WHAT IS ISLAM?

What is Islam?

What is Islam?

Introduction to Islam

Islam is a monotheistic religion. There is no other God but the one and only single God, plus Muhammad is his prophet. Islam rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be one of the great prophets. Allah differs from the Jewish and Christian concept of God because Mohammed is morally capricious; he declares what is good or evil, and his declaration makes it true. The Muslim has no assurance of what it takes to please Allah and be welcomed into eternal paradise. The expression Islam means obedience to God, and Muslim expresses one who proposes.

Religion

In Islam there is the belief in only one God, Allah. He does not divide his divinity with anybody or anything. Muhammad is his prophet, who received the law. The law is known as the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam. The Qur'an was given to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel from Allah. The beliefs of Islam include monotheism, prophets, Holy Scripture, a strong ethical life, and a judgment day with eternal consequences for one's soul (Goichon, 2002). There are five major "pillars of faith"that exist in Islam, sometimes six depending on the sect or faction of the Islamic community (Barbara, 2004):

Confession-There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the last prophet.

Prayer - The practice of prayer five times a day.

Fasting - This is observed for twenty-eight days in Muslim lunar calendar.

Giving - Percentage of one's wealth

Pilgrimmage - Hajj(male) or haggeh(female) visit to Mecca

Jihad - Spiritual struggle (holy war or efforts).

Political viewpoint of Islam

In the last 25 years there has been a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism and many western people automatically link these groups to the mainstream Muslim population and state, this is probably the main reason people believe that Islam is a threat to the ...