Introduction
Islam is a religion with a centuries-old history and unique cultural traditions. Its theoretical and practical peculiarities are of great interest to anthropology and other scientific disciplines. Anthropologists explore Muslim culture in the field of mental processes of all its followers and identify its unique social features. Due to their specificity, anthropology and ethnography might be considered as the most suitable disciplines of examining and analyzing this vast layer of human culture. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and answer three specific anthropological questions about Islam and Muslims.
Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Islam and Muslim Communities
Anthropology, as a science directly related to people, is one of the best approaches to studying Islam and Muslim communities. To create a competent study, an anthropologist should communicate with the bearers of Islam culture in their place of residence. Subjective experience is one of the principles necessary for understanding culture. Interaction with representatives of Islam involves the participation and observation of rituals and cultural practices. It is essential to study the process of their historical development as a result of which they appeared to understand these rites and ceremonies.
According to Katz, one of the fundamental parts of the culture of Islam throughout history is the constant tendency of various Muslim social groups for non-canonical Islamic practices (467). Studying the historical process, the anthropologist finds and compares the many similarities and differences of multiple interpretations and trends of Islam. These four unique anthropological and ethnographical techniques are fundamental pillars for the study of both Islam and Muslim communities.
Subjective experience plays a significant and possibly major role in anthropological research. As a discipline that explores not only human beings but also their ways of relationships and interactions, anthropology uses several methods to gain subjective experience. One such research approaches are direct communication with representatives of Muslim societies of different social classes. It allows the anthropologist to collect and formulate different views on Islam. According to Katz, the concept of the “correct model” has continuously been changing and disputed throughout the history of Muslim communities (469).
Another method of subjective experience is a visit to Muslim countries. It is possible to note that the “classical model is to go abroad: the “other” is out there beyond your own geographical borders” (“Studying Islam & Muslim Societies” slide 14). The essence of the subjective experience is that it allows anthropologists to look at Islam from an indirect, scientific point of view. An ethnographic study of processes of the Islamic world and an analysis of linguistic features are an immediate part of anthropological research. Subjective experience is a significant method for understanding Muslim culture, but it is not the only one.
Sometimes rituals and practices show much more than carriers of a particular culture. They are a manifestation of a lifestyle tested by centuries of experience. They are also a clear, practical example of the correct interpretation of religious doctrine. From ancient times to the present day, rituals and practices serve a vast number of purposes, ranging from medical prevention to social unification of family members and various societies.
This statement can also be safely attributed to Islam and Muslim communities. According to Katz, the mawlid is an Islamic rite that brings together neighboring families for household celebrations (468). Participation in such rituals allows an anthropologist to understand and touch their emotional component. Observation and distant study of practices provides an opportunity to notice small but sometimes important details and differences in the traditions of various Muslim communities. These differences appear as a result of a long historical development. Knowledge of the historical context gives a glance and understanding of the path to the growth and change of Muslim rituals and practices.
The history of Islam and Muslim communities represents a vast cultural layer for anthropological research. It involves studying the historical process by dates and events. This way of research gives a presentation of how various practices and attitudes of different Muslim communities have changed. Until recently, the mawlid rite was a traditional and essential practice of Muslim communities.
According to Katz, “in the late 20th century, a vigorous Saudi-led campaign against mawlids intensified opposition to their performance in many parts of the Islamic world” (468). An essential part of the historical method is also the study of languages of Muslim societies and Islamic countries. The study of oral characteristics and written works, the analysis of literary techniques, and an old version of current Muslim languages allow anthropologists to explain the different interpretations of Islam.
Data collected from anthropological and ethnographic researches might give an accurate definition of the processes of Islamic culture. An examination of the historical and linguistic features of Islam culture directly leads to a review of the various similarities and differences of Muslim communities, both past, and present.
Like any other rich culture, Islam has similarities and differences within itself. Their study gives an in-depth understanding of the culture of Muslim communities. The data collected through previous approaches highlight the diversity and likeness in the understanding of Islam between Islamic societies. According to Katz, between the elites and the masses, there were two opposing points of view on the presence of the moment of contesting religious practices, whether this is the norm or a crisis of Islam (469). By exploring differences and similarities in this way, the anthropologist studies and refines the structure and lifestyle of Muslim societies.
This method of anthropological research allows the scientist to identify the historical principles of the development of Islam. According to Watt and McDonald, even the double meaning of the phrase ma acra’u can fundamentally change the interpretation and divide the community of Muslim scholars (68). Comparisons and contrasts make it possible to identify cultural norms and radical branches between Muslim societies. Competent scientists should always remember that the continuous study of varied and similar aspects of Muslim culture is one of the critical points in the study of Islam.
All the above methods of scientific, anthropological study are directly related to each other. Anthropology and ethnography have simple but effective principles for the study of different cultures and religions. Examining the history of civilization, its doctrines, and practices, and the languages of its bearers constitute its theoretical part. The practical part represents live contact cultural representatives in their country of residence, surveillance and participation in rites, and analysis and comparison of collected statistics.
Islam, as an ever-evolving religion, offers anthropologists and ethnographers a unique research experience. Muslim communities exist in almost all modern countries, and it is necessary to develop a correct and respectful approach to their culture, history, and languages. In today’s rapidly changing world, scientists are faced with the task of explaining specific processes taking place in Islam and Muslim communities.
Various Ways of Exploring the ‘Qur’an’
The ‘Qur’an’ is considered a sacred text of Muslim civilization. In terms of its cultural and religious significance, it is comparable with the Bible in Christianity and the Torah in Judaism. The ‘Qur’an’ is the original text in the life of every Muslim. It shapes their personality, their role in society, their attitude to other Muslims and representatives of other religions, their place in the world. That is why in Islam, there is such thing as a “correct model.”
Each Muslim has their idea and ways to achieve this concept. According to Katz, the concept of the “correct model” is formed from personal experience with ‘Qur’an’ and is also taught in religious schools by their approved representatives (469). This principle of cognition is a clear example of what anthropologists call subjective experience. Received simultaneously from internal and external sources, it forms a balanced view of Islam and Muslims. The process of self-awareness in the surrounding world is an important part of the culture of Islam and Muslim communities.
The ‘Qur’an’ also contains all Muslim rites and practices, as well as instructions for their correct performance. There are many branches of Islam, and many of them are determined by the number and characteristics of the performance of certain rituals. In the proper interpretation of various doctrines, a considerable role is played by Islamic savants, who have always been an authority on society. According to Katz, in the 14th century, there were constant passionate debates about the rite of standing during a particular stage of mawlid (469). Some theologians considered this an unacceptable heresy; others argued that it was an essential part of the tradition.
Muslim communities have always taken very close to heart such changes and discussions of their rites and orders. It also becomes clear that such controversy has too often been and remains a way of fighting for political power and is a common practice in Islam countries. Changes in practices also affect the life of Muslim communities. In contrast to subjective experience, the detached study of rituals and practices provides a broader explanation for the existence of disagreements in the interpretations of Islamic doctrines.
The ‘Qur’an’ represents a large volume of historical chronicles of those times. It also explains the appearance of the world and various natural and social phenomena. This sacred text spells out the cases and sources of different rites and doctrines. Absolute historical authenticity serves Muslims as another guarantee of the truth of their knowledge, understanding, and fulfillment of Islam. According to Katz, one Muslim savant of the 19th century wanted to extirpate the mawlid, referring to the fact that it is not indicated in the ‘Qur’an’ (471).
Turning to the historical context of the original Islam, Muslims solve the problem of the truth of certain practices. Using a similar technique, anthropologists and ethnographers explore the ‘Qur’an’ by analyzing events and phenomena of the Islamic civilization. Various translated versions of the ‘Qur’an’ contain many linguistic archaisms, which is also of interest to scientists. This approach of anthropological research allows an anthropologist to study the sources of subjective experience and many practices simultaneously.
Islam unites many various Muslim nations, linguistic and social groups. It is natural that in this context, different trends of Islam and cultural features appear. Multiple interpretations of the ‘Qur’an’ give rise to different attitudes towards social groups. According to Katz, among the Islamic savants, it was believed that the participation in the mawlid rite is primarily the prerogative of the poor layers of the population (472).
The appearance of educated elites and nobles at this feast was considered bad manners. This example broadly shows how, based on the differences in the interpretation of the ‘Qur’an’, an attitude towards traditions and heresy in Islam was formed. Unlike the rest of the above approaches, this method of anthropological research allows the scientist to step back and conduct a comparative analysis of Islamic culture. It gives an understanding of why specific Muslim communities experience different emotions towards each other.
All of the above approaches are equally well suited for an anthropological study of the ‘Qur’an’. Each of them covers its sphere of Muslim culture and thoroughly analyzes it. The most preferable can be considered a historical technique for specific reasons.
The study of Islam should begin from a historical point of view to further understand the basic rules of the culture. It also implies the other three methods, allowing the scientist to gain personal experience, study, and analyze different traditional and local practices. The technique creates a peculiar background between an anthropologist who begins to study Islam and Muslims. This approach is theoretical and allows the researcher to enter into an anthropological study gradually.
Various Ways of Exploring the ‘Prophet’
The figure of the ‘Prophet’ is one of the pillars of Islamic culture. Along with the ‘Qur’an’, he also unites Muslims around the world. The ‘Prophet’ is an ideal role model for all Muslims of all currents and brunches of Islam. As can be seen from subjective experience with Muslims, they relate to the ‘Prophet’ with great love and trepidation. According to Katz, “Habiba and her daughter especially stressed the importance of love for the Prophet, expressed in events like the mawlid, to ensure the intercession on Judgment Day” (477).
This example shows how the figure of the ‘Prophet’ is a motivator for doing good deeds and prevents the commission of crimes. The anthropologist receives information about Muslim’s internal emotional state and the significance of the ‘Prophet’s influence on their personal development. This approach of anthropological examining provides unique practical data on Islamic culture that cannot be obtained using the other methods described above.
The ‘Prophet’ developed and wrote many instructions and rules for Muslims. Most of his quotations and facts from his biography gradually transformed into rites and practices. Even certain dates in the life of the ‘Prophet’ became over time a set of rituals and ceremonies. For example, the aforementioned many times’ mawlid is a unique female tradition of solemnizing ‘Prophet’s birthday. According to Katz, “asked about the objective of the performance of the mawlid, Samira remarked that “it is an old Yemeni custom” (478).
This rite is a clear demonstration of how the personality of the ‘Prophet’ influenced a particular social group and what kind of practice came about as a result. An analysis of religious doctrines concerning the ‘Prophet’ gives a qualitative idea of how closely the life of Muslims is connected with this historical and sacred figure.
The biography of the ‘Prophet’ is of great interest not only to historians but also to anthropologists and ethnographers. Many Muslims seek confirmation of the correctness of their actions precisely in the life story of the ‘Prophet’. The facts from his biography also serve as evidence in disputes about the orthodoxy of different practices. According to Katz, Karima is interested in studying the life story of the ‘Prophet’ for more scientific and historical justification of the lawful existence of the mawlid rite (479).
Muslims do not hesitate to use modern technological advances to study their history and culture. Also, a linguistic study can of many obsolete words, and metaphors might reveal new facts about his life chronicles. This approach requires an anthropologist to work in parallel with several sources on different topics. This method of anthropological research contributes to the comprehensive development of the scientist.
In most cases, differences in Islam appear through the linguistic characteristics of various Muslim communities. Diversity and resemblance are contained not only in modern global and local branches of Islam. Sometimes similarities stand out in the context of the temporary development of a particular Muslim culture. The modern way of presenting information about the ‘Prophet’ using the mawlid rite is similar to another historical period.
According to Katz, “this new emphasis reflects a tradition of modernist mawlid composition going back to the early 20th century” (480). This method of analysis of similarities might become the basis for creating statistics about the circulating opinion on the ‘Prophet’ in the Muslim community. Unlike previous anthropological approaches that study the past and present of Islamic culture, this principle of similarities and differences can calculate specific social and religious processes of the future.
The personality of the “Prophet” carries many meanings and subtexts for both Muslim communities and researchers. Each of the above anthropological approaches can fully reveal them. The most interesting of these approaches is the historical method and analysis of diversity and similarity. Being a semi-mythical figure, the personality of the ‘Prophet’ leaves room for new theories and disagreements in the interpretation of Islam.
The two above methods fully possess the necessary techniques for their consideration and confirmation. A developed analytical component based on extensive historical knowledge will open new doors in the anthropological study of Islam. The combination of historical methodology and the principle of analysis of differences and similarities can serve as a means to create a new analytic model of Islamic culture. Such an anthropological system could fully explain the various characteristics of Islam and Muslim communities.
Conclusion
The anthropological study of Islam and Muslim communities is a complex but scientifically interesting process. Anthropology and ethnography provide the researcher with a whole set of unique techniques and methods of cognition. These include studies based on subjective experience, rituals, and practices, a chronicle of the historical process analyses of similarities and differences. The principle of operation of these approaches was demonstrated by the example of an anthropological and ethnographical study of the texts of ‘Qur’an’ and the personality of the ‘Prophet’.
Among each of them, the most suitable and perspective method was identified. For the anthropological study of the ‘Qur’an’, the historical approach was chosen as the most effective. For the Study of the ‘Prophet’, the most appropriate is the historical principle and analysis of similarities and differences. The above anthropological methods were designated subjectively and are not the only ones possible. They were considered the most suitable approaches for discussing and answering the questions of Islam and Muslim societies.
Works Cited
Katz, Marion Holmes. Women’s “Mawlid” Performances in Sanaa and the Construction of “Popular Islam”. International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 40, no. 3, 2008, pp. 467-484.
“Studying Islam & Muslim Societies: Academic Frameworks.” 2019. PowerPoint Presentation.
Watt, William M., and M. V. McDonald. The History of Al-Tabari, Vol. 6: Muhammed at Mecca. SUNY Press, 1988.