January 28, 2002
Heidelberg offers lessons about Islam
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
cwilloughby@advertiser-tribune.com
The recitations of the words of the god, Allah, by an illiterate man are the sacred words of one of the world's fastest-growing religions &emdash; Islam.
More than 80 community members gathered in First Lutheran Church Sunday afternoon to hear more about the basics of the religion that has captured the world's attention. David Noss, professor emeritus of religion at Heidelberg College, introduced the group to the basic tenets and historical background of the religion.
In every religious belief system, there are emotional, intellectual and ethical aspects, Noss said. If one of these dimensions are more heavily emphasized than another, there will be problems.
"With fear, there is obedience,'' he said. "There is then safety in believing. It is something that can not be questioned, there are no shades of gray. There is comfort in the obedience of the religious.
"Then you can be too chummy with God,'' he said. "There is no such thing as evil. It is all a question of being happy with your own spirituality.''
Noss said Islam has a number of these dimensions built into it.
One of the historically based religions, Islam is different in that its birth is not associated with the birth of a man.
"The man, Muhammad, and his community, withdrew from the immoral environment of Mecca,'' Noss explained. "They traveled to Medina, which is the 'Great Withdrawal' in 622 A.D. That is year one in the Islamic calendar.''
Where many people think of religion as an explanation of the laws of the universe, others search for a larger context in the universe. Some higher power that has some characteristics with us. That self-transcendence is what distinguishes us from other animals, Noss said.
Self-communication with God, or revelation, is the basis of the Qur'an. The difference between Islam and Christianity is that the words of Scripture are the words of men inspired by God.
"The savior or Christ of Islam is the Qur'an,'' Noss said. "It was dictated by God's angels to an illiterate man who memorized those, and told them to a literate man, who wrote them down. The words of the Qur'an are the very words of God.''
Islam means "the one who follows.''
"The word itself allows you to be an Islam without having read the Qur'an, or ever going to a mosque because it is an attitude of submission,'' Noss said.
Although there are few references to Muhammed in the Qur'an, the founder of Islam is remembered, Noss said, and has shaped what the religion is like today.
Islam is intensely authoritarian, Noss said, in the structuring of the family and government. The male in the family is powerful and does not yield his authority to his wife, although he can be merciful.
"In government, the sheik has absolute power,'' Noss explained. "He is not to be challenged, yet every day they have an open house for a poor bedouin to come in and voice his complaint.''
No part of life is excluded from influence of the Qur'an, even a country's political laws are from the Qur'an.
The "Ayatollahs'' are the theologians.
"They figure out how to distribute the laws,'' Noss said. "There is no room for democracy. There is no separation of politics and religion in Islam.''
Muhammad was described briefly in the Qu'ran, so that we know that he was orphaned, brought up in a pagan tradition. He acquired a life of relative ease after having been in poverty.
When he was 40 years old, the angel Gabriel came to him. "He said to him, 'Muhammad, you are God's apostle, and told him to recite what he told him,'' Noss said.
After Muhammad returned, he went to his wife, who believed him and took him to her cousin, who was a Christian scholar.
Muhammad also revisited the site, and had another experience, called the "Night of Power and Excellence'' where he had visions of the creation of the universe and heard the will of God.
"That very night, an angel gave him a magical horse,'' Noss explained. "He had a wild ride through the skies all the way to Jerusalem.'' This is why the city of Jerusalem also is so important to Muslims.
Islam recognizes 28 prophets, including Adam, Noah, John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. There are angels, including Michael and Gabriel, the devil, Satan, "jinns,'' which are lesser human beings, that have also been known as "jeanies.''
The Qu'ran is never to be translated from the Arabic. "The Qu'ran is marvelously arranged beyond what any mere creature could possibly attain,'' Noss said of the Islam beliefs. "It's not just images of a young man reciting memorized words in a beautiful language.
"It's hard to believe such beautiful Arabic language could come from an illiterate man,'' he said of believers' reasoning. "Why, only the inspiration of Allah himself could provide such beautiful poetry.''
Noss will continue the series on Islam at 2 p.m. Feb. 3 at the First Lutheran Church with "The Spread of Islam.''
Sponsored by the Tiffin/Seneca County Ministerial Association, the lecture series is free and open to the public.