Middle East - Anthony Ham [54]
Are most of the coffeehouse’s temporary residents practising Muslims? Almost certainly. Does the failure to heed the muezzin’s call suggest that the Muslims present aren’t serious practitioners of the faith? Not in the least.
* * *
Worldwide there are around 14 million (some say 18 million) people who either practise Judaism or are Jewish by birth, although this figure is disputed as there are ongoing debates about what defines a Jew.
* * *
There are as many ways of practising Islam as there are Muslims, even as the fundamental beliefs remain constant. For some, Islam governs their every waking moment. For others, the formal rites of their religion form just one part of a life in which other underlying principles of Islam – the importance of community, hospitality and family to name just three – are treated with the utmost seriousness. In a city like Damascus, it’s also highly likely that a sizeable portion of the people present is Christian, often sharing tables or lifelong friendships with fellow Syrians who happen to be Muslim. More than that, young Muslims are as savvy when it comes to the latest fashions and as eager to keep abreast of the latest musical icons of popular culture as their peers around the world.
Modern life requires daily compromises with any chosen religion. In this, and in many other aspects, there’s not much that separates a person’s life in the Muslim world from elsewhere in the world.
Return to beginning of chapter
JUDAISM
Judaism is the first recorded monotheistic faith and thus one of the oldest religions still practised. Its major tenet is that there is one God who created the universe and remains omnipresent. Judaism’s power is held not in a central authority or person, but rather in its teachings and the Holy Scriptures.
Until the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish communities lived peacefully alongside their Muslim neighbours in all countries of the Middle East covered by this book; Iraq was home to a particularly large Jewish community. Tiny Jewish communities may remain in some Muslim countries, but most fled or were expelled in the years following 1948.
Foundations of Judaism
* * *
Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs and Rituals, by George Robinson, is aimed at Jews seeking to rediscover their traditions, but it covers everything from festivals and rituals to Jewish philosophy – the religion stripped of its political connotations.
* * *
The patriarch of the faith was Abraham who, according to the calculations of the Hebrew Torah, was born 1948 years after Creation and lived to the ripe old age of 175. According to Jewish belief he preached the existence of one God and in return God promised him the land of Canaan (the Promised Land in Jewish tradition), but only after his descendants would be exiled and redeemed. Accordingly, his grandson Jacob set off for Egypt, where later generations found themselves bound in slavery. Moses led them out of Egypt and received the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai. Once they had returned to Israel, God assigned the descendants of Aaron (Moses’ brother) to be a priestly caste. They became the Kohen (Kohanim), who performed specific duties during festivals and sacrificial offerings.
God’s relationship with the Jews has not always been one of blessing: when he saw his chosen people straying from their faith he laid down punishment. In one biblical incident God allowed the Philistines to capture the mishkan (portable house of worship) used by the Kohen.
It was Rambam, the 12th-century Jewish rabbi, who laid out the 13 core principles of Jewish belief. These principles include the belief in one unique God to whom prayer must be directed; the belief that God rewards the good and punishes the wicked; and the belief in the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection