Cultural Muslims

Generally, a Muslim is defined by faith in the religion of Islam; however, in the modern world there are religiously unobservant, agnostic or atheist individuals who still identify with the Muslim culture due to family background or personal experiences. This group is best described as cultural Muslims, since they are identified by association with a Muslim community rather than Islamic faith or rituals.

Muslim culture as opposed to religion

Religious Muslims believe and practice Islam to varying degrees. Cultural Muslims are likely to retain some practices for social and cultural rather than religious reasons. Some aspects of retained Muslim culture are described below.

Names The most basic example of this is a person's name. Many Arabic, Persian and Turkish names are now commonly regarded as Muslim. Many people of these ethnic groups carry these names by virtue of descent, regardless of their personal beliefs.

Holidays and festivals Cultural Muslims often celebrate the Muslim festivals of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha. However, their celebrations are likely to be more in the nature of social gatherings rather than religious ones. Religious Muslims would generally consider the morning salat or ritual prayer to be central to Eid; however, cultural Muslims may focus on the opportunity to meet and feast with friends and family later in the day.

Public ceremonies Often out of family pressures, cultural Muslims often adhere to traditionally Muslim forms of marriage and funerals. For religious Muslims, the form of these is dictated by religious traditions which have to be strictly adhered to. For cultural Muslims, these formalities no longer have religious significance but may be retained out of deference to custom.

Disputes

Religious Muslims are often opposed to the use of the term cultural Muslim, as their definition of Muslim is fundamentally a religious one; thus the terms Muslim culture and cultural Muslim are equally meaningless to them.

External links"

• How to reach out to your Muslim friends A Christian article on how to avoid stereotyping Muslims; mentions category of cultural Muslims.
• Article by Prof. John Esposito referring to Salman Rushdie as a cultural Muslim.
• Guardian review of Ismaël Ferroukhi, a self-described cultural Muslim and film-maker.
• A challenge to my co-religionists Article by Rasheed Talib, a self-described cultural Muslim.