World religions. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 55 стр.

the unbeliever within one’s own heart, the other external and easier, against the                                          Circumcision
enemies of Islam.                                                                             Circumcision is considered a form of purification (it is often called simply
     According to the Koran armed warfare should be used only in self-defense.           tahara, which means purification) and is obligatory for all Moslem boys, al-
     Fight in the way of God                                                             though the age at which it is done varies from region to region; in some areas it
     With those who fight with you,                                                      is performed in infancy, in others as late as at the age of ten or twelve. The op-
     But aggress not.                                                                    eration is sometimes carried out privately, but often in public, and is tradition-
     God loves not the aggressors. (2, 190-1)                                            ally accompanied by some kind of festivity, including music and feasting. Al-
     There shall be no compulsion in religion. (2, 256)                                  though it is not mentioned in the Koran, it is recommended in the Hadith.
     In practice, however, self-defense has often been understood loosely. Jihad
has often been waged by one Moslem group against another.                                                           The Organization of Islam
                               The People of the Book                                         Ideally Islam has no priesthood or clergy. The prayer service in the mosque
     The People of the Book are those who possess sacred books, chiefly Jews             can in principle be led by any believer.
and Christians. Although Islam condemns Judaism and Christianity as distor-                   There is, however, a recognized class of those who are knowledgeable
tions of the true religion, it accords them a special tolerance not shown to other       about the religious law. This class is called the ulama. One becomes a member
religions. Within Islamic territory, according to Moslem law, polytheists must           of it mainly by establishing a reputation as an expert on religious matters and
be given the choice of conversion or death. The People of the Book, however,             attracting disciples. The question as to what belongs officially to Islam and
must be allowed to continue to practice their faith. On the other hand they are          what does not is settled authoritatively by the agreement (ijma’) of the ulama.
prohibited from making converts, and they must pay a special tax and wear dis-           Mohammed is reported in a hadith to have said, “My people will never agree
tinctive clothing. In practice under Moslem governments the enforcement of               together on an error”.
these rules varied greatly from place to place.                                               The title Mufti is sometimes given to an expert outstanding for his knowl-
     In time this classification was extended to the Zoroastrians, in Persia, and        edge of the law, frequently one who occupies an official position. When con-
to the Hindus, since they also possess sacred books.                                     sulted on a particular question involving the interpretation of the law, the Mufti
                                                                                         issues a formal opinion called a fatwa, which has considerable authority.
                                Clean and Unclean                                             Official decisions on matters of the religious law in particular cases, such
     In order to take part in the ritual prayer and many other observances, a per-       as property, marriage and divorce, and inheritance, are made by a judge called a
son must be ritually clean. Ritual uncleanliness is caused by various events             qadi. The qadi is appointed by the civil ruler from among the members of the
taken to be polluting. It is not the same thing as sin, for it does not necessarily      ulama.
imply any moral guilt, but if it has been contracted it must be removed before
prayer. Pollution may be acquired from                                                                                    Islam and Society
     (a) external sources (this is called najasa), such as contact with a wet dis-            Islam is not only a private or individual religion. Many of its laws can be
charge from an animal or human being (blood, urine, pus, feces),                         carried out only in an Islamic society, where the civil law follows Islamic prin-
     (b) or it may come about as the result of an action (this is called hadath).        ciples. For example, Moslem law requires that property be inherited according
Hadath may be major or minor…                                                            to certain rules, with sons typically receiving twice as much as daughters. The
     Purification is obtained by washing, in the case of minor hadath, or by tak-        Zakat, or Charity Tax, needs to be collected and distributed by the government,
ing a complete bath, with the major hadath. For this reason every mosque has             as we have seen. Moslem law regarding marriage and divorce has many provi-
facilities for washing.                                                                  sions that can only operate if supported by the civil law; for example, the
     The left hand is always regarded as unclean. It is never used to greet, to          woman cannot sign the marriage contract, but it must be signed for her by her
give gifts, or to touch another, but is used for toilet activities. Similarly the left   male legal guardian. This Islamic law in its totality is called the “Shari’ah”, a
foot is considered to be inauspicious, and is not to be used to make the first step      term meaning “the right path”.
into the mosque or on a journey.                                                              Traditionalist Moslems cannot be content to live in a secular society in the
                                                                                         Western sense, which provides freedom of religion to all. Islam requires a soci-

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