Culture versus Conviction

Culture versus Conviction

Conviction is paramount in the acceptance of Islam. Therefore, those who assume Islam is an “Arab religion” are usually disappointed when they mix amongst Arabs in their communities or live in Arab countries, and discover their practices are not particularly Islamic. Furthermore, this misassumption extends to South-East Asia and other communities that often usually portray their societies as “Islamic”. I have long learnt the stark difference between theory and fiction, and I daresay that cultural orientation is not the ideal way to Islam. 

As a similitude, imagine someone happens to learn of the existence of the Yoruba Religion – an autochthonous religion of the Yoruba people of modern-day West Africa. Following the discovery, the person embarks on a journey to Yorubaland in modern-day Nigeria and decides to mingle with the indigenous people to better understand the Yoruba religion. In such a hypothetical scenario, the tourist may be expectant of a fulfilling spiritual excursion. However, such a person would be resoundingly disappointed or shocked. To begin with, the Yoruba religion is neither prevalent nor widely practiced among the Yoruba people. Also, among those who may claim to practice the Yoruba religion, there is a spectrum of practices, syncretization and incongruity, that may likely confuse the enquirer. Furthermore, contemporary Yorubas practice other religions and some practice no religion. In this regard, the cultural approach of indigenous interaction or societal immersion is not the ideal way of understanding any religion. 

From an Islamic viewpoint, Islam is not an ethnic-oriented religion, so the scrutiny of Islam through Arabism or Arab culturalism, is not the ideal way to understand the essence of Islam. In certain situations, Arabs and Islam could be in sharp conflict. There have been many disappointments about the unislamic activities of supposed Muslims in this context. Muslims must realise that their association with Islam is not a bragging right, neither is it a carte blanche to misbehave or feel a false sense of superiority. Muslims are not immune from damnation. Becoming Muslim involves constant striving and hoping for the ultimate Mercy of Allah. Interestingly, I have come across Westerners who accepted Islam and many of them may have been deterred by the activities of supposed Muslims, usually born into Muslim families and communities. However, they were sensible enough to see the religion holistically, and not through the prism of culture or the constriction of Muslim provincialism.  

Conversely, there are those who criticise Islam because of their experience with Arabs or Asians. For example, I know someone who lived in some Arab countries and stated the Arabs are as corrupt as the people in some other countries. Based on such a premise, I wondered if the person was expecting to see saints during their stay in Arab lands. These are unrealistic standards, because those who identify with Islam are probably involved in every crime that exists on the planet. The crux of that example is to establish that such mindsets exist, and those in this category may probably explore presumptive regions, based on their biases and false attribution of religiosity, with the expectation of encountering saints in human form. The reality, however, is that those encountered are most likely not the epitome of religiosity or righteousness, and their being Muslim may be culturally-oriented. In view of this, the wiser option is to analyse the religion through its tenets and not its adherents, as the adherents may be bad representatives of the religion – if not the worst of representatives. As a similitude, if a student is studying to become an engineer, the primary sources of knowledge should be available engineering manuals and not the behaviour of the engineers encountered whilst on campus.  

In a scenario where the trainee engineer fails the exam to become a qualified engineer, and when interrogated about the reason for failure; the excuse given by the trainee is that he spent his time observing engineers, rather than studying engineering manuals. This is an untenable excuse and the basis for a well-deserved failure.  

Based on the cited similitude, when such situations arise, it is wiser to concentrate on the scripture and not the supposed adherents of any scripture. More importantly, the reality of the situation is that, when the time comes and people are faced with a personalised examination, they will not be questioned about the actions of others, but, about their own actions. Every human being, without exception, will face a personalised examination and not the examination of others; in fact, other examinations would be the least of their concerns. The above cited similitudes explicate the downside of analysing Islam through a cultural prism. Also, this flawed approach to religion underscores the pitfalls of accepting Islam culturally, rather than intellectually – a process of rationalism to the point of attaining conviction. 

Excerpt from pgs 320-322 of P.R.I.S.M: Primal Religious Instruction Serving Mankind by M.B.O Owolowo ©️