Islam: the straight path revised 3rd ed by john Esposito 05, 1998

Islam: the straight path revised 3^rd ed by john Esposito 05, 1998

I AM ONLY TYPING NOTES I THINK I NEED, LEAVING REST

ix-now islam is the fastest growing and expanding rel

-predominatn rel in 56 countries

-2^nd or 3^rd largest rel in eurp and amer

x-9/11 reanimated ancient and more recent fears, animosities and stereotypes

-therefore, many have ?d islams’ relation to …everything (violence, democracy, capitalism, etc)

-many ppl, including policy makers, commentators, media, gen pub; succumbed tot eh pitfall of seeing islam thru explosive headline events

-distinciton btwn the rel of islam and the actions of an extremist fringe was obscured

xiii-“in an increasingly globally interdependent world, mutual understanding is both important and necessary…religiously fruitful, polly important”

2-2 major historical divisions: sunni 85%, shii around 15%

-arabian peninsula is 1 M sq mis or 1/3 size of US or eurp

3-preislamic intertribal warfare was governed by clear guidelines and rules, done to take others’ livestock to absorb them and make them dependant—minimize casualties

4-“ethics [were]termed “tribal humanism”, not ascribed to god but the product of tribal pexperc or trad” (tribal and fam honor)

-virtue, manliness, bravery in battle, loyalty to fam and protection, hospitality, patience, persistence

-fatalism-no meaning or accountability beyond this life

-therefore little sense of cosmic moral purpose or communal responsibility

-justice administered not by god but by threat of group vengeance

-monotheism existed in iran for ces, generally urban and instilled ins chools, assoc w/ poll power

5-“Arabian tribal society, w/ its bedouin, polytheistic ethos, provided the context for the rise of islam. Of equal importance, this period was marked by the tensions and questioning that accompany change in a transitional society, for this was a period when cities like mecca and medina were prospering and attracting many from a nomadic to a more sedentary life. The emergence of mecca as a major mercantile center precipitated the beginnings of a new poll, social and ecoc order. New wealth, the rise of a new commercial oligarchy from ?? the quraysh tribe, greater division btwn social classes, and a growing disparity btwn social classes, and a prowing disparity btwn rich and poor sterained the tradl system of arab tribal values and social security—its way of life. This was the time and social milieu in which m. was born.”

See actual notes for info on m. and foundations of islam

29-q supports/calls for muslims to presue social justice

39-the q. commanded humane treatment and supported emancipation, they still did it in a modified form (only captives in battle and no muslims, juew or xns)

41-umayyad society 661-750 had a hereditary social caste “this…became a source of contention, esp among non-arab muslims, who regarded their lesser status as a violation of islmic egalitarianism. Their alientation contributed to the eventual downfall fo the Umayyad dynasty”

45-the rapid geographic expansion and conquests brot the rise of new centers of power and wealth; an influx of “foreign” ways and greater social stratification. “the very success of the Umayyad empire contained the seeds of its downfall”

50-747, shii-supported mvmnt behind abu muslim started

-750 umayyads fell, abu al-abbas made caliph

-capital moved from damscus to Baghdad (city of peace)

51-abbasids refined Umayyad practice, borrowning heavily from Persian culture; w/ its divinely ordained system of gov

-which included caliphs magnificent palace, his attendants, court etiquette (kissing the ground)

-replaced military aristocracy w/ salaried army and bureaucracy in which non-arab muslims played a major role

-“Abbasids explained this change in terms of Islamic eqalitarianism. More often than not, however, it was royal favor and fear, symbolized by the royal executioner who stood by the side of the caliph, that brot him prestige and motivated obedience”

52-their success was based not on conquest, but on trade, commerce, industry and agriculture

-translated major lit: aristlt, plato

53-“as eurpn scholars travelled to major centers of Islamic learning retranslating the greek philosophers and learning the writings of great muslim disciples”

56-“by 945, the distintegration of the universal caliphate was evident when the buyids invaded Baghdad and seized power…[but] left the caliph on his throne as a titular leader of a fictionally unified empire”

-abbasids continued to reign but not rule

59-constantiople fell in 1493 to Turkish muslims—Istanbul; abbaside empire was almost disintegrated by then

60-1258 mongls captured badhdad until 1517

61-istanbul became new muslim capital

115-sultanate period began to fall apart by the 17^th and 18^th ces, “poll distintegration and social and moral decline”

116-“the concepts of renewal (tajdid) and reform (islah) are fundamental components of islam’s worldview, tooted in the q and the sunna of the prophet”

118-wahhabi mvmnt of 18^th ce called for social and moral revolution and a return to community life bassed strictly on the q and the example fo the m and median community; waged holy war on unbelievers (even exteme muslims)

128-jamal al-din al-afghani (1838-97)

-believed that muslims could repel the w. not by ignoring or rejecting the sources of w. strength (science and tech) but instead by reclaiming and reappropriating reason, science, and thech, which, he maintained, had been integral to islam and the grand accomplishments of islmc cvlztn

-advocated constitutionalism and parliamentary gov to limit the power of rulers

-said muslms must return to a more faithful observance of its guidance

-rejected passivity, fatalism and other worldliness of Sufism

-rejected w. secular tendency to restrict rel to personal life or worhip

135-indain sayyid ahmad khan (1817-98)

-said there could b no contradiction btwn the word of god and the work of god—influenced by 19^th ce eurpn rationlsim and natural philosophy

-islam is in total harmony w/ science

-if a conflict “btwn txt and reason, reason prevailed”

136-did not believe in literal interp of miraceles, just metaphor

-questiond authenticity of most trads

-many ulama and anti colonialists dismissed him as disloyal

137-indian m. iqbal (1875-1938) became synonymous w/ Islamic reform in the 20^th ce

140-he asserted muslims right to ijtihad, reinterpret and reapply islam to changing social conditions

-all muslims, not just ulama

-said democracy was the most important poll ideal in islam

-help set up pak as its own state, encourage indain muslm states

155-“…the interp of islam implicit in the ideological worldview of revivalism was limited by its failure to reexamine Islamic history more thoroughly. Lacking an awareness of the actual historical (as distinguished from the idealized) dvlpment of their faith, reviavlists could not fully appreciate the dynamic, creative prowess of islmztn that characterized the dvlpmnt of islmc law and theology. They were unable to realize the extent to which human reasoning and socio historical conditions affected the formulation of belief and practice ? the role of local customary practice in law…”

176-b/c of islmc revival of the 60s, by the 70s both quaddafi (lybia) and jafar al-numayri (suadn) “had to butresss their socialist stance w/ an appeal to rel”

-quaddafi believed in islmic socialism the green book

200-in zulfikar ali bhutto’s socialist islam there was a common unity of faith in i9slam, “but it did not mean a common interp or understanding of islmc belief and practice”

201-pakistani xns, 1 % of all minorities there, freared they would be treated as “non-muslim ‘ppl of the book’ as dhimmi” , as second class citizens

207-rt wing ntlists in fr in 90s started blaming muslims and forced expulsion of 3 mil immigrants, ignited extremist groups and violence

208-fastest growin rel in us, guess at 4-12 M, 4-6 M.

-1 M converts; more muslims in amer than in Libya, Kuwait or qutar

-perhaps 20% of African slaves were muslim

-late 19^th ce significant # of muslims first came to b a visible presence in amer, waves of immigrant laborers

-2/3 of amer muslims r immigrants or descentents

-other 1/3 is primarily aa converts and a small percentage of whites

-1,100 mosques and Islamic centers in us

-chi town has 500k muslims, 50 mosques

236-women: veils and separation was not in q, but was picked up from ppls in Syria and Persia (upper-class women) in early ces of islam

255-jihad has been reinterpreted throughout muslim history to justify resisteance and lib struggles, extremism and terrorism and unholy wars

257-q’s take on suicide is not clear but the prophetic tras “frequently, clearly, and absolutely prohibit suicide”

259-sayyid qutb (1906-60) big influence on radicals

-saw world in good v evil, god v satan

270-1.3 B muslims