Islam Cannot be Criticized as a Monolithic Faith

Executive summary about Muslim by Austin Cline

Comments from both Muslims and critics can give the impression that Islam is a single, united, monolithic religion but this is false. In Islam, the major division is between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Most statements about Islam apply to Sunni Islam, which represents the vast majority of Muslims. Shia Muslims hold the same fundamental beliefs of other Muslims, with the principle addition being that they also believe in an imamate, which is the distinctive institution of Shia Islam.

The real ecclesiastical power lies with the four orthodox schools of legal thought because they define the boundaries of Islamic law, theology, and belief.

1. Maliki: founded by Abd Allah Malik ibn Anas (ca. 715-95).

2. Hanifite: founded by An Numan ibn Thabit Abu Hanifa (ca. 700-67).

3. Shafi'ite: founded by Muhammad ibn Idris ash Shafii (767-820).

4. Hanbali: founded by Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (780-855).

Unlike the Sunnis, Shia Muslims have from the start regarded inherited, mystical elements as fundamental to the nature of religious authority. The term Shia is a shortened form of Shiat Ali, which means "the party of Ali". Ali was Muhammad's adoptive brother, the husband of his favorite daughter, and father of his favorite grandsons.

Differences in religious authority create significant differences in how a religion works. Rationalized, legalistic religions require certain types of critical arguments while charismatic, mystical religions require different critical arguments. If you want to critique Islam, then, you need to know which Islam you are critiquing and where it is most vulnerable.

The Women of Islam

Executive summary about women in Koran by Lisa Beyer

Women had been treated as possessions of their husbands; Islamic law made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave women the right to own and inherit property. Muhammad even decreed that sexual satisfaction was a woman's entitlement.

As Riffat Hassan, professor of religious studies at the University of Louisville, puts it, "The way Islam has been practiced in most Muslim societies for centuries has left millions of Muslim women with battered bodies, minds and souls."

Even as Muhammad proclaimed new rights for women, he enshrined their inequality in immutable law, passed down as God's commandments and eventually recorded in scripture. Under Shari'a, compensation for the murder of a woman is half the going rate for men. In many Muslim countries, these directives are incorporated into contemporary law.

Family law in Islamic countries generally follows the prescriptions of scripture. In Islam, women can have only one spouse, while men are permitted four. The legal age for girls to marry tends to be very young. In Iran the legal age for marriage is nine for girls, 14 for boys. An attempt by conservatives to abolish Yemen's legal minimum age of 15 for girls failed, but local experts say it is rarely enforced anyway.

Forced marriages may still take place in certain Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, but would be anathema to Muslim women from other backgrounds. Afghan women educated before the Taliban rule know that banning girls from school is forbidden in Islam, which encourages all Muslims to seek knowledge from cradle to grave, from every source possible. Man and woman, it says, "were created of a single soul," and are moral equals in the sight of God. Women have the right to divorce, to inherit property, to conduct business and to have access to knowledge.

Though in most Muslim states, divorces are entitled to alimony, in Pakistan it lasts only three months, long enough to ensure the woman isn't pregnant. Fear of poverty keeps many Muslim women locked in bad marriages, as does the prospect of losing their children.

Women's rights are compromised further by a section in the Koran, sura 4:34, that has been interpreted to say that men have "pre-eminence" over women or that they are "overseers" of women.

The veiling of Muslim women is a more complex issue. In practice, most modern Muslim women appreciate attractive and graceful clothes, but avoid dressing provocatively.

Sexual intimacy outside marriage is forbidden in Islam, including sex before marriage, adultery or homosexual relationships. Contrary to Christianity, Islam does not regard marriages as "made in heaven" or "till death do us part". Similarly, in marriage, a woman's salary is hers and cannot be appropriated by her husband unless she consents.

A good Muslim woman, for her part, should always be trustworthy and kind. While the spirit of Islam is clearly patriarchal, it regards men and women as moral equals.

Women may not be equal in the manner defined by Western feminists, but their core differences from men are acknowledged, and they have rights of their own that do not apply to men.

Basics of Islamic Finance

Executive summary about Islamic law by Christine Benlafquih

The basic principles of Islamic finance and economics are grounded in Islamic law known as shariah. Included in shariah's comprehensive directives are Islamic finance laws called Fiqh al-Muamalat.

While the number of Islamic banks and financial institutions operating in Europe and America remains small, their interest free banking and financial products are in high demand among Muslims. Products and services include non-interest-bearing savings and checking accounts, interest free credit and loans as well as halal options for Islamic investments and insurance.

Among the financial products of greatest interest to Muslims are Islamic mortgages and Islamic home financing. As banks clearly would not offer Islamic financing if they didn't profit, Muslims interested in taking out Islamic mortgages or purchasing other types of interest free Islamic financial products should not do so casually.

Halal Eating and Drinking

Executive summary about Islamic law by Huda

Muslims are allowed to eat what is "good" - that is, what is pure, clean, wholesome, nourishing, and pleasing to the taste; enjoined by their religion to abstain from eating certain foods.