Basic Islam Facts  Over 1.6 billion followers  2 nd largest religion in the world behind Christianity  Fastest growing religion in the world  Someone who practices Islam is a Muslim  A monotheistic religion  Followers worship Allah

Majority Muslim Nations

Muslim Percentage by Country

Top 5 Nations With Most Muslims (By Population) 1. Indonesia 2. Pakistan 3. India 4. Bangladesh 5. Egypt

Important Thing to Remember  Being Arab is not the same as being Muslim  Less than 20% of Muslims are Arabs

5 Pillars  Declaration of faith There is no God other than Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah  Daily Prayer Pray 5 times a day ○ Usually at Mosque ○ Face Mecca  Fasting During Ramadan (9 th month of Islamic calendar) Cannot eat from dawn until dusk

5 Pillars (continued)  Giving to charity personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others and eliminate inequality  Pilgrimage (or Hajj) Travel to Mecca An obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it

Muhammad  Founder of Islam  Born in Mecca in 570 AD  Messenger and Prophet of God  Considered to be last prophet of God Muslim consider Abraham, Moses, Jesus to be prophets  Would unite Arabia under Islam  Died in 632 AD

Qur’an  Holy text of Islam  Teaches about God and how to live life  Written in Arabic  Considered the direct, unchangeable word of God  Qur’an teaches that Islam is God’s final and complete revelation Torah and Bible are only partially God’s revelation  Coverts learn Arabic in order to read Qur’an Shared language unites people

Holy Cities  Mecca Where Muhammad was born  Medina Where Muhammad fled to and where he was buried  Jerusalem Dome of the Rock ○ Where Muhammad was taken up to Heaven and speaks with God

Divisions Inside Islam  Sunni vs Shia Different beliefs over who was to be Muhammad’s successor

Why Are We Learning About This?  Islam is fastest growing religion  Middle East is an important region in the world  Age of globalization

To Be Continued  Rise of Islam and life of Muhammad  Spread of Islam  Islamic Empires  Islamic culture and society (past and present)  Islam in modern world  Radical Islam