Core Beliefs and Practices of Islam

Core Beliefs and Practices of Islam Introduction In the context of Muslim world, globalization generally refers to the global spread of ideas, cultures, institutions and attitudes, which are normally perceived to have originated from the west. With this regard, globalization is normally perceived as being equivalent to westernization in the context of Islam core beliefs and practices. As a result of this, globalization is perceived as a form of external threat to the Islamic religion (Mazrui 56).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Core Beliefs and Practices of Islam specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The anti-globalization in Islam can be significantly attributed to the fact that cultural identity is an important aspect of Islamic religion, and therefore any occurrence that attempts to integrate the universal culture serves to undermine the doctrines of the religion (Tarabichi 78). This implies that the cultural exchange aspect associated with glob alization is one of the core reasons why Muslims view globalization as having a negative influence on their core beliefs and practices of the Islam (Tarabichi 100). There are different conflicting views regarding the effects that globalization impose on the Islamic beliefs and practices, making the subject a contentious that is yet to determine whether Muslims are actually against globalization as a whole or some certain aspects of globalization that have imposed negative influence on the aspect of cultural identity, which is a core characteristic of Islamic religion. Some of argue that globalization has helped in the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism. This paper discusses the relationship between Islam and globalization, with a principal focus on the ways through which globalization are perceived to undermine the Islamic beliefs and practices. This essay strongly suggests that globalization is a challenge towards the Islamic core beliefs and practices that are determined by t he Islamic cultural identity. This is because globalization has accelerated the aspect of western homogeny in the Muslim world. As a result, it can be perceived as a threat to the Islamic values and principles (Mazrui 102). Despite this potential threat, it is arguably evident that globalization cannot be avoided; as a result, the Muslim community can grab the opportunity presented by globalization to spread the Islamic beliefs, practices and cultural identity at the global level. Globalization The aspect of globalization is broad and covers various aspects that are aimed at integration of the world such as social, economic, cultural and political systems. The principal focus of this paper is to assess the cultural integration aspect of globalization and its relationship to the Islamic beliefs and practices.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Culture is consid ered to be an inherent aspect that is the core of the whole globalization process (Tarabichi 140). This implies that an assessment of cultural globalization is vital in order to have an in depth understanding of the reactions of the Muslim community towards globalization. It is also important to take into account the fact that globalization is an ongoing process that results to the unification of the social relations across the global divide (Mazrui 125). The aspect of social process implies that globalization supersedes any forms of cultural, geographical and political constraints in order to ensure global integration of the core aspects of globalization (Tarabichi 152). The potential outcome of cultural globalization is that it will impose a single global culture, implying that cultural diversity and individual choice are likely to be a thing of the past if the various cultural and religious units are not keen enough to resist cultural globalization in order to preserve the values , principles, beliefs and practices associated with their religion and culture (Mazrui 130). Mazrui defines globalization as the sum of cumulative processes that result to a preservation of the cultural traits of the dominant group, whereas the cultural traits of the less dominant groups are assimilated into the dominant culture (Mazrui 145). The Islamic religion presently comprises of approximately 20 percent of the global culture, and at the same time, the western culture is the dominant culture at the global level. The visible consequence of globalization is the spread of cultural aspects of a particular culture at the global level, resulting to absorption of the local cultures in a given region, implying that the dominant culture is likely to be transformed into the global culture. In the current context of globalization, it is arguably evident that the western culture, sometimes perceived as the American culture is gradually being distributed to other parts of the globe, implyi ng that local cultural identity and religious beliefs are likely to be absorbed by the western culture (Tarabichi). In addition, cultural globalization normally imposes changes regarding the daily routine lives, interpretations concerning the meaning of life and provides alternative approaches towards the daily life. The cultural identity of the Islamic religion Culture can be defined as behavior and ideas that are common to a particular group, which are socially acquired (Tarabichi 100). Culture exhibits some form of specificity owing to the fact that they are not similar. The culture of a particular group normally defines their social life, thoughts and individual behavior, which in turn influence the principles, values, beliefs, practices and the manner in which the group interacts with individuals of another cultural grouping.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Core Beliefs and Practices of Islam specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Cultural identity on the other hand can be described as an essential part of a person’s psyche that serves to identify with one’s own culture, and is usually an outcome of cultural interaction (Tarabichi 102). It is important to note that cultural identity is subject to changes when a person is exposed to different cultural environments. Some of the components that make the cultural identity include religion, beliefs, practices, rituals, language and so on (Tarabichi 105). Islam is usually perceived as a social religion because it lays emphasis on the group life instead of basing on an individualistic approach; this has played a significant role in shaping the Islamic cultural identity, which is supposed to be observed by the entire Muslim community (Mazrui 145). A core aspect of the Muslim culture is that it entails a vibrant aspect of moderation, implying that it attempts to harmonize both the spiritual and material aspects of the individual p ersonality. The Muslim culture is does not just impose sheer limitations on their beliefs and practices. The cultural identity of the Muslim can be argued to be based on a dynamic pattern, which in most cases is misunderstood by the secular population and sometimes the Muslim community itself (Mazrui 150). The significant difference that exists between the secular western culture and the Islamic culture is the emphasis on the devotion to one God. It is arguably evident that Islamic faith is applicable to all aspects of life of its believers such as spiritual beliefs and practices, law, governance and way of life. Despite the fact that Muslims across the global divide have different cultural traits, it is evident that they share some universal cultural identity, beliefs and practices owing to the fact that they are all Muslims (Mazrui 163). For example, the cultural characteristics of the Muslim community in Malaysia are not similar to the cultural characteristics of the Muslim commu nity of Saudi Arabia. Irrespective of this, they are both guided by the universal principle and values in accordance with Islamic religion. The Islamic cultural identity has core foundations on faith, emphasis on constructive work and humanism, which are used to strengthening the optimism, confidence, and righteousness, appreciation of beauty, flexibility and openness (Tarabichi 136). The relationship between globalization and the cultural identity of the Islam religion Globalization serves to accelerate the domination of western culture across the globe. In fact, globalization is one of the direct outcomes of the spreading out of the concept of westernization as evident through economic dominance, colonization and cultural retribution (Mazrui 158).Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, the western culture is gradually being integrated into the Muslim world, implying the meaning and the significance attached to the Islam cultural identity is bound to be lost during the process of globalization. The basic implication from this is that globalization poses a significant challenge to the integrity of minority cultures (Tarabichi 180). The Islam cultural distinctiveness has faced some significant cultural pressures from the western culture. Because of globalization, the cultural uniqueness of the Islam religion has been faced with two conflicting alien cultures, which mainly comprises of the secularized pop culture that has been accelerated by the media, and the American (western) culture, which has been imposed by increasing modernization that is bound to integrate the values of the western culture into the Islamic culture. Globalization has resulted into an inclination of nons of this include the global brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, Adidas and ma ny more. These global brands are founded on the values of the western culture, with their premise focusing on a world culture that embraces materialism and strives towards the achievement of greater wealth (Tarabichi 175). The implication here is that the culture of the west is characterized by a hegemonic power, which results to an increase in the domination of the culture in the rest of the rest of the globe as it is becoming assimilated by people. The Muslim community is not an exception to hegemonic nature of the culture, beliefs and practices of the west. The culture of the west is considered to be a value-free culture, sometimes referred to as an open culture that embraces all the other cultural variables on an easy access platform (Tarabichi 201). As a result, there are minimal or complete restrictions concerning the display of pornographic content. This is widely evident as the numerous television broadcasters. Movies, books, websites and magazines are promoting and commerci alizing pornographic content. The young generations are usually the prey of such a rotted culture. The worldwide media is under the control of the west because they are the key determinants of what is published, watched and learned. The Muslim community on the other hand lacks a powerful media that can help in influencing and competing with the global media moguls (Mazrui 200). Because of this, there is a likely hood that the aspect of western media hegemony is likely to continue, which can result to a replacement of the Islamic cultural identity, values, practices and beliefs. In this era of globalization, the media is an important factor that shapes the way of life ranging from eating, dressing, behavior patterns, family matters (Mazrui 201). The international media and the increasing popularity of the culture of the west have played a significant role in spreading the western values. An observation of the current trends reveals that the there is cultural identity crisis, which is likely to affect cultural groups that are more conservative such Islam cultural identity. For instance, the introduction of the TV show named American Idol resulted to an introduction of the same in Malaysia, which was called the Malaysian Idol. In addition, the recent ignorance of the aspect of female covering, referred to as ‘awrah’, which is one of the most serious violations of the Islamic values and principles (Tarabichi 214). Despite the fact that globalization has some additional benefits to some of the elements of the core Islamic beliefs and practices; regarding culture, aspects of education and information, globalization is arguably a challenge, and in most cases not compatible with the general Islamic aspects of human life, patterns of behavior, values and cultural principles (Mazrui 200). This is because through the concept of globalization, the western culture gets to spread throughout the world and undermine the Islamic values and principles. An overview of the global pattern for exchange of information reveals that most of the information contests are under the control of the westerners. An outcome of this is that the core aspects of Islamic religious values and principles do not have any adequate presentation in the media. Instead, the Muslim and Islamic culture is presented negatively in the theatres, movies and some television broadcasting channels. The most common form of presentation of the Muslim culture is associating Islamic religion as a whole with the terrorism and people who are backward in their undertakings. The implication from these findings is that the Islamic values and principles are being challenged by the concept of globalization, resulting to a dreadful portrayal of the Islamic values, beliefs and principles (Tarabichi 220). In the current context of a world characterized by globalization, most of the members of the Muslim community have disregarded their authentic cultural identity as most of them are influenc ed by the hegemony of the western culture through aspects such as music, lifestyle and dressing. Some of the western pop culture entails heavy metal music, obscene music and rap music. In addition, the traditional Arabic songs are gradually adopting the musical aspects of the western culture such as sexual contents (Tarabichi 236). The underlying reason for prohibiting heavy metal music in Islamic culture is that it usually derails the mind from remembering the cultural values and principles of the Islam religion, which means that they result to lack of celebration of Allah, which in turn results to profanity (Mazrui 230). The eclipse of other cultures, especially the Islamic principles, beliefs and practices can be attributed to the onset of the western way of life because the Islamic youth are gradually lured to the generational change initiated the concept of cultural globalization. Symbols associated with the western culture are found almost everywhere in the world, implying tha t people around the globe have embraced the western way of life. For instance, most of the young populations across the global divide are always listening to music from pop artists such as Michal Jackson, living their lifestyle in accordance with the western celebrities and so on (Tarabichi 258). An inference that can be made from this observation is that cultural globalization is simply accelerating the process of domination of the western culture. An outcome of this is that cultures are bound to be westernized in almost every aspect of life, and the Islamic cultural identity is the most susceptible to this westernization of cultures across the globe. Owing to the fact that the larger Muslim community is against this aspect of cultural globalization, the Islamic culture as a whole, beliefs and practices are negatively affected and in most cases looked down upon as being behind the changing times. The Muslim community is gradually being assimilated to the western culture. Therefore, it can be inferred that globalization is a challenge to the Islamic cultural identity, values, principles, beliefs and practices (Mazrui 238). One of the core aspects of culture that is facing a challenge by the concept of globalization is language. Currently, English is perceived as the global language, which in most cases takes an American form and is constantly trying to serve as a replacement for other authentic languages in the globe. English is basically used for global communication as evident in the electronic media, print media, educational institutions and most of the avenues through which global affairs are communicated. However, according to the Islamic practices and beliefs as in the Holy Quran, Arabic language is mainly for people to have an understanding of the Quran and other important aspects of the Islamic culture (Mazrui 241). Arabic also requires a similar accord since it is an important aspect of the language culture of the Islamic religion that should not be o verlooked. Furthermore, most of the educational curriculums deployed in most parts of the globe are based on English and the western form of education. This curriculum is not compatible with the Islamic cultural identity because it incorporates aspects such as secular values of the western culture, which are in contrary with the spiritual and divine principles and values of the Islamic culture (Mazrui 201). Most of the Muslim scholars have argues that fast food chains such as Mc Donald’s have played a significant role in facilitating cultural imperialism. Constant eating at the fast food outlets usually develop individualist behavior among individuals, which is not in concurrence with the Islamic values, principles, beliefs and practices. For instance, the speedy lifestyle means that members in a family cannot find enough time take their meals together. The fast food culture is affecting mostly the young generations, and it servers to undermine the family values of taking mea ls together. The consequence of the speedy lifestyle is not always visible in the Islamic culture; it has significant effects through the creation of a society that is individualistic, and devoid of social bonding at the family level (Tarabichi 239). It is arguably evident that cultural globalization is a significant challenge to the larger Islamic values, principles, patterns of behavior, beliefs, practices and the way of life. As noted above, globalization serves to accelerate the hegemony of the western culture that perceives the Islamic values, principles, beliefs and practices as being backward, and therefore, the Islamic cultural aspects are significantly looked upon. In addition, cultural globalization facilitates the spread of societal culture that is devoid of moral values, which are mostly strange and incompatible with the Islamic cultural identity (Tarabichi 258). Irrespective of the negative influences of the cultural globalization on the Islamic cultural values, beliefs and practices, some scholars have stated that the cultural globalization has significant benefits at the individual and national level. The cultural globalization process has resulted to positive influence at the cultural identity of a person. Most of them argue that the positive influences of globalization outweigh the negative influences of globalization. For instance, they propose that cultural hegemony is beneficial owing to that fact that it results to cultural integration and elimination of cultural barriers, which is essential in fostering brotherhood among the human population (Tarabichi 248). The proposition that cultural globalization serves to reformulate the Islamic cultural identity in the sense that Islam is not only perceived as a religion, rather a complete way of life, which is mostly referred to as ‘one religion, one culture’ in the context of Islamic discourse. Furthermore, cultural globalization also tends to enhance individual freedom and helps in the revitalization of cultural aspects and beliefs (Tarabichi 157). However, the basis of this essay is that despite the healthy cultural exchange associated with cultural globalization; most of the instances have negative influences on the values, principle, beliefs and practices of the Islamic religion. Cultural globalization is perceived as the process through which the western cultural values are distributed across the globe (Tarabichi 263). The basic argument is the globalization is one of the contributing factors that accelerate the process of westernization across the global divide, which results to the domination and the strengthening of the western cultural aspects compared to cultures that are less dominant at the global context such as the Islamic cultural identity and their associated religious beliefs, values and practices. For instance, the aspect of female covering is widely considered as backwardness in the context of the western culture, while at the same time mingl ing with people of opposite sex freely is considered a cultural practice that is superior. This is a perfect example of the dilution of the Islamic cultural values and identity. In addition, this serves to compromise the Islamic religion culture, and poses as a threat to the core Islamic practices and beliefs (Mazrui 270). Furthermore, cultural globalization fosters the creation of a secular society that is devoid of the religion, implying that the there is a possibility of the role of Islam religion being subject to diminish, which is likely completely destroy the Islamic culture. The recurring fact from this is that the aspect of cultural globalization is a challenge that the Muslim community must face in order to preserve the cultural identity of the Islamic religion. As a result, the Muslim community across the global divide has to re-evaluate the western culture, and be satisfied with the spiritual guidelines, beliefs, principles and practices that are outlined in the Holy Qura n. Additionally, negative aspects of a specific culture should be removed before being assimilated into the Islamic way of life. Revitalization of the cultural identity of the Islamic religion It is arguably evident that the cultural identity of the Islamic religion is facing a crisis in this current era of globalization. The Muslim community needs to re-examine the approaches regarding the aspect of negative influences of cultural globalization on their religious beliefs, values and practices. In this era of globalization, it is important for Muslims to stick strictly to the teachings of Islam as outlined in the Holy Quran, which is the only effective way of maintaining the cultural identity (Mazrui 258). The cultural aspect of acquiring knowledge is required in Islamic discourse in this current era of globalization. It is arguably evident that this is the most significant crisis that the Muslim community is currently facing. Because of the moral and social connotations associated with knowledge, the Prophet suggests that knowledge acquisition is mandatory for every Muslim individual (Tarabichi 256). The increasing levels of development that are witnessed in the west can be related back to the focus towards knowledge acquisition an effective manner. The significant limitation to this approach is that most of the Muslim countries are still functioning under the old traditional methodologies in most of the educational curriculum and syllabus, with limited interest concerning research. This implies that it is essential for the Muslim community to develop a new curriculum that integrates both rational knowledge and revealed knowledge, which will in turn encourage the larger Muslim community towards research. It is arguably evident that a partial lack of critical thinking is one of the contributing factors that resulted to the cultural identity crisis that the Muslim community is currently facing (Tarabichi 235). Muslims in this current era of globalization tend t o disregard their Islamic cultural practices and beliefs and follow the western culture without taking into consideration the negative consequences of the western culture. In addition, the paper has proved that a majority of the aspects of western culture are not compatible and appropriate with the values, beliefs and practices of the Islam religion; as a result, they are not appropriate for emulation by the Muslims. The Muslim community should aim at following cultural traits that conform to the teachings of Islam and their ideologies of religion as outlined in the Quran and Allah’s prescriptions. The Muslims should also evaluate every cultural traits, beliefs and practices basing on the divine guidance outlined in the Quran and Sunnah, which will play an important role in increasing their ability to handle the increasing pressures of cultural globalization on the entire Islamic cultural values and redirect it towards appropriate direction. With these in practice, cultural g lobalization can have positive impacts through influencing universal unity of the human race, in combination with a cultural exchange that is healthy and prosperous. However, the Muslims must clearly and rationally evaluate the cultural aspects that are being embraced at the global arena. Cultural globalization is an inevitable force in the present times, and this has played a significant role in integrating all the aspects of human life such as behavioral patterns, governance, lifestyle and social relations (Tarabichi 270). As a result, this is a perfect opportunity for the Muslim community to propagate its Islamic cultural traits, values, beliefs and practices to a global level. Spreading the Islamic culture is in concurrence with the teachings of Islam, with the main objective of influencing the world using the various aspects of Muslim culture. It is for this reason that the Muslim community needs to adhere strictly to their cultural identity in all aspects of human life. Basica lly, Muslims need to be vigilant concerning emerging cultural trends that are bound to have a negative effect on the Islamic religious values, principles, beliefs and practices (Tarabichi 280). Presently, the Muslim community comprises of different sects and groupings, which are mostly due to selfish reasons and personal interests. This means that the larger Muslim community should attempt at establishing a supreme Ummatic cultural identity and focus on brotherhood with the principal objective undertaking the task as ‘Khalifah’ during the human life on earth. Their main duty is to achieve the pleasure of Allah by use of commitment and dedication, which are one of the core Islamic principles. As a result, all elements that attempt to enhance individualism among the members of the Muslim community should be eliminated at all costs. Media is one of the principle facilitators of culture transmission across the globe; basing on this, the Muslim community is required to have many media houses that are dominant and influential within the global context in order to facilitate competition with the dominant world cultures such as the western culture. For instance, Iran has undertaken initiatives to develop movies that have portray the values, beliefs and practices of the Islamic religion. A development of a strong and influential media is one of the most effective initiatives that the Muslim can use to influence the global culture and spread its values, beliefs and practices to the global level (Tarabichi 254). The development of a strong moral trait by the members of the Muslim community helps in protecting them from the influences of the immoral cultural traits. Morality and value-based Islamic culture that integrates with all the aspects of life is integral in ensuring that the Islamic values and principles are strictly followed by the Muslim community, since it will help in the rejection of other cultures that serve to undermine the Islamic values and b eliefs during this era of globalization (Mazrui 258). The family set up is an important element of the Islamic cultural identity that should be relied on fostering positive moral values and teachings of Islam. In addition, it is a potential method that can be used for enhancing social bonding, which is important in upholding the Islamic values. In the context of Islamic discourse, the family is perceived as a unique institution that can be used for transmitting the Islamic social values, principles, beliefs and practices, language and influencing individual patterns of behavior. The significant limitation witnessed in the present Muslim world is that increasing tendency of the family set up to be broken down in many of the Muslim nations, which has negative influences on the young generation of the Muslim community. The basic argument is that members of the Muslim community have the responsibility of strengthening the ties within the family set up in order to enhance the Islamic cul tural identity (Mazrui 287). Proper dressing codes for both the Muslim males and females are required and should be followed strictly among the Muslim community. In essence, clothing is not supposed to be closely fitting in order to eliminate the potent of unwanted attention because of the revealing of the body curves. The marriage institutions are also regulated in accordance to the values and principles of Islamic culture, and the instances associated with the breaking of the family set up and weakening of the family ties should be eliminated at all costs. This means that the purity of marriage requires adequate protection. This entails prohibition of same sex marriages and controlling the aspect of sexual liberalization. It is also important that Muslim women should not be limited only to the family life because they need to benefit from the aspect of freedom of choice and work in accordance to the limitations imposed by the Shari’ah law by upholding decency and humility ( Mazrui 258). Muslim reactions to the onset of globalization There are diverse reactions of the Muslim society towards globalization; with a general consensus being that the Muslims reactions towards globalization is defensive, with the principal reason for this rejection being the penetration of the western culture into the Islamic cultural values, institutions and customs. This means that globalization is perceived as a form of surrendering to a dominant standpoint that lacks authenticity as expected in Islamic beliefs and practices (Tarabichi 257). Islam is a religion that functions under its own set of laws that are vital in shaping the way of life of the Muslim community. The rejection towards globalization by the Islamic religion based on the viewpoint that most of the elements of the concept of globalization are not concurring with the Islamic law, resulting to an Islamic community that is constantly defensive towards the perceived influences that globalization, or rather west ernization is likely to have on the Muslim beliefs and practices. Conclusion This paper analyzed the impacts associated with cultural globalization in the context of Muslim world. The analysis identified two potential influences of cultural globalization, with the first perspective being that cultural globalization has positive impacts because it helps in the development of cultural exchange and integration that is health. The second standpoint identified is that cultural globalization has negative influences on the Islamic cultural values, beliefs and practices, because they are constantly degrading the religious values of Islam (Tarabichi 236). This paper stands for the latter viewpoint that cultural globalization is detrimental to the Islamic values, beliefs and principles. It is evident that cultural globalization serves to accelerate the spread of western culture across the globe, which serves to replace the traditional Islamic cultural identity, values, beliefs and practices w ith a post modern culture that undermine the Islamic way of life (Mazrui 258). In addition, the western culture brings secular values into the Islamic culture, resulting to a diluted Islamic culture that is different from the authentic Islam culture that is value-based. The aspect of western culture hegemony in the Muslim world has been driven by media, which are based on the secular values and principles of the west. The basic argument is that the core beliefs, principles, values and practices of the Islamic cultural is being conceded into the western culture, meaning that there is an increasing need for the Muslim community to revitalize the cultural identity of Islam. Therefore, globalization is a challenge towards the Islamic core beliefs and practices that are determined by the Islamic cultural identity. This is because globalization has accelerated the aspect of western homogeny in the Muslim world. As a result, it can be perceived as a threat to the Islamic values and princip les. Despite this potential threat, it is arguably evident that globalization cannot be avoided; as a result, the Muslim community can grab the opportunity presented by globalization to spread the Islamic beliefs, practices and cultural identity at the global level. Mazrui, Ali. Globalization from the Islamic perspective. London: Westminister university, 2000. Print. Tarabichi, George. From Araba renaissance to apostacy: Arab Culture and its discontents in the age of globalization. Beirut: Saqi Books, 2000. Print.