What It Means - Day 81

"The Islamic idea of community, or ummah, is closely related to that of dar al-islam, or the 'Abode of Islam,' which corresponds in many ways to the Western notion of Christendom. Dar al-islam is the geographic area in which the Islamic ummah lives as a majority and where Islamic Law is promulgated and practiced, although there may be other ummahs such as Jews or Christians living within its borders. Classically, dar al-islam was juxtaposed with dar al-harb, or the 'Abode of War,' in which Muslims could not live and practice their religion easily because the Shariah was not the law of the land, although there were in practice always Muslim minorities living in various parts of it. Later Islamic jurists added a third category, dar al-sulh, the 'Abode of Peace.' By this category they came to mean a land that was not part of the Islamic world but one in which Muslims could practice their religion in peace. In the contemporary context Muslims living in America or Western Europe could be said to be living in dar al-sulh in contrast to hose living in the former Soviet Union or present-day Burma, who could be or are living in in dar al-harb."
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Heart of Islam, pp. 163-164

I was prepping for my summer class and came across this section from Nasr's The Heart of Islam which, naturally, was festooned with my usual collection of underlines, stars, and parallel lines and scribbled commentary in the margin. This are the three class designations of areas or abodes where Muslims might live. So, if you lived in Jordan or Oman or Indonesia or Mali you would be living in the dar al-islam, the Abode of Islam, and that certainly makes it a lot easier to practice your faith. We're doubtless talk more about Shariah later, but in this context it would be a situation wherein following the dictates of Shariah would be clear-cut and you wouldn't be trying to balance it against a secular law code.  One would think that the dar al-harb, or the Abode of War, would be relic of history, but sadly that's not true. You only have to pay attention to the cultural and religious genocide that the Chinese are carrying out against the Uyghurs to understand that the category not only still exists but is actually expanding. For all of the talk about the problems that Muslims face here in America - and against the backdrop of the war of civilizations nonsense - it's also important to keep in mind that the US falls into the dar al-sulh category (at least for now, although I suppose if Trump and legion of Evangelical theocrats had their way we'd slide into the dar al-harb category). This means that although it's difficult for a Muslim to practice their faith in America it's not impossible.

Sometimes Muslims are portrayed as this disloyal fifth column inside of America, but actually Islam directs us to follow the laws of the country where we live. As Nasr writes: "As far as living in dar al-harb is concerned, Islamic Law requires that Muslims in such a situation respect the laws of the land in which they live, but also insists that they be able to follow their own religious practices even if to do so is difficult. If such a way of living were to become impossible, then they are advised to migrate to the 'Abode of Islam' itself." It's a difficult balancing act because we're also instructed repeatedly in the Quran to "enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong," so we're supposed to stand up for justice in every instance. Islam is not a faith where you're supposed to disappear from the world, which is one of the reasons why the faith doesn't have monasticism. You have to live in this world. This probably explains why you're starting to see so many Muslims run for public office here in the US. You are remaining loyal, following the laws of the country, and trying to enjoin what is right and forbidding what is wrong. It doesn't mean that you can't fight for change, but you should do it within the system.