? According to Exodus 20:2-17 God tells Mosses "I brought you out of Egypt...I am the Lord your God. You will have no other gods before me." When Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest, he too states that "you shall love the Lord your God and have no other God."
2. Muslims must pray 5 times a day. To hear the speaker, Mr. Kareem explain it - the prayer is more meditative than asking for anything. I think today many people ask God for something; watch over me, my family, help me with this problem. He said that Muslims pray to thank God for whatever they are thankful for then ask for help, if it is needed. They use the time to humble themselves before God (thus the rules around prayer). Some of the rules include washing their hands, head and ankles before prayer, the position they use for prayer and that men must stand shoulder to shoulder as equals while they pray.
3. Charity. Islam rule is that any Muslim that possesses over 85 grams of gold for one lunar year must give 2.5% to charity. The charity rule starts with family; if a family member is in need, you give to them. If the family is all right, you give to a neighbor. If the neighborhood is all right, you extend even further. Mr. Kareem noted that the need for charity is not to help those in need but to also help the person giving. He said that it is a way of purifying yourself and your life by giving away your excess.Jesus says over and over again in the bible that to be like him you must give away your excess. In Acts 3:6 Peter gives what he has to a cripple he meets on the road. He doesn't give him money, but he heals him and the man is able to walk. In the bible charity isn't just about money; it is about giving what you have, time, talents, etc.
4. Fasting during Ramadan. Mr. Kareem noted that the fasting isn't solely focused on the absence of food, drink and sexual relations; it is about purification of mind and body. It can also be used as a platform to help develop new habits toward a new year. It allows Muslims to refocus themselves toward God and their faith and if they can conquer hunger, they can conquer any issue they may face.
Depending on what book of the bible you read, Jesus fasted for 40 days while he was being tempted by Satan. He told Satan that man does not live on bread alone. It was Jesus who was saying that men need more than just food for the body, but food for the soul to survive.
5. Pilgrimage to Makkah. This pilgrimage is something that is asked of all Muslims if they are physically and financially able to do so once in their life. During their Pilgrimage all Muslims are required to wear the same simple garments to keep all men on the same level and to bring them closer to God.
Beyond the pillars of Islam I found it interesting why women are "required" to cover up. To some it seems as though Muslims are suppressing women but to hear Mr. Kareem tell it, they do it because men can't keep their mind on what matters; their relationship with God. Women cover up because it is supposed to prevent men from having unclean thoughts toward women.
Did you know that Muslims believe in the same "prophets" as Christians? Mr. Kareem was well versed in the stories of Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, John the Baptist and Jesus. They believe in Jesus's miracle birth but to Muslims, he was a prophet who could do amazing things (heal the sick, raise the dead and he himself rose from the dead.) There are other religions that believe the exact same thing.
The question that I personally was waiting to hear his opinion on was this "Why, if Islam is a religion of peace are there so many violent acts being carried out by Muslim people?" The short answer is that media show only the bad. "Extremists" whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist exist. Just because a few people from one sect of a religion take their religious believes and make them political does not mean that everyone within that religion believes the same. After all the KKK does everything based on the bible and Christian belief; does that mean all Christians are KKK members?
Mr. Kareem noted that within the Muslim faith there are a variety of sects, just like Christianity. We have Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc. They have two main sects with the Sunnis and the Shi`its but within those groups there are many others. As the speaker noted some groups have chosen to become more political in their views.
Why did I decide to write about THIS topic and THIS speaker? To remind myself that a few bad apples do not define a group of people. Whether it be Muslims who terrorize Christians, Christians who terrorize African-Americans, men who terrorize women, women who terrorize men, I could go on. Media is ripe with examples of those people who follow their own rules and make their own religion in the name of another. But who says we have to believe that is the norm? Why do we have to have protests defending one type of life against another- don't all lives matter? Color, religion or sex aside - we live, we breath, we die. We ALL matter.
