Download Introduction to Islam

Introduction to Islam
What is Islam?
What are the origins of Islam?
© Karen Devine 2008
Introduction to Islam
Today nearly 1 billion
people are Muslims and
most live outside the
Arab world.
 The largest Islamic
country is Indonesia.
 Islam emerged in the
7th Century CE and it is
a monotheistic faith.
 It was preached by its
prophet Muhammad
who received revelation
from God.

What is Islam?
Islam shares its roots
with Judaism and
Christianity.
 Islam is a spiritual
path and contains
law, ethics and
theology.
 It speaks of
surrender to God and
the peace, health
and well-being that
submission brings.

Foundations of Islamic Belief
The foundation of Islamic belief
is the Qur’an.
 It is believed to be the revealed
word of God.
 Second to the Qur’an in
importance are the sayings and
deeds of the prophet
Muhammad.
 Islam has 2 main aspects of
belief:
a) There is no god but Allah.
b) Muhammad is the messenger of
God.
 These aspects of belief should be
first heard by a newborn and last
heard before death.

What are the origins of Islam?
Arabia in the 7th century CE
was largely desert area with
oasis towns.
 The social organization was
tribal and most Arabs were
nomadic.
 A tribe consisted of many
families and was led by a
shaykh (chief) who was
elected by the heads of clans.
 Makka (Mecca) was a
prominent trade centre and
Bedouins flocked there.

What are the origins of Islam?
At the time of the birth of
Muhammad, Makka had
become a large
commercial centre with
socio-economic divisions.
 The society placed great
emphasis on the
protection and
preservation of the family
and tribe.
 There was a focus on the
here and now, not the
afterlife.

Religious conditions before Islam?

a)
b)
c)

Also, on the Arabian
peninsula there were 3 other
established religions:
Judaism in Palestine
Christianity in the Roman
Empire
Zoroastrianism in the Persian
Empire.
All these faiths were
monotheistic and politically
aligned so that they
eventually became state
religions.
Religious conditions before Islam



Society was polytheistic and the
Gods and Goddesses protected
the tribes. Although Allah was
the highest God.
The spirits of the Gods were
associated with sacred objects,
often found in nature.
Makka had the central shrine to
the Gods and the Ka’ba housed
360 idols of the Quraysh tribe’s
patron Gods and was the site of
an annual pilgrimage.
Question Time

Research the
conditions in Arabia
which led to the
emergence of Islam?