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Islam
Religions of the world
Islam – 2nd largest religion
 1.3
billion followers on 3 continents
 7 million Muslims in United States
 Islam is religion, Muslims are followers
 Mosques – places of worship for Muslims
Islam
 Founded
by Muhammad – descendant of
Abraham (Ismael)


Abraham first prophet, Muhammad last prophet
Muhammad – b orn in 571 A.D. in Mecca (Saudi
Arabia)
 Monotheistic

religion from Judaism
Believe in one god – no trinity
 Gabriel
– highest ranking angel
Islam
 Recognizes
prophets – Abraham, Moses,
Isaac, Jesus, John the Baptist, Ishmael,
Joseph, Soloman, etc.
 Believes Mary was consecrated by God

Special place for Jesus and Mary in Koran
History of Muhammad
•
622 “Hijra”or Escape. Muhammad and followers
escape prosecution and go to Almadinah
(Yathrib).
 Year 1 in the Islamic calendar
 ‘Missionaries’ sent all over Arabia
– building peaceful coalition
•
629 Muhammad conquers Mecca peacefully
(NO REVENGE)
 destroys idols in Alqaaba.
 single-handedly, brings peace to war-torn
Arabia
•
632 Muhammad dies in Almadinah. Unmarked
grave (his will)
Family Line from
Abraham to
Muhammad
Abraham
Ismail
Adnan
Quraiysh
Qussaiy
Abdmanaf
Abdshams
Hashem
Adbelmuttalib
(Amneh+) Abdallah Abutalib Hamzeh Alabbas
Muhammad
Ummayah Dynasty
(661-750)
Abulahab Alhareth
Ali
Abbbassides Dynasty
(750-1258)
Holy book – Koran (Quran)
 114
chapters of Scripture
 Confirms most narratives and prophets of
the Jewish and Christian faiths

Special place for Virgin Mary, the only female (the Chapter
of Mary)
 Arabic
 God
– Allah
5 Pillars of Islam

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1. The Declaration of Faith:
• "There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the
messenger of God"
2. Prayer:
• Five obligatory prayers each day.
• A direct link between the worshiper and God.
• No hierarchical authority or priesthood
3. Zakat:
• Obligatory charitable giving.
• Wealth belong to God and it is held in trust by humans.
• Zakat, or, "purification" by setting aside a portion (2.5%) for
the needy
4. Fasting:
• From sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan
5. Pilgrimage:
• A pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, Arabia. Only those who can
Sunni vs. Shiha (struggle)
 Sunni
•
•
•
– 90% of Muslims
Follow the Quran and the Hadeeth as we
have them today, and as interpreted by the
Sunni scholars
When Muhammad died – leadership passed
to close friend/advisor who believed Islam
Believe in strict
Shihas
 Shiha
•
– 10% of Muslims
When Muhammad died – leadership should stay in
his family
•
Came to be as a sect after 680 A.D.
•
Believe in the Quran and Hadeeth, like Sunni
•
Today Shiah is mainly in Iran (90%), Iraq (55%) and
Lebanon (~40%)
Believe in strict orders in hierarchy, Ayatollahs rule
Iran instead of president
Mostly in Iraq, Iran and Bahrain
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
Role of Jihad
•
Islam is not addicted to war, and jihad is
not one of its "pillars”
•
•
•
Jihad in Arabic does not mean "holy war”.
It means "struggle” or “strive”.
It is the difficult effort needed to put God's
will into practice at every level
The "greater jihad” in the Quran is that of
the soul, of the tongue, of the pen, of
faith, of morality, etc. The "smaller jihad" is
that of arms.
Role of War
•
Much of the Koran revealed in the context of an all-out war imposed on early
Muslims by the powerful city of Mecca, and many passages deal with the
conduct of armed struggle.
 While one finds "slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" in almost every
case it is followed by something like "if they let you be, and do not make
war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm
them" (2:90; 4: 90; 5: 2; 8: 61; 22: 39)

•
•

Since good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou evil with something that
is better, and love he between whom and thy self was enmity may then
become as though he had always been close unto thee, a true friend"
(41:34)
God does not allow harm of civilian, and requests the protection of women,
children and the elderly during war (4:96; 9: 91; 48: 16,17)
You shall feed and protect prisoners of war, and you shall not expect a
reward (4: 25,36; 5:24)
Thus, the only permissible war in the Quran is one of self-defense, you cannot
kill unarmed (civilian), and you have to protect prisoners of war
Role of Women
•
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•
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Eliminated many pre-Islamic discriminatory practices
Gave women rights (e.g., inheritance) and equality to men, both
were made from a single soul (e.g., 4:1)
Limited the number of wives a man can marry
Treat women with kindness and respect their rights as equal to
men
The hijab or head scarf
• Modest dress apply to women and men equally (Quran and
Hadith).
• Women are required to cover their bodies so that their figure is
not revealed.
• Women are not required to cover their faces.
The forbidden or ‘taboo’ (muharramat) include pork, blood,
improperly butchered animals, baby animals, gambling, and
charging interest
Alcohol drinking was gradually disallowed
•
•
Women’s clothing
 1st
Requirement – women’s entire bodies
must be covered, but their faces and
hands may be shown

Abide by ‘awrah
 2nd
Requirement – garment must be loose
enough so not to show shape of women’s
body
 3rd Requirement – garment must be thick
enough not to reveal women’s skin color
or shape
 4th Requirement – must not draw attention
to them, be showy or flashy
Mens’ clothing
 Similar
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four requirements of women
Cover man’s ‘awrah
Loose clothing
Thick clothing
Not draw attention to man, not showy or
flashy clothes
 Additional
women
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requirements for men and
Shouldn’t be similar to other gender
Shouldn’t be similar to non-believers
Shouldn’t show vanity or fame
Famous Muslims
 Muhammad
 Malcolm
Ali
X
 Jermaine Jackson – Michael’s brother
 Dave Chapelle
 Mike Tyson
 Ice Cube
 Ryan Harris – NFL player
 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar