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On Faith Saleem Ahmed |
Muslim books’ messages
clash at timesAlthough more than two years have passed since Sept. 11, 2001, the world still gropes for answers. Add Bali, Nairobi, Riyadh and other suicide bombing targets, and the problem compounds.
Islam stands accused. After all, impressions about it were already stained by reports of hijacking, hostage-taking, holy war and terrorism, exacerbated by accounts of Muslims destroying statues and prohibiting religious freedom.
Thus, the average non-Muslim perhaps cannot help but wonder how any sane person (especially a woman) can follow this faith. The fact that many Muslim countries reportedly have corrupt leaders, are embroiled in Shia-Sunni infighting and have rampant poverty only leads to criticism of Islam as a "sociocultural pollutant" and "religio-political threat."
Throughout history, zealots have acted in violent ways based on their myopic interpretation of their holy book. The problem among Muslims is exacerbated by the existence of two parallel sourcebooks: the Quran, their holy scripture revealed to prophet Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel; and Hadeeth, a collection of Muhammad's purported actions and sayings.
While Muhammad ensured that nothing spurious was added to the Quran, he had no control on Hadeeth, as it was compiled 250 to 300 years after his death. There are many beautiful Hadeeth that reinforce the Quran's message of love, compassion and tolerance. Others, however, run contrary to its spirit.
Undoubtedly the most overused and least understood concept is jihad, or holy war. Conjuring images of 72 celestial virgins as reward for martyrdom in holy war, it rivals "Thousand and One Nights" in imagery but falls short in the "living happily ever after" ending. How the spiritual concept of houris, described in the Quran as "chaste companions with large eyes" (probably akin to angels), got metamorphosed into lustful virgins is anybody's guess.
One Hadeeth says, "If a houri from Paradise appeared to the people of the Earth, she would fill the space between heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent, and her head cover is better than the world and whatever is in it."
Another Hadeeth promises, "Everyone will have two wives from the houris who will be so beautiful, pure and transparent that the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the bones and the flesh." Even here, people dreaming of 72 vestal virgins are likely to get disappointed.
In the Quran, jihad means "striving in a noble way" for self-improvement and enhancing quality of life. It also includes war, but only as a defensive struggle when attacked on religious grounds. Jihad has, unfortunately, been used by zealots for political agendas.
For example, while many people around the world sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians and hope the United Nations can help redress their grievances, extremist Muslims, exasperated by the 50-plus years of U.N. inaction, believe only jihad will help resolve it. To them, if you are not with them, you are against them.
In contrast to the bigoted actions of some Muslims, the Quran's broad-minded nature may be gauged from its assertion that God sent prophets to all nations of the world -- 124,000, according to one Hadeeth -- and all of them are to be respected equally. It declares that the name of God is commemorated in monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques.
Thus, shouldn't Muslims respect founders of all religions who asked people to believe in one supreme God and lead a righteous life?
Followers of all religions need to work together to grope for ways to turn around the foreboding of a clash of civilizations into a congruence of civilizations.
Saleem Ahmed, author of "Beyond the Veil and Holy War," will teach "Understanding Islam" at University of Hawaii Outreach College at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 3-March 9. Call 956-8246 for registration information.
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