How Do Muslims Represent An Umma In The Contemporary World?

Beginning with Muhammad’s age from the start of 7th century Islam, Islamic culture and politics have gone a great many events and occurrences. Throughout all of its years, it has boasted both a rich culture and technological/intellectual advancements. The preservation of the Quran, developments in mathematics, and the continued emphasis on respect and charitable nature are just some examples of Islamic achievement. However, as with any growing civilization, Islam has evolved beyond what it originated as. The cultural and political life of Islamic civilization beginning in the 7th century to the end of the Abbasids of the 13th century underwent many changes such as the deteriorating view of women in society and the shift from elected caliphates to dynastical caliphate. But, one aspect that persisted were the religious beliefs and traditions followed by the Islamic people.

Islam, meaning submission or submitting oneself fully to God, is one of the world’s largely practiced religions. Those that participate and practice the Islamic religion

55). Not understanding this diversity could lead non-Muslims to a biased position and see all things as equal. According to Qureshi (2014) Shia make up approximately 10 to 15 percent of the world Muslims that follow after the authority of Muhammad, the Sunni’s make up about 80 percent that follow after caliphate Abu Bakr and 5 to 10 percent fall in the other category (Qureshi, 2014, p. 55). There are instances where Muslims will consider other Muslims as non-Muslims, as such where someone claims to be a prophet or places their authority above Allah. Although there is some disparity among Muslims, Qureshi believes the pillar that identifies a man as Muslim is if he exclusively declares that Allah is God and Muhammad is Allah’s messenger (Qureshi, 2014, p. 57-58). All Muslims through the practices, disciplines, and teachings of Allah share differences, but there are ambiguities among the sects and depending on which sect you believe, the others may be viewed as infidels. Where there are differences in opinion, they rely on the Ulema, which are religious Muslim scholars that are wise and experienced in Islam (Qureshi, 2014, p.

The political structure of the new community was rather informal. In this early era, the characteristically Islamic sense of the community of believers, rather than a concept of church or state, was firmly established as the central institutional identification for Muslims. In this way, Islam can be described as a way of life rather than as a religion separate from politics or other dimensions of society. Because of his role as the messenger of God, Muhammad's own personal actions and words had special prestige.

Notably, as Muhammed standardized the Five Pillars of Islam for the “umma,’’ or community of faithful, multiplying followers stayed true to his legal doctrines. Ever since early Islam, the ‘’Sharia’’ stabilized the cults law, even if it combated Greek, Persian, and Indian nations. Along with cultural topics, the Sharia gave

Islamic societies also fail their people educationally. Islamic institutions inadequately fund education, or provide inadequate education. None of the 1800 universities in Muslim countries are named as one of the top 500 world universities.² In science and technology, the Islamic world lags significantly. Twenty Muslim countries combined contributed only 0.55% of recent scientific literature, while smaller Israel produced 0.89%.³ Korea recently generated 16,328 patents and the United States generated 1,145,914, while the top nine Muslim countries generated 370, many by foreigners.⁴

3. Correcting the Islamic Worldview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The time and need for reform has never been greater than it is right now. The way in which the world is moving is causing divisions among the people of the Islamic faith. Now is the time to look to the Qur’an and the hadith. We must achieve the right balance of maintaining our acts toward God, while modernizing and changing with the times, in order to better benefit society and people as a whole. This is why our reform movement urges all Muslims to join this cause and become a Balanced Believer, accepting and living the Qur’anic principles and teachings while living in a modern technologically and scientifically advanced society. If all Muslims, Shia or Sunni, become united under this belief the Islamic world will be better off in the 21st century.

“Although our number is very similar to those of Jewish people in this country, we have no comparison in strength in terms of economic, political and educational strength. We do not have any Congressmen or Senators. We do not control university boards or faculties. We do not have a single factory or financial institution, which is able to employ Muslims in large numbers. Therefore, we cannot judge the future of Islam by looking at the number of Muslims praying on earth or attending the conventions and bazaars of ISNA. There have to be deeper indicators of our strength” (Athar, 2008).

This type of primary source is a written document by Jonathan Lyons in which he describes Islam through western eyes. In Islam Through Western Eyes, Jonathan Lyons unloads Western propensities for contemplating Islam, directing a watchful examination of the West's great totalizing story crosswise over one thousand years of history. He watches the talk's destructive consequences for the sociologies, including human science, legislative issues, theory, religious philosophy, worldwide relations, security studies, and human rights grant. He takes after its influence on research, speeches, political system, and government approach, keeping the West from reacting viably to its most noteworthy twenty-first-century challenges: the ascent of Islamic power, the rise of religious savagery, and the growing pressure between built up social qualities and multicultural rights among Muslim foreigner populaces.

Disagreement between Shias and Sunni have been the most important splits in Islamic religion, which are ongoing problems since the 7th century to present-day, conflict in Islamic history has initiated blood spills from generations to generations and is still taking life’s while differences in social and equal opportunities that have taken deep roots in the minds of future leaders.

The region of the Middle East and its inhabitants have always been a wonder to the Europeans, dating back to the years before the advent of Islam and the years following the Arab conquest. Today, the Islamic world spreads from the corners of the Philippines to the far edges of Spain and Central Africa. Various cultures have adopted the Islamic faith, and this blending of many different cultures has strengthened the universal Islamic culture. The religion of Islam has provided a new meaning to the lives of many people around the world. In the Islamic world, the religion defines and enriches culture and as a result the culture gives meaning to the individual. Islam is not only a religion, it is in its own way a culture. It may be this very

The objective of this work is to examine Islam, a highly controversial sensitive issue in today's world and specifically to examine the misconceptions, beliefs, and values of those of the Islamic faith. Most people think that the majority of Muslims live in the Middle East, while in reality there are more people of the Islamic faith living in Indonesia. Islam, just as Judaism and Christianity, is practiced in various cultures, serves to shape, and is shaped by those cultures. This study examines the perceptions of those of the three faiths in various countries and how they view one another and seek to answer how a level of threat is felt by those belonging to these three religious groups in various countries. Countries examined in this study include those of the United States, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East. The depth of understanding or the teachings of Islam among the various religious groups in these various countries will also be examined in terms of how these understandings impact the ways that Muslims and non-Muslims interact and communicate with one another.

Muslim culture is derived from Quran, Hadith and the local customs. The word Islam means submission to the will of Allah. Islam is considered to be the second largest religion having one billion followers. 2.7% Muslim population have been recorded in the United Kingdom (Murray, 2004).

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world with a large population of 1.5 billion people. However, the influences of Islamic approach into IHRM practices