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184 CHAPTER 2 The Range of Practice among Muslims In the scholarly discussion of Christianity, it is becoming increasingly common to speak of “Christianities,” since there is so much variety among Christian practices, theologies, ritual, and behaviors. In Judaism, as well, there is a great spread of practices, rituals, and ideologies or theologies among Jewish communities throughout the world. Yet despite the many differences between these two related “families” of religion, they have much in common. Both are monotheistic, revere the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, include a great emphasis on ethics, have messianic ideas and views, and both accept the notion of judgment and a world to come. What, then, actually distinguishes the two? There are of course many important aspects that differentiate between Judaism and Christianity, ranging from organizing principles to views of scripture , theologies, rituals, and religious expectations and behaviors. Despite the many disputes and arguments between the various movements or denominations within each religious system, there remains a tacit assumption of certain , generally accepted, even if largely unarticulated, boundaries beyond which a believer cannot go and remain within the system. The same is true of Islam, which, while sharing a great deal with Judaism and Christianity, represents a unique form of monotheism that contains within it a variety of movements, trends, and denominations. And as with Christianity and Judaism, there have always been attempts by individuals, communities, or rulers to define and enforce what they believe is true Islam. There have been inquisitions enforced by ruling authorities, excommunications , and executions of people accused of apostasy. Some Muslims have 185 C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - O N E engaged in public acquiescence to so-called orthodox religion while practicing their own rituals and practices in private. For most Muslims, true Islam consists of one or another form of religious practice and ideals that are followed by Sunni Muslims, based on the Qur’an and the Sunni collections of Hadith, the teachings and interpretations of the early religious scholars, and the four surviving Sunni schools of law. Although some have referred to this Islam as orthodox, the people who count themselves within this world nevertheless embody a variety of practices and range of attitudes and beliefs. Attempts to unify theology and practice from the earliest generations to the present have not succeeded. In fact, a famous Hadith found in the collection of Abū Dāwud (among others) has Abū Hurayra quoting Muhammad as having said, “The Jews are split into seventy-one or seventy-two sects; and the Christians into seventy-one or seventy-two sects; and my community will be split up into seventy-three sects.” The hadith that follows cites Muhammad as having said, “The People of the Book before were split up into seventy-two sects, and this [Muslim] community will be split up into seventy-three. Seventy-two of them will go to Hell and one of them will go to Paradise. . . .” It has thus been recognized by Muslims from early times that unifying the umma would be a difficult if not impossible task. Islam has never developed any ecclesiastical hierarchy as in Christianity under the one universal Church (“One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic”), but functions more like the diffused hierarchy of Jewish communities. Nevertheless, and despite lack of overall institutional structure, actual worship practices in the required daily prayers are quite uniform across the Muslim world and between groups such as Sunnis, Shi`is, Sufis, and others. They are certainly more uniform than the worship practices among Christian or Jewish denominations. There is also a general consensus on major issues such as Islamic articulations of monotheism , scripture, prophethood, and prayer. Yet, many local customs and observances distinguish between geographic, ethnic, and religious ideological divides. And while the obligation to engage in prayer five times per day is the universally accepted requirement in Islam, a number of my Muslim academic colleagues have questioned whether half the world population of Muslims pray even one time per day, let alone five.2 There is a general desire among Muslims for unity, as there is among most religious communities. The concept of the Muslim umma is an expression of this natural aspiration, and many Muslims choose to ignore or deny the fact that Islamic practice can vary widely in the Muslim world. As within each of the three great families of monotheism that we call Judaism, Christianity , and Islam, certain basic assumptions, acknowledgments, beliefs, and practices are shared by nearly...

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