Download Islam on One Page Islam literally means “submission,” understood

Islam on One Page Islam literally means “submission,” understood as submission to God. A Muslim is “one who submits [to God].” • Islam as submission refers to what a Muslim does. This includes the “5 Pillars”: prayer, fasting during Ramadan, giving charity, making pilgrimage to Mecca, and testifying to God’s oneness. • Iman, referring to what a Muslim believes, is equally important. Belief is understood to emerge from and be strengthened by the actions one takes, islam. Core Islamic beliefs include: God’s oneness; revelation through Scriptures and prophets – Muhammad, and also many others including Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and Noah; angels; and a Day of Judgment. • Ikhsan refers to achieving a state of full submission, described in a well‐known Hadith (defined below) as worshipping God as though you see God, since even though you cannot see God, you know that God sees you. Estimated Statistics: Number of Muslims in the world: 1.2 billion to 1.8 billion Number of Muslims in America: 5 to 8 million, or about 1% of the population % of Muslims who are Arabs: Worldwide, about 18%; in America, about 25% American Muslim population: approx. ⅓ South Asian descent, ⅓ Black/African‐American, ⅓ Middle Eastern descent and other Important terms and ideas: Ummah: The community of Muslims. Ummah at its best incorporates diversity and simultaneously invokes a strong call for social justice. Jihad: Literally, a struggle. While jihad does carry a sense of active battle to protect the Muslim community, the “greater jihad” is the internal struggle within each Muslim to do what is right. Qur’an: The sacred scripture of Islam. Originally transmitted orally, the Qur’an is traditionally understood to be the verbatim word of God. The Qur’an is an enigmatic text which contains within itself recognition of its oft‐opacity and need for interpretation. Hadith: Oral reports of what Muhammad said or did that can provide a basis for how to behave and believe. Unlike the Qur’an, these texts do not have divine sanction and their application is a matter of continued debate. Muhammad: The last of a series of prophets of God. Muhammad is an ideal human, but is not divine. Sharia: Literally, “The Way,” refers to an ideal for Islamic law. As with any complex system of rules, Islamic law is a vast and dynamic system with different schools of interpretation and diverse understandings of application. As with any group of over a billion people who come from a wide variety of countries and backgrounds, there is a huge diversity of practice, belief, and understanding among Muslims. Perceptions of Islam are informed both by what we are exposed to and what we want to see. Terrorists make better news than people simply living their lives; women in headscarves stand out in America while we don’t even recognize as Muslim women who dress like “us.” In any case, many of “us” – a growing number, in fact –are Muslim.