- Muslim culture
Muslim culture is a term primarily used insecular academia to describe all cultural practices common to historicallyIslam ic peoples. As the religion of Islam originated in 6th centuryArabia , the early forms of aconism culture were predominantlyArab . However, with the rapid expansion of theIslamic empire s, Muslims came into contact with, and assimilated much from thePersia n, Turkish,Mongol ,India n, Malay, Berber andIndonesia n cultures.Terminological disagreement
Muslim culture is itself a contentious term. Muslims live in many different countries and communities, and it can be difficult to isolate much that unifies them other than the
religion ofIslam . However, secular academia does not acknowledge this distinction, since it views religion as one aspect of culturalanthropology andhistory .The noted historian of Islam,
Marshall Hodgson , noted the above difficulty of religious versus secular academic usage of the words "Islamic" and "Muslim" in his three-volume work, "The Venture Of Islam". He proposed to resolve it by only using these terms for purely religious phenomena, and invented the term "Islamicate" to denote all cultural aspects of historically Muslim peoples. However, his distinction has not been widely used, and confusion remains in common usage of these words.Religious practices
Muslim culture generally includes all the practices which have developed around the religion of
Islam . A lot of us think of it more as a religion than a culture. Muslim generally includes all the practices which have developed around the religion of Islam. It includes as theBaul tradition ofBengal , and facilitated the peaceful conversion of most of Bengal.Language and literature
Arabic
Early Muslim literature is in Arabic, as that was the language of
Muhammad 's communities inMecca andMedina . As the early history of the Muslim community was focused on establishing the religion of Islam, its literary output was religious in character. See the articles onQur'an ,Hadith , andSirah , which formed the earliest literature of the Muslim community.With the establishment of the
Umayyad empire, secular Muslim literature developed. See "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights ". While having no religious content, this secular literature was spread by the Arabs all over their empires, and so became part of a widespread culture.Persian
By the time of the
Abbasid empire, Persian had become one of the main languages of Muslim civilization, and much of the most famous Muslim literature is thusPersian literature . SeeThe Conference of the Birds and the poetry ofRumi .outh Asian
In
Bengal , theBaul tradition of folk music produced a syncretist poetry which merged Sufism with many local images as well as images fromHinduism . The most prominent poets wereHason Raja andLalon .Modern
In modern times, classification of writers by language is increasingly irrelevant. The
Egypt ianNobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz has been translated into English and read across the world. Other writers likeOrhan Pamuk ofTurkey write directly in English for a wider international audience.Festivals
See articles on
Eid ul-Fitr ,Eid ul-Adha ,Ashurah (see alsoHosay andTabuik ),Mawlid ,Lailat al Miraj andShab-e-baraat .Marriage
Marriage inIslam is considered to be of the utmost importance. The finalprophet of Islam ,Muhammad , stated that "marriage is half of religion"; there are numeroushadith s lauding the importance of marriage and family.In Islam, marriage is a legal bond and
social contract between a man and a woman as prompted by theShari'a . There are two types of marriages mentioned in theQur'an , theNikah in verse 4:4 and theNikah Mut'ah in verse 4:24.Art
Islam icart , a part of theIslamic studies , has throughout history been mainly abstract and decorative, portraying geometric, floral,Arabesque , andcalligraphic designs. Unlike the strong tradition of portraying the human figure inChristian art , Islamic art does not include depictions of human beings. The lack ofportrait ure is due to the fact that early Islam forbade the painting of human beings, includingMuhammad , as Muslims believe this tempts them to engage inidolatry . This prohibition against human beings or icons is calledaniconism . Over the past two centuries, especially given increased contact withWestern civilization , this prohibition has relaxed to the point where only the most orthodox Muslims strongly oppose portraiture.Islamic art is centered usually around
Allah , and since Allah cannot be represented by imagery ["All you believe him to be, he is not"] , geometric patterns are used. The patterns are similar to the Arabesque style, which also involves repeatinggeometric designs, but is not necessarily used to express ideals of order and nature.Calligraphy
Forbidden to paint humans and taught to revere the
Qur'an , Islamic artists developedArabic calligraphy into an art form. Calligraphers have long drawn from the Qur'an or proverbs as art, using the flowingArabic language to express the beauty they perceive in the verses of Qur'an.Martial arts
*
Muslim Chinese martial arts
*Silat
* PahlavaniArchitecture
Elements of Islamic style
Islamic architecture may be identified with the following design elements, which were inherited from the first mosque built by
Muhammad inMedina , as well as from other pre-Islamic features adapted from churches and synagogues.
*Large courtyards often merged with a central prayer hall (originally a feature of theMasjid al-Nabawi ).
*Minaret s or towers (which were originally used as torch-lit watchtowers for example in theGreat Mosque of Damascus ; hence the derivation of the word from the Arabic "nur", meaning "light").
*amihrab or niche on an inside wall indicating the direction toMecca . This may have been derived from previous uses of niches for the setting of thetorah scrolls inJewish synagogues or thehaikal of Coptic churches.
*Domes (the earliest Islamic use of which was in the eighth century mosque of Medina).
*Use ofiwan s to intermediate between different sections.
*Use of geometric shapes and repetitive art (arabesque ).
*Use of decorativeArabic calligraphy .
*Use of symmetry.
*Ablution fountains.
*use of bright color.
*focus on the interior space of a building rather than the exterior.Interpretation
Common interpretations of Islamic architecture include the following:
*The concept ofAllah 's infinite power is evoked by designs with repeating themes which suggest infinity.
*Human and animal forms are rarely depicted in decorative art as Allah's work is matchless. Foliage is a frequent motif but typically stylized or simplified for the same reason.
*Calligraphy is used to enhance the interior of a building by providing quotations from theQur'an .
*Islamic architecture has been called the "architecture of the veil" because the beauty lies in the inner spaces (courtyards and rooms) which are not visible from the outside (street view).
*Use of impressive forms such as large domes, towering minarets, and large courtyards are intended to convey power.Music
Islamic music is Muslim religious
music , as sung or played in public services or private devotions. The classic heartland ofIslam isArabia and theMiddle East ,North Africa andEgypt ,Iran ,Central Asia , and northernIndia andPakistan . BecauseIslam is a multicultural religion, the musical expression of its adherents is diverse.The indigenous musical styles of these areas have shaped the devotional music enjoyed by contemporary Muslims:* Arab classical music
*Religious music in Iran
* North Indian classical music.The
Seljuk Turks , a nomadic tribe that converted to Islam, conqueredAnatolia (nowTurkey ), and held theCaliphate as theOttoman Empire , also had a strong influence on Islamic music. See:* Turkish classical music.
Sub-Saharan
Africa ,Indonesia ,Malaysia , and the southernPhilippines also have large Muslim populations, but these areas have had less influence than the heartland on the various traditions of Islamic music.South India :Mappila Songs ,Duff Muttu All these regions were connected by trade long before the Islamic conquests of the 600s and later, and it is likely that musical styles traveled the same routes as trade goods. However, lacking recordings, we can only speculate as to the pre-Islamic music of these areas. Islam must have had a great influence on music, as it united vast areas under the first caliphs, and facilitated trade between distant lands. Certainly the
Sufi s, brotherhoods of Muslim mystics, spread their music far and wide.References
* "The culture of hey changing aspects of contemporary Muslim life", by Lawrence Rosen (University of Chicago Press, 2004) (ISBN 0-226-72615-0)
* "Studies in Islamic culture in the Indian environment", by Aziz Ahmed (Oxford India Paperbacks, 1999) (ISBN 0-19-564464-6)External links
* [http://www.believer1984.com/ A Online Live Muslim Blog]
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