The World of Islam
Why YOU should be teaching it in your history class
The Importance of Islam
Islam is the second largest religion in the world - behind only Christianity. I believe that people deserve to learn about the second largest religion in the world, and that the followers of Islam have a right to being known.
Islam has been around for awhile
Islam is one of the worlds oldest religions and has been followed by millions for thousands of years. As seen in the photo above, 21% of the worlds population is Muslim. For being around for thousands of years, that's a pretty solid base.
Only 1.5% of American citizens are Islamic
Islam in the Middle East
It is kind of hard for a religion to jump an ocean, which is why the main body of Islamic-following people are in the Middle East, where the religion started. Out of all the Muslims in the world, only 0.6 percent live in the Americas, the smallest of any continental land body. According to the Pew Research Center, the Americas combined have a muslim population 38 times smaller than that of the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia. The photo to the right shows the largest Muslim countries in the dark.
Why Islam Is Seen As "Bad"
Many terrorist groups follow Islam. I believe students have a right to learn that not all Muslims are terrorists, because without being educated in the religion, this is how they see it. Islam is actually a very peaceful religion, and their holy book, the Quran, is very similar to the bible.
The holy center for Islam, Mecca, is show above. The Kaaba is the building shown in the middle. During prayer, no matter where you are in the world, you are supposed to face the Kaaba, according to the religion. The Kaaba is the holiest structure in the Muslim world and is also considered to be the holiest site, since it is in Muhammad's birthplace, Mecca. The Kaaba is built around the Black Stone, which is revered to be from the time of Adam and Eve, and is one of the most sacred objects in the Muslim religion. Shown below is the Black Stone.