Thoughts about Muslim Beliefs

Having just spent a month in Turkey, where 99 percent of the population consider themselves to be Muslim, I am thinking about my own understanding of Islam beliefs, as well as my evolving world view since September 11, 2001.
We picked Turkey as a destination in order to experience life in a country where most of the people are Muslim, yet one where the government is, by law, secular. We wanted to observe how people incorporated their Muslim beliefs into their daily lives.

Throughout our travels in Turkey, we were struck by the large number of mosques, from small and modest to large and grand. It was impossible to miss their presence as the loudspeakers sent out the daily calls to prayer, the first at about 4:30 AM and the last after 10 PM. In many cases, we observed people headed toward a nearby mosque in response to the call to prayer, but, out of respect, we didn't go into the mosques at prayer times. We also noted a number of women responding to the call, and learned that there is a separate area in each mosque for women to pray.

We observed women dressed in a wide range of clothing, from shorts and tank tops to long black gowns and headcovers. The most frequently worn "covers" were scarves that covered the woman's hair and neck, often in lovely bright colored prints. Long coats with buttons in front always buttoned up were another frequent choice, especially among older women. We saw few full niqab, the complete black dress that showed only the eyes.

As we traveled, I was reading Asma Gull Hasan's book, Red, White, and Muslim. She offers her thoughtful interpretations of Muslim beliefs and a wealth of anecdotes from her own experience as a Muslim of Pakistani descent, growing up in Pueblo, Colorado; graduating from Wellesley College and New York University School of Law; traveling to lecture and participate on talk shows; and just living as a Muslim in America.

Asma Hasan writes that "A debate rages in the entire Islamic community whether the cover is required of Muslim women or not." She explains that the Prophet Muhammed was personally responsible for a great advancement in women's rights in his time (7th Century AD). She believes that the contemporary image of Islam as being against women comes from a minority of Muslims who have either lost touch with the Prophet's example or are from patriarchal cultures. These minority views are contrary to the spirit of Islam, she feels.

We asked Yakub, a friend we met in Bergama, about the practice of Islam in Turkey. He reminded us that Turkey is a secular democracy where all religious views are permitted. He considers himself to be Muslim but he does not read the Qur'an or go to the mosque to pray. He drinks alcohol and smokes tobacco. We are not certain how typical he is but based on our own observations, we guess he is not alone! Still, we are certain that the values taught by Islam influence the way that Yakub and most Turkish people live their lives, which accounts for the friendliness, politeness, willingness to help, and welcoming nature of the people we met. Our days exploring this large and diverse country were agreeable and fun!

Yakub asked us, "Which Arab country are you planning to visit?", and suggested that if we wished to continue our study of Islam, we should expand our horizons beyond only Turkey. He's right, of course and we are thinking about where to go next.