Islamic Right and Left Any

Islamic Right and Left

Any study of Islamic religious traditions will eventually lead the researcher to the film footage and sound bytes of Azan, the call to prayer; that moment when from the minaret atop a mosque, the soothing, musical voice calls the faithful to prayer. It is a stirring sound, a comforting sound, an ancient sound, and quickly understands how easy it must be for the Islamic faithful to answer the call to prayer. It is perhaps with the Azan that all researchers should begin their quest to further their understanding of Islamic tradition, for beyond the call there exist a myriad of contradictions and controversies to wade through in the quest to understand the true nature of Islam. However, the poetic verses contained in the Koran, and the knowledge that the verses, because they are reportedly as close to the original teachings of Muhammed as possible, are intended to be read aloud makes sense because they are indeed a beautiful body of poetics, ideas and religious philosophy. How, then, the question must be asked, does a collection of poetry, philosophy, and religious doctrine, so beautifully expressed, so like the teachings of the Old Testament and the New Testament, and which acknowledges both those that came before it; become the basis for terrorism, suicide bombings, and the absence of tolerance for anyone born of the other two faiths acknowledge by the Koran; and especially those whose religious preferences might be neither of the three of these teachings?

The Beautiful Koran

The poetics of the Koran are filled with wisdoms and philosophies that to those born of the traditions of Judeo-Christian faith sound familiar, or even indistinguishable from the book of either of those earlier traditions. Muhammad was not a literate man, and as a result his teachings were recorded by others and must be considered in that light when considering the accuracy and audience for whom the writings were intended. That may also be the reason that there is a similarity between the content of the Koran and that of the earlier two doctrines of Judaism and Christianity. Given that, the expressions in the Koran that speak to the love of God for mankind and the hope of redemption is a positive message; again, not unlike those of the earlier two doctrines. The Koran, though warning of the failings to accept the Word of God, are filled with encouragement and with the willingness of God to forgive mankind his sins, but mankind must repent of his sins and ask to be forgiven those transgressions and dedicate his life to the pursuit of all things good and holy. In fact, the Koran references many of the same historical figures as does the Bible.

Like the Bible, the Koran discusses Joseph and Mary, though it remains subject to interpretation as to exactly the light the Prophet Muhammad is attempting to cast Mary; but it mentions the birth of Jesus, saying "Peace be upon him, the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised up alive!" Like the Bible, the Koran has a flood story, talks about Moses leading is people out of Egypt, and generally recognizes the two books that came before it. To that end, the recognition of those faiths is in keeping with the writings in the Koran.

The controversy as to the interpretation of the Koran arises out of the fact that it is not written by Muhammad himself, as Muhammad was an illiterate man who could neither read nor write. It was necessary that everything the Prophet said, where he went, and the details of his life were recorded down to the minute detail. That Muhammad himself did not pen the Koran, has caused it to be the source of speculation and controversy. "The life of Muhammad is known as the Sira and was lived in the full light of history. Everything he did and said was recorded. Because he could not read and write himself, he was constantly served by a group of 45 scribes who wrote down his sayings, his instructions and his activities." Muhammad delivered the Word of God that had been delivered unto him by God, in an oral tradition. Perhaps that is why it is often mentioned that the Koran, when spoken in the Arab language, is musical, poetic and inspiring.

It is important here, too, to point out there are today good and strong economic and political relationships many nations in the Muslim world; and this paper is not intended to turn an eye towards hatred or racism. Jordan, Egypt, The United Arab Emirates and other countries throughout the Middle East and Africa sustain good world relations with non-Islamic countries. Their faith to the traditions of Islam is unwavering, and yet they are not obsessed with the destruction of Israel - though they have not made enough public statements in support of peace in that area between Israel and Palestinians. One might conclude it is to avoid drawing the attention of the extremists their own way that keeps them largely silent on those matters. However, a visit to each of these country's diplomatic web site reveals statements that they indeed to committed to peace in the Middle East.

The Dark Side of the Koran

The dark side to the Koran - and, again, not so unlike the Old Testament or the New Testament - gives caution to those who would defy the Word of God, or falter from the path that the chosen Prophet has tread for them as he traveled about spreading the oral tradition of the Koran. However, the problem that arises from the oral tradition is that there is controversy over whether or not the sayings of Muhammad were accurately taken and reflected in what stands as the Koran today. Muhammad appointed no successor to himself, and as such there was a struggle for power among those closest to the Prophet when he died. That struggle for power resulted in two things: first, the division into Muslim sects, those Arabs whose loyalty and leanings went in opposite directions, but who were close enough to Muhammad and held enough power to gather forces followers to their cause and sect.

Second, that power struggle caused the Hadith, the word of those closest to Muhammad whose remembrances are compiled into the Koran, to become suspect as to the motive for certain of the Koran's recordings. That is, whether or not the recorded Hadith is actually the teaching of Muhammad, or the desire of the person providing the recollection for compilation into the Koran as a saying or utterance of the Prophet, thus, the inspired Word of God.

Those close to the Prophet gave testimony as to what they heard him say, saw him do, and the like; however, as history has shown and is human nature, we can strongly and rightfully suspect that self-interest came into play when those testaments were being given. For instance, the ever changing treatment of women in Islam tradition has been subject to scrutiny because Muhammad shared a close and reportedly warm relationship with his own wife. However, by the time of Muhammad's death, the world was changing, and there were fears as to the power to which women could rise; thus the testimony of those close to Muhammad helped reduce the amount of power that a woman might achieve in the Islamic tradition. Abu Bakr was close to Muhammad, and it was he who provided much of the Hadith concerning the Prophet's views on women - after Muhammad's death. Among other things, Bakr appeared to be concerned with what degree of power, if any, might be afforded the daughters of Muhammad, since the Prophet left no male heirs..".. Abu Bakr who heard the Prophet say, 'Those who entrust their affairs to a woman will never know prosperity,'" is what Bakr testified, gave Hadith to, that he heard theProphet say concerning women, and it was enough to perhaps alter the future of women forever.

The Hadith that relegated women to a place virtually unseen and unheard within the Islamic tradition is important because it reflects on the treatment of women in Muslim society today. Today, we see significant changes going on in the Islamic world to ensure that women do not have access to power; Iran is a typical example of how the interpretation of the Koran can be both self-serving, and destructive to the human rights of women. In the 25 years since the Iranian Revolution brought theocratic rule to Iran, women have lost significant social and human rights in that country. Iran, one of the most strict Islamic countries in the world, applies its own particular interpretation of the Koran to the situation it wants to control or create. As regards women, "Individuals, mostly women, started to be buried up to their chests and stoned to death, with the presiding judge of the 'revolutionary court' casting the first stone." Under certain edicts passed by the theocratic Islamic Government, women can no longer be judges, practice medicine on any but women, cannot teach, and cannot hold public offices. More recently, reports have begun coming from the Middle East that women will no longer be "expected" to participate in the pilgrimage to Mecca, thereby eliminating women from the holiest rite associated with Islam. Having once done that, it would then be easy to keep women physically, mentally, emotionally isolated within any Muslim society.

Of equal concern is the way in which the Koran is interpreted to facilitate and carry acts of terrorism. The Koran does call for the defense of Islam, that should Islam be threatened, it is the responsibility of every Muslim - presumably, women too - to rise to the defense of Islam."Islamic rulings of warfare are complex, appear to be contradictory and require careful analysis. The simplistic visions of paradise for suicide preached by militant jihadist clerics defy over 1,400 years of Islamic history and wisdom. Yet those like Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are not ignorant of Islamic law and use it selectively to pursue their agenda of mass murder and hatred."

It was during those battle experiences that the rules of war under the Prophet changed from what the Arabs had been accustomed to. There was no more beheading dead bodies, because the Prophet had received the word of God on the burial of the dead. Which is why today, as we watch Muslim extremists behead people on world television, there is a question raised about the authority - certainly the gruesome act raises enough question - however, wherein does the authority to perform beheadings come from in the modern world when it was the Prophet himself who had received specific instructions from God about how to treat the dead, and ceased what was once an Arab, not Islamic, tradition?

The Koran does say that believers should defend Islam, but it never mentions suicide bombers, and nowhere does it say that Muslims should pursue a course of divide and conquer by the sword. Also, the Koran says that the best example of being Muslim is how the individual Muslim lives his or her own life, and that that should be enough to "convert" non-believers. Unfortunately, what we have going on today is an aggressive quest of violence against Israel and the west, even though the west practices a policy of religious tolerance and poses no threat whatsoever to the practice of Islam.

The Prophet Muhammad received the Word of God during times of great unrest in the Middle East. There has been, since his time, before his time, civil warfare in the Middle East. "Of the 27 battles in which the Prophet played a direct or indirect role, the first 18 defended the Muslims against the Meccans and the other nine he initiated against the Meccans and other tribe in Arabia. Each battle introduced new rules on Islamic conduct. The first three battles (Widan, Bewat and Wadi Safwan) were skirmishes in and around the Juhaynah hills commanding the trade route to Syria, and occurred in the first two years of the hijrah (migration of Muslims from Mecca to Medina). The Prophet Muhammad formulated rules from these battles, including designating a Muslim battle flag and limiting the reason for battle to self-preservation."

On the taking of prisoners, Muhammad himself set the example; he had killed anyone who was a threat to him and to what he wanted to accomplish, while others who posed no such threat and were often released. We can compare the modern day extremists who really follow no precedent, and it is often times unpredictable as to how they will treat prisoners. In Iran, however, photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested as a suspected spy, imprisoned and beaten to death. Kazemi, a Canadian citizen of Iranian heritage, had used her Iranian passport to enter Iran to work as a photojournalist. She was brutally murdered, and without apology from the Iranian Government.

There is also the matter of Israel, which Muslim extremism has vowed to annihilate. Especially in recent years, Israel has made efforts to resolve its issues with the Palestinians, and to move forward in peace. Those efforts have been time and again thwarted by Islamic extremism. If we turn to the Prophet Muhmmad for insight as to how he dealt with the Jews, we find the example of Medina. The Jewish forces were expelled from Medina, but even in the time of the Prophet the subject of treatment of the Jewish people was one that was debated. Since Islamic law and tradition incorporates into it much Judaic law and tradition, it becomes difficult to understand the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews.

The Islamic or religious orientation to these issue is not always well understood in the West, or even in Israel for that matter. Jerusalem is regarded as the third holy city in Islam. From there, the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the heavens and was acknowledged by earlier Prophets. Islamists and ordinary Muslims alike claim that Palestine is a religious endowment (waqf) for the Muslim community, and this claim stands in addition to the nationalists and territorial arguments of the Palestinians, who are, after all, Christians as well as Muslims. So, a contemporary issue has been welded to the earlier historic disputes, and recurs in the rhetoric of Islamic war as declared by radicals today."