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Islam More Than A Religion

Islam More Than A Religion


Despite its huge following around the world and the growing Muslim
communities in the United States, Islam is foreign to most Americans who are
familiar with Christianity or Judaism. Because most Americans know little or
nothing about Islam, they have many misconceptions about Muslim beliefs and
rituals. The negative image many people in the United States and Europe have
of Islam and the Muslim world has a long history. Many have judged Islam
without making an effort to consider this religious tradition on its own terms,
without bothering to become acquainted with its teaching and the ways in which
Muslims practice their faith.
Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam is a monotheistic religion, based
on the belief in one God.. This religion was proclaimed by the Prophet Muhammad
in Arabia, in the 7th century A.D. The term Islam virtually means "surrender".
Within Islam the believer (called a Muslim) use the Arabic word for God, Allah,
to refer to the creator of the world and of all life within it. Allah is viewed
as the sole God----creator, sustained, and restorer of the world. The will of
Allah, to which man must submit, is made known through the sacred scriptures,
the Qur'an (Koran). Allah revealed the Qur'an to his messenger, Muhammad.
According to Islamic beliefs, Muhammad is the last of a series of prophets
(including Adam, Noah, Jesus, and others). Muhammad's message concurrently
perfect and do away with the "revelations" attributed to earlier prophets.
From the very beginning of Islam, Muhammad had indoctrinated a sense of
brotherhood and a bond of faith among his followers. The Prophet Muhammad fled
to Medina in AD 622, it was during this time that his preaching was accepted and
the community-state of Islam emerged. During this early period, Islam acquired
its characteristics as a religion uniting in itself both the spiritual and
temporal aspects of life. Islam also seeks to regulate not only the
individual's...