. Islam - A theocentric culture
Table of ContentsWhat are the practical consequences in the daily life of a Muslim under such a concept?
The image of a great, all-embracing Lord has conditioned the daily life of Muslims - in the home, in education, at work and in politics. The old saying is still true, "Show me your God and I will explain to you why you live as you do." So Genesis 1:27 tells us, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him." This means that the concept of God in a religion is the pattern and measure of the culture associated with it.
In Islam, the father in the family is not primarily an equal partner with his wife, who together give shape to marriage and family life. The man is more the patriarch in the house, who holds all rights and authority in his hands. The children legally belong to him alone. He is the one who supplies provisions and clothes, and he grants no one an insight into his financial situation. His wife is not necessarily a life-time companion with equal rights, but is often just a means of satisfying his physical desires. Sometimes she is regarded merely as a baby factory. There are exceptions, of course, where noble and sensitive Arabs open themselves to the influence of the world-wide humanism or where some resolute wives exert control over their husbands. Christendom has also influenced Arab customs to some extent. But in general, it is obvious that Islam is a man's world where women must stay in the background. This can be seen in the mosques, coffee bars, or in public life. Khomeini in particular used the resurgence of Islam to reduce women to medieval subjection.
Sometimes a father says, "I have one child and three daughters," when he explains that he has one son and three daughters. The dominance of the masculine over the feminine can be found in all aspects of life. The male is the ruler and in a figurative sense he is even called "lord of the house".
In schools, until a few years ago, the teacher gave instruction like a patriarch, ruling over his pupils and forcing the lessons down their throats. The material had to be gulped down and memorised, but it remained undigested and generally misunderstood. The daily class schedule started with listening to the recitation of the memorised lessons. There was punishment for anyone who could not fully repeat the subject matter.
In many Islamic schools comprehension, individual thinking and development of character are not the main goals of education; rather a passive acceptance and conformity are emphasised. This is closely associated with the concept of thought in the Islamic religion. A Muslim is forbidden to think critically about the Qur'an. He must accept it passively and should memorise all of it. Being thus filled with the spirit of Islam, he instinctively walks in accordance with Allah's law in his daily life. (How many Christians know even one of the gospels by heart? Yet many Muslims have mastered the whole of the Qur'an or at least great portions of it.)
Forms of educational instruction and thought patterns in the Islamic world are based upon the picture of Allah given by Muhammad. A person is not guided to become active and responsible, but is directed to submit himself passively to his fate. This is why Muslim emotions often flare up uncontrollably, for their entire education amounts to a submission of will and mind and an integration into an Allah-centred society.
In politics, democracy does not appear to be the best model for the life of a Muslim. Rather Allah, the king and lord over all is the unconscious pattern for many sultans and dictators. The strong man who swept away corruption with an iron hand, the mighty victor who brought renown, honour and strength to Islam has always been hailed and admired.
In Arab schools one can find children with unusual first names, such as Bismarck, Stalin, de Gaulle and Nasser, because the parents wish and hope that there will be a glorious future for their offspring in the spirit of such historic personalities. It sounds almost macabre when one hears someone in the street of an Arab village saying, "Hitler has not yet paid his school fees." In other words, a father, whose name actually is Hitler, has not yet paid the school fees for his son!
Whether it be kings or dictators, sultans or caliph, the one who held the reins tight with force was admired. Complaisance and compromise mean weakness and incompetence in Islam. It is not surprising that Jamal Abdel Nasser and Ayatollah Khomeini were the dominating figures in the Near East during the last decades. While Nasser attempted to combine an Arab socialism with Islam in order to meet the attack of atheistic communism, Khomeini trod a still more radical path by attempting to establish the kingdom of Allah on earth in Shi'ite countries. The ultimate aim of Khomeini's revolution was not merely the removal of the shah or the elimination of Christian, capitalistic or communistic principles from among his people, but the reinstatement of an Islamic theocracy in which Allah prevails and dominates every area of life. This brought a "mullah state" into existence, where, in the name of Allah and Islam, more people were killed in a few years than during the long reign of the shah. Enemies of the Islamic revolution are no longer even regarded as people. Khomeini himself announced, "In Persia no people have been killed so far - only beasts!"
The Islamic spirit cannot tolerate other gods beside Allah. So Islam, in the core of its being, is missionary-minded and will find no rest until all people have become Muslims. This mission-consciousness is based on the Islamic confession of faith which states that "there is no God except Allah". No real peace will reign on earth except through Islam.
In the past, the world, according to the strategy of Islam, was divided into two great areas: The House (territory) of Peace (Dar es-Salam) and the House of War (Dar el-Harb). Peace ostensibly reigned only in countries where Islam had become the state religion and where the Sharia, the law of Islam, controlled life. The "House of War", however, encompassed the other nations who had refused to acknowledge Allah. In past months, pamphlets were distributed in a country of the Near East with the heading, "Aslim Taslam!" which means: accept Islam and submit to Allah, then you will not be persecuted, but can live a peaceful life! Mission work in Islam not only means to convince a person intellectually by arguments that Islam is the best religion revealed by Allah; it utilises pressure in all fields at its disposal - economics, politics and even the holy war! The Qur'an commands all followers of Allah to fight for victory in their religion.
We must confess however that Christians, as Crusaders in the Near East, have also left behind them a trail of bloodstained footprints. They have engraved on the historical consciousness of Muslims the image of Christians as aggressive militants. Yet all so-called "holy wars" are in direct conflict with the teaching of Jesus. He said, "Do not resist evil! Put your sword away! Love your enemies!" Christ never commanded his followers to fight in religious wars; rather, he forbade them any demonstration of violence. Muhammad, on the other hand, repeatedly fought in person alongside his fighters until they conquered Mecca and the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. The spread of Islam is based on the sword! The holy war in Islam is considered a direct command of Allah and is not merely an interpretation or misinterpretation of his will by the believers. Therefore, the potential of holy war in Islam still exists. This should not be under- or over-estimated (Sura al-Baqara 2:245).
Anyone who wants to understand Islam must change his way of thinking. Islam is not only a religion for the mind, soul and heart of a man, but it presents an all-encompassing culture, theocentric society where all facets of life - child rearing, family life, economics, and politics - are focused on Allah. There is no separation between throne and altar, between politics and religion. In fact, mosques are often the starting point for demonstrations and political upheaval. Friday sermons are not confined to the fostering of faith and spiritual life, but often contain strong appeals to stir up the people for political conflicts in the name of Allah.
This is connected with the Islamic portrayal of Allah. Nothing exists outside the sway of his omnipotence. He is absolute in everything. anyone not surrendering voluntarily to this must be brought into subjection either by cunning strategy, economic persuasion or revolutionary force. Islam means subjection to Allah. It demands surrender of all areas of life to his spirit and the Qur'an's control over all thought and conduct.
Bedouin tribes once said to Muhammad, "We believe in Allah!" But he replied, "You have not believed until you say, `We have submitted!´ " (Sura al-Hujurat 49:14).
Islam is a totalitarian religion which cannot compromise with any "isms" for any period of time. As the history of Islam unfolded, strong impulses repeatedly flowed out of the Qur'an, which overcame ideas and concepts that penetrated the Islamic culture from Europe, Persia and India, resulting in an all-pervading legalistic religion. The ultimate aim was nothing less than the establishment of Allah's kingdom on our earth.
