Religion is a combative topic nowadays and ignorance fueled with fear is the reason why. One of the common themes or mottoes with religion is essentially, "Treat others the way you would want to be treated." At the beginning of the Afro-Eurasian congregations being established, thousands of years ago, spreading positivism was the main pursuit. Regardless of race, we stem from the same belief and beginning of rationalizing morals.
Not only have I experienced ignorance towards my own race (I will discuss in future posts) but I am ashamed at how ignorance is projected onto the Afro-Eurasian society as a whole.
Throughout various courses I've had to study the Islamic region and all various religions that correlate with Islam. Here is a draft I've written up that will benefit those who are trying to improve their knowledge and rid their being of ignorance. Should you fall into that category, we are prouder than you know and thank you for taking the time to become a better person. The world needs more people like you.
The spiritualism and general do-good of the Afro-Eurasian religions is incredibly enlightening and beautiful (some of my favorites to read about). In my years of studying, whether for my own pleasure or schoolwork, I have hardly come across a religion that was based on violence and hate. Something so pure is easily manipulated by those who hold the upper hand in society. Stop giving recognition to the evil-doers of any religion/race/gender. Start focusing on those that spread positive change and international cultural cooperation.
The Voices of Islam
The
establishment of new religions in third-wave civilizations induced expansion
across the Afro-Eurasian region. These religions would have denominations
within themselves, expressing their forms and processes in a multitude of ways
including separation, as documented in literary works written by their scholars
and believers. The Islamic faith was created by a historical founder, or rather
a prophet, Muhammed—spreading the teachings of Allah, the Islamic God.
Doctrinal differences caused a flourish in Islamic denominations, which
included the newly found Sunni and Shia; beliefs and the practice of adoration
towards Allah were varied to that of Muhammad's words. Different understandings
and opposing perspectives produced an intricate and complex Islamic faith.
The
prophet Muhammed was a reflective and intuitive man that often meditated in
arid mountains, escaping the inequalities of Mecca. It was during meditation
that Muhammed was visited by angel Gabriel, who spoke of Allah's message, and
commissioned Muhammed to transcribe his teachings in Arab language. This
scripture became known as the Quran, or defined as 'recitation'.
The testaments that were revealed to Muhammed came in times of crisis for the
Islamic community. The Quran soon became the sacred scripture of
the Islamic peoples and is respected as God's very words; revolutionary and
divine. To the Muslim, Allah was their only God and creator of the world. “You
alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help. He is Allah, the One. He
is Allah, the eternal...The One beyond compare”, as stated in the Quran. The scriptures condemned the social practices of Mecca, including the
dishonesty towards the poor. “You shall do good unto your parents and
kinsfolk, and the orphans,and the poor; and you shall speak unto all people in
a kindly way...and you shall spend in charity”. Granting freedom to
slaves was a possibility if you sensed any good in them. If freed, you must
share the wealth of God's words with them. The Hadith, or voice of
Muhammed, illustrates in contrast that slaves who serve their masters honestly,
as well as their God, will only have a double recompense, or good pay back. The
treatment of married couples, however, varied from that of treatment to slaves.
The
equality between man and woman was purely spiritual. However, the social
relationship of genders was unequal. Men are illustrated as protectors of
women—who must remain obedient to their male counterparts. According to the Quran,
should women fall 'out of line', their husbands are allowed to lightly beat
them but are not permitted to treat them harshly. The voice of Muhammed, Hadith,
has discoursed that to look at a woman is forbidden and to also treat them
kindly as they were made of man's rib. Throughout the establishment of the
Islamic faith, Muslims became attentive towards laws and correct behavior. The
law, or Sharia, was designed to create the good society within which the
Islamic community could find rightful expression. The Sharia
discusses the role of gender and marriage, as well. “It is not permitted for
a man to look at a strange woman. He is not allowed to touch her face or hands
even if he is free from lust, whether he be young or old”. Men have
the freedom to marry as many as four women, free or enslaved. Again, women
remain obedient to their husbands and serve him as they would a God. A
denomination named the Sufis did not lay parallel to that of the law and
regulations. Therefore, despite the best efforts to obtain rightful expression
in the Islamic community, there were Muslims who took a different approach to
adoration.
Known
as the mystics of Islam, the Sufis preferred to experience Allah, or the
Divine Presence through an intoxicating and personal happening. The Sufis
are organized in bands of brotherhood, sometimes acting as missionaries of
Islam. Their direct and personal experience of spiritual seeking brought a
different way of thinking to the Islamic faith. During these missionaries, the Sufis
taught non-Muslims their practice of whirling dervishes; dancing and using
music as a way of spiritual enlightenment. Partaking in whirling
dervishes and practicing the Sufi way, was not limited to men. Women
were held to a greater role than that stated by the Quran and Hadith;
equal members of Sufi orders. The songs that were sung by the Sufi
often portrayed divine beauty in a feminine form. Woman teachers of the Sufi
orders were called mullahs, same as their male counterparts. Much
like the Quran and Hadith, poetry and literature remained a
supreme expression of the esoteric measure of the Islamic religious pursuit.
Rumi, an exemplar of the Sufi denomination, had written a poem
expressing his views on the belief of God; he searched for God but he was
nowhere physically. God was intangible and unsearchable. “...I looked into
my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else”. In order for
your search to be successful, you must open your heart to let God in, and you
will then begin to delight yourself.
The
Sufi spirituality never became conflicting adaptations of Islam and
therefore became a major way of thinking in the Islamic faith. Despite agreeing
with the Quran and laws, Muslims must know God in their hearts, and
through direct personal encounters with Allah. The Quran is
parallel to that if the Hadith, unlike the Sufi orders. However,
all three serve as popular elements of the Islamic faith contributing to
tension and sometimes apprehension into the Islamic community. Women may not
seem equal to their male counterparts, but they are regarded as equally
important to the world; their roles will vary across the Islamic faith.
Expressing your adoration for Allah was not limited to prayer, so long as you
remained truthful to your one and only creator. In doing so, you must spread
the benefits of the Islamic faith amongst your region and even slaves; never
boasting what you have and mocking what others do not. Cultural encounters,
conflict, and violence have shaped the spread and success of Islam.
Whether a Muslim believes in the Quran, Hadith, or Sufi orders,
the Islamic community has remained a distinctive society throughout the
Afro-Eurasian region.
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