Transcript What is Islam and how is it related to Judaism and

Islam
Islam Today

Islam is the second largest world
religion
Fastest growing

1.2 billion Muslims
20% of the world’s total population

43 countries with Muslim-majority
populations
Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East,
North Africa, and Eastern Europe
Largest Muslim Populations
1. Indonesia (183 million)
2. Pakistan (134 million)
3. India (121 million)
4. Bangladesh (114 million)
5. Turkey (66 million)
6. Iran (62 million)
7. Egypt (59 million)
8. Nigeria (53 million)
9. Algeria (31 million)
10.Morocco (29 million)
*Arabs make up only 20% of the total
Muslim population of the world
Two Major Groups

Sunni: 80% in many locations throughout the world
Traditionalists, accept Mu’awiyah as caliph

Shi’a: 15%, mostly in Iran
Believe Ali was to be the next caliph
Difference is political, basic beliefs and practices are
the same
 Sufis are Muslim mystics, come from both Sunni and
Shi’ite backgrounds
 Most Muslims are not Arab and not all Arabs are
Muslim

Muslims in America

7 million Muslims in
America
Second largest
religion in America
Fastest growing
religion in America

The history of Islam
in America dates
back to the slave
trade
Basics of Islam
 Islam
= “peace,” “submission”
 Muslim = “submitter”
 Abraham’s
two sons:
Isaac  the Hebrews (Judaism 
Christianity)
Ishmael  the Arabs (Islam)
Abrahamic Roots
 Muslims
are strictly monotheistic
Believe in the Judeo-Christian God
 Muslims
believe that the Torah and the
Bible, like the Qur’an, are the word of God
Believe in all the prophets & their stories
 “Allah”
is the Arabic word for God
Christian and Jewish Arabs use the same word
to refer to God
Life of Muhammad
 b.
570 CE, d. 632 CE
 Prophet & founder
Human, not divine
 Lived
in Arabia, near Mecca
Orphaned by age 6, raised by
grandfather and uncle
 Age
25: married Khadija
 Later married Aishah
•
Muhammad’s Revelations
 610:
in a cave on Mt. Hira, he received his
first revelation from the angel Gabriel
 622: he left Mecca for Medina
Date marks the beginning of the Muslim
calendar
 By
his death in 632, Islam was a thriving
religion
 These revelations were compiled into the
Qur’an after his death (20 years later)
The Qur’an

Qur’an = “recite,” “recitation”
Holy book of Islam
Comprised of 114 chapters (called surahs)
Basic Beliefs

One God (Allah)
He is great and merciful
Not to be worshiped or represented as idols

The world is good
Made for humans to enjoy
Decrements (destiny) – Inshallah (“if God wills”)
 Resurrection, Judgment day, Heaven & Hell

The Problem for Humans
 Sin
Refusing to submit to the will of God through
His prophets, especially Muhammad
 Salvation=recognizing
following 5 Pillars
one true God and
The Five Pillars

Shahada – Witness:
“There is no God Allah and Muhammad is His
messenger”
Salat – Prayer, five times every day
 Zakat – alms giving to the poor and needy
 Sawm – fasting, sun-up to sun-down during
month of Ramadan
 Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca (at least once in a
Muslim’s life, if able)

2-3 million each year
The Ka’aba
Located in the center of Mecca
 Pre-dates Islam

Believed to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael as
an altar to God
Used by pre-Muslim Arabs for worship of their
many tribal gods (idols)
 Year 630: reclaimed by Muhammad, cleansed and
rededicated to Allah
 Center of Islam to this day

Place of annual pilgrimage and direction of prayer for
Muslims from all corners of the globe
Other Sacred Places
The Great Mosque in Mecca
The Prophet’s
Mosque in Medina
The Dome of the
Rock in
Jerusalem
Prohibitions
Halal (permissible) and Haram (prohibited)
 No eating of pork (other dietary regulations =
halal)
 No gambling
 No intoxicants
 No fornication (homosexuality, adultery,
prostitution, etc.)
 No usury (charging or paying interest on loans)
(the rich shall not profit from helping the poor)
Jihad
Humans are to live in peace with one another
 “Struggle” not “Holy War”

Inner: spiritual and moral struggle between good and
evil
Outer: struggle to maintain proper social setting
according to God’s will

Struggles in the Holy Land
Palestinian vs. Israeli, not Muslim vs. Jew (political,
not religious)
Women in Islam

Eve was considered a helped and companion to
Adam
Role today is to be dependent on men and be
supportive of them
Respected and protected by Men
 “Modest dress” for both men and women

“Hijab” differs from culture to culture
Heavy cover and veil not a religious requirement
Resources:


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Jannah.org http://www.jannah.org/
World Assembly of Muslim Youth http://www.wamy.co.uk/
Discover Islam Online http://www.discover-islam-online.com/
(posters)
PBS Documentaries:
 Islam: Empire of Faith http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/
 Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/
 Muslims (Frontline):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/