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Islam
Originated in the Southwest Asia (Middle East), The religious faith of Muslims, based on word
and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by Koran, the basic
principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah. This is the
name Muslims use for supreme and unique God who created and rules everything.
The word Islam means “submission to the will of God” .Islam is the second largest religion in
the world. Islam is a monotheistic religion which say that there is only one God. Muslims regard
their religion as the completed and universal version of a monotheistic faith. The Muslims
worship in a building mosque (masjid) meaning place of prostration. The main hall of a mosque
is a room with large amount of furniture. There are no pictures or statues. Muslims have six
main beliefs. Belief in Allah as the one and only God, in angels, the holy books, in the prophets.
They also believe in predestination, and the day of judgment. Meaning the day when the life of
every human being will be assessed to decide whether they go to heaven or hell.
Foods they eat:
The food are based on their religion as well. Muslims can't drink alcohol, and can't eat pork
meat from animals with claws, like cats and lizards. They say that the dead bodies of animals
which died naturally,(without being Islamically slaughtered) or by being strangled, or by falling
from a high place, or by being partly eaten by a wild animal, and were not slaughtered before
being dead.Also, those animals slaughtered by other than Muslims, Jews or Christians, but the
meats of dead sea animals aren’t forbidden.
The Important people in Islam:
Muhammad,
The most important of all prophets.
Muhammad is known as the Seal of the Prophets as he
received the final and complete message from Allah, The Holy Qur'an. Isa-(Jesus) Second to
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Muhammad Jesus and his mother Maryam (Mary) are the most discussed figures in the Qur'an.
Dawud (David) Dawud was the king of Israel. Musa (Moses) Allah sent the Torah to Musa but
the message got distorted by the people. Ibrahim (Abraham) Father of Ishmael and Isaac.
Ibrahim is seen as the greatest prophet before Isa. His willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael* is
remembered during the festival of Eid-al adha, and Adam the first Human and Muslim.
Holidays:
Muharram,The Islamic New Year; Mawlid al-Nabi, Prophet Muhammad's Birthday; Eid al-Fitr
The Celebration concluding Ramadan. Ramadan is the month of fasting, ends with the "Festival
of Breaking the Fast." The celebration concluding the Hajj Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of
Sacrifice. Which shows Abraham’s willingness to obey Allah by sacrificing his son Ishmael.
Lastly, The star and the Crescent. They use this symbol to represent the
faith of Islam.
This symbol below is Allah in Arabic. A Shi'ite symbol is the
sword, which is identified with Iimam Ali, who they believe
fought with this sword and his life for Islam.
Social factors like HIV and other diseases and political factors like political
conflicts, terrorism, freedom of worship threats are affecting Islam.
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Resources
BBC ethics & Religions, . "Religions Islam." 19 july 2011. N.p., Web. 18 Feb. 2013.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/beliefs.shtml
Pearson, Tracy. crescent symbol. N.d. About.comWeb. 18 Feb 2013.
http://islam.about.com/od/history/a/crescent_moon.htm
"Monotheistic." . Wiki.answers.com, Web. 18 Feb. 2013.
<http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Islam_monotheistic>.
"BBC ethics & religions." Islam. N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/>.
"What Muslims can and can't eat." . Answers.com, Web. 27 Feb. 2013.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_food_Muslim's_can_or_cannot_not_eat
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