| Islam is an Arabic word
that means “surrender to God.” Believers in Islam are
called Muslims, or “those who surrender." Muslims believe
that Muhammad was the last of a series of holy prophets that included
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. A prophet is a holy messenger. Christians
believe that Jesus is God, while Muslims believe Allah is the only
God and that Muhammad was his messenger. Allah is an Arabic term
that means "the God" (al-El).
Muhammad lived about 600 years after Jesus in what
we now call Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe that Muhammad was visited
in a cave by an angel. Muhammad repeated the words of the angel
to others who learned them by heart. Eventually, Mohammad's followers
collected these messages and gathered them into a book known as
the Quran. The Quran is the holy book of Islam. It has been translated
into many languages, but many Muslims believe that the only true
version of the Quran is written in Arabic. This is why Arabic spread
throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Often Muslims will
learn Arabic as a second language, as a Jew would learn Hebrew.
The Islamic house of worship is a mosque. Unlike Jews
and Christians, Muslims do not have a holy day, but many Muslims
gather in mosques on Friday afternoon for prayers. Muhammad taught
that believers should pray five times every day. Faithful Muslims
will stop whatever they are doing and bow down to pray.
Mecca is a holy city to Muslims because it is the
site of the Kaaba, a small shrine that Muslims believe to be the
most sacred spot on earth. Muslims orient themselves toward the
Kaaba during their daily prayers. Every Muslim who makes the pilgrimage
to Mecca walks around the Kaaba seven times. Islamic tradition states
that the stone was originally white, but it had become black by
absorbing the sins of the millions of pilgrims who have kissed and
touched it.
Ramadan is a sacred month to Muslims, and faithful
Muslims fast between dawn and dusk during Ramadan. To fast means
to abstain from eating. Ramadan is sacred because it is the month
in which the Quran was revealed to Muhammad. Muslims use a lunar
calendar, so Ramadan falls at different times each year. Ramadan
will begin November 17, 2001. There are more than one billion Muslims,
but only five million live in the United States. Nations with large
Muslim populations include Indonesia (180 million), Pakistan (125
million), Bangladesh (109 million), India (84 million), Iran (66
million), Egypt (60 million), Turkey (60 million), Nigeria (52 million),
Algeria (29 million), Morocco (29 million), Ethiopia (24 million),
Sudan (22 million), Afghanistan (22 million), Iraq (20 million)
and Saudi Arabia (19 million). Russia also has a large Muslim population,
but estimates on its size vary. |
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Icons
of Islam
The crescent, star, and the color
green are symbols often associated with Islam. The star represents
knowledge and light, and the crescent represents progress. You will
find these symbols on the flags of many Muslim nations.
Islamic art includes calligraphy,
or decorative penmanship, but no images of people. The Quran forbids
recreating any living thing because no one should copy what Allah
has made. This is why you will not find a picture of Muhammad in
Islamic literature. |
