Today’s Schedule – 3/26 CNN Student News –22.1 Vocab Check 22.1 Reading Quiz Current Event Presentations PPT: Islam Rdg/Discussion: Comparing Christianity and Islam HW: –Nothing due tomorrow

Islam Around 610 AD, a man named Muhammad received the first of many revelations from God.

Qur’an/Koran These revelations were eventually written down in what is known as the Qur’an –Which means the recitation.

The Qur’an is central importance in Islam It is the most widely read and memorized book in the world.

The Qur’an is written in Arabic, And the spread of Islam helped spread the Arabic language around the Middle East and Africa because one had to read Arabic to read the Qur’an.

Muhammad Was born about AD 570 in Mecca. He was orphaned at an early age, and was raised by an uncle.

He eventually grew into a prosperous caravan leader And married and had many children

He shared his revelations from God And became the prophet to the Arab people

Islam is derived from root word meaning “submission” or “surrender” and this is the core of Islam – the submit to Allah (God) To follow Islam is to be a Muslim.

Muhammad established a community center in Medina By the time of his death, Islam had spread to most of the Arabian Peninsula.

By the end of the next century It would spread as far west as Spain and as far east as India.

When Muhammad died, he did not choose a successor. Some people thought the original converts should be the leaders, but others thought it should be a relative of Muhammad.

An early believer, Abu Bakr was appointed, but died within two years.

Eventually, a power struggle developed as different groups of Muslims believed their method of establishing a successor were the best.

The real argument was over whether the successor should be elected or chosen through heredity. This controversy produced the main divisions in Islam.

The Sunnis are the majority in Islam today. They elect their own imams – the religious leaders in Muslim society.

The Shi'a believe that imams must be related to the Prophet, not politically chosen. Today, the Shi'a dominate Iran and are the majority in Iraq.

There is a smaller group called the Sufis (Persian for “wisdom”) Who think Islam is too rigid, and they pray for a mystical experience of God.

Sufi Meditation Prayer The poet when he is developed reads the mind of the universe, although it very often happens that the poet himself does not know the real meaning of what he has said

The Five Pillars of Islam 1)Worship God and Muhammad is his prophet 2)Prayer five times a day, facing Mecca 3)Alms giving 4)Fast during the month of Ramadan 5)Participate in the Hajj

The Hajj A pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. Muslims gather around the sacred shrine – the Ka’bah.