Islam

Islam is considered a monotheistic religion where followers, called Muslims, believe in Allah and follow his prophet, Mohammed, as the role model, as outlined in the ‘Sunnah’. The word “Islam” itself means ‘submission’ or, in essence, ‘the submission to Allah’.  Allah is currently the standard Arabic term to denote God. However, during the pre-Islamic period, Allah refers to the Moon God of the Arab Qureshi tribe. ‘El’ or ‘Illah’ were also terms used to describe the God at that time.

Origin of Islam

The origin of Islam can be traced back to the 7th century in the Arabian desert.  Muhammad of Mecca (570-632 A.D.) introduced Islam in 610 A.D, and he himself claimed that he should be considered the prophet. A Muslim means “one who submits (to Allah)”. 

Core beliefs: 
  • Monotheism: There is no God other than Allah.
  • Prophets: According to the Qur’an, Muhammad is the final prophet and messenger of Allah. However, Muhammad claimed that the line of previous prophets or persons described in Judaism, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, are also prophets of Allah. However, Judaism holds that the God of Israel is YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah), revealed to Abraham, Moses, and the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Jewish tradition does not accept Muhammad as a prophet and views the Qur’an as outside their covenantal revelation. From a Jewish perspective, the figures in their Hebrew Tanakh, named in Islamic tradition and the Quran, did not know “Allah” but only worshipped YHWH, the God of Israel, who entered into a covenant specifically with the Jewish people. Christianity affirms the Hebrew prophets (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc.) as genuine historical and religious figures, and sees Jesus as the Son of God and the fulfillment of the Old Testament. For most Christians, the God revealed in Jesus Christ is the same God worshipped by Israel. Many Christians argue that the Qur’anic depiction of God differs from the Christian understanding of God as revealed in Christ. Christians do not accept Muhammad as a prophet or the Qur’an as divine revelation, and instead consider Mohammed as an imposter, and that Mohammed’s claim to be in the line of prophets is fake, only to gain reflected glory, to fool illiterate people, and to take advantage of it.
  • Quran: The Quran is the holy book of Islam, believed to be the literal word of Allah revealed to Muhammad through the angel Jibril. 
  • Sunnah: The Sunnah refers to the teachings and practices of Prophet Muhammad, as recorded in the Hadith. 
  • Sharia: Sharia is the Islamic law, which guides all aspects of Muslim life, from religious practices to social conduct.
The Five Pillars

The Five Pillars of Islam are the declaration of faith, prayer, charity, fasting during Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca. They are the five duties that Muslims have to do to practice their religion and consist of: 

Shahadah: declaration of faith that “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” Allah is currently the standard Arabic word for God. However, during the pre-Islamic period, Allah refers to the Moon God of the Arabic Qureshi tribe, and ‘El’ or ‘Illah’ were the terms used to describe the God, at that time.

Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day. The chief purpose of prayer in Islam is to act as a person’s communication with God. Worshippers stand before God, thank and praise Him, and ask for guidance. Prayer is also cited as a means of restraining a believer from social wrongs and moral deviancy. [Qur’an 29:45]

Zakat: is the giving of a small percentage of one’s possessions to charity, generally to the poor and needy. Zakat or sadqah is worship as a means of spiritual purification. Muslim jurists agree that zakat is obligatory on the Muslim who has reached puberty, who is sane, who is free, and who owns the minimum assigned, ‘nisab’.

Sawm: fasting the month of Ramadan. Muslims are prohibited from eating, drinking, smoking, and engaging in sexual intercourse from dawn (fajr) to sunset (maghrib). Fasting is essentially an attempt to increase one’s piety. One of the aims of fasting is to sympathize with those less fortunate who do not always have food and drink readily available. Also, one must try to avoid cursing and thinking evil thoughts. Fasting is viewed as a means of controlling one’s desires (of hunger, thirst, sexuality, and anger). Sawm also carries a significant spiritual meaning. It teaches the principle of love, because when one observes fasting, it is done out of deep love for God.

Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in a lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca stretches back thousands of years to the time of Ibrahim (Abraham). Pilgrims perform a series of rituals: Each person walks counter-clockwise seven times about the Ka’bah, the cube-shaped building which acts as the Muslim direction of prayer and was rebuilt by Ibrahim and his son as a worshiping place. The pilgrim runs as well back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah 7 times, as Hajar, the wife of Ibrahim, did while she was looking for water to drink and her baby son Ishmael.

Law and Culture

The Islamic law touches on many aspects of life and society, encompassing dietary laws and banking to welfare. Islam is the predominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, and a few countries in Asia. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, 31% in the Indian Subcontinent, and only 20% in Arab countries. Immigrant communities are found in most parts of the world. With approximately 1.57 billion Muslims, Islam is the second-largest religion in the world.

The Bristol Context

Around 31,000 Muslims are living in Bristol. While specific figures may vary, the Muslim population in Bristol is almost 6.6% as of 2024. The nearby districts of South Gloucestershire got 4500 Muslims (1.5%); Bath and North East Somerset got 1807 Muslims (1%); and North Somerset got 870 Muslims (0.6%) as per the 2021 census. This number is growing rapidly due to new migrant families coming from Muslim countries and the increased birth rate amongst Muslim families. On the other hand, there is also a growing number of Ex Muslims in Bristol, who don’t believe in any faith or only registered as a Muslim due to social and family pressure, but don’t observe it. Ex-Muslims criticize the fundamentalism and violence in Islam and stand for human rights. Muslims in Bristol worship in one of the twenty-eight mosques in Bristol, a partial list enclosed below. 

Bristol Muslim Cultural Society, created in 1986, is a community association dedicated to empowering the Muslim community in Bristol and the surrounding areas to further the economic (employment, enterprise, training), educational, recreational, cultural, and social needs, while encouraging their active participation in mainstream society, and providing support to interested stakeholders.

At the Harmony Festival, Cllr Tom Aditya mentioned that the Muslim population is a significant part of the city’s religious diversity, actively involved in various aspects of city life, including community engagement, interfaith work, and charitable initiatives. Bristol’s Muslim community actively participates in interfaith dialogues and initiatives, contributing to a more inclusive and harmonious city environment. Studies show that Muslims in Bristol fare well in terms of health, with a lower percentage having limited daily activities compared to the general population. This is partly attributed to the younger age profile of the Muslim population. 

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