Mohammed's Followers
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Founded:
622 A.D. in Maim • Mohammed
Sacred texts: ICeran, the words of God, HMO, collections of the
sayings of the Prophet Whinnied.
Organization: The sae and religious *immunity are we. item
is a loose cdection of commodore united by a very ainservailm
tradition. ankh is Weedy egallerien and nonsulliodlerien.
Practice: Every Moment hes eve duke: to nide the profession
of bill, pray lee Imes a day, give a roger portion of goods to
clerk, last ciSing the dig, in the month of limarin, are male at
West coo plgrimege to Mecca If possible. i
The two major sects of keen are the Sunni
(ortsibx) are t h e Shrah. The Willi Inlirn in 12 perfect
teachers who sill guide the feidful from Paradise. Wan
pricks tends towed the ecstatic, tank the Sunni is staid
and simple. The Stiren sect affirms men's free di, the Sunni
is deterministic. The mystic tradition in Mem is Seism. A Sul
adept believes he hes acquired a spwiel inner lalOwledge
direct from Akh.
Divisions:
I
Beliefs: Stir* mcnolheistic. God is *maw of the
universe, ornnipolen< jute and merciful. Men is Gods
highest creation, but Kneed, mimed by
a Si and COMMal
sins. God resided the Koran to *termed to guide men
to tits birth. Those who repent and sired* submit to God
return to a stater cf *animas. In the end, the sillies go to
Parades, a place of *ritual and *weird pleasure and the
wicked bum in HM.
Moslems
In the U.S.
By the turn of the century,
!slam may surpass
Judaism as the nation's
largest minority religion.
The growth of Islam in the
U.S. began in the 1960's
and 70's when relaxed
immigration rules and an
increase in Islamic
student, due to %he oil
boom, coincided with an
Islamic movement led by
THE DETRO IT JEW IS H N EWS
Elijah Muhammad and
Malcolm X.
Religious Division in the U.S.
In millions of members
Moslems and Comparably-
Sized Denominations
k7 millions of members
Jellyfish
United
Church
of Christ
5.9
3.5
3.0
Source: University of Alass., Naliona/ Council of
Churches, Arnwicon Jewish Yarbook
2.5
1.7
direct Muslims to treat
Jews decently," Professor
Lassner says.
It also does not call for
acceptance of a Jewish
state. Professor Lassner
says that the concept of a
multicultural society
with tolerance for every-
one has nothing to do
with Islam. Muslims see
two worlds: the world of
Islam and "the rest of
the world of unbelief and
of war — which one day
will become part of the
Muslim confederation."
"There's no recognition
of the legitimacy of
Israel's existence," he
adds. "There's no under-
standing of Israel's
attachment to the land.
Muslims see Israelis as
foreigners from Europe.
"Why are Jews there?
They can't figure it out.
So they really believe
that Israel is simply an
instrument of the West
and that Americans can
get the Israelis to do
anything."
Two forces today hold
political power in Islamic
leadership. The first, like
Hamas, is incapable of
compromise.
The second, like the
late Anwar Sadat of
Egypt, comprises the
pragmatists. "Despite
what is ideologically cor-
rect, they realize that
what is right in society
and in time requires
some accommodation,"
Professor Lassner says.
The latter group is
dominant and ready to
negotiate with the West
because the West has
power. But don't mistake
their willingness to com-
promise as acceptance of
Israel's right to exist:
"They'll deal with the
state now because they
see it as a temporary
measure. They don't
believe Israel will last."
Muslim leaders like
Iraq's Saddam Hussein
and Syria's Hafez el-
Assad hate Israel for a
reason that has nothing
to do with the Koran.
Saddam is Sunni
Muslim, while Assad is a
member of the secretive
Alawite Muslim sect. But
both are more politically
than ideologically driven.
"They feel they were
given a bum rap by the
West," Professor Lassner
explains. " 'Who created
this (Palestinian) refugee
problem?' they ask of the
West. 'You did. But we
got stuck with them.'
"They view Israel as
representing the power
of the West, and that's
painful for them. Their
sense of honor is offend-
ed by the very existence
of the state. They see
Jews as the people they
used to push around."
hey come from as far
as California to see
the imam, (Islamic
spiritual leader) the Rev.
Muhammad Karoub.
Director of the Islamic
Federations of the
United States and
Canada, Imam Karoub of
Detroit also performs
wedding ceremonies and
gives marriage counsel-
ing.
Imam Karoub is a
Sunni Muslim. The
T
The concept of
monotheism
is key in
understanding
Judaism's
approach
to Islam.
Sunnis comprise 83 per-
cent of the Islamic popu-
lation, with Shiite 16
percent and other, small-
er sects, 1 percent. Their
differences are not theo-
logical but political, such
as a debate over the
transfer of leadership
following Muhammad's
death.
Most fundamentalists
are Shiite. Ironically,
Abdallah ibn Saba, the
7th-century founder of
the Shiite sect, suppos-
edly was a Jew of South
Arabian origin.
Imam Karoub's tiny
office is plastered with
colorful posters showing
the pilgrimage to Mecca,
maps of the Muslim
world, an exhibit on the
Koran, and a handful of
photographs of Saddam
Hussein. The imam is a
friend of the Iraqi leader
and was active in negoti-
ations during the Iran-
Iraq war.
Imam Karoub was born
in Detroit, the child of
Lebanese immigrants.
His father came here in
1907, for work and to
serve as the first imam
of Detroit's Muslim com-
munity.
The goal of Islam is to
"unite the heart of Jews,
Christians and Muslims
under the sovereignty of
one God, to do good
deeds, to love humanity
and to love and adore
God. Everybody is a
brother and a sister,"
Imam Karoub says.
There are five princi-
ples of faith to which
Muslims are obligated:
belief in one God and one
God only, and that his
universal prophet was
Muhammad; prayer five
times daily; participation
in the month-long Fast of
Ramadan, during which
one abstains from food
and drink from sunrise
to sunset; the pilgrimage
to Mecca; and tithing.
The concept of one God
is key in understanding
Judaism's approach to
Islam. Because Islam is
considered one of the few
truly monotheistic reli-
gions, Halachah, Jewish
law, would permit Jews
to enter a mosque. Jews
are forbidden to enter
facilities where idols are
worshiped, such as a
Buddhist temple. Rab-
binic opinion is divided
as to Christianity's claim
to monotheism.
Imam Karoub sees a
profound bond —
because of monotheism
— between Jews and
Muslims, as well. But he
hasn't forgotten that
Jews rejected his prophet.
"They refused Jesus and
ALLAH page 52