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Originally Posted by Variable
I think where all those different versions intersect, you could describe a single Islamic culture.
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i don't think that's true. as the nawawi foundation article shows, Islam is very flexible to different cultures. Even for things that are the sunnah of the Prophet (saw), we have different levels for their permissibility/level of command. Actions can be haram, makruh, mubah, mustahab, wajib, etc. One can consider emulating the Prophet (saw) as something that's good, but that doesn't mean that it's incumbent on others to practice it, and that practice (or lack thereof) can differ between different cultures.
Even the interpretations can differ by culture. Islamically, we're told to be kind to others; what constitutes kindness in one culture may not transfer to another.
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When we try to make everything in Islam a matter of consensus, we are going against the way of our pious ancestors no matter what we call ourselves. This is a fact, and another fact is that our pious ancestors differed on more than they agreed on. There was one scholar named ibn Al-Mundhir who died in the year 310H. Ibn Al-Mundhir wrote a book called Kitabul-Ijmaa’, this was a book that included everything that the ulamaa agreed upon up until his death. This book is only about 250 pages big. The rest was all subject to ongoing debate, ongoing discussion. But the Muslims then had rules for discussion and that is why they could discuss and continue to debate and even change their minds without it leading to hatred and distrust and someone accusing the other of not being a pious Muslim.
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Of COURSE there are things in Islam that are fundamental (the pillars, no alcohol/fornication, etc), but I'd personally consider most of those things fiqh rather than culture. To equate the two is like saying that the American legal system is the same as its culture.