As I wrote my Mar. 17 post about the attacks in Christchurch, I used the words "Arab" and "Muslim" with some frequency. While doing so, it occurred to me that a refresher on the basics might also be worth posting. So, I decided to repost "Ten Points about Islam." On Oct. 6, 2014, I posted this set of points about Islam to present some simple facts and figures in the context of ISIS, which at the time was being covered heavily in the press.
The points below are basically as they appeared in the 2014 post. I have, however, updated a couple figures as well as slightly expanded a few of the points for greater clarity. (Also, below the points, I include a short list of useful sources on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.)
A few details to keep in mind before proceeding: A Muslim is someone who adheres to the faith of Islam. An Arab is essentially someone who speaks Arabic and grew up in and/or identifies with Arab culture—and who may or may not be a Muslim. Most of the Middle East is Arab, including much of North Africa, called the Maghreb. Though not regionally Middle Eastern, the Maghreb is considered culturally Arab.
An Arab (noun) is a person. People, places, and things can be Arab (adjective), such as populations and countries. Arabic is a language. And Arabian, a mostly outmoded term, can refer to the Saudi Arabian government, or the Arabian peninsula (on which Saudi Arabia is located), or a breed of horse, or the collection of stories entitled A Thousand and One Nights, also known as The Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
Ten Points about Islam
1. There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, almost one in four people worldwide. Of the 1.6 billion, 20 percent are Arab (though 95 percent of Arabs are Muslim).
2. Most Muslims live in South and Southeast Asia. The countries with the most Muslims are, in order: Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
3. There are 49 countries with Muslim majorities (Pew Research). The Arab League has 22 member states.
4. Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians. Allah is Arabic for "the God."
5. Jews and Christians are esteemed in Islam as "People of the Book." (Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam and appears throughout Islam's holy book, the Quran, as does Mary.)
6. The concept of jihad refers to one's "struggle" as a Muslim, namely, to be a better Muslim. Reducing jihad to "holy war" is a distortion. Moreover, a common Western misunderstanding is that "holy war" is a general Islamic mandate to kill nonbelievers, which does not exist. Jihad does include armed self-defense.
7. Sharia, or Islamic law, is a broad category that addresses and governs many, if not all, aspects of Muslim life, including food, dress, marriage and divorce, contracts, and so on. Sharia includes punishment for crimes, but the specifics vary and are open to interpretation.
8. The two major Islamic denominations are Sunni Islam and Shiite (Shia) Islam. Though there are certain theological differences between the two, they have not been in perpetual confrontation. Intermarriage between Sunnis and Shiites is not uncommon in the Middle East. While sectarian conflict does exist, much of the Sunni-Shiite tensions one sees in the news are the product of regional politics and foreign intervention.
9. Women's rights is a serious issue in many Middle Eastern countries. However, this is a cultural and political phenomenon, not a religious one.
10. The Prophet Muhammad (570-632 AD) founded Islam. While considered by Muslims to be the Seal of the Prophets (that is, the last of them), he is not viewed as divine. Muhammad was a reformer and endeavored to promote better treatment of women, orphans, and the poor. (For more on Muhammad, see my Jan. 3, 2014, blog post.)
SOURCES
Two short biographies on the Prophet Muhammad I recommend:
• W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (Oxford, 1974). Watt also coauthored the "Muhammad" entry of the online Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Karen Armstrong, Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time (HarperOne, 2007). Armstrong's work in general is dependable, carefully researched, and humane.
Two documentaries on Islam and Muhammad I recommend:
• Islam: Empire of Faith (2000), produced by PBS and narrated by actor Ben Kingsley
• The Life of Muhammad (2011), a three-part miniseries by the BBC
One website you should visit—and do so often:
• BBC, Religions http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam
