Folk and secularist Islam

Introduction

• The seminar has focused on mainstream Islam.
• Many Muslims do not fit into the mainstream.
• One third of world-wide Muslims do not live within Dar al Islam and that dispersal of Muslims throughout the world is accelerating.
• Muslims in diaspora are very significant and they bring great diversity and challenge into global Islam.
• This topic looks very briefly at two influences upon the Muslim movement that bring diversity into Islam as described in this seminar. These influences are folk Islam and secularist Islam.

1. Folk Islam

1.1 Many expressions of Sufi Islam are encompassed within the phenomenon of folk Islam.

1.2 Folk Islam combines the power of the Quran with the power of spirits and in some cases the power of the occult.

• For example: when a person is ill, the imam might write with charcoal on a board a verse in the Quran about power and then wash the charcoal into a cup and give the cup of Quran-empowered charcoal water to the ill person to drink.
• Many Muslims will wear a Quranic phylactery, namely inscribing a verse of the Quran on paper and then sewing the paper into a leather pouch that is tied to the arm or neck or perhaps around the waist.
• In some regions of West Africa, the marabout function both as imams and spirit specialists. They combine both Quranic power and occultic power and are highly respected, for they are not only leaders of the Muslim community but are also specialists who understand how to placate the world of spirits.
• The Quran acknowledges the presence of spirits known as jinns. They can be evil or emissaries of the good. This acknowledgement opens many Muslims to having a lively interest in the world of spirits.
• In these contexts, the triumph of Christ over the powers in His death and resurrection may be received as very good news and as empowerment to break free from needing to fear the powers of the marabout.
• We are also aware that in many regions of the world there is also the phenomenon of folk Christianity where spirits and the occult are syncretistically combined with the veneration of Christ.

2. Many Muslims are secularist. They claim to be Muslim but have little awareness of or interest in the teachings and practice of Islam.

2.1 This is true of many Muslims in Central Asia who were radically secularized during the Soviet era.

2.2 In the Turkish revolution of 1924, Attatruk deposed the Ottoman Caliph and declared that Turkey was a secular state and not a Muslim state.

• This was a tremendous blow to the global Sunni Muslim world.
• Since that event, the Sunni Muslim world has not had a leader to be their spokesperson. The Muslim World Congress attempts to fill that vacuum as a council.

2.3 Today, nearly 90 years after that revolution, most Turks insist that they are Muslim, even though they might never do salat or go to the mosque.

2.4 The secularist streams and mainstream Islam often encounter tensions. For example, at this time in Turkey some theologians are working on developing a new system of Shari’a that would give attention to some of the objections of secularist Muslims to the traditional Shari’a systems. They are calling for change, and their efforts are evoking enormous controversy.

2.5 In some regions, secularist Muslims are finding faith in the gospel to be helpful, for the gospel frees us from the burden of religious ritual while introducing us to a lively relationship with God.

Conclusion

Folk Islam and secularist Islam are two very different movements within Islam. Yet if you pass through Istanbul airport, you will notice “seeing eyes” placed in different locations, an evident presence of folk Islam within a modern airport.