5.5: Islam and Diffusion

Islam & Diffusion

Islam is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad (570-632), an Arab religious and political figure. The word Islam means “submission”, or the total surrender of oneself to God. An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning “one who submits (to God).” Both Islam and Christianity inherited the idea of the chain of prophecy from Judaism. This means that figures such as Moses (Judaism) and Jesus (Christianity) are considered prophets in Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the very last in that chain of prophecy. Islam has two main branches, and many smaller ones. Of the two main branches -Sunni and Shi’a, Sunni is much larger, comprising roughly 80% of all Muslims (Figure 6.5). The split between the two largest branches of Islam centered around the question of succession, that is to say, who would be the rightful leader of the Muslim world. Currently, there is no single voice for the global Muslim community. Other forms of Islam include Sufi (mystical) Islam and Ahmadi Islam. India is the number three Muslim country, but there are five times as many Hindus in India as there are Muslims.

The Diffusion of Islam

The most recent of the world’s largest religions, Islam is also the one that is expanding the fastest (Figure 6.14). This is not necessarily through conquest or conversion, but mostly through current demographics. Islam provides a blueprint for most aspects of life and as such, has often been associated with rapid expansion driven by military conquest. Although military conquest occurred in the past, military campaigns have been rare since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The relative distributions of Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims have in fact changed little in half a millennium. Although there has been some migration of Muslims into western Europe, the percentages of Muslims in each country is small. France has the largest percentage of Muslims at 7.5%. To keep this in perspective, that is much lower than the percentage of Muslims in Spain in 1492.

Figure | Diffusion of Islam 14 This map shows the distinct waves of the diffusion of Islam. Author | David Dorrell Source | Original Work License | CC BY SA 4.0

Figure | Muslim Places 5 This dot map shows structures designated as Muslim from OpenStreetMap. The distribution of the different branches (particularly Sunni and Shia) belie any hard lines in the religious landscape. Author | David Dorrell Source | Original Work License | CC BY SA 4.0

The Muslim world is somewhat more contiguous than the Christian world. This is mostly due to the fact that the Muslim expansion did not occur in two phases in the same way that Christianity did. As can be seen in the following map, Sunni and Shi’a countries are somewhat spatially separated. Only the countries of Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain are majority Shi’a. There are sizable minority Muslim sects in the world. Many of these groups, such as the Ahmadiyya, are subject to discrimination by other Muslim populations and/or governments. The world’s most theocratic governments are Muslim, particularly those of Iran and Saudi Arabia. This is notable in that these two countries are also regional rivals and the two most powerful states in the Muslim world.

"After their time in Mina has passed, pilgrims head back to Mecca." by Al Jazeera English is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Five Pillars of Islam

Islam is strictly monotheistic. To them (and Jews), the Christian’s doctrine of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is not strictly monotheistic. Observant Muslims must adhere to an expansive set of Islamic laws covering many aspects of daily life, so it a discussion of that would be unwieldly, but non-Muslims should be familiar at least with the Five Pillars, which represent the core religious duties for observant Muslims.

First, Muslims must “take the Shahada”, meaning they must recite an oath as a basic profession of faith to become a Muslim. The Sunni version of the Shahada translates roughly thus: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah”. The Shahada is repeated many times, frequently as part of the second pillar, called Salat, which the act of praying five times daily. Prayers are often recited at a mosque, where Muslims worship, but any place will suffice when it is time to pray. The third pillar is alms giving, or donating to money to help the poor and other people in need. It’s not exactly charity, because Muslims who can afford it are obliged to give a certain percentage of their wealth as zakat. Pooled together these monetary obligations made by Muslim likely exceed all other sources of aid to the needy worldwide. The fast (sawm) of Ramadan is the fourth pillar and it requires Muslims of faith and good health to fast (no food or water) from sunrise to sunset for the entire month of Ramadan. There is good food and fellowship at sunset each day during the fast, and a holiday, Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fast of Ramadan. Some Muslims observe a shortened work day during Ramadan, but basketball fans may recall Muslim NBA players Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul Jabbar who played exceptionally well during the fast. The final pillar is the Hajj a pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. All Muslims, if they are able, must travel at least once in their lifetime to Mecca at a specific time of year and engage in a series of rituals alongside as many as three million other Muslims. Clearly, it is one of the world’s greatest spectacles, but the size of the crowds in recent years has challenged Saudi authorities to ensure the safety of pilgrims. Interestingly, the Arba’een Pilgrimage in Iraq attracts as many as 20 million Shia Muslims, but for various reasons is largely unknown in the United States.