Vision of Islam

I’ve found that my interest in the Qur’an heightened very quickly when I realized that there was such an aesthetic to the text. While it is still magnificent as a piece of literature, I’ve learned in class of just how much more it is than that. The Qur’an truly is a moving piece of work when listened to from those who know how to recite. As a musician myself, I do truly appreciate the musical quality of the recitations that I heard in class and have now begun to listen to on my own. Most notably, the use of vibrato reminds me of my time as a saxophone player. It was an accepted standard of musicality that vibrato be used as often as possible where appropriate. I find this same use of vibrato to be almost nostalgic. Unfortunately, I am incapable of replicating that on the piano (my first instrument), but I’ve attached an audio recording of a short piece I composed that was inspired by some of the recitations that I’d listened to. I modeled this piece in hope of replicating some of the stylistic elements of recitation that I’ve noticed: meaningful pauses, legato tones, and unpredictable rhythmic patterns. While I’m unaware as to whether these are the actual standards by which recitation is performed, these are some of the observations I’d made after listening to some videos on Youtube (back at it again).

As you’ll also notice, in my audio recording, I’ve incorporated some elements of my own style which are present in some of the more jazz-esque riffs. However, I’ve tried to keep with the idea of using noticeably tense chords with unpredictable resolutions.

I also apologize for the crying baby. I was playing in Leverett Common Room, which is a public space and one of the tutors’ families were in there with their child.

The story of Muhammad and the Qur’an are quite interesting to me, as it pertains to our class discussions, because of the equivalence that is drawn between the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets. As is written in Professor Asani’s Infidel of Love in Chapter 3, “Muhammad was sent by God as the ‘bringer of good tidings'”. I’d never previously thought of Muhammad in the same way as I’d though of Jesus, but in reality they are quite similar figures. However, the one difference that makes all the difference is the role of the prophet in the deliverance of the word of God. While Jesus performed miracles and spoke the word of God in the way he carried out his life, Muhammad did so through the gift of the Qur’an. It was for this gift, that he was regarded as a “shining lamp”. Though, in lecture Professor Asani also mentions how Muhammad was seen as living out the Qur’an as well.

I also thought that this image was even more interesting as it can easily be modified. In the background, I’ve placed transparent writings of the word “allah” in order to make it clear that this is related to Islam. However, in the spirit of connecting Muhammad and Jesus, one could change the word to “God” and it could also symbolize the transfer of the word of God from the divine world to Jesus in the physical world.

For my first blog post, I found it necessary to delve into one of the questions which I found most troubling: what is the role of women in the Islamic faith? This week in lecture Professor Asani pointed out some of the  disparities which occur due to the implementation of, at least seemingly, sexist practices within the religion of Islam. These disparities play out differently depending on where in the world you are. In Saudi Arabia, the injustices that women face are some of the most aggressive. In other countries, it is less so the case. One thing that struck me was the “necessity” to separate women from men during worship. As the professor explained this, it was because women were “distracting”. In order to better understand this matter, I took to Youtube (quite naturally).

This video explains that though there are certain practices in the Islamic faith that make women seem as if they are subordinates, I am still puzzled. The narrator makes mention to the fact that there are several passages in the Qur’an which mention quite explicitly the fair treatment of women. However, I’m not quite  sure how to reconcile this with the practical implementation and rationalization of certain practices like segregated worship services, laws [in certain countries] that limit the autonomy of women, and so forth.

All the while, this research reminds me of an English teacher I used to have in the 11th grade, who was a practicing Muslim woman. I think back to the day in class in which she made specific reference to her religion and to rumors that had been going around our class that she was being treated unjustly by her husband. She said, “….and just because I wear hijab does not mean that I am oppressed. You all need not worry….”. My questions moving forward are certainly going to be pointed toward the social implications of Islam and how it manifests itself around the world. I also hope that for this mosque project, that I can create a fully functional and multipurpose mosque SOLELY for women.

https://youtu.be/IzKyzS8Y6IY