Ross Thompson

The first time I met Rauf Bawany, the Muslim Chaplain at RIT’s Interfaith Center, was on the steps leading to his office. He stood four steps above me and carried a stack of books. I had stretched my arm out to shake his hand, and although he was about to take it, he stopped himself. To me, it looked like he was going to drop something, so I thought nothing of it. He frowned and said, “I don’t usually do this.” My hand dropped to my side. Had I managed to offend him so quickly?

In short, no. Brother Rauf had his reasons for not shaking my hand that day. In Islam, it is not proper for a man and a woman to touch, even in the form of a handshake. I was relieved when he explained this to me.

Of course, there are varying degrees of faith and not every Muslim follows this particular practice. The only things that remain constant are the fundamentals of the religion. The root of Islam is its five pillars: Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj.

The Foundation of Islam

According to Shuaib Mansoori, a fourth year Electrical Engineering major who actively practices the faith, “The belief of Islam centers around Tawheed, which means: ‘to single out Allah in worship,’ and to believe that there is no deity who has a right to be worshiped, to be revered, and to be given ultimate love except for the one and true God. This is the crux of Islam.” What Mansoori described is Shahadah, the very first pillar and basic creed of Islam. In this pillar, Mohammad is described as the last and most important of a series of messengers sent by Allah (God).

The second pillar, Salah, has to do with prayer. “There are five prayers that a Muslim is supposed to perform,” explained Naqi Haider, a fourth year Biotechnology major. “They remind you of your religion throughout your day.” Aside from being a quiet time of meditation and reflection, the Salah has a very specific structure and process involved. Before one even begins to pray, a ritual ablution—the symbolic washing of the face, hands and arms, and feet—must take place. Explained Mansoori, “The whole purpose is [when] you are standing before God to worship him, you must be clean and in a state of cleanliness.”

The next pillar, Zakat, involves sharing wealth with the underprivileged. “Zakat means to pay the yearly charity that is due for the poor. God legislates this to nurture a love for the less fortunate and bring about a healthy society,” stated Mansoori. The amount given is equivalent to approximately 2.5% of a person's annual income, assuming it exceeds a minimum level and can just be given to a mosque to be taken care of.

Ross Thompson

The next pillar is Sawm, or fasting during the month of Ramadan. Fasting not only involves abstaining from food and drink, but also sexual relations and many other actions. Ramadan, the month that the Quran began to be revealed to Mohammad, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which follows a lunar cycle. It has two aspects: Social and spiritual. “In the spiritual aspect, it is a month when you focus more on your spirit, on praying and on remembering God. In the social aspect, it is a way to feel the situation of the poor,” explained Najeebullah Bieg, a third year International Studies major.

The fifth and last pillar is Hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca. “This is obligated on a Muslim to be done at least once in his lifetime, if he is able to afford the journey…[Hajj] symbolizes walking in the footsteps of Abraham and particularly, the mother of Ishmael,” explained Mansoori. The Hajj entails many rituals, the most famous of which is the circling of the Kaaba seven times. The Kaaba is considered the holiest place in Islamic faith. “Many Muslims believe that this is the first house built for worship of God by Abraham and his son Ishmael,” added Mansoori.

“To reject any one of these pillars is tantamount to rejecting Islam,” stated Mansoori. He explained that not practicing a pillar is not an issue; it does, however, become a problem if you reject the importance of the pillar within your heart. “For example, if a person feels that prayer is not obligatory, then he is rejecting Allah himself,” Mansoori explained.

The Separation Of Muslim Men And Women

When it comes to worship and prayer, it may seem advisable to separate men and women. You would be surprised how many people spend at least a minute of their time distraced by someone of the opposite gender during church services. “The point is when you pray, it is a [spiritual] and physical act. You do not want to be staring at the opposite gender or vice versa. You want to focus. This is one of the practical reasons why we separate during prayer,” said Haider.

In fact, the separation is not very extreme. Group prayers need not be scheduled at separate times or locations. At RIT, men are asked to sit in the front of the room while women remain at the back. “It is just so the men do not get distracted by the women because generally, men have more hormones,” explained Saba Shahid, a fourth year Interior Design Major and one of the few Muslim women on campus.

Unfortunately, it is with everyday interactions that the distinct lines begin to blur. “[In the Islamic faith,] it is not allowed for a man and a woman to chat without a reason. You cannot just hang out, let alone touch,” said S. Shahid. Circumstances, such as business, will arise where one may have to interact with a person of the opposite gender and generally the interaction will be allowed. “But even then, [a woman] must remain proper and be careful that [she does] not become an attraction,” elaborated S. Shahid.

However, many Muslims of this day and age are a little more liberal. “It is more of a personal decision now…There are all types of Muslims. There are Muslims who drink. If a person wants to give [another] a hug or shake someone’s hand, it’s up to them,” said Haider. It all comes down to society and culture, and this changes depending on where you are. “It’s not rigid, in the sense that in Islamic society, it is exactly the same in every single place. It molds and it changes. It isn’t supposed to be a burden. It isn’t something where you freak out and alter your every distractday relations, just to go through these complex parameters. Religion is supposed to be easy,” said Osama Eisa, a third year Multidisciplinary Studies major focusing on Political Science.

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Hijab means to cover your body in a modest way. You can do this with clothing or a simple t-shirt , or if you wear something loose and it doesn’t really show your figure,” said S. Shahid. While many non-Muslims feel that the veils associated with the hijab are oppressive, the idea behind the hijab is to maintain the woman’s honor and preserve her beauty. “In Islam, when you go out, you must be modest. What you have, your beauty must be reserved for your husband, or for men, your wife,” explained S. Shahid.

In response to criticism about the hijab, Beig responded, “I don’t understand how people who stand for the freedom of choice, democracy, and liberty [question] the right of the women to wear a hijab. They seem to be stepping upon the very principles that they believe in.”

Polygyny And Multiple Wives

Another practice that raises many questions is polygyny, which is the practice of having more than one wife at a time. Many Westerners are unaware of the historical context involved. Eisa explained, “During the prophets’ time, if a husband died in combat, then the woman wouldn’t be able to survive. What would happen is [another man] would take her as another wife, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean that they would have children or there would be sexual relations. She would merely be able to live [in] his house and eat.”

In fact, polygyny involves many rules and regulations. In order to marry another woman, a man must be able to apply justice between his wives and treat them equally. It may still be strange to some, but it is worth noting that this practice is the exception rather than the rule. “It’s one of those topics that is blown out of proportion. I don’t know anyone who has more than one wife or who is in a relationship with more than one woman at once. I think this is one of those topics that [people use to] flame the fumes because it’s something different,” stated Haider.

The Real Meaning Of Jihad

None of the aforementioned issues , however, is as controversial as jihad. Terrorists have made jihad one of the explanations for their actions, yet their interpretation of their own religion remains extreme. “Jihad is really internal struggle...It’s the idea that you put forth this effort to overcome what difficulties you have because God does not put a burden on any man’s shoulders that He knows he cannot carry. I think you can really take those terms and turn them around to scare people,” said Eisa.

There exist two parts of jihad. The first is the greater jihad, which is the internal struggle; the second is the lesser jihad, which is what is most of ten misconstrued as “holy war.” Explained Bieg, “This smaller jihad is a war, but it is a defense mechanism. If you or your country is attacked, you or anyone who is able is supposed to stand and defend those who are unable. But even for this, you must meet the prerequisite of greater jihad.”

There are many rules that come attached to this idea. “You cannot kill old people or children. You cannot kill civilians in a marketplace or people who are worshipping,” said Hamza Shahid, a fifth year Microelectronic Engineering major. Therefore, he related, terrorists who use Islamic beliefs as reasoning behind their attacks are failing to follow the true meaning of these very beliefs.

Ross Thompson

There are a number of reasons why jihad can be exploited for selfish reasons. “Religion is the biggest force in Islamic societies. It is the most powerful force, so it is the easiest for those with political agendas to use to recruit people, because a lot of people are uneducated about their own religion,” explained Bieg. When most rely on their local religious leaders for the interpretation of their religious texts, those fed with corrupted ideas can be easily swayed.

A good way to sum up the issue of jihad is to tackle why there are people who use Islam for evil purposes. “In extreme situations, you get extreme people. They are not a representation of Muslims in general,” stated Haider. Some believe that these people are products of oppression, political-economic situations, post-colonial situations and post-war situations. The list goes on and on. “There are extremists and they tend to speak the loudest and bark the loudest, so we hear them. But they aren’t the representation of the majority. There are about 1.4 billion Muslims in the world and we give attention to this topic, and I think that this is really unfair,” continued Haider.

What it comes down to is that every person, religion, culture, country, and race is different. Said S. Shahid, “Whenever you do something, you have an intention. Your intention counts. If you tried your best to do the right thing, and you couldn’t because there were circumstances...In the end it’s all up to Allah to judge.”