Yemen: A Christian Muslim?

A Christian Muslim? A Jewish Muslim? A Buddhist Muslim?

Islam appears, to me, to lack sovereignty as a religion. I could be misinterpreting the word sovereignty, but I mean to say that being a Muslim includes the possibility of being a Christian, or a Jew, or a Buddhist, or another monotheistic believer. Muslims can read the Bible, the Torah, and otherwise. Muslims can visit or pray in temples, synagogues, churches, etc. The prophets Adam, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, and more have all revealed the holy word in this world according to Muslims. Muslims draw their inspiration and resources from a number of places.

Many people are quite surprised by the above statements; they seem false and contradictory to Islam, as the public knows this religion. Let me try to clarify with a positive slant.
Christians and Jews are considered People of the Book. The People of the Book refer to the Muslims’ Allah as God, and vice versa. Muslims do not see this use of different names for a higher being as a conflict. Allah = God = monotheistic god. By monotheistic worship, individuals of any religious background are thus far in agreement with Islam.

I imagine the Book (as in People of the Book) refers to the Torah and Bible that are both considered holy texts from Allah, as is the Qur’an. The Qur’an gains its distinct role in Islam because this narration of oral tradition has never been translated (or modified) since Umar originally compiled it in Arabic. Most Christians admit to the modification of the Bible in their popular King James version, but the fact remains that these holy texts were not originally told in English or Hebrew. Translations mean concessions in meaning have been made, for practical reasons. Muslims think the stories of Jesus and Moses outside of the Qur’an are too unreliable to base practice or belief upon. Thus, it’s fine to read the Bible or Torah or otherwise for personal use, but not for divine law or Truth.

Pray in a synagogue, church, or temple and remember Allah there, by whatever name you choose. Prayer in a mosque with others is encouraged [extra blessings (baraka) come from this location and from the fellowship], but not required. Muslims pray five obligatory prayers wherever they can stand, bend over, and kneel, but remembrance of Allah is encouraged in other ways. In Tarim, I’ve found people mentioning Allah in so many places and times; for example: entering your home/school/mosque, starting your reading/journey/speech, noticing something great in another or yourself. One is remembering God by going to any place of worship with this intention.

The prophets spoke the word of God. A Dar al Mustapha student related a humorous, fictional debate of the merits of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the Muslim stated that Jews believe in Moses but not Jesus as a prophet, that Christians believe in Jesus but not Muhammad, and that Muslims believe in all three so surely they will be saved on Judgment Day. Islam includes many prophets (as positive characters and messages) that theoretically have equal importance, but again Muhammad gains his prominence in the authoritative (see above) Qur’an.

The scholars and longest-studying students I meet articulate the above commonalities in religions best. They seem to regret the divisions that appear in the worship of God, whether they are major religions (Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and more) or religious denominations (Sunni (including four major schools of study) and Shia in Islam). Muslims can pass out the message of divisions because they are imperfect and ignorant. However, they view Islam as perfect and inclusive of all monotheistic believers.

Cat Stevens said something to the effect of, "I’m glad I met the Qur’an before I met Muslims." I think as people learn the traditions of the religion (and not the people) that they may certainly join the fastest growing religion today.