ISLAM AS A CREED AND A WORLD RELIGION 19
IDENTITY AND ETHNIC PRIDE
The history and the character of the Prophet and his companions have a pro-
found impact on Muslim sentiments and conscience. Although the behavior of
Muslims today may be farther from the ideals of Islam in many respects, and
although this population of more than one billion Muslims may be divided eth-
nically, linguistically, and politically, the Muslims seem to harbor a relatively
strong sense of community, a sense of belonging. Bernard Lewis, the Princeton
historian, argues that whereas the West sees the world as being a system of
nations divided in various ways including religions, Islam sees the world as
being a system of religions divided in various ways including the nations.
This makes the world of Islam as being one community the ummah among
many other religious communities existing in the world (The Economist, 13
September 2003). Prayer (salat) as preceded by the call to prayer (adhan),
five times a day, from a neighborhood mosque, communal fasting from dawn
to dusk everyday for a whole month of Ramadhan (siyam), and especially pil-
grimage (hajj) resulting in a mammoth gathering of Muslims from all over
the world are primary cultural factors in shaping this entity. These are power-
ful elements of the Muslim personality reinforcing common identity, which
transcends even sectarian differences among Muslims. They seem to have
taken to heart the Qur anic admonishment:
O, believers, fear Allah the way He should be feared And do not die except in
the state of Islam
And hold steadfast together the rope of Allah and do not separate
And remember the favors of Allah on you
You were enemies to one another
And He put love in your hearts
And in His mercy made you brothers (sisters)
(3:102-103)
Or,
  Certainly the believers are brothers and sisters unto one another 
(49:10)
This feeling of brotherhood standing for the Muslim nationalism was first
inculcated by the Prophet in the city-state of Madinah fourteen hundred years
ago. It served him well against his Meccan foes, and seems to have, in one form
or the other, survived the onslaught of time. This   tribalism  is not unique to
Muslims. Hindus castes, Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and a number of fundamen-
talist Christians seem to harbor strong community feelings. This sense of belong-
ing or a common identity is usually heightened especially in times of a crisis,
adversity, and defeat, or when a sense of helplessness prevails. In the United
States, this must not come as a surprise especially to the Jews, the Mormons,
and the Catholics. Present day adherents of Islam are no exception to this rule.
Moreover Muslims are heirs to a more than one thousand years long mighty
civilization, which almost looked invincible. Many Muslims, even educated