Tuesday, March 24, 2009

"Islam 101"

Over the past several months, I've been reading about Islam on my own and talking online about Islam with a few Muslims.

I have also been taking an “Islam 101” class at the local masjid that is geared towards new Muslims (i.e. recent converts) and potential converts.

I go every week to this Islam class, and I try to appreciate it for what it is.

It is not a class run by scholars or for people with theological/philosophical interests.

It often feels like an Islam-based support group, a place in which people share anecdotes about their everyday lives and the class leader responds with a comforting hadith or Quranic passage. There is no clear structure to the class. Plenty of room for a 10-minute tangent conversation about different brands of turkey bacon or how to best place hijab pins.

For the most part, the class has veered away from interesting and challenging theological questions. I gather that the teacher does not want to confuse us newbies, overwhelm us with information, or make us think very hard. She wants to make the conversion process easier for the members of the class, and part of that project involves boiling down Islam to some basics.

The attitude of the teacher of the Islam 101 class is very open and forgiving of mistakes. She encourages students in the class to maintain views and practices that are “close enough” to halal even if they are not necessarily totally halal and correct by Islamic standards. The emphasis is not on precision, just on making the right niyya and "doing your best".

The group is for women only and takes place on the sisters’ floor (i.e. the basement) of the local mosque. The big room in which the class meets is the room of the masjid in which sisters pray, study, talk with each other, and care for children. It is also the room in which extra chairs and other such supplies are kept. As a result, there is a lot of traffic of sisters through the space and many of these women join in our discussions even though they are not converts themselves. I greatly appreciate the participation of these sisters, especially because I can then get differing perspectives from knowledgeable “born” Muslims, and see that Islam includes diverse opinions and experiences and not a singular unitary perspective.

The class is scheduled such that the group can do both Asr and Maghrib prayers together. My favorite aspect of taking part in this class is praying together in the mosque. Often times there is a brief talk by a brother following the prayers, and I have appreciated hearing those speeches, which can be an informative and thought-provoking complement to what I hear in the "Islam 101" class.

I recently learned that Muslims are required (according to many scholars anyway) to talk with non-Muslims who ask them about Islam. That knowledge made me feel very guilty about asking questions of a woman at the masjid. She is a born Muslim and a brilliant legal scholar and a wonderful resource—I appreciated her comments in/to the group. I asked her if I could ask her some questions about the Quran, and she then must felt obligated to meet with me; she could not say no because I was a non-Muslim asking about Islam. Now that I have that information, I would not so carelessly and greedily ask a Muslim to talk with me about Islam.

I also read recently that there is a big "reward" for Muslims who manage to convert other people to Islam. That gives me an uneasy feeling about certain interactions I have had with Muslims, particularly some very friendly and zealous Muslims who are active in teaching about Islam to recent converts and non-Muslims. This knowledge of the “reward” for dawah makes me wonder if the only reason these Muslims have helped me and talked with me was because they hoped to lead to my conversion and thus I wonder whether they would continue to engage in such conversations with me if I do convert--or if their task would then have been accomplished already and their reward assured. I want to think of these sisters as my friends, not as people who are just using me for their own spiritual benefit.

To me, a system of ethics and values rooted only in "reward" and "punishment" seems crass and simplistic. Such a carrot/stick approach sidesteps the need for rationale, moral reasoning, or debate. That language suggests that every person is their own individual subject with an insular relationship between Allah and the self, while other people are merely tests or means of reward/punishment.

I have very mixed feelings about this class. Still, I continue to attend, because I feel that I owe it to myself and to Allah to make at least that minimal effort.

3 comments:

  1. Hey, girl! What's up? I'll just respond to a few items from your posts, for your consideration. :-)

    For the most part, the class has veered away from interesting and challenging theological questions.
    Unfortunately, in my experience, many Muslims tend to shy away from thinking about such questions themselves, preferring instead to let an imam or scholar do that thinking for them -- the justification being that the imam or scholar has better training and, therefore, is better qualified. Personally, I've never bought into that logic myself...

    The emphasis is not on precision, just on making the right niyya and 'doing your best'.
    In my personal opinion, the intention is the key to Islamic piety. Indeed, there is a well-recorded saying by the Prophet (peace be upon him) that "All acts are by intention."

    This knowledge of the “reward” for dawah makes me wonder if the only reason these Muslims have helped me and talked with me was because they hoped to lead to my conversion and thus I wonder whether they would continue to engage in such conversations with me if I do convert--or if their task would then have been accomplished already and their reward assured. I want to think of these sisters as my friends, not as people who are just using me for their own spiritual benefit.
    This simply returns us to the point of intention. I think most imams would probably say that any reward is contingent upon the intention. "I want to help this person and to please Allah" versus "If I help this person, I get rewarded...oh, goody!" They will be rewarded to the extent that their motives are pure, in my opinion.

    To me, a system of ethics and values rooted only in "reward" and "punishment" seems crass and simplistic. Such a carrot/stick approach sidesteps the need for rationale, moral reasoning, or debate. That language suggests that every person is their own individual subject with an insular relationship between Allah and the self, while other people are merely tests or means of reward/punishment.
    I have the same feelings as you do about this. How I reconcile it is in pragmatic terms: The evolution of a language of "reward" and "punishment" is Allah's (swt) way of making the message of Islam comprehensible to people who are likely to think in such terms. Other languages of Islam emphasize such things as "intention," "the heart," etc. (See, for example, Sufism.) These things are likely to appeal to individuals such as you and I.

    I have very mixed feelings about this class. Still, I continue to attend, because I feel that I owe it to myself and to Allah to make at least that minimal effort.
    I think so-called Islam 101 classes are useful for providing basic historical and factual information, plus doctrinal stuff that nearly all Muslims (even progressive, feminist, and queer ones) can agree upon, such as the oneness of Allah, the five pillars, the importance of generosity and kindness, etc.

    My two cents...take them as you will. :-)

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  2. d.s.,
    Thanks for contacting me. Although, I am not sure to which of my blogs you were referring since I run both Life and Doctrine and Atheism is Dead.

    If it be of further interest in your study of Islam I have written the following essays:
    Muhammad and Jesus
    On the Qur'an’s Composition
    Misconceptions in Reason and History
    Who Was Abraham Told to Sacrifice, Isaac or Ishmael?
    Religion of Peace

    Keep up the good work and the God work,

    aDios,
    Mariano

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  3. I recently learned that Muslims are required (according to many scholars anyway) to talk with non-Muslims who ask them about Islam.

    i do not believe that the obligation is limited to sharing knowledge with non-muslims:
    (002:042)
    And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is).

    I also read recently that there is a big "reward" for Muslims who manage to convert other people to Islam.

    i would also recommend greater skepticism with respect to this claim even if many muslims hold opinions to the contrary. a person is rewarded for his own actions and intentions, e.g. sharing the truth. moreover, nobody can convert another. it is only allah who guides. there are many relevant quranic verses of which i quote a few:

    (017:015)
    Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent an messenger (to give warning).

    (002:272)
    It is not required of thee (O Messenger), to set them on the right path, but Allah sets on the right path whom He pleaseth. Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls, and ye shall only do so seeking the "Face" of Allah. Whatever good ye give, shall be rendered back to you, and ye shall not Be dealt with unjustly.

    (028:056)
    It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance.

    ReplyDelete