The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) hosts numerous visitors regularly – both Muslim and non-Muslim. We asked them to share some of the most common questions posed by visitors and their responses to those queries. Below are a few of the common questions posed by non-Muslims who are curious about the practices they see Muslims living in the Gulf region engage in.
- Why do Muslim women wear black?
In the Gulf countries the color of choice for outer clothing for women tends to be black. This is simply fashion, and dates back to around the early 1960’s. There are many stories about how it began, from a poem about a beautiful women wearing black, to an influx in the marketplace of black fabric. The fact of the matter is that it is simply a tradition that became fashion and can be seen almost in every part of the world where Muslim women live, although in other countries it is not the standard. The black gown (abaya), is practical and easy to wear and provides the modesty that some women of faith wish to comply with. It is not mandatory, and their husband’s do not ask them to wear it.
- Are the majority of Muslims Arab?
There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, of which about 12 per cent are Arabs. The country of Indonesia with 246 million people is almost 90 per cent Muslim, and has never been invaded by an army. Islam was spread through Muslim merchants trading with the Indonesians.
- Is it true that Islam says “convert or be killed”?
It is totally false. Since the start of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula more than 1400 years ago, Christians, Muslims, Jews and pagans, lived under the rule of Islam, free to practice their faith. Throughout the Middle East in particular, one can find churches dating back centuries protected and untouched during the spread of Islam and used as shared houses of worship by Christians and Muslims. One need only to look at places like Istanbul, Turkey and Granada, Spain for these examples.
Many Muslims also visit the SMCCU to learn more about their faith. Below are a few of the questions often posed by Muslims who want to have a better understanding of Islam.
- 1. How did the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) relate to non-Muslims?
The Prophet (pbuh) was married to the daughter of a Jewish tribe leader and a Coptic Christian women and did not ask that they convert to Islam. There is a famous story about the Prophet and his Jewish neighbor, how he visited her when she was sick even though she was not friendly or kind to him. From these examples, we understand that Islam encourages peaceful dealings and respectful interactions among all of mankind, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.
- 2. What are the rights of women in Islam?
Before Islamic legislation was established, women had very few rights. In fact, it was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that women had the right to own property, vote and in most cases even choose a spouse. 1400 years ago, Islam gave women the right to inherit, own property, the right to be educated, the right to choose a spouse, and even divorce. The wife of the Prophet (pbuh) Aisha, after his death was an advisor to the leaders of the Islamic State. Women played an active role in politics in early Islam and were elevated to a status unseen in other parts of the world until more recent centuries.