Islam is a religion that began in the 7th Century. It started with Muhammad. Muslim people follow the teachings from the Qur'an and the five pillars.
Muslims believe Allah is one, eternal, creator, and sovereign. They believe in angels, prophets, including Muhammad (the final prophet). They believe in the revelations of Allah, which state that they should accept certain portions of the bible such as the Torah and Gospels. They believe that the Qur'an is the preexistent, perfect word of Allah. They believe in the last day of judgement and hereafter: everyone will be judged by Allah and resurrected either to paradise or hell. They believe in predestination, Allah declared everything that would happen. "If God wills" is a frequent phrase that muslim use to testify Allah's sovereignty. |
WorldviewThe Islamic worldview is centered in Allah (God), Muhammad (the ultimate and final prophet of Allah), and the Qur’an (the Word of Allah delivered through Mohammad beginning in about 610 AD). Islam means submission to Allah and a Muslim is one submitted to Allah. About 1/5th of the world’s population is Muslim, about three-quarters of which are non-Arabs.
5 Pillars of Islam
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Worship
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Buildings and Places of WorshipMosque:
~Place where Muslims go and pray to god ~Also a get together place to discuss things ~Place to learn about religion ~In some countries Mosques serve as a place to discuss political issues |
Sacred Texts
~Quran “recitation” (arabic) ~Highest authority in both religious and legal matters ~flawless record of the angel Gabriel's revelations to Muhammad
~Records sayings of Muhammad and his followers
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Origins / Founder
Important FiguresMain Prophets
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Rites of Passage
Other rites of passage
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Organization
- Adherents:
- Islam is a universalizing religion and is made up of a large portion of ethnic groups and nations found in the East, although the Arabs make up a large portion of believers. The muslim world extends from Turkey and the western coast of Africa across southern Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia. Islam extends north from India, where it shares the territory with other faiths, to central Asia and China. The expansion of Islam into non-Arab territory also increased the number of adherents, mainly during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Suleiman the Magnificent ruled from 1520-1564 during which Islam reached its greatest penetration into western Europe, taking Belgrade and Vienna.
- Places in the world where its practiced:
- In the practice of Islam, the mosque is the place of public worship. It must have a minaret from which Muslims are called to prayer and be oriented toward Mecca. Mecca is the holiest site in Islam, being the place where the Ka'ba is located. Medina is the second holiest site, and Jerusalem is the third. Tradition teaches that the temple mount in Jerusalem was the "farthest mosque" visited by Mohammed in the night journey spoken of in the Koran (Surah 17.1). The site is now marked by the Dome of the Rock and the Mosque of Hadhrat 'Umar. The issue of control over the temple mount is a current source of contention between Islam and Judaism.
- Branches:
- Sunni and Shi’a are the two main branches
Sunny 80-90% of muslims
Separation occurred after mohammed's death
Shi’a believed that Muhammad's preselected protege, his cousin, was to rule.
Sunni believe that they should elect their new religious leader
- Sunni and Shi’a are the two main branches