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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Pakistan
Index
The central belief in Islam is that there is only one
God,
Allah, and that the Prophet Muhammad was his final
messenger.
Muhammad is held to be the "seal of the prophets." Islam
is
derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition and regards
Abraham
(Ibrahim) and Jesus (Isa) as prophets and recognizes the
validity
of the Old Testament and New Testament.
Islam is held to be the blueprint for humanity that God
has
created. The word Islam comes from aslama
(to
submit), and the one who submits--a Muslim--is a believer
who
achieves peace, or salaam. God, the creator, is
invisible
and omnipresent; to represent God in any form is a sin.
The Prophet was born in A.D. 570 and became a merchant
in the
Arabian town of Mecca. At the age of forty, he began to
receive a
series of revelations from God transmitted through the
angel
Gabriel. His monotheistic message, which disdained the
idolatry
that was popularly practiced at the Kaaba (now in the
Great
Mosque and venerated as a shrine of Muslim pilgrimage) in
Mecca
at that time, was ridiculed by the town's leaders.
Muhammad and
his followers were forced to emigrate in 622 to the nearby
town
of Yathrib, later known as Medina or "the city." This
move, the
hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic era. In the ten
years
before his death in 632, the Prophet continued preaching
and
receiving revelations, ultimately consolidating both the
temporal
and the spiritual leadership of Arabia.
The Quran, the holy scripture of Islam, plays a pivotal
role
in Muslim social organization and values. The Quran, which
literally means "reciting," is recognized by believers as
truly
the word of God, and as such it is eternal, absolute, and
irrevocable. The fact that Muhammad was the last of the
prophets
and that no further additions to "the word" are allowed is
significant; it closes the door to new revelations.
That there can be no authorized translation of the
Quran in
any language other than the original, Arabic, is crucial
to its
unifying importance. Cultural differences such as those
that
exist among various Muslim groups throughout the world
cannot
compromise the unifying role that the religion plays.
The Prophet's life is considered exemplary. His active
engagement in worldly activities established precedents
for
Muslims to follow. These precedents, referred to as the
hadith,
include the statements, actions, and moods or feelings of
the
Prophet. Although many hadith are popularly accepted by
most
Muslims, there is no one canon accepted by all. Such
things as
the way in which Muhammad ran the state in Medina and the
priority he placed on education remain important
guidelines,
however, have continued to remain important in modern
times. The
Quran and the hadith together form the
sunna (see Glossary),
a comprehensive guide to spiritual, ethical, and social
living.
The five pillars of Islam consist of certain beliefs
and acts
to which a Muslim must adhere to affirm membership in the
community. The first is the shahada (testimony),
the
affirmation of the faith, which succinctly states the
central
belief of Islam: "There is no god but God (Allah), and
Muhammad
is his Prophet." To become a Muslim, one needs only to
recite
this statement. Second is salat, the obligation for
a
Muslim to pray at five set times during the day. Muslims
value
prayers recited communally, especially the midday prayers
on
Friday, the Muslim sabbath. Mosques have emerged as
important
social and political centers as a by-product of this
unifying
value. The third pillar of Islam is zakat, the
obligation
to provide alms for the poor and disadvantaged (see
Zakat as a Welfare System, this ch.). The fourth is sawm,
the
obligation to fast from sunrise to sunset during the holy
month
of Ramadan, in commemoration of the beginning of the
Prophet's
revelations from Allah. The final pillar is the
expectation that
every adult Muslim physically and financially able to do
so
perform the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once
in his
or her lifetime. The pilgrimage occurs during the last
month of
the Muslim lunar calendar, just over a month after the end
of
Ramadan. Its social importance as a unifier of the greater
Muslim
umma (community of believers) has led to the
establishment
of hajj committees for its regulation in every Muslim
country.
The pilgrimage of a Muslim to the sacred places at any
other time
of the year is referred to as umra (visitation). At
various times of political crisis in Pakistan, almost
every major
leader has left for Saudi Arabia to perform umra.
Performing umra may or may not increase the
politician's
reputation for moral standing.
A number of other elements contribute to a sense of
social
membership whereby Muslims see themselves as distinct from
nonMuslims , including prohibition on the consumption of pork
and
alcohol, the requirement that animals be slaughtered in a
ritual
manner, and the obligation to circumcise sons. Another
element is
jihad, the "striving." Jihad is often misunderstood in the
West,
where people think of it as a fanatical holy war. There
are two
kinds of jihad: the far more important inner one is the
battle
each Muslim wages with his or her lower self; the outer
one is
the battle which each Muslim must wage to preserve the
faith and
its followers. People who fight the outer jihad are
mujahidin. The Afghan rebels waging an insurrection
against the Soviet-backed government in the 1980s deftly
used
this term to identify themselves and hence infused their
struggle
with a moral dimension.
The concept of predestination in Islam is different
from that
in Christianity. Islam posits the existence of an
all-powerful
force (Allah) who rules the universe and knows all things.
Something will happen--inshaallah--if it is God's
will.
The concept is not purely fatalistic, for although people
are
responsible to God for their actions, these actions are
not
predestined. Instead, God has shown the world the right
way to
live as revealed through the Quran; then it is up to
individual
believers to choose how to live.
There are two major sects, the Sunnis and the Shia, in
Islam.
They are differentiated by Sunni acceptance of the
temporal
authority of the Rashudin Caliphate (Abu Bakr, Omar,
Usman, and
Ali) after the death of the Prophet and the Shia
acceptance
solely of Ali, the Prophet's cousin and husband of his
daughter,
Fatima, and his descendants. Over time, the Sunni sect
divided
into four major schools of jurisprudence; of these, the
Hanafi
school is predominant in Pakistan. The Shia sect split
over the
matter of succession, resulting in two major groups: the
majority
Twelve Imam Shia believe that there are twelve rightful
imams,
Ali and his eleven direct descendants. A second Shia
group, the
numerically smaller Ismaili community, known also as
Seveners,
follows a line of imams that originally challenged the
Seventh
Imam and supported a younger brother, Ismail. The Ismaili
line of
leaders has been continuous down to the present day. The
current
leader, Sadr ad Din Agha Khan, who is active in
international
humanitarian efforts, is a direct descendant of Ali.
Data as of April 1994
About 97 percent of all Pakistanis are Muslims.
Official
documentation states that Sunni Muslims constitute 77
percent of
the population and that adherents of
Shia (see Glossary)
Islam
make up an additional 20 percent. Christians, Hindus, and
members
of other religions each account for about 1 percent of the
population.
Basic Tenets of Islam
The central belief in Islam is that there is only one
God,
Allah, and that the Prophet Muhammad was his final
messenger.
Muhammad is held to be the "seal of the prophets." Islam
is
derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition and regards
Abraham
(Ibrahim) and Jesus (Isa) as prophets and recognizes the
validity
of the Old Testament and New Testament.
Islam is held to be the blueprint for humanity that God
has
created. The word Islam comes from aslama
(to
submit), and the one who submits--a Muslim--is a believer
who
achieves peace, or salaam. God, the creator, is
invisible
and omnipresent; to represent God in any form is a sin.
The Prophet was born in A.D. 570 and became a merchant
in the
Arabian town of Mecca. At the age of forty, he began to
receive a
series of revelations from God transmitted through the
angel
Gabriel. His monotheistic message, which disdained the
idolatry
that was popularly practiced at the Kaaba (now in the
Great
Mosque and venerated as a shrine of Muslim pilgrimage) in
Mecca
at that time, was ridiculed by the town's leaders.
Muhammad and
his followers were forced to emigrate in 622 to the nearby
town
of Yathrib, later known as Medina or "the city." This
move, the
hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic era. In the ten
years
before his death in 632, the Prophet continued preaching
and
receiving revelations, ultimately consolidating both the
temporal
and the spiritual leadership of Arabia.
The Quran, the holy scripture of Islam, plays a pivotal
role
in Muslim social organization and values. The Quran, which
literally means "reciting," is recognized by believers as
truly
the word of God, and as such it is eternal, absolute, and
irrevocable. The fact that Muhammad was the last of the
prophets
and that no further additions to "the word" are allowed is
significant; it closes the door to new revelations.
That there can be no authorized translation of the
Quran in
any language other than the original, Arabic, is crucial
to its
unifying importance. Cultural differences such as those
that
exist among various Muslim groups throughout the world
cannot
compromise the unifying role that the religion plays.
The Prophet's life is considered exemplary. His active
engagement in worldly activities established precedents
for
Muslims to follow. These precedents, referred to as the
hadith,
include the statements, actions, and moods or feelings of
the
Prophet. Although many hadith are popularly accepted by
most
Muslims, there is no one canon accepted by all. Such
things as
the way in which Muhammad ran the state in Medina and the
priority he placed on education remain important
guidelines,
however, have continued to remain important in modern
times. The
Quran and the hadith together form the
sunna (see Glossary),
a comprehensive guide to spiritual, ethical, and social
living.
The five pillars of Islam consist of certain beliefs
and acts
to which a Muslim must adhere to affirm membership in the
community. The first is the shahada (testimony),
the
affirmation of the faith, which succinctly states the
central
belief of Islam: "There is no god but God (Allah), and
Muhammad
is his Prophet." To become a Muslim, one needs only to
recite
this statement. Second is salat, the obligation for
a
Muslim to pray at five set times during the day. Muslims
value
prayers recited communally, especially the midday prayers
on
Friday, the Muslim sabbath. Mosques have emerged as
important
social and political centers as a by-product of this
unifying
value. The third pillar of Islam is zakat, the
obligation
to provide alms for the poor and disadvantaged (see
Zakat as a Welfare System, this ch.). The fourth is sawm,
the
obligation to fast from sunrise to sunset during the holy
month
of Ramadan, in commemoration of the beginning of the
Prophet's
revelations from Allah. The final pillar is the
expectation that
every adult Muslim physically and financially able to do
so
perform the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once
in his
or her lifetime. The pilgrimage occurs during the last
month of
the Muslim lunar calendar, just over a month after the end
of
Ramadan. Its social importance as a unifier of the greater
Muslim
umma (community of believers) has led to the
establishment
of hajj committees for its regulation in every Muslim
country.
The pilgrimage of a Muslim to the sacred places at any
other time
of the year is referred to as umra (visitation). At
various times of political crisis in Pakistan, almost
every major
leader has left for Saudi Arabia to perform umra.
Performing umra may or may not increase the
politician's
reputation for moral standing.
A number of other elements contribute to a sense of
social
membership whereby Muslims see themselves as distinct from
nonMuslims , including prohibition on the consumption of pork
and
alcohol, the requirement that animals be slaughtered in a
ritual
manner, and the obligation to circumcise sons. Another
element is
jihad, the "striving." Jihad is often misunderstood in the
West,
where people think of it as a fanatical holy war. There
are two
kinds of jihad: the far more important inner one is the
battle
each Muslim wages with his or her lower self; the outer
one is
the battle which each Muslim must wage to preserve the
faith and
its followers. People who fight the outer jihad are
mujahidin. The Afghan rebels waging an insurrection
against the Soviet-backed government in the 1980s deftly
used
this term to identify themselves and hence infused their
struggle
with a moral dimension.
The concept of predestination in Islam is different
from that
in Christianity. Islam posits the existence of an
all-powerful
force (Allah) who rules the universe and knows all things.
Something will happen--inshaallah--if it is God's
will.
The concept is not purely fatalistic, for although people
are
responsible to God for their actions, these actions are
not
predestined. Instead, God has shown the world the right
way to
live as revealed through the Quran; then it is up to
individual
believers to choose how to live.
There are two major sects, the Sunnis and the Shia, in
Islam.
They are differentiated by Sunni acceptance of the
temporal
authority of the Rashudin Caliphate (Abu Bakr, Omar,
Usman, and
Ali) after the death of the Prophet and the Shia
acceptance
solely of Ali, the Prophet's cousin and husband of his
daughter,
Fatima, and his descendants. Over time, the Sunni sect
divided
into four major schools of jurisprudence; of these, the
Hanafi
school is predominant in Pakistan. The Shia sect split
over the
matter of succession, resulting in two major groups: the
majority
Twelve Imam Shia believe that there are twelve rightful
imams,
Ali and his eleven direct descendants. A second Shia
group, the
numerically smaller Ismaili community, known also as
Seveners,
follows a line of imams that originally challenged the
Seventh
Imam and supported a younger brother, Ismail. The Ismaili
line of
leaders has been continuous down to the present day. The
current
leader, Sadr ad Din Agha Khan, who is active in
international
humanitarian efforts, is a direct descendant of Ali.
Data as of April 1994
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