Islam is one of the world’s greatest religions Essay

I. Introduction. Founded in the 7th ampere-second A. D. by Mohammed. The word Islam means submission (to the allow of God). Followers of Islam argon chew the fated Moslems or Muslims, terms that mean those who submit (to the will of God). Non- Islamics sometimes call the religion Mohammedanism and its followers Mohammedans. Moslems, however, dislike these terms because they imply the worship of Mohammed, their prophet, or else than God. There are more than a billion Moslems worldwide, making up almost one- octonaryh of the earths population.Islam began in Arabia in the ordinal century A. D. and spread rapidly to become the principal religion of northerly Africa and western Asia. It also extends into the Balkans and across Pakistan and Bangladesh to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It has extended into sub-Saharan Africa Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Africa. The Moslem population in the United States consists mostly of immigrants from Pakistan, Iran, and Arab countries.There are also a number of Islamic sects among the countrys minatory population (Endress, 1999). II. Background A. How is it founded and who is the founder? The beginnings of Islam go back to Mohammeds talk in his native Mecca. However, the trustfulness did not become fully essential until he moved to Medina (until past called Yathrib) in 662 A. D. His migration to medina, called the Hegira, begins the Moslem calendar. Mohammeds primaeval successorsespecially Omar, the second caliphexpanded Islam with conquest.The Moslem warriors sweard that if they died for Islam they would mechanically go to heaven. This belief, plus the promise land and loot, spurred the Moslem armies on to charm the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. They almost overran southwestern atomic number 63 under Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours (732) (Ahmed, 2002). a) Early Conflicts During the period of conquest, bitter theological and political hostility developed among the Moslems. In the selection of early caliphs (successors to Mohammed as detectrs of the Moslem world), Ali, son-in-law of Mohammed, was bypassed (6 Ruthven, 2000).The ternary caliph, a member of the O mayya (Umayya) family, was murdered by malcontents in 656, and Ali was elected to chase him. Muawiyah, the Omayyad governor of Syria, refused to hump Ali as caliph. When Ali was murdered in 661 by a member of a dissident sect, Muawiyah succeeded him, moved the Moslem capital from normal to Damascus, and made the caliphate hereditary in the Omayya family. Military force was required to settle the new caliphs political authority. Spiritually, most Moslems never accept him (Roberts, 2002).The followers of Ali formed a new branch of Islamthe Shiite, as unlike to the Sunnite, or orthodox, branch. Smaller groups continued to break away from orthodox teaching, also, and in that location was increasing schism in the Moslem world. b) Changing Patterns In the eight century a secret revolutionary movement against the Omayyad dynasty was led by the Abbasids, descendants of Abbas, Mohammeds uncle. The movement began in Mesopotamia and spread east through Persia. In 747 open revolt began, and in 750 the Omayyad dynasty was overthrown and the Abbasids assumed power.The most evidential aspect of the Abbasid caliphate was the Persian influence. The new capital, Baghdad, developed into a major heathen as well as political center (Roberts, 2002). The sciences and philosophy of the Greeks and Persians were translated into Arabic and spread throughout the Moslem world, setting of a surge of intelligent activity such as had not been seen since the days of ancient Greece. During the rule of the Abbasids the Moslem world lost its political unit, as first Spain and then the North African countries set up caliphates independent in Baghdad.In the ninth century in that respect were new Moslem conquests in EuropeSardinia, Malta, Sicily , and regions of southern Italy. The Christians regained all European territory, however, before the 14th century (Friedmann, 2003). III. discussion What are the beliefs and doctrines of Islam? Enumerate. A. Beliefs and Doctrine a) God Moslems worship one God, called Allah (Arabic for The God). The believe Allah stands alone, has an absolute will, and controls all of mans actions. In most another(prenominal) respects, however, he resembles the Christian and Jewish God. Apostles.According to Islamic doctrine, God gave true men the power to communicate with him through his angels. The function of these men was to acquire other mortals to Salvation. The greatest of these prophets were Adam, Noah, the house of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. Moslems accept the miracles and virgin birth of Jesus, simply deny his divinity and resurrection. They do not attribute superhuman or miraculous powers to Mohammed, but simply assume him to be the last (and because the most authoritativ e) of all the prophets (Nasr, 1999). record The Koran is the basic source of Islamic law and ritual.Moslems believe it was dictated to Mohammed by God, through the angel Gabriel. The hadith The Koran is supplemented by the Hadith ( usance), consisting of the Ahadis (sayings) and Sunna (practice) of Mohammed. The Hadith was handed take orally for more than 200 years before being indite down. It and the Koran are the sources of Islamic law. Sunna in a bigger sense means the theory and practice of orthodox Islam, as ground on the Koran and the Hadith. Further opinions and practices accepted by the highest Islamic knowledgeable men become articles of faith known as ijma (agreement) (Nasr, 1999). Angels The Islamic imagination of angels is almost identical with the Christian belief that angels are Gods messengers, his link with mortal man. Last Judgment Like Christians, Moslems believe in a Judgment Day, when righteousness will be rewarded and wickedness will be punished. The Ko rans description of Judgment Day is chiefly similar to the Bibles, although the details differ (Nasr, 1999). B. Is there any religious debt instruments in Islam? a. ) Obligations A Moslem has five religious obligations, called the Five Pillars. They are Profession of Faith.A Moslems most essential obligation is the repetition of this creed There is no God but Allah Mohammed is His prophet. petition Prayers must be said five times each day. They may be said either privately or at the mosque. In public worship, men and women are usually separated. A worshiper precedes solicitation with a ritual washing. He then faces the holy city of Mecca and follows a fixed ritual of recitation and prostration. On Fridays, a worship work at the mosque is required. Besides the ritual prayers, the service includes a reading from the Koran and a sermon (Lippman, 2002). Almsgiving Moslems are expected to contribute liberally to their religion. The money is used to maintain the mosques and to h elp the poor. Fasting Moslems cannot eat or drink during the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of their lunar year. Pilgrimage in one case in his lifetime, every Moslem who is financially and physically able must travel to Mecca. This pilgrimage is called the hajj, or hadj. A Moslem who has made it is a hajji. The pilgrim participates in a number of observances 1) Circling the Kaaba It is the pilgrims first and last act.The Kaaba is a sacred construction in one corner of which is embedded the sinister Stone, a meteorite that fell in ancient times and acquired symbolic significance. The pilgrim circles this structure seven times, kissing the Black Stone each time (Lippman, 2002). 2) The run It consists of trotting seven times between two low hills on opponent sides of Mecca. This act represents a search for water by Hagar, mother of Ishmael, whose degree from the Old Testament was adopted as part of Moslem tradition (Lippman, 2002). 3) The StandingThe Standing at the Plain of Arafat, 25 miles (40 km) east of Mecca, consists of a day of meditating and praying, facing Mecca. 4) Stoning the Pillars at Mina Stoning the Pillars at Mina, 5 miles (8 km) east of Mecca, is an act in which pilgrims throw seven stones at pillars, symbolically attacking the devil. 5) Feast of Sacrifice Feast of Sacrifice consists of the slaughtering of an sensual by pilgrims who can afford to as a thanksgiving to Allah. a) phantasmal War Some Moslems consider it an obligation to spread Islam by force, or holy war (jihad).This belief is not specifically stated in the Koran. b) What is an Islamic Law? The basic ethical code of Islam comes from the Koran. The most of import rule is that all Moslems are bothers. The Koran encourages charity, authorizes slavery, and prohibits wine, gambling, and the eating of pork. A Moslem may have as many as four wives, and disassociate is permitted. Divorce is effected by the husband telling his wife trey times I divorce thee. The Koran does not provide a political structure for Islam and Mohammed did not reveal how the religion should be make after his death.His close associates elected a successor, called a caliph, to take his tell as a leaderbut not as a prophet. This system was called the caliphate and survived until 1924. At the present time, there is no universal Moslem leader (Lippman, 2002). C. What are the Sects of Islam? There are two great divisions of Islamthe Sunnites (traditionalists) and the Shiites (legitimists). The Sunnites are the orthodox Moslems and are in the majority. The Shiites believe that Ali, Mohammeds son-in-law and the fourth caliph, had forebode powers.They claim that he was the first legitimate caliph and that his heirs, also divinely inspired, were the rightful rulers of Islam. These rulers are called imams (Klein, 2005). The Shiites broke remove from orthodox Islam beginning about 679 and soon divided into a number of sects. The Imami, or Twelvers, recognize a continuing serie s of purely secular imams. Another sect, the Ismailis, or Seveners, recognize the same first six imams as the other sects and a seventh not recognized by the others. Historically there have been numerous extreme offshoots of the Ismailis, including the notorious Assassins.The only important group to break off from the Sunnites in modern times is the Wahhabis, who have attempted to rid the faith of what they consider corruptions. The movement began in Arabia in the 1970s and was marked by a series of bloody wars during the 19th century. The Wahhabis have ruled Saudi-Arabian Arabia since the 1920s (Klein, 2005). IV. Conclusion Islam is a severe but simple religion. Moslems consider it to be an extension of Christianity and Judaism, but they believe the Christian Trinity is sacrilege and deny the divinity of Jesus.There is no ordained ministry or priesthood, although there are religious teachers, called ulama, or mullahs, and religious orders consisting of sufis (mystics) called dervi shes. Islams holy al-Quran is the Koran (or Quran). References 1. Ahmed, Akbar S. (2002). Discovering Islam Making Sense of Muslim History and Society. Routledge. London. 2. Endress, Gerhard. An Introduction to Islamic History (Edinburgh University, 1999). 3. Friedmann, Yohanan (2003). Tolerance and Coercion in Islam Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition. Cambridge University Press.New York. 4. Lippman, T. W. Understanding Islam an Introduction to the Moslem World (New American Library, 2002). 5. Klein, F. A. The Religion of Islam. London Curzon, 2005. Reprint of classic study, first published, 1996. 6. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. London Allen & Unwin, 1999. archetype textbook. 7. Roberts, D. S. Islam a Concise Introduction. New York Harper & Row, 2002. Accessible information on varied aspects of the Islamic world. 8. Ruthven, Malise (2000). Islam in the World. Oxford University Press. Oxford.