


                     OTHER ISLAMIC BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

               The religion of Islam is one of the most misunderstood
          religions in the West generally, and in the United States
          in particular, because so little is known about it and
          people fail to understand Muslims and learn something about
          the beliefs and practices of Islam. Most people in the
          United States are of the Judeo-Christian heritage and the
          culture of Islam is alien to them.

               There are many misconceptions and notions about
          Muslims because people tend to generalize and associate to
          all of Islam what they read in the newspapers and see on
          television about terrorist incidents perpetrated by
          organizations that claim to be following the tenets of
          Islamic jihad, or holy war.  As a consequence, many Muslims
          are considered to be militant "gun- toting" terrorists or
          hostage takers with long robes and beards, or rich decadent
          playboys.

               Muslim women are seen as passive women with long
          dresses and covering black veils or militant women
          supporting their men in the defense of Islam.  Children are
          seen as being sent to Iranian battlefields to die with the
          promise of going directly to Paradise.

               Muslims are also viewed as religious fanatics serving
          a strange God, called Allah.  Others view Muslims as
          racists with a dislike for Americans in general, and whites
          in particular.  That notion probably prevails in the United
          States because of the teachings of the "Black Muslims," a
          heterodox Islamic group founded in the United States by
          Elijah Muhammad which, in the past, taught racial hatred
          and separatism.  The resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism
          and the Iranian revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini has
          contributed to a misunderstanding of Islam by many in the
          West.

               Getting to know Muslims and something about their
          beliefs and practices might foster a better understanding,
          respect and appreciation for that religious group.

               Non-Muslims who live in Islamic countries can observe
          the customs and practices and still not understand them.
          People who live in non-Muslim countries often have a harder
          time understanding those who are followers of Islam.

               The following are some customs and practices that nay
          help those who interact with, or wish to know and
          understand, Muslims better.  Some customs and practices
          differ from country to country and others have an ethnic
          rather than religious origin.

          The Muslim Day and Week

               The Muslim sense of time and calendar differ from
          those used in the West.  The Muslim day begins at sunset,
          when clocks are reset daily at zero hour.  Some countries
          have adopted international time systems except for
          religious purposes, to exist side by side with the Muslim
          custom of reckoning time.  Prayer is based on sun time and
          strict accuracy is considered essential.  For instance,
          mid-day prayer occurs when the sun is at its zenith.

               The Muslim week is seven days long beginning on
          Sunday. The first five days are named for the first ordinal
          numbers, one through five, i.e. Sunday is Ahad which is
          one, Monday is Ithnain which is two and so on.  Friday is
          Juma which means "assembly." It is the required day for
          congregational worship and it is called Salat al-Jumah.
          Saturday is named Sabt which means sabbath, probably a
          holdover from the Jewish calendar.  Muslims have no sabbath
          day in the Judeo-Christian sense.  The religious obligation
          is for congregational worship at midday every Friday.
          Business is conducted as usual before and after Salat
          al-Jumah.

          The Muslim Year

               The Muslim year is lunar, rather than solar as it is
          in the West.  The lunar cycle is approximately twenty-nine
          and a half days long.  There is a leap year about once
          every three years.  Because the lunar year is ten to eleven
          days shorter than the solar year, months move slowly
          forward through the seasons.  A given holy day will appear
          in winter, spring, summer, autumn and back to winter over a
          period of thirty-three years.

               The Islamic era starts from the year of Muhammad's
          migration (hegira) from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D. Islamic
          dates are designated Anno Hegira, A.H.  It is complicated
          to convert the date in one system to that in another
          because Muslims use the lunar calendar and their year is
          shorter.  In other words, one cannot just subtract 622 from
          the Christian based calendar to establish an Anno Hegira
          date.  There is a complicated mathematical formula for
          doing so.

          Sacred Holy Days

               Two months of the Islamic year are considered holy.
          The first is Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the ninth
          month of the Islamic year which commemorates when the
          Prophet received his first revelation.  Another month
          sacred to Muslims is Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth month, when
          the pilgrimage to Mecca takes place.

               Islam has two great holidays.  The first is Id
          al-Fitr, -the feast of Breaking the Fast at the end of the
          holy month of Ramadan.  The other is al-Adha, the Feast of
          Sacrifice, celebrated at the end of the pilgrimage on the
          10th day of Dhu al-Hajjah in memory of Abraham's
          willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmail.  Unlike
          Christian and Jews, Muslims believe that Abraham sacrificed
          Ishmail rather than Isaac.  They cite the scripture that
          states that Abraham was preparing to sacrifice his "only
          son."  Muslims point out that Ishmail was born several
          years before Isaac.  Many Muslims sacrifice animals in
          commemoration of al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice.

               Some Muslims celebrate Mawlid al-Nabi. the birthday of
          Muhammad, while others do not.  The Shiites celebrate the
          birthdays of Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain.

               Other holidays celebrated by some Muslims are New
          Year's Day, the first of Muharram. The anniversary of the
          Prophet's miraculous nocturnal journey and ascension to
          heaven is celebrated on the 27th day of Rajab, the seventh
          month.  The 14th day of Sha'ban, the eighth month is
          devoted to prayers for the dead and visiting and cleaning
          the tombs of the deceased.

          Mosque

               A mosque is a place of congregational worship.  The
          word has its roots in the Arabic, masjid, which means
          "place of prostration."  A mosque is not a synagogue or a
          church in the Judeo-Christian sense.  There is no altar,
          baptistery, baptismal font, tabernacle or a place for the
          clergy or choir.  The mosque is a place where the faithful
          gather to pray as a congregation.  Everyone is supposed to
          be equal in a mosque.  It does have a pulpit which was
          adopted at the suggestion of a Muslim who had seen one in a
          Christian Church.   The pulpit is a small platform from
          which the leader of the congregation, called an imam,
          delivers addresses.  The addresses may be either religious
          or political.

               Mosques may be simple and austere while others are
          elaborate structures of domes, columns and courtyard.
          Whether austere or elaborate, some things are common to all
          mosques.  They contain no statues, paintings, or figures
          and the open floors are normally covered with rugs.  Two
          other features common to almost all mosques are the mihrab
          and the minaret.  The mihrab is an indentation in the wall
          indicating the direction of Mecca.  The minaret is the
          tower from which the faithful are called to prayer.  Most
          mosques have washing facilities where the faithful can
          perform the necessary ablutions before prayer to put
          themselves in a state of ritual purity.

               Large mosques often have facilities for libraries and
          religious schools, where students are instructed in the
          Quran, religious law and Arabic.

          Injunctions and Prohibitions

               In Islam there are a number of Islamic injunctions and
          prohibitions.  Obeying the injunction is considered a
          virtue.  Examples of injunctions are purity, modesty and
          decency in behavior, appearance, dress and speech.  Doing
          what is prohibited is a sin because it constitutes
          disobedience to God. Prohibitions include free mixing
          between men and women, and any form of physical contact
          outside of marriage.  Adultery, fornication, and 
          prostitution are prohibitions.

          Dress of Muslim Women

               The Quran tells "believing women to lower their gaze
          and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that
          which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their
          bosoms..."  The basis for Islamic dress for women is laid
          down by the verse stated above and a Hadith of the Prophet.
          Muslim women are in no way constrained to wear a particular
          form of dress and are free to improve on or invent new
          types of dresses in keeping with the Islamic guidelines, as
          directed by convenience or taste.  The injunction is that
          whatever is worn by Muslim women should be Islamic hijab.
          Hijab is the covering dress for Muslim women.

               Some Muslims say Islam is very flexible.  Devout
          Muslim women following the Sunnah (practices and
          recommendations of the Prophet) would want to cover all
          parts of their bodies except the face and the hand. Some
          would want to cover faces with a veil.  Around the Muslim
          world, a variety of garments meet these requirements.  Some
          Muslim women wear knee length dresses and socks that are
          not transparent, and are within the requirements of Islam.
          In other places a woman could wear long pants as long as
          the outlines of her body were not sexually accentuating.
          The clothes of women differ from country to country and in
          some countries even differ from region to region, or among
          the various groups within the same country.  Whatever is
          worn should be full and honest hijab.

               Many Muslim women wear the veil which is a head
          covering and the covering of the face.  Some scholars hold
          that the covering of the face is required while others are
          of the opinion that it is not required.  Obeying the
          injunction regarding dress for Muslim women is a virtue.
          There is no set requirement other the hijab, that is that a
          Muslim woman is required to conceal her attractions from
          men by a strictly modest, straightforward type of attire.

          Dietary

               The dietary laws of Islam resemble those of the Jews,
          but are not as strict.  The only animal forbidden is the
          pig and its by- products and any food that has been
          immolated to the name of any other than the Allah.  Muslims
          can eat all seafood.

               The Quran is quite explicit in stating that the food
          of Christians and Jews is lawful for Muslims.  "This day
          are all good things made lawful for you.  The food of those
          who have received the Scripture (Christians and Jews) is
          lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them."
          Muslims living in Christian countries can eat commercial
          food, except pork.  A  devout Muslim pronounces the name of
          God over all food that is to be eaten.

               Muslims are forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages.
          This was not true at first.  Wine was praised as one of
          God's bounties of mankind, but excesses among believers
          caused disruptions and interfered with prayers.  As the
          ritual of praying five times a day became the hallmark of
          the faith it is not surprising that alcohol was finally
          forbidden because it would be difficult to see a time when
          the effects of drinking would not be present during one the
          prayers.   According to the Quran, the elect will be
          allowed to drink in Paradise.

               The law schools extended the prohibition to distilled
          spirits when they became available in the Muslim world.

          Taboos

               A Muslim always eats with his right hand and avoids
          touching it with his left hand.  Satan is believed to eat
          and drink with his left hand.  The left hand is unclean
          because that is the hand used for relieving and wiping
          one's self after using the toilet. It is taboo to pass
          anyone anything or to accept anything with the left hand.
          In times past when Muslim families ate from a common plate
          only the right hand was used and each ate what was nearest
          to him.

          Religious Expressions and Greeting

               The speech of Muslims is saturated with religious
          phrases and expressions.  The most widely used salutation,
          salaam means peace.  Salaam alexim which means, peace be
          upon you, is the traditional greeting and an appropriate
          reply is,We alekim salaam, and on you be peace.  Muslim
          believe that only God knows the future and the phrase,
          insh'Alla, which means, "If God wills," is pronounced by
          Muslims whenever they refer to the future.

          Polygamy

               The Quran makes it legal for a man to have up to four
          wives if he can treat all of them equally.  The Quran
          advises that a man is not able to deal equally between
          wives no matter how much he may want to do so.  The clear
          message is that polygamy is legal but monogamy is
          preferred.  In most Muslim countries, monogamy is practiced
          most often.

          Names

               The teachings of the Prophet influenced the names
          given to his followers.  Names frequently given to Muslims
          include Abd'Alla (servant of God), Abdu'r-Rahman (The
          servant of the Merciful One) and Muhammad, Ahmed or Hamed
          after the Prophet.  Other popular names are, Ali (the
          Prophets cousin and son-in-law),  Musa (Moses), Da'ud
          (David), Ibrahim (Abraham), and Hasan.

               The prefix, Abu means father of, Umm or ummu means
          mother of, and Ibn, means son of.  Abbu Da'ud means father
          of David, ibn Musa means son of Moses, and Ummu Fatima
          means mother of Fatima.


