Ad Ridiculum

I've taken a most enjoyable class on Islam. Studying the origins and history of the faith and its people has garnered only respect within me. I also hope no follower of Muhammad (or those of my own faith) would find it offensive for me to say that except for a few points of doctrine, I would gladly consider myself a Muslim. In fact, if it were based only on the Five Pillars, I would say most Mormons are also Muslim.

Whatever level of education you've received on the religion of over 1.57 billion, there's always something more to learn. "Islam" and "Muslim" literally mean "submission (to God)" (differently conjugated). A most beautiful greeting, "as-salamu `alaykum" ("peace be unto you"), is exchanged at the beginning of most conversations between followers. In fact, most teachings of the Quran do nothing but inspire peace. Man's purpose is to worship God, says the book.

For you LDS readers, I mean to do nothing here except draw the parallels. The Five Pillars of Islam:

1. The shahadah: "I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God." This is the creed of Islam. There is no physical analogue to baptism, but this is the closest it gets. Reciting this, one may consider himself Muslim. This is none too different than a combination of the First Commandment and the required testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet of God in order to become a member of the Church. One difference I should mention is that the shahada implies also that Muhammad was the last prophet; none follow him. This is in contrast to my faith, but only just.
2. Salah: a ritual five-times a day prayer performed by praying in the direction of Mecca. Elder Bednar spoke to us about the importance of praying always. Check the scriptural references while you're at it. Each has a slightly different emphasis. And while it may seem somewhat strange to pray facing Mecca, I remind you that Mecca is just a symbol of God, the religion and their devotion to it, the teachings of their prophet, etc. As I'll show later, it's not weird for any Mormon to find a physical location sacred. Also, on this point, I'll point to Mosiah 2:6, where King Benjamin, wishing to speak to his people for the Lord, had everyone pitch "his tent with the door thereof towards the temple". 
3. Sawm: the fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn til dusk. Members of the Mormon faith find fasting important, being encouraged to do so on the first Sunday of every month, but as needed in general. Fasting is used in both religions to help the fasters evaluate their closeness to God.
4. Zakat: alms-giving. Also, a pretty cool word. Members of the LDS Church are required to offer 10% of their annual increase to the Church and are heavily encouraged to offer a generous "fast offering", or money they could have used on food while fasting.
5. Finally, the Hajj: an at least once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca. This is the most interesting Pillar to me because it stands as a requirement but with no guidelines as to what time in life this must happen by. Thus, it is left entirely to the conscience of each follower, becoming a pure offering. At first thought, one might not believe in a strong analogue for Mormons, however we believe in certain ordinances which cannot be performed outside a dedicated temple of God. We must go there to receive those ordinances, and we do believe it a commandment to do so. For the greater part of the Church's history, there has been no more than one operating temple, and for most of that time, it was the temple in Salt Lake City. Many LDS family histories include some story of ancestors journeying across the country just to be at the temple a few days and leave. Just a few years ago, most people had to travel at least a fifth of the way across the country to arrive at an operating temple as I did. With the proliferation of temples throughout the world, especially within the United States, the "pilgrimage" aspect is being lost, but it's still quite similar.

The similarities are strong and the people are devoted. Great good comes from those who seek to align themselves with God's will, from whatever religion. But what of acts of destruction? What about September 11, 2001? There have always been those who destroy in the name of God. The Crusades, the Inquisition, persecution of Muslims in the early days, persecution of Latter-Day Saints in the early days. None of these incidents do I believe to have been the will of God, yet they occurred in His name. Just the same, I do not believe the recent acts of terrorism on this country have been anything but offense born out of the malice of puppet-masters' hearts.

One of the greatest shames is the destruction of the word jihad which references the internal struggle for submission to God. No single word better describes the human condition or the method by which man becomes greater. To search your own heart constantly is to give yourself the opportunity to improve upon it, to become more humble and to learn how to follow God more closely.

Instead, the word now carries the cry of war to every American. Although I've learned its meaning, I think of slaughter when I hear it. Twisted beyond any possible originally intended definition, I'm all too happy to remind myself of its peaceful, introspective message.

Having shared what I think about Islam, I hope you can guess at my reactions to the recent Ground Zero Mosque thing and the Quran Burning. Although the Founding Fathers weren't necessarily Christian, this country was founded on Judeo-Christian ideals. But even more important than this foundation was the great, great victory for human rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." There are some who say that America is really a Christian country and Islam has little place here. The moment we start saying one religion has a precedence over another or is more important, we open our own religions for attack. We are each guaranteed the right by the First Amendment to "worship how, where, or what [we] may" (11th Article of Faith, Joseph Smith). Let's not be so foolish as to infringe upon that.

This means if someone wants to build a mosque near Ground Zero, I will let him. If someone wants to burn a Quran, I will also let him, but I'll think it most stupid to burn a Quran. Now I've also heard something about the motivations of the would-be Ground Zero imam, but I've not investigated it myself. In general, I'm disappointed at the general negative reaction to the whole thing by Americans.

Before I lose all focus, I'll conclude with this: I believe all men on the earth are God's children. I believe strongly in the religious freedom of each. It's extremely important for the prosperity of the country that we recapture that facet of the Constitution and each internalize it within ourselves. Better people make for a better country and a better world, and I would so much love to live in a world that continues becoming better.