History of Islam

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Introduction:
Islam, as defined by Dictionary.com literally means “submission” or “surrender” ("Islam"), while the term Muslim means “one who submits to God” ("Muslim"). Contrary to what is defined as fact, Angela West of Urban Dictionary, a site containing average people’s own definition or perception of words, has defined Islam as,” A religion of perpetual outrage and violence. It's followers have a dangerous preoccupation with death” (“West”). With that being stated, there is an extreme difference in what is defined as fact and the modern perception of Islam. In order to understand Islam in today’s time, on must first look back in time to the founding of Islam, the teachings of Muhammad, and overall what life was like during that time that caused this religion to flourish.
Overview
Patheos online library describes Islam as “A monotheistic religion that originated in the Middle East or modern day Saudi Arabia in the 7th century C.E” (Davis-Stofka). Currently, Islam is the second largest religion in the world following Christianity, with an estimated 1.5 billion followers throughout the world with followers on every continent. Islam, as defined before means “surrender” or “submission”, was founded on the teachings of Muhammad, a religious, political, and military leader. The Qur’an is referred to as the sacred text of Islam, which contains the teaching of Muhammad which was revealed to him from Allah or “God”. A core belief with in Islam is that Allah is the one true god with no equal. This is a similar trait that Christianity and Judaism share with Islam, and is also why they are referred to as monotheistic religions, for the belief in one god. Also similar to Christianity and Judaism, Islam has various branches or sects wi...

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...ligious-movements/islam/divisions-within-islam>.
(Slick)

GARDENER, ROBERT, dir. ISLAM: EMPIRE OF FAITH . Dir. Stefano Kotsonis, Writ. Jonathan Grupper, and Dir. . Public Broad Casting Network , 2012. Film. 11 Dec 2013.
(GARDENER)
Hopfe, Lewis. Religions of the World . 12. 13. Pearson Education, 2012. 328-364. Print.
(Hopfe 328-364)

n.d, . "Al-Ĥaj ." Qur'an. Quran.com. Web. 11 Dec 2013.
.

n.d, . "Al-`Alaq." Qur'an. Quran.com. Web. 11 Dec 2013.
.

"Islam." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 11 Dec. 2013. .
"Muslim." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 11 Dec. 2013. .

West, Angela. N.p.. Web. 11 Dec 2013. .
(West)

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