Islam is believed to be the fastest growing religion in the world.

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An examination of the issues posed by a commitment to Islam in a multicultural society

         Shahid Athar, an American physician and devout Muslim said of Islam as a minority faith in the USA, “Although there is no restriction on the practise of Islam in this country, the environment is not always as favourable to new faiths as it may seem.” Athar wrote this in an article called ‘Reflections of an American Muslim’, in the article, he writes about the problems he faces being a Muslim living in a multicultural society. Athar mentions various issues that he comes across in day to day life that he finds difficult to overcome whilst remaining a pious Muslim. Whilst there are many issues that a Muslim may be faced with when living in a multicultural society, it would be very difficult to identify all of them. During this assignment, which concentrates on the issues a Muslim faces when living in a multicultural society (In the west.) I have chosen to look at the most prominent issues that are identified by Muslims and the most documented, by scholars, such as W. H. Siddiqui and Akbar S. Ahmed. These issues tend to have the greatest effect on second generation Muslims who live in the west and those who live in more rural areas compared to the larger cities, where Islam truly is a minority faith.

         Islam is believed to be the fastest growing religion in the world and as more Muslims emerge, many, who are born in Muslim countries, are choosing to live in the west. (There are also westerners who have converted to Islam and second generation Muslims as well as the children of immigrants.) “…there are over a billion Muslims in the world today. Significantly, over ten million of them live in the west, a number of them are shared about equally between USA and Europe.”1 Although this assignment concentrates on the on the issues that Western Muslims are faced with when Islam is a minority faith in the west, (particularly those in the United Kingdom) it is important to recognise that the same situation occurs in the east. For example, in many areas on the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity constitutes a greater proportion of faith compared to countries in the Middle East where up to ninety nine percent of the population are practises Islam.

         

         When looking at the aspects of a Muslims life in which he/she is likely to face the most prominent issues, I decided that it would be more consequential to look at the issues posed when practising the five pillars of Islam, as they are central to the religion. “Islam can never be theoretical, it is always practical. If you have submitted to the will of God, then there must be practical signs of that submission. Those practical signs are the five pillars.”2 Performing the five pillars, which symbolises the basis of Islamic practise, distinguishes a Muslim from a non-Muslim, but does living in a country where Islam is a minority faith have any effects on the practise of the five pillars?

         

         “The edifice of Islamic religious belief and social practise rests on these five pillars.”3 The five pillars of Islam include the Shahada, (the profession of faith) Salah, (prayer) Zakah, (payment to the less fortunate) Sawm, (fasting) and Hajj. (pilgrimage to Mecca) The Shahada is the first of the five pillars and more importantly, the central

pillar. However, it is the only ‘non action’ pillar and probably the easiest for any Muslim to perform. It involves reciting the testimony that “There is no God but the

God (Allah) and Mohammed is his messenger.” It affirms a Muslims commitment to Allah and acceptance that the prophet is his messenger. It is a Muslim

embracing Gods monotheism and unity. (Tawhid) This pillar would not be difficult for a Muslim to perform but more challenging for him/her to sustain.

         The second pillar is Salah, (prayer) this appears to be more of an issue for a Muslim. This being because a Muslim is expected to pray to Allah five times a day, and when a western Muslim is faced with the situation where he/she cannot disrupt daily activities that are expected of them if they are to fit into a multicultural society, it can become a recurring daily problem. Shahid Athar said of the difficulty of practising Islam at work, “…offering the prescribed noon prayer at work is difficult for most Muslim employees. Several cases have been recorded, one of which a Muslim was fired from his job for practising Islam during his lunch hour, it was called ‘doing yoga.’ Another devout Muslim locked himself in a restroom and performed his prescribed prayer for fear of being seen.”

         The Quran makes it quite clear how important the salah is. “And seek help in patience and As-Salât (the prayer) and truly it is extremely heavy and hard except for Al-khâshi’ûn, i.e, the true believers in Allah, those who obey Him with full submission, fear much from His punishment, and believe in His paradise (paradise) and in His warnings. (Hell)”4 This is a harsh reminder of what Allah is capable of, it basically says that those who have submitted to Allah should fear his punishment and conform to performing the salah. It would not be possible for a Muslim to follow this teaching, exactly, as it is worded in the Quran, as much as he/she may want to; when a Muslim lives and works in a community that is not sympathetic to their religious requirements, it can be very difficult to do what is required to be a good Muslim.  

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         I conducted an interview with a teenage Muslim girl, who has lived in the United Kingdom all of her life. She goes to an all girl secondary school where Islam is a minority faith. During this interview I tried to find out what it is like to be a second generation, seventeen year old girl, obliged to take part in Islamic tradition. I asked her if she felt isolated by being a Muslim in the UK. And amongst other things, I asked her about prayer, by doing this, it was possible for me to understand if ...

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