Criticism of Islam can take many forms, including academic critiques, political criticism, religious criticism, and personal opinions. Subjects of criticism include Islamic beliefs, practices, and doctrines.
The earliest surviving written criticisms of Islam are found in the writings of Christians such as John of Damascus. He viewed Islamic doctrines as a mix of ideas taken from the Bible and claimed that Muhammad was influenced by an Arian monk.[21] Other notable early critics included Arabs like Abu Isa al-Warraq and Ibn al-Rawandi.[22]:224al-Ma'arri, an eleventh-century antinatalist and critic of all religions. His poetry was known for its "pervasive pessimism."[23][24][25] He believed that Islam does not have a monopoly on truth.[2][26][22]:224Apologetic writings, attributed to the philosopher Abd-Allah ibn al-Muqaffa (d.c.756), include defenses of Manichaeism against Islam and critiques of the Islamic concept of God, characterizing the Quranic deity in highly critical terms.[27][28] The Jewish philosopher Ibn Kammuna, criticized Islam,[29][30] reasoning that Sharia was incompatible with the principles of justice.[29][31][32]
During the Middle Ages, Christian church officials commonly represented Islam as a Christian heresy or a form of idolatry.[33][34] They viewed Islam to be a material, rather than spiritual, religion and often explained it in apocalyptic terms.[34][35] In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European academics often portrayed Islam as an exotic Eastern religion distinct from Western religions like Judaism and Christianity, sometimes classifying it as a "Semitic" religion.[36][37] The term "Mohammedanism" was used by many to criticize Islam by focusing on Muhammad's actions, reducing Islam to merely a derivative of Christianity rather than acknowledging it as a successor of Abrahamic monotheisms.[36][38] By contrast, many academics nowadays study Islam as an Abrahamic religion in relation to Judaism and Christianity.[36] The Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton criticized Islam as a heresy or parody of Christianity,[39][40]David Hume (d.1776), both a naturalist and a sceptic,[41] considered monotheistic religions to be more "comfortable to sound reason" than polytheism but also found Islam to be more "ruthless" than Christianity.[42]
The Greek Orthodox bishop Paul of Antioch accepted Muhammed as a prophet, but did not consider his mission to be universal and regarded Christian law superior to Islamic law.[43]Maimonides, a twelfth-century rabbi, did not question the strict monotheism of Islam, and considered Islam to be a instrument of divine providence for bringing all of humankind to the worship of the one true God, but was critical of the practical politics of Muslim regimes and considered Islamic ethics and politics to be inferior to their Jewish counterparts.[44]
In his essay Islam Through Western Eyes, the cultural critic Edward Said suggests that the Western view of Islam is particularly hostile for a range of religious, psychological and political reasons, all deriving from a sense "that so far as the West is concerned, Islam represents not only a formidable competitor but also a late-coming challenge to Christianity." In his view, the general basis of Orientalist thought forms a study structure in which Islam is placed in an inferior position as an object of study, thus forming a considerable bias in Orientalist writings as a consequence of the scholars' cultural make-up.[45]
Points of criticism
The expansion of Islam
In an alleged dialogue between the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos (r.1391–1425) and a Persian scholar, the emperor criticized Islam as a faith spread by the sword.[46] This matches the common view in Europe during the Enlightenment period about Islam, then synonymous with the Ottoman Empire, as a bloody, ruthless, and intolerant religion.[47] More recently, in 2006, a similar statement of Manuel II,[a] quoted publicly by Pope Benedict XVI, prompted a negative response from Muslim figures who viewed the remarks as an insulting mischaracterization of Islam.[48][49] In this vein, the Indian social reformer Pandit Lekh Ram (d.1897) thought that Islam was grown through violence and desire for wealth,[50] while the Nigerian author Wole Soyinka considers Islam as a "superstition" that it is mainly spread with violence and force.[51]
This "conquest by the sword" thesis is opposed by some historians who consider the transregional development of Islam a multi-faceted and complex phenomenon.[36] The first wave of expansion, the migration of the early Muslims to Medina to escape persecution in Mecca and the subsequent conversion of Medina, was indeed peaceful. In the years to come, Muslims defended themselves against frequent Meccan incursions until Mecca's peaceful surrender in 630. By the time of his death in 632, many of the Arabian tribes had formed political alliances with Muhammad and adopted Islam peacefully, which also paved the way for the subsequent conquests of Syria, Iran, Egypt and (the rest of North Africa) after the death of Muhammad.[36] Islam nevertheless often remained a minority religion in conquered territories for several centuries after the initial waves of conquest, indicating that the conquest of territories beyond the Arabian Peninsula did not instantly result in large conversions to Islam.[b][36]
In the lifetime of Muhammad, the Quran was primarily preserved orally and the written compilation of the whole Quran in its current form took place some 150 to 300 years later, according to some sources.[52][53][54] Alternatively, others believe that the Quran was compiled shortly after the death of Muhammad in 632 and canonized by end of the caliphate of Uthman (r.644–656).[55][56][57] The idea that Quran is perfect and impossible to imitate as asserted in the Quran itself is disputed by critics.[58] One such criticism is that sentences about God in the Quran are sometimes followed immediately by those in which God is the speaker.[59] The modern historian John Wansbrough believes that the Quran is in part a redaction of other sacred scriptures, in particular the Judaeo-Christian scriptures.[60][61] The Christian theologian Philip Schaff (d.1893) praises the Quran for its poetic beauty, religious fervor, and wise counsel, but considers this mixed with "absurdities, bombast, unmeaning images, and low sensuality."[62] The Iranian journalist Ali Dashti (d.1982) criticized the Quran, saying that "the speaker cannot have been God" in certain passages.[63] Similarly, the secular author Ibn Warraq gives Surah al-Fatiha as an example of a passage which is "clearly addressed to God, in the form of a prayer."[63] The orientalist Gerd Puin believes that the Quran contains many verses which are incomprehensible, a view rejected by Muslims and many other orientalists.[64]Apology of al-Kindy, a medieval polemical work, describes the narratives in the Quran as "all jumbled together and intermingled," and regards this as "evidence that many different hands have been at work therein."[65]
Pre-existing sources
Critics see the reliance of Quran on various pre-existing sources as evidence for a human origin.
It has been suggested that there exists around the Hadith (Muslim traditions relating to the Sunnah (words and deeds) of Muhammad) three major sources of corruption: political conflicts, sectarian prejudice, and the desire to translate the underlying meaning, rather than the original words verbatim.[73]
Muslim critics of the hadith, known as Quranists, reject its authority on theological grounds, arguing that the Quran itself is sufficient for guidance, as it claims that nothing essential has been omitted.[74] They believe that reliance on the Hadith has caused people to deviate from the original intent of God's revelation to Muhammad, which they see as adherence to the Quran alone.[75][76]Ghulam Ahmed Pervez was one of these critics and was denounced as a non-believer by thousands of orthodox clerics.[77] In his work Maqam-e Hadith he considered any hadith that goes against the teachings of Quran to have been falsely attributed to the Prophet.[78] Kassim Ahmad argued that some hadith promote ideas that conflict with science and create sectarian issues.[79][80]
John Esposito argues that modern Western scholarship has raised doubts about the historicity and authenticity of hadith,[81] while Joseph Schacht argued that there is no evidence of legal traditions prior to 722. Schacht concluded that the Sunna attributed to the Prophet consists of material from later periods rather than the actual words and deeds of the Prophet.[81] However, scholars like Wilferd Madelung have argued that a complete dismissal of hadith as late fiction is "unjustified".[82] Orthodox Muslims do not deny the existence of false hadith, but believe that through the scholars' work, these false hadith have been largely eliminated.[83][84]
The traditional view of Islam has faced scrutiny due to a lack of consistent supporting evidence, such as limited archaeological finds and some discrepancies with non-Muslim sources.[85][86]:23 In the 1970s, a number of scholars began to re-evaluate established Islamic history, proposing that earlier accounts may have been altered over time.[86]:23[87] They sought to reconstruct early Islamic history using alternative sources like coins, inscriptions, and non-Islamic texts. Prominent among these scholars was John Wansbrough.[86]:38 Additionally, Gerd R. Puin's study of the Sana'a manuscripts revealed some variations in text and verse order, suggesting that the Quranic text may have evolved over time.[64]
The Christian missionary Sigismund Koelle and the former Muslim Ibn Warraq have criticized Muhammad's actions as immoral.[4][6] In one instance, the Jewish poet Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf provoked the Meccan tribe of Quraysh to fight Muslims and wrote erotic poetry about their women,[88] and was apparently plotting to assassinate Muhammad.[89] Muhammad called upon his followers to kill Ka'b,[88] and he was consequently assassinated by Muhammad ibn Maslama, an early Muslim.[90] Such criticisms were countered by the historian William M. Watt, who argues on the basis of moral relativism that Muhammad should be judged by the standards and norms of his own time and geography, rather than ours.[91] The fourteenth-century poem Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri contains images of Muhammad, picturing him the eighth circle of hell as a Heresiarch, along with his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.[92][93] Dante does not blame Islam as a whole but accuses Muhammad of schism for establishing another religion after Christianity.[92] Some medieval ecclesiastical writers portrayed Muhammad as possessed by Satan, a "precursor of the Antichrist" or the Antichrist himself.[4] 'Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii, an Andalusian manuscript of unknown origins, describes how Muhammad (called Ozim, from Hashim) was tricked by Satan into adulterating an originally pure divine revelation: God was concerned about the spiritual fate of the Arabs and wanted to correct their deviation from the faith. He then sent an angel to the Christian monk Osius who ordered him to preach to the Arabs. Osius, however, was in ill-health and instead ordered a young monk, Ozim, to carry out the angel's orders. Ozim set out to follow his orders, but was stopped by an evil angel on the way. The ignorant Ozim believed him to be the same angel that had spoken to Osius before. The evil angel modified and corrupted the original message given to Ozim by Osius, and renamed Ozim Muhammad. From this followed the erroneous teachings of Islam, according to Tultusceptru.[94]
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, while there is much to be admired and affirmed in Islamic ethics, its originality or superiority is rejected.[95] Critics stated that the Quran 4:34 allows Muslim men to discipline their wives by striking them.[96] There is however evidence from Islamic hadiths and scholars such as Ibn Kathir that demonstrates that only a twig or leaf can be used by a man to "strike" their wife and this is not allowed to cause pain or injure their wife but to show their frustration.[97] Moreover, confusion amongst translations of Quran with the original Arabic term "wadribuhunna" being translated as "to go away from them",[98] "beat",[99] "strike lightly" and "separate".[100] The film Submission critiqued this and similar verses of the Quran by displaying them painted on the bodies of abused Muslim women.[101] Some critics argue that the Quran is incompatible with other religious scriptures as it attacks and advocates hate against people of other religions.[7][102][103][104]Sam Harris interprets certain verses of the Quran as sanctioning military action against unbelievers as it said "Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled."(Quran 9:29)[105] However, the Islamic hadiths and scholars such as Dr Zakir Naik refer to fighting and not to trust "non-believers" and Christians in certain situations or events such as during times of war.[106]
Jizya is a tax for "protection" paid by non-Muslims to a Muslim ruler, for the exemption from military service for non-Muslims, and for the permission to practice a non-Muslim faith with some communal autonomy in a Muslim state.[107][108][109] Harris argues that Muslim extremism is simply a consequence of taking the Quran literally, and is skeptical that moderate Islam is possible.[c][125] Max I. Dimont interprets that the Houris described in the Quran are specifically dedicated to "male pleasure".[126] According to Pakistani Islamic scholar Maulana Umar Ahmed Usmani "Hur" or "hurun" is the plural of both "ahwaro" which is a masculine form and also "haurao" which is a feminine, meaning both pure males and pure females. Basically, the word 'hurun' means white, he says.[127]
According to Bernard Lewis, the Islamic injunctions against the enslavement of Muslims led to massive importation of slaves from the outside.[128] Also Patrick Manning believes that Islam seems to have done more to protect and expand slavery than the reverse.[129] Brockopp, on the other hand believe that the idea of using alms for the manumission of slaves appears to be unique to the Quran ([Quran2:177] and [Quran9:60]). Similarly, the practice of freeing slaves in atonement for certain sins appears to be introduced by the Quran (but compare Exod 21:26-7).[130] Also the forced prostitution of female slaves, a Near Eastern custom of great antiquity, is condemned in the Quran.[131] According to Brockopp "the placement of slaves in the same category as other weak members of society who deserve protection is unknown outside the Qur'an.[130] Some slaves had high social status in the Muslim world, such as the Mamlukenslavedmercenaries,[132] who were assigned high-ranking military and administrative duties by the ruling Arab and Ottoman dynasties.[133]
Critics argue unlike Western societies there have been no anti-slavery movements in Muslim societies,[134] which according to Gordon was due to the fact that it was deeply anchored in Islamic law, thus there was no ideological challenge ever mounted against slavery.[135] According to sociologist Rodney Stark, "the fundamental problem facing Muslim theologians vis-à-vis the morality of slavery" is that Muhammad himself engaged in activities such as purchasing, selling, and owning slaves, and that his followers saw him as the perfect example to emulate. Stark contrasts Islam with Christianity, writing that Christian theologians wouldn't have been able to "work their way around the biblical acceptance of slavery" if Jesus had owned slaves, as Muhammad did.[136]
Only in the early 20th century did slavery gradually became outlawed and suppressed in Muslim lands, with Muslim-majority Mauritania being the last country in the world to formally abolish slavery in 1981.[8] Murray Gordon characterizes Muhammad's approach to slavery as reformist rather than revolutionary that abolish slavery, but rather improved the conditions of slaves by urging his followers to treat their slaves humanely and free them as a way of expiating one's sins.[137] In Islamic jurisprudence, slavery was theoretically an exceptional condition under the dictum The basic principle is liberty.[138][9] Reports from Sudan and Somalia showing practice of slavery is in border areas as a result of continuing war[139] and not Islamic belief. In recent years, except for some conservative Salafi Islamic scholars,[d] most Muslim scholars found the practice "inconsistent with Qur'anic morality".[144][145][146]
In Islam, apostasy along with heresy and blasphemy (verbal insult to religion) is considered a form of disbelief. The Qur'an states that apostasy would bring punishment in the Afterlife, but takes a relatively lenient view of apostasy in this life (Q 9:74; 2:109).[147] While Shafi'i interprets verse Quran 2:217[148] as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in Quran, the historian W. Heffening states that Quran threatens apostates with punishment in the next world only.,[149] the historian Wael Hallaq states the later addition of death penalty "reflects a later reality and does not stand in accord with the deeds of the Prophet."[150]
According to Islamic law, apostasy is identified by a list of actions such as conversion to another religion, denying the existence of God, rejecting the prophets, mocking God or the prophets, idol worship, rejecting the sharia, or permitting behavior that is forbidden by the sharia, such as adultery or the eating of forbidden foods or drinking of alcoholic beverages.[151][152][147] The majority of Muslim scholars hold to the traditional view that apostasy is punishable by death or imprisonment until repentance, at least for adults of sound mind.[153][154][155] Also Sunni and Shi'a scholars, agree on the difference of punishment between male and female.[156]
Some widely held interpretations of Islam are inconsistent with Human Rights conventions that recognize the right to change religion.[157] In particular article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[158] Some contemporary Islamic jurists, such as Hussein-Ali Montazeri[159] have argued or issued fatwas that state that either the changing of religion is not punishable or is only punishable under restricted circumstances.[160] According to Yohanan Friedmann, "The real predicament facing modern Muslims with liberal convictions is not the existence of stern laws against apostasy in medieval Muslim books of law, but rather the fact that accusations of apostasy and demands to punish it are heard time and again from radical elements in the contemporary Islamic world."[161]
Sadakat Kadri noted that "state officials could not punish an unmanifested belief even if they wanted to".[162] The kind of apostasy which the jurists generally deemed punishable was of the political kind, although there were considerable legal differences of opinion on this matter.[163]Wael Hallaq states that "[in] a culture whose lynchpin is religion, religious principles and religious morality, apostasy is in some way equivalent to high treason in the modern nation-state".[164] Also Bernard Lewis consider the apostasy as a treason and "a withdrawal, a denial of allegiance as well as of religious belief and loyalty".[165] The English historian C. E. Bosworth suggests the traditional view of apostasy hampered the development of Islamic learning, like philosophy and natural science, "out of fear that these could evolve into potential toe-holds for kufr, those people who reject God."[166] While in 13 Muslim-majority countries atheism is punishable by death,[167] according to legal historian Sadakat Kadri, executions were rare because "it was widely believed" that any accused apostate "who repented by articulating the shahada" (LA ILAHA ILLALLAH "There is no God but God") "had to be forgiven" and their punishment delayed until after Judgement Day.[168][169]William Montgomery Watt states that "In Islamic teaching, such penalties may have been suitable for the age in which Muhammad lived."[170]
Quran's teachings on matters of war and peace have become topics of heated discussion in recent years. On the one hand, some critics claim that certain verses of the Quran sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after.[105][171]Jihad, an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims meaning "striving for the sake of God".[172][173][174][175][176] It is perceived in a military sense (not spiritual sense) by Bernard Lewis[177][178] and David Cook.[179] Also Fawzy Abdelmalek[180] and Dennis Prager argue against Islam being a religion of peace and not of violence.[181] John R. Neuman, a scholar on religion, describes Islam as "a perfect anti-religion" and "the antithesis of Buddhism".[182]Lawrence Wright argued that role of Wahhabi literature in Saudi schools contributing suspicion and hate violence against non-Muslims as non-believers or infidels and anyone who "disagrees with Wahhabism is either an infidel or a deviant, who should repent or be killed."[183]
Most Muslim scholars, on the other hand, argue that such verses of the Quran are interpreted out of context,[184][185] and argue that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Quran prohibits aggression,[186][187][188] and allows fighting only in self-defense.[189][190] Charles Mathewes characterizes the peace verses as saying that "if others want peace, you can accept them as peaceful even if they are not Muslim." As an example, Mathewes cites the second sura, which commands believers not to transgress limits in warfare: "fight in God's cause against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits [in aggression]; God does not love transgressors" (2:190).[191]
OrientalistDavid Margoliouth described the Battle of Khaybar as the "stage at which Islam became a menace to the whole world".[192] In the battle reportedly Muslims beheaded Jews.[193][194] Margoliouth argues that the Jews of Khaybar had done nothing to harm Muhammad or his followers, and ascribes the attack to a desire for plunder[192][195]Montgomery Watt on the other hand, believes Jews' intriguing and use of their wealth to incite tribes against Muhammad left him no choice but to attack.[196] Vaglieri and Shibli Numani concur that one reason for attack was that the Jews of Khaybar were responsible for the Confederates that attacked Muslims during the Battle of the Trench.[197][198][199] Rabbi Samuel Rosenblatt has said that Muhammad's policies were not directed exclusively against Jews (referring to his conflicts with Jewish tribes) and that Muhammad was more severe with his pagan Arab kinsmen.[199][200]
The September 11 attacks have resulted in many non-Muslims' indictment of Islam as a violent religion.[201] In the European view, Islam lacked divine authority and regarded the sword as the route to heaven.[47]
Karen Armstrong, tracing what she believes to be the West's long history of hostility toward Islam, finds in Muhammad's teachings a theology of peace and tolerance. Armstrong holds that the "holy war" urged by the Quran alludes to each Muslim's duty to fight for a just, decent society.[202] According to Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the 20th-century Indian independence movement, although non-violence is dominant in the Qur'an, thirteen hundred years of imperialist expansion have made Muslims a militant body.[203][204][205]
Other self-described Muslim organisations have emerged more recently, and some of them have been associated with jihadist and extreme Islamist groups. Compared to the entire Muslim community, these groups are sparsely populated. They have, however, received more attention from governments, international organisations, and the international media than other Muslim groups. This is as a result of their participation in actions intended to combat alleged enemies of Islam both at home and abroad.[36]
Years later however, Al-Qaeda has yet to succeed in gaining the support of the majority of Muslims and continues to differ from other Islamist organizations in terms of both philosophy and strategy.[36]
Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah is a fixed-term or short-term contractual marriage in Shia Islam. The duration of this type of marriage is fixed at its inception and is then automatically dissolved upon completion of its term. For this reason, nikah mut'ah has been widely criticised as the religious cover and legalization of prostitution.[206][207] Shi'a and Sunnis agree that Mut'ah was legal in early times, but Sunnis consider that it was abrogated.[208] Currently, however, mut'ah is one of the distinctive features of Ja'fari jurisprudence.[209]Sunnis believe that Muhammad later abolished this type of marriage at several different large events,Bukhari 059.527 Most Sunnis believe that Umar later was merely enforcing a prohibition that was established during Muhammad's time.[210]
Shia contest the criticism that nikah mut'ah is a cover for prostitution, and argue that the unique legal nature of temporary marriage distinguishes Mut'ah ideologically from prostitution.[211][212] Children born of temporary marriages are considered legitimate, and have equal status in law with their siblings born of permanent marriages, and do inherit from both parents. Women must observe a period of celibacy (idda) to allow for the identification of a child's legitimate father, and a woman can only be married to one person at a time, be it temporary or permanent. Some Shia scholars also view Mut'ah as a means of eradicating prostitution from society.[213]
Nikah Misyar is a type of Nikah (marriage) in Sunni Islam only carried out through the normal contractual procedure, with the provision that the husband and wife give up several rights by their own free will, such as living together, equal division of nights between wives in cases of polygamy, the wife's rights to housing, and maintenance money ("nafaqa"), and the husband's right of homekeeping and access.[214] Essentially the couple continue to live separately from each other, as before their contract, and see each other to fulfil their needs in a legally permissible (halal) manner when they please. Misyar has been suggested by some western authors to be a comparable marriage with Nikah mut'ah and that they find it for the sole purpose of "sexual gratification in a licit manner"[215][216][217] Islamic scholars like Ibn Uthaimeen or Al-Albani claim that misyar marriage may be legal, but not moral.[218]
According to Sunni hadith sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when she was married to Muhammad and nine when the marriage was consummated.[219][220][221][222] The Muslim historian al-Tabari (d.923) reports that she was ten,[220] while Ibn Sa'd (d.845) and Ibn Khallikan (d.1282), two other Muslim historians, write that she was nine years old at marriage and twelve at consummation.[223]Muhammad Ali (d.1951), a modern Muslim author, argues that a new interpretation of the Hadith compiled by Mishkat al-Masabih, Wali-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Khatib, could indicate that Aisha would have been nineteen.[224] Similarly, on the basis of a hadith about her age difference with her sister Asma, some have estimated Aisha's age to have been eighteen or nineteen at the time of her marriage.[225][226][227][228] At any rate, Muhammad's marriage to Aisha may have not been considered improper by his contemporaries, for such marriages between an older man and a young girl were common among the Bedouins.[229] In particular, Karen Armstrong, an author on comparative religion, writes, "There was no impropriety in Muhammad's marriage to Aisha. Marriages conducted in absentia to seal an alliance were often contracted at this time between adults and minors who were even younger than Aisha."[230]
The meaning of Quran 4:34 has been the subject of intense debate among experts. While many scholars[231][232] claim Shari'a law encourages domestic violence against women,[233][234][235] many Muslim scholars arguing that it acts as a deterrent against domestic violence motivated by rage.[236][237] Shari'a is the basis for personal status laws such as rights of women in matters of marriage, divorce and child custody which was described as discriminatory against women from a human rights perspective in a 2011 UNICEF report.[238] Allowing girls under 18 to marry by religious courts is another criticism of Islam[239] Sharia grants women the right to inherit property[240] but a daughter's inheritance is usually half that of her brother's but that is because the brother needs to care of his family and her sister if a male guardian isn't present and take care of her needs.[Quran4:11][241] Furthermore, slave women were not granted the same legal rights.[242][243][244][245] On 14 January 2009, the Catholic Portuguese cardinal José Policarpo directed a warning to young women to "think twice" before marrying Muslim men.[246][247]
In contrast to the widespread Western belief that women in Muslim societies are oppressed and denied opportunities to realize their full potential, many Muslims believe their faith to be liberating or fair to women, and some find it offensive that Westerners criticize it without fully understanding the historical and contemporary realities of Muslim women's lives. Conservative Muslims in particular (in common with some Christians and Jews) see women in the West as being economically exploited for their labor, sexually abused, and commodified through the media's fixation on the female body.[248]
Islam and multiculturalism
French philosopher Pascal Bruckner has criticised the effects of multiculturalism and Islam in the West.
Muslim immigration to Western countries has led some critics to label Islam incompatible with secular Western society.[249][250] This criticism has been partly influenced by a stance against multiculturalism closely linked to the heritage of New Philosophers. Recent critics include Pascal Bruckner[251][252][253][254] and Paul Cliteur.[255]TatarTengrist criticize Islam as a semitic religion, which forced Turks to submission to an alien culture. Further, since Islam mentions semitic history as if it were the history of all mankind, but disregards components of other cultures and spirituality, the international approach of Islam is seen as a threat.[256]Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, described Islam as the religion of the Arabs that loosened the national nexus of Turkish nation, got national excitement numb.[257]
In the early 20th century, the prevailing view among Europeans was that Islam was the root cause of Arab "backwardness". They saw Islam as an obstacle to assimilation, a view that was expressed by one of the spokesmen of colonial French Algeria named André Servier.[258] The Victorianorientalist scholar Sir William Muir criticised Islam for what he perceived to be an inflexible nature, which he held responsible for stifling progress and impeding social advancement in Muslim countries.[259]
Jocelyne Cesari, in her study of discrimination against Muslims in Europe,[260] finds that anti-Islamic sentiment may be difficult to separate from other drivers of discrimination because Muslims are mainly from immigrant backgrounds and the largest group of immigrants in many Western European countries, xenophobia overlaps with Islamophobia, and a person may have one, the other, or both.[261]
Hadith is a form of Islamic oral anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the prophet Muhammad. Each hadith is associated with a chain of narrators. Compilations of hadith were aggregated into distinct collections by Islamic scholars beginning one or two centuries after Muhammad's death. Hadith are widely respected in mainstream Muslim thought and are central to Islamic law. They are at the center of a major scholarly discipline in Islam known as the hadith sciences, in addition to a contemporary field of historiography known as hadith studies.
Muhammad was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets in Islam, and along with the Quran, his teachings and normative examples form the basis for Islamic religious belief.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, theologian, preacher, activist, religious leader, jurist, and reformer, who was from Najd in central Arabia and is considered as the eponymous founder of the Wahhabi movement. His prominent students included his sons Ḥusayn, Abdullāh, ʿAlī, and Ibrāhīm, his grandson ʿAbdur-Raḥman ibn Ḥasan, his son-in-law ʿAbdul-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿūd, Ḥamād ibn Nāṣir ibn Muʿammar, and Ḥusayn āl-Ghannām.
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, Shariah is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology sharīʿah refers to immutable, intangible divine law; contrary to fiqh, which refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars. Sharia, or fiqh as traditionally known, has always been used alongside customary law from the very beginning in Islamic history; has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists -reflecting the tendencies of different schools- and integrated and with various economic, penal and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers; and implemented for centuries by judges in the courts until recent times, when secularism was widely adopted in Islamic societies.
In Islam, sunnah, also spelled sunna, is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed and passed on to the next generations. According to classical Islamic theories, the sunnah are documented by hadith, and alongside the Quran are the divine revelation (wahy) delivered through Muhammad that make up the primary sources of Islamic law and belief / theology. Differing from Sunni classical Islamic theories are those of Shia Muslims, who hold that imams interpret the sunnah, and Sufi who hold that Muhammad transmitted the values of sunnah "through a series of Sufi teachers".
People of the Book, or Ahl al-Kitāb, is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The classification chiefly refers to pre-Islamic Abrahamic religions. In the Quran, they are identified as the Jews, the Christians, the Sabians, and—according to some interpretations—the Zoroastrians. Beginning in the 8th century, this recognition was extended to other groups, such as the Samaritans, and, controversially, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, among others. In most applications, "People of the Book" is simply used by Muslims to refer to the followers of Judaism and Christianity, with which Islam shares many values, guidelines, and principles.
Liberalism and progressivism within Islam involve professed Muslims who have created a considerable body of progressive thought about Islamic understanding and practice. Their work is sometimes characterized as "progressive Islam". Some scholars, such as Omid Safi, differentiate between "progressive Muslims" versus "liberal advocates of Islam". Liberal Islam originally emerged out of the Islamic revivalist movement of the 18th–19th centuries. Liberal and progressive ideas within Islam are considered controversial by some traditional Muslims, who criticize liberal Muslims on the grounds of being too Western and/or rationalistic.
Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance.
Takfir is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim of being an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ḥadīth literature; instead, kufr ("unbelief") and kāfir ("unbeliever") and other terms employing the same triliteral root K-F-R appear.
Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined as the abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, in thought, word, or through deed. It includes not only explicit renunciations of the Islamic faith by converting to another religion or abandoning religion, but also blasphemy or heresy by those who consider themselves Muslims, through any action or utterance which implies unbelief, including those who deny a "fundamental tenet or creed" of Islam. An apostate from Islam is known as a murtadd (مرتدّ).
In Islam and sharia, bidʿah refers to innovation in religious matters. Linguistically, as an Arabic word, the term can be defined more broadly, as "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". Despite being the subject of many hadith and commonly used in Muslim texts, the term is not found in the Qur'an.
Hadith sciences consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in the study and evaluation of the hadith. The hadith are what most Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. Hadith sciences scholars have aim to determine which of these records are authentic, and which may be fabricated.
The verse (ayah) 256 of Al-Baqara is a famous verse in the Islamic scripture, the Quran. The verse includes the phrase that "there is no compulsion in religion". Immediately after making this statement, the Quran offers a rationale for it: Since the revelation has, through explanation, clarification, and repetition, clearly distinguished the path of guidance from the path of misguidance, it is now up to people to choose the one or the other path. This verse comes right after the Throne Verse.
The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by God and revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jabreel (Gabriel). The Quran has been subject to criticism both in the sense of being the subject of an interdisciplinary field of study where secular, (mostly) Western scholars set aside doctrines of its divinity, perfection, unchangeability, etc. accepted by Muslim Islamic scholars; but also in the sense of being found fault with by those — including Christian missionaries and other skeptics hoping to convert Muslims — who argue it is not divine, not perfect, and/or not particularly morally elevated.
The historicity of Muhammad refers to the study of Muhammad as a historical figure and critical examination of sources upon which traditional accounts are based.
Twelver Shīʿism, also known as Imāmiyya, is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85% of all Shīas. The term Twelver refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in Occultation and will reappear as the promised Mahdi.
Criticism of ḥadīth or hadith criticism is the critique of ḥadīth—the genre of canonized Islamic literature made up of attributed reports of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The use of politically and religiously-motivated violence in Islam dates back to its early history. Islam has its origins in the behavior, sayings, and rulings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and the first caliphs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries CE. Mainstream Islamic law stipulates detailed regulations for the use of violence, including corporal and capital punishment, as well as regulations on how, when, and whom to wage war against.
Quranism is an Islamic movement that holds the belief that the Quran is the only valid source of religious belief, guidance, and law in Islam. Quranists believe that the Quran is clear, complete, and that it can be fully understood without recourse to the hadith and sunnah. Therefore, they use the Quran itself to interpret the Quran, an exegetical principle known as tafsir al-Qur'an bi al-Qur'an.
In classical Islamic law, a concubine was an unmarried slave-woman with whom her master engaged in sexual relations. Concubinage was widely accepted by Muslim scholars until the abolition of slavery in the 20th-century. Most modern Muslims, both scholars and laypersons, believe that Islam no longer permits concubinage and that sexual relations are religiously permissible only within marriage.
References
Footnotes
↑ "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached," he said.
↑ Scholarly research suggests that there was an inverse relationship between where Muslim political power centres were and where the most conversions occurred, which was on the political periphery.[36] According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, conquest was just one of several elements that helped Islam spread throughout the world. The systematisation of Islamic tradition, trade, interfaith marriage, political patronage, urbanisation, and the pursuit of knowledge must also be acknowledged. Along trade routes and even in the most isolated regions, Sufis contributed to the spread of Islam. The yearly hajj to Mecca, which brought together scholars, mystics, businesspeople, and regular believers from various nations, should be particularly noted as a contributing factor. Despite taking on more contemporary forms, these factors are still in force today. The expansion of Islam into western Europe, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand has been facilitated by them.[36]
↑ De Haeresibus by John of Damascus. See Migne. Patrologia Graeca, vol. 94, 1864, cols 763–73. An English translation by the Reverend John W Voorhis appeared in The Moslem World for October 1954, pp. 392–98.
1 2 Dror Ze'evi (2009). "Slavery". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
↑ Fitzgerald, Timothy (2000). The Ideology of Religious Studies. New York: Oxford University Press (published 2003). p.235. ISBN9780195347159. Retrieved 30 April 2019. [...] this book consists mainly of a critique of the concept of religion [...].
↑ Russia and Islam: State, Society and Radicalism. Taylor & Francis. 2010. p.94. by Roland Dannreuther, Luke March
↑ "St. John of Damascus's Critique of Islam". Writings by St John of Damascus. The Fathers of the Church. Vol.37. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press. 1958. pp.153–160. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
↑ Adamson, Peter (1 November 2021). "Abu Bakr al-Razi". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University – via Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
↑ Villis, Tom (2019). "G. K. Chesterton and Islam". Research Gate. Modern Intellectual History. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
↑ Russell, Paul; Kraal, Anders (2017). "Hume on Religion". In Edward N. Zalta (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
↑ Dialogue 7 of Twenty-six Dialogues with a Persian (1399), for the Greek text see Trapp, E., ed. 1966. Manuel II. Palaiologos: Dialoge mit einem "Perser." Wiener Byzantinische Studien 2. Vienna, for a Greek text with accompanying French translation see Th. Khoury "Manuel II Paléologue, Entretiens avec un Musulman. 7e Controverse", Sources Chrétiennes n. 115, Paris 1966, for an English translation see Manuel Paleologus, Dialogues with a Learned Moslem. Dialogue 7 (2009), chapters 1–18 (of 37), translated by Roger Pearse available at the Christian Classics Ethereal Libraryhere, at The Tertullian Projecthere, and also hereArchived 11 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine . A somewhat more complete translation into French is found hereArchived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Koran". From the Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
↑ Wansbrough, John (1977). Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation
↑ Wansbrough, John (1978). The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History.
↑ Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church. Third edition. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Volume 4, Chapter III, section 44 "The Koran, And The Bible"
↑ Laleh Bakhtiar, The Sublime Quran, 2007 translation
↑ "The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary", Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN0-915957-03-5, passage was quoted from commentary on 4:34 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his Quranic commentary also states that: "In case of family jars four steps are mentioned, to be taken in that order. (1) Perhaps verbal advice or admonition may be sufficient; (2) if not, sex relations may be suspended; (3) if this is not sufficient, some slight physical correction may be administered; but Imam Shafi'i considers this inadvisable, though permissible, and all authorities are unanimous in deprecating any sort of cruelty, even of the nagging kind, as mentioned in the next clause; (4) if all this fails, a family council is recommended in 4:35 below." Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary (commentary on 4:34), Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN0-915957-03-5.
↑ Ammar, Nawal H. (May 2007). "Wife Battery in Islam: A Comprehensive Understanding of Interpretations". Violence Against Women 13 (5): 519–23
↑ Understanding the Qurán - Page xii, Ahmad Hussein Sakr - 2000
↑ Anver M. Emon, Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law: Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0199661633, pp. 99–109.
↑ Walker Arnold, Thomas (1913). Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith. Constable & Robinson Ltd. pp.60–1. This tax was not imposed on the Christians, as some would have us think, as a penalty for their refusal to accept the Muslim faith, but was paid by them in common with the other dhimmīs or non-Muslim subjects of the state whose religion precluded them from serving in the army, in return for the protection secured for them by the arms of the Musalmans. (online)
↑ Esposito 1998, p.34. "They replaced the conquered countries, indigenous rulers and armies, but preserved much of their government, bureaucracy, and culture. For many in the conquered territories, it was no more than an exchange of masters, one that brought peace to peoples demoralized and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the years of Byzantine-Persian warfare. Local communities were free to continue to follow their own way of life in internal, domestic affairs. In many ways, local populations found Muslim rule more flexible and tolerant than that of Byzantium and Persia. Religious communities were free to practice their faith to worship and be governed by their religious leaders and laws in such areas as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. In exchange, they were required to pay tribute, a poll tax (jizya) that entitled them to Muslim protection from outside aggression and exempted them from military service. Thus, they were called the "protected ones" (dhimmi). In effect, this often meant lower taxes, greater local autonomy, rule by fellow Semites with closer linguistic and cultural ties than the hellenized, Greco-Roman élites of Byzantium, and greater religious freedom for Jews and indigenous Christians."
↑ Lewis, Bernard (1990). Race and Slavery in the Middle East. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-505326-5, p. 10.
↑ Manning, Patrick (1990). Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-34867-6, p. 28
↑ Levanoni, Amalia (2010). "PART II: EGYPT AND SYRIA (ELEVENTH CENTURY UNTIL THE OTTOMAN CONQUEST) – The Mamlūks in Egypt and Syria: the Turkish Mamlūk sultanate (648–784/1250–1382) and the Circassian Mamlūk sultanate (784–923/1382–1517)". In Fierro, Maribel (ed.). The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 2: The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. pp.237–284. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521839570.010. ISBN978-1-139-05615-1. The Arabic term mamlūk literally means 'owned' or 'slave', and was used for the WhiteTurkishslaves of Pagan origins, purchased from Central Asia and the Eurasian steppes by Muslim rulers to serve as soldiers in their armies. Mamlūk units formed an integral part of Muslim armies from the third/ninth century, and Mamlūk involvement in government became an increasingly familiar occurrence in the medievalMiddle East. The road to absolute rule lay open before them in Egypt when the Mamlūk establishment gained military and political domination during the reign of the Ayyūbid ruler of Egypt, al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb (r. 637–47/1240–9).
↑ Murray Gordon, "Slavery in the Arab World." New Amsterdam Press, New York, 1989. Originally published in French by Editions Robert Laffont, S.A. Paris, 1987, p. 21.
↑ Murray Gordon, "Slavery in the Arab World." New Amsterdam Press, New York, 1989. Originally published in French by Editions Robert Laffont, S.A. Paris, 1987, pp. 44–45.
↑ Rodney Stark, "For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery", p. 338, 2003, Princeton University Press, ISBN0691114366
↑ Brunschvig, R. (1986). "ʿAbd". In P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol.1 (2nded.). Brill. p.26.
↑ C. E. Bosworth: Untitled review of "The Rise of Colleges. Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West by George Makdisi", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 2 (1983), pp. 304–05
↑ Sadr-u-Din, Maulvi. Qur'an and War. The Muslim Book Society, Lahore, Pakistan. p.8. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
↑ Article on JihadArchived 29 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine by Dr. G. W. Leitner (founder of The Oriental Institute, UK) published in Asiatic Quarterly Review, 1886. ("Jihad, even when explained as a righteous effort of waging war in self-defense against the grossest outrage on one's religion, is strictly limited..")
↑ The Qur'anic Commandments Regarding War/JihadArchived 26 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine An English rendering of an Urdu article appearing in Basharat-e-Ahmadiyya Vol. I, pp. 228–32, by Dr. Basharat Ahmad; published by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam
1 2 Margoliouth, D. S. (1905). Mohammed and the Rise of Islam (Third Edition., pp. 362–63). New York; London: G. P. Putnam's Sons; The Knickerbocker Press.
↑ Ashath, Hafiz Abu Dawud Sulaiman (12 October 2014). Sunan Abu Dawud (in English and Arabic). Vol.5. p.45.
↑ He wrote that this became an excuse for unfettered conquest."That plea would cover attacks on the whole world outside Medinah and its neighbourhood: and on leaving Khaibar the Prophet seemed to see the world already in his grasp. This was a great advance from the early days of Medinah, when the Jews were to be tolerated as equals, and even idolators to be left unmolested, so long as they manifested no open hostility. Now the fact that a community was idolatrous, or Jewish, or anything but Mohammedan, warranted a murderous attack upon it: the passion for fresh conquests dominated the Prophet as it dominated an Alexander before him or a Napoleon after him." Margoliouth, D. S. (1905). Mohammed and the Rise of Islam (Third Edition., p. 363). New York; London: G. P. Putnam's Sons; The Knickerbocker Press.
↑ Barlas, Asma (2012). "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an. University of Texas Press. p.126. On the other hand, however, Muslims who calculate 'Ayesha's age based on details of her sister Asma's age, about whom more is known, as well as on details of the Hijra (the Prophet's migration from Mecca to Madina), maintain that she was over thirteen and perhaps between seventeen and nineteen when she got married. Such views cohere with those Ahadith that claim that at her marriage Ayesha had "good knowledge of Ancient Arabic poetry and genealogy" and "pronounced the fundamental rules of Arabic Islamic ethics.
↑ C. (Colin) Turner, Islam: The Basics, Routledge Press, p.34–35
↑ Karen Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time, HarperPress, 2006, p. 167 ISBN0-00-723245-4.
↑ Hajjar, Lisa. "Religion, state power, and domestic violence in Muslim societies: A framework for comparative analysis." Law & Social Inquiry 29.1 (2004); see pp. 1–38
↑ Treacher, Amal. "Reading the Other Women, Feminism, and Islam." Studies in Gender and Sexuality 4.1 (2003); pp. 59–71
↑ John C. Raines & Daniel C. Maguire (Ed), Farid Esack, What Men Owe to Women: Men's Voices from World Religions, State University of New York (2001), see pp. 201–03
↑ Pascal Bruckner – A reply to Ian Buruma and Timothy Garton Ash: "At the heart of the issue is the fact that in certain countries Islam is becoming Europe's second religion. As such, its adherents are entitled to freedom of religion, to decent locations and to all of our respect. On the condition, that is, that they themselves respect the rules of our republican, secular culture, and that they do not demand a status of extraterritoriality that is denied other religions, or claim special rights and prerogatives"
↑ Pascal Bruckner – A reply to Ian Buruma and Timothy Garton Ash "It's so true that many English, Dutch and German politicians, shocked by the excesses that the wearing of the Islamic veil has given way to, now envisage similar legislation curbing religious symbols in public space. The separation of the spiritual and corporeal domains must be strictly maintained, and belief must confine itself to the private realm."
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