PANGEA: PANGEA => ISLAM 16/07/2015 (English version)

Pangea focused its radio show dating 16/07/2015 on Islam. Due to some technical problems, the broadcasting cannot be shared nor played. What follows is a summary of what was spoken that day.
This text pretends to approach the meaning and main values of this religion, to explain its significance and what it is after, and specially to clarify misgivings and to erode misunderstandings wrongly leading to prejudicies and strong stereotypes negatively affecting everyone. This is not a thesis about Islam. It is just a text serving as an approach for a better comprehension of it.
For its writing, it counts on the comments and words of Sarfraz and Abdessamad (our guests in the studio) as well as guiding through the book What is Islam?, by Ghaleb Bencheikh.

1. Islam. Definition, history and relation with other religions
2. Fundamentals and pillars
3. Currents
4. Arab and Muslim are not synonims
5. Koran. Authority in Islam and its message
6. Killing is absolutely forbidden in Islam
7. Real meaning of jihad
8. The role of women in Islam. Polygamy and veil

Islam. Definition, history and relation with other religions

First of all, let's start defining the word itself. Islam comes from the term salam, meaning peace, blessing, respect. It has been wrongly translated as submission when indeed it would literally mean giving oneself to the peace of God. Therefore, groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda... are definitely not true Muslims, they do not spread the real sense of this religion.

Islam does not want to become a new religion but a continuation and promoter of the noble precepts and the moral commandments that the other two previous revealed religions are based on. Differences among these three revealed religions -Judaism, Christianity and Islam- are neither on the faith in one and only God nor on the lessons of the prophets, but on doctrinal and theological aspects. Revelation is one and only, so no one can be a truly Muslim without internalizing the teaching of Judaism and Christianity (another point of discussion is how distorted they have become regarding their original and true sense). In other words, it would be an updated version of the two precedents and its particulars focus on adapting to the time and space surrounding the people receiving it.

Islam was born at the beginning of the 7th century in the Arabic peninsula. By then there was a wide paganism, inmersed in a huge polytheism. There were some small and isolated Jewish and Christian groups, no larger than certain atheist or agnostic communities. Thus in 610, during the fasting month, Mohammed ran away of the chaos of the city and gave himself to meditation while finding a way to Mecca. At that period, he received the first chapters of the Coranic Revelation. It was a constant process. His teaching would highlight the uniqueness of God as well as acknowledging Him and His prophets. Actually, Mohammed did not call this as Islam, but as modest reminder or immutable religion. So, God, Allah, Yahweh are different names to refer to the same Supreme Being, and Jesus is also present in Islam, but as a previous Prophet and not in the role of human son of God as Christianity presents him.

Fundamentals and pillars

Islam stands on three theological fundamentals:

Faith: necessary belief in God, His prophets and their Books, Angels, the Final Day and the divine ruling.

Good behaviour: in other words, loving God is to love the human being, so one cannot love God if he/she is wrongdoing and not respecting others.

Worship: All summed up within the five pillars:

Practising the faith

Prayer: Five times a day. Giving oneself to God. Holy time and space.

Legal begging: A view of equitable wealth-sharing. It refers to how the man comes nude to this world and leaves it nude too. Given that possessing wealth implies a heavy responsibility, it must be administered as a right of use since, indeed, man possesses nothing.

Pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Kaaba: It's an annual forum to cry one's sins and renew your alliance with God. It's a time to recognize each other as brothers and sons of God, around this black-wrapped cubic temple in Mecca.

Fasting/Ramadan: It implies two main benefits. On the one hand, a better health as it cleans your body inside. On the other hand, one gains a sense of solidarity by learning through experience the hardness that starving people must deal with, thus fostering an all-with-all support and raising an awareness of the value of food.

Currents

Mohammed spread a message with a series of teachings and values. After he passed away, his legacy has been divided into different currents, having four main doctrinal branches within Islam:

Sunnism. Nine out of ten Muslims belong to it. Its followers stress the loyalty to the Tradition of the Prophet (Sunna). Orthodox. They set Abu Bakr, Umar and Utman as the 3 caliphs after Mohammed's death.
Shiism. One out of ten Muslism are Shiites. They support Ali (Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law) as the legitimate successor of the Prophet. Thus the prophecy would have continued through Mohammed's blood by means of his grandsons, Hussain and Hassan.
Jariyism. Basically those out of these two main currents.
Sufism. This is the mystic way. Internalization of the contents beyond a rigorous legalism.

Arab and Muslim are not synonims

One frequently hears in media or in normal talks how the terms Arab and Muslim are used indistinctly. It must be then explained that they are not synonims and that such act turns out a tremendous mistake.

Arabs belong to the first Semitic ethnic group unhabiting the Arabic peninsula. They come from three branches matching the three sons of Noah. Thus, Arabs are Semitic and speak a Semitic language, so it is wrong to call them anti-Semitic due to their position in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which, on the other hand, cannot be ignored.

Only one out of six Muslims is Arab. Following this logic, non-Muslim Arabs are way earlier than the birth of this religion. In other words, there are Christian Arabs, Jewish Arabs, Buddhist Arabs, Atheist Arabs...and so on.

Muslims (from muslim in Arabic, meaning he/she who practises Islam) are all those, women and men, adopting Islam regardless of their ethnic background. A Spaniard can be Muslim and the other way around. All of them constitute a community of more than 1,200 million people, being Indonesia the largest Muslim country, and Urdu (a language spoken in Northern India and Pakistan) the most spoken mother tongue within the Muslim world, and not Arabic.

Classic Arabic was the language in which Revelation took place and serves as lingua franca among Muslims. However, it differs from the conventional Arabic spoken in countries where it is the official language. Thus, it is not surprising that a Moroccan person and a Tunisian one do not understand each other. And of course, this status of Arabic does not give any special privilege to Arabs within the Islamic world.

Koran. Authority in Islam and its message

Koran comes from the Arabic term al qor'an meaning reciting, proclaiming, lecture...For Muslims, Koran is the Verb becoming book, the transcript of the word of God that Gabriel the Angel transmitted to Mohammed in common Arabic language. This Revelation is a constant process, not something happening once at all. It is made up of more than 6,236 verses distributed in 114 suras. The text was compiled under Utman's Caliphate, being ordered by him.

This Book is the first and last authority in Islam and its understanding depends on the intelligence and aspirations of whom reads it, feeds with it wherever and whenever. Koran is meditated and internalized at the present moment in the present place. A sensible and smart man does not embarrass his Sir. He/she must pay tribute to Him and express his/her gratitude making the world more prosperous for the upcoming generations. True faith walks alongside the heart and the reason according to Koran, which underlines research, reflection and knowledge.

Koran is allowed to be interpreted. Certain conservative groups have widespread an idea that it cannot be. One of the main keys to interpret it is to contextualize in the current time and space. Take the lessons, the moral values from the Book and use them in context. Indeed, less than a thirtieth part of Koran are legistalive and prescriptive verses, many of them ambiguous and some others out of reach in a strict sense. Koranic wises, who spend their whole lifes studying and analyzing it, distinguish between:

Timeless and no-historical: explicit and worldwide used, paradigms.
Paradigms regarding the context, whose social and psychological consequences may evolve or disappear at all.

Killing is absolutely forbidden in Islam

That certain fundamental liberties, human rights and democratic aspects still lack in Islamic states (states adopting Islam as the official faith or where Islam is the major faith) and some parts of the Arab world cannot be attributed to Islam itself as many think.

The Prophet main concern, since the beginning of his mission in Mecca, was to master Ethics. Koran not only affirms and confirms the Ten Commandments, but also adds a true ethics present in any interpersonal relation. Doing good shows commitment with the faith and so brings happiness. Wrongdoing keeps you away and brings negative consequences.

What's good and bad? Interesting question leading to an open and constructive discussion. Notwithstanding, Koran underlines certain rules of behaviour such as not laughing at others; no denigration; no intrigue; no calumny; no complots; no conspiracies; solidarity with others; accomplish what has been said; no judge without evidences; forgiveness.

Human beings are ambassadors of God in Earth. Human beings have fundamental and inalienable rights. So, any attack against the physic and moral integrity of a person is absolutely forbidden. Likewise, human life, and life in general, is sacred. Homicide is definitely rejected, condemned. Suicide is also condemned and forbidden. Attacking a person is to attack God, is to attack oneself.

As a consequence of what has been explained above, groups or gangs killing and commiting acts of terrorism under the name of Islam is a horrific violation, a misrepresentation and mind control of countless effects. Many of these individuals proclaimed they will enter the famous paradise and avoid hell. As Ghaleb Bencheikh summarises, these two concepts must be understood in their symbolism. Good will and behaviour brings happiness and attracts goodness. Bad will and behaviour attracts negativity and lack of brightness.

Koran describes war as a calamity and unfortunate. Extremists as well as those strongly opposed to Islam justify their actions (the earlier killing) and words/comments (the latter swearing against, saying nasty things about it) in a series of verses with a particular martial appearance. They are of public reading so there is nothing to hide here. Notwithstanding, there are some aspects that must be kept in mind in order to address, to face them.

Firstly, one must not lose sight of the context. If this changes, the message adjusts itself. By that time, the young Muslim community was severely prosecuted and suffered from savage harassment by the unhabitants of Mecca. Then, war was only advised in Koran as legitimate defense. Having said this, it immediately advocates for a proportionate response, avoiding abuses and fostering goodness and equality. This is something also included, with different words, in the Bible and Tora.

Real meaning of jihad

It is completely unacceptable to translate jihad as sacred war. Jihad is an Arabic term meaning 'the making of an effort for a purpose' or 'allowing an effort for a specific aim'. This effort can be physical, verbal, economical...and, obviously, it can be also understood as militar. However, the latter was only conceived during the crusades for the reasons exposed before. It, nevertheless, justifies the actions committed by extremists or fanatics. Under no reason the attitude of those lawless is unacceptable and it cannot be tolerated.

The legacy of the Prophet distinguishes two kinds of jihad:

The lower one is the effort made in a daily life.
The great one is the effort made to block giving way to desperation. A constant self-discipline based on life ethics until one reaches the deepest corners of the soul.

The role of women in Islam. Polygamy and veil

In many regions across the world women are, unfortunately, relegated to a very low status. This unacceptable circumstance also happens in some Islamic areas. Does it have to do with the societies where it takes place? Or, is it something compiled in Koran?

In order to address such a topic, one must look back in history first. The Abrahamic patriarch conditioned the status of women in the Semitic culture. At the beginning of the Arab culture, women were simply a consumption good that sons used to inherit from fathers. For that reason, it was neccessary that such a 'treasure' was not exposed to the exceedings of enemy tribes in the constant inner wars. In order to lessen this risk, the number of women was reduced by burying newborn babies still alive, also meaning less mouths to be fed. It is within the context of this barbaric practice that Koran came out to forbid it by affirming the perfect equality between man and woman. Both are son and daughter of God, and not she being made from one of his ribs. Basically, both sexes are equal, with the same rights.

Regarding polygamy, it is neither a prescription nor a right for men. Koran comes to regulate the anarchy of this pre-Islamic practice. This fragment perfectly exemplifies the view of Islam on polygamy:
"Get married with the women you like: two, three, or four. BUT, if you fear not to be fair, then only with one. Thus, you'll better avoid wrongdoing" (Women 4,3)

Many territories within the Islamic world approved the right for women to cast their votes and being voted way before many Western countries. In addition, they were economically autonomous, being even responsible for big businesses or leading territories or dinasties. This is something that Spain, for instance, is still dealing with, far from finding a solution in a short term. And the current situation is that, at the present moment, women cannot reign over the country yet due to the status of the 1978 Constitution (let's leave the debate about monarchy or republic for another moment).

This controversy around women and Koran is just a sterile opposition between extremists who do not realize that Koran evolves with society and that must be understood according to the current time and space, and those who, within their ignorance, speak about it and show an insulting ethnocentrism without even having read it or studied its history and civilizations.

Thus, another controversial chapter linking women and Islam is the veil. Wearing it is simply a recommendation, way far from being coercitive. It was adopted at a time where women used to show themselves completely nude and with their hair down. Honour and dignity are shown through education. Wearing it or not is of personal choice. Then again, we could wonder whether those wearing it do that because they want and so they freely choose it, or pushed by certain social pressures within particular communities.