Presentation topic :

Islamic Culture And

Civilization
 Islamic Culture

Introduction:
There are over a billion Muslims throughout the world, and though
they speak hundreds of different languages and live in dozens of
different countries, they still share a common Muslim culture. This
culture is embedded in certain common beliefs that there is no God
but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger. Muslim customs
and traditions include Islamic/Muslim clothing, food, wedding
traditions and other aspects of Islamic life that Muslims have
adopted in their respective countries.
Basic Concept Of Islamic Culture:
Muslim culture represents the unification of all the cultures
influenced by common beliefs and practices. The guiding religious
phenomena and cultural aspects bind its people historically. The
religious practices and beliefs of Muslims are centered around the
religion of Islam. The original Muslim literature is in Arabic, the
Prophet's language. Most of the literature is religious in nature. It
comprises communication and documentation of the belief system
from the Quran, Sirat and Hadith.
History Of Islamic Culture:
Secular Muslim literature developed in the Umayyad empire.
It was taken by the Arabs to distant lands and became part of
a popular culture. In due course of time, Persian became one
of the main languages of the civilization. In the sub-
continent, syncretistic poetry from the Sufis propagated the
foundations of Muslim culture.
Characteristics Of Islamic Culture:
The Quran is considered to be the source of many aspects of
Islamic culture. Certain acts or rituals that Muslims do almost
subconsciously are actually encouraged, or allowed by Allah, or
mandated, in the Quran.

Festivals and Marriage:

Festivals like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha and Lailat al Miraj are classic
examples of the influence of religion in the lives of Muslim people.
According to Muslim culture, marriage is, in the words of
Mohammed, 'half of religion'. The bonding of two souls in holy
matrimony is looked upon as a legal bond and social contract.
Art and Architecture

Art is an important part of Muslim culture. The abstract, decorative

and floral designs are unique to Islamic art and architecture.
Muslim art is always devoid of depictions of the animate, especially
human beings according to the dictates of Islam or Muslim religion.
Islamic art focuses on the omnipresence of Allah, the 'One who
cannot be represented by imagery'. Arabic calligraphy is a
recognized art form used to write verses from the Qur'an. As Islam
spread, the first mosques to be built outside Arabia were definitely
influenced by the local houses of worship and churches. Though the
architectural form and simplicity of the mosque remained,
frequently, materials for columns and beams were taken from other
edifices of previous cultures.
Islamic architecture is common in the following features:
• Large courtyards
• Central prayer halls
• Minarets
• A wall niche indicating the direction to Mecca
• Domes
• Iwans to separate sections
• Repetitive art forms
• Arabic calligraphy
• Fountains
• Bright color
Music
Islamic music is mostly played in public services. Devotional music
is enjoyed by contemporary Muslims all over the world. The
common music forms include Arab classical and North Indian
classical music. The musical preferences of Muslim people have
traversed the trade routes. The Sufis are credited with taking the
music of the mystics far and wide.

Muslim Customs and Traditions

The Quran does not mention many practices that are prevalent in
the Muslim world today. Instead, the traditions, sayings, and stories
of Prophet Muhammad and his companions provided basis for
today's traditions and practices that are called the Hadith. The term
Muslim means 'submission to God'. Islam is now recognized as
the second-largest world religion. Muslims believe that the
Quran is the outcome of dialogs between the God and the
Prophet.
 Islam propagates the five laws that are fundamental duties to unite
Muslims in spirit. These are:
• Shahadah or the worship of one God only.
• Salah or prayer, at least five times a day.
• Zakat, or donation of alms.
• Sawm, or fasting during Ramadan.
• Haj, the pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca.

In today's troubled world, it is important to differentiate between

what is truly Islamic and what is just culture as Muslim culture
covers a wide variety of subjects. Many Islamic customs or
traditions that are practiced today are not supported by the Word of
Allah in the Quran or the teachings of Prophet Muhammad in the
Hadith, but are simply local customs assumed to be Muslim culture.
 Islamic Civilization
Introduction:
Some of those who have written about the history of civilization
define civilization as “a social system which helps man to increase
his cultural output.”

Basic Concept Of Islamic Civilization:

Civilization consists of four main elements: economical resources,
political systems, moral traditions and science and arts. The
development and progress of a civilization requires many factors
such as geographical and economic factors, and psychological
factors such as religion, language and education. The collapse of a
civilization stems from factors which are the opposite of those which
lead to its rise and development, the most important of these
 destructive factors include moral and intellectual decadence,
lawlessness and breakdown of social systems, the spread of oppression
and poverty, the spread of pessimism and apathy and the lack of
competent and sincere leaders.

History Of Islamic Civilization:

In the beginning the Muslims were both open and cautious. They
borrowed and integrated elements of other cultures into their own. The
new religion of Islam, which we will get to in a moment, adopted
elements of Christian, Jewish, and pagan religious beliefs and practices.
The Muslims tolerated religious minorities within territories they had
conquered so long as these minorities recognized Islamic political rule,
paid taxes, and did not proselytize among Muslims. Still, the Muslims
were careful to protect the purity of their religion, language, and law
from any foreign influence. With the passage of time, and with
increased conflict with both eastern and western Christians, this
protective instinct grew stronger. In the end, Islamic culture did not
penetrate the west in the same way that Germanic culture did, but
would remain strange as well as threatening to the West.
.
 Fundamental to Islam was its religion -- this, of course, is true for
the medieval west as well. However, we know more about early
Christianity then we do about early Islam. And the reason is clear.
Christianity was produced by a literate culture. Islamic religion,
however, was formed largely in an illiterate, nomadic culture.

Characteristics of Islamic Civilization:

Like the human being, every civilization has a body and a soul. The
body of a civilization is its material achievements in terms of
buildings, industrial facilities, machinery and anything which
reflects welfare and earthly advancement. Its soul is the set of creeds
and concepts which condition the behaviors of individuals and
groups, their mutual relationships and their worldview. These are
the elements which constitute the characteristics of the Islamic
civilization.
 Five main characteristics do distinguish the Islamic civilization from
other past and present successive human civilizations and place it at
an outstanding position:

1. The first characteristic is the fact that it is a civilization based on

Islamic faith, imbued with its values and principles. It is a
monotheistic civilization based on the belief in the oneness of
Allah Almighty, the Creator of men and all creatures. It is also
partly a man-made civilization, built on sturdy religious
background of faith.

2. The second characteristic is that Islamic civilization is predicated

on the idea that Man has precedence over the rest of Allah's
creatures, that all human activities should lead to the happiness
and welfare of Man and that any action intended to serve this goal
is a God-blessed action, indeed a human action in the first place.
3.The third characteristic is its being a generous civilization which
drew on the human civilizations and cultures experienced by the
peoples of the ancient world, but contributed copiously to the
advancement of science, knowledge and the values of justice,
equality, beauty and virtue. Its output benefited humanity at large,
regardless of race, color or even religion.

4. The fourth characteristic is its being a well-balanced civilization

which secures fair equilibrium between the materialistic and the
spiritual sides with exemplary moderation that has always been a
characteristic of Islamic thought and a distinctive feature of the
Islamic civilization throughout its history.

5. The fifth characteristic is its being a perennial civilization which will

last as long as Islam, because it is based on the very principles of
Islam which Allah will preserve eternally. Thus, it is a civilization
with unique characteristics, a civilization that never withers away
since it is not a national or a racial civilization nor does it run
counter to human nature.
 The Islamic civilization had once headed the march of science and
knowledge during the Middle Ages which are considered in Europe
as the age of darkness while they are an age of enlightenment for
our civilization.

Contemporary Issue:

Today’s progress in the modern world is increasingly

challenging, and more so for Islamic civilization. The
inaccurate image and misunderstanding of the teachings and
practices of Islam, and of the lives of Muslims in the eyes of
the world have generally affected the relationship of Muslims
with the global community. The western economic model is
not providing the expected stability to the world’s economy,
and some scholars are now looking for alternative models
including Islamic-based economics and finance.
In the geo-political sphere, international unrests and issues are
increasingly focused on the Muslim world or Islamic countries,
varying from terrorism to the daily lives of Muslims such as the
wearing of headscarves. These issues may deteriorate if the Muslims
themselves do not rectify the misunderstanding among the non-
Muslims about the Islamic religion. It is thus the responsibility of
Islamic scholars and experts to guide, debate and protect the image
of the religion through research and publication in the international
arena.
Thank You!!!