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Muslim Faith: Past and Present

Setting the Stage

Muhammad is born about 570 C.E. In about 610, in a cave near Mecca, he reports that the angel Gabriel has commanded him to preach the revelations of God that later would be written down in the Qur’an, the sacred message. When Muhammad dies in 632, what is known as the Umayyad Dynasty promotes Islam into an even more dominant position in much of the western Arabian Peninsula (what is now Saudi Arabia).

Conflicts Erupt, Islam Expands

Trade routes and immigration begin to make the world more of a global
enterprise. As a result, cultures and religions collide. By 900 C.E., Islam has conquered a vast territory stretching from what is now Spain to India, from southern Russia to Egypt.

The Crusades are a violent episode between Europe and the East. They begin in the eleventh century and last for several hundred years. One notable purpose of the Crusades is to take back the Holy Land (Jerusalem) from the Muslims. Europe succeeds in this endeavor in the first crusade. In the end, history has not looked kindly on this holy war.

Islam rebounds and expands with the creation of the Ottoman Empire. They win back Constantinople (which changes hands several times before the modern day name change of Istanbul) and take Serbia in the key Battle of Kosovo where the Ottoman army meets the Serb’s Christian forces. The year is 1389. Then, in 1683, the Ottomans go on the offensive again and take Austria in the decisive Battle of Vienna. This results in even more influence given to the Ottoman Empire in the state of European politics. There are now two equally powerful sides and a widening gulf between the East and West.

Modern Day

In more modern times there have been several clashes of East and West. The Ottoman Empire quickly declines in the first years of the 1900s due in part to civil unrest. There are also disputes over the British control of the Suez Canal that connects Europe with the Far East in terms of trade. By 1924, the Ottoman Empire comes to a close when it is constitutionally abolished internally.

Over the decades, with no clear identification with an empire, fundamentalism grows up within Islam with jihad as a focal point. Jihad is an idea that goes back to Muhammad and means “struggle.” Taken to an extreme, jihad can mean holy war against those who do not adhere to Islamic faith. There are many reasons for the acting out of such views – whether in the Middle East due to the development of the nation of Israel in the 1940s, or cultural differences between Islamic fundamentalists and the more progressive West. The result of Jihad can be seen in the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa, the first World Trade Center bombing attempt, the USS Cole blast, the 9/11 catastrophe, the bombings of the bus and trains in London, or even the violent reaction to the Danish cartoon depictions of Muhammad.

Five Pillars

Like most religions, Islam developed a summary statement for its beliefs. It is known as the Five Pillars of Islam: (1) There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet; (2) Pray each day facing Mecca; (3) Fast and pray during the month of Ramadan; (4) Make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca where Muhammad received his vision; (5) Give money to the Muslim poor.

Jihad

The term that means holy war, jihad, is also seen by some Muslims as the sixth pillar of Islam. However, the Qur’an is not clear on the meaning of the word. Some Muslims hold that jihad means the individual struggle of good and evil. Others believe this struggle signifies militancy toward unbelievers inside their borders and throughout the world.