Download Islam And Brief

Islam in Brief
OVERVIEW
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History of Islam
 Compared to other religions
 Timelines of the Islam’s arrival and Muhammad’s (pbuh) life
Demographics of Muslims (believers of Islam)
 Distribution in the World
 Distribution in United States
Pillars
 of Faith in Islam
 of Religion in Islam
Major Misconceptions about Islam
 Jihad in Islam vs Terrorism
 Status of Women in Islam vs Oppression of Women
Q&A
History of Islam
History of Major World Religions
BC AD
1500 1440 660
600
563
Aryans
Abraham
Judaism
18 Million
Christianity
2 Billion
610
30
Islam
1.3 Billion
Hinduism
900 Million
Buddhism
360 Million
Islam arrived in early 7th century in Arabia Peninsula. Muslims are the believers
of this religion and second largest religious population in the world. The Holy
scriptures for Islam is Quran and the teacher is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Life of Muhammad
arrival
Islam’s rules arrived in 23 years with
Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Quran’s arrival by Gabriel to
Muhammad (pbuh) is completed just
before his death. Prophet’s sayings ,
events during his time and his life style
became very important resources to
understand Qur’an hence Islam.
(pbuh) and
Islam’s
Demographics of Muslims (believers of Islam)
ISLAMIC WORLD consists of so
many different nations.
Muslim distribution in the U.S.
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African American
South Asian
Arab
African
Iranian
Turk
Caucasian American
Undetermined
42.0%
24.4%
12.4%
5.2%
3.6%
2.4%
1.6%
5.6%
Different cultures have different ways of living Islam. Culture, history,
education level and economy of the societies/nations are all very important
on how people understand Islam and live as a Muslim.
Pillars of Faith and Religion in Islam
Islam means submission. Muslims
believe in:
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One and Unique God;
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the Angels;
the Prophets;
the Holy Scriptures;
Day of Judgment and the after life
God's complete knowledge/authority over human destiny
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Allah is the Arabic word for God.
Gabriel is the angel who brought Quran.
Jesus , Moses, Abraham , and all others mentioned in Torah and/or
Bible are respected deeply as prophets.
Gospel and Torah are respected but believed to have changed from
their original format.
All good and bad will be judged on this day . Nobody but God can judge.
No person upfront can claim heaven for him/herself and hell for others
or other way around. Only God knows where each person belongs.
God Almighty has the ultimate knowledge and has the power to change
destiny if He wishes to do so.
Pillars of Religion:
Declaration of
Faith
Pilgrimage
Prayers
Fasting
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Almsgiving
Prayers are 5 times a day, can be performed anywhere, becomes the responsibility of every Muslim by
puberty with some exceptions such as sickness (form can change to accommodate the prayers), giving
birth to a child ( first 6 weeks), etc…
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Fasting is for 30 days in Ramadan ( month according to the Islamic lunar calendar) from sunrise to
sunset, becomes the responsibility of every Muslim by puberty with some exceptions. At the end of
Ramadan there is the religious festival Eid ul Fitr.
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Almsgiving is the 2.5% of annual earnings, becomes the responsibility of every Muslim by the time
they are having extra earnings excluding the basics like house, car and daily needs. Must given to poor.
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Pilgrimage is the responsibility of every healthy Muslim who also has the financial availability once in
his/her lifetime. Pilgrimage is visiting the Kabaah ( Mecca, Saudi Arabia) for 10 days. At the end of this
time, there is the second Islamic festival which financially available (based on Islamic criteria) Muslims a
sacrifice a sheep, cow or a camel and distribute to poor.( Eid ul Adha)
Major Misconceptions about Islam
Jihad in Islam vs Terrorism
Jihad is described in 2 ways by Prophet and Quran:
•Internal (the greater Jihad)
•The struggle against greed, selfishness, arrogance, hatred, anger,
envy, falsehood and other human weaknesses which prevents us
from attaining perfection
•External ( the lesser Jihad)
•Removing obstacles between people and faith. So that people can
choose freely between belief and unbelief. This however can not a
person or a group decision but should be a governmental decision.
Verses from Quran:
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“Say, we believe in God and that which has been revealed to us, and that
which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the
tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other prophets,
from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him
we submit.” (The Family of Ìmrán/Al-Ìmrán 83)
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"And fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you but be not
aggressive. Surely Allah loves not the aggressors"(2:190)
Just because terrorists claim to do this in the name of Islam/God/Muslims,
Why should we believe them? Can they be the voice/vision for 1.3 billion
Muslims?
Status of Women in Islam vs Oppression of
Women
In Islam, women are equal to men in
•bearing personal and common responsibilities
•receiving rewards for her deeds
•the pursuit of education and knowledge
When Islam enjoins the seeking of knowledge
upon Muslims, it makes no distinction between
man and woman
•Aisha, wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the first
teachers of Islam to male/female scholars.
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And their Lord has accepted (their prayers) and
answered them (saying): “Never will I cause to
be lost the work of any of you, be he male or
female. You are members, one of another”
Quran 3:195 33:35 66:19-21
Are we mixing religion with culture/social pressure?
Is it fair to blame the religion based on some government’s/people’s rulings ?
Source: www.muslimwomen.org