ISLAM Dan Camit Kerry Leary Steven Moore Alex Rios Justin Rodrigues

ISLAM In the Arabic language, the word Islam means surrender or submission submission to the will of God. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, which in Arabic means one who surrenders to God.

The Islam Religion oWas created by Mohammed, a prophet that was born in 570 AD. oHe married a wealthy lady, which gave him much time to reflect and admire the world from different perspectives. oHe Received a vision from Allah through the angel, Gabriel oHe began to share revelations, and preached that there was one god and people must worship him. oMohammed believed that Allah measured peoples goodness through their devotion and good deeds. oHe strongly believed in judgment day, and living lives towards the day when all would be evaluated.

Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed. (The Children of Israel 17.78)

The Koran(Quran) The holiest book of Islam. It is made up of 114 chapters, and 6226 verses, and contains 77,701 words made up of 330,113 letters. It is said the entire Quran on average takes just 12 hours to read.

From the things He created, Allah has given you a covering shade, and He has made for you refuges in the mountains. He has given you garments to protect you from the heat, and garments to protect you from your own violence. As such it is that He perfects His favors upon you, in order that you submit. Quran, 16.81

There are five pillars of Islam, which represent the stability and structure needed in the Muslim religion.

1. The Testimony Of Faith (Shahadah) "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." The Shahadah is the first words a newborn will hear, and it will be recited when they die.

2. Prayer (Salat) Prayer must be done five times a day, rising, at noon, in mid afternoon, at sunset, and before going to sleep.

3. Alms giving (Zakat) It is necessary for Followers of Islam to give one-fortieth of their income to the needy. Since those whom alms are given are helping the giver achieve salvation, there is no sense of shame in receiving charity.

4. Fasting (Sawm) During the holy month of Ramadan, faithful Muslims fast from sunup to sundown each day. This develops self-control, devotion to God, and identity with the needy.

5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. It is a crucial part of gaining salvation. The elderly or incapable may send someone in their place.

Muslim Women: Muslim women have the privilege to earn money, the right to own property, to run a business to enter into legal contracts and to manage all of her assets in any way she pleases. Clothing provides physical protection and covers the beauty and faults of the body. Women are allowed to vote on any public matter, she may voice her opinion and participate in politics.

Why a Turban? The turban is used as a head covering, popular in many religions, the most popular being Islam. Muslim Religious Elders wear turbans wrapped around caps (kalansuwa). Not all Muslims wear turbans, very few do in the western cultures, as they are seen as old fashioned.

The Division. After Mohammed died, a major debate sparked- was it right to have his successor be chosen through heredity, or should the successor be elected?

"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious; for your Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path, and who are truly guided." -Quran 16:125

Sunnis Sunni Muslims believe that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. The Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet."

Shiites Shiites believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Mohammed. Leadership should have passed directly to his son-in-law, Ali. Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people.

After the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, many Muslims have been stereotyped and discriminated because of the extremist terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda, that gave the United States a wake up call. Like other Islamists and Islamic fundamentalists, Bin Laden believes that the restoration of Sharia law will set things right in the Muslim world, and that all other ideologiespan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy"must be opposed.

"Allah ordered us in this religion to purify Muslim land of all non-believers… American history does not distinguish between civilians and military, and not even women and children. They are the ones who used the bombs against Nagasaki. Can these bombs distinguish between infants and military? America does not have a religion that will prevent it from destroying all people." –Osama Bin Laden

God does not forbid you to treat kindly and act equitably toward those who neither fought you in the matter of religion nor driven you out of your home. Indeed, God loves the just. - (Quran 60:8)

"Ours is a war not against a religion, not against the Muslim faith. But ours is a war against individuals who absolutely hate what America stands for, and hate the freedom of the Czech Republic. And therefore, we must work together to defend ourselves. And by remaining strong and united and tough, we'll prevail." –President Bush

TODAY… About 1 billion Muslims are spread over 40 chiefly Muslim countries and 5 continents. The religions numbers are growing at a rate unmatched by that of any other religion in the world. The extremely different political, economic, and cultural conditions under which contemporary Muslims live make it difficult to identify what constitutes standard Islamic practice in the modern world.

Among every four humans in the world, one of them is Muslim. Muslims have increased by over 235 percent in the last fifty years up to nearly 1.6 billion. By comparison, Christians have increased by only 47 percent, Hinduism, 117 percent, and Buddhism by 63 percent. Islam is the second largest religious group in France, Great Britain and USA

Stereotypes have destroyed the image of the peaceful followers of Islam the world once knew. The terrorists can be evil, yet the Islamic Population of the world is not. Open your eyes and you will see the difference. -Ahmad Faraquazi, Muslim American

"Are all Muslims criminals? Why not sensitivity training for government? Do they think we're all going to jail so we may as well make it a nice experience?" "We don't need sensitivity training, we need our rights. And I think that's what we are looking for as a community, more than anything else." -Wael Elkoshairi Muslim American

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