The Religion of IslamIntroductionIslam was founded by the prophet Muhammad around 622 A.D. when the migration of Muslims from Mecca to Medina occurred. This event marked the change from persecution to appreciation of the prophets message and was the beginning of the development of one of the largest religions in the world (Fisher, 2003). The religion is monotheistic as its followers believe in a single God. The original language of the religion is Arabic and the word Islam in Arabic means peace or submission (Fisher, 2003). A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, which in Arabic means to a person whom submits himself or herself to the will of God (MMF, 2007). Islam in still growing very quickly and is expected to become the most popular religion in the world. That said, the religion is still vastly misunderstood. In the following paragraphs I will define the Five Pillars of Islam and compare the Islamic religion to Christianity in an attempt to develop a better understanding of this vastly misunderstood religion.
Fishers Towers Utah area from the California Zephy...
Fishers Towers Utah area from the California Zephy...
English: A green version of http://commons.wikimed...Five Pillars of IslamUnder the Divine Law, otherwise known as Shari'ah, the Five Pillars of Islam are identified (Fisher, 2003). These are the corner stones and core beliefs of the Islamic faith as told by the Prophet Muhammad and are accepted and followed by all Muslims. The Five Pillars of Islam can be described as Islam's most basic beliefs and practices. Even though these five Pillars are under the religion of Islam, variations exist culturally and historically within the Islamic community of believers. The following is an identification of each of the five pillars and how it relates to the lives of the people who obey them.
The first of these pillars is the Shahadah, which expresses that only one god (Allah) exists and that they must recognize...