11/11/16

Islam in America

Last fall, my husband and I enrolled in a continuing education course at UNLV on Islam in America.  As the presidential election began to heat up, there was a lot of talk about Muslims and what Muslims believe.  It didn’t seem to us that any of those sources were authoritative.  So we signed up.

It was awesome!

Unfortunately, we missed a lot of classes because of previous plans, so we signed up again this year.  It is again awesome. However, what we’ve been learning bears little resemblance to the political rhetoric I've heard for the last year or so. I'm also reminded of some basic social psychology: We humans tend to stigmatize people we consider "other".  The more we realize that the "other" is "us", the better we treat each other. 

Caveats: First, you’re getting this filtered through me.  If there are problems, inaccuracies or inconsistencies, that's on me. Second, our instructor, Imam Abdullah, is clearly a moderate if not a progressive.

So here’s what I’ve learned.

The Koran. The Koran is made up of what Mohammad said that god said directly to him.  The words were written down at the time, so not oral tradition like my own Hebrew Bible.  I’ve read about half so far.  It’s not like the Bible, which contains mostly stories or history or literature, but more like Mohammad was channeling god.  Interesting.  It’s also not in historical order, which makes it more challenging. And it’s also not anything like what I’ve been hearing people say.

It is typically pretty benign, though there are violent parts.  Some of what I read had to do with lecturing the people on their practice of female infanticide and saying that god deeply disapproved.  Mohammad tells them that at the end of days those murdered daughters will rise up and accuse their parents, so stop it now. Are you surprised?  I was.  That's why I'm taking this class.  Besides, context is everything here.

Jews and Christians. Mohammad felt that his faith was merely an extension of the monotheistic tradition that started with Abraham.  Jews and Christians were "People of the Book" and worthy of special consideration.  The name "Allah" is closely related to the Hebrew "Elohim", which is one of the names of god.  (This is me: Historically, Islam has been far, far kinder to Jews than Christianity.  The problems of the last century or so are much more political than religious. I expect my Israeli friends to disagree.)

The Haddith. After Mohammad died, there was a circulating oral tradition of things that he had said or actions he had taken.  Lots and lots.  Some centuries later these were evaluated, and those considered most legitimate were collected into the Haddith. There are four separate traditions on what this actually means and what's important.  

Sharia Law.  Sharia is the legal extension of the Koran and Haddith.  No country actually tries to implement these rules. Like everybody else, they have their own laws based on their own traditions and customs. They're not trying to do letter and verse.  To give some perspective, think what would happen if Israel tried to legislate ALL the laws in Leviticus.  Like stoning people who carry money on the Sabbath.  Or re-instituting animal sacrifice.  Or not eating animal fat. And so on.

Shia and Sunni. Mohammad had no sons, so two different people claimed to be the legitimate heir to his leadership: his son-in-law, Ali (The Shia) and his father-in-law, Abu Bakr (The Sunni). Assassinations and conflicts ensured, and now these two groups are mostly at each other’s throats. The theological differences are complex. You can find articles on Wikipedia.  Geographically, many of the Shia are in Iraq and the Sunni in Saudi Arabia, Syria and so on, but the mix is spread all over.  The fight for Mosul is also a fight between Shia and Sunni.

These movements are split into tribes and groups and subgroups and sub-subgroups, all of whom have their own individual interpretation of what it means to be a Muslim. There are Chinese Muslims and Indonesian Muslims and American Muslims and so on.  Each group is flavored by not only their theological views but the culture in which they live. As our imam told us, there’s one group that says part of a particular prayer should be spoken loudly and another that says softly.  He visited a mosque that says it softly while he said it loudly. They asked him to leave! Said he wasn’t a Muslim.

Mosques and Imams in America. Typically, each mosque in the United States is independent.  They are often built by a benefactor who also hires the imam. If the benefactor is an immigrant, he usually hires from his home country.  Other mosques have a committee that hires the imams. Most of the imams in the US and everywhere else don’t read Arabic.

Let me repeat that:  A typical imam doesn’t read Arabic or understand the language.

He’s memorized the entire Koran, and knows what each part means, so what he tells his followers is what he learned from someone else or what he feels is or ought to be true. And who could gainsay him as the followers can’t read Arabic either, right?   (Only about 12% of the world's Muslims are Arabic anyway).  

Moreover, in this country, many of the imams don’t speak English well and have zero experience in dealing with public relations. As a result, there is no one to speak for the Muslim community because there isn’t a unified Muslim community nor an organization that represents them. (Me again: Here's an interesting article from Slate that looks at the issue.)

So Islam is a faith that started, like many others, with a charismatic leader who has left a legacy for others to interpret.  It should come as no surprise that sometimes their actions resemble the legacy more accurately than other times. Think of the differences between the Quakers and the KKK, both of whom claim to be Christians.  To demonize all Muslims as terrorists based on the actions of a microscopic few is like me judging all Christians as terrorists because of the actions of the Klan. 

Let me add as a final note that the members of many of these mosques are in a state of panic right now, not knowing if they’ll be forced to have identity cards, not knowing if they’ll be able to return to the US if they leave for vacation or business, not knowing what will happen next.  The mood, Imam Abdullah said on Thursday, is that they’ll give the Trump administration 100 days and then decide what to do. 

He also said that already neighbors are reaching out to their Muslim friends to reassure them of their support.  

NOTE: It’s a very different history for the Black Muslim movement in America, which we won’t get to till later in the semester.

ADDENDUM:  In response to Anonymous' comments below, I have posted an addendum to this blog.  You can find it HERE.