unit 2 - religious appropriation & tolerance / Native American Religious Traditions + Islam

jihad

"struggle" - exerting oneself in the name of God

when someone asserts that someone else is not a real Christian, Muslim, etc., it is a handy rhetorical device for what?

(1) claiming that your own views or practices are superior or (2) separating or distancing yourself from others

what do Shia Muslims use for legal matters?

- Quran - Imams are important source of law

what do Sunni Muslims use for legal matters?

- Quran - Sunnah - if a legal matter is not addressed by the Quran, use human reason or consensus of the Muslim community

what are the 5 pillars of Islam?

- declaration of faith (Shahadah) - daily prayer (Salat) - almsgiving (Zakat) - fasting during Ramadan (Sawm) - pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

problems with religious appropriation include...

- inaccuracy - overly revealing - commercialized - disrespectful - not embedded in communities/relations of reciprocity

what are some common features of Native American religious traditions?

- land - kinship - ceremonies - adaptive/changing - larger-than-human communities in specific places

American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978)

- protects access of sacred sites - removes prohibition on the practice of NA religions - eliminated interference with the free exercise of NA religion

where did Muhammad receive his first revelation?

Jabal an-Nur

what are the "abrahamic" religions (from oldest to youngest)?

Judaism, Christianity, Islam

the ability to make anything your own (including other people's religious and cultural traditions) is part of the _____ cultural tradition

Western

prior to AIRFA, what was a common site of cultural destruction for the Native Americans?

boarding schools that forced assimilation

what is traditionally worn by Pashtuns and enforced by the Taliban?

burkas

what is the significance of calligraphy in Islam?

calligraphy developed as an important art form in Muslim culture because imagery is prohibited by the sacred sources of Islam

what is salat?

daily prayer five times a day

religious freedom has existed as a matter of course in America only when religion has been conceived as a set of _____ _____

objective beliefs

First Amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

what are the four major themes of the Quran?

1 - the oneness of God 2 - the reality of prophecy 3 - angels and jinn 4 - day of judgment and the afterlife

lands can be sacred because...

1) historically important events 2) place where higher powers communicated something important 3) higher powers revealed themselves to human beings

because it is impossible to determine from an academic perspective who is authentically a member of a group, we should instead ask:

1. who is identified by 2. whom 3. as what 4. and with what social effects?

how many kids did Muhammad have?

6 children, but NO BOYS (historically important)

who was the founding father of the covenant of Abrahamic religions?

Abraham

who were the four caliphs?

Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali

what were the results of the Indian Movement?

American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA, 1978); Indian Child Welfare Act (1978); surge of interest in traditional religions and customs; a sense of Indian identity

when did veiling begin?

BEFORE Islam!

the assumption that veil equals oppression is _____

FALSE

when is communal prayer in Islam?

Fridays

where was the Mughal Dynasty located?

India

how were Native Americans viewed up until 1890?

Indians symbolized the wilderness/frontier that Americans wished to tame

where was the Safavid Empire located?

Iran

what is the second largest religion after Christianity?

Islam

adhan

Islamic call to prayer

umma

Islamic community

what is the shariah?

Islamic law - literally "the road" or "the way" - covers a wide range of activities (proper religious practice, marriage, divorce, inheritance, commerce, crime, dietary prohibitions)

where was Muhammad born? what was his job? who was his wife?

Mecca; caravan driver; Khadijah

where was the first Muslim community established in 622 CE?

Medina (present day Saudi Arabia)

where was the Ottoman Empire located?

Middle East

who did the Sunnis believe should rule?

Muawiya, of the Umayyad tribe

who was the "last prophet" according to Islam?

Muhammad

who is an "exemplar" of Islam?

Muhammad, also Imams (for Shia) and sheikhs (for Sufis)

what is Hajj?

Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca; taken during the final month of the Islamic calendar year

what was the significance of Muhammad to the beginning of Islam?

Muslims regard Muhammad as the "last prophet" -- he reintroduced the original monotheism of Abraham

are Native American religions separable from their culture?

NO

is veiling mentioned in the Quran?

NO

was Muhammad divine?

NO, he was believed to be the last in a long line of prophets who transmitted God's word to humanity

what is the controversy with the New Age spiritual movement?

New Agers often borrow from the Native Americans (religious appropriation)

what is the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims that caused the split?

Shia - descendants of Muhammad should lead; Sunni - leaders should be elected

in the US, almost all men who wear turbans are _____

Sikh

where do most of the world's Muslims live?

South Asia; Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world

which denomination of Islam is larger?

Sunni is larger, Shia is smaller

chador

a large piece of cloth that is wrapped around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed, worn especially by Muslim women

burka

a long, loose garment covering the whole body from head to feet, worn in public by many Muslim women

why was Mecca a common pilgrimage destination (before Islam)?

a meteorite had landed there; Kabah shrine

what is the Kabah?

a shrine that surrounded the meteorite in Mecca; contained hundreds of images of tribal gods and goddesses

keffiyeh

a traditional Arabian head covering

what is shirk?

any practice that ignores the unity and uniqueness of God; the only unforgivable sin

how did the Puritans view New England?

as a promised land to be inhabited by themselves as God's new Israel; viewed the Natives as heathens

what is the "lesser jihad" in Islam?

associated with defensive military endeavors against enemies of the Muslim community

animists

believe that the world is full of people, only some of which are human (animals are 'people' too)

New Age spirituality

blend of western esotericism and hinduism/buddhism; life is a journey to greater self-awareness and spiritual advancement

in countries where Islamic law is applied, usually only _____ law, and only for _____

family; Muslims

what is sawm?

fasting during Ramadan; celebrates the Quaran first being revealed to Muhammad; time of celebration and sociability

what is the shahada?

first pillar of Islam; what you need to say to become Muslim, in the presence of a witness

hijra

flight

hijab

head covering worn in public by some Muslim women

what was the major problem with AIRFA?

it had no enforcement mechanism!

masjid

mosque

what conflict arose after Muhammad's death and what was the result?

people disagreed about who should take over Muhammad's role as "leader" because he had no sons; result was the split of Islam into two branches (Sunni and Shia)

who are Muslims?

people who submit/surrender to God

new agers value _____ authority over the authority of a _____ community

personal; religious

Native American religions are deeply related to _____ and means of _____

place; subsistence

what is the "problem" in Islam?

pride, or acting as if you can get along without God

what are the four characteristics of Islam? (Prothero)

problem = pride/forgetting our dependence on God solution = submission technique = the five pillars exemplar = Muhammad

what does "Quran" mean?

remembrance/recitation

hadith

reports collected by Muhammad's companions about his life

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (1988)

ruled that the Native Americans' rights were NOT violated

what is zakat?

sharing one's wealth with the poor; 2.5%; proceeds distributed to the poor, or to maintain public institutions

religious tolerance and violence are often rooted in _____, _____, or _____ that seem to justify them

slander; half-truths; generalizations

what is the "greater jihad" in Islam?

spiritual struggle for Islamic universal principles - peace, justice, human welfare... even to combat environmental degradation

veiling was historically a sign of _____

status

what is the "solution" in Islam?

submission/obedience to God

what do many indigenous creation stories say about animals?

suggest that animals were originally people (so, other living creatures are relatives)

Europeans viewed indigenous practices not as real religion, but as _____, _____, and _____

superstition, paganism, and heathenism

what does "Islam" mean?

surrender/submission

what do new agers think about disease?

that it is self-created

what phrase describes the period of 1890 to 1960?

the "Vanishing Americans"

what began in the 1960s?

the Indian Movement

who did Muhammad believe the bright presence who communicated with him was?

the angel Gabriel

what is sunnah?

the example of the prophet Muhammad; second most important source of Islamic teaching

what is the technique of Islam?

the five pillars

purdah

the idea that women should be protected from men who are not relatives ("seclusion")

what is Ramadan?

the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset

tawhid

the oneness and unity of God/Allah

Imam

the person who leads prayers in a mosque

what are the 4 characteristics of Native American religious traditions?

trick question -- Native American traditions do not follow Prothero's framework! (they are too diverse)

niqab

veil that covers a woman's hair and face, leaving only the eyes clearly visible

what is the Quran's significance in Islam?

viewed as the perfect, untranslatable, literal word of God; doctrine/law, not story-based (unlike the Bible)

what are ablutions?

washing the body before prayer

how does Susannah Crockford define authenticity?

we are authentic when we exhibit or are in possession of that which is most our own

what is the night journey?

when Muhammad traveled to Jerusalem, ascended to heaven, and came into the presence of God; encountered angels and great prophets ~620 CE