Islam Can anyone tell me what this is? By Sonia Kendal

Today you are going to learn … About the Islam faith The place of worship for the Islam religion.

Islam is the religion of people called Muslims. Muslims believe that someone is more important than themselves and they obey them. Muslims believe this person is God, whom they call Allah. Muslims believe that there is one God and he is eternal.

Muslims believe Prophets spread the word of Allah. The last and most important prophet was a man called Muhammad. This picture is of Muslim Children Muslims believe that Muhammad received messages from Allah, given to him by an angel.

Muslims believe that these messages were the words of Allah and can never be changed. They were collected together to form the Muslims’ holy book which is called the Qur’an.

This is the symbol most often used for Islam.

There are over 1.2 billion Muslims in the world today, living in almost every country in the world. About 3 million Muslims live in the USA, about 1.5 million live in Britain, and about 220,000 live in Australia In most of the countries in northern Africa and the Middle East, over half of the population are Muslims. In Europe, Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity.

Muslims pray in a place called a Mosque. In the entrance of the mosque there is a row of clocks to inform them of the prayer times for the day. Muslim take off their shoes before they enter the mosque. Muslims then perform wudu, washing to make themselves fit for prayer.

The main room of the mosque There is no furniture Decorated in Arabic text. Never any pictures Usually covered in carpet May have a large single dome on the roof or one or more smaller ones

This is called the Prayer Hall Muslims pray in this room at prayer times Muslims pray facing in the direction of Mecca Muslims may use prayer mats Muslims prayers involve standing, bowing and kneeling

The Mihrad Alcove or arch set into the wall Shows the qiblah Pray leader usually stands in from of the mihrab

The minbar Raised platform next to the mihrab The imam stands on it when he preaches Some minbars are very decorated, others may just be a simple flight if stairs It raises the imam so that everyone can hear him clearly

Any questions about the Mosque?

Useful words Allah. – The Muslims God Qur’an.- Muslim holy book Mosque.- Place of worship Wudu – the wash before prayer Mihrad – Alcove or arch in prayer hall Minbar – platform or stairs where the prayer leader preaches qiblah – direction of Mekkah Mekkah – can be known as Mecca. A place in Saudi Arabia Imam – Muslin leader or teacher