The Islamic Religion
By: Ryan D. and Caleb B.
Islam
Research and write about the origins of Islam. Talk about the geography, the people, and how the religion began.
Arabian peninsula, Followers 1,500,000,000. History has it that Mohammed often walked alone in the hills outside of Mecca. On one of these lonely sojourns, he claimed to have met the angel Gabriel who is God's Messenger. After that Mohammed started getting followers and he made a profound and lasting impact on the world.
Research and write about Muhammad.
Research the following:
A) Is this religion monotheistic or polytheistic?
Islam is one of the three major religions of the world. The other two are Christianity and Judaism. Islam is a monotheistic religion, not polytheistic.
B) Amongst the world's religions, what rank is Islam?
2nd in size. One of the “Big 3” religions. (Christianity, Islam, Judaism)
C)Who is Allah?
“Allah” is simply the Arabic word for “God”
D) Who is Muhammad and what relationship does he have with Allah?
Muhammad is a prophet
E)What is the Holy Book?
Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition
F)What does Islam teach about Allah's relationship with man?
He is the Creator of every man and every woman
Explain the Five Pillars of Islam in detail
Shahada-Is the Declaration of faith in Allah
Salat-Is the Prayer towards Mecca five times daily
Zakzt-Is the Almsgiving or welfare contribution
Sawm-Is the Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj-Is the Pilgrimage to Mecca
Research and write about the diffusion of Islam. How did the religion spread? Write about how the religion spread and the geographic areas that it spread through.
By the seventh century, Muslims had spread from Arabia to Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, and Isfahan. In the year 711, they invaded Spain via the Straits of Gibraltar and entered into India. Between the lands they controlled and the regions with which they traded, Muslims were in contact with almost the entire known world. Their situation, between the eastern reaches of Europe and the central plains of Asia, allowed for an unprecedented transfusion of knowledge.
All Editors will work together on a section comparing and contrasting Islam to Christianity, Islam to Judaism, Islam to Hinduism, Islam to Confucianism, and Islam to Taoism.
Christianity: Both started in the Middle East Christianity and Islam share much common ground. Both trace their roots to Abraham. Both believe in prophecy, God's messengers (apostles), revelation, scripture, the resurrection of dead, and the centrality of religious community. This last element is especially important. Both Christianity and Islam have a communicant dimension: what the church is to Christianity the "umma" is to Islam.
Judaism: Mohammed, the founder of Islam, based many of his beliefs on the practices of local Jewish population in his native Mecca. For example, the Muslim practices of not eating pig, circumcision, daily prayer and fasting during the first month of the year were all culled directly from Judaism.
Since Islam was so similar to Judaism, Muhammad assumed the Jews would immediately accept this new religion. When the Jews did not live up to his expectations, he turned violently against them and many Jews died by the sword. (We are still suffering from this today; may there be peace soon.)
Hinduism: Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion, founded by Prophet Muhammad in the Middle East in the 7th century CE. Hinduism on the other hand is religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent in the pre-classical era (1500–500 BCE) and does not have a specific founder.
Confucianism: Its concept of submitting to God started with Adam, and its final book, the Quran, was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon them). Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
Taoism: Taoism is an ancient Chinese religious and philosophical tradition. It dates back to at least the third or fourth century B.C., and its advent is often associated with the figure of Lao Tzu, who purportedly wrote the Taoist classic text, the "Tao Te Ching." "Tao" means, roughly, "the Way,".