AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

To observant Muslims, ritual prayer is as natural as sleeping or eating. Islam is not just one
component oI its believers' lives, a set oI belieIs remembered on special occasions. Rather, Ior
the devout, it is a way oI liIe. Its tenets and rules permeate almost everything, oIten including
politics and government.
In a world swayed by misunderstanding oI cultural diIIerences, Islam and its adherents oIten are
stereotyped and caricatured, branded with the violent or sexist image oI a small minority oI
zealots. In reality, Islam is no better characterized by acts oI Middle Eastern terrorists, Ior
example, than is Christianity by acts oI Northern Ireland's terrorists.
Islam is an ancient religion with proIound historical and theological ties to Judaism and
Christianity. All three religions worship the same God, acknowledge large parts oI the same
Bible and revere Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. And, as do Christians, Muslims regard
Jesus as the messiah.
In Iact, Islam teaches that it represents the modern mainstream oI a primordial, monotheistic
religion that began with the earliest humans. Over millennia, the religion took Iorm with the
early Jewish prophets, was modiIied signiIicantly by Jesus and Iinally shaped by Muhammad,
the Iinal prophet, who died in 632.
Among Muhammad's most important acts was rejection oI the old Jewish concept oI a "chosen
people." Instead, he taught that all people are born Muslim and that anyone -- regardless oI color,
nationality or social standing -- can join the Muslim community simply by submitting to God
and reciting the words known as the shahadah: "There is no deity but Allah (God), and
Muhammad is his messenger."
Because oI its powerIul, cross-cultural appeal, Islam has won the hearts and minds oI an
estimated 1.6 billion people around the world, making it the second largest religion. Christianity
has about 2 billion adherents, and Hinduism is third largest with about 800 million.
Despite its association in the Western mind with things Arabic, about 85 percent oI Islam's
IaithIul are not Arabs. South Asia has the largest Muslim population, with 275 million believers.
AIrica is second largest, with 200 million. And, according to the American Muslim Council,
China has about as many Muslims as better-known Islamic strongholds such as Iran, Egypt or
Turkey. According to The Muslim Almanac, an estimated 2 percent oI Americans, or about 7
million people, are Muslims.
It is diIIicult to determine the exact number oI Muslims anywhere because they do not belong to
congregations and because mosques are open to all and do not maintain membership rolls.
PEACE AND SUBMISSION
Islam is an Arabic word derived Irom the same Semitic three-letter root -- s-l-m -- as the Hebrew
word Ior peace, shalom, oIten used as a greeting. The meaning oI "Islam" encompasses the
concepts oI peace, greeting and submission. Thus, a Muslim -- the word is derived Irom the same
root -- is one who submits to God, a stance enunciated in the traditional proIession oI Iaith:
"There is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger."
"Allah" is simply Arabic Ior "God," the same supreme, supernatural Iigure worshipped by
Christians and Jews. Unlike most other religions, however, Islam has no baptism or other
initiation ceremony.
Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam has undergone splits into separate denominations. The
biggest occurred shortly aIter Muhammad died when his Iollowers disagreed about who should
take his role as leader. One branch, called Sunni, today comprises about 87 percent oI Muslims,
according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The other, called Shi'ah, accounts Ior about 13
percent, and a Iew tiny groups make up the remaining 1 percent.
Although Islam has taken root in cultures as diverse as those oI Egypt, China and the United
States, in each region acquiring local customs not mandated by the religion -- such as women
wearing veils -- Islamic scholars say Muslims everywhere share a core oI basic principles, the
so-called "Iive pillars" oI the Iaith.
The Iirst pillar is the proIession oI Iaith or, in Arabic, the shahadah. The Council on Islamic
Education, an American organization comprising historians and academicians, calls this the
central theme oI Islam because many Muslims repeat it, in Arabic, several times a day to remind
themselves oI God's central position in their lives.
The second pillar is ritual worship, or salah. Muslims are required to pray Iormally Iive times a
day -- at dawn, midday, aIternoon, evening and night. At each time, a man summons believers to
prayer by calling Irom atop the mosque's tower, or minaret, or by using loudspeakers. Those out
oI earshot simply rely on a watch.
Muslims may pray alone or in a group as long as they Iace the Saudi Arabian city oI Mecca,
Muhammad's birthplace and the holiest city oI Islam. It is common in many predominantly
Islamic countries to see Muslims perIorming the salah wherever they happen to be at the
appropriate time. AIter repeating the prescribed prayer, Muslims may add a personal prayer.
Unlike most Christian or Jewish prayers, the salah requires more than words. The whole body
perIorms the ritual. It begins as worshipers raise their hands and say "Allahu Akbar," which
translates as "God is the greatest." Worshippers then bend with hands on knees, kneel with hands
on thighs and Iinally bow their heads to touch the Iloor. Each motion is accompanied by verses
Irom the Koran. A person, sometimes called an imam, may lead the service.
The third pillar is Iasting, or sawm, during the month oI Ramadan. Because Islam uses a lunar
calendar, its year is 11 days shorter than that oI the solar calendar governing most worldly
aIIairs. As a result, Ramadan comes 11 days earlier each year. The month is sacred because, as
Muslims believe, God Iirst revealed verses oI the Koran to Muhammad during Ramadan.
During Ramadan, Muslims are to reIrain Irom eating, drinking, smoking and sex Irom dawn to
sunset. Typically during Ramadan, Muslims have breakIast beIore dawn and do not eat again
until aIter sunset.
The Iourth pillar is almsgiving, called zakah in Arabic. Muslims pay a speciIied amount oI
money, typically 2.5 percent oI one's accumulated wealth each year, to assist the poor and sick.
The money is not to support the mosque or Islamic leaders. The Koran does not say how much
should be given. In some Muslim countries it is voluntary, while in others, the government
enIorces it.
The IiIth pillar is the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam requires that every believer make at
least one visit to Mecca in a liIetime iI physically and Iinancially able to do so.
The hajj now brings together more than two million Muslims in a religious gathering that has
continued without interruption Ior about 1,400 years. Where once pilgrims came on Ioot or
camel, sometimes aIter more than a year oI travel, most now arrive by air.
The hajj commemorates the sacriIices, Iaith and obedience oI Abraham; his second wiIe, Hagar;
and their son, Ishmael, at Mecca. According to the Council on Islamic Education, it is the largest,
regularly scheduled international gathering on Earth.
When the pilgrims arrive, they don special clothing. Men wear two seamless white sheets, and
women usually wear a modest white dress and are prohibited Irom wearing veils or gloves. In
this uniIorm attire, the pilgrims Ieel that they are equal beIore the eyes oI God and that only
virtue and devotion will set one apart Irom others.
The demanding rites and prayers last Ior days. At various points, worshipers must make a ritual
trek, pray Irom noon through the Iollowing morning and stand in prayer Ior hours at a time.
According to Islamic scholars, the pilgrims hope that God will accept their eIIort, aIter which
they can commence liIe aIresh with a slate wiped clean oI sins.
The Iocus oI worship in Mecca is the Ka'aba, an empty, cubical stone structure covered by an
embroidered black cloth in the courtyard oI the Great Mosque.
Ka'aba is the source oI the word "cube." The Ka'aba is believed to have been built on the site oI
an original made by Abraham more than 4,000 years ago, and Muslims consider it the original
house oI God on Earth.
NO DEITY BUT ALLAH
Perhaps Islam's most distinctive attribute is a belieI descended Irom that oI the ancient Jews and
akin to that oI early Unitarians in a single deity, whether the name is Jehovah, Allah or God. At
many times throughout history, this has been a radical claim because most other religions believe
in many Gods, a position called polytheism. Islamic monotheism goes even Iurther than its
Christian counterpart by rejecting the doctrine oI the Trinity, which holds that Jesus also is a
deity, along with a third entity called the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
The Koran, which is pronounced cur-AHN and which some Islamic groups say is better rendered
Irom Arabic as Qur'an, is the religion's dominant scripture. It is considered the literal word oI
God, dictated by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad over 23 years. The Koran is viewed as the
authoritative guide to proper living, along with tradition, called the hadith, based on sayings and
practices oI Muhammad.
Islam also teaches that each person has a direct relationship with God and that no intermediary is
needed. As a result, Islam has no priests or other clergy. Some people, however, are considered
experts on the Koran and serve as leaders oI the community. Some, Ior example, are trained to
judge how the Koran applies to social and personal issues. Another leader, called an imam in the
Sunni branch oI Islam, leads daily prayer, gives sermons, oIIiciates at marriages and perIorms
other clerical duties.
Muslims believe that God revealed scriptures to certain prophets who relayed them to the general
public. Among these many messengers were Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus, with the Iinal
prophet being Muhammad.
Like some Christians, many Muslims believe that human history began with Adam and Eve, but
they do not believe in "original sin," the Christian doctrine that all human beings inherit a state oI
sin Irom that Iirst couple's disobedience oI the command not to eat the Iorbidden Iruit.
Because Islam does not accept the concept oI original sin, humanity did not need a savior whose
death wiped away this sin. Jesus was not cruciIied, the religion teaches. Being sinless, he did not
need to die and was taken bodily to heaven, as Catholics believe his mother Mary was.
Incidentally, the Koran teaches that God made Adam and Eve simultaneously by splitting one
human soul, not by making the woman Irom a part oI the man, as the Jewish and Christian
traditions hold. The Koran also teaches that the serpent in the Garden oI Eden seduced both
Adam and Eve and that both were equally guilty. Muslims oIten cite this teaching in deIense
against assertions that Islam is inherently sexist.
LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
No understanding oI Islam is complete without knowledge oI Muhammad, who was not, as
Muslims reckon it, the Iounder oI Islam. Rather, they hold, he was guided by God to help
humanity return to the original, true religion.
Muhammad was born about 570 in Mecca in what now is Saudi Arabia. Europe was entering the
Dark Ages. Throughout the world, empires were collapsing, new societies emerging and
religions spreading. The region's dominant religions were polytheistic, worshipping many
deities.
Orphaned by age 6, Muhammad was raised by his grandIather and by his uncle aIter his
grandIather died. Muhammad grew up to be a thoughtIul, honest businessman who eschewed
worship oI tribal gods. He married and became the Iather oI six children, two oI whom died
young.
At 40, he retreated to a cave outside Mecca to meditate. It was there, Islam teaches, that the angel
Gabriel visited him and communicated the Iirst oI God's words to him. Muhammad continued to
receive these revelations Irom God Ior the remaining 23 years oI his liIe.
God instructed Muhammad to convey the message oI Islam to the people oI his region. This was
not easily done. Muhammad asked the people to abandon their many idols and recognize Allah
as the one God. He was met with reactions ranging Irom amusement to anger.
Muhammad also taught two revolutionary principles -- that Islam was the source not just oI
spiritual authority but also political authority and that the bond uniting people should not be tribe
but shared religion.
Dissenters taunted Muhammad with demands that he work miracles to demonstrate authenticity.
Muhammad claimed that only Allah could perIorm miracles. Muhammad insisted that every
aspect oI nature was an example oI God's power. This did little to win converts.
AIter 11 years oI mounting hostility, Muhammad and his small band oI Iollowers emigrated to
the city oI Yathrib, about 200 miles away. There he had better luck, and people embraced his
teachings.
Muhammad established himselI as the city's political leader and spread Islamic teachings. The
city was renamed Medina, meaning "city oI the prophet." AIter several years, Muhammad and
his Iollowers returned to Mecca, conquered it and established Muhammad as both religious and
political leader oI his people. By the time he died at age 63, Islam was established throughout the
Arabian Peninsula.
Within a century oI Muhammad's death, Islam had spread, as much by military conquest as
voluntary conversion, west to Spain and Portugal and northeast to Central Asia, establishing
Islam as a Iormidable world empire. Islamic rule also pushed into northern AIrica and other parts
oI the Mediterranean basin within the Iirst 20 years oI its establishment.
With every advance, Islam adopted and adapted Ieatures oI many other cultures. By the Middle
Ages, Islam was established in parts oI Europe, Ior example, Spain in the west and the Iormer
Yugoslavia in the east.
In the 1500s, Hispano-Arab Muslim explorers arrived in America Irom Spain. In the early 1700s,
the slave trade brought the Iirst Muslims -- captured AIrican slaves -- to this part oI the world.
By the end oI the 19th century, Iree Muslim immigrants were reaching North America Irom the
Middle East and other Muslim lands.
Today, more than 1,300 years aIter Muhammad, Islam continues to thrive, a growing, global
religion with a powerIul ideology that now binds one-IiIth oI the human race in a common
system oI belieIs.
OMENS` RIGHTS AND ISLAM
Traveling through the Islamic world, visitors notice that the status oI women changes drastically
Irom country to country. Westerners question why women in many Middle Eastern countries
cover their heads and most oI their bodies. They question the nature oI Ireedom where women
have very little political power or social clout.
In many cases, the diIIerences are based on local custom only. Wearing veils, Ior example, is not
required by the Koran but in some places is local custom. Other than Islam's requirement that
women dress modestly, most Muslim women are Iree to dress and to behave like women oI any
other religion.
Historians note that, beIore the rise oI Islamic culture in the 7th century, women in much oI the
world had Iew rights and were considered little more than chattel. Against that background, the
Koran and Islamic tradition were positively revolutionary in teaching that men and women are
spiritually equal and that women have the right to own and inherit property, seek divorce, gain an
education, retain one's Iamily name aIter marriage and the right to vote.