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ESSENTIAL GEAR, GARMENTS, AND OBJECTS
RITES

Religious Program Specialist 3 - Pastoral training manuals for Navy Chaplains
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.    God  was  calling  upon  Mohammed  to  be  His prophet, to destroy idolatry, and to bring the Arab peoples together in one faith to worship one God. At age 40, Mohammed began to preach the new faith  of  Islam.  After  Mohammed’s  death,  Arab  rulers, or caliphs, led the Moslems to political victories and spread the religion of Islam throughout the Moslem empire. Today, the most populous Islamic or Moslem areas are  found  in  the  Middle  East,  North  Africa,  India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and parts of the Soviet Union. Within the Islam faith, there are two major groups—Sunni and Shiite. In the early part of the 20th century, Moslems began to immigrate to the United States. Although most North American  Moslems  were  immigrants  from  the  Middle East, Islam also began to win converts in America. In the 20th century, Islam found a receptive audience among Afro-American ethnic and cultural groups. One Sunni  group  in  America  is  the  American  Moslem Mission, a major religious body that grew out of Elijah Mohammed’s  Nation  of  Islam.  You  will  encounter followers of Islam among Navy personnel and their dependents. As an RP, you sould be aware of the basic beliefs and teachings and the worship requirements of this important religion. TERMINOLOGY, LAWS, AND REGULATIONS In Islam, the people worship one God. Their name for  God  is  Allah.  Mohammed  preached  that  Allah demands  complete  obedience  and  submission  and punishes those who do not obey. NOTE: As you study the text and figures in this section, be aware of variations in spelling in regard to the English translation of Arabic words representing Islamic holy days, rituals, literary works, and so forth. The  presentation  of  these  different  spellings  is intentional to allow you to become aware of the various transliterations  for  these  words. Qur’an (Koran) The sacred book of Islam is the Qur’an (Koran). The Qur’an contains the words of Allah as revealed to Mohammed. It  is  written  in  Arabic  and  is  the best-known  and  most  widely  read  book  in  Arabic literature. Islam  also  recognizes  some  parts  of  the Hebrew Torah as sacred, as well as the Psalms of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. Not surprisingly, most ethics taught in Islam are the same as those taught in Judaism and Christianity. Although Moslems consider Mohammed to be the last and  greatest  prophet  of  Allah,  they  also  number  among their  prophets  many  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  told  about in the Old Testament of the Bible. Jesus and John the Baptist are also recognized as prophets in Islam. Mecca The  holy  city  of  Islam  is  Mecca.  In  addition  to Mecca, there are other cities Moslems consider to be holy. One of them is Jerusalem, which is also a holy city for  both  Christians  and  Jews.  Another  holy  city, Medina, is where Mohammed and his followers gained their  first  great  success  with  their  religion.  The historical  exodus  of  Mohammed  to  Medina  is  called  the Hegira.  From  this  event,  the  Moslem  calendar  takes  its beginning  as  Year  One. Shari’ah Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of Islamic life is the Shari’ ah, or Islamic law. Shari’ah has as its base the following elements: l l l l The Qur’an, the scripture The Sums, Mohammed’s words The  Ijma,  the  traditions  and  customs  of  the Islamic  community The  Ijtihad,  the  individual  human  endeavor  to understand and solve problems in the light of the Qur’an and Sums These principles governing morals and behavior are the source of Islamic legislation. Figure 1-8 provides an overview of the Shari‘ah and a general definition of some of its terms. Dietary  Laws Islam dietary laws require Moslems to eat only the meat of an animal that was slaughtered with a sharp knife. The knife must penetrate the innermost part of the animal’s neck. During this procedure, a prayer is said to proclaim that the life of this animal is being taken to provide life for humans. All the blood is then drained from  the  carcass. 1-21







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