Shi'ite Islam
By: Kaylee, Ivan, Cara & Emilee
Primary Beliefs and God(s)
- Allah is the one and only God
- Belief in angels
- Belief in holy books and divine scriptures
- Belief in the prophets
+ Muhammad is the final prophet
- The Day of Judgement
- The supremacy of God's will
Day of Judgement
- Life of every human being will be assessed to decided whether they go to heaven and hell
Allah
Muslims use this to refer to the one and only God, who created and rules everything. They believe that he is eternal and has no shape or form. He rewards and punishes fairly, but also merciful.
Practices
5 Pillars of Islam
- Testimony of Faith - To bear witness that there is none worthy of worship save Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
- The Salat - A daily ritual or prayer of faith done five times a day.
- Zakat - A tax paid to benefit the poor or those in need.
- Sawm - A feast done during the month of Ramadan
- Haji - A pilgrimage every Muslim must do at least once in his/her life, if they can afford it, to the Holy city of Mecca, in a modern-day Saudi Arabia. The pilgrimage begins on the 7th or 8th day of the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, It ends on the 12th day of that same month.
Sacred Texts
Besides the Qur'an, the other sacred sources are the Sunnah, the practise and examples of the Prophet Muhammad's life, and the Hadith, reports of what the prophet Muhammad said or approved.
Location/Dates of Origin/Historic Events
Time Line
610 A.D - The Angel Gabriel visits Muhammad and tells him "You are the messenger of God"
610-632 A.D - Muhammad spreads the teachings revealed to him in Mecca and Medina, over a 22-year period until his death.
632 A.D. - Muhammad dies
645 A.D - Muslims become divided into two branches, the Shiite and the Sunni over a disagreement about future leadership.
650-652 A.D - The sayings/teachings revealed to Muhammad are collected in a book called the Quran
657 A.D - The Shiite Muslims are divided further when a portion of its followers break away and stars a third division, the Kharijites.
Dates/Holidays/Rituals & Celebrations
Eid-al-Fitr : This marks the end of Ramadan. This is also called the Feast of Breaking the Fast.
Haji : A pilgrimage made by every Muslim at least once in his/her life.
Eid-al-Adha : Also called the Feast of Sacrifice. It honors the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his promised son, Ishmael, as an act of submission to God's command.
After-Life
Geographic Distribution/Statistics
Africa - 278,250,800 - 40.8%
Asia - 836,976,000 - 25.9%
Europe - 12,574,000 - 2.5%
Latin America - 1,350,500 - 0.3%
Northern American - 2,847,000 - 1.0%
Oceania - 100,500 - 0.4%
Eurasia - 39,229,400 - 13.4%
World - 971,328,700 - 17.7%
Fun Facts!
- According to a report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, there are about 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. (2012)
- Sunnis make up 87% to 90% of the worldwide Muslim population. Shiite Muslims make up approximately 10%.
- Islam is the 2nd largest religion in the world, following Christianity.
- Indonesia has the largest following of the Islamic religion, 13%, though Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh have large populations as well
- According to U.S.-based Muslim organizations such as the Islamic Society of North America and the Islamic Circle of North America, there are about 7 million adherents to the Islamic religion in the United States.