from: Colleen Coffin
Subject: Monday, 12/2 Islam

the 5 pillars of Islam existed in some form during pre-Islamic paganism.
1. Shahadah- proclamation esp. of Allah (the moon god) being the one god and of Muhammad being his profit.
2. prayer 5x/day toward Mecca. This number came from the number of times pagans would pray to the gods in Mecca.
3. Zakat- 2.5% annual charity. Almost all the religions emphasized charity.
4. Fast during Ramadan. Pagans who worshipped Allah did this in honor of him.
5. Hajj- pilgrimage to Mecca was done by pagans to visit the kabah esp. when travelling.

Ramadan- No eating, drinking (of any kind), smoking, or sex during sun-up to sun-down.

Shari'ah- Islamic law.
It was fixed several hundred years after Muhammad's death.
It is based on the rulings of clerics, the Hadith and the quran.
It covers rel., civil, and criminal law, which was all handled by Muhammad previously.
The Hadith is a collection of stories of how M solved disputes.
It shows no distinction between church and state which is = Islamic tradition.

SECTS OF ISLAM

SUNNIS
Sunni=tradition
the followers listened to the teaching of Abu Bakar, Muhammad's father-in-law.
Their beliefs were based on written traditions of the Shari'ah which is comparable to Jews and Catholics who follow written tradition.
85% of muslims are this.

SHI'ITES
shi'ite= followers of Ali
Ali was Muhammad's cousin.
Beliefs were based on present-day clerics who were guided by Allah plus the teachings of the 7 or 12.
#7 or 12 refers to the number of Imams( a succession of religious leaders)
"Twelvers" believe that the 12th Imam will come again. A majority of shi'ites are this.
Shi'ites are compared to pentecostals, or charasmatics in that they are not locked into tradition as much as the more fundamentalist Sunnis are.

SUFIS
Suf=wool
the rest of muslims can be chatigorized as Sufis.
They are ascetic and monastic.
ascetic=denying bodily wants and needs for spiritual purposes.
Also known as Fakirs= "the poor ones" because they took vows of poverty.
Monastic=group made of monks. They strive to be alone all day. male and female orders do exist.
It is also a mystical sect. it emphasizes inner- religiuos experience and being a oneness with God.
They were persecuted for the reasons that their oneness with God was considered blasphemy and they preached that one does not need to follow the outward law; rather you only need to love God and your neighbors, ignoring pillars of Islam.

AL-GHAZALI: a mid-evil reformer who made Sufism respectable, he encouraged prayer, Zakat, Hajj among the Sufis. He combined inner and outer obedience, which resulted in greater acceptance the Sufis.

RUMI: a Sufi poet and founder of the Mawlawiya (the whirling dervishes). They are a monastic order that has ritual dancing which includes twirling while wearing long robes and tall hats.

Afterlife- it is believed to be a "physicalistic heaven." Paradise, fruit, soft pillows trees, wine, flowing water, and servant girls exist there.
Hell contains boiling water, smoke, and Zakoum tree which bears demon heads which is all there is to eat.

"Day of Doom"- Judgement day, god sends people to heaven or hell, carried by his angels.

Dietary restrictions- no pork, food must be slaughtered in a particular way, no alcohol, no smoking.

Jihad- Holy war- fighting in the cause of Islam. Islam was spread much by the sword.
Greater Jihad- The spiritual struggle of the individual to submit oneself to Allah.

Fez- Arabic or M. East style hat. "Red Fez" comes from what they called the hats that were dipped in the blood of Christian martyrs in the city of Fez.

Caliph- Sunni leader and head of the Islamic empire.

The Kabah- built initially by Adam, later restored by Abraham and his son, Ishmael. It had been ruined in the flood. (according to Muhammad).

"Night of Power," Muhammad's first revelation of the Quran. At age 40, he becomes a prophet and an apostle.