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| Black Rose Spiritual Center, Inc : Belief Systems |
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| Islam, meaning to surrender or to submit (to Allah), was transmitted through the Prophet Muhammad who was born in the Arabian town of Mecca in A.D. 570. He started to preach Islam in the same town in A.D. 610. In 622 he emigrated to Medina, 280 miles north of Mecca, where Islam flourished and continued to grow. By 632, when the Prophet died, Islam had dominated all the Arabian peninsula. In a few more decades, it gained supremacy in the whole region of the Middle East. Today the Islamic world stretches from Indonesia and China in the East to Yugoslavia, Albania, and West Africa. China, the former U.S.S.R, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are among the countries with largest Muslim population. It has been estimated that there are more than 2,000,000 Muslims (and possibly as many as 5,000,000) in the U.S. Muslims began to immigrate here, seeking a better living in the 1890s. The first came primarily fromthe Middle East, although there were a few seamen from Asia, first settling in port cities. The number of immigrants progressively increased after the First World War, bringing, in addition, Russian and other Muslim nationalities, and soon Muslim groups and societies began to spring up. Islam also has won local converts through zealous Americans who came into contact with Islam during the war. Islamic centers and mosques in the U.S. were established beginning in the early 1950s. The religion of Islam is based on the Glorious Qur'an, or Koran, the sacred Book of Islam. In addition, the words and practices of the Prophet Muhammad, known as Hadith, serve as a second source, which unfolds and interprets the Qur'anic text. The emphasis of Islamic teachings is summed up in the Qur'an Sura (Chapter) 4:135: "Believe in God and His apostle and the Book which he has sent down formerly. He who disbelieves in God and His angels, His Book and His apostles and the last day, has strayed far (from the Truth)." Muslims believe in the unity of God, in the Angels, in all the |
| Islamic Groups |
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| Messengers of God (including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad); in the Sacred Books, including the Torah, the gospels, the Psalms, and the Koran), and in the Day of Judgment. All followers of Muhammad observe the five basic duties of worship, namely: (1) to proclaim the Shahadah (confession of the faith); (2) to perform the mandatory five daily prayers on time; (3) to fast the month of Ramadan, the ninth in the lunar calendar, from dawn to sunset; (4) to pay (to the poor) Zakat (taxes or religious tithes on certain properties), including the zakat due at the end of Ramadan; and (5) to perform pilgrimage in Mecca, at least once in a lifetime. In general, Islam has no centralized authorities, no group of "priests." The individual's bond with God is considered to be direct with no intermediary. There are "religious" scholars or teachers who, in view of their academic attainment or superior understanding, can answer inquiries, often serve in leadership roles, and are regarded as authorities on theological questions. There are also Islamic organizations in America of which the Council of Imams may be regarded as the highest body on Islamic theology and canon law. Islam draws very sharp lines between the various groupings which accept the basic tenets of orthodoxy and those which deviate at some major point. Such heterodox groups are generally considered not just variations but non Muslim. Ahmadiyyas, in particular, have been singled out as a modern heretical sect which has been denied status as a Islamic group in Muslim countries. In the United States, the racial teachings of the Nation of Islam have led to its status being consistently called into question. During the early 1900s, Muslim groups in the U.S. consisted largely of immigrants and local converts, predominantly among non blacks. However, as early as 1913, Timothy Drew Ali, "Prophet of Islam," had emerged in Newark, New Jersey. He believed that only Islam could unite the black people, whose true heritage was Moorish. In 1921, Dr. Muff Muhammad Cedes, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslims arrived in Chicago and began to gather converts. His success, primarily among black people, was due to an emphasis on the basic message of human equality. In the 1930s, Islam also began to find a receptive audience among black people in the northern urban centers. While some of the slaves brought to America were Muslims, the Islamic movement among black people in the years of the Great Depression a new phenomenon. Among the followers of Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey, was an Egyptian Blackman Duse Mohammed Ali, and Garvey lauded the black people of ancient Egypt and the medieval Moorish empires in his newspaper, The Negro World Contact between American blacks and Islam greatly increased as a result of the First World War. At present, over 35 distinct Islamic and Islamic inspired groups exist in the United States. The Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. provides a focal point for the orthodox Sunni Muslim community. The Asian and Middle Eastern migration since 1965 has also brought a significant number of Shi'a Muslims (primarily form Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan) as well as Ismailis and Druzes (from Lebanon). As with the Buddhist and Hindu community, greatly increased migration quotas legislated in 1990 should lead to a significant increase in the Muslim community. The American Muslim Movement (formerly the Nation of Islam), the Nation of Islam (Farrakhan), and the Hanafi Muslim Movement are three of the larger Islamic groups drawing primarily on the black community for members. Other similar groups include the Moorish Science Temple (of Noble Drew Ali), and the Ansaaru Allah Community. In general, Muslims consider Islam to be a unified religion. Variations in cultural or ethnic heritage or religious tradition have resulted in a number of groupings, however. Among these are groups which have chosen to identify with the early ascetic and mystical movement known as Sufism. The Sufi Order is the largest of some 10 Sufi groups, most of which have arisen in the 20th century. Recent immigration has brought a number of Sufi groups especially those based in Turkey and Iran. The Habibiyya Shadiliyya Order is a classic dervish group. Sufism Reoriented organizes the followers of modern Sufi Master Meher Baba. Other groups are built around Sufi teachers G.I Gurdjieff, Pak Sabuh, E.J. Gold, and Guru Bawa. |
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