Running Header: The Exploration of Islamic Culture

Cultural Research Essay: The Exploration of Islamic Culture

Austin Hazelwood
University of Kentucky

The Exploration of Islamic Culture

Abstract
This Article provides a personal, historical, and perspective look at Islamic culture. By utilizing
information obtained from multiple individuals who are members of the faith itself. The piece of writing
also utilizes various attributed articles from accredited sources that are knowledgeable within the
subject area. Areas of interest that are addressed within the article subject matter such as religious
beliefs, daily life, and how the faith is perceived collectively. World events concerning this particular
culture and the dominating opinion relating to those events is discussed within the article. The main
purpose of this particular piece of writing is to provide sound evidence to the true nature of Islam. That
evidence being that Islam is a religion of peace, neighborly kindness, and goodwill to all, regardless of
varying beliefs.

The Exploration of Islamic Culture

Figure 1. Quran Blog. (2011). What is Islamicculture?-Text/Graphic. retrieved from

http://thequranblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/what-is-islamic-culture/
The land of open arms and peaceful refuge, this is how we describe our nation today. To
many, this truth would in fact be self-evident. To some, the situation is more deceiving. Recent
world events over the past two decades have manipulated the American publics perception of
Islam, and altering their view on an entire culture in a negative manner. Who is to blame for this?
Is it the assaulting tactics implemented by the mass media, the aggressive stereotyping by nonIslamic bystanders or violent actions carried out by radical believers in the faith themselves?
Perhaps the core of the issue is not relayed to a single factor, but rather a concoction of all three
contributors. Is there however, one factor more at fault than the other? The factual answer to that
may never be apparent. There are misunderstandings of Islam that can initially be remedied by
striving to gain further understanding of the faith itself. The Islamic faith as a whole is one that

The Exploration of Islamic Culture

promotes religious values of personal morality, self-accountability of good works, and peaceful
resolve towards everyone collectively.
Before there can be effective understanding as to why Islam is perceived by the public
the way that it is today, you first have to understand the underlying core beliefs of the religion.
When examining the true basics of Islam, one would find that it does not vary greatly from
Christianity or Judaism, in a sense that they believe in only one God. This however, is also where
it can differ. This belief is taken very seriously. Unlike Christianity that believes in a trinity, or in
other words multiple forms of God, Islam holds no such belief. God, to them is the ultimate
example of perfection. He would not, in their belief, rest on the seventh day of creation, nor have
any variant in any other form whatsoever. When delving deeper into the details, the similarities
between this particular faith and others is almost uncanny. Angels, a common belief in all main
religions is also observed within Islam. The remarkable part however is the belief in Angels
whose identity is also evident within Christianity and Judaism as well. Gabriel, an angel that
holds significance in Islam by being recognized as the entity that delivered Gods Message to
Muhammad, who is believed to be Gods final messenger according to Islam, is also mentioned
within the two other main religions in both of their holy scriptures. While this may seem like a
rather small detail in the wider scope of view across the entirety of the religion, this is a great
example of how Islam shares overlooked similarities in comparison to the other religions. This
key concept is invaluable to reshaping ones perception of modern day Islam. Coming to this
realization of Islamic believers being no different than anyone else of contrasting faith is how
mindsets can be changed for the better.
To understand Islam correctly there must be an understanding of the extrinsic values that
followers of the faith deal with on a day to day basis. Upon observing Islam, I quickly learned

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that while it is rich in intrinsic tradition, there are also practical applications of the faith that
serves as a guide to everyday life. When I had the opportunity to interview three different
believers of the faith I quickly realized how their faith followed the enjoyment they obtained out
of life. While there was a rather vast difference in age demographic between the interviewees, I
was able to develop connections between the things they enjoyed in their lives, compared to
things I enjoy in my own. Something I initially hypothesized I would not be able to do upon my
first introduction to followers of this specific faith.
Amongst the three interviewees I had the chance to converse with, Ashraf Faltmy was by
far the most compelling in his explanation and implication of the Islamic religion. Like most
situations of immigrants, Ashraf came to America eager for the opportunity to pursue a
successful and fulfilling life. A native of Egypt, Ashraf came here in 1988 and was eventually
able to gain employment at the Toyota Automotive Plant in Nearby Georgetown, Ky. Mr.
Faltmys life is completely centered on his faith. Something that was quickly apparent. The
interview began by conversing on what interests or hobbies he had, writing articles on his faith
for a blog was at the top of the list. Even when discussing something as typical as way to pass
the time, this man still accredited his religion. With the interview barely underway, I already had
grown an immense amount of respect that this man displayed towards his faith. Now, of course I
was interested in learning about the faith itself, but my true purpose was to gain insight on
Ashrafs own experiences with his religion, and how he believed others around him perceived it.
It was my hopes that we could discuss how the events of 9/11 had affected the publics
viewpoint, Ashraf himself brought up the very subject.
One would assume that when discussing the events of September 11th 2001, a very tense
atmosphere concerning the discussion would ensue. Surprisingly, this was not at all the case. The

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immediate assumption to have after something like this has taken place is that most individuals
would hold intense prejudice towards followers of Islam. To some extent this was the case.
Ashraf spoke of a few cases involving direct acts of hatred towards the mosque that he frequently
attended. The remarkable outcome of this event far outweighs the negative though. After one act
of discrimination, a brick through the mosque window, the community itself put aside its own
preconceived notions to perform a genuine act of neighborly kindness. Ashraf recalls that shortly
after the incident, various churches within the community banded together to reverse the flow of
hatred. The mosque received various offers by Christian organizations to fix the damage
property, even offering their own facilities to the Islamic believers if their own mosque was not
suitable for worship in its current state. Perhaps though, the most intriguing aspect of all this was
the invitation from Christian churches to have Islamic followers come and speak to their
congregations about what Islam truly is about. This makes you wonder, is Islam actually
perceived as negatively as once believed? Does the natural tendency to help those in need
supersede any long held notions about an entire culture?

Figure 2. Lyons, J. (2012) Islam Through Western Eyes. Text/Graphic. Retrieved from
http://www.cupblog.org/?p=5183

The Exploration of Islamic Culture

The answer to the previous question is without a doubt, yes. As the interview progressed
it was revealed just how the Islamic faith viewed individuals within its own religion, who did not
necessarily exhibit true Islam. As the conversation shifted away from 9/11 and towards more
recent world occurrences involving Islam, Ashraf began to convey some very compelling
information about how believers like himself viewed radical Islam. Instead of beginning by
explaining that organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS are not proper representatives of the
faith, which they arent, he took a more unforeseen explanation. The Ku Klux Klan, a major
black spot in our nations history, will forever go down in infamy. This is how Ashraf explained
radical Islam. While the Klan was devout believers in the Christian faith, they promoted no holy
teachings whatsoever. Only acts of brutality and violence. When examining the atrocities groups
such as ISIS has carried out, this concept makes complete sense.
Religious secularism is in the forefront of the problem in the relationship strain between
Islam and Christianity. That secularism lies within the upbringing of people on both sides of the
varying perspectives. Muslims and Christians have much in common in our mutual interests in
governing families and in educating children in virtue and in knowledge of the good (Kleven,
2013 p.52). This excerpt from Family Virtues in Islam and Christianity: Building Communities
in Harmony provides an interesting look into theory behind how daily life, combined with open
minded upbringing, can strengthen communal bonds between individuals of varying faiths.
There will always be of course, the distinguishing differences that Islam holds apparent. Most
would believe that feminism is absolutely nonexistent in Islamic teaching. The aggressive
conservatism towards Islamic women does at face value make this appear to be true. While
women are not permitted to mingle with the opposite sex prior to marriage, nor display the upper

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portion of their body in public, they do have subtle freedoms that they themselves deem
extremely important. For instance, a woman who is wed in the holy matrimony of Islam will not
take on her husbands last name. Islam believes that women are equal to men in every way;
women therefore are not capable of being a part of men. This includes the taking of their name as
a display of subservience.
Delving into an even further depth of insight in regards to Islamic culture, you find that
there is an incorrigible bond that connects its believers to all of Gods living creation. While it
has previously been stated that true Islam does not condone the maltreatment of any individual.
Its belief of the pursuit of absolute tranquility goes beyond this as well. Islam teaches respect for
anything that was made by Gods hand, this includes any animal. This core value is planted
firmly within the daily life of Islamic followers by the observance of kosher regulated food
items. Meaning that even the product that one consumes for sustenance, must be to Gods
approval.
The differences of Islamic culture are not as vast as commonly perceived. Like all cultures,
its norms perceptions are constantly being molded and shaped by the events that become
directly, or indirectly, associated with it. While In the past few decades Islamic extremists have
provided a powerful force of negativity in regards to the religion, they represent only a small sect
of the faith. Islam in truth represents the same principles that any other peaceful religion does,
principles of charity, neighborly kindness, and goodwill towards those of any faith. It all comes
down to the self- conceptualization that someone implements when creating their own perception
of Islam. Like all people, followers of Islam merely want to be understood, as opposed to being
alienated by an overwhelming populous. Understanding is something we all wish to secure for
ourselves, but in doing so, we must first attempt to understand those different from us.

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A. Alhoqani, Personal Communication, September 21st, 2014

A. Alkaabi, Personal Communication, September 21st, 2014

A.Faltmy, Personal Communication, September 21st, 2014

Gilbert, M. (n.d.). A Path to Peace Inspired by the Past. History Today., 60.(8.), 28-35.

Kleven, T. (n.d.). Family Virtues in Islam and Christianity: Building Communities in Harmony.
Theological Review., 34(1), 50-67. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from Academic Search Complete.

Shaheen, J. (2012). The Making of the 'Green Menace' Nation., 294.(27/28), 15-17.

Yedgina, G. (n.d.). Islam and Its Sacred Book Origin. (English). European Researcher, 45(4-1), 787791. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from Academic Search Complete.

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