During my time abroad, my Muslim teachers and friends taught me about this religion. My teachers taught both Sunni and Shia Islam, but I was exposed to Sunni Islam more. Because that was the atmosphere in which many of my friends were born and raised, or converted and learned.
Learn to understand a religion
My friends follow the basic principles of Islam. They pray five times a day and fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is mandatory for Muslims to the extent possible. And on top of that, my friend always tried to create a small Muslim community on campus where Muslim students could come to socialize, learn, and even have iftar - the meal after sunset during Ramadan.
In addition, weddings, funerals and other important events in their lives all follow Islamic rituals. I had the opportunity to attend a nikah party - a wedding party according to Islamic traditions and rituals of a Somali friend.
During my university days, I learned how to fast during Ramadan. I also joined the Muslim community for Friday prayers. And above all, my friends made me wear the hijab, taught me to recite the Quran and pray together.
Studying Islam to understand a religion, studying Islam to look at world history and the reality of life is what I feel. I understand that Islam has many good things, more than what people can think about Islam and radical Islam.
I am grateful to my friends and teachers for exposing me to a long-standing religion and culture that spans the world, to believe in Allah - the One in Arabic.
Bani Cham people
Because of such exposure to Islam, when visiting the Cham Museum (Da Nang City) and learning about Cham Bani, I was surprised by the way the Cham Bani people worship and follow Islam.
Cham Bani is an indigenous branch of Islam, combining Islam and Cham folk beliefs. Cham Bani was born from a flexible acceptance of Islam, in which the Cham Bani do not fully adhere to the regulations of orthodox Islam but only practice some basic rituals.
The Cham Bani have a distinct blend of Islam and indigenous cultural elements. One of them is Hinduism - the dominant religion of the Champa kingdom and Buddhism. They do not pray every day but only focus on praying on major holidays.
The Bani Cham people's Ramadan is also different, as they only fast for a certain number of days instead of the whole month like Sunni Muslims. One of the prominent cultural characteristics of the Bani Cham is ancestor worship - a custom not common in orthodox Islam.
The Cham Bani maintain rituals of worshipping and venerating ancestors, incorporating elements of Islam into their rituals. This shows the combination of Islam and folk beliefs, creating a unique identity for the Cham Bani.
During my days abroad, I learned that in Islam, Allah is the only supreme being, and Muslims worship no one else but Allah. The phrase that describes this belief is Tawhid (توحيد) – The Oneness of Allah, the belief in absolute monotheism. Allah is unique and has no partners.
Ancestor worship is no exception, because their ancestors were given life by Allah, so ancestor worship is taboo in Islam. However, this is completely opposite to Cham Bani.
Peace in the union of faith
The Bani Cham people worship Allah, their ancestors, and read the Quran, but do not fast for the entire month of Ranuwan, even though Ranuwan coincides with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, and still use the Islamic calendar.
This raised the question of religious pluralism in me. In the 21st century, religious pluralism is not a new issue. But finding the line between a monotheistic religion - Islam and a polytheistic religion - Hinduism, ancestor worship and Buddhism, to set up an altar and maintain the faith, then perhaps only the Cham Bani people.
What is more special is the religious pluralism of the Cham Bani people, which is the peaceful combination of the beliefs of two branches of monotheism and polytheism.
We are no strangers to religious conflicts within the same nation and country in many different countries. In India, Muslims and Hindus are enemies. The historical overlap and invasion, assimilation when talking about religion is a hot topic in the country of billions of people.
In Vietnam, the Cham people, whether Cham Islam or Cham Bani, still live peacefully and respect each other. Even though the Cham Bani faith has never been the source of conflict or war, Allah or ancestors are still the places where the Cham Bani people express their respect and solemnity in their own spiritual and mental life.
The question of the religious pluralism of the Cham Bani leads me to a larger question, which is whether Allah accepts them as true Muslims?
I don’t know, but I do know that the Bani Cham have shown a student of religion like me that monotheism and polytheism can be combined and enrich human beliefs. Why should we divide and draw boundaries when we can accept and combine differences?
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/cau-hoi-cho-thanh-allah-3143675.html
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