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What is Islam? |
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Islam is not a new
religion, but the same truth that God revealed through
all his Prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world’s
population, Islam is both, a religion and a complete way
of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and
forgiveness, and the majority has nothing to do with the
extremely grave events that have been associated with their
faith. |
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What does ‘Islam’ mean? |
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The Arabic world ‘Islam’ simply
means ‘submission’, and derives from a word meaning ‘peace’.
In a religious context it means complete submission to the
will of God.
‘Mohammedanism ‘is thus a misnomer because it suggests that Muslims
worship Muhammad (peace be upon him) rather than God. ‘Allah’ is
the Arabic name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and
Christians alike. |
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Why does Islam often seem strange? |
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Islam may seem exotic
or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because
religion does not dominate every day life in the west today,
whereas Muslims have religion always uppermost in their
minds, and make no division between secular and sacred.
They believe that the divine law, the Shari’a, should
be taken very seriously, which is why issues related to
religion are still so important. |
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Who are the Muslims? |
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One billion people
from a vast range of race, nationalities and cultures across
the globe - from the southern Philippines to Nigeria-are
united by their common Islamic faith. About 18% live in
the Arab world; the world’s
largest Muslim community is in Indonesia; substantial part
of Asia and most of Africa are Muslim, while significant
minorities are to be found in the Soviet Union, China, North
and South America, and Europe. |
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What do Muslims believe? |
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Muslim believe in
one, unique, incomparable God; in the angles created by
Him; in the Prophets through whom His revelations were
brought to mankind; in the day of judgement and individual
accountability for actions; in God’s complete authority over human destiny and in
life after death. Muslims believe in a chain of Prophets
starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael,
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon,
Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon
them. But God’s final message to man, reconfirmation
of the eternal message and a summing-up of all that has gone
before was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) through Gabriel. |
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How does some one become a Muslim? |
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Simply by declaring ‘there is no
God apart from God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God’.
By this declaration the believer announces his or her faith
in all God’s messengers, and the scriptures they brought. |
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