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# Islam

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Islam is the religion of the group of people who worship Allah (the name for God in the Arabic language) and follow the word of the prophet Muhammad, embodied in both oral and written form in the Qur'an. The adherents of Islam are Muslims or (though this use is outdated) Muhammadans.

## Teachings of Islam

For a strict Muslim, the word "Islam" means "submission to God." Muslims believe in One God, the God of Adam?, Noah?, Moses, Jesus, who are all regarded as prophets or "Messengers" before the last message of Muhammad.

For Muslims, the Qur'an answers questions about daily needs, both spiritual and materialistic. It discusses God and God's Names and attributes; believers and their virtues; Mary?, Jesus, and all the other prophets; and even scientific subjects.

Muslims believe that all human beings belong to one nation, but deviation from religion and virtue caused national differences and religious sects to appear. The vast bulk of the world's Muslims live in the Middle East and north Africa and the Indonesian islands, and indeed are of many different races and (political and ethnic) nationalities.

The teachings of Islam concern many of the same personages as those of Judaism and Christianity. However, Muslims frequently refer to them using Arabic? names which can make it appear they are talking about different people: e.g. Allah for God, Iblis? for Satan, Ibrahim? for Abraham, etc.

## The [Five Pillars of Islam]?

The first pillar of Islam is the recitation and acceptance of the Creed or shahada: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His prophet."

The four "pillars" relating to morals, or practice, are:

1. prayer, ablutions, and purifications;
2. alms;
3. fasting; and
4. [pilgrimage to Mecca]?.

## Divisions of Islam

Islam is divided into two main sects: the Sunni and the Shia. The division dates back to a dispute over who was to be caliph, i.e. successor of Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community (or Ummah?; though not his successor as prophet). The Sunni believed that the leader of the Muslims should be elected, so long as he came from the Quraysh? tribe, the tribe of the prophet; the Shia believed that only Muhammad's son-in-law Ali? and his descendants should be eligible for the position. The Sunni are in the majority world-wide, and are the majority in most Muslim countries, with the exception of Iran, where the majority is Shia.

There are other Muslim sects including the Ismailis?, the Nizaris? (more commonly known as the Assassins?), the Druze? (which have developed into a seperate religion), and the Ahmadiyya?, a controversial messianic sect.

The [Nation of Islam]? is a movement in the United States for black empowerment, with one of its leaders being [Louis Farrakhan]?. The [Nation of Islam]? claims to be Islamic, however many other Muslims reject their claim, on the grounds that their teachings differ significantly from those traditionally associated with Islam.

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