The last Socio-political religion
This is one of the many essays I've had to write in my latest class ( REL 501 Islam ), been so busy with school and work I haven't had the time to post, skim'd thru today and saw the fatwah issue developing, so, I thought I'd offer my head as another target ( safety in numbers, eh? )
My reading has included the English synopses of the Koran provided in our student recourses, “Islam, The Straight Path”-Esposito, and “A Concise History of the Middle East”, -Goldschmidt, as well as web based articles and essays from the HIS310 resources. From these sources a historical record of the emergence of Islam as a socio-political monotheistic religion is clear.
Islam, as a religion, began soon after the prophet’s first revelation. As is documented in the Koran, Mohammed first became scared of the angel Gabriel, and hid under a blanket, only to be called out of hiding. Mohammed sought out council from a relative of his wife (thought to be a Christian), he affirmed the Prophets revelations, and soon Mohammed and converts began preaching in the streets of Mecca.
It was this proselytizing that angered the Meccan merchants that led Mohammed and his followers to make the Hijrah to what is now known as Medina. The prophet, invited to mediate between tribal conflicts in the area, took the opportunity to create a City-State, based on the principles of his revelations of Islam. This governmental formation is detailed throughout the Koran, and dominates the first 5 books, documenting the trials and tribulations of the fledgling Ummah.
After the death of the prophet, and the formation of the Caliphates, the Ummah would expand and contract over the centuries. The adaptation of the Prophets Sunna and the creation of the Shari’ah would be the guiding force in governance.
The Caliph’s were the ruling class, various hierarchy developed among the civil administration and the military classes, and the ulama represented the health and welfare of the ruled classes, maintaining judicial and religious responsibilities. This all evolved from the original constitution drawn by Mohammed and his followers in Medina.
As a religion, Islam, in my opinion, is a distillation of the Zoroastrian, Judaism, and Christian monotheist religions present in the region during the rise of the Prophet. The major difference is the “Arabic Spin”, and the fatalistic, authoritarian, if not oppressive, mandate to conform to the will of Allah. This nature of following the straight path was a priority in uniting the oft times warring tribes, for the survival of the Ummah, and of the religion itself, there was no room for translation, interpretation, or rationalization.
It is quite easy to see the adaptation of many Biblical characters, certification of both Jewish and Christian prophets, and the recognition of Allah, or, the one supreme God. Mohammed represented himself as the last Prophet, the last opportunity for mankind to follow Allah’s directives as dictated in the Koran. The other “People of the Book”, had allowed their revelations to be misconstrued in revision and translation by their clergy, and no longer followed “the straight path”. The words of the prophet, were the words of Allah, and were to be obeyed quite literally.
This is the genesis of my disagreement with Islam. The Koran is a rather exhaustive history of a man named Mohammed, who, through determination, and perhaps revelation, created an Arabic Dynasty that lasted well over 1000 years (more or less, depending on how fast you calculate the decline of the Ottoman’s) He was a dynamic Leader, who utilized the unifying force of a Religion tailor made to the customs and traditions of his subjects. Perhaps Christianity was too passive a religion to be accepted by Arabs, and the Jewish rabbinate too controlling to share power with?
As a civilization, Islam once was the true cradle of civilization, preserving Greek learning traditions, expanding areas of mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Institutions of Higher Learning were of a primary concern to even the earliest Caliph.
The social ramifications of being a Muslim include a sense of equality and community, certainly the pillars of fasting, worship, and the hajj, are all communal in nature, as is the zakat, a tithe for the poor and needy.
To link all three aspects of Islam; political entity, religion, and civilization, can be construed as the present day root of the Middle Eastern conflict today. There is no viable Islamic government that a Muslim can look to without reservation. ( Saudi Arabia as an example is a Monarchy, and a cursory glance at the Royal families activities, gives question to the sponsorship of Wahhabist, except in the role as agents of the Monarchy, controlling the subject classes, and deflecting attention from the Royals)
The former Taliban government of Afghanistan was more repressive than that of the Ayatollah’s in Iran, yet you hear of unrest building in that Islamic Republic as well.
The formation of a new government in Iraq has led to renewed distrust among Shi’i and Sunni, as well as Bathist and reformer, so again the question of “What is the will of Allah” has to enter the mind of the Muslim.
I gotta a "B" on this by the way.