ORIGINS AND HISTORY
Islam claims up to 1.5 billion followers worldwide. For the last twenty years this religion has made the front page of today's newspapers which is more than any other. "As the fastest growing religion in the world, the U.S. holds up to eight million Muslims, and over eleven hundred mosques or Islamic centers.(2)"
"Islam was founded in the early seventh century by Muhammad.(1)" "When he was forty, Muhammad claimed to be receiving messages from God.(4)" These messages were later compiled and recorded in the Koran, Islam's holy book.
About this time, Muhammad began preaching against the greed, economic oppression, and worship that plagued the Arab peoples. He called on many factions of the Arab peoples to unite under the worship of Allah, the chief god of the Arab pantheon of deities. "Though his message initially rejected, by the year 632 he had succeeded in gaining control of Mecca, the economic and religious center of the Arabian Peninsula.(1)"
English: A green version of http://commons.wikimed...
Miniature of Muhammad re-dedicating the Black Ston...
Konsultasi Syariah Islam 7Even though Muhammad died two years later, the religious movement he founded rapidly spread throughout the Arab world, and far beyond. In the centuries that followed, Islam penetrated deeper into Africa and Asia, then extending as far as the Philippines. During Islam's golden era some of the world's finest philosophers and mathematicians came about. It was during this time also that Islam and Christianity clashed as a result of the Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims.
"After the industrial revolution of the 1700-1800s, Islam felt the increasing influence of the European powers.(1)" Eventually, large portions of the Muslim world were colonized by European Countries. This political and economic domination by Europe continued until the end of WWII, after which the Muslim countries began to attain political independence. With the discovery and development of the vast oil...