Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Observing the enthusiasm of this very religious crowd in the courtyard of the mosque,
I could imagine someone who had never been outside of the US dropping in on this
scene—and being quite shocked by it all. I asked my Muslim friend, “Should a Christian
be threatened by Islam?” She said, “If you have self-confidence in your system, assuming
it deserves to survive, it will. Christendom should be threatened by Islam only if the Chris-
tian West seeks empire here.”
I find an irony in recent tensions between America and Islam. I believe we're incur-
ring incalculable costs (both direct and indirect, tangible and intangible) because our lack
of understanding makes us needlessly fearful about Islam. And sadly, I fear that because
we're afraid of it, our actions create a situation where we need to be afraid.
As our generation sorts through the tensions between Islam and Christendom, a rudiment-
ary understanding of the Muslim faith is a good life skill for any engaged non-Muslim.
Here's an admittedly basic and simplistic outline designed to help travelers from the Chris-
tian West better understand a complex and often misunderstood culture.
Muslims, like Christians and Jews, are monotheistic. They call God “Allah.” The key
figure in the Islamic faith is Muhammad, Allah's final and most important prophet, who
lived from
A.D.
570 to 632. When Muhammad's name appears in print, it's often followed
by “PBUH”: Peace Be Upon Him.
Just as Christians come in two basic varieties (Protestants and Catholics), Muslims
come in two branches. After Muhammad died in
A.D.
632, his followers argued over who
should succeed him in leading his Islamic faith and state, causing Islam to splinter into
two rival factions. Today Shias (a.k.a. “Shiites,” less than 15 percent of all Muslims) are
concentrated in Iran and Iraq, while Sunnis dominate the rest of the Islamic world (includ-
ing Turkey and Morocco).
The “five pillars” of Islam are the same for all Muslims. Followers of Islam should do
the following:
1. Say and believe, “There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
2. Pray five times a day, facing Mecca (denoted inside a mosque by a niche called a
mihrab
). Modern Muslims believe that, along with thinking of God, part of the value of
this ritual is to help people wash, exercise, and stretch.
3. Give to the poor one-fortieth of your wealth, if you are not in debt. (“Debt” includes
the responsibility to provide both your parents and your children with a good life.)
4. Fast during daylight hours through the month of Ramadan. Fasting is about self-dis-
cipline. It's also a great social equalizer that helps everyone feel the hunger of the poor.
