this will probably be a long post but this stuff is my Numero Uno obsession
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Yes well, unfortunately we have to choose that which we believe is true, not that which we like the look of. This is not a salad bar we're talking about here.
that's good for starters
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One God: There is only one God, who has infinite qualities and names; She or he (see note below regarding sex neutrality) is the same for all religions. 'He' has no sex, but is present within all things and all places.
This is pretty much the concept of Allah in Islam. Allah is not a person or even an entity in any way that we would understand such things, let alone 'male' or 'female'. Grammatically speaking the word Allah is neuter. The most basic principle of Islam is that there is indeed only one God, which is the same God as Jews and Christians worship. In Islam Allah traditionally has 99 names as these are the ones mentioned in The Qu'ran - ya Rahman (the Merciful), ya Rahim (the Compassionate), ya Nur (the Light), ya Haqq (the Truth) and so on and all these names are valid ways of referring to God.
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It is made perfectly clear God isn't a specific being which is admirably straightforward. It also doesn't discriminate against the female sex with a male God.
See above, but while we're on the subject, Allah is most often referred to as He etc but why does this infer discrimination against females?
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It unequivocally condemns living in idle luxury and demands to be righteous one must be dedicated to the redistribution of wealth.
One of the Five Pillars of Islam, ie the most basic things that one has to do in order to be a Muslim is
zakat, which means charity. It is basically a poor tax, payable by all adult muslims and is used for the support of the poor and needy. It was instigated by the Prophet Muhammad from the earliest days in Mecca and remains there to this day. The Prophet constantly preached against the accumulation of wealth for its own end and lived a very frugal life. He used to say that food enough for one was enough for two, food enough two was enough for four...
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It plainly encourages being open to all people and not ignoring, disregarding or discriminating against anyone.
When the Prophet began his teaching of the faith we call Islam he and his followers were persecuted, harassed, ostracised and excluded from their society, so much so that they had to leave Mecca and settle in another city 200 miles away in order to be safe. The reason for this was that the teachings were extremely radical. Muhammad taught egalitarianism. His message was that everyone was equal before God, no matter what their status in society, their wealth, power etc. That was all meaningless to Muhammad, it was person's actions and character that were the most important. Anybody could (and can) become a muslim, it's not to do with race or birth or anything else, it's to do with your own individual motivation. All this was extremely challenging to the establishment in Mecca which was very hierarchical and given to tribal fighting and oppression of the poor by the rich. Power was also linked to the old tribal gods and who controlled the worship of them etc. Muhammad and his followers threatened this status quo so much they had to migrate and establish themselves elsewhere. Eventually Mecca was converted of course. A major part of the egalitarian message was to do with women and their treatment and status. By modern lights it probably doesn't look much but by the standards of the time Muhammad was basically an emancipator of women and they were afforded far more rights and status by Muhammad than they had ever had before. He also outlawed female infanticide which was very common at the time.
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Many Paths lead to God: The Sikhs believe that Salvation can be obtained by non-Sikhs as well.
Islam calls itself
'al sirat'al mustaqu'im', the Straight Path; it doesn't say there are not other paths but it considers itself the one that will take you by the most direct route. (Notwithstanding threats of hellfire for sinners and disbelievers of course, but see sanity's quote at the top!)
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No Special Worship Days: Sikhs do not believe that any particular day is holier than any other.
there is no sabbath in Islam. The notion that God had to rest after His labours in creating the world is alien and bizarre to Islam. But there are auspicious days and months, Ramadan being the most well known. Every day us holy, as is every place. The day is punctuated by prayers which can be offerred wherever you happen to be.
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Underlying Values
Actions Count: Salvation is obtained by one’s actions – Good deeds, remembrance of God, etc.
this is identical
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Prohibited Behaviour
Non-Logical Behaviour: Superstitions and rituals not meaningful to Sikhs (pilgrimages; fasting; bathing in rivers; circumcision; worship of graves, idols, pictures; compulsory wearing of the veil for women; etc.)
each to their own really, depends where you find meaning yourself; ritual and symbol are very beautiful and powerful ways of aligning ourselves with God, they can always ossify and become meaningless but that's the way of things and it's up to the individual to not let that happen
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Priestly Class: Sikhs do not have to depend on a priest for performing any religious functions.
there are no priests in Islam. See above about the egalitarianism of the Prophet's teaching - it applies spiritually as well as economically and socially. The sole spiritual relationship is between the individual and Allah, there is no intercessor, priest or saviour, we are responsible purely for our own actions. I suppose many people might think of imams as priests but this is not the case, they lead prayers in a mosque and may well teach etc but they have no religious authority as such and there are no services or rituals over which they preside.
None of this is an attempt to convert anyone or anything, just another view really but I think islam is very misunderstood, which I've picked up in a few threads since I've been on this site so this is just to balance things up. While I'm here though (*raises a finger and launches into preacher mode*) talking of under-rated religions I personally believe islam has huge potential for the West, particularly in it's Sufi aspect, which is where I'm coming from. It's really very beautiful and simple, and very powerful as way of spiritual development.
p.s.
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In defense of Western Faith, so does Christianity in its truest interpretation;
Christianity is a western faith?
p.p.s. Can anyone tell me how to get the person's name above the quote? I'm not very good with this kind of stuff.
11 Jul 2005, 11:10 pm
