Middle East Information Resource
Religions/Belief Systems - Islam
Islam is a monotheistic religion that originated in the Arabic World and spread to Persia and other parts of the world. Islam is now one of the most widespread religions in the world, with 1,400 million believers. It is dominant in East- and North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and in Indonesia. Islam is considered to have three schools of thought, Sunni, Shi’a and Kharijî.
Mohammed (570-632) is the prophet of Islam. The essence of Islam, in theory, is submission to the will of God. Believers are called Muslims or Moslems, and God is referred to as Allah. Important sects and Schools of Islamic thought are: Sunnis, Shi’a, Shari’a, Dervish, Druze, Alawis, Isma’ilyya, Mahdiyya, Sanussiyya, and Wahhabiyya (qq.v.).
Islam derives from Judaism and also from Nestorianism. Mohammed acknowledged the holiness of the Old Testament, but claimed to be the successor to Moses. The Koran is the sacred text of Islam, written in Arabic. Muslims study the Koran and are expected to memorize at least parts of it.
Islam is based upon the Koran, and the deeds and sayings of Muhammad, the Sunna, or Hadîth. Theologically, Islam claims that Adam, the first man created, was the first Muslims. Ibrahim (Abraham) is a central figure in Islam, and is the founder and builder of the Ka’ba in Mecca, which is the center of the world. Historically, Islam began with the revelations to Muhammad in 610 in Mecca.
Islam teaches that there is only one God, and that the God of Judaism and Christianity is the same as the God of the Koran. However, Islam holds that Judaism and Christianity are corruptions of the original true religion, which today is represented by Islam. The Christians and Jews, Islam says, have altered the history of God’s revelations and law through generations. Nevertheless, Muslims are obliged to show a lot of respect for Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians as `People of the book`.
The most central issue in Islam is the responsibility towards the community. The Koran and the Sunna contains many rules on how to act in life, what to do and what not to do. The core of Islam is the family, the extended family, and from this, society is understood as concentric circles. Muslims have lesser obligations towards Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, than to Muslims, and they have no obligations in respect of those who are not `People of the Book.`
In the Koran and throughout Islamic literary culture, God is referred to as `Allah the Merciful.` However, in Islam man is not assured a place in Paradise, unless he or she lives as a Muslim. Islam has a Day of Judgement, but this is not central to Muslim belief or theology. On this day all of the dead will be reawakened, either to be condemned or let into Paradise.
Every Muslim has five duties to perform: (1) At least once in his life he must say with perfect conviction, `There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet.` (2) He must pray five times a day; at rising, at noon, at mid-afternoon, at sunset, and before retiring for the evening. (3) He must give of alms. (4) He must fast and abstain from pleasures during days of the holy month of Ramadan. (5) Once in his life, if he is able, he must make a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. In addition, Muslims must adhere to strict dietary laws and ethical standards.