Islam
With more than 1.4 billion adherents, Islam is the second largest religion in the world (Ahuja, 2008; Croucher, 2011a). Like Christianity, the Muslim community, or ,ummah, is spread throughout the world, with larger concentrations in specific geographic areas but with rapidly growing numbers throughout the world (Ahmed, 1992; Nourallah, 2002; Roy, 2004).
Islam is based on the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, which was revealed to Prophet Mohammed (570-632 CE) by Angel Gabriel. The Qur’an is a collection of teachings, revelations, and experiences from and of Prophet Mohammed. Since the Qur’an was revealed and written in Arabic, many Muslims view translations as imperfect (Lewis, 1998). Similar to the Christian Bible, the Qur’an offers stories of the prophets (Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Adam, and Jesus). Islam is a monotheistic religion, worshiping one God like the Christians; it recognizes Christian prophets, but it recognizes Mohammed as the Prophet (Kassim, 2005). The majority of the Qur’an is devoted to the afterlife, historical events, commandments, prayer, and moral/civil law.Pre-Islamic Conflict Behavior. Before and after Muslim culture3 took a stronghold on the Arabian Peninsula, perspectives on conflict differed vastly (for in-depth reviews of pre-Islamic cultures and conflict perspectives on the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula, see Abu-Nimer, 2003; Oetzel et al., 2006; von Grunebaum, 1955). Before Islam united the tribes, clans, and families of the Arabian Peninsula, conflicts would often result in hama’il, or violence and prolonged fighting between the warring families or tribes (Abu- Nimer, 2003). Conflicts would often escalate as individuals/groups would feel threats to face, karama, and/or loss of group honor, sharaf, due to loss of respect or shame.
Such fears of hama’il, karama, and/or sharaf led to intricate forms of conflict negotiation.
Many traditional Arabs used musayara to negotiate conflicts, or self-humiliation to express empathy and reduce the intensity of the conflict (Oetzel et al., 2006). Praising the other party, giving gifts, beating oneself, and offering favors were all examples of musayara (Griefat & Katriel, 1989). Tribes and families could also begin efforts at conflict negotiation/resolution with the offending family/tribe, providing funds, or a twah, to the victim’s family. If the atwah was accepted, a truce, h udnah, began in lieu of retaliation or revenge. Reconciliation between the two groups then took place, the sulh. The sulh process ended with a public ceremony where the two parties shared food and declared their peace and harmony with one another. Due to the prolonged and violent nature of conflicts on the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula, it is no surprise that many of the prominent Arabic words for conflict have negative connotations: e.g., fitna (“chaos”), ikhtilaf (“disagreement”), tanaqudh (“dispute”), and niza’un (“moral and/or intense conflict”) (Farah, 2003; Keddie & Beck, 1978; Mernissi, 1975).Conflict Behavior and Islam. Islam, through the Qur’an,4 unified the clans and tribes of the Arabian Peninsula into one community and race, forever changing approaches to conflict. The Qur’an exemplifies principles such as mercy, forgiveness, and truth (Croucher, 2008; Irving, 1985; Rahman, 1980). These basic principles shaped approaches to conflict among Muslims, which involved shame, forgiveness, patience, and commanding right and forbidding wrong (Abu-Nimer, 2003; Oetzel et al., 2006).
In any given conflict, one party is likely to disrespect the other party (Brew & Cairnes, 2004); this disrespect can cause shame. As Islam is generally a more collectivistic (see the chapters in Section 4 of this Handbook for details) religion (compared with Christianity) (Abu-Nimer & Kadayifci-Orellana, 2008; Croucher, 2011a; Fetzer & Soper, 2005; Polkinghorn & Byrne, 2001; Wilson & Power, 2004), obligations/duties to and privileges over others are culturally significant.
Mutual respect within relationships is of vital impor- tance.5 When one feels a loss of respect (shame), conflict often escalates. Thus, many Muslims try to alleviate hurts or compromise in conflict to avoid shaming others.Forgiveness is a fundamental principle in Muslim culture and in the Islamic faith. The Qur’an states that Allah (God) is forgiving and merciful (3: 31). In a conflict, it is more valued for one to forgive the other than to demand justice and/or punishment (Abu-Nimer, 2003). The Qur’an teaches that forgiveness is one of the highest ideals; when one forgives another, that person is indeed great, wise, and merciful (5: 118, and 23: 118). To practice forgiveness, varied public rituals are often used throughout the Muslim world (Abu-Nimer, 2003; Oetzel et al., 2006). The act of forgiveness minimizes the need to dominate in conflict situations, as conflict is regarded as more of a collaborative process or as something to be resolved by one party seeking the forgiveness of the other (Abu-Nimer, 2003; Croucher, 2011b).
The Qur’an urges believers to have patience (sabr) (e.g., 2: 153; 16: 127). It is through patience, particularly in tough times (such as conflicts), that one should trust in Allah’s plans (3: 200; 40: 77). Instead of rushing to judgment during a conflict, s abr implies that one should contemplate the situation; pray for God’s help to deal with it; seek guidance from others, such as a neutral third party; and/or allow the situation/conflict to settle down before engaging in it (Abu-Nimer, 2003; Oetzel et al., 2006). When individuals have sabr, they are more likely to work with others in conflicts, or even avoid conflicts, and less likely to be controlling in conflicts (Croucher & Cronn-Mills, 2011).
A final Islamic principle that influences how Muslims approach conflict is the Qur’anic concept of commanding right and forbidding wrong. Cook (2000) explains how Muslims should correct other Muslims who engage in actions deemed immoral. Thus, if a person has the power to stop a moral wrong, one should do so without committing a moral wrong oneself. The concepts of mercy and forgiveness are key to commanding right and forgiving wrong, as an individual should be careful not to commit a wrong when preventing another moral wrong (7: 165; 19: 76; 49:10). Muslims should guide other Muslims away from immoral behaviors through collaboration (Cook, 2000).
Islamic principles such as shame, forgiveness, patience, and commanding right and wrong influence how Muslims approach conflict. Such Islamic principles, along with the general collectivistic makeup of many Muslims, lead to more collaboration and/or avoidance in conflicts and less control/domi- nance (Croucher, 2011a; Croucher & Cronn- Mills, 2011; Croucher, DeMaris, Holody, et al., 2011; Croucher et al., 2010; Oetzel et al., 2006; Polkinghorn & Byrne, 2001; Wilson & Power, 2004).