Islam is a monotheistic religion and has been world’s fastest spreading religion. The religion Islam is originated in the seventeenth century by an Arabian prophet called Muhammad in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Seventeenth century was period of slavery and cold war. Islam is an Arabic word which means submission and it basically means submission to god and realizing his power. The followers of Islam is called Muslims. The meaning of Muslim is to surrender and it basically means surrender themselves to Prophet Muhammad and by obeying his instruction they can surrender to Allah. The scared text of Islam is Quran. Major Islamic branches include Shiite Islam (Shia) and Sunni Islam. They belief that to achieve heaven they need to fulfill five pillars of Islam which include creed (shahadha), prayer (salah), almsgiving (Zakat), fasting (sawm) and pilgrimage (hajj). The various aspects of Islam can be further discussed through Muhammad life, Quran, hijrah, core beliefs of Muslim, contributions of Islam, and by discussing how it is related to western civilization.
Islam: A Religion and Culture
Islam is one of the oldest religions in history dating back to about 600 AD. It began when a man named Muhammad heard a voice from the heavens instructing him to proclaim the word of god. Currently there are over 800 million followers of the Muslim religion. The main text of the religion is the Quran which is said to be the word of God, or Allah as called in Muslim. Within the Quran, The five pillars of Islam are proclaimed along with many other concepts very unique to the Muslim religion.
Throughout civilization, religions have come a long way in impacting modern society and civilization. One of the major Abrahamic religions, Islam, has made many advances and has contributed a variety of concepts, ideas and inventions to western civilization. Most of these contributions have gone unnoticed throughout the years, and have been credited by various people, when in reality Muslim scholars have formulated these concepts. Although some may believe that these contributions are irrelevant, the reality is that most of the everyday concepts humans use all around the world, have been derived from a primarily Islamic school of thought.
The Terrorist Cliché: A Study of American Culture Defining Muslim Culture
September 11, 2001 forever changed the landscape of the generalized view of the Muslim community in the United States; these acts created a defining stereotypical image that all Muslim’s are extreme terrorists, or condone such behavior. Although this view of the Muslim community was not necessarily new, it was not widely acknowledged in America until the events of September 11th as it was continually thrust upon the public by print and news media. This study will discuss the dichotomy between representations of the Muslim community held by many in the Western culture as well as the psychological cause and effect of such depictions. The sociological “norms” as determined by popular American culture, the development of “terrorist” stereotypes through modern media, and the cause and effect postcolonial literature has had on the subject are all topics that will be evaluated. The objective of this research is to provide enhanced comprehension of the situational attitudes held by Muslims and Americans alike.
The iconic set of rules that Islam follows are the Five Pillars of Islam. They are a set of rules that are expected of all Muslims, or followers of Islam, in order to achieve eternal glorification. Some of the pillars include the Shahada which is the confession that Allah is the one true God and Muhammad is his trusted prophet, the Salat which are prayers said five times a day facing Mecca, the Zakat which is the giving of alms, the Shawm which is a fast during Ramadan, and the Hajj which is a pilgrimage that all Muslims, that are able, must take to Mecca. The sacred text that Muslims follow is titled the Quran. The Quran consists of teachings that Muhammad wrote while being divinely inspired by Allah.
Women in the Golden Age of Islam
Today in ISIS there are honor killings where many women are killed since they went against the will of their families. One twenty-three year old palestinian woman named Hiyam was killed by her father and brother simply because they found a male neighbor in the house. Many women even set themselves on fire in order to avoid marriages they were forced into. ISIS claims that they are making islam go back to the golden age, where there were few controversies and all women followed islam and were treated as they should. The Qu’ran states that “... be you male or female, you are equal to one another” (Quran 3:195)
The prophet Muhammad is a very significant individual in the lives of all Muslims. This essay will focus on the book The lives of Muhammad by Kecia Ali on the first chapter of The Historical Muhammad. Further discussion on early sources about Muhammad, Muhammad throughout the centuries and non-Muslim sources will be touched on throughout, as the author will provide insight on different perspectives of Muhammad as a true prophet.
Misconception of Islam
Many people have been led to the fact that Islam is violent, but all these people do not know the truth, they hear it by the famous people and believe it. The famous people have led other people to believe that all Muslims are risky to be near. I believe that because of these Muslim terrorists, media thinks that all Muslims or believers of Islam are disgraceful, which leads to everyone believing the media.
Many Muslim teenagers and children struggle with fitting in regardless of their religion or culture.
They include a declaration of faith; prayers (Salat) by praying five times a day as a duty toward God—at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. There is also almsgiving (Zakat) to those in need, fasting (Sawm) during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk, and pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca once in a lifetime.
They include a declaration of faith; prayers (Salat) by praying five times a day as a duty toward God—at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. There is also almsgiving (Zakat) to those in need, fasting (Sawm) during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk, and pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca once in a lifetime.