How Muslim has grown in Popularity and Affected Modern Culture
Modern culture plays a fundamental role in the life that human beings live. Several factors, such as industrialization, literacy levels, religion, politics, and economic practices, affect modern culture. Consequently, modernization comprises of the factors mentioned above. Islam has become a key concept in the modernization process. The popularity of Islam has increased modernization and drastically affected modern culture.
Since the time of medina, Muslims are recorded to have a unified relationship with Jews. Therefore, it is only right that modern Muslims attempt to achieve the same by studying the history of Islam. Studying history has paved the way for modernists to distinguish the new Islam from traditional Islam. Modern Islamist concerns itself with revolutionizing the religion to accommodate unique modern aspects such as democracy, political ideology, religious tolerance, and respect for women’s rights. The novel approach tries to implore fundamental elements of modernization, such as secularization, urbanization, literacy, media expansion, and industrialization. The merger between Islamic religion and modernization has brought significant change that shows the actual influence of Muslims on the modern world.
Secularization
Recent news has recorded an increase in the number of articles and segments related to Muslims. Muslims represent a considerable proportion of the religious group in the world. Although many researchers attribute the growth to the lifestyle of Muslims, many individuals associate the extension with its unified and diversified approach to religions. The application of normative Islam in a modern era has brought change to the belief and the perception that everyone has about Islam.
Islam had the ability to grow from the Arab peninsula to Africa and the Western world, owing to their practices and ideologies. Muslims present a simplified approach to religion. The latter is especially portrayed in the Quran and the Muslim pedagogy. Muslims pride themselves in having a streamlined ideology that does not contradict its teachings (Hardaker and Sabki 9). The simplicity of its nature attracts the admiration that attracts various followers who convert to the faith. Islam does not rely on the use of extremist evangelical procedures to attract followers and believers. Muslims believe that being a Muslim is a personal choice; thus, evangelism is not required to attract more believers. Christians, on the other hand, have very organized procedures for sourcing and converting, yet Islam continues to grow at a rapid rate compared to Christianity.
The simplified nature of Islam has led to the development of secularization in modern culture. Modern Islam embraces secularization as part of its fundamental pillars of faith. Muslims do not require a specific ritual that publicly portrays that they are Muslims or ex-Muslims once they defect (Friedman 93). The approach increases the popularity of Islam since atheists and non-conformists have a chance to test out Islamic faith before fully committing. The presence of Islam is evident in how other believers view their faith. Christians conform as Christians without having to undergo baptism or taking the Eucharist. Modern Christians believe that proclaiming that one is a Christian is enough; hence, believers do not have to engage in specific rituals to show their commitment.
Fashion
Modernists suggest that the most effective way of fostering social change is by using two crucial avenues. Modernists have to develop a way of changing traditional culture by criticizing the values of modifying the values. Fashion forms an integral part of traditional culture; thus, modernization has to assimilate the component through criticism or modification. The drastic change has created a religious imbalance towards dressing and accepted fashion norms.
Muslims require decent dressing in the form of hijabs and loose clothing that covers their whole body. The rules mainly apply to Muslim women and girls. The women are required to cover their hair and not show any part of their body except for the face or their palms (Hassan et al. 80). In some countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, a hijab is mandatory in public places. The enforcement of the law has led to severe uproar from human rights extremists that criticize the form of dressing that ulama advocates (Shahi and Abdoh-Tabrizi 21). The stringent measures have made it difficult for women in Muslim countries to enjoy the right to dress as they please. The situations have led to the development of various ways to dress fashionably with respect to the law.
Consequently, fashion houses have diverted their attention towards Muslim women that would love to have fashionable attire. The sudden shift in priority by companies such as H&M, Nike, and Zara has led to the popularization of Muslim culture (Hassan et al. 86). The companies emphasize on decent dressing in modern cities. Thus, the women enjoy the fashionable garment that promotes modest dressing at the workplace or in the streets. The gaining popularity has also led to a radicalized view towards dressing in general. Designers are more interested in creating pieces that appeal to Muslim women that are projected as the ideal women. Fashion houses now view true femininity as the ability to dress modestly and appear fashionable. Other companies such as Dolce & Gabbana have gone to the extent of developing an entire hijab line of clothing that specifically targets Islamic women (Hassan et al. 86).
The Iranian protests against women dressing in 2019 revolutionized the industry; thus, leading to the modernization of dressing as individuals know it (Shahi and Abdoh-Tabrizi 21). Fashion industries focus on decency and style that appeal to Muslim women. The effect has led to the emergence of new styles in countries such as Turkey and Istanbul (Hassan et al. 84). The modern era no longer focuses on wearing a hijab and a buibui. Women now enjoy fashionable garments that draw significant inspiration from the Muslim style witnessed in the Ottoman Empire.
Education
Analysis of Muslim history education shows the fundamental value that the religion endowed on education. The growth of extremist fights against Islamic groups has led to the revolution of education in modern times. During George W Bush’s presidency, Muslims were heavily criticized for their form of civilization. Current citizens wished that Muslims had more respect for women’s rights, democracy, and religious tolerance. The rise of terrorist activities fronted by ISIS further created a divide causing a clash of civilizations (Edwards 19). ISIS spearheaded the notion that religion is always the cause of criminal activity in the modern world. The group also projected the idea that Muslims had superiority over everyone else.
The modernization of Islam has changed the idea by focusing on education as a solution to the constant wars created by terrorist groups. Muslims have established new schools and universities that teach their religion in a similar manner to the madrasa, although the emphasis is on theology and developing a means of dealing with terrorist affiliation (Hardaker and Sabki 11). Muslims have developed the idea that religion does not only improve the spiritual but also the intellectual. The Muslim universities aim at equipping its students with skills that help them earn a livelihood after completion of studies. Furthermore, the ability of schools to accept students from other religions shows that Islam promotes equality. Similarly, other schools, such as Christian universities, have developed similar concepts that show diversity and inclusion (Astuti 182). Muslims have entirely changed the outlook that scholars have towards education. The emphasis on intellect as well as spiritual nourishment shows that the modern world requires a blend of both.
The popularization of Islam has led to the incorporation of some of its aspects into government. The idea that other religions exist in the country has faltered since countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran explicitly follow sharia laws within its government. The modernization has led to the doing away of political systems within the state. Non-Muslims also end up complying with the laws despite not believing. Although Islam does not support politics, it provides an opportunity for Muslims to pursue leadership roles. Many Muslim leaders use their positions to educate other individuals about democracy and other human rights, as portrayed by Malcolm X. Faith does not limit individuals from pursuing equality or justice. Despite direct links with politics, Islam has still found a way to affects other aspects of life, such as education, fashion, and secularization without being political about it. Current measures of modern Islam will ensure that the religion continues to grow in both popularity and numbers despite efforts by other faiths to increase their influence on the contemporary world.
Works Cited
Astuti, Sri Andri. “THE ROLE OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING MULTICULTURAL ATTITUDE.” Riyadh: Jurnal Sosial dan Keagamaan 4.02 (2019): 177-183.
Edwards, Jason A. “1 The Myth of the Caliph.” The Media World of ISIS (2019).
Friedman, Matthew. “Millennial Islam and Secularization.” Mission and Evangelism in a Secularizing World: Academy, Agency, and Assembly Perspectives from Canada 2 (2019).
Hardaker, Glenn, and Aishah Ahmad Sabki. Pedagogy in Islamic Education: The Madrasah Context. Emerald Group Publishing, 2018.
Hassan, Faridah Hj, et al. “ISLAMIC AND MODEST FASHION LIFESTYLE.” Journal of Islamic Management Studies 2.1 (2019): 79-88.
Shahi, Afshin, and Ehsan Abdoh-Tabrizi. “IRAN’S 2019–2020 DEMONSTRATIONS: THE CHANGING DYNAMICS OF POLITICAL PROTESTS IN IRAN.” Asian Affairs 51.1 (2020): 1-41.