Religion

Islam, a term with a variety of meanings. First, Islam could refer to the cosmos where the entire universe could be seen to embody existence. In unity it flows, in harmony escribing praise to God; the cosmos only exists because God exists, He sustains it all. Another definition of Islam comes from the idea of it being a continuation of the religions that came before it; therefore the Muslims believe that the same God found in Islam is the same God found in the Christian and Jewish faith, which leads me to the last definition of Islam. Islam also referse to a new community of Muslims, a new community living out the core religious tenents itself. A community surrendered and in harmony with God’s unity. When referring to Islam therefore, it is essential to understand that it is but a community submitted to God and his divine will. Remembering these definitions is important because looking throughout the definitions of Islam the theme of unity and harmony runs through it. Islam is seen to be a religion of peace by Muslims. Muslims argue that this peace is better seen when individuals live according to and are guided by the expectations of the Quran. A person looking for this What Nigerian terrorist groups could learn from Islamic history. Bullus M. Gago

peace with eyes primed with Western individualistic principles, would not see nor appreciate this peace. In the West, a person is more at peace as they stand on their own, yet in Islam peace was to be sought for within the framework of a community or ummah. Each within this community is a collection of “believing individuals who have moral obligations to the community as a whole and to each of its members as well as to themselves. The good of the whole and the good of the individual are not seen as competing interests that need to be opposed to each other, but as mutually reinforcing concerns”; this concept is seen in Quran 9:71 (Dakake 2015, Loc 79494). It is for the reason of peace within a community that we find that justice is swiftly and harshly served especially when a crime is committed that threatens and disturbs the unity present; the unity the Prophet fought to establish, a community of believers harmoniously surrendered to God. It is then the responsibility of the community to uphold a standard that ensures this peace. Quran 23:96 adjures believers to resist evil; it does so by informing believers of their responsibility as opposed to what the West would consider freedom of individuality. The Quran, therefore, reveals the equality of all individuals to do what is right, which Muslims argue that this peace is better seen when individuals live according to and are guided by the expectations of the Quran

is to show their greatest spiritual potential of submitting to the will of God; this is irrespective of nationality, religion or even gender. It is then those “who have achieved high levels of religious devotion or knowledge that enjoy a higher standing than those who have not” (39:9; 9:109) (Dakake 2015, Loc 79545). One then could begin to decipher the tension that could arise from this idea of ethical expectations within an ummah. Peace reigns within this context of togetherness while being led by the principles outlined in the Quran. Individuals of other religions might not be so religiously bounded as to live out the requirements of the Quran for a peaceful community. For example, the Quran forbids the consumption of alcohol, another individual from another religious community might indulge in these acts; or for example, another population living as its neighbor happens to be flexible with its sexual restraints. We can see that in order to keep sin out justice will have to be served unless the entire ummah becomes corrupted. For this reason, it is essential to

view Islamic ethics not from the Western perspective of intolerance but a spiritual perspective of community cleansing. Every cleansing act then that a Muslim community serves should be seen as an attempt to keep a community reminded of Gods pretemporal covenant; the very glue that holds the peace together. The Prophets image as a political leader then at the beginning of Islam was a way of defending the immerging faith, the community. His admonitions for violence were not to be viewed as an effort to conquer the world, but it was a way of resisting oppositions against the growing faith. In fact, if the prophet was the embodiment of the Quran, then we can conclude that his perception of dwelling with other religions was not a thing of strife but a thing

of possibility. Quran 5 details how God intentionally made religions to differ and if he had so much chosen he would have made it one religion. What then could be deduced from this is that the same God, according to various cultural differences, revealed himself in ways that were relevant to their context. For this reason to allude that the prophet was violently striving to Islamize nations is false. What one could deduce from the universal nature of the Quran is that each religious individual that is striving to surrender, and is living out the core tenants of their religious belief, are indeed climbing the same mountain for which devoted individuals should find themselves together at the top. Seeing then that Islam’s concern is to preserving the unity of God, monotheism, it is essential than that Islamic terrorist groups understand the struggles of the early Muslims. By understanding what begun sectarian and ideological differences and subsequently understanding terms such Jihad and sharia, they might be able to redirect their notions to reflecting that of the faith’s foundation.

To be continued in the Spring 2020 Edition of Life and Times Magazine

Bullus M. Gago is a pastor and Ph.D. Student who is devoted to the process of understanding Africa’s struggles and what it would take to create a working African identity. His endeavors include working tirelessly to inspire individuals to become their best selves possible; this only being possible by having the right imaging of God within their social location.

Contact information: bullusmgago77@gmail.com