The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1610 page)

Musalm
n
.

Turkish and Persian form of Muslim, from which derive the Fr.
musulmane
(for Muslim) and the (now rare) Eng. Mussulman.

 
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(Fanti, ‘Army of the Cross of Christ’). An independent Ghanaian Church, founded by a highly
charismatic
Fanti
Methodist
teacher, Joseph Appiah (1893–1948). In 1923, he formed his own Church after dismissal from the Methodists for
pentecostal
-like deviations, changed his name by revelation to Jehu-Appiah, and established a holy city, Mozano (‘God's own town’), which was moved to New Mozano near Gomoa Eshiem after his death. The polity draws on both the Akan state system and some Methodist structures, and further Methodist influences are seen in orthodox and biblical doctrinal beliefs, the layout of churches, infant
baptism
,
holy
communion (held before dawn), a strict ethic, and the Fanti hymnal.

 
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(Heb., ‘ethics’). Jewish moral instruction. In biblical Hebrew, the term ‘musar’ was used variously to mean ‘punishment’ or ‘instruction’. Later, in
Talmudic
times, it came to mean ethics or moral instruction. A distinct branch of Musar literature grew up in the Middle Ages which dealt with ethical matters.

 
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see
SHIRK
;
DHIMMA
.

 
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Music
.

Since music has charms to do much more than soothe the savage breast, it has been a major part of all religions. It has powers to alter and match moods, to sustain and evoke emotion, to induce trance or
ecstasy
states, to express worship, and to entertain. At the same time, it is supremely a corporate activity: it not only binds together performers and audience, it is an activity in which many people can be engaged at once—people, for example, can chant together (not necessarily in unison) in a way which would become noise and babble in ordinary speech—facts which were much developed and exploited in oratorio and opera. At moments of despair and of triumph, humans sing, and sing together.
In India, sound itself (
abda
,
Om
) is the sacred source of all appearance: music therefore has the capacity to articulate the order and ordering of the cosmos. The characteristic musical form of the
r
ga
is said to resemble in its gradual construction the building of a temple (see
ART
). In the
Vedas
, music is embedded in the chants of the
S
ma
Veda. While many of the sacrifices, of which the chants (
s
man
) once formed a part, are no longer practised, the protection of the chants themselves still continues. Music is also integrated into the religious occasions and purposes of
dance
, as classically formulated in the
N
ty
stra
, which pays particular attention to the ways in which religious and other sensation (
rasa
) can be produced. Although Indian music divided into two major traditions (the Hindustani and Carnatic), the underlying religious perceptions remain the same.
In China, music received official recognition and support at an early date (at least by 1000 BCE) as an instrument of education and court ceremony. Ritual music of this kind was later called
ya-yüeh (yayue
, ‘elegant music’), in distinction from ‘popular music’,
su-yüeh (suyue
). When
Confucius
emphasized ethics and education as the basis of government and society, music formed a natural part in sustaining appropriate rituals and attitudes.
Shih Ching
(
Shijing
, The Book of Odes) became one of the
Confucian Classics
, but no music from it survives. Music was equally central in Taoism: poetry-writing and the playing of the
ch'in (qin
, a kind of zither-like instrument) were regarded as avenues to the realization of the
Tao
.
In Japan, music was early connected with
shamanistic
rituals, but later music was much affected by ‘imports’ from Korea, China, and Central Asia. Thus
gagaku
(elegant music; cf. China above) is the traditional court music developed during the
Nara
period, and codified during the Heian period (794–1185), which includes
mikagura
(music for the Shinto cult in relation to the court).
Mikagura
is divided formally between
komagaku
derived from Korea, and
t
gaku
, derived from China. If
gagaku
is music for the purpose of accompanying
dance
, it is known as
bugaku
, if not, as
kangen
. In 701, a department of court music (Gagaku-ry
) was established employing hundreds of musicians, often for specific state rituals and occasions. During the Heian period, the Buddhist practice of chanting
s
tras
, known as
sh
my