Background
Islam as a religion has existed nearly 1400 years, but only
in recent decades its influence has reached a new height. The oil resources controlled
by Islamic countries are great assets, which in their own ways steer the
politics and economics of the whole world. Worldwide migration of people has
formed Muslim minorities in traditional Christian countries, and also Christian
minorities in traditional Islamic countries. Wars and famines are also causing
great migrations, bringing cultures together for better and for worse.
I have not had extensive cooperation or dealings with
Islamic culture, and I have not really had any Muslim friends. I have not dealt
with the “folk Islam”, which is effectively guiding the behavior of majority of
Muslims. I have not needed to. However, nowadays Finland has also a populous
Muslim minority, who are being watched by the media and suspicious eyes of phlegmatic
Finns. How should I face this new situation? What can I learn about Islam? It
turned out that there are plenty I could learn and do.
Religious Essentials
I took a course named “Introduction to Islam”, and thought
it to be interesting and contemporary. It provided a lot of information
regarding the history, essentials, and many facets of Islam. Here I am listing
few items which were new to me or otherwise made an impression on me:
- Qur’an is the holy book of Islam, and it is recited everywhere in Arabic, which is held as the divine language.
- By reciting Qur’an in Arabic, Muslims experience the connection with God
- There were no diacritical marks nor vowels in written Arabic Qur’an, allowing for some degree of ambiguity in interpretation
- Prophet Muhammad had a rich life, and was a capable leader who cared for the poor, the weak, and the needy
- The Arabic culture prior to Islam was full of scattered idol worship, and in general not held in high esteem
- Islam means submission, practically submission/obedience to God and His prophets
- Muslim denotes a person who submits and yields his life to God according to Islam
- Hadith denote the whole collection of the actions and sayings of Muhammad, which are to be followed precisely
- Sunna means the conducts of Muhammad as a man
- Together, the Qur’an, the Hadith, and the Sunna mark the detailed ways of life all Muslims are to follow
- The 5 pillars of Islam are the creed (shahada), prayers (salat), fasting (sawm), alms (zakat), and pilgrimage (hajj)
- Umma denotes the “Islamic community” as one single nation, similar as Christian concept of church as the body of Christ. In this definition, Islamic view of the world is simply divided into the House of Islam and the House of War, basically Muslims and non-Muslims
- The concept of Jihad and power of Islam are rooted to the very beginning of Islam, when wars were fought and won and the House of Islam was quickly expanded to become a world power
- Folk Islam is a concept which describes the beliefs and practices of majority of Muslims, which are not according to orthodox Islam, but which are the way these Muslims live out their religion. Fold Islam contains such things as e.g. superstition, amulets, talisman, the evil eye, and various spiritual things.
There are of course more to Islam than above list. For
example, a big surprise for me was how Christians are seen by the Muslims.
Christianity in the Eyes
of a Muslim
Just as I did not know about Folk Islam, the Muslims are
seldom aware about liberal theology or so called nominal Christians. Most of Muslims think that Christian West
really means that all the people in Christian countries are Christians. No
wonder Muslims have really low appreciation for Christianity.
Another major tenet I did not know was that Qur’an speaks
very positively about Jesus, and that Muslims hold Jesus in very high honor!
Connected to this, the deity of Jesus is refuted by Islam, but this relates to
their understanding about Christianity: Jesus had the message from God, but
Christians replaced/corrupted it by changing the content to the “gospels” in
New Testament. In the same line, the concept of Trinity of Christianity is idol worship, where three gods are
worshipped: God the Father, Mary, and Jesus. Huge misunderstandings!
Another major issue seems to be the crucifixion of Jesus. I
did not know that Qur’an actually talks about this: “but they killed him not,
nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, …, for a surety they
killed him not – Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself” (Sura 4:155-158). So,
Islam has interpreted this text to mean that Jesus was NOT crucified at all,
but a substitute was crucified, which Jews thought was Jesus. There are other
theories also, but this is the majority view. Islam cannot understand, how God
could give an innocent man like Jesus to be crucified on others behalf, it is
against Islamic understanding of justice of God.
There seems to be many conflicts regarding who Jesus was,
did He really die, and who is right about God: Islam or Christianity? At this
point, I would like to consider, whether it is possible to find harmony between
these two groups?
How to Live in
Harmony?
When studying the course Introduction to Islam, at times I
had difficulty to breathe: the tight grip of Islam on its adherents took my
breath away. There are social, economic, and cultural implications for a Muslim
to convert to another faith. The worldview built into Islam is totalistic and
requires absolute submission, which the term Islam means. The division of House of Islam from House of War
automatically puts non-Muslims into a secondary position, and any amount of
oppression seems to be justified.
How does Christianity respond to this? All I can think of is
Love. The Agape -love of God that Christians keep on talking about, it
encompasses all people on earth, including Muslims. If there are wrongs done to
them, Christians would love back, as Jesus taught in New Testament (Matthew
5:43-48). Of course, back in the history there has been plenty of violent
responses from Christians to Muslims, but were those done in the spirit of God
or in the spirit of man? There has been many a dark moment in human history,
when men have erupted against other men and killed, tortured, wronged them,
simply because they were somehow different.
Despite the history, I believe there can be harmony. The
harmony of Love, which “keeps no record of wrong”, “always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1st
Cor. 13:5, 7). Though it IS unfair, the Love of God is able to take all the
beatings, humiliation, tortures, and offences. All this, because “I know that
my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth” (Job
19:23). God will have his fair and just judgement, and by trusting Him in
Jesus Christ, anyone can learn to Love.
Without Love, it is impossible to reach harmony, because
hate and vengeance are never-ending cycles. Despite the possible absolute submission
to Islamic teachings about what is orthodox, in the deep heart of every man and
woman, adult and child, there is the need to be loved. So, regardless are you a
Christian or a Muslim, I call you to surrender to the Love. It is not
blind, it is not cheap, it does not change your circumstances nor history, but
it will change you! The Love of God was demonstrated: “While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans
5:8). And through Jesus: “to all who did receive him, to those who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John
1:12)!
How Do I Choose to
Live?
Now in everyday life, how should this Love be seen? How it
should affect my life? What I have come to understand is this:
- Recognize my prejudices and repent about them
- Pray and ask for Love from God
- See Muslims first of all as men/women loved by God, and then as friends God has put into my life
- Spend time together, do something fun, learn language, help with daily chores…
- Share the Love of God via warmth, actions, and words.
There is always a risk of becoming hurt or deceived, if one
chooses to Love. Then again, we are not called to love dumbly, but there are
wise principles and safe limits that help us to Love consistently. To Love is
not to forget rationale, but an attitude of life.
Conclusions
What has this blog text brought to your mind? Do you agree
or do you object strongly? Your feedback is more than welcome! Our lives are
always undergoing processes, because we are human, tied in time and given only
each moment we live in. Fortunately God has put eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes
3:11), so it is not only a meaningless ride, but every moment really
counts! Make your words and actions count, not towards worldly and passing
things, but towards eternal and meaningful things.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for
the glory of God.” (1st
Corinthians 10:31)
