ISLAM
HISTORY
Islam began in the city of Mecca in the Arabian
Peninsula in the 600s AD.
 Muhammad began to hear the voice of the
angel Gabriel, calling on him to tell the word of
God to the people.
 He said they needed to rededicate themselves
to the worship of only one God, who he called
Allah

HISTORY
“Muslim” means “ones who submit” to the will
of God
 Muhammad became a political and religious
leader
 In 622 AD, Muhammad’s fled from Mecca to
Medina. Muhammad’s teachings were not well
received in Mecca, which ironically became the
most holy of cities to the religion of Islam.

SOMETHING IN COMMON
Together with Judaism & Christianity, Islam
traces its roots to the prophet and patriarch
Abraham
 Muhammad was descended from Abraham’s
first son Ishmael
 Jews descended from Abraham’s son Isaac
(Moses)
 Christianity - also from Isaac (Jesus)

BELIEFS
Muslims believe there is only one God
 They view Muhammad as his final prophet
 After Muhammad’s death in 632 AD, his
followers collected his teachings into the Koran
 Much of the Old and New Testaments are
included in the Koran, so Muslims see the
Koran and Islam as the final and complete
word of God.

HOLY BOOK
 For
Muslims, the Koran offers a handbook
for leading a respectable life
 Some Muslim countries base their legal
code on the Koran, a system known as
shariah law
FIVE PILLARS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Shahada – belief that “There is no God but Allah and
Muhammad is his prophet”
Salat – praying five times a day facing the direction of
Mecca. Also on Fridays, Muslims are expected to
attend noon prayers at a mosque
Zakat – charity to the poor
Sawm – no eating or drinking during the daylight hours
of the month of Ramadan, the tenth month of the
Islamic calendar
Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca sometime during one’s
lifetime
DIETARY RESTRICTIONS
Vegetables and fish are permitted
 Pork is strictly forbidden
 Lamb, beef, chicken & turkey are allowed as
long as the animals are slaughtered according
to certain guidelines
 Alcohol is strictly forbidden

BRANCHES OF ISLAM
Sunni – believe that Muslim leadership can be
passed to caliphs elected from within
Muhammad’s tribe (about 80%)
 Shia – believe that leadership was restricted to
descendants from Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali
(about 20%)

MUSLIM VOCABULARY
Caliph – Muslim leader
 Mosque – Muslim house of worship
 Jihad – holy war
 Hijrah – “migration”. Refers specifically to
Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina
