Download Islam and Democracy - The University of Oklahoma

Topic 1: What is Islam
and faith
Serkan Ozturk
Dialog Student Association
University of Oklahoma
What is Islam?
 Islam
 has a wide population in the world
 is also the most misunderstood religion
 means the active submission to the one God
 teaches that God (Allah) is the source of all creation
and that human beings are the best of His creation
 is the final religion revealed to human beings through
the last Prophet Muhammad.
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Rules of Islam
 Praying 5 times a day (salah)
 Fasting in the Ramadan
 Charity
 Visiting the Kabe
 Accepting one god and Mohammad is his the
last messenger
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Sources of Islam
 Quran
 Sunnah (hadith)
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Quran
 Is the holy scripture of Islam
 Was revealed in Arabic, over a period of 23 years
between 609-632
 Is composed in a unique style, neither poetry nor
prose, mixture of both
 Cannot be simulated or copied, and God Almighty
challenges mankind to pursue such an endeavor if
he thinks he can:
“Or do they say he forged it? Say: Bring then a chapter like unto it,
and call (to your aid) anyone you can, beside God, if it be you
speak the truth.” (Quran 10:38)
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Sunnah- Hadith
 Sunnah:
 The attributes of the Prophet Muhammad
 Hadith:
 Verbal teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
 Narrated from several authorities
 And were composed as formal written collections
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Description of Believer in Islam
 Muslim:
 Who believes in One God and Muhammad is the last
Prophet of God
 Mumin:
 Faithful muslim, true believer who has fair of God in
heart
 Mumin is a Muslim but not every muslim is mumin
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Characteristics of Mumin
 who in their prayers are humble
 And who shun vain talk, and all other [nonsense],
 and who fulfill payment of alms (zakat)
 and who guard their private parts, chastity except
wives/husband
 and who are keepers of their trusts
 And who speak tell the truth
 ….
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What Muslims believe?
 Muslims believe
 The first Prophet was Adam followed by a long chain of
Prophets to guide humanity.
 One God and in Muhammad as the final Prophet of God
 The Qur’an, which is the holy book for Muslims, is the
word of God revealed to Prophet Muhammad and
contains 114 chapters (called Suras).
 Quran is the pure word of God, unadulterated over 14
centuries
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What Muslims believe?
 Believing in
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One God
Messengers of God
Angels of God
Books of God
The big Judgment day
Destiny and fate comes from God
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The Teachings of Islam
 Islam teaches that
 human beings are born pure and sinless
 No one is responsible for, or can take responsibility for
the sins of others
 The doors of forgiveness are always open for those
who repent sincerely
 Islam balances the spiritual life by emphasizing
human responsibility with daily life
 People are created with a purpose.
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The Teachings of Islam
 Apart from human responsibility, Islam also teaches
human accountability
 The final destination of human beings is the hereafter
 Muslims believe that all human beings will be
resurrected to account for their deeds in the day of
Judgment
 Those who have performed righteous deeds will be rewarded
with eternal bliss in heaven and those who have performed evil
acts will be punished in hell.
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Why is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) important?
 Perfection in humanism
 Ferrari & Mechanic
 Answering the meaning of life
 Who am I?
 Where do I come from?
 Where do I go to?
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What does Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mean to us?
 The Messenger
 “You have a good example in God’s Messenger for whoever
hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God often.”
(33:22)
 Perfect Servant of God
 Good example for social life
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Why is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) important?
 Religious life
 Perfect servant of God
 Living Quran and Islam
 Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) teaches me
 build a relationship with God
 have a better understanding of myself
 have a better understanding of the universe
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Why is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) important?
 Social life
 Perfect Example for
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Husband
Father
Friend
Businessman
Leader
Statesman
Educator
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Thank you
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Shia and Sunni
 Islam has two major schools of thought – the Shi’a and the
Sunni.
 The Sunnis believe that the community selected its own
leader after Prophet Muhammad’s death whereas
 the Shi’as believe that the Prophet had appointed ‘Ali, by
divine will, to be his successor. Leadership is thus divinely
designated.
 both the Sunnis and the Shi’as are united in their major beliefs
i.e., they believe in the same God, the same book, the same
Prophets and pray in the same direction.
 The differences are mainly theological and jurisprudential.
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