Pillars create a common bond among sects

The fourth pillar requires Muslims to abstain from food, drink and sex during the daylight hours throughout the month of Ramadan.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
ust as Christianity has great variety among its denominations, Islam has great variety among its sects. Islam also shares many similarities with Christianity and Judaism.
Although Islam differs from some Christian denominations in that there is no single leader -- there is no Islamic equivalent to Pope John Paul, who oversees the Catholic church -- the various sects are united by five basic principles or "pillars," said Dawud Abdullah, an imam at the Youngstown Islamic Center, 131 W. Woodland Ave.
An imam is a religious leader who, much like a priest, rabbi or minister, leads prayers and performs religious ceremonies.
The first pillar of Islam mandates that followers have faith in God and believe that Mohammed is a messenger of God. Mohammed founded Islam.
Muslims believe Mohammed is the last prophet in a long line of prophets that includes Adam, Noah, Abraham and Jesus, men who also are key figures in the Bible and the Torah, Abdullah said.
A very few sects believe that there have been prophets after Mohammed, added Mustansir Mir, professor of Islamic Studies at Youngstown State University. Some sects also believe that Jesus, who is regarded as a prophet, will return "near the end of time and proclaim that he was mistakenly taken as God," Mir said. "They believe that he will return as a follower of Mohammed, not a prophet."
The pillars: The first pillar also requires Muslims to believe in God's angels, in God's books as they were revealed to the prophets and in the day of resurrection and judgment, he continued.
The second pillar mandates that Muslims pray five times a day at designated times: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and night.
The third pillar requires a commitment to a charitable way of life -- donating a percentage of acquired wealth to the needy and helping wherever possible with donations of time, labor and money.
"Charity is not just going in your pocket, it's going into your heart. Even smiling at a stranger is considered an act of charity," Abdullah noted.
The fourth pillar requires Muslims to abstain from food, drink -- including water -- and sex during the daylight hours throughout the month of Ramadan. Fasting, a purification ritual, is required of all Muslims.
Children, pregnant women and people with serious or chronic illnesses are exempt from fasting, added Yasmin Rashid, a Sunday school teacher at Masqid Al-Khair, 1670 Homewood. Menstruating women also are exempt, she added, but they are expected to make it up before the next Ramadan season.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, begins with the first sighting of the new moon and ends with a three-day festival, Eid Al-Fitr.
The fifth pillar requires all Muslims who are financially and physically able, to participate in Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca where they complete a series of rites over a specified period of time, Abdullah said.
About Hajj: During Hajj, pilgrims perform a ritual bath, and the men don two pieces of plain white seamless cloth -- women are also encouraged to wear white. They wear this ihram for the next 21/2 days all the while abstaining from everything that could be considered vain -- no makeup, perfume or deodorant, no brushing of teeth.
"It's very humbling," Abdullah said.
At the end of the Hajj there is a holiday -- Eid Al-Adha -- that commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son to God. Lambs are sacrificed and the meat shared with the needy.
Although the Koran, the holy book of Islam, dictates how Muslims should live, covering everything from what to eat and how to dress to how to conduct oneself and how to slaughter animals, there is great variety in how those recommendations are interpreted, resulting in different practices among Muslims of different sects and countries, Abdullah said.
Main sects: The primary philosophical difference is between the Shia and Sunni sects. The Shia believe that only Mohammed's blood relatives should be eligible to assume the leadership of the faith for the prophet. The Sunni believe that whoever is most capable should assume the leadership.
After Mohammed's death in 632, his companions elected one of his closest friends to lead Islam. Two more of Mohammed's closest friends succeeded him before Ali, Mohammed's cousin and closest male relative, was selected to lead the religion. Several of Mohammed's followers, including his favorite wife, Aisha, opposed Ali, dividing Islam into the two primary sects.
The majority of Muslims are Sunni. They are from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and several African countries. Osama bin Laden claims to be a Sunni Muslim, although Muslim leaders throughout much of the world have labeled him an extremist.
Most Shia are from Iran, Iraq and a province in Afghanistan.
Other sects branch from these two.
Because there is no central leader, sects grew up around imams in different communities, Abdullah explained. The interpretations and rulings of each leader varied slightly.
In the United States, the differences among the various sects are not emphasized. The focus is on the five pillars so, Abdullah said, Muslims from various ethnic backgrounds -- Sunni, Shia, Arab, Asian, African and American -- often belong to the same mosques, celebrate Ramadan and Eid together and socialize.
kubik@vindy.com